Paying a premium Well that was fast. Just two days after Caesars Entertainment confirmed that it was in “advanced talks” to acquire London-based bookmaker William Hill, the deal got done. On Wednesday, the companies announced that Caesars has purchased William Hill for £2.9 billion ($3.7 billion). Caesars paid 272p ($3.52) per William Hill share, a… Read more »
Over the last several years, online poker rooms have continued to move toward catering as much as possible to recreational poker players, the kinds of players who play primarily for fun. Oftentimes, “recreational” or “casual” is used as an insult, but there is no need for it to be. Just as there are some players… Read more »
“Safe and fair experience” The effort to curb predatory behavior in online poker continues, this time with the implementation of cash game Active Waiting Lists at PokerStars. It is essentially what it sounds like: a cash game waiting list which requires you to be actively playing to stay on it. In announcing the new feature,… Read more »
Following a statement last week from William Hill, Caesars Entertainment confirmed on Monday that it is “advanced” talks to acquire the UK-based sports betting leader. The offer on the table right is for Caesars to pay 272p ($3.50) per William Hill share, making the total value of the potential takeover £2.9 billion ($3.7 billion). The… Read more »
Four-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and former WSOP Player of the Year Shaun Deeb has admitted to his Twitter audience that he has contracted the COVID-19 virus. While playing the 2020 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) from Mexico, Deeb contracted the virus and was so severely affected that he had to be… Read more »
The rollercoaster that became known as ‘PostleGate’ started off with a band but ended with a whimper. After seeing the courts (justifiably) rule that they could not hold either disgraced poker player Mike Postle, disgraced floor manager Justin Kuraitis nor Kuraitis’ employer, Stones Gambling Hall, responsible for the travesty that became Stones Live, 62 of… Read more »
On Wednesday, the World Poker Tour announced the creation of WPT Online India Powered by Adda52.com. The tournament series will run November 5-22 and will feature 154 events and INR 135 million ($1.838 million) in guaranteed prize pools. The Main Event will begin on November 11 and will give players ample opportunity to participate with… Read more »
Just had to wait it out After nearly a decade, it appears that online poker’s Black Friday ordeal is finally over. On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg to time served and a $30,100 fine for a single charge of operating an illegal gambling business. My friend Earl Burton… Read more »
The Fremont Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas is in hot water with state regulators for a November 2019 incident in which security held a woman in custody for something it turned out she didn’t do. The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) saw enough evidence of wrongdoing to file a four-count complaint against Fremont’s… Read more »
PM not fooling around On Tuesday, United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a slate of stricter rules in the country’s ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, including a 10:00pm curfew for pubs, restaurants, and “hospitality venues.” Included in the latter category are casinos. Johnson said he understood the issues this will cause, “But now… Read more »
Scammer asks for payment The Pennsylvania Lottery issued a warning to customers on Monday about a scam that has been popping up around the state. In it, a caller originating from Jamaica is targeting residents of the Commonwealth, try to garner payment in exchange for a pretend lottery prize. People who have reported the scam… Read more »
It’s awful, but it’s clever We’ve all had those thoughts, those random brainstorms in the shower where we think about how we could get away with committing a crime. We don’t really want to do it, nor do we ever plan on doing it, but it’s this dark intellectual exercise where we just want to… Read more »
The year 2020 got a bit worse on Saturday evening. After a surgical procedure, former World Series of Poker final tablist Darvin Moon passed away due to complications from that surgery. He was only 56 years old. Brightest Light Shines Twice As Bright The New Orleans Saints-capped Moon is known as the lumberjack from the… Read more »
Next week the founder of the largest online poker site in the industry, former PokerStars owner Isai Scheinberg, will face the music. On September 23, Scheinberg will appear in federal court in New York City to learn what his fate will be from the charges that he has faced for almost a decade. But don’t… Read more »
Throwing caution to the wind We are firmly in “OPEN FOR BUSINESS” mode in the United States because screw it, right? Gotta keep feeding that DOW JONES while we wish the COVID away. As part of the feeding of the capitalism machine, almost all of the nearly 1,000 casinos in the United States are open,… Read more »
The second annual PokerStars Pennsylvania Championship of Online Poker (PACOOP) begins this coming Saturday, yet another big online poker tournament series during this unfortunate COVID-19 pandemic half-year. Running through Sunday, October 4, PACOOP will feature 50 events and $1.5 million in guaranteed prize pools, the most ever for an online tournament series in the state.… Read more »
Confirming rumors from two months ago, Park MGM announced Monday that when it reopens, it will be the first-ever smoke-free casino on the Las Vegas Strip. It has scheduled its reopening for September 30; Park MGM is the only MGM property still closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The last six months have presented extraordinary… Read more »
No proof of cheating More than 60 of the 88 plaintiffs who sued Stones Gambling Hall, Justin Kuraitis, and Mike Postle over an alleged cheating scheme have entered into an “amicable settlement” with the casino. The financial terms were not disclosed, but a Stones source told The Sacramento Bee that the amount paid to each… Read more »
Low risk, high reward Though the schedules and playing environments are certainly odd, sports in the United States are back up and running. It’s not normal for this to be the case, but because of season delays, all four major U.S. sports are in action: the NBA and NHL are in the playoffs, MLB is… Read more »
Because of the COVID-19 outbreak and the inability for many to travel, Caesars Entertainment utilized one of their biggest assets – the name of the World Series of Poker – and went online (for its part, Caesars has given lip service to having a live schedule in the U. S. in 2020, but time is… Read more »
With the shutdown in tournament poker due to the COVID-19 outbreak, many of the all-time money earner lists have also paused as there aren’t any new tournaments to add to the totals. Prior to this, we’ve looked at the Scandinavian nations and the countries that make up most of what is called Northern Europe. In… Read more »
Jonathan Little, one of the most respected online and live poker professionals in the world today, has apparently been banned from playing on the popular online poker site America’s Cardroom. Depending on who you believe, the ban is either because Little exercised his “freedom of speech” rights to discuss playing on America’s Cardroom or, if… Read more »
Casual betting down According to the American Gaming Association, over 33 million adults plan to bet on National Football League (NFL) games this season, down from 38 million last season. The 2020-2021 season begins Thursday, as the defending Super Bowl champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, square off against the Houston Texans. The survey of 2,200… Read more »
Before the 2020 World Series of Poker Online began, Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu offered up a couple bracelet prop bets, as he often does. One for which he got a couple takers was an even money heads-up bet on who would win a bracelet. Ali Imsirovic and Connor Drinan took him up on… Read more »
The wait is over After nearly six months, New York’s commercial casinos are finally going to reopen. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced last week that this Wednesday, September 9, is the date that the casino can welcome back customers. The are four “resort style,” large casinos in New York – Resorts World Catskills, del Lago, Rivers… Read more »
