A woman, originally from Vietnam, was prevented from going onto the gaming floor at the Peppermill Resort and Casino in Wendover, Nev. last month. It turns out security staff mistakenly confused her with another Asian.

Tammy Luu, who now resides in Taylorsville, Utah, said she was humiliated and traumatized from the Sept. 21 incident. Security staff identified her as “the Asian female” and she remains upset over her treatment.

On that day, Tammy Luu and her husband, Danh Luu, went to see “Saigon by Night.” a Vietnamese show at the Peppermill’s concert hall. After the show, the couple headed to the casino floor. They gave IDs to get membership cards.

That is when the head of security and three guards approached them.

Luu was told her she was banned from Peppermill and its affiliated casinos. Also, her account was closed. It was all due to an Aug. 15 incident. But she was not there that date.

Luu told them they mistakenly misidentified her. She asked them to double check.

The chief of security took her ID. He went somewhere apparently to check and when he came back, he said: “Yep, everything matches. Asian female.”

I cry every time I think about it,” Luu was quoted by KSL, a Utah TV station. “This is very humiliating and it really hurts my self-esteem because I’ve worked so hard and we’ve tried to do a lot of good for the community here.”

Banned at Two Casinos

She could not get onto the casino floor. The couple then drove to the Montego Bay Resort and Casino, which is affiliated with the Peppermill Resort and Casino.

They were going to eat dinner. But before getting to a restaurant, six security guards stopped them in a parking lot.

They told the couple they were trespassing.

I started crying and then all of this fear overcame me,” Tammy Luu said.

Security Admits Error

Eventually, security staff admitted they made a mistake. The couple’s account was reopened.

I’m like ‘I don’t care about my account. I’m very humiliated. I’m very upset that you would treat a person, a human, like that,’” Luu said.

The guard and security chief never really apologized to her. The couple was simply told, “We made an error.”

The casino refunded room charges, upgraded their room, and gave the couple meal cards.

Several days later, a security official told Tammy Luu that on Aug. 15 several Samoans were banned following a fight. Some Asians were implicated.

In an effort to ID individuals, a pit boss gave them Danh Luu’s player’s card by accident, the security official said. Danh Luu was at the casino that day.

But Tammy Luu said the story fails to make sense.

This is bigger than me. This is my community, these are my people and I’ve been with the community for so long and I just want to set an example,” Tammy Luu told KSL.

There is a lesson for others from the incident.

“Don’t let people disrespect you. Don’t just let things go. If it’s not right, you should say something,” Tammy Luu said.

Luu is also the vice president of the Vietnamese American Community of Utah.

The post Nevada Peppermill Casino Visitor Claims Asian Racial Profiling Left Her Traumatized appeared first on Casino.org.

Star Entertainment Group has been hit with a hefty fine and a license suspension for its past role in allowing money laundering crimes at The Star Sydney casino.

Star was fined A$100m ($62m, £55m) by the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC). Although the license was suspended it was not revoked and the casino will continue operations, saving the jobs of thousands of employees. The penalties come as the result of an in-depth and damning inquiry in the Bell Report that was completed earlier this year in New South Wales (NSW).

“If it were not for The Star’s change in attitude and our belief that it is in the public interest to protect the thousands of jobs at risk, there might have been a different outcome,” said NSW regulatory chief Philip Crawford.

The report conveyed a laissez-faire attitude by corporate governors toward organized criminal activity including money laundering at the property as well as deliberately trying to cover up the indiscretions.

At the time of the report, Crawford said: “The institutional arrogance of this company has been breathtaking.”

Record $100m Fine Largest Allowable by Law.

While the casino will be able to continue operations it will not be allowed to do so on its own. A special manager has been appointed by regulators as one of the conditions of operating whilst the license is under suspension.

Crawford said: “The appointment of a manager does not mean the NICC believes The Star is suitable to hold a casino license, At this point, the NICC believes there is a possibility…”

Among promises made by management are vows to continue implementing changes in leadership, increased security staffing, and an end to “junkets” that recruit high-dollar players, most of whom came from China. Financial reporting rules necessitated cheating by Star in order to handle the VIP bankrolls.

Casinos across the country have been under scrutiny and under penalties for various critical rules violations including properties of Crown Resorts and three other Star properties in Queensland where it was also found “unsuitable” to hold a casino license. All properties were permitted to continue operations under provisional conditions.

