Alex Greenblatt topped a field of 446 entries to win the Season 5 WPTDeepStacks Thunder Valley Main Event on Monday at Thunder Valley Casino Resort. The professional poker player earned his first WPTDeepStacks title, and $122,500 in first-place prize money, which included a $3,000 championship prize package. This is one of the biggest wins of Greenblatt’s poker career, and his career earnings now stand at $1,317,760.

“It’s great when you win a tournament, that’s the only time you’re happy after a tournament. I’m pretty happy, I play at Thunder Valley a lot. I haven’t actually cashed at Thunder Valley in 18 months. The last tournament I cashed here was a WPTDeepStacks where I finished in 10th. It’s great to win something here.” said Greenblatt after the win.

When he was asked about his strategy for the final table tonight, Greenblatt had this to say. “I was going to try and play small ball. I wasn’t going to try to do much bluffing, maybe one or two barrels and not try to make anyone fold top pair.”

“I guess I’m up on the year so I will try to finish strong. Now I’ve got this championship to try and go win, so that should be fun. It was great, the staff is lovely, they know what they’re doing, they run a good show. WPTDeepStacks is a great tour, good structures, this tournament was amazing,” said Greenblatt when he was asked about his plans to end the year and overall thoughts on the tournament to end the interview.

Season 5 WPTDeepStacks Thunder Valley Final Table Results

1st: Alex Greenblatt – $122,500*
2nd: James Brown – $83,600
3rd: Nick Wooderson – $53,700
4th: Kelly Douglas – $36,480
5th: Paul Chai – $28,000
6th: Warren Kashiwagi – $23,280
7th: Robert Angeleri – $19,505
8th: Mimi Luu – $15,730
9th: Walter Robertson – $11,950

*Includes a $3,000 WPTDS Championship Package

The final table moved fast from the beginning, with Walter Robertson hitting the rail in ninth place just a couple of minute into the day. Season 4 WPTDeepStacks Thunder Valley Spring Main Event champion Mimi Luu fell next in eighth place, and Robert Angeleri took seventh place a short time later.

Warren Kashiwagi then survived in a chop, but the next time he was not so lucky and busted in sixth place. Paul Chai then fell in fifth place, and Kelly Douglas exited in fourth place. The elimination of Nick Wooderson in third place then set up a heads-up final between Alex Greenblatt (7.11 million) and James Brown (6.27 million).

Greenblatt fell behind slightly after an hour of play, but then he scored a huge double up to take a gigantic chip lead. The final hand was played just a few minutes later. Brown was all in preflop for just over 600,000, and Greenblatt had him covered on the button. The two players then flipped over their cards.

Greenblatt: Kd5c
Brown: AhKc

Board: 7h5h3cJd9s

Brown was eliminated in second place, good for $83,600 thanks to his deep run in the tournament. Greenblatt won the hand, and the tournament to take home his first WPTDeepStacks title, $122,500 (which includes the $3,000 championship prize package), and the WPTDeepStacks trophy.

Congratulations to our new WPTDeepStacks champion – Alex Greenblatt!

That concludes our coverage from WPTDeepStacks Thunder Valley. Thanks to Thunder Valley Casino Resort for hosting another great stop on the tour.

Only one day remains at the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event at Planet Hollywood, and the starting field of 518 has been whittled down to 12. The chip leader heading into the final day is Daniel Strelitz.

The final 12 players will return tomorrow to determine a winner, who will take home $168,722 and earn a free seat into the 2019 WSOP Global Casino Championship.

Each of the remaining 12 players will earn at least $12,627.

Strelitz finished Day 2 with 2,325,000 in chips. He’s followed by Ryan Tosoc (2,165,000), and Brent Roberts (1,885,000). Roberts was the chip leader at the start of the day, and he stayed among the leaders throughout Day 2.

Tim Reilly is fifth in chips (1,430,000). He has a history of success here. At the last Circuit stop at Planet Hollywood, he finished in 26th place. Ryan Tosoc also cashed in that event, finishing in 50th. They’ve both already improved on their finishes from last season.

