Gambling News

Robert McGuigan: How Gambling Addiction Killed My Son (a Jenny Woo Exclusive)

Jenny Woo here switching things up a bit to bring you the other side of gambling. All of us who are successful in the gaming world have seen the great things that come with that success. However, what happens when the gambling takes a hold even when the success has run out or never took place. I had the chance to do an interview with Robert McGuigan, the father of Jason McGuigan, who’s life was taken too early all because of a bet.

Submitted by Jenny Woo on, Sep/04/2013

Online Bookmaker Paddy Power Sponsors Dennis Rodman 2nd North Korea Trip

Paddy Power, the UK’s third largest bookmaker, is sponsoring former NBA star Dennis Rodman’s trip to North Korea.  It is Rodman’s second trip to the “Hermit Kingdom” in so many months.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Sep/04/2013

No Contest Pleas From 2 Outlaws Motorcycle Club in Gambling, Extortion Case

A federal judge has accepted the no contest pleas from two Outlaws Motorcycle Club members charged with illegal gambling, extortion and wire fraud.  Both men will avoid a trial as a result of their pleas.

“By accepting this, she (Walton-Pratt) has saved the government probably about $400,000 for a seven-week trial,” said Monica Foster, a federal defender for the Indiana Federal Community Defenders Inc.

Submitted by Gilbert Horowitz on, Sep/04/2013

New Book 'The Quiet Don' Claims Pennsylvania Gambling Mob Ties

EASTON, Pa. (Associated Press) — A new book says Pennsylvania state police ran a top-secret investigation into whether then-Gov. Ed Rendell and his administration rigged the outcome of the casino licensing process to benefit favored applicants, including a politically connected businessman suspected of having mob ties.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Sep/03/2013

John McCain Caught Playing Online Poker On His iPhone During Syria Hearing

Arizona Republican Senator John McCain was caught playing online poker on his smartphone during a Senate Subcommittee hearing to discuss possible military intervention in Syria.

“I lost thousands of dollars, “ Senator John McCain said during an interview on CNN.

He then clarified it was actually “free money”, although it took a few seconds to elaborate further.

Submitted by C Costigan on, Sep/03/2013

LAPT Champ Tavitian Leads EPT 10 Barcelona at End of Day 2

LAPT Chile champion Pablo Tavitian is leading the €5,300 EPT Barcelona Main Event with 465,000 at the end of Day 2. There are 235 players remaining from the 697 who started at noon.

Submitted by C Costigan on, Sep/03/2013

Using ‘Big Data’ to Help People Bet Smarter this Soccer Season

With powerful new offering from Bet Smart Media, soccer bettors can now use statistics to look for historical trends that help predict upcoming match results

VICTORIA, Canada - Bet Smart Media is giving soccer bettors across Britain a new, must-have weapon for their arsenal this season.

Submitted by Press Release on, Sep/03/2013

PokerStars Unveils 2013 Asia Championship of Poker Schedule

MACAU, China -- "PokerStars LIVE Macau" has officially released its schedule for the Second Annual Asia Championship of Poker (ACOP), which takes place in Macau from Oct. 18-Nov. 3.

The ACOP is the flagship poker series for the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) and acts as the grand finale for APPT Season 7.

The 17-day schedule has 18 cash tournaments and more than HK$27 million (US$3.5 million) in guaranteed prize money.

Submitted by Press Release on, Sep/03/2013

Anti-Terrorism Police Question 60 in Connection to Online Gambling Ring

60 Cambodians were being held in connection with running an online gambling ring that authorities believe could have ties to terrorism, though no specifics were given.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Sep/03/2013

Out of Work Smoking Casino Chimp Undergoes Nicotine Rehab

A chimpanzee that once worked as a smoking mascot for a Moscow casino is now out of work and undergoing nicotine rehab.

John was the mascot of Space, one of Moscow’s biggest casinos.  He was let go in 2009 and, since that time, his owners have attempted to find John a new home.  Also they have placed him in rehabilitation for nicotine and alcohol addiction.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Sep/03/2013

Brazilian Football Legend Ronaldo in Barcelona For EPT Main Event

Brazilian football legend Ronaldo was in Barcelona today to take part in an invitational poker tournament as part of Spain’s biggest annual poker festival, the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT).

