Other poker news goes here.
Lax in social responsibility measures The United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) has fined 888 UK Limited £9.4 million for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failings. The company operates 78 online gambling sites, including 888.com and 888poker. “Today’s fine is one of our largest to date, and all should be clear that if there is a… Read more »
Visitors to the MGM National Harbor casino in Maryland experienced frightening moments Saturday night when a series of bangs rang out from near the entrance. People scattered, rushing for the exits, believing there was an active shooter situation. Fortunately, the noise turned out to be fireworks and may be linked to the theft of casino… Read more »
Just give us all the information Note to card room managers: make sure you are upfront and explicit about all rules, fee structures, payouts, etc. when running a poker tournament. There is absolutely no reason not to and you can avoid situations like what happened over the weekend at Watauga Social Lounge in Watauga, Texas.… Read more »
Wynn Resorts has agreed to sell its Encore Boston Harbor casino to Reality Income, a real estate investment trust (REIT) for $1.70 billion cash. The sale is of the land and real estate assets only; Wynn will continue to operate the property, so customers should not see any changes to their experience. The continued operation… Read more »
Record-breaking weekend The Super Bowl is now in the rear view mirror, with anyone who isn’t specifically a Los Angeles Rams or Cincinnati Bengals fan probably only remembering the halftime show for either being pretty cool or, in a bizarro universe, scandalous. Not that it wasn’t a good game – L.A.’s last-minute go-ahead touchdown and… Read more »
Technical glitch caused reporting failure Where I live, I don’t need a true winter coat all that often, so my heavy, warm jacket tends to gather dust in the closet. One day, several years ago, I broke it out and to my great surprise, I found a $20 bill in an interior pocket. Found money… Read more »
62 fewer tables than pre-pandemic Encore Boston Harbor, one of just two resort-style casinos in Massachusetts, finally reopened its poker room on Monday, January 31. It was a long wait for eager poker players, as the state’s casinos closed – along with most casinos around the U.S. – in March 2020 at the outset of… Read more »
Now try predicting the weather The Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams had the best weekend ever, winning their respective NFL conference championships to move on to the Super Bowl. The stories were different for each: the Rams were one of the preseason favorites who made big moves in-season to boost their chances to hoist… Read more »
After skipping last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Global Poker Awards are back. This year, the winners will be announced during a ceremony on Friday, February 18, at Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, streamed live by PokerGO. On Tuesday, the Global Poker Index and The Hendon Mob, which produce the Global… Read more »
Workers shocked at accusations of fraud The first half of 2020 was a massive struggle for casino employees around the United States and the world, as casinos shutdown as the COVID-19 pandemic grew to critical levels. And now, just as many are finally getting back on their financial feet, casino workers in Mississippi are hearing… Read more »
Peer into the future When we fantasize about having poker superpowers, one that is usually at the top of people’s lists is the ability to see what cards are coming next. This power could be extremely useful in other forms of casino gambling, as well, and guess what? It exists in some cases. There are… Read more »
There were some happy sports betting operators this past weekend, as New York online sports betting finally launched. One of the most coveted markets in the country, New York is the fourth-most populous state with an estimate 19.5 million residents, plus loads who commute to the state for work every day. It ranks behind only… Read more »
Poker room owned by poker players Texas, of all places, is in the news once again for its poker rooms (though I suppose it’s weird that the state hasn’t made the poker headlines more, considering the most popular poker variant is name after it). This time, it is unretired poker pro Doug Polk who announced… Read more »
Almost the upset of the season As the American football season winds down, so, too does the most wonderful time of the year for sportsbooks. I always enjoy hearing about the interesting bookmaker situations and games for a given weekend, and since it’s still a little slow on the news front after the holidays, I… Read more »
Omicron variant running rampant The Nevada Gaming Control Board issued a notice to its licensees emphasizing that they must comply with Governor Steve Sisolak’s Emergency Directive 045 regarding mask wearing. The Directive, originally issued in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began to take hold in the United States, essentially says that the state will… Read more »
Staying power I have a very specific fond memory of the Flamingo Las Vegas. It was probably 2005, the first year I covered the World Series of Poker live at the Rio. My brother came to visit and, having seen all he was going to see at the WSOP, decided to enter a small daily… Read more »
Under new management In early December, Johnny Chan’s 888 Social, a poker room or “social club” in Houston, closed without warning, leaving many customers with money locked up inside. Fortunately for those players, it looks like all may be well, as the club has a new owner, Sanjeev Vora, who is ready to reopen under… Read more »
Bettors spotted a rare stat-keeping mistake in a college basketball game this past weekend that persisted through to the final score. After the score was corrected, some sportsbooks decided to pay out wagers on both sides. It was a game that not a whole lot of people paid attention to besides alumni of the schools… Read more »
The landscape – and skyline – of Las Vegas will soon change, as MGM Resorts International has agreed to sell the operations of The Mirage Hotel & Casino to Hard Rock International for $1.075 billion in cash. VICI Properties, Inc. owns the property and will lease it to Hard Rock; terms of that agreement were… Read more »
Possible trouble with the purchase of GNOG DraftKings is just finding itself in all sorts of legal messes lately. A law firm has announced an investigation into the sports betting company’s acquisition of Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG) for potential violations of securities law and a British bookmaker has sued DraftKings for patent infringement. Let’s… Read more »
Cash on delivery would have been wise A man running a car sales scam laundered his ill-gotten gains through a casino, so says an FBI affidavit filed in U.S. District Court. 36-year-old Ismail Shalash, a citizen of both Jordan and Palestine, is now on the lam in Morocco. Shalash’s scheme began with a “business” he… Read more »
Does everyone really love an underdog? The betting gods giveth and the betting gods taketh away. After an ultra successful October, NFL sports bettors got destroyed in November, leading to what Superbook executive director John Murray told ESPN was “one of our best hold months in Nevada on record.” Jeff Stoneback, who heads BetMGM’s Nevada… Read more »
A major question mark hangs over the sports betting industry in Florida after a federal judge ruled on Monday that the state’s compact with the Seminole Tribe violates federal law. As a result, all sports betting in the state will likely have to come to a halt. That has not stopped the Seminole Tribe yet,… Read more »
Huge haul in a short time span In a variation of an old casino scam, a gang of four men defrauded UK betting shops out of more than £600,000 this summer. All four men have since been caught and handed varying prison sentences. I’m the kind of person who actually kind of appreciates a good… Read more »
Try to hit it big The highly-anticipated 2021 DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship took place this weekend and it did not go well. In fact, “took place” is being generous. Technical issues caused significant problems, tilting the playing field, and eventually resulted in the competition having to end early. After problems marred the 2019 edition… Read more »
