Gambling News
North Korea Leader Kim Jong Un Uncle Executed Over Gambling, Drug Usage
The uncle of North Korea leader Kim Jong Un has been executed after being charged with disloyalty to the regime.
Skrill to Stop Online Gambling Transactions in Canada
The popular payment processing firm Skrill has decided to halt transactions for online gambling activity for the foreseeable future.
The change is anticipated as of January 2 of this coming year (2014). Transactions from merchants will end effective January 31.
New Jersey Gambling Expansion on the Table
TRENTON, New Jersey — (Associated Press) - Some New Jersey lawmakers are busy preparing for the day they expect casino gambling to expand to the Meadowlands.
A state Assembly committee on Thursday is considering a bill that would create a commission to study expanding casino gambling to East Rutherford.
2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open and LA Poker Classic Schedules Released
Schedules for both the 2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open and the LA Poker Classic have been unveiled. These are two of the most prestigious poker tournaments on the circuit today.
The 23-event 2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open will take place at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, N.J. from Jan. 14-31 of next year.
Caesars Files Suit Against Massachusetts Gambling Panel Head
BOSTON — (Associated Press) - A lawsuit filed by Caesars Entertainment against the state's top gambling regulator alleges he failed to disclose a potential conflict of interest in a timely manner.
Caesars had been a partner of the Suffolk Downs horse track in a casino bid but withdrew after a background check by commission staff.
The federal lawsuit challenges the ''constitutionality, objectivity and fairness'' of Caesars' treatment by Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby.
Graphic Video of Shooting Outside Bally’s Nightclub Drai’s Released (Video)
Video surveillance of an October 21 shooting outside Drai’s After Hours club inside Bally’s Las Vegas casino was released to the public on Tuesday.
Benjamin Frazier, 41, is charged with one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of carrying a concealed firearm or other deadly weapon.
Frazier opened fired following a dispute over a $30 cover charge, according to a Metro Police arrest report.
Eureka Prague: Final Table Profiles
Seat 1: Jaroslav Peter, 50, Ostrava, Czech Republic - 3,995,000 Jaroslav Peter is one of two Czech players left in the field (out of 70 who started the event). The 50-year-old only plays live tournaments and earned the 'Czech Poker Tour Player of the Year Award' last year after he managed to win the leaderboard and also the season's finale. Jaroslav already has experience of running deep in a huge field after finishing fifth out of 1,416 players in August's FullTiltPoker.net Pardubice Poker Festival Main Event.
Somach World Exclusive: 80-Year Old to Open Online Poker Room in San Francisco
Tom Somach reports in this coming Sunday's San Francisco Examiner, December 15, 2013, about a new and supposedly legal U.S.-based online poker room set to debut in 2014.
FullFlushPoker.com Launches New Affiliate Program: Flush Affiliates
San Jose, Costa Rica – FullFlushPoker.com (“FFP”) is excited to announce the launch today of their new affiliate program, “Flush Affiliates”.
Breaking News: New Jersey Suspends Review of PokerStars
In a major blow to the world’s largest online poker firm, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement has suspended the review of PokerStars application for an online gambling license for two years.
Tribes Set to Begin Offering Online Gambling, Some to Target Most US States
Some of the 240 Indian tribes in the U.S. are eager for a piece of that market, writes Pamela M. Prah of PewStates.org
The tribal online gambling efforts might exceed those at the state level where only three states have so far legalized Web gambling: Nevada, New Jersey and tiny Delaware.
Prah notes:
Rep. Joe Barton: ‘God Wants Us to Have Right to Play Online Poker’
Texas Republican Congressman Joe Barton suggested during a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing Tuesday that God must want his online poker bill to pass as he safely made it from Texas to D.C. Tuesday morning, braving icy storms along the way.
Stephen Chidwick Leads Eureka Prague After Day 2
Stephen "stevie444" Chidwick is chip leader going in to Day 3 of the Eureka Prague Main Event with 43 players left. He has 1,479,000 followed by fellow Brit Mark Dalimore (1,379k). Chidwick, who first came to fame in 2008 when he won 100 seats to the WSOP online on PokerStars, is in Prague partly to collect his trophy at the awards ceremony on Wednesday night being held for WCOOP champions. He won the 320 dollar WCOOP Pot Limit Badugi tournament for $16,321.
HPT Wraps Up Record Year in Chicagoland: Ochana Wins $152k
Gary, Indiana – Heartland Poker Tour completed 2013 with their 20th stop of Season IX, making it a record year for the televised poker tour. The recent stop in Gary, Indiana also pushed HPT past the $50 million mark in prize money awarded to date. Over $152k of it went to the latest champ, Edward Ochana of Elgin, Illinois.
The Hill: Sheldon Adelson’s Futile War on Internet Gambling
TheHill.com released a compelling op-ed piece this week on Nevada gaming tycoon Sheldon Adelson’s attempt to quash legalized Internet gambling in the US, calling it “futile”. Michael Minton of TheHill.com writes:Congressional Subcommittee Looks at Internet Gambling at Federal Level
(Associated Press) - Organizations and advocates on all sides of the online gambling debate are cheering a Congressional hearing on the state of online gambling.
The hearing took place Tuesday before the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade.
In his testimony, American Gaming Association President Geoff Freeman praised the hearing as timely. He said the gambling lobby appreciated Congress' leadership.
The Gaming Association is pushing for a national regulatory structure for online gambling.
NJ Governor Chris Christie Going to Supreme Court Over Sports Betting
Fourth time is a charm perhaps as New Jersey’s attempts to legalize sports betting in the Garden State have failed three times already in federal courts.
