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Oregon Man Stabbed 15 Times After Winning $2K, Suspected Robber Charged

A Portland, Ore. resident was allegedly stabbed 15 times by a homeless robber who followed the victim home on Saturday night and stole part of a jackpot, authorities revealed.

Montana's Bar
Montana’s Bar in Portland, Ore., pictured above. A lottery winner at the bar later was robbed and knifed. (Image: TripAdvisor)

The resident had collected about $2,000 while playing lottery machines at Montana’s Bar in Portland shortly before the violent assault, according to Oregon TV station KATU.

He appeared to have met the would-be suspect, Pablo Andres Figueroa, 61, while at the bar.

After scooping up the loot, the victim walked to his residence located in an apartment building. He was unaware that Figueroa was tailing him the whole way back. When Figueroa reached the building, he made his way through a security gate.

As the victim entered his apartment, Figueroa pushed the door and threw him to the floor, authorities said. Figueroa then allegedly began punching the victim in the face and ordered the victim to hand over the cash.

The victim turned over some of the money, but Figueroa wanted more of it.

Stabbed in Arms, Chest, Face

Frustrated, Figueroa then took out what was described as a pocketknife and slashed the victim in the arms, chest, and face. The repeated stabbings halted when the victim pretended he was dead, apparently remaining motionless on the floor.

Local police were alerted and began to search for the suspect. Figueroa was eventually found in the building’s garbage room. Officers searched him and found $624. They also discovered blood on his pants and pocketknife in a litter box near the victim’s front door.

Figueroa was charged with attempted murder, robbery, assault burglary, and unlawful use of a weapon. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in a court appearance on Monday.

He’s scheduled to return to court on Tuesday. If convicted on the charges, he could face a prison sentence.

Prior Convictions

Police did a records check on Figueroa and found out that he was convicted in Arkansas and California for various charges, such as battering a spouse, threatening a crime with intent to terrorize, and failing to comply with sex offender reporting requirements.

A 2022 case is also pending in Oregon’s Multnomah County for unauthorized use of a vehicle and possession of a stolen vehicle. He was also arrested in Oregon’s Washington County in 2021 for identity theft and drug charges.

Last Friday, he failed to show up for a court appearance.

The victim is expected to recover from his injuries. Police didn’t provide details on the extent of his wounds.

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Macau Sees 58% Surge in Gaming Tax Revenue, Driven by Economic Recovery

Macaus-gaming-tax-income-jumps-58-YoY-between-Jan-JulyThe Macau government reported a significant increase in gaming tax revenue for the first seven months of 2024, highlighting the region’s strong economic rebound. The income from gaming taxes surged by nearly 58% year-on-year, reaching MOP51.6 billion ($6.4 billion) as the Special Administrative Region (SAR) continued its post-COVID recovery.

Macau’s Gaming Tax Revenue Boost

The increase in gaming taxes contributed to a 49.7% rise in overall government revenue, totaling MOP61.1 billion ($7.5 billion). This is the highest revenue figure recorded since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, signaling a robust recovery for Macau’s economy.

Gross gaming revenue (GGR) also experienced a significant jump, increasing by 36.7% year-on-year to MOP132.2 billion ($16.4 billion) between January and July 2024. The surge in GGR is attributed to the region’s thriving gaming sector, which continues to play a pivotal role in Macau’s economic resurgence.

Under Macau’s 10-year gaming concession system, which was implemented in January 2023, the effective tax rate on casino gross gaming revenue is set at 40%. This taxation model has proven beneficial for Macau, as it allowed the government to collect 60% of its projected 2024 revenue within the first seven months of the year. The region’s budget anticipates a total revenue of MOP102 billion ($12.7 billion) for 2024.

Increased Public Spending and Budget Surplus

Alongside the rise in revenue, public spending in Macau increased by 9.6% to MOP52.2 billion ($6.5 billion). However, infrastructure investment saw only a modest growth of 1.1%, totaling MOP9.69 billion ($1.2 billion). Current expenditure, on the other hand, rose significantly by 10.2% to MOP41.9 billion ($5.2 billion). This increase was driven primarily by an 11.7% rise insocial support and subsidies, as well as a 4.4% increase in civil servant expenses.

Despite the increase in spending, Macau’s 2024 budget predicts a return to surpluses in public accounts, marking a recovery after three years of economic challenges due to the pandemic. Between January and July 2024, Macau recorded a surplus of MOP9.27 billion ($1.2 billion), more than doubling the surplus from the same period in 2023.

The substantial rise in gaming tax revenue and the subsequent budget surplus show Macau’s resilient recovery and the vital role that the gaming industry continues to play in the region’s economy.

Source:

“Macau’s Gaming Tax Income Jumps 58% YoY Between Jan-July.”, agbrief.com, 16 Aug. 2024.

