3662 stories by Philip Conneller
Japan Gambler Sentenced After Blowing Town’s Entire COVID Relief Package
A Japanese man was handed a suspended prison sentence after spending a whole town’s COVID-relief package at black market online casinos. Sho Taguchi, 25, received 46.3 million yen (US$347,000) in COVID-19 relief money in April 2022 because of an administrative error. The...
Tony ‘The Ant’ Spilotro Hitman Nick Calabrese Dies Aged 80
The man who put vicious Las Vegas-based Mob enforcer Tony “The Ant” Spilotro in the ground has gone to meet the Boss of all Bosses. Former Chicago Mob hitman turned government informant Nicholas Calabrese has died aged 80, according to a CBS...
Texas Poker Rooms Hit by Civil Lawsuits Alleging ‘Organized Crime’
Several West Texas poker rooms are facing lawsuits that accuse them of being a “public nuisance” and committing “organized criminal activity.” The plaintiff, Chicago-based lawyer Mark Lavery, has a history of litigating against legally gray gambling operations. He has now filed multiple...
Canadian Lawmaker Cleared of Peddling Influence to Pay Gambling Debts
A former Canadian lawmaker accused of peddling influence for cash to clear gambling debts was acquitted by a judge at Ontario’s Superior Court Friday. Former Liberal MP Raj Grewal faced allegations that he helped businessmen gain access to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau...
Scottish Soccer Player Kane Hester Cleared of Spot Fixing Despite Confession
A Scottish soccer player has been cleared of conspiring with two friends, one a professional gambler, to deliberately pick up a yellow card. That’s despite the player, Elgin City striker Kane Hester, admitting involvement in a plot to defraud Bet365 of £14,000 (US$16,800)...
Levo Chan Defiant as Trial Wraps: ‘Tak Chun Not Triad’
An emotional Levo Chan denied that his former company, the Tak Chun Group, was a triad organization. In a Macau courtroom on Wednesday, Chan also apologized to staff members whose lives had been impacted by his trial on charges of illegal gambling,...
Illegal Gambling Operator Imprisoned for $2M Theft from US Army
An illegal gambling operator from Corpus Christi, Texas, has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for the theft of more than $2 million worth of sensitive military equipment from the US Army. Nathan Nichols, 46, ran two bars in his hometown,...
Great Canadian Casino Toronto, Canada’s Biggest Resort Opens this Summer
Canada’s largest casino resort will open in Toronto this summer, developer Great Canadian Entertainment (GCE) said Wednesday. The $1 billion Great Canadian Casino Toronto is currently under construction next to the Woodbine Racetrack in the city’s Etobicoke district. The resort will span...
Flutter Pays $4M to US to Avoid PokerStars’ Russia Bribery Charges
Dublin-based Flutter Entertainment has agreed to pay the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) $4 million. That’s to settle allegations that its flagship poker site, PokerStars, violated US bribery laws by funneling around $8.9 million in payments to lobbyists in Russia. The...
Entain Keeps Most of $758K Lost by Fraudulent Wealth Manager
Entain Australia has been fined AU$78,540 (US$51,800) by regulators in the country’s Northern Territories. The penalty comes for allowing a rogue wealth manager to fritter away $758,510 of his clients’ money. But the operator gets to keep the AU$758,510 (US$500,000) Gavin Fineff,...
