Areas of Expertise
3704 stories by Philip Conneller
Dominican Republic Tourist Deaths Not Linked to Bootleg Booze: FBI
The “mysterious” deaths of three US citizens in the Dominican Republic -- which sparked a disastrous dip in tourism for the vacation and casino resort hotspot -- appear on preliminary evidence to be nothing suspicious, according to long-awaited FBI toxicology reports. The...
Harrahs Casino, Hollywood Casino Sued in Illinois Over Facial Recognition Tech
Two class-action lawsuits have been filed by casino-goers over two Joliet, Illinois casinos’ use of facial recognition technology. Patch.com reports that the two almost identical lawsuits accuse Caesars’ Harrah’s Casino and Penn National’s Hollywood Casino of breaching the state’s Biometric Information Privacy...
Joey ‘The Clown’ Lombardo, Who Oversaw Mob Casino Interests in Las Vegas, Dies in Prison At Age 90
Chicago Mobster and gambling kingpin Joey Lombardo died Saturday in the federal maximum security prison where he was serving a 2007 life sentence for racketeering, extortion, loan sharking, illegal gambling, and murder. Lombardo was alleged to have been the Chicago Outfit’s Consiglieri...
Crown Resorts Allowed UN-Sanctioned Arms Trader Linked to Convicted War Criminal to Gamble Away $6 Million
Another day, another PR disaster for embattled Australian casino giant Crown Resorts. This one comes in the form of an alleged arms dealer who was placed on a United Nations sanctions list for aiding and abetting former Liberian president Charles Taylor. In...
Alabama Student Called in Bomb Threat to LSU Tiger Stadium Because Friend was Losing Bet
A student at the University of Alabama is suspected of dialing in a hoax bomb threat to the Louisiana State University’s Tiger Stadium in a bid to halt Saturday’s game against the University of Florida. Freshman Connor Croll, 19, was arrested Sunday...
Shadowy Political Action Group Demands Poarch Creek Band Pay Taxes in Alabama
A political action campaign in Alabama wants the Poarch Creek Band of Mission Indians to pay taxes to the state. It is also demanding the powerful tribal casino operator be “held accountable” for its political contributions inside the state and its investments...
Louisiana Judge Imprisoned for Gambling Away Debtor Payments
A judge in Louisiana has been sentenced to three years in a federal prison after being found guilty of siphoning off money deducted from debtors' pay checks, which he blew mainly in local casinos. Between, May 2009 and August 2016, Patrick Dejean...
South Chicago Racino Plan Torpedoed by Operator Link to Mob-Connected Banking Family
Plans for a racino at Tinley Park in Chicago’s southern suburbs have hit the skids after the office of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday the plot of state-owned land earmarked for the project is no longer for sale. The administration’s rebuff...
London Olympics Stadium Desperate for Naming Rights Deal, but Gambling Companies Not Welcome
The London Stadium -- built on spec for the London 2012 Olympics, and now the home of EPL soccer team West Ham -- is bleeding money, some £25 million ($32 million) per year. The stadium is in desperate need of a naming...
World Series of Poker Flasher Kenneth Strauss Found Unfit to Stand Trial on Terrorism Charges
A poker player who gained temporary notoriety at this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event for exposing a little bit more than just his hole cards has been declared mentally unfit to stand trial for making terrorist threats. Kenneth Strauss was...