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These are the top gambling news stories here at Gambling911.com for the overnight and early morning hours of Thursday June 6, 2013 . Follow us on Twitter here.
*One Man Sentenced, Another Pleads Guilty in Illegal Online Gambling Matter – Stanford bookmakers with ties to a Costa Rican based online gambling site appeared in a U.S. District court on Wednesday.
John Liquori, 43, was sentenced to 1 1/2 years prison time with three addition years of court ordered supervision for his role in conspiring to violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Stamford resident Dean DePreta, 45, pleaded guilty to the same charge.
18 others have been charged with helping to run the illegal sports betting operation that authorities claim has ties to the Gambino Crime Family. The website utilized, 44Wager.com, is no longer online.
FBI analysis have determined the total gross revenues of the gambling operation were nearly $1.7 million from October 2010 to June 2011.
DePreta is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 28 and could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
*James “Whitey” Bulger Trial Jury Selection Process Like No Other - BOSTON (Associated Press) — The selection of a jury for the long-awaited trial of reputed Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger may end up being most notable for how routine it appears despite the notoriety of the case and the outsized tales of the man at its center.
Jurors in the Bulger case won’t be sequestered, unlike some other high-profile organized crime trials. However, the seated jurors will be referred to by numbers, and their identities won’t be revealed until after the verdict is announced.
Perhaps the biggest challenge will be finding 18 people who can spend the next four months hearing testimony about a long list of allegations against Bulger, including charges that he played a role in killing 19 people.
Bulger, the former leader of the Winter Hill Gang, is now 83 years old.
Bulger was one of the nation’s most wanted fugitives for more than 16 years until he was captured in Santa Monica, Calif., in 2011.
As jury selection got under way yesterday, Judge Denise Casper told two pools of prospective jurors that despite Bulger’s notoriety, the approach to picking a jury remains the same.
“Both parties have a right to a jury that is fair and impartial,” Casper said.
She said people will not necessarily be excused from sitting on the jury simply because they have read or heard about Bulger. The “critical issue,” she said, is whether they can decide the case based only on evidence presented in court.
Bulger is accused in a broad racketeering indictment of a long list of crimes, including 19 killings, extortion and money-laundering. Authorities say he committed the crimes while he was an FBI informant, but Bulger’s lawyers deny that he was ever an informant.
Casper told the first two jury pools that she understands the trial — expected to last three to four months — will be a disruption to their daily lives and may even pose an “extreme hardship” for some people. But she said she will have to balance the needs of jurors with Bulger’s right to get a “cross-section of the community” to sit on the jury.
A total of about 450 prospective jurors were brought in yesterday and were asked to fill out lengthy questionnaires that will be used to screen out people with conflicts.
A third pool of 225 people will be brought in today.
Once the pool is winnowed down, potential jurors will be questioned individually, beginning Thursday.
The judge has said she hopes to complete the selection process Friday, with opening statements from prosecutors and defense attorneys expected June 10.
Twelve regular jurors and six alternates will be chosen.
Matthew Waxman Wins WSOP No Limit Hold’em Event 7 - After years of noteworthy results but no WSOP victories, Matthew Waxman can finally call himself a bracelet winner. The Florida poker pro defeated a large field in Event 7, a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event, to win over $300,000 and a shiny new piece of hardware.
1st: Matthew Waxman - $305,952
2nd: Eric Baldwin - $189,220
3rd: Jess Dioquino - $130,825
4th: Amit Makhija - $94,353
5th: Brent Hanks - $68,975
6th: Jacob Jung - $51,086
7th: Robert Dreyfuss - $38,340
8th: Tuu Ho - $29,147
9th: Jason Koon - $22,435
*Nick Wong Tops Isaac Haxton to Win 2013 GuangDong Ltd Asia Millions Warm-Up for $550K - The 2013 GuangDong Ltd Asia Millions kicked off Tuesday with a HK $250,000 (US $32,000) buy-in Warm-Up event at the PokerStars LIVE at the City of Dreams. The one-day tournament, which preceded the HK $1 Million (US $130,000) buy-in Asia Millions Main Event on June 5, attracted 45 players to create a HK $10,743,750 (US $1.39M) prize pool. The top five players made the money, with HK $4,298,000 (US $550,000) going to the winner.
Hong Kong businessman Nick Wong emerged as the champion. (source: www.pokernews.com )
- Payton O’Brien, Gambling911.com Senior Editor