Barry Shulman is the only bracelet winner still alive. He’s looking to add his first Circuit ring to his trophy case. He has an uphill battle, though, as he enters the final day last in chips with 529,000.

Day 2 started with 105 players who advanced from Day 1A (Saturday) or Day 1B (Sunday). The bubble burst in the third level of the day when Bob Zeidman and Nicholas Pupillo were eliminated simultaneously.

Players who finished in the money include Ben Palmer, who finished runner up in the Main Event at the last Circuit stop here. He finished in 19th place ($7,181) this time around. Also finishing in the money were Ben Keeline (52nd), Matt Affleck (46th), Peter Hengsakul (38th), Michael Del Vecchio (37th), Ankush Mandavia (34th), Dylan Wilkerson (28th), Dan O’Brien (21st), and Jesse Yaginuma (18th).

Those who were eliminated short of the money include Bryan Piccioli, Scott Stewart, Ryan Laplante, and Joshua Turner.

Day 3 begins Tuesday at 1:00 p.m., and play will continue until a new Circuit Main Event champion has been crowned.

Click here for results for far, or here for live updates from the event.

Here are the chip counts heading into Day 3:
1 – Daniel Strelitz – 2,325,000
2 – Ryan Tosoc – 2,165,000
3 – Brent Roberts – 1,885,000
4 – Jordan Meltzer – 1,755,000
5 – Tim Reilly – 1,430,000
6 – Scott Weiss – 1,255,000
7 – Travis Dorsey – 1,070,000
8 – Jared Griener – 945,000
9 – Jody Fayant – 770,000
10 – Rafael Lebron – 770,000
11 – Zinan Xu – 685,000
12 – Barry Shulman – 529,000

Atlantic City casinos posted double-digit profit declines in the third quarter of 2018, as the market’s two new gaming venues cut into the other seven’s bottom lines.

Figures released Friday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) show Atlantic City’s nine casinos generated net revenue of $920m in the three months ending September 30, a 17.8% rise over the same period last year. For the year-to-date, revenue is up 6.4% to $2.2b.

However, the gross operating profit of these nine venues totaled $213.7m in Q3, a 15.3% year-on-year decline. The figure is only slightly better on the year-to-date front, in which profits fell 9.3% to $508.7m.

The late-June openings of two new AC venues – Hard Rock Atlantic City and the Ocean Resort Casino– clearly impacted the Q3 figures, as the two properties generated combined revenue of $178.5m. Their profits were miniscule — $8.2m for Hard Rock and $1.4m for ORC – as startup costs will have kept a lid on black ink.

Of the ‘original’ seven properties, none of them posted revenue gains in Q3, while only two reported increased profits. The Golden Nugget’s profits were up 6.6% to $13.6m, although this was at least partially due to the property’s market-leading online casino operation. The other profit gainer, Bally’s, barely qualified for that designation, rising only 0.5% to $18.4m.

In percentage terms, the Tropicana suffered the biggest profit decline, falling 31.1% to $31.8m, while the market-leading Borgata was down 21.7% to $63.2m.

Even the online-only operations of Caesars Interactive Entertainment New Jersey and Resorts Digitalwere in negative profit territory in Q3. Actually, seriously negative, as CIENJ’s revenue fell 10.5% while profit tumbled 69.4%. Resorts Digital fared even worse, with revenue down 51.4% and profit sliding 83.3%, even as the state’s overall online market continued to post solid numbers during the period.

The numbers are a far cry from Q3 2017’s results, which saw profit shoot up 17.6% despite a modest revenue dip, and that dip was due to the soon-to-be-closed Trump Taj Mahal reducing its operations as its closing date drew nearer.

At the time, the fact that AC’s market had seen five casinos close in rapid succession was described as the market’s ‘right-sizing,’ although that narrative suffered a hiccup when Q1 2018’s profits fell 11.7%. However, Q1 saw the region suffer a string of winter storms that kept customers at home, a phenomenon that clearly wasn’t at play in Q3. Moreover, Q2’s profit decline was a more modest 4.6%.

While the market’s hotel occupancy over the first nine months of 2018 was down 5.1 points to 84.1%, at least part of the profit decline is likely due to all operators having to step up their marketing game in the wake of shiny new competition.

