Crime
Are WSOP Main Event Winners Jinxed?
2010 Champ Duhamel Latest to Court Lady Luck Then Madam Misfortunate
Is the World Series of Poker Main Event jinxed?
Or more precisely, is the winner of that prestigious annual tournament jinxed?
Looks like.
Jonathan Duhamel, winner of the 2010 WSOP Main Event, this week became just the latest WSOP Main Event champ to be struck by a stroke of major bad luck not long after winning the title.
Jonathan Duhamel WSOP Bracelet Stolen in Home Invasion
Jonathan Duhamel, last year’s World Series of Poker Main Event winner, became the victim of a brutal home invasion Wednesday. Two masked men forced their way into his home in a suburb of Montreal, beating up Duhamel and getting away with his diamond encrusted WSOP bracelet.
World Series of Poker Champ Jonathan Duhamel Hospitalized After Brutal Home Invasion
The 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event winner, Jonathan Duhamel, was released from a hospital after being attacked during a home invasion Wednesday.
The crime occurred at his home outside Montreal in the Boucherville borough, which is known to have a relatively low crime rate.
Absolute Poker Founder Brent Buckley No Rat Says Website
The founder of an online poker website, Brent Buckley, plead guilty on Tuesday to violation of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and money laundering/bank fraud. As a result, he is expected to serve up to 18 months in prison. Based on past cases involving similar charges, it is doubtful Mr. Buckley will serve more than a year behind bars. Buckley was among those charged April 15 as part of a multiyear investigation into three online poker ventures including Mr.
Online Poker Founder Brent Beckley Pleads Guilty in U.S. Fraud Case
By Thom Weidlich - Dec 20, 2011 12:02 PM ET
(Bloomberg) - Brent Beckley, a founder of Absolute Poker of Costa Rica, pleaded guilty in a U.S. illegal-gambling case that seeks at least $3 billion in forfeitures and penalties.
Former Bermuda Premier’s Son, Celebrity Poker Tournament Organizer Sentenced
A physician and son of the former Premier of Bermuda was sentenced this week to serve up to 17 years in prison.
Berlin Poker Bandit Organizer Sentenced
After a long-lasting trial the organizer of the so-called poker robbery in Berlin has been convicted to six years and four months in jail for armed robbery and assault. Yesterday the district court in Berlin found the 30yo guilty of hiring the executing robbers by a relative, instructing them, driving the getaway car and splitting the loot. During the robbery on the poker tournament in a luxury hotel in March 2010 242.000€ had been captured.
Hellinger Online Gambling Trial On Hold
The trial for Magazine Publisher and online gambling payment processor Don Hellinger has been put on hold with a yet-to-be-determined new date. The trial was originally set to begin January 3, 2012.
Hellinger processed online gambling payments for a number of prominent i-Gaming ventures during the period 2005-2006 including now-defunct BetOnSports.com and Bodog.com, which has since become Bovada.lv.
Eastern PA Online Gambling Cold Case Gets Hotter as Trial Set for January 3
An online gambling payment processing case is reportedly set to go to trial on January 3, though a delay is possible.
The US Attorney’s Office in Eastern Pennsylvania case involves processing for companies during the years 2005 and 2006, including the now defunct BetOnSports.com. Companies that are still in existence today are also mentioned in the complaint, including Bodog.com, though they are not named as one of the defendants.
Antoine Walker Gets 5 Years Probation for Vegas Debt
LAS VEGAS — (Associated Press) - Former NBA star Antoine Walker was sentenced Tuesday to five years of probation and ordered to pay $770,050 in restitution to three Las Vegas casinos after pleading guilty to failing to repay gambling debts.
Walker and his lawyer declined to comment after his brief appearance before Clark County District Court Judge Valorie Vega.
Walker has repaid some of his Las Vegas casino debts since his arrest in July 2009 in Lake Tahoe, where he planned to play in a celebrity golf tournament.