Submitted by Press Release on, Sep/02/2013

Fox 1 Sports to Focus on Betting the Races

Fox 1 Sports promises to be a different kind of sports network and this is already taking shape with news that FS1 will begin to incorporate sports betting into broadcasts.

Sportsbook.com-Derby-050212.jpg

More specifically, they will be emphasizing the wagering aspect during ten slated graded horse races beginning in 2014.

Submitted by Ean Lamb on, Sep/02/2013

Dragan Kostic Leads After Day 1a of EPT Barcelona Main Event 2013

Jovial Mallorcan Dragan Kostic, who was runner-up in Barcelona in Season 8, is chip leader at the end of Day 1a of the EPT Barcelona Main Event. Kostic, who was born in Serbia but has lived in Spain for the last 20 odd years, has 215,000.

Submitted by Press Release on, Sep/01/2013

PR Agency Exec Ronn Torossian: ‘Runner, Runner Won’t be Good for Industry’

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that “Runner, Runner” which will be in movie theatres worldwide in a month staring Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck won’t bring  good news for the off-shore gambling business.  The movie, which was produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, and written by Brian Koppelman and David Levien purports to show the insides of Costa Rica and the online gambling business.

Submitted by C Costigan on, Sep/01/2013

EPT10 Barcelona Super High Roller Climax: Vitaly Lunkin Beats Erik Seidel

It was a stunner on Sunday at the EPT10 Barcelona Super High Roller as Russian Vitaly Lunkin beat one of poker’s biggest money earners, Erik Seidel, heads-up to take the €771,300 win.

Submitted by Patrick Flanigan on, Sep/01/2013

EPT Player of the Year Award Will be Richest Ever

BARCELONA, Spain – The European Poker Tour has today announced that the EPT Season 10 Player of the Year Award will come with the biggest prize for a single player of any “Player of the Year” contest in the poker world.

The EPT will award €50,000 to the Player of the Year, which can be used to enter any main event operated by the Rational Group. This includes the European Poker Tour, the Latin American Poker Tour, the Asia Pacific Poker Tour, and a series of additional regional poker tours throughout the world.

Submitted by Press Release on, Sep/01/2013

Nevada Strip Gambling Drops 14 Percent in July

CARSON CITY, Nevada — Nevada gambling revenue dropped 8 percent in July, led by a 14.4 percent drop on the Las Vegas Strip that analysts Friday chalked up to a tough comparison to the same month the year before.

Casinos statewide won $925.7 million from gamblers in July, down from July 2012 when casinos surpassed the billion-dollar mark and posted a 17 percent increase. The "win" is what was left in casino coffers after gamblers wagered $11.5 billion. A breakdown shows $8.8 billion was plunked into slot and video machines, while $2.7 billion was bet on card and table games.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Aug/31/2013

Sandor Demjan Leads EPT Barcelona €50,000 Super High Roller Event 2013

Hungarian player Sandor Demjan leads the €50,000 Super High Roller at the end of Day 1.

Registration for the event is open until the start of Day 2, so final numbers are yet to be determined however there were 39 unique players today, with ten re-entries.

Team PokerStars Pros Daniel Negreanu, Bertrand `ElkY` Grospellier, Jason Mercier and Jonathan Duhamel are all still in, as is last season's winner Dan Smith.

Source: www.pokerstars.com

Submitted by Press Release on, Aug/30/2013

Former Nebraska Lawmaker Faces Ethics Complaint Over Gambling Scandal

LINCOLN, Neb. (Associated Press) — An ethics complaint has been filed against former Omaha state Sen. Brenda Council over her involvement in a gambling scandal.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that the Nebraska Supreme Court's Counsel for Discipline filed the complaint accusing Council of professional misconduct.

Council pleaded guilty last year to two misdemeanor counts of filing false campaign finance reports. Prosecutors say the reports concealed her misuse of more than $63,000 in campaign donations at casinos. She was fined $500 and ordered to pay court costs.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Aug/30/2013

Americas Cardroom Unleashes Another $10k Sit 'n Go Race for September

San Jose, Costa Rica –The summer might be winding down, but the tables seem to be getting hotter at Americas Cardroom—especially for Sit 'n Go players. The US-friendly online poker site today announced a $10k SnG Race featuring a $1,500 first place prize. The content runs from September 1st through 30th and awards the top 120 points earners with a combined $10,000 in cash.

