3883 stories by Philip Conneller
Virginia Ex-NASCAR Driver’s Skill Games Lawsuit Nixed as Ban Enforced
With the enforcement of Virginia’s skill game prohibition set to kick in Wednesday, a judge in Greensville County has dismissed former NASCAR driver Hermie Sadler’s legal challenge to the ban. Sadler sued Virginia’s then-Gov. Ralph Northam (D) in June 2021, just as...
Poker Player Shawn Sheikhan Gets Four Years for Illegal Cannabis Business
Poker “bad boy” Shawn Sheikhan has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for operating an illegal cannabis business. Sheikhan is best known for his deep run in the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event, where he feuded with Mike...
Scattered Spider Casino Hackers Remain Free Despite Being ‘Known’ to FBI
For months, the FBI has known the identities of at least 12 “Scattered Spider” hacking group members but has made no arrests. That’s despite many group members being based in the US and other Western countries, Reuters reported. Scattered Spider has been...
Poker Player’s Dog Death ‘Trainer’ Faces Similar Charges in California
A Connecticut “dog trainer” accused of causing the death of poker player Bart Hanson’s bulldog is facing fresh charges linked to a missing German Shepherd in California. Josephine “Josie” Ragland, 27, admitted she was on a “casino bender” when the Hanson family...
Ex-Indiana Lawmaker to Plead Guilty in Spectacle Entertainment Case
A former Indiana state representative will plead guilty to a federal honest services fraud conspiracy charge related to the Spectacle Entertainment corruption scandal, U.S. prosecutors have announced. Republican Sean Eberhart, 57, is the third lawmaker to plead guilty to charges linked to...
Meth-Dealing Kiwi Poker Champ Gets Add-On for Smuggling Prison Drugs
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, also known as Shane Tamihana, enjoyed success at the poker tables in the mid-2010s....
South Dakota Hotel Ordered to Apologize to Native Americans for ‘Racist’ Ban
The owners of a South Dakota hotel-casino that banned Native Americans from the premises must publicly apologize to tribal organizations in the state and throughout the Great Plains region. This is part of a settlement to resolve a DOJ lawsuit that accused...
Oklahoma Man Receives Life Sentence for Murder Over ‘Joke’ Casino Winnings
A Muskogee, Okla. man has been sentenced to two life terms in prison without the possibility of parole for a 2020 murder linked to nonexistent casino winnings. Kevin Marvell Jackson, 22, shot Bradley Dillon, 19, five times after he had joked about...
Seminoles’ Revived Sports Betting App Faces Fresh Legal Threat
West Flagler Associates, the pari-mutuel operator battling the Seminole sports betting monopoly in Florida, has petitioned the State Supreme Court to pull the plug on the tribe’s mobile sportsbook. The Seminoles relaunched the app earlier this week. That’s after the U.S. Supreme...
East Texas Cockfighting Bust Sees 300 Spectators Flee into Woods
Up to 300 people who had gathered to watch and gamble on illegal cockfighting bouts in rural east Texas bolted into the woods as deputies arrived to disrupt the spectacle. That’s according to a Facebook post by the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s...
