New Book 'The Quiet Don' Claims Pennsylvania Gambling Mob Ties
EASTON, Pa. (Associated Press) — A new book says Pennsylvania state police ran a top-secret investigation into whether then-Gov. Ed Rendell and his administration rigged the outcome of the casino licensing process to benefit favored applicants, including a politically connected businessman suspected of having mob ties.
John McCain Caught Playing Online Poker On His iPhone During Syria Hearing
Arizona Republican Senator John McCain was caught playing online poker on his smartphone during a Senate Subcommittee hearing to discuss possible military intervention in Syria.
“I lost thousands of dollars, “ Senator John McCain said during an interview on CNN.
He then clarified it was actually “free money”, although it took a few seconds to elaborate further.
LAPT Champ Tavitian Leads EPT 10 Barcelona at End of Day 2
LAPT Chile champion Pablo Tavitian is leading the €5,300 EPT Barcelona Main Event with 465,000 at the end of Day 2. There are 235 players remaining from the 697 who started at noon.
Using ‘Big Data’ to Help People Bet Smarter this Soccer Season
With powerful new offering from Bet Smart Media, soccer bettors can now use statistics to look for historical trends that help predict upcoming match results
VICTORIA, Canada - Bet Smart Media is giving soccer bettors across Britain a new, must-have weapon for their arsenal this season.
PokerStars Unveils 2013 Asia Championship of Poker Schedule
MACAU, China -- "PokerStars LIVE Macau" has officially released its schedule for the Second Annual Asia Championship of Poker (ACOP), which takes place in Macau from Oct. 18-Nov. 3.
The ACOP is the flagship poker series for the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) and acts as the grand finale for APPT Season 7.
The 17-day schedule has 18 cash tournaments and more than HK$27 million (US$3.5 million) in guaranteed prize money.
Anti-Terrorism Police Question 60 in Connection to Online Gambling Ring
60 Cambodians were being held in connection with running an online gambling ring that authorities believe could have ties to terrorism, though no specifics were given.
Out of Work Smoking Casino Chimp Undergoes Nicotine Rehab
A chimpanzee that once worked as a smoking mascot for a Moscow casino is now out of work and undergoing nicotine rehab.
John was the mascot of Space, one of Moscow’s biggest casinos. He was let go in 2009 and, since that time, his owners have attempted to find John a new home. Also they have placed him in rehabilitation for nicotine and alcohol addiction.
Brazilian Football Legend Ronaldo in Barcelona For EPT Main Event
Brazilian football legend Ronaldo was in Barcelona today to take part in an invitational poker tournament as part of Spain’s biggest annual poker festival, the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT).
Fox 1 Sports to Focus on Betting the Races
Fox 1 Sports promises to be a different kind of sports network and this is already taking shape with news that FS1 will begin to incorporate sports betting into broadcasts.
More specifically, they will be emphasizing the wagering aspect during ten slated graded horse races beginning in 2014.
Dragan Kostic Leads After Day 1a of EPT Barcelona Main Event 2013
Jovial Mallorcan Dragan Kostic, who was runner-up in Barcelona in Season 8, is chip leader at the end of Day 1a of the EPT Barcelona Main Event. Kostic, who was born in Serbia but has lived in Spain for the last 20 odd years, has 215,000.
PR Agency Exec Ronn Torossian: ‘Runner, Runner Won’t be Good for Industry’
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that “Runner, Runner” which will be in movie theatres worldwide in a month staring Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck won’t bring good news for the off-shore gambling business. The movie, which was produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, and written by Brian Koppelman and David Levien purports to show the insides of Costa Rica and the online gambling business.
EPT10 Barcelona Super High Roller Climax: Vitaly Lunkin Beats Erik Seidel
It was a stunner on Sunday at the EPT10 Barcelona Super High Roller as Russian Vitaly Lunkin beat one of poker’s biggest money earners, Erik Seidel, heads-up to take the €771,300 win.
EPT Player of the Year Award Will be Richest Ever
BARCELONA, Spain – The European Poker Tour has today announced that the EPT Season 10 Player of the Year Award will come with the biggest prize for a single player of any “Player of the Year” contest in the poker world.
The EPT will award €50,000 to the Player of the Year, which can be used to enter any main event operated by the Rational Group. This includes the European Poker Tour, the Latin American Poker Tour, the Asia Pacific Poker Tour, and a series of additional regional poker tours throughout the world.
Nevada Strip Gambling Drops 14 Percent in July
CARSON CITY, Nevada — Nevada gambling revenue dropped 8 percent in July, led by a 14.4 percent drop on the Las Vegas Strip that analysts Friday chalked up to a tough comparison to the same month the year before.
Casinos statewide won $925.7 million from gamblers in July, down from July 2012 when casinos surpassed the billion-dollar mark and posted a 17 percent increase. The "win" is what was left in casino coffers after gamblers wagered $11.5 billion. A breakdown shows $8.8 billion was plunked into slot and video machines, while $2.7 billion was bet on card and table games.
Sandor Demjan Leads EPT Barcelona €50,000 Super High Roller Event 2013
Hungarian player Sandor Demjan leads the €50,000 Super High Roller at the end of Day 1.
Registration for the event is open until the start of Day 2, so final numbers are yet to be determined however there were 39 unique players today, with ten re-entries.
Team PokerStars Pros Daniel Negreanu, Bertrand `ElkY` Grospellier, Jason Mercier and Jonathan Duhamel are all still in, as is last season's winner Dan Smith.
