Gambling News
Federal Judge to Decide Fate of Poker Pro Paul Phua in FBI Ruse Case
LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) -- A federal judge in Las Vegas could decide the fate of an illegal gambling case against a wealthy Malaysian businessman who says the FBI violated his rights by posing as Internet repairmen to get into his hotel room during the FIFA World Cup last summer.
Defense attorneys for Wei Seng "Paul" Phua want U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon on Monday to accept a magistrate judge's recommendation to throw out evidence obtained by deceiving a judge who issued a search warrant.
2015 EPT Malta Main Event Enters Into Its Second Day With More Than 400 Players
Cards are in the air for the second start day of the €5,300 EPT Malta Main Event. There are already 420 players in seats for Day 1b, including Team PokerStars Pros Vanessa Selbst, Leo Margets, Jake Cody and Eugene Katchalov as well as their Team PokerStars Pro Online colleagues Marc-Andre Ladouceur and Ike Haxton. The latter is playing on home soil as the American-born PCA runner-up lives just a few minutes away from Portomaso Casino.
Optimal Payment Solutions to Acquire Skrill for £800m
AIM-listed Optimal Payment Solutions has announced it is set to acquire Skrill (formerly Moneybookers) for a cool £800m, which translates into $1 billion US and some change.
Skrill is the leading alternative payment solutions company in the online gambling space. Both companies produced earnings of $90m last year. Optimal was slated to have an enterprise value of well over £1bn. They are also seeking a move to the LSE's FTSE-250 Midcap Index.
Jaroslaw Sikora Leads IPT Malta Main Event Final Table
The record-breaking €1,100 IPT Malta Main Event is down to a final table with an EPT champion and several online pros among those fighting for the title, trophy and €221,000 first prize. Jaroslaw Sikora, a 27-year-old poker pro from Krakow, Poland, is leading with 7,600,000. He was originally supposed to be in Thailand right now but - unable to get a visa in time - he had to cancel that holiday and decided to visit a friend in Malta instead. He certainly has no regrets now as he has a big lead over his opponents.
Flaviano Cammisuli Leads Last 43 Players into IPT Malta Day 4
Italian player Flaviano Cammisuli bagged a promising 2,362,000 chip stack tonight to seize a massive chip lead as the IPT Malta Main Event heads in to Day 4. Cammisuli, who lives here in Malta and works in a sandwich shop and gelateria in nearby Sliema, is way ahead of his followers, but has some tough company just behind him.
Hugo Lemaire Leads at IPT Malta Main Event 2015
Hugo Lemaire took over the chip lead after another six levels of the IPT Malta Main Event.
The Frenchman bagged 689,500 chips at the end of day 2. Lemaire is a well known regular playing both live and online. He has already won over $1.5 million in live tournaments. JC Alvarado (579,000) and the Eureka 4 Prague champion Balazs Botond (559,000) are also amongst chip leaders.
Vegas Bettor Wins Big on UAB and Georgia State Money Lines
An unidentified bettor at Las Vegas' SLS casino picked both Georgia State and UAB on the money line, ESPN.com is reporting.
On Wednesday night, the bettor plopped down $300 on UAB to win straight-up at plus-900 odds and $425 on Georgia State at plus-375.
Combined, the tickets paid close to $4,600.
Gamblers in Unshuffled Cards Case: Let Us Keep the Money
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (Associated Press) — Gamblers who have been ordered to return $1.5 million they won at an Atlantic City casino that unknowingly used unshuffled cards asked a judge on Friday to let them keep the money.
The 14 gamblers say they won the money through no fault of their own playing mini-baccarat at the Golden Nugget in April 2012. They say that if the ruling stands, it would send a chilling message to the gambling public that no jackpot is ever safe.
Dzmitry Urbanovich Wins EPT Malta €25K High Roller for €572,300
Dzmitry Urbanovich has never cashed in for a 6-figure result before arriving at the EPT Malta Poker Festival.
