Crime & Scandals

Rapper Drake Accuses Vancouver Casino of Racial Profiling

Posted on: November 5, 2018, 06:51h.

Last updated on: November 5, 2018, 07:19h.

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Philip Conneller In Philip Conneller’s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation...
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Hip hop and R&B star Drake has lashed out at a Vancouver casino for refusing to allow him to gamble, accusing it of “racially profiling” him.

The Canadian was in town to perform two concerts as part of his Aubrey and the Three Migos Tour on Saturday and Sunday. After Saturday’s show, Drake — who is known to be partial to a spot of high-stakes gambling — popped into the Parq Vancouver to let off some steam.

For reasons unclear, the casino said no dice. But as far as Drake was concerned, the reason was clear as day, as he vented on Instagram.

“Parq casino @parqvancouverbc is the worst run business I have ever witnessed … profiling me and not allowing me to gamble when I had everything they originally asked me for,” wrote Drake

Fan Backlash

Within minutes, the “customer reviews” section of the Parq website was flooded with comments from angry Drake fans.

“It’s 2018 not 1945,” fumed one user.

On Monday, the comments section appeared to have been disabled.

Parq President Joe Brunini was sufficiently concerned about the backlash to issue a press release denouncing racism and insisting the matter was being investigated.

On behalf of Parq Vancouver we would like to apologize for the experience our customer had,” Joe Brunini, the president of Parq Vancouver, wrote in a press release emailed to the Star. “We categorically stand against racism of any kind. We are committed to providing a safe, secure and enjoyable experience for all.”

Laundromats for Crime

A regulatory crackdown on British Columbia’s casino industry has resulted in increased red tape surrounding the casinos’ interactions with high rollers. A recent report found anti-money laundering (AML) violations had become endemic at the province’s casinos, which had “served as laundromats” for the proceeds of organized crime, linked to drug importing, distribution and trafficking.

New regulations mean that players who want to buy in for CA$10,000 ($7,600) or more must provide a source-of-funds receipt from the same day.

That threshold would be short change for Drake, whose wealth is estimated to stand at some $100 million, and is known to gamble high.

On the Atlantic City stop of his tour in September, he reportedly gambled away $200,000 in a private VIP at the Hard Rock Atlantic City.

In Philip Conneller’s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation.

Philip was the original features editor for poker’s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites.

His news stories for Casino.org/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others.

Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John’s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic.

He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist.

Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC.

Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.