Hells Angels Biker in Court Over Las Vegas Casino Shootout
By SCOTT SONNER
Associated Press
RENO, Nev. (AP) - A California member of the Hells Angels pleaded not guilty Thursday to second-degree murder for his role in the death of his chapter president in a September shootout in a Nevada casino.
Cesar Villagrana of Gilroy also pleaded not guilty to shooting and wounding two members of the rival Vagos motorcycle gang in the melee.
March Trial Likely in Connection With Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars “Black Friday” Case
(Associated Press) - NEW YORK — Two men charged in a case that shut down U.S. operations for three Internet poker companies are likely to go on trial in March, a judge told lawyers Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan listened to arguments that included the question of whether poker can be considered gambling before telling the attorneys for former bank executive John Campos and co-defendant Chad Elie that a March 12 trial was almost certain.
“I think it’s extraordinarily unlikely that the entire indictment will be dismissed,” Kaplan said.
Joran van der Sloot Sues Chilean Government Over Extradition to Peru
Joran van der Sloot, the Dutch man suspected in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in 2005, is suing the Chilean government for more than $13 million, alleging his human rights were violated. Chile extradited Van der Sloot to Peru where he is currently being held for the 2010 murder of Peruvian college student Stephany Flores.
Google, Facebook Ordered to Delist Over 700 Domain Names
In a move that has sent chills throughout many industries, including the online gambling sector, a federal judge out of Nevada has ordered the seizure of over 700 domain names related to counterfeit products in addition to demanding that Google, Facebook, Bing and Twitter delist the named websites.
“So are they (the US Government) going to seize eBay.com’s domain too since they sell ‘fake’ Chanel products,” asked one individual upon being informed of the seizures.
It could very well happen.
Toby Maguire, Gabe Kaplan, Others Settle High Stakes Hollywood Poker Games Lawsuit
Actor Toby Maguire and Gabe Kaplan have reportedly reached a settlement agreement in a highly publicized lawsuit involving high stakes Hollywood poker games.
President Obama Pardons Man Who Ran Illegal Gambling Operation
US President Barack Obama on Monday announced the pardons of five individuals, including one who was convicted of running an illegal gambling operation.
Thomas Paul Ledford of Jonesborough, Tenn was sentenced in 1995 to one year of probation for conducting and directing an illegal gambling business.
Other pardons were as follows:
CNN on Full Tilt Poker Shutdown: Did Poker Ponzi Steal My Rent? (Video)
With the Super Committee deficit-reduction failure drawing added viewers to CNN’s afternoon programming, the news network’s special look at how much money was lost by US poker players on Full Tilt Poker managed to garner additional attention, not to mention scaring off more potential poker players.
“A popular online gambling website shut down by the US Feds. Just how much money was lost by players?” a teaser asks.
While the shutdown occurred back in April, CNN continued to broadcast its segment throughout the afternoon hours.
Full Tilt Poker’s Chris Ferguson Responds to US Justice Dept Complaint
Full Tilt Poker stakeholder and professional player Chris Ferguson filed motions with the US Southern District of New York Court on Tuesday requesting to bring on board an out-of-state attorney, Ian J. Imrich.
Some of those motions filed lay claim to funds seized as part of a massive probe into Full Tilt Poker and two company executives, both of whom were indicted on April 15. Charges included money laundering and bank fraud.
Several Big Name Denver Businesses, Individuals Tied to Sports Betting Bust
Charlie Brown’s Bar and Grill maintained a $290,000 limit account there while Sports Column and Blake Street Tavern also placed their bets with what the Colorado Bureau of Investigation is calling the biggest bookmaking operation in the state.
Daniel Dinner and Michael Elick were arrested after investigators seized more than $1 million in cash from their homes in July. Now court documents have revealed some of their alleged big name clients.
US Justice Department Online Poker Case Confuses Willie Nelson With Kenny Rogers
Clown Robs Chilean Casino at Gunpoint
A man dressed as a clown robbed the Casino Monticello in the Chilean capital of Santiago at gunpoint Halloween night stealing $12,000 in cash.
Most of the money was snatched from a single patron. The clown entered through a side door, shooting his pistol several times into the air.
