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Three individuals who plead guilty to federal charges in a US online gambling case against BetonSports.com, once promoted a Miami Snoop Dogg poker charity never could quite get off the ground....or - in this case - out to sea.
William Hernan Lenis, his son, Will Lenis, and nephew Manny Lenis entered the pleas Wednesday in St. Louis. All three are from Miami. They are charged with operating a so-called "bookie mobile" that traveled across the US and allegedly took bets from FBI agents posing as punters.
And while the three have become synonymous with BetonSports, 2005 may have served as a bad omen for things to come following a disastrous attempt to host the Snoop Dogg poker charity.
That event - which initially was to take place at the mansion of deceased fashion designer Gianni Versace - boasted famous rappers and poker pros duking it out for a $2 million jackpot.
"Snoop's Uncle Reo will be serving up his famous barbecue on the top deck," it was also proclaimed at the time.
Then along came Hurricane Wilma, the very day the Snoop Dogg poker charity event was to kick off.
Wilma devastated Miami Beach with blown out windows, overturned cars, days without power and....well....no Snoop!
The event was postponed to a later date, this time promising a Snoop Dogg celebrity poker cruise.
Apparently the promoters failed to obtain the proper license and the poker charity ultimately was scrapped entirely.
Snoop Dogg, whose friends include Gambling911.com's own Anna Casada, had previously taken part in arguably the online gambling industry's "greatest celebrity event" - Bodog Salutes the Troops - which helped raise awareness and funds for Fisher House Foundation in Hawaii. That event was covered extensively by Gambling911.com.
The weekend kicked off with an inter-service poker tournament overseen by world famous poker tournament director Matt Savage with military finalists playing alongside celebrities, professional poker players and Bodog players at Camp Bodog at the exclusive Kahala Mandarin Oriental resort.
As for the Lenises, they are the first of the defendants in the BetonSports case to enter Guilty pleas. The company's founder, Gary Kaplan, and its former CEO, David Carruthers, are presently being held outside of St. Louis awaiting trial. Kaplan in particular has hired some high powered attorneys to represent him. A sister and brother of Kaplan were also charged.
The U.S. Attorney's office in St. Louis in 2006 accused BetOnSports, its executives and others of illegally accepting bets online. Later that year, the government settled civil charges against BetOnSports that permanently barred the company from accepting any bets from gamblers in the U.S.
The company itself pleaded guilty last year.
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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