The question that hung over the launch of AC’s new properties was whether they could grow the overall financial pie or just nibble away at the seven ‘original’ properties’ slices. Revenue is clearly growing, although some of that growth is goosed by the state’s new legal sports betting options, and it remains to be seen whether the market as a whole will continue to suffer from having two extra mouths to feed.

A gambler in Lincolnshire, England, has filed a lawsuit against the British bookmaker Betfred after the company said that his win of a £1.7 million jackpot was a result of a software malfunction and decided to void it. Thinking that he was a millionaire after hitting the jackpot online, the man spent £2,500 celebrating the win with his family and friends only to learn a few days later that it was all a “glitch”.

Andrew Green, a 52-year-old gambler from North Hykeham in Lincolnshire, won the mouth-watering jackpot while playing the popular Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven game on the Betfred website in January. He played the blackjack version of the game which featured a progressive jackpot of £1.7 million (approximately US$2.19 million). Five days after taking his family to a local pub to celebrate the win, however, Mr. Green was contacted by the betting company and heard the unpleasant news that his winnings were void.

According to Betfred, his win took place as a result of a software malfunction and, therefore, was not legitimate. The gambler, however, had extended his bank overdraft in order to pay around £2,500 for the celebratory drinks, the Daily Mail reported on Thursday. He was less than happy with the betting firm’s explanation that a computer glitch had occurred while he was playing so Betfred offered him £60,000.

Green turned down the settlement, according to which he had to sign a nondisclosure agreement in order to receive the compensation. He is now taking his case to High Court and expecting the company to honor the bet. His legal representative Peter Coyle explains that Betfred has not provided evidence of the error. The gambler believes, however, that even if it was a glitch, he could not have known about it and should not be held responsible. The preliminary hearing was held this Monday.

Software Malfunction Often Blamed for Companies’ Refusal to Pay

This is not the first time a gambling site refuses to pay out a huge win or a jackpot, blaming it on a glitch in the software of the game. Bookmakers have also voided bettors wins, saying that there has been a malfunction in the live-betting system.

In July 2017, Bet365 said that Megan McCann’s £1 million win was not legitimate and did not pay her. The student from Belfast wagered quite successfully £13 on accumulated bets involving horse racing but according to the sportsbook, these bets were placed by a third party. She did not place just one bet but nearly £25,000, which the company decided to keep. McCann took the bookmaker to court but the case will not be heard until next year.

Earlier this year, the FanDuel sportsbook in New Jersey refused to pay out $82,000 to a bettor, saying that the 750-1 odds displayed was a mistake. According to the firm, a glitch occurred in the pricing system and continued for a short time, but it was long enough for the gambler, Anthony Prince of Newark, to place his $110 bet. As a result, his winnings were not considered legitimate and were void.

Following a vast media coverage and an outrage from the gambling community, however, FanDuel decided to give Anthony Prince his winnings even if they were caused by a mistake in the software. In an official statement in September, the company explained that sports betting was “supposed to be fun”. These glitches, even if rare, were possible, FanDuel continued, adding that they would honor the win after all.

Following the SCOTUS ruling in May that lifted the federal ban of sports betting, the country is seeing a rapid expansion of sports wagering. Legalized sports betting went livein Pennsylvania this week at the Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, while Rhode Island is expected to begin offering betting services on Monday.

Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island, will officially open the first New England’s sports betting operation after Thanksgiving holiday. At the opening bet ceremony, scheduled for 3.00 pm. Monday afternoon, the first bets in the state will be placed by Senate president Dominic Ruggerio, Nicholas Mattiello, the Speaker of the House, and Twin River Worldwide Holdings, Inc., executive chairman, John E. Taylor, Jr. For now, this is the only facility in Rhode Island that will take bets, while the Tiverton Casino Hotel is expected to launch a sportsbook later in December.

The new sports wagering operation saw a significant delay as initially, state officials planned the launch for early October. With that date in mind, they even included a $23.5 million in tax revenue from sports betting in the state budget but this amount is now estimated to be cut in half to only $12 million. The delay may be less than two months, but due to it, the state has failed to cash in from the start of the NFL season and the MLB’s 2018 World Series that ran between October 23 and October 28.

