Areas of Expertise
3661 stories by Philip Conneller
Howard Lutnick: Soon-to-Be US Commerce Secretary’s Cantor Gaming Once Paid $22.5 Million to Settle Illegal Gambling Charges
Cantor Fitzgerald chairman and CEO Howard Lutnick is expected to be confirmed as US Commerce Secretary this week. Lutnick founded Cantor Gaming, which in 2016 settled with federal authorities for $22.5M to avoid illegal gambling and money laundering charges. Cantor Gaming faced...
Ohtani Interpreter in $17M Gambling Theft Gets Almost 5 Years in Prison
Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was sentenced to 57 months in prison Friday for stealing almost $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers star. Mizuhara, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of felony bank fraud and another of filing a false...
Maine’s Sole Retail Sportsbook Loses License Days Before Super Bowl, Appeals
Maine’s only retail sports betting outlet, Oddfellahs Sportsbook and Bar in Portland, has stopped taking bets after the state’s Gambling Control Unit (GCU) refused to renew its license. The business told customers last Friday that all bets were off after the regulator...
Sacramento River Massacre is Site of Proposed Casino, California Tribes Claim
A California tribal casino project signed off by the outgoing Biden administration would be built on the site of the Sacramento River Massacre, a new lawsuit claims. Up to 1,000 unarmed indigenous people were slaughtered by an expeditionary force of the US...
Casino Tycoon Leon Tsoukernik Recovers After Drug O.D. Coma
Casino tycoon Leon Tsoukernik has made a full recovery after a suspected drug overdose saw him slip into a 40-hour coma last month. The Russian-Czech businessman was reportedly fighting for his life after taking the powerful intravenous anesthetic Propofol on January 14....
Las Vegas Court Official Fled Fatal Crash After Drunk Mission to Buy Lottery Tickets
A senior Clark County court employee accused of causing the DUI death of another motorist on Christmas Eve, 2024 drove 90 miles from Las Vegas to Arizona on a drunken mission to buy lottery tickets, according to police. Michael Doan, 46, is...
Utah, California Men Arrested for $25M Ponzi Scheme Linked to Fake Mexican Casino
Federal authorities in Utah have indicted two men for operating an alleged $25 million Ponzi scheme while convincing victims to invest in a phantom casino project in Mexico. Thomas Paul Madden, 66, of Washington City, Utah, and Jeremy Tyler Grabow 54, of...
Full House Resumes Waukegan Casino Construction After Lawsuit
Las Vegas-based casino developer Full House Resorts has resumed work on its $400 million American Place Resort and Casino in Waukegan, a north Chicago suburb. When finished in late 2027, the resort will comprise a 20-suite, five-star luxury hotel, complete with a...
Lucchese Soldier Pleads Guilty Over Illegal Gambling Platform ‘Rhino Sports’
Five members and associates of the Lucchese crime family have pleaded guilty to charges related to the operation of Rhino Sports, a Brooklyn-based illegal gambling enterprise with servers based in Costa Rica. Among them is the aptly named Anthony Villani, 60, a...
FIFA Won’t Punish Korean Player Accused of Match-Fixing in China
Soccer’s world governing body, FIFA, has refused to recognize the “global” life ban handed by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) to South Korean defensive midfielder Son Jun-ho for match-fixing. The defensive midfielder, who denies the allegations, was one of 43 players and officials...