In May, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) imposed an A$80 million fine on Crown Melbourne for the way they hid transactions by wealthy Chinese gamblers using Union Pay. At the time, it was announced that beginning July 1, 2022, the Victorian Liquor Commission would regulate liquor licensing matters in the state, while the VGCCC would focus exclusively on casino and gambling regulation.

The latest Star penalties, including the record fine, were announced the same day that Robbie Cooke took over executive management after former CEO Matt Bekier and other top staff had resigned.

Star Stock Trades Temporarily Stopped on ASX

Trading of Star stock on the ASX was halted on Monday and is expected to begin trading again on Wednesday.

The Star Sydney will operate under special manager, Nicholas Weeks of Wexted Advisors for 90 days in order to determine if the Star’s prior failings can be put to right and attain suitability. The official period of license suspension is to begin on October 21.

NICC Chief Commissioner, Philip Crawford said: “The NICC has resolved that it is no longer in the public interest that The Star should remain in control of that license, and that The Star is not currently suitable to be the holder of the license.

“The Star’s current board and executive understand the gravity of Bell’s findings. They have publicly apologized and acknowledged the serious wrongdoing that occurred, and they are willing to cooperate with the regulator.”

Source: Star casino: Record fine for Australian operator over money laundering, BBC News, October 17, 2022

The post Star Sydney License Suspended, Fined A$100m for AML Failures appeared first on Casino News Daily.

Slotmill has continued its expansion on the world stage with two important new agreements. The first sees the Stockholm and Malta-based developer add its portfolio of unique games to Svenska Spel Sport & Casino in Sweden. The next is a distribution deal with Pariplay for delivery in as many as 20 regulated global markets.

As one of the largest and best-known casino operators in Sweden, Svenska Spel Sport & Casino offers one of the most highly curated portfolios of games in Europe, making it a perfect fit for the boutique-level quality of Slotmill games.

On the other hand, Pariplay has a wide-ranging distribution network covering more than 20 regulated markets including the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece, the newly opened Ontario market in Canada, and the USA with its potential for explosive growth.

It’s not common to see two such important developments occur for an up-and-coming brand in online gambling, even one with such deep roots as Slotmill.

On the Svenska Spel Radar for a While

Commenting on the deal with Svenska Spel Andreas Ternström, Chief Commercial Officer at Slotmill said: “To be selected as content provider to Svenska Spel Sport & Casino is fantastic and proves that Slotmill delivers content of the highest quality. We have put much effort in regulatory compliance and innovation which clearly is paying off.”

Niklas Örtbrant, Head of Online Casino at Svenska Spel Sport & Casino added; “We are cautious when adding new content to ensure that it meets our requirements for fairness and player protection. Slotmill has been on our radar screens for a while and their game portfolio offer both variation and superb player excitement.”

Distribution Deal with Pariplay

Slotmill’s burgeoning portfolio of RTP Guaranteed slot games is expected to launch on the Pariplay platform this quarter before the end of 2022.

Andreas Ternström, Chief Commercial Officer at Slotmill commented; “We are super excited and proud over the agreement with Pariplay. The partnership will further extend our geographical reach and give us access to markets and operators that hold huge business potential.”

Callum Harris, Director of Partnerships at Pariplay continued; “Slotmill has built a solid reputation for providing quality content and we are delighted to welcome them to our partner network. Their meticulous attention to detail is evident and result in a rich and exciting player experience.”

We took a look at a couple of their slots in detail and noticed that the title, Star Spell offers a straightforward but engaging bonus feature, plenty of small to mid-sized wins, and a high incidence of features being triggered. Sticky expanding wilds appear on as many as three reels, but not quite as often as we’d like, and usually accompanied by lower paying symbols on the first reel – but often enough to build anticipation for the top-tier symbols to start off a spin.

A sense of familiarity settles in quickly with signature mechanics that repeat with each game. The Burst feature, which predates most “bonus buy” games gives players a chance to challenge the random number generator at hyper-speed with engaging background animations rather than spinning reels.

Source: Slotmill signs distribution agreement with Pariplay, Slotmill selected as content provider to Svenska Spel Sport&Casino, EU Gaming News, October 10-11, 2022

The post Slotmill Signs with Svenska Spel in Sweden, Pariplay in 20 Markets appeared first on Casino News Daily.