Police believe this was an “inside job’, detaining one of the casino security guards, Cristian Poblete.
The robbery occurred around 5 am.
Casino Monticello is the largest shareholder is the France-based International Group of Gaming & Resorts.
Bernie Madoff and Ken “The Shrink” Weitzner: Birds of a Feather
American TV show "60 Minutes" ran a segment on convicted ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff on Sunday, and revealed how he and his wife unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide after he was exposed as a con man and arrested.
The story had an eerie similarity to the tale of Ken "The Shrink" Weitzner, the sleazy Internet entrepreneur who created a pair of websites devoted to gambling and who took his own life last year.
Many of the details of both men's controversial lives are coincidentally alike.
Such as:
*Both men were middle-aged Jews from New York.
Professional Poker Player Who Killed Parents Profiled in Dateline NBC
As first broke by Gambling911.com, Dateline NBC produced a segment on professional poker player Ernie Scherer III who was sentenced for the double homicide of his parents, Ernest Scherer Jr., 60, and Charlene Abendroth, 57, in their Castlewood Country Club, California home. The showed aired this past Friday.
The couple was found brutally beaten and stabbed to death in their Pleasanton home in March 2008. Scherer III had attempted to make the crime scene appear as if it were a home invasion.
Cereus, Absolute Poker, UB.com Plan to Liquidate Assets to Pay Back Players
Blanca Games, the company that owns the Cereus Poker Network and its brands, Absolute Poker and UB.com, have submitted a plan to the US Justice Department that would result in the repayment of players. Part of that plan would include the liquidation of assets.
Poker Pro Al Krux Arrested for Criminal Drug Possession
68-year-old professional poker player Al Krux was arrested this week and charged with first-degree criminal possession of marijuana outside his Syracuse, New York home. His son Adam was also charged.
Krux’ lifetime earnings playing live poker are just over $1.3 million. He has made the World Series of Poker Main Event final table on three occasions. His biggest earnings came just at the start of the poker boom online when the WSOP prize pool increase resulted in a $600,000 cashout in 6th place.
Oklahoma Online Bookie Gets Four Years Behind Bars
An Oklahoma online bookmaker was sentenced to a four year prison sentence following a plea agreement that would require him to cooperate with prosecutors.
David Roy Tune, 62, pleaded guilty to 20 counts of violating anti-gambling laws and one count of conspiracy. Most of the wagers were placed online with a now defunct Costa Rica sportsbook.
It was revealed that Tune forwarded some of the money collected from losing bettors to a man in a man in Costa Rica beginning in 2008.
Sopranos Actor Arrested as Part of New York Sports Betting Sting
John Marinacci, 56, was one of the individuals caught up in a New York State sports betting sting alleged to have ties with the Gambino crime family. Marinacci appeared in two episodes of the popular HBO series “The Sopranos”. He has also appeared on another HBO series “Boardwalk Empire”.
Marinacci was charged this week with enterprise corruption for taking bets and collecting monies for "the Gambino Bookmaking Enterprise," court papers revealed.
The complaint alleges that the New York sports betting ring utilized an offshore wagering call center.
Bugging Devices and GPS Tracking Used in Illegal Sports Betting Investigation
37 individuals were arrested on Tuesday in New York and charged with running two illegal sports betting and loan-sharking operations. Those arrested include alleged members of the Gambino crime family.
The Class Action Lawsuits Against Full Tilt Poker Keep Coming
Yet another class action lawsuit has been filed against defunct online poker company Full Tilt Poker.
BetOnSports Founder Gary Kaplan Out of Prison
The founder of BetOnSports.com, Gary Kaplan, has completed his prison sentence in connection with running what was considered the biggest North American facing sports betting business of its kind during its heyday. Numerous sources have confirmed to Gambling911.com that Kaplan is out of jail, whereabouts unknown.
BetOnSports and nearly a dozen of its executives were indicted in July of 2006 just prior to the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in October of that same year. Charges included racketeering, money laundering and mail fraud.
