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IGT Launches Super Star Poker II and Celebrates Renato Ascoli’s Hall of Fame Induction

IGT-Brings-Award-winning-Poker-Portfolio-to-Spain-with-Casino-BarcelonaInternational Game Technology PLC (IGT) has made headlines with two major announcements. Firstly, the launch of the Super Star Poker™ II game pack on the PeakBarTop™ Buddy Bar™ cabinet at Casino Barcelona in Spain marks a significant enhancement to its gaming offerings. Secondly, Renato Ascoli, IGT’s CEO of Global Lottery, has been honored with an induction into the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame for his extensive contributions to the industry.

Super Star Poker II Launches at Casino Barcelona

IGT’s Super Star Poker II game pack has debuted at Casino Barcelona, featuring in the newly created “IGT Video Poker Area.” This area is designed to showcase IGT’s legendary video poker content, offering players an array of engaging themes and game types. Super Star Poker II includes single and multi-hand poker games, as well as Keno, roulette, and popular slot themes like Temple of Fire™ and Scarab™.

“Casino Barcelona is thrilled to offer our guests IGT’s world-class poker innovations in a specially designated video poker space,” said Erwin Alonso Buchhas, Slot Manager at Casino Barcelona. “Our collaboration with IGT brings a new level of gaming entertainment to players and will complement our robust collection of popular IGT slots games on our casino floor.”

The PeakBarTop™ Buddy Bar™ cabinet, an evolution of IGT’s award-winning PeakBarTop™ cabinet, enhances the gaming experience with a premium 23-inch high-definition curved LCD screen. This design combines a classic feel with contemporary ergonomic features, ensuring exceptional image quality and player comfort.

“IGT is excited to partner with Casino Barcelona to bring our performance-proven Super Star Poker II game pack on the PeakBarTop Buddy Bar hardware to players in Barcelona,” said Nick Khin, IGT Chief Operating Officer, Gaming. “Casino Barcelona’s dedicated IGT Video Poker Area is a great environment for players to enjoy celebrated IGT poker themes that are loved by players throughout the world.”

Renato Ascoli Inducted into the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame

Adding to the celebrations, Renato Ascoli, CEO of Global Lottery at IGT, will be inducted into the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024. This accolade recognizes Ascoli’s nearly two decades of influential leadership in the lottery and gaming sectors.

“With nearly 20 years of experience serving in high-level positions in the lottery and gaming industries, Renato Ascoli is an accomplished senior executive whose leadership has been paramount in driving new business and innovation,” said Vince Sadusky, IGT CEO. “Renato has a keen ability to identify and realize business growth opportunities, and his contributions will benefit the lottery industry for years to come. IGT congratulates Renato on his well-deserved induction into this year’s Lottery Industry Hall of Fame.”

In his role, Ascoli oversees global lottery and iLottery sales and operations, product and sales development, and technology support for IGT’s numerous lottery customers. Since the merger of GTECH and IGT in 2015, Ascoli has led both the Global Lottery and Global Gaming business units. His notable achievements include launching sports betting with the Rhode Island Lottery, initiating operations with the Mississippi Lottery, and deploying lottery terminals in Walmart stores.

“I am incredibly honored to be inducted into the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024,” said Ascoli. “Working in the lottery industry with many great leaders and innovators has been an absolute privilege. The future of the lottery industry is bright, and I look forward to helping our customers propel the modernization of lottery worldwide while continuing to generate funds for philanthropic causes.”

Ascoli’s earlier tenure at Lottomatica, one of the largest lotteries in the world, saw him lead the successful launch of the Gratta e Vinci (Scratch & Win) instant ticket brand in Italy and secure the exclusive Lotto concession in Italy with a consortium led by IGT.

Sources:

IGT Brings Award-Winning Poker Portfolio to Spain with Casino Barcelona, July 15, 2024.

IGT IGT CEO Global Lottery Renato Ascoli Inducted into Lottery Industry Hall of Fame, July 17, 2024.

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Poker Player Dan Bilzerian Bashes Israel, Pro-Israel Lobby in Post With 2.2M Views

Controversial poker player Dan Bilzerian criticized Israel and the AIPAC lobbying group in a social media post this weekend. It got over 2.2M views.

Poker player Dan Bilzerian
Poker player Dan Bilzerian, pictured above. He posted anti-Israel comments over the weekend. (Image: PokerNews)

Invoking conspiratorial theories, he claimed on X, formerly known as Twitter, that AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, “makes our government put Israel’s interests before ours.”

“[Jeffery] Epstein[‘s] island was an Israeli Mossad op[eration] to blackmail US politicians,” Bilzerian added.

Epstein was a convicted sex offender of Jewish heritage who had owned Little Saint James, an island in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In addition, Bilzerian alleged, “Covid[-19] was a scam, and we got poisoned while Israeli big pharma made billions, and our Israeli-controlled government and media forced it. The US is an occupied nation.”