Submitted by Press Release on, Aug/30/2013

Poker Pro Dan Bilzerian Sues ‘Lone Survivor’ Producers for Reduced Acting Role

Colorful poker pro Dan Bilzerian is suing producers of the upcoming film “Lone Survivor”, claiming he loaned the project $1 million in exchange for at least eight minutes of screen time and 80 words of dialogue.  Instead, he got less than one minute and one line.

Producer Peter Berg is named in the suit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. 

Submitted by Nagesh Rath on, Aug/29/2013

Neighbors on Edge as Mob Boss Vito Rizzuto Moves in Next Door

Meet your new neighbor, Mob boss Vito Rizzuto.

One of Canada's best known mobsters was released from a US jail last October after being sentenced to 10 years for various offenses including gambling, racketeering and murder.

He recently settled into the quaint Quebec city of Laval and that has neighbors on edge.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Aug/29/2013

Purple Lounge Casino Parent Company Closes Two Years After Disney BJ Scandal

The parent company of now defunct Purple Lounge Casino and Poker Room, Mediacorp plc, has ceased trading on the London Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

Purple Lounge shut down in April of last year due to what Mediacorp termed “liquidity issues”.

But Mediacorp months earlier had been embroiled in a messy sex scandal involving one of its non-executive Directors, Chris Gorman.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Aug/29/2013

Palazzo Hotel-Casino Wants to Put End to Bestiality, Simulated Sex in Nightclub

LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) — It turns out that even in Sin City, some sins are hard to overlook.

The Palazzo hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip is trying to evict a 10-month-old nightclub for shows it says are so raunchy that they violate obscenity laws. It says actors — some nearly naked — toss condoms into the crowd and simulate sex acts and bestiality on stage.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Aug/29/2013

Investment Group Closing in on Atlantic City Casino

The Press of Atlantic City is reporting that an investment group is on the verge of purchasing a casino on the boardwalk but will not yet name the property.

From the Press of Atlantic City:

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Aug/29/2013

Police Investigate Website That Lists Gambling Deadbeats

(Reuters) - A bilingual website has been naming and shaming gamblers who allegedly fail to pay Macau casino debts.

The site, Wonderful World, claims it has already helped recover 50 million yuan (HK$63.35 million).

But the police are not sure about its legality and are now compiling an internal report.

The English version features a list of more than 70 people from across China who have allegedly failed to repay debts ranging from thousands to millions of yuan.

Submitted by Reuters on, Aug/29/2013

Blair Hinkle Wins Inaugural Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open: Record Broke

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - Blair Hinkle of Kansas City, Missouri, walked away as the $1.7 million champion of the inaugural Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open, held August 8 – 28, 2013 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

Submitted by Press Release on, Aug/29/2013

PFA Pledges Full Support for Gambling Chief Gordon Taylor

LONDON (Reuters) - England's Professional Footballers' Association pledged its full support for chief executive Gordon Taylor on Thursday following newspaper allegations that he ran up gambling debts of over 100,000 pounds.

The Sun said that Taylor, who has been in the role since 1981, had gambled four million pounds in 2000 bets over two-and-half years, and owed a now-defunct telephone betting firm just over 100,000 pounds.

Submitted by Reuters on, Aug/29/2013

Americas Cardroom Gets Rid of Bad Beat Jackpots: Replaces With Bigger Promo

Popular online poker site Americas Cardroom is putting an end to bad beats—or at least an end to its Bad Beat Jackpot promotion. Effective September 1st, Americas Cardroom is phasing out the online poker contest that paid players for losing a hand with a pair of eights or better.

Submitted by Press Release on, Aug/29/2013

Maryland Live! Opens New Poker Room to Full House

HANOVER, Md. (AP) - The 52-table poker room at Maryland's largest casino opened Wednesday.

Dealers began shuffling cards at Maryland Live! Casino in Hanover at noon. A grand opening ceremony was held at 11 a.m.

Some people got in line early, waiting over five hours to play their first hand.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Aug/28/2013

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