Governor Chris Christie has cried foul against the National Basketball Association, National Football League and other professional sports association that filed suit against the state to prevent such wagering in Atlantic City casinos.
Former Portsmouth, Blackburn Players Arrested as Part of Match Fixing Probe
Second division team Blackburn Rovers confirmed Monday that striker D.J. Campbell had been taken into custody by police as part of an undercover investigation into claims that the players accepted bribes to ensure certain outcomes during a match -- known as spot-fixing -- for betting purposes, CNN reported.
In all, six players have been taken into custody as part of the ongoing investigation into match fixing attempts of a championship game.
Eureka Prague 2013 Hits 1,315 Runners
An incredible 949 players entered Day 1b of the €1,100 Eureka Prague Main Event today . With such a huge second flight, the total number of players climbed to 1,315 from 58 countries. It is by far the biggest Eureka event and, even more - the biggest Prague has ever seen.
Today's field included 12 EPT champions. Steve O'Dwyer, Kent Lundmark, Dimitar Danchev and PokerStars Team Online Mickey Petersen have joined the group of eight who were mentioned here.
MGM Approved to Operate Casino in Massachusetts
BOSTON — (Associated Press) - The investigative arm of the state gambling commission recommended on Monday that MGM Resorts be found suitable to proceed with a bid for a casino in downtown Springfield, provided company officials adequately explain to the five-member commission several concerns raised during a lengthy background check.
The Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement said its 10-month review did not find any factors that would disqualify MGM from doing business in Massachusetts.
Luckity Online Bingo is Off to the Races
North Korea Acknowledges Purging of Leader’s Uncle for Gambling, Drug Use
(Associated Press) - North Korea on Monday acknowledged the purge of leader Kim Jong-un’s influential uncle for alleged corruption, drug use, gambling and a long list of other “anti-state” acts, apparently ending the career of the country’s second most powerful official.
Eureka Prague 2013 – End of Day 1A Chip Counts
Tonight, no one will sleep better than Jean-Yves Mallat from the United Arab Emirates. He has bagged the most chips out of 113 players who made it through a hectic 10 levels of play in the Eureka Prague Main Event today. Mallat will start day 2 of the €1,100 event on Tuesday with 246,500 chips and is currently the only player who has managed to get over the 200K mark. A total of 366 players started today and hundreds more are expected for Day 1b, making it the biggest Eureka event ever held.
Eureka Prague Hits 366 for Day 1A
The EPT & Eureka Prague Poker Festival has kicked off with the first flight of the €1,100 Eureka Main Event. After four levels, registration closed with a final day 1a field of 366. The first Team PokerStars Pro to enter the tournament was Eugene Katchalov. The Ukranian started very well and early seized a spot to come close to the overall chip lead. We are already through 6 levels, which means the players are now on a 75-minute dinner break.
Johnny Manziel Celebrates 21st Birthday in Vegas
Texas A&M Aggies star quarterback Johnny Manziel celebrated his 21st birthday this weekend in style, frolicking around Las Vegas.
TMZ.com stumbled upon the College Football standout playing blackjack at the Hard Rock Casino.
From TMZ.com:
Sources in the casino tell us the guys played for roughly an hour -- from the looks of things, Johnny was doing his gambling with a short stack of the standard $5 red chips.
WagerWeb's Stephanie Wynters Nominated for Best Affiliate Manager Sports Betting
WagerWeb.com’s Stephanie Wynters has been around the online gambling industry from a while now and all her hard work is beginning to pay off. She just made the short list at the iGB Affiliate Awards 2014 so let's get her some votes!
While I like her partner-in-crime, Marty Davis, and miss rubbing his shaved head and other assorted body parts we won't discuss on this family website, Marty missed the cut this year. I do miss my little Shreky-poo.
‘Operation Gotham City’ Sports Betting Ring in South Florida Busted
Law enforcement authorities have busted a major illegal sports betting ring in South Florida dubbed “Operation Gotham City” following a year-long investigation.
12 people were charged Friday (December 6, 2013) in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Five of the twelve remained at large as of late Friday evening.
Adam Green, 52, has been identified as the ring leader of the sports betting operative.
Taxman Catches Up With British Bookmakers
LONDON - (Reuters) - Bookmakers are preparing for a tax avoidance crackdown on online gambling in Britain that will cost the industry 300 million pounds ($490 million) a year, putting a brake on the fastest growing part of their businesses.
Many bookmakers have set up internet operations in territories such as Gibraltar, allowing them to sign up British gamblers while benefiting from benign local tax regimes.
Massachusetts Gambling Chief Steps Aside on Everett Ruling
BOSTON — (Associated Press) - The head of the Massachusetts gambling commission said he was withdrawing from a crucial review of the land deal for a proposed casino in Everett because one of the site's owners was a longtime friend and former business partner.
Stephen Crosby said he has known Paul Lohnes, co-owner of the 29-acre site, since they were in the National Guard in the 1970s and that they were business partners from 1983 to 1990.
Computer Hacker Steals Fantasy Game Items From RuneScape Customers
A computer hacker is accused of stealing virtual property from online fantasy gamers as a means of paying off real debt he had incurred.
Steven Burrell, 21, spent 16 months hacking into player profiles on the fantasy site RuneScape.com. Some 200 million players use the RuneScape website.
Because the items in question existed in a “medieval fantasy world”, Burrell has not been charged with theft. Instead, the 21-year-old has been charged with hacking.