Source: www.pokerstars.com
Former Nebraska Lawmaker Faces Ethics Complaint Over Gambling Scandal
LINCOLN, Neb. (Associated Press) — An ethics complaint has been filed against former Omaha state Sen. Brenda Council over her involvement in a gambling scandal.
The Lincoln Journal Star reports that the Nebraska Supreme Court's Counsel for Discipline filed the complaint accusing Council of professional misconduct.
Council pleaded guilty last year to two misdemeanor counts of filing false campaign finance reports. Prosecutors say the reports concealed her misuse of more than $63,000 in campaign donations at casinos. She was fined $500 and ordered to pay court costs.
Americas Cardroom Unleashes Another $10k Sit 'n Go Race for September
San Jose, Costa Rica –The summer might be winding down, but the tables seem to be getting hotter at Americas Cardroom—especially for Sit 'n Go players. The US-friendly online poker site today announced a $10k SnG Race featuring a $1,500 first place prize. The content runs from September 1st through 30th and awards the top 120 points earners with a combined $10,000 in cash.
Poker Pro Dan Bilzerian Sues ‘Lone Survivor’ Producers for Reduced Acting Role
Colorful poker pro Dan Bilzerian is suing producers of the upcoming film “Lone Survivor”, claiming he loaned the project $1 million in exchange for at least eight minutes of screen time and 80 words of dialogue. Instead, he got less than one minute and one line.
Producer Peter Berg is named in the suit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Neighbors on Edge as Mob Boss Vito Rizzuto Moves in Next Door
Meet your new neighbor, Mob boss Vito Rizzuto.
One of Canada's best known mobsters was released from a US jail last October after being sentenced to 10 years for various offenses including gambling, racketeering and murder.
He recently settled into the quaint Quebec city of Laval and that has neighbors on edge.
Purple Lounge Casino Parent Company Closes Two Years After Disney BJ Scandal
The parent company of now defunct Purple Lounge Casino and Poker Room, Mediacorp plc, has ceased trading on the London Alternative Investment Market (AIM).
Purple Lounge shut down in April of last year due to what Mediacorp termed “liquidity issues”.
But Mediacorp months earlier had been embroiled in a messy sex scandal involving one of its non-executive Directors, Chris Gorman.
Palazzo Hotel-Casino Wants to Put End to Bestiality, Simulated Sex in Nightclub
LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) — It turns out that even in Sin City, some sins are hard to overlook.
The Palazzo hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip is trying to evict a 10-month-old nightclub for shows it says are so raunchy that they violate obscenity laws. It says actors — some nearly naked — toss condoms into the crowd and simulate sex acts and bestiality on stage.
Investment Group Closing in on Atlantic City Casino
The Press of Atlantic City is reporting that an investment group is on the verge of purchasing a casino on the boardwalk but will not yet name the property.
From the Press of Atlantic City:
Police Investigate Website That Lists Gambling Deadbeats
(Reuters) - A bilingual website has been naming and shaming gamblers who allegedly fail to pay Macau casino debts.
The site, Wonderful World, claims it has already helped recover 50 million yuan (HK$63.35 million).
But the police are not sure about its legality and are now compiling an internal report.
The English version features a list of more than 70 people from across China who have allegedly failed to repay debts ranging from thousands to millions of yuan.
Blair Hinkle Wins Inaugural Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open: Record Broke
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - Blair Hinkle of Kansas City, Missouri, walked away as the $1.7 million champion of the inaugural Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open, held August 8 – 28, 2013 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
PFA Pledges Full Support for Gambling Chief Gordon Taylor
LONDON (Reuters) - England's Professional Footballers' Association pledged its full support for chief executive Gordon Taylor on Thursday following newspaper allegations that he ran up gambling debts of over 100,000 pounds.
The Sun said that Taylor, who has been in the role since 1981, had gambled four million pounds in 2000 bets over two-and-half years, and owed a now-defunct telephone betting firm just over 100,000 pounds.
Americas Cardroom Gets Rid of Bad Beat Jackpots: Replaces With Bigger Promo
Popular online poker site Americas Cardroom is putting an end to bad beats—or at least an end to its Bad Beat Jackpot promotion. Effective September 1st, Americas Cardroom is phasing out the online poker contest that paid players for losing a hand with a pair of eights or better.
Maryland Live! Opens New Poker Room to Full House
HANOVER, Md. (AP) - The 52-table poker room at Maryland's largest casino opened Wednesday.
Dealers began shuffling cards at Maryland Live! Casino in Hanover at noon. A grand opening ceremony was held at 11 a.m.
Some people got in line early, waiting over five hours to play their first hand.
Betting Scandal: Gordon Taylor ‘Looked Bewildered, Bruised and Broken’
The Daily Mail is calling it Chief Gordon Taylor’s worst day in his 41 years at the PFA.
The current chief has been caught up in a gambling scandal that could ultimately leave him crippled.
888 Plans Online Gambling Expansion Into California, Florida, New York
With online gambling already legalized in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware, 888 Holdings has its eyes on bigger fish, some of the most populous states in the US.
888 boss Brian Mattingley signaled moves into potential emerging online gambling markets like California, New York and Florida.
“There are now nine more states considering [legalising online poker]. California is beyond doubt the biggest prize, and between California, New York, New Jersey and Florida that’s 50pc of the potential market,” Mattingley said.
The Commerce Casino Unveils HPT Championship Belt
Commerce, CA - The champion of Heartland Poker Tour’s upcoming event at The Commerce Casino will take home more than fame and fortune on September 23rd. The winner of the nationally-televised Main Event in the world’s largest poker room will also score an ornate custom-made belt. Although similar belts are common in sports like pro wrestling, the belt is a first-of-its-kind for poker in the Unites States.