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Trump, Harris Tax-Free Tips Pledge Unlikely, Law and Economics Professor Says

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris each pledged while stumping in Las Vegas to eliminate taxes on service workers’ tips.

Trump Harris taxes tips Las Vegas Nevada
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump both want taxes on tips removed for service workers. A leading law and economics professor says such a change would have significant consequences and wouldn’t be easy to implement. (Image: AP)

The tax-free tip commitments resonated in Nevada, the state home to the highest concentration of tipped workers in the country. But a prominent law and economics professor is casting doubt on either president’s ability to champion such a tax code change, a power that ultimately rests with Congress.

Speaking recently with the Associated Press, James Hines Jr., a law and economics professor at the University of Michigan and the research director of the Ross School of Business Office of Tax Policy Research, says amending how service workers are taxed would be complicated for the IRS and cost the federal government hundreds of billions of dollars.

“There’s no way that it wouldn’t be a mess,” said Hines Jr.

Michigan’s law and economics schools are consistently ranked among the nation’s 15 best by U.S. News & World Report. 

Tip of the Iceberg

Hines believes such a change would result in many workers attempting to reclassify their income as tipped wages.

For example, a contractor might take a $2,000 service bill and amend it to a $1,000 job with a $1,000 mandatory gratuity. Employers might also reclassify annual bonuses as tips to lessen their payroll taxes and allow workers to keep more of their pay.

You will have taxpayers pushing their attorneys to try to characterize their wage and salary income as tips,” Hines said. “And some would be successful, inevitably, because it’s impossible to write foolproof rules that will cover every situation.”

Fiscal estimates project that removing the IRS’ tip tax could cost the federal government as much as $25 billion a year. Hines thinks the change would end up benefiting the wealthy and high-income earners, not the low-income taxpayers Harris and Trump are seeking to help.

“If the issue is you’re concerned about low-income taxpayers, there are a lot better ways to address that problem,” Hines said, suggesting better avenues to be increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit or lowering tax rates.

This is good politics but bad policy,” added Erica York, a senior economist and research director at the Tax Foundation, a think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C.

There are about four million workers in the U.S. who work in a tipped occupation, or about 2.5% of the country’s labor force.

Union Embraces Harris Pledge

While both the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates agreed that tipped workers shouldn’t have to pay taxes on gratuities, the leading casino union in Las Vegas is only supporting Harris for Nov. 5. Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge expressed differing opinions on the candidates’ tip tax guarantees.

When Trump first pledged to remove taxes on tips in June, Pappageorge said, “Relief is definitely needed for tip earners, but Nevada workers are smart enough to know the difference between real solutions and wild campaign promised from a convicted felon.”

But after Harris this month made a similar pledge, Pappageorge responded that the vice president “acknowledged the hard-working men and women of the hospitality industry.”

On the political betting exchange Polymarket, Harris and Trump are in a dead heat at the time of this writing.

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Las Vegas Sands Billionaire Dr. Miriam Adelson to Spend ‘Whatever It Takes’ for Trump Victory

Dr. Miriam Adelson, the largest shareholder of Las Vegas Sands with a 46% stake in the Macau casino empire, has pledged to spend “whatever it takes” to reelect her friend Donald Trump.

Miriam Adelson Donald Trump campaign
Dr. Miriam Adelson and former President Donald Trump embrace during a campaign rally at his Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. Adelson, the Las Vegas Sands owner, is ready to spend over $100 million to fund Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. (Image: AP)

Adelson and her late husband, Sands founder Sheldon Adelson, have been Trump’s biggest supporters since the former casino tycoon announced his 2016 presidential run. The Adelson family poured more than $200 million into Trump’s 2016 run and unsuccessful 2020 reelection bid.

Adelson pledged this week to open up her deep pockets, estimated by Forbes to be north of $28 billion, to bankroll Trump for a third consecutive presidential election cycle. At a campaign event at his Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., Adelson reportedly hinted that she has a blank check policy for the former president and will give his campaign whatever it needs to get him back in the White House.

Political odds currently have Trump as a slight underdog. Vice President Kamala Harris’ odds on political wagering exchange Polymarket give her an implied chance of 51% to Trump at 47%.

Overseas bookmakers have Harris at -125, or implied odds of 55.6%. Trump is even money (+100 — 50%).

Las Vegas Sands no longer has domestic casino holdings after selling The Venetian and Palazzo resorts on the Las Vegas Strip in early 2022 for $6.25 billion. The company has several casino resorts in China’s Macau and is lobbying heavily in Texas for the Lone Star State to welcome casino resorts.

Adelson and her son-in-law, Patrick Dumont, Sands’ president and chief operating officer, acquired a controlling stake in the NBA Dallas Mavericks from Mark Cuban last year. Adelson’s fortune tumbled over the last 12 months, as Sands’ stock price crashed almost 25%.

