Areas of Expertise
3260 stories by Philip Conneller
New Mexico Man Claims He Found 900 Fentanyl Pills Near Slots
A New Mexico man claims he just happened to find 900 fentanyl pills next to a slot machine at the Speaking Rock Casino in El Paso, Texas, and placed them in his pocket for safekeeping. A federal grand jury was skeptical and...
Affordability Checks Pose ‘Existential Threat’ to British Horse Racing
Proposed affordability checks for UK gamblers could spell curtains for British horse racing, industry stakeholders fear. The planned checks could be triggered by losses of as little as £125 (US$159) in 30 days, or £500 (US$ 634) in a year. This could...
Barstool Sports’ ‘Mintzy’ Skips Work for Deep Poker Run, Portnoy Mad
“Mintzy Just Bagged chip lead with 14 left and $120k up top by rivering quads in a CRAZY Hand!” So tweeted Ben “Mintzy” Mintz just hours ago. The colorful Barstool Sports media personality had found himself as the chip leader in the...
Taylor Swift May Have Driven Resurgent Black Market Super Bowl Bets
Reports of the death of the U.S.-facing online gambling black market have been greatly exaggerated. At least, that’s the takeaway from new research commissioned by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG), a UK campaign group that promotes gambling reform. Of the estimated...
UK to Announce £2 Max Stakes on Slots In Drastic Reform
The UK government is expected Friday to set the maximum stake on online slots to £2 per spin for those younger than 25, and £5 per spin for those over 25, The Guardian reports. Currently, there is no legal maximum stake for...
UCSF Admin Stole $1.5M, ‘Spiraled Into Depths’ of Drugs, Gambling
A University of California San Francisco administrator stole $1.5 million in tuition payments as she “spiral into the depths of destructive behavior,” according to court filings. Outwardly, Sandra “Sandi” Eileen Le, 55, was a respectable middle-aged woman with a stable job as...
Ex-DraftKings Exec in ‘Company Secrets’ Row Wants $310K Legal Fees
A former DraftKings executive whom the company accused of corporate espionage after he jumped ship to Fanatics wants his ex-employer to stump up some of his legal fees. In early February, DraftKings sued its former head of VIP, Michael Hermalyn, claiming he...
UK Lottery Operator Allwyn Must Account on Donations: Lawmakers
As Czech company Allwyn takes over the reins of the UK National Lottery, Britain's lawmakers are seeking guarantees that the new operator will meet its commitment to donate revenue to good causes. Allwyn displaced Camelot, which operated the lottery since its 1994...
She Beverage Co. ‘Scammed Investors for Casino Binges’ – Court
A California-based beverage company that marketed drinks for women has been ordered to pay $14 million in penalties. That’s for allegedly scamming investors and spending the proceeds on casino binges and other luxury items. The She Beverage Co. describes itself on its...
New York Racing Studying Nationwide Adoption of Synthetic Tracks
Could America’s horse racetracks, from Santa Anita to Saratoga, soon be carpeted entirely with synthetic surfaces? That’s exactly what a new committee established by the New York Racing Association (NYRA) wants to discover. The racing body’s All-Weather Surfaces Committee is composed of...