Easy Bet Owner Will Likely Pull Through Following Brazen Assassination Attempt
The California-born owner of a Pay Per Head business in Costa Rica identified only as Jason F. is expected to pull through according to sources close to Gambling911.com.
The individual was shot four times as he left an Escazu bakery near the La Paco shopping center Wednesday morning and attempted to get into his red Range Rover (pictured). Two men pulled up on motorcycles and fired the shots. Authorities are still investigating.
Japan’s Tax Agency, Hong Kong Join FBI in Scrutinizing Universal Casino Payments
(Reuters) - Japan’s tax authorities have begun a review of how slot machine maker and casino developer Universal Entertainment accounted for $40 million in payments made in 2010 to an associate of the Philippines’ top gambling regulator at that time, sources told Reuters.
Separately, the payments are also a focus of a previously undisclosed criminal investigation by Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption, sources said. The ICAC has become involved because the transfers under review passed through bank accounts based in Hong Kong, those people said.
Connor Drinan Leads for 2015 Final of EPT Malta €25K High Roller
APPT Macau Super High Roller finalist Connor Drinan is chip leader for the final table of the EPT Malta €25k High Roller.
Pay Per Head Owner Identified as Man Shot by Motorcycle Gunmen in Costa Rica
An individual identified only as “Noah” has been shot and is in critical condition. Gambling911.com can report “Noah” operated a Pay Per Head business out of San Jose, Costa Rica. The individual’s real name is believed to be "Jason" based on sources close to G911 and he also had some involvement in real estate. His real last name is being withheld for security reasons.
HPT Poker Teams Up With DoubleDown Casino
Fargo, ND - Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) announced a sponsorship agreement with DoubleDown Casino. Reaching more than 4.5 million users each month, DoubleDown is recognized as one of the world's largest free-to-play social casinos.
Khoroshenin Leads EPT Malta Special €25k High Roller at End of Day 1
EPT Vienna champion Oleksii Khoroshenin is leading the 43 players remaining at the end of Day 1 of the special €25k High Roller at EPT Malta.
Doyle Brunson Asks: ‘Is it True Bruce Jenner Donated His Stones to Obama?
Poker legend Doyle Brunson has not backed off his criticism over former U.S. Olympian Bruce Jenner’s conversion from a man into a woman.
Berardino Palmieri Leads After Day 1a of IPT Malta Main Event
Italian player Berardino Palmieri is leading at the end of Day 1a of the €1,100 IPT Malta Main Event with 340,800. There are 151 players remaining from the 378 who entered and among the other big stacks going in to Day 2 on Friday are Eureka Prague champion Balazs Botond, German pro Kilian Kramer, Israeli chess grandmaster Gaby Livshitz and EPT Prague finalist Ka Kwan Lau. Also still in contention are EPT Campione winner Jannick Wrang, EPT London champ David Vamplew, Hungarian pro Richard Toth, Canada’s Yann Dion and EPT Prague winner Arnaud Mattern.
Democratic Governors Association Goes On Offensive Over RAWA: Submit Letter
A letter written by the leadership of the Democratic Governors Association urged House and Senate leadership to oppose legislation pushed by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson that would effectively ban online gambling throughout the U.S.
Las Vegas Sands Gets Downgraded as Macau Fears Grow
Credit Agricole on Wednesday morning downgraded Las Vegas Sands Corp. from a buy rating to an outperform rating. Many analysts having growing fears over casino companies with exposure in the Chinese gambling hub of Macau following a recent crackdown by that country’s government.
The firm has also downgraded shares of Wynn Resorts, Limited, another company with operations in Macau, from a buy rating to an outperform rating.
In the midst of the crackdown, gaming revenue is forecast to decline.
Freeroll Meets Rebuy Tournament With Americas Cardroom's $25,000 Freebuy
San Jose, Costa Rica – Americas Cardroom US-facing online poker site this week announced a special Freebuy Tournament to be held this Sunday, March 22nd. The tournament comes with a $25,000 guarantee and costs nothing to enter.