Adelson Super PAC

Adelson will once again primarily fund Trump through her super political action committee (PAC) Preserve America. She gave the PAC $5 million in May to get its Trump campaign up and running, but the committee’s treasure chest will see considerably more money from the Sands owner in the coming weeks.

According to Andy Abboud, the Adelsons’ longtime political aide, family advisor, and spokesperson, Preserve America will spend upwards of $100 million to make sure Harris doesn’t become the 47th president.

We’re going to do whatever it takes for him to win,” Abboud confirmed in an interview with CNBC on Friday. “In her mind, and in the minds of those who run [Preserve America], we are going to do whatever it takes for him to win.”

In addition to her Preserve American, Adelson in May wrote a check for $844,600 to the Trump 47 Committee. She’s also given 38 committees and PACs $10,000 each that are working to put GOP governors and congresspeople into office this November. 

Israel in Focus

Adelson says Jewish voters should vote for Trump, a strong ally of the Israeli state who relocated the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem while president. The embassy’s relocation was of utmost importance to the Adelsons, who attended the embassy’s opening on May 14, 2018, sitting in the front row.

President Trump deserves the full support of the entire Jewish people,” Adelson, who received the Medal of Freedom from Trump in 2018 for her philanthropic work in medical research, Holocaust memorialization, and strengthening the American Jewish community. “Anyone who cares about Israel’s security and prosperity, this must be our pledge to him — this must be our promise to him — that the White House will be his again come January.”

Harris reportedly strongly considered Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) to be her running mate but was rumored to have been concerned that his Jewish heritage could turn off the Democrats’ Palestinian support.

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Notre Dame Men’s Swimming Team Suspended for One Year Over Betting Pool

Notre Dame’s athletics department on Thursday banned its men’s swimming team for one year for violating NCAA and the school’s sports gambling rules.

Notre Dame men's swimming sports betting
The University of Notre Dame has suspended its men’s swimming team for a season after an investigation determined that a majority of the team’s swimmers participated in a rogue sports betting pool. Players on the team are free to transfer during the one-year ban. (Image: Shutterstock)

An internal investigation led by a private law firm concluded that a majority of the men’s swimmers on the Fighting Irish’s varsity team participated in an illegal betting pool. Investigators determined that the team engaged in wagering amongst themselves, and commonly bet on their individual performances and meet outcomes.

In order to ensure that this behavior ends and to rebuild a culture of dignity, respect, and exemplary conduct, we have decided to suspend the men’s swimming program for at least one academic year,” said Notre Dame Athletic Director Pete Bevacqua.

The NCAA prohibits student-athletes from participating in sports betting, regardless of whether it’s through legal sportsbooks in regulated sports betting states or through an offshore operator. College players are additionally banned from participating in betting pools and other social betting activities like Super Bowl squares.

There was no proof that any members of the women’s or diving teams partook in the betting.

Coaches Unaware

The Notre Dame probe didn’t turn up any evidence that men’s swimming coach Chris Lindauer was aware of the team’s betting activities. The investigators reported that no one on Lindauer’s staff was also in on the game.

“The review found that the staff was not aware of gambling or the scope and extent of other troubling behaviors because team members effectively concealed such behaviors from the coaches and staff through concerted efforts,” Bevacqua said. “According to the review, when the staff became aware of certain isolated incidents of unacceptable conduct, they treated them seriously and professionally.”

Lindauer only recently returned from Paris where he was an assistant coach for USA Swimming and helped his Fighting Irish swimmer Chris Guiliano win a gold medal as part of the men’s 400-meter freestyle relay team. The Notre Dame athletics department said Guiliano was among the minority on the Fighting Irish team who did not engage in the betting ring.

Bevacqua became Notre Dame’s athletics director in June 2023. He previously served as chair of NBC Sports and the CEO of the PGA of America 

Costly Outcome

Notre Dame’s decision to ban its men’s swimming team for one year comes with detrimental costs. The Fighting Irish finished the 2023-24 season ranked 11th in the nation and was expected to compete for a national title this winter with seven incoming transfers.

With the team banned from competition for a year, NCAA rules allow players to transfer out of Notre Dame. However, any forthcoming suspension the NCAA places on individuals for participating in the betting pool would follow them to their new school.

The NCAA is reviewing Notre Dame’s men’s swimming ban and working with school officials to determine if specific player suspensions are warranted.

“The national office is aware that Notre Dame has declared several student-athletes ineligible in light of potential violations of sports betting rules,” an NCAA spokesperson told the media. “We continue to work with the school as it determines what occurred. The NCAA does not comment on specific eligibility cases due to student privacy laws, and we have no further comment at this time.”

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