Gambling News – Page 121

When one door closes, another one opens: Farewell sweet CalvinAyre.com

“Everything has as a beginning, a middle and an end, including companies”, Samuel H. Liggero

When walking back to our hotel after finishing CalvinAyre.com EiG coverage in October of 2013, I looked over to my producer (Rob) and camera operator (Mani) and said, “I think my calling is Bitcoin”.

A row of closed white doors and one colored yellow

As a team that year we had already covered several Bitcoin events including Bitcoin London and Le Web, both featuring Bitcoin enthusiasts who were eager to educate the world on this groundbreaking technology. EiG 2013 attracted several professionals in the Bitcoin space as well, at the time with a focus on introducing Bitcoin as a payment system for iGaming operators.

Calvin took notice of Bitcoin in the early days, immediately identifying its vast potential for his “first love”, the iGaming industry. Little did I know just how significant Bitcoin would become for CalvinAyre.com, Calvin Ayre as a person and myself as a professional. Fast forward to February 2021 and its time for CalvinAyre.com to hang up its hat. Bitcoin has actually become my calling.

The Bitcoin ecosystem, now in the form of BitcoinSV, has advanced to a level where so many of the pain points within the gaming industry can be solved with Bitcoin technology. For this reason, from today, I’m moving over to CoinGeek.com full time with a laser focus on raising awareness of BitcoinSV within the gaming industry and highlighting the innovative minds and relevant BitcoinSV-powered solutions currently existing in the market.

Looking back on my 11+ years with CalvinAyre.com, I’ve made life-long friendships, attended countless industry events, interviewed hundreds of leaders, made thousands of contacts, built deep relationships with organizers, even had the honor of delivering a DAF award or two back in the day (who remembers???!!) but best of all, had the pleasure of working with some of the most incredible colleagues along the way, many of which who I classify now as dear friends.

When I joined CalvinAyre.com in August of 2009, there was an enormous gap in the industry for an honest, transparent news site with regular, fresh video content. Over time, we grew from a tiny team of a handful of people to dozens, providing the industry with the juiciest breaking news and cutting-edge video coverage.

Today we pass on the torch to our event organizing and media production friends who have more recently developed outstanding news coverage and video teams dedicated to the gaming space, hopefully who I’ll be seeing at CoinGeek Conferences in the future.

Reflecting on my fateful words at EiG back in 2013, it was the entrepreneurial energy, the innovation and the excitement surrounding Bitcoin that originally drew me to it. Back then, the obsession about Bitcoin was not related to price, it was about the disruptive technology and this is what meant something to me. While a great deal has changed in Bitcoin between 2013 and now, the energy, innovation and excitement are all still there and I am looking forward to the next chapter of my career with Calvin Ayre and the Ayre Media team.

For those who wish to reach out, my contact info remains the same and my door is always open. I welcome you to come with me on this journey and I sincerely hope to see you at the next CoinGeek Conference, the ultimate meeting spot for those as excited as I am about BitcoinSV technology.

The post When one door closes, another one opens: Farewell sweet CalvinAyre.com appeared first on CalvinAyre.com.

Filed Under: Gambling News Tagged With: another, calvinayre.com, closes,, farewell, opens:, sweet

Atlantic City Settles with Cop Cleared of Violent Attack on Tropicana Patron

An Atlantic City police officer has received a $323,631 payout from city officials, NJ.com reports. The sum was given after the officer was cleared of using excessive force when he set his K-9 on a drunken reveler outside the Tropicana.

Sterling Wheaten, 40, was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2018 on charges of violating civil rights and falsifying a police report. The charges were in relation to the 2013 arrest of 20-year-old law student David Connor Castellani. Security video of the violent arrest went viral on social media.

The jury cleared Wheaten of those charges in February last year, and the officer sued the city for the earnings he would have received had he not been suspended without pay, plus legal expenses. He resumed working for the Atlantic City Police Department in March.

In 2017, the city also paid $3 million to settle a civil lawsuit brought by Castellani for damages. He was hospitalized for four days and needed more than 200 stitches after being mauled by Wheaten’s dog for almost two minutes, according to court documents.

Drunk and Disorderly

Castellani was part of a group of five friends who hit the Trop on June 15 that year for an evening’s drinking. But he was kicked out of the casino three times that night for being underage, according to court documents.

At one point, he was detained by a member of the casino’s security staff and cited by a responding officer for disorderly conduct before being released.

Then he showed up on the Tropicana security video at around 3 a.m., apparently verbally insulting a group of police officers across the street.

The officers attempted to arrest Castellani, who resisted. He was punched, struck with a baton, and wrestled to the ground, as police called for K-9 backup.