Many anti-Jewish and anti-Israel posts from hundreds of individuals were placed under Bilzerian’s comments.

Israeli Media Covering

His statements were the focus of an article in Israel’s leading news outlet, the Jerusalem Post.

On June 10, Bilzerian made similar online comments against AIPAC.

“Until AIPAC registers as a foreign agent, we will remain a puppet of Israel,” he posted on social media.

On May 28, he commented online, “In case y’all were confused on where I stand, let me be clear, F**k Israel,” the Jerusalem Post reported.

Casino.org reached out to AIPAC and the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish-based civil rights organization, for comment. No immediate statements were available on Sunday.

Who is Bilzerian?

Bilzerian, 43, is sometimes called the “King of Instagram” and has a reputation as a playboy.

He was born in Tampa, Fla. and once lived in Las Vegas.

He took part in the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event, and was ranked 180th. He also claims to have won $10.8M during one night of poker.

In addition, Bilzerian founded Toronto-based Ignite International Brands Ltd. Among its products are CBD oils, electronic cigarettes, vodka, and water bottles.

He also attempted to run for U.S. president in 2016.

In 2015, he avoided a jail sentence but was ordered to pay a fine after negligently failing to extinguish a fire on federal land near Las Vegas.

In January, Casino.org ranked him as the wealthiest poker player. Bilzerian’s net worth is reported to be $200M.

He claims his money comes from wins on high-stakes poker games, but news reports counter it’s mostly from a trust fund set up by his financially successful father who’s known for many corporate takeovers.

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Poker Player Dan Shak Settles COMEX-Spoofing Accusation for $750K

High-stakes poker player Dan Shak has agreed to pay $750K to federal regulators to settle an accusation that he spoofed the gold and silver markets on the Commodity Exchange Inc. (COMEX).

Dan Shak, COMEX, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, CFTC
Dan Shak claims he was confident he would have prevailed at trial but didn’t want the hassle of a lengthy and costly lawsuit. (Image: REG)

“Spoofing” refers to the illegal practice of placing bids on commodities with the intent to cancel before execution in order to manipulate the market.

Shak was sued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in August 2022 in a civil lawsuit that alleged he had engaged in “manipulative or deceptive acts.” From February 2015 through March 2018, he placed large orders for gold or silver futures that he had no intention of closing, according to the CFTC.

At the same time, he entered genuine orders on the opposite side of these markets, the lawsuit claimed.

Market Ban

The poker player “knew or was reckless to the fact that his Spoof Orders would send false signals of supply and demand into the market and would deceive or trick other market participants,” per the CFTC.

Under the terms of the settlement, Shak agreed not to deny the allegations but also not to admit to them. He is also prohibited from having any commodity interests traded on his behalf and soliciting, receiving, or accepting any funds from anyone for the purpose of selling commodities.

While I am confident I could have prevailed at trial, I have concluded the right decision for my family and me is to resolve this matter with no admission of wrongdoing and without the cost, delay, and distraction of protracted litigation,” Shak said in a statement issued to PokerNews via his lawyer.

“I was an active trader making millions of trades per year, and the CFTC’s allegations relate to a small fraction of trades that allegedly occurred from 2015 to 2018,” he added.

Previous Violations

In 2013, Shak paid a $400K fine to the CFTC for trying to manipulate the price of light sweet crude oil futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). He was banned from trading outright futures contracts for two years. Just under two years later, he was fined $100,000 for violating that ban.

Shak has around $11.7 million in gross tournament earnings, according to the Hendon Mob Database. He is the founder and former principle of hedge fund SHK Management. He currently described himself on his LinkedIn page as a “self-employed commodities trader.”

Shak hit the headlines in 2012 when he sued his ex-wife, the poker player Beth Shak, claiming he was unaware of her $1 million shoe collection at the time of their divorce three years prior.

Dan claimed Beth hid her collection of 1,200 designer shoes from him, “possibly using a secret room” in their former $7.5 million Manhattan apartment. Had he known about the expensive footwear, he may have had to pay out less in the divorce settlement, he lamented.

“He is saying he didn’t know the closet in our master bedroom existed,” Beth told The New York Post. 

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Meth-Dealing Kiwi Poker Champ Gets Add-On for Smuggling Drugs in Prison

A poker player from Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, imprisoned in 2018 for drug smuggling, saw his sentenced increased this week – because of more drug smuggling.

Shane Thompson, Shane Tamihana, New Zealand, poker, meth
Shane Thompson, above, won the Sky City Festival of Poker main event in 2016. In 2018, a judge described him as “the most comprehensive methamphetamine dealer Hawke’s Bay has ever seen.”(Image: New Zealand Herald)

Shane Thompson, also known as Shane Tamihana, enjoyed success at the poker tables in the mid-2010s. The highlight was winning the main event at the Sky City Casino’s Festival of Poker in 2016 for US$36,555. It was probably the only “honest” money he made that year.