Flutter Entertainment has announced they will offer free-to-play poker via PokerStars VR when the Meta Quest Pro launches on October 25th. The social-only game will be one of the original apps available for the new upgraded virtual reality headset.

You can still play the original version with Quest 2. That headset has been available for as little as $299 from the factory ($199 refurbed) but the price went up to $399 this past summer. The new Meta Quest Pro will cost $1,499.00 but there are quite a few upgrades beyond player avatars that actually have legs.

The Quest Pro takes up about 40% less space in the real world and has goggles for a mixed-reality experience. That experience comes with full-color pass-through, a great improvement on the highly granular grayscale available on the legacy headset.

There is also face tracking and eye tracking so your avatar will appear more “you like” to other players.

A Collaborative Effort

Lucky VR helped Meta (Facebook) dream up the playing landscape and it’s sure to be a great experience, but it isn’t going to be virtual real money poker. It’s going to be a free-to-play social game for now.

You will be able to adapt to your surroundings within the given restraints, which are greatly expanded from the current social poker offering. Grab a little “partial immersion” by bringing mapped objects into the play space – or bring game elements into what they call your “real world”. Notice what they did there? I’ll use their words.

“...full mixed reality that enables players to bring core virtual game elements into their own world.”

For those with virtual tech paranoia or caution, there is plenty to be curious about. I think we can assume META will bring advertisements into the experience. Perhaps they mean something else by, “…to help Meta personalize your experiences,” but it stretches the imagination at this point. Suffice it to say, if the data they collect includes where you look at an ad, how long you look at certain elements, and what your actions are following the exposure – they will “adapt” that to “personalize your experience”.

This may be a pivotal moment in the evolution of how we interact in the new realities, and that slightly odd wording about bringing game elements into “your” world may be nothing more than my curiosity getting away with me. However, this isn’t Bill Gates “cheating a little” by taking a step before he jumped the office chair – this is META telling you what “your world” is if I’m not mistaken.

Haptics Bring Real-World “Touch” Into the Game

I love the fact that haptics is happening – you might “feel” the cards in your hand or when you touch the table – and it’s cool to imagine “facial expressions” will matter simply because they were read from your opponent’s headset – and yeah, avatars will be somewhat customizable – smile, frown – but where are the tells in that? I’m sure creative players will learn to read their opponents with a less fertile set of data than in real life.

Toys, props, and “other items” aside, this is bound to be a letdown for players who have been waiting for real in-person distance gaming – but that time might not be far off. Facebook, or rather Meta, seems to have gone all in on the “metaverse” for the future of the company. That must mean something, and I think it means the leaders of the social industry “know something”, more than they are trying to “shape something”.

Here’s what James O’Reilly, Director of VR and Innovation at PokerStars had to say about the coming launch: “Our goal with PokerStars VR is to push the potential of new technologies as far as we can to create a fun and authentic social casino game that really is limitless.

“We’re extremely proud to be part of the launch of Meta’s Quest Pro, which is a transformation in virtual and mixed reality. Our developers have been having great fun exploring what this technology means for our players and we can’t wait to show them what we have in store.”

On its own blog, Meta provided lengthy and in-depth commentary on partnerships, and as important as the PokerStars announcement may have been to the industry, it was not such a milestone for most online poker players and it seemed to be a pebble in a tsunami to Meta.

For social players and anyone else who puts on one of the new headsets and decides to explore, the new PokerStars VR is certainly going to be a worthy experience, especially for first-time users.

AI Augmented Human Moderation

AI and human moderation haven’t been discussed much for the platform or for the app in the wider public domain but, if the experience was memorable in the original versions the subject is bound to be discussed in-depth on some of the niche forums.

According to the Flutter announcement: “PokerStars VR uses Tox Mod, an AI live chat monitoring tool, to assist its dedicated moderation team. Players also have access to a range of in-game safety tools including the option to take time out from games, set spending limits, issue player reports, and customize the extent of their interaction with others in-game.”

It sounds like a good playground to practice responsible gambling and to question authority – if only our own as players who believe in skill more than luck – or at least keep each on its own shelf while a new world of poker unfolds before our eyes.

“At launch, Meta Quest Pro is built for people like architects, engineers, builders, creators, and designers who want to augment their workflow and supercharge their creativity with the power of VR.”

Source: PokerStars VR launches on the new Meta Quest Pro, Flutter, October 12, 2022

The post PokerStars VR launches on the Meta Quest Pro on October 25th appeared first on Casino News Daily.