By the time Wheaten arrived, Castellani was lying on his stomach with an officer kneeling on his head and neck and others securing his legs. His left hand was cuffed.

The video appears to show Wheaten punching the prone man twice while allowing his dog to attack his neck before it cuts out.

Previous Allegations

Wheaten had been the subject of 23 allegations of assault or excessive force in his seven-year career. In 2013, a jury awarded former deputy state attorney general Michael Trosso $500K. That was after a group of officers that included Wheaten beat him up outside Harrahs before arresting him on his 2008 stag night.

“The City of Atlantic City is statutorily obligated to pay back pay and recognized lawyer fees,” Mayor Marty Small Sr. said, as the council voted to award Wheaten his back pay, as reported by NJ.com. “The city policy is suspension without pay until a situation is resolved.

“The bottom line, Mr. Wheaten was victorious (in court)” by being found not guilty of the federal charges,” Small added.

The post Atlantic City Settles with Cop Cleared of Violent Attack on Tropicana Patron appeared first on Casino.org.

Filed Under: Gambling News Tagged With: atlantic, attack, cleared, patron, settles, tropicana, violent

888 Shares Plunge as CEO Walks Amid Middle East Money Laundering Probe

Shares in online gambling giant 888 Holdings [LON: 888] plunged almost 27% in early trading Monday. That’s after the Gibraltar-based company announced CEO Itai Pazner had quit amid an internal review that found deficiencies in its anti-money laundering (AML) program.

In a filing to the London Stock Exchange, 888 said it had chosen to suspend VIP activities in the Middle East, pending the outcome of an internal compliance investigation.

“[…]it has come to light that certain best practices have not been followed in regard to KYC (Know Your Client) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) processes for 888 VIP customers in the in the Middle East region,” said 888.

“The Board currently estimates that the impact is less than 3% of Group revenues, should the suspensions remain in place. Based on the Board’s current understanding, the process deficiencies identified are isolated to this region only,” it added.

Biggest Single-Day Downswing

Whatever the exact nature of the crisis at 888, investors were spooked, wiping more than a quarter off the value of the company in one morning. It was the biggest single-day downswing in 888’s history.

888 said its current chairman Lord Jonathan Mendelsohn will become executive chair on an interim basis, as the company searches for a replacement for Pazner.

Meanwhile, CFO Yariv Dafna has said he will remain in his role until the end of the year. He had been due to leave at the end of March.

The board and I take the group’s compliance responsibilities incredibly seriously,” Mendelsohn said in a statement. “When we were alerted to issues with some of 888’s VIP customers, the board took decisive actions. We will be uncompromising in our approach to compliance as we build a strong and sustainable business.”

Past Troubles

Pazner held the top role at 888 for four years. Previously, he was COO, and before that he spent six years as VP of the group’s B2C division.

Last year, the UK Gambling Commission fined the company £9.4 million (US$11.6 million) for social responsibility and AML failings. It was one of the highest fines the regulator had ever levied, and it came four and a half years after it had dished out a £7.8 million (US$9.5 million) penalty to 888 for failing to protect vulnerable customers.

Andrew Rhodes, UKGC chief executive, said last year that any future infractions by 888 would give the regulator cause to “seriously consider the suitability of the operator to uphold the licensing objectives and keep gambling safe and crime-free.”

The post 888 Shares Plunge as CEO Walks Amid Middle East Money Laundering Probe appeared first on Casino.org.

Filed Under: Gambling News Tagged With: laundering, middle, Money, plunge, probe, shares, walks

‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Leads Oscars Best Picture Race

Ten films were nominated for Best Picture at the 95th Academy Awards. Everything Everywhere All at Once is the betting favorite at -200 odds to win Best Picture at the 2023 Oscars, according to DraftKings. The Banshees of Inisherin is a close second at +225 odds.

This year’s nominees for Best Picture include a pair of mainstream sequels with Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of the Water.

Best Picture Nominee	2023 Oscars Odds
Everything Everywhere All at Once	-200
The Banshees of Inisherin	+225
Top Gun: Maverick	+1000
The Fablemans	+1100
Tár	+3500
All Quiet on the Western Front	+3500
Women Talking	+6500
Avatar: The Way of Water	+8000
Triangle of Sadness	+10000
Elvis	+10000

Top Gun: Maverick was the highest-grossing theatrical release in 2022 at nearly $720 million. It’s also the third-highest favorite on the 2023 Oscars betting board at +1000 odds to win Best Picture. Meanwhile, Avatar: The Way of Water banked nearly $2.2 billion worldwide, and it’s a Best Picture long shot at +8000 odds.