His luck ran out in 2017 when he was nailed for dealing meth. When police raided his home, they found 2.6kg of the drug and more than NZ$170K (US$100K) in cash.

In 2018, a judge described Thompson as “the most comprehensive methamphetamine dealer Hawke’s Bay has ever seen,” before sentencing him to 13 years in prison.

But Thompson made it 15 years Friday after he was found guilty of organizing a small quantity of methamphetamine to be smuggled in for another prisoner in January this year, The New Zealand Herald reports.

Illegal Cellphone

Judge Bridget Mackintosh at Napier District Court sentenced Thompson to 23 months, which will be added to the term he is already serving. That’s for supplying methamphetamine, smuggling, and unauthorized possession of a cellphone.

Thompson used the illegal cellphone to contact an unknown person to provide the drugs, which were handed to a woman who was due to visit another inmate.

Johnson’s lawyer, Eric Forster, argued the Thompson had done this “simply [as] a favor” to the inmate and not for any personal gain.

But Mackintosh said Thompson’s behavior “undermine[d] any rehabilitation programs in prison and undermine[d] prison discipline.”

‘Later Bo’

Thompson was reportedly an aggressive poker player who liked to call out the phrase “Later Bo” as he knocked an opponent out of a tournament in an unpleasant breach of poker etiquette.

Prosecutors accused Thompson of being the head of a sprawling criminal network that flooded $4.2 million worth of meth into the Hawke’s Bay region over 11 months in 2016 and 2017.

In 2018, New Zealand’s Police Asset Recovery Unit seized five vehicles and NZ$130K in cash from Thompson and his second in command, Petera Gamlen.

In 2022, authorities were granted court orders to seize Thompson’s home, an additional vehicle, and bank deposits totaling more than NZ$90K, despite his attempt to hide these assets by registering them under aliases.

In May 2023, Thompson attempted to have his sentence reduced in New Zealand’s Supreme Court. He argued that the no-parole period of six and a half years attached to his sentence undermined the established legal standard of granting discounts for guilty pleas. The bid was unsuccessful.

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Caesars Spends $4M on New Sportsbook, Poker Room at Illinois Casino

Caesars Entertainment is spending $4 million on enhancements at the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, Ill.,  an effort resulting in a refurbished sportsbook and a new World Series of Poker (WSOP) poker room.

Caesars
Caesars
The Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, Ill. Caesars is opening a new sportsbook and poker room there. (Image: Downtown Elgin)

Eldorado Resorts — the company that acquired Caesars in 2020 — purchased the Illinois casino in 2018 for $327.5 million in cash.

Grand Victoria Casino, located in Elgin, Illinois, is approximately 40 miles west of downtown Chicago along the banks of the Fox River. The property features 1,088 slot machines, 30 table games, a 12-table poker room and four dining options,” according to a statement.

The new sportsbook and WSPO poker room will be in space previously occupied by Indulge Kitchen Buffet. The sportsbook commands 2,100 square feet, while the poker room occupies 4,400 square feet and features 20 tables. The sporsbook has three customer service windows and four self-service kiosks. In November, Grand Victoria is hosting the first WSOP event in Illinois history.

Perhaps Good Illinois Timing

News of the revamped poker and sports betting options at the Grand Victoria Casino could amount to good timing for Caesars in a market that’s increasingly competitive.

Earlier this month, Penn Entertainment announced it is spending $360 million to bring its Hollywood riverboat casino in Aurora ashore. Another $185 million is allocated to bring a riverboat gaming vessel ashore in Joliet.

Additionally, Illinois, in less than three years on the regulated US sports wagering scene, is fast climbing state-by-state rankings.  Recent data from the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) indicate the state hauled in almost $565 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR) in August. That makes it the second-largest sports betting state by that metric, surpassing New Jersey in the process and trailing only New York.

Illinois sportsbooks have notched about $1 billion in GGR since going live in March 2020, delivering $175 million to state coffers along the way.

Caesars operates two other casinos in the state – Harrah’s Joliet and Harrah’s Metropolis.

Caesars Sportsbook Update

Caesars Sportsbook is the brand through which bettors in Illinois and other stages place online and mobile bets with the gaming company.

On a national basis, the operators is usually around the fourth-largest behind FanDuel, BetMGM and DraftKings, depending upon the state. But Caesars was among the first sportsbook companies to markedly pull back advertising spending, indicating it’s amassing market share on a cost-effective basis.

Analysts expect that unit will report a third-quarter loss. But that loss is forecast to be among the lowest since the unit’s inception, paving the way for the operator to potentially be among the first to turn a profit from online gaming and sports betting.

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