Spin Cycle: HOF Honorees, WSOP Hopefuls Highlight Week In Gambling

Welcome to “Spin Cycle,” Casino Reports’ weekly Friday roundup of all things impactful, intriguing, impressive, or idiotic in the gambling industry. Pull up a chair, grab a stack of chips and a glass of your beverage of choice, and take a spin with us through this week’s news cycle …

Call to the Hall

The American Gaming Association announced this week a trio of new inductees to the Gaming Hall of Fame, all of them current or former casino executives:

• Jim Allen, the chairman of Hard Rock International, CEO of Seminole Gaming, and former chairman of the AGA
• Alan Feldman, the UNLV International Gaming Institute’s director of strategic initiatives and distinguished fellow in responsible gaming as well as a former executive for MGM Resorts International
• Debi Nutton, a board member at Everi Holdings, an executive coach/consultant, and a  former executive for MGM Resorts and Wynn Resorts

“From helping transform tribal gaming and pioneering responsible gaming research to blazing new paths in casino operations, Jim, Alan, and Debi have been integral to shaping the modern gaming industry,” AGA President and CEO Bill Miller said in a press release.

The Gaming Hall of Fame was founded in 1989. This year’s induction ceremony for Allen, Feldman, and Nutton will take place in Las Vegas in October, during the G2E conference.

Illinois iCasino outlook (relatively) optimistic?

While iGaming expansion moves along at the pace of a snail that is having trouble keeping up with other snails, Illinois is emerging as one of a few states showing positive signs as we look ahead to 2025.

State Rep. Edgar Gonzalez, Jr., who introduced HB2239 for consideration in 2023 and ’24, told Poker Industry PRO that he’s already working on online casino legislation to introduce as soon as next January. He said video gaming terminal (VGT) interests opposed and effectively blocked his bill this year, but he remains reasonably bullish about the next effort.

“The momentum is in our favor,” Gonzalez said.

A bill similar to Gonzalez’s was introduced in the Illinois Senate by Sen. Cristina Castro. Both bills propose a 15% tax rate and three skins per licensee.

Sometimes the cards don’t cooperate

The biggest World Series of Poker Main Event ever whittled down on Thursday night from 10,112 dreamers to 160 players who are living the dream. But poker tournaments are not scripted, skill alone doesn’t win them, and the best players in the world sometimes fall by the wayside.

So it was on Thursday, when 11-time bracelet winner and unofficial “best poker player alive” for the past 20 years or so Phil Ivey got bounced in 340th place for a mere $45,000 payout, which translates to a $35,000 profit, which translates to a waste of his time for five long days of grinding — and in turn it means there’s no chance of a true poker superstar attracting that little extra bit of mainstream attention at the final table.

But perhaps the greater tragedy of Thursday’s play was the elimination in 307th place of another of the world’s best players, Spain’s Adrian Mateos, a four-time WSOP bracelet winner.

First, Mateos displayed his skill as he made an exceptional fold with kings against aces:

Then, the poker gods punished him by giving him aces and cracking them:

Heading into Friday’s Day 6 action, the biggest names remaining are 2023 Poker Hall of Fame inductee Brian Rast, Kristen Foxen, Brandon Cantu, Tony Dunst, and Danielle Andersen. The final nine will be determined after three more days of play, leading to a two-day final table next Tuesday and Wednesday.

BetPARX wears the White Hat

Online casino site betPARX is beefing up its game selection in Pennsylvania, thanks to the launch of numerous White Hat Studios game titles in the past week. New games available on betPARX include Almighty Buffalo Megaways, Ted Cashlock, and assorted table games and slots with progressive jackpots.

“This is an exciting moment for White Hat Studios as we launch our content with betPARX, a prominent operator across the U.S., to continue in expanding our footprint in the U.S. market,” said White Hat VP Sales & Marketing Daniel Lechner in a press release.

The game provider will indeed be continuing to expand its footprint, as the White Hat Studios titles will soon be coming to betPARX’s sites in Michigan and New Jersey as well.