Everything Everywhere All at Once (-200)

Directed by: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
Produced by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Everything Everywhere All at Once is a multi-genre film that blends surrealism, comedy, martial arts, and science fiction. Michelle Yeoh plays a Chinese immigrant and small business owner from California who is in the middle of an IRS audit. She discovers special powers that allow her to link up with different versions of herself in parallel universes, and she’s tasked with saving the multiverse from a powerful malevolent entity. Everything Everywhere All at Once earned 11 different nominations at the 2023 Oscars including Best Picture, where it’s the consensus favorite to win at -200 odds.

The Banshees of Inisherin (+225)

Directed by: Martin McDonagh
Produced by: Graham Broadbent, Peter Czernin, and Martin McDonagh

The Banshees of Inisherin is dark comedy written and directed by Martin McDonagh. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson both appeared in McDonagh’s first film In Bruges, and the dynamic duo are reunited in The Banshees of Inisherin. Farrell and Gleeson are feuding neighbors on a remote island off the coast of Ireland during the Irish civil war in 1923. The Banshees of Inisherin earned nine nominations at the 2023 Oscars, and it’s the second favorite on the board to Best Picture at +225 odds.

Top Gun: Maverick (+1000)

Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Produced by: Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, Jerry Bruckheimer

Top Gun: Maverick, the long-awaited sequel to Top Gun (1986), is a box office smash hit by Paramount. It’s drenched in 80s nostalgia, and Tom Cruise stars as a rebellious fighter pilot known by call sign Maverick. Val Kilmer returns as Iceman with a stunning cameo. You do not see too many mainstream films compete for Best Picture at the Oscars, but Top Gun: Maverick is holding steady at +1000 odds.

The Fablemans (+1100)

Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Produced by: Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg earned a nomination for Best Picture with his own personal coming-of-age story about his love of filmmaking in The Fablemans. The semi-autobiographical film weaves the tale of young Sammy Fableman (played by Gabriel LaBelle) who finds solace in films and making his own films to survive a rocky adolescence and dysfunctional family. The Fabelmans earned seven nods at the 2023 Oscars, including Best Picture, where it’s +1100 odds to win.

Tár (+3500)

Directed by: Todd Field
Produced by: Todd Field, Alexandra Milchan, and Scott Lambert

Cate Blanchett gives a stunning performance in Tár as Lydia Tár, a famous orchestra conductor trying to navigate a scandal at the peak of her career. Tár is pure fiction, but the backstory is so convincing many viewers thought Blanchett portrayed a real-life maestro. Tár is a popular long shot at +3500 odds to win Best Picture at the 2023 Oscars.

All Quiet on the Western Front (+3500)

Directed by: Edward Berger
Produced by: Malte Grunert

All Quiet on the Western Front is a German-made film adaption of the best-selling anti-war novel penned by Erich Maria Remarque in 1928. Felix Kammerer stars as the protagonist Paul, an idealistic young student who is swayed by propaganda from Kaiser Wilhelm II to fight for Germany in World War I. Aside from 1917, World War I films are not as popular as World War II films. It’s even more rare to see a WWI film from the German point of view. All Quiet on the Western Front is currently available to view on Netflix, and it’s a long shot at +3500 odds to win Best Picture.

Women Talking (+6500)

Directed by: Sarah Polley
Produced by: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Frances McDormand

Sarah Polley, a Canadian-born actress most known for her acting roles in films in the late 1990s (The Sweet Hereafter, Go), directed Women Talking. Polley also penned the screenplay, which was adapted from Miriam Toews’2018 novel that’s also titled Women Talking. The film centers around the cover-up and systemic sexual abuse of women in a Mennonite community in Bolivia. The ensemble cast includes Frances McDormand, Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, and Jessie Buckley.

Avatar: The Way of Water (+8000)

Directed by: James Cameron
Produced by: Jon Landau and James Cameron

James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water is the long-awaited sequel to the 2009 film Avatar. This sci-fi fantasy sequel is heavy on the special effects and computer graphics, which is why it’s best viewed in theaters for an immersive experience. Avatar: The Way of Water is a massive commercial success and grossed over $2 billion globally since its release in early December. Yet, the Avatar sequel is a betting long shot to win Best Picture at +8000 odds.

Triangle of Sadness (+10000)

Directed by: Ruben Östlund
Produced by: Erik Hemmendorff and Philippe Bober

Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund directed his first English-speaking film with Triangle of Sadness, which is a dark comedy and psychological thriller set on a luxury yacht. Östlund’s film is an indictment on class warfare, capitalism, and influencer pop culture. Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean give hilarious performances as a celebrity power couple. Woody Harrelson nearly steals the show as the alcoholic yacht captain. Triangle of Sadness is another long shot on the board at +10000 odds to win Best Picture.

