Cop Shoots Man Dead at Casino, Notorious Poker Player Archie Karas Remembered

• Cop shoots man dead at Indiana casino.

• Missouri sports betting opponents canceling ads.

• Notorious poker player banned from Vegas casinos remembered two weeks after death.

• NJ online gambling revenue sets new record.

Gambling News

Man Shot and Killed at Indiana Casino

LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. — A man was shot and killed by police at the Hollywood Casino Hotel in Lawrenceburg early Saturday morning.

The Lawrenceburg Police Department responded to the scene for reports of a man chasing a female and making threats. When they arrived, they were told shots had been fired.

When officers exited an elevator, they say they encountered an armed man. When asked, Lawrenceburg police would not disclose what kind of weapon the suspect was armed with.

Police say shots were fired and the suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. No officers were injured, police added.

Indiana State Police are handling the investigation.

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Sports Betting

Missouri Sports Betting Opponents Canceled More Than $1M in TV Ads

The Missouri campaign opposing a sports betting constitutional amendment on the November ballot canceled more than $1 million in television ads Thursday. This news came just as the group supporting the proposal launched new ads featuring former St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith.

As reported by Gambling911.com this past week, Caesars is one of the leading opponents of these efforts.  Caesars is the only casino of six licensed in the Show Me State opposed to the measure.

PlayUSA points to a filing with the Missouri Ethics Commission whereby Caesars entities funded the Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment campaign with $4 million.

So what's the rationale?

A Caesars representative declined to explain the company’s initiative opposition at this time. However, sources indicate Caesars is concerned about potentially being limited to one mobile app in the state and the precedent it would set for possible future Missouri online casino legalization.

Six casino companies operate 13 casinos in Missouri. Other Missouri casinos that supported the legislative efforts haven’t joined the opposition but also aren’t part of the coalition supporting the initiative.

The legislation supported by Caesars permitted each casino to have three skins, with a maximum of six per casino company.

Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment aired or reserved almost $4 million worth of television ads opposing Amendment 2 prior to Thursday's cancelation, Sports Casting noted.

The ads are being pulled so the campaign can shift to more direct contacts, according to Brooke Foster, a spokeswoman for Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment.

“While the out-of-state online gambling corporations continue to throw millions of dollars at misleading TV ads, we have decided to focus our efforts on grassroots outreach and community conversations during the two and a weeks that remain before Election Day,” Foster said in an email to the Missouri Independent.

Poker News

Notorious Late Poker Player Archie Karas Remembered By Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal on Saturday fondly profiled a notorious Greek gambler, Archie Karas.  Karas passed away two weeks ago at the age of 73.

It's interesting to note that his death mostly went unnoticed until various publications in the industry began picking up the story in recent days.

From Wikipedia:

Anargyros Nicholas Karabourniotis, commonly known as Archie Karas, was a Greek-American gambler, high roller, poker player, and pool shark famous for the largest and longest documented winning streak in casino gambling history, simply known as The Run, when he drove to Las Vegas with $50 in December 1992 and then turned a $10,000 loan into more than $40 million by the beginning of 1995, only to lose it all later that year. Karas himself claimed to have gambled with more money in casinos than anyone else in history and has often been compared to Nick the Greek, another high-stakes gambler of Greek origin.

Karas claims to have gone from being broke to a millionaire and back several times. Later, he became an astute poker player, building his bankroll to over $2,000,000. Professional poker players such as Chip Reese and Doyle Brunson, had played and considered Karas a weaker poker player, often giving Karas handicaps to play. In December 1992, Karas had lost all but $50 playing high-stakes poker. Instead of reevaluating his situation and slowing down, he decided to go to Las Vegas in search of bigger games. The next three years would go down in legend as the greatest run in casino gambling history.

PokerNews.com was among the first to report on his passing on September 29.

Karas had a few other small heaters of a few million later in life, always giving it all back to the casino. He was sentenced to probation and a fine in 2014 after getting caught cheating at the blackjack table in a San Diego casino.

The Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC), one year later, made Karas the 33rd addition to Nevada casino's "Black Book," which effectively banned the legendary gambler from all gambling establishments in the state.

Karas, known more as a cash game player, cashed in six World Series of Poker events, including four final table appearances, all of which occurred this century. His most recent WSOP score took place in 2013, a 26th-place finish for $4,759 in the $2,500 Razz event.

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Gambling News

New Jersey Internet Gambling Revenue Set New Record in Sept. at $208 Million

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey’s red-hot internet gambling market set another record in September with Atlantic City’s casinos and their technical and online partners winning over $208 million.

Figures released Thursday by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement show the casinos and their partners exceeded $200 million in monthly internet gambling winnings for the first time, demonstrating how important online gambling is becoming here as the winnings of many physical casinos fade.

While the casinos collectively exceeded their Sept. 2019 in-person revenue total by $6 million last month, five of the nine casinos won less in-person money this September than they did five years ago.

The boost from internet gambling, along with a smaller one from sports betting, pushed total revenue for the casinos, two racetracks that take sports bets and their partners to $558 million last month. That was an increase of 7.1% compared with September 2023.