WBX Betting Exchange Shuttered: Regulatory Climate Spelled Doom
Online betting exchange WBX has unceremoniously closed its doors for good though the company insists players are able to withdrawal their funds in full and that any future wagers will be decided “in the normal way”.
Lawyers for Sports Betting Consultant to the Stars Put Together Insanity Defense
A Florida sports tout charged with trying to extort $25 million from a Wisconsin businessman is claiming he was only trying to help law enforcement.
Lawyers for Adam Meyer, 43 from Fort Lauderdale, are also said to be putting together an insanity defense according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The victim, initially identified only as “Victim A” in court documents, has since been revealed as liquor store owner Gary Sadoff.
Dire Warning Issued By Connecticut Tribes: 18000 Casino Jobs Could Be Lost
HARTFORD — (Associated Press) - The leaders of Connecticut's two federally recognized Indian tribes made a united pitch Tuesday to open at least one, jointly-owned casino, warning lawmakers the state could lose 18,000 jobs once a casino in neighboring Springfield, Massachusetts opens in 2½ years.
That figure includes both jobs at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino, as well as hundreds of vendors and other affected businesses across the state.
Satisfy Your March Madness Fantasy Fix With a Twist of TradeSports
While most daily fantasy sports websites are shunning March Madness the way Major League Baseball shuns Pete Rose, one fantasy site sees the NCAA's annual, 68-team, basketball free-for-all as too good an opportunity to ignore.
Tradesports (www.tradesports.com) will be offering contests for the tournament, but with a twist.
You don't put your money on players, you put it on props (short for propositions).
Pamela Anderson: Rick Solomon Made $40 Mil Last Year Playing Poker vs. One Guy
“Baywatch” babe Pam Anderson is claiming her ex Rick Solomon beat one man out of $40 million last year playing poker and now she wants half of that money as part of a California divorce.
PokerStars Signs Japanese Celebrity Yuiko Matsukawa as Brand Ambassador
ONCHAN, Isle of Man –The world’s largest poker site PokerStars.net, an Amaya Inc. (TSX: AYA) brand, today announced the sponsorship of Japanese model Yuiko Matsukawa. Matsukawa will join a roster of PokerStars-sponsored celebrities including Spanish tennis superstar Rafael Nadal, Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldo, and number one poker professional Daniel Negreanu.
Roundup of 65 in Atlanta-Area NCAA Basketball Tournament Betting Ring
WSB-TV Atlanta was reporting late Monday that Alpharetta police were booking about 65 people into jail in connection with an illegal gambling operation.
Police said they moved in on Pepperoni's Tavern on Old Milton Parkway at about 9 p.m. Monday.
Law enforcement claim the investigation is tied to a major NCAA College Basketball tournament betting ring.
Pete Rose Submits Application to be Reinstated Into Baseball: Punished for Betting
Arguably one of the greatest Major League Baseball players of all time, Pete Rose, was banned from the sport back in 1989. His crime: Betting on the Cincinnati Reds while managing the team.
Rose has tried and failed to be reinstated into Major League Baseball in September 1997 and November 2002 with Commissioner Bud Selig never ruling on the application.
One Last Time: NJ Heads to Court Over Sports Betting Legalization
NEWARK, N.J. — (Associated Press) - The 2 1/2-year legal battle over sports gambling in New Jersey is moving back to court.
Lawyers representing the state will argue before the 3rd U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Philadelphia on Tuesday. They'll be opposed by attorneys representing the NCAA and the four major pro sports leagues.
The leagues sued the state in 2012 to stop New Jersey from going ahead with a law allowing sports gambling. Currently only Nevada allows betting on individual games at betting locations known as sports books.
More Than $10 Million Awarded in PokerStars Sunday Million 9th Anniversary Event
ONCHAN, Isle of Man – ‘BRAYDEN93’, an American player who now lives in Mexico, was this morning crowned winner of the Sunday Million 9th Anniversary tournament, winning nearly $600k at PokerStars, an Amaya Inc. (TSX: AYA) company.