Elvis (+10000)

Directed by: Baz Luhrmann
Produced by: Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Baz Luhrmann

Baz Luhrmann brings the rise and fall of Elvis Presley to the big screen in Elvis. The complicated story is told through the perspective of Elvis’ unscrupulous manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Austin Butler earned a Best Actor nomination for his portrayal of Elvis, and Tom Hanks gives a stunning performance as Colonel Parker. Like all of Luhrmann’s films, Elvis is a visual extravaganza. Elvis is one of the two moon shots on the board at +10000 odds to win Best Picture.

The post ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Leads Oscars Best Picture Race appeared first on Casino.org.

Filed Under: Gambling News Tagged With: everything, everywhere, leads, once’, oscars, picture

California’s Rolling Hills Casino Armed Carjacking Leads to Prison Sentences

Three defendants charged in a carjacking last October at California’s Rolling Hills Casino and Resort are heading to prison. The trio also faced drug charges.

From left: Joseph J. Lodge, Robert J. Diaz-Mendoza, and Karla G. Ortega-Pahua in mug shots, pictured above. The three were sentenced after a carjacking at a casino. (Image: Tehama County Sheriff’s Office)

Joseph Lodge, 18, was sentenced to six years for carjacking and possession of a gun, KNVN, a local TV station, reported.

Roberto Diaz-Mendoza, 29, was sentenced to five years for bringing a controlled substance into a jail, and being a felon in possession of a gun, the report added.

Karla G. Ortega-Pahua, 20, was sentenced to two years’ probation, 240 days in jail, and a six-year prison suspension. Her specific charges on which she was sentenced were not immediately known.

The prison sentences were announced in Tehama County court on Jan. 20.

The incident began on October 1, when the two men went up to a third man in a car at the Corning, Calif. casino’s parking lot.

One of the suspects was armed with a shotgun.

The two suspects ordered the victim to exit the car. The two then stole the empty vehicle and drove off.

Police later arrested the two. The vehicle was found in Glenn County.

Ortega-Pahua drove the two other suspects to the casino. She parked behind the victim’s car in the lot.

When the duo was apprehended, they had in their possession another vehicle that was stolen in Chico. Calif., authorities said.

Deputies said they also found in their possession the firearm used in the Rollings Hills Casino carjacking.

Drug Charges

Each of the trio had methamphetamine (meth) and/or fentanyl upon their arrests, deputies said.

Originally, each suspect was charged with bringing a controlled substance into the jail.

The unnamed victim did not appear to have suffered any injuries.

Prior Shooting

The carjacking was not the first felony reported at the casino. In December 2020, a man was arrested for attempted murder after he allegedly shot a hotel guest at Rolling Hills, according to local news reports. The victim suffered non-life threating injuries.

John Matthew Justice, a resident of Chico, located nearby, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, reported KHSL, a local TV station.

Justice was staying at The Lodge at Rolling Hills Casino. He allegedly fired a single shot that went through the door of a nearby room, the report adds.

The bullet wounded the 36-year-old man who was inside the room. Injuries were believed to be relatively minor, based on initial news reports.

Police said they seized a handgun from Justice’s hotel room.

It was not immediately known how the case against Justice was adjudicated in local court.

The casino, hotel, and golf course were placed on immediate lockdown as a safety measure, KHSL reported.

The casino is owned and operated by the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians.

The post California’s Rolling Hills Casino Armed Carjacking Leads to Prison Sentences appeared first on Casino.org.

Filed Under: Gambling News Tagged With: california’s, Casino, hills, leads, rolling

When one door closes, another one opens: Farewell sweet CalvinAyre.com

Atlantic City Settles with Cop Cleared of Violent Attack on Tropicana Patron

Drunk and Disorderly

Previous Allegations

888 Shares Plunge as CEO Walks Amid Middle East Money Laundering Probe

Biggest Single-Day Downswing

Past Troubles

‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Leads Oscars Best Picture Race

Everything Everywhere All at Once (-200)

The Banshees of Inisherin (+225)

Top Gun: Maverick (+1000)

The Fablemans (+1100)

Tár (+3500)

All Quiet on the Western Front (+3500)

Women Talking (+6500)

Avatar: The Way of Water (+8000)

Triangle of Sadness (+10000)

Elvis (+10000)

California’s Rolling Hills Casino Armed Carjacking Leads to Prison Sentences

Drug Charges

Prior Shooting

Popular tags