“We’re thrilled to have gone live with White Hat Studios to deliver their immersive games on our easy-to-use platform for players across Pennsylvania,” said betPARX Senior Director of Marketing Gil Bushkin, “with Michigan and New Jersey to follow suit.”

White Hat Studios’ games are also available in Pennsylvania via FanDuel Casino.

The Shuffle: Other news and views

THE LAST DUNCE: Former NBA player Jontay Porter pleads guilty in betting scandal

RG IN VT: Vermont launches responsible gaming website to help bettors

DOUBLE PLAY: Flutter reportedly interested in deal with Boyd Gaming to buy PENN Interactive

DIRTY WORK: Evolution facing Georgian strike action over ‘unsanitary workplace conditions’

VERY SUPERSTITIOUS: FOMO, the gambler’s fallacy, and the downside to playing the same lottery numbers every time

HIGH AND MIGHTY: Supporters of the High Line aim to block plan to build a casino nearby

REST IN POWER: Paddy Power co-founder David Power dies at 77

TRUE MAVERICK: Bally’s Twin River casino announces strategic poker room partnership

WRONG NUMBERS: DraftKings fined $100K, scolded by New Jersey for ‘gross errors and failures’ in wagering data

REAL OR MIRAGE?: Long lines and lots of frustration as Mirage Casino hosts massive jackpot opportunity 

KAMBI PLAN B: Kambi scraps 2027 financial targets due to slow pace of regulation

THREE’S COMPANY: D.C. online sports betting options to triple starting Monday

WE CAN WORK IT OUT: 2 Las Vegas Strip hotels reach labor deals with hospitality union

PRIME TIME: The lottery gets dystopian in upcoming Amazon action-comedy ‘Jackpot!’

DAMAGED REP: Ex-lawmaker Sean Eberhart sentenced in casino corruption case

ZERO FLUCS GIVEN: Caesars Entertainment to acquire ZeroFlucs, enhance sports betting platform

OUT OF COMMISSION: Sports betting ban, carbon credit guides at risk with CFTC exits

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST: Betway becomes latest US sportsbook casualty, but plowing ahead with online casino offerings

ON THE HOT SEAT: Harrah’s Northern California casino first in nation to offer HotSeat Jackpot

TO SERVE AND PROTECT: Poker and casino players deserve the same protections as sports bettors

TOP OF THE DECK: One problem gambling prevention program stands above the rest

MEGA MART: Walmart is preparing major push into lottery sector

The Bonus Round

Completing the Spin Cycle with some odds and ends and our favorite social media posts of the week:

• (Sorry to ruin the fun, but the above sign is not real. Great tweet, though.)

• From a Dolphin to a Hawk: It was never going to be easy to top Dan Marino as a keynote speaker at the SBC Summit North America in New Jersey in May, but SBC is at least in the ballpark (or, more accurately, the skatepark) with its announcement that September’s Summit in Lisbon will feature none other than Tony Hawk. “Although the worlds of skateboarding and gambling might seem very different, I believe many parallels and lessons can be very relatable to companies in this industry,” Hawk said.

• What’s worse: taking bets on a sporting event a week after the fact, or fining the company that took those bets 27 months after fact? FanDuel took bets up until April Fool’s Day of 2022 (no joke) on MMA fights that happened on March 25, and New Jersey regulators finally decided this week to fine FanDuel $2,000 for the infraction. That’ll teach ‘em.

• There’s always room in the Spin Cycle for some happy winner news! A player at Paris Las Vegas won $436,588 on a progressive jackpot for a royal flush in Three Card Poker recently, which sounds like a lot of money until you learn that six different gamblers won over a million dollars playing IGT’s Wheel of Fortune or Powerbucks slots in June. Meanwhile, this week I spun a free 50-cent satellite ticket on PokerStars Pennsylvania into a $1.50 ticket, then into a $10 ticket, and then into a $100 ticket, leaving me two steps away for now from a $10,000 NAPT Gold Pass. So, take that, slot millionaires.

• I just can’t help but point out the appropriateness of an article about ZenSports’ failure to pay customers being written by a guy named Styf. You can’t make this stuff up, folks.