It is still unclear whether the sports betting industry could be really lucrative in Rhode Island, with the State Department of Revenue having no estimates of the potential profits that could be made. According to it, several major factors would weigh in, including the popularity of the Tiverton casino, which is expected to launch its own sportsbook in December. Analysts hope that it would be visited by Newport tourists as it is only half an hour away. Residents of Massachusetts and Connecticut may also find traveling to Rhode Island a convenient way to place bets on sporting events. Of course, the future of sports wagering would largely depend on Rhode Islanders and their interest in bets, as well.

According to the current rules, the state will get 51 percent of the revenue, while the rest of the earnings will be divided between the vendor (32%) and the casino (17%).

Sports Betting Expansion Continues

The Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course completed its first week of taking sports bets after it quietly launched its new operation on November 15. Managed by William Hill USA, its sportsbook now offers various kinds of bets and is the first facility across Pennsylvania to take bets on sporting events.

Several other casinos have received approval by the State Gaming Board – Parx Casino in Bensalem, Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack in Chester, SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia, as well as Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh and Hollywood Casino in Grantville, near Harrisburg.

On December 1, a temporary sports betting parlor is expected to open at Rivers Casino and by the next spring, the casino hopes to complete its project for a permanent sports wagering lounge. Bettors will be able to place wagers on baseball, football, hockey, basketball and international sporting events. In order to offer sports betting services, casinos in Pennsylvania are required to pay a $10 million fee. Apparently, starting such a business is worth it, however, and an increasing number of states are recognizing the potential profitability of sports betting.

In May 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down a federal law that banned almost all forms of sports betting and in nearly all 52 states and jurisdictions. Now, many states are passing legislation to allow wagering on sports and after this weekend, Rhode Island will be the 8th state to effectively launch a sports betting operation. The other states where betting on sports is allowed include Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Mississippi, West Virginia, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania.

South Florida is home to the next stop on the WPT Main Tour. More specifically, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino for the $3,500 buy-in Rock n’ Roll Poker Open which begins on Black Friday.

Season 17 of the World Poker Tour continues November 23-28 from sunny Florida. Last year’s event, which was not on the WPT schedule, had 585 entries. This weekend’s tournament has a guaranteed $2 million prize pool.

Speeding Things Up

The Rock n’ Roll Poker Open will use an Action Clock. This requires players to act within 30 seconds or their hand will be declared dead unless they use one of their six time-extension chips.

World Poker Tour events began using the Action Clock last year as a way of speeding up the game. Doing so has eliminated excessive tanking.

Players can re-enter on Day 1B Saturday if they busted from Friday’s Day 1A session or choose to forfeit their stack. Many pros opt to dump a small end-of-day stack so they can start from scratch the following day.

Michael Newman is the tournament’s defending champion. He won $374,240 last year for winning the Rock n’ Roll Poker Open. The New Yorker beat a difficult final table that included Darryll Fish (3rd), Alan Engel (5th), and Tom Marchese (6th). Shaun Deeb (9th), Dan Colman (10th), Joe McKeehen (13th), and David Peters (18th), also ran deep.

Newman referred to the field as the “toughest” he’s ever faced in poker. That win was worth nearly half of his career live tournament earnings. Expect to see another difficult field this coming weekend.

Looking Ahead

It’s way too early to start thinking about the WPT Player of the Year race, but we’ll do that anyway. Tony Ruberto, who won at Maryland Live ($344,745) and final tabled the Choctaw Main Event (fourth for $166,605), currently leads the race with 1,800 points.

But, like we said, it’s far too early to hand him the award. Season 17 until the May 27 Aria Summer Championship in Las Vegas.

After the Tour leaves South Florida next Wednesday, the actions heads to Las Vegas for the $10,400 buy-in Five Diamond World Poker Classic at Bellagio on December 11. This high-stakes tournament is one of the most popular events each winter.

A month later, the World Poker Tour goes from Las Vegas down I-15 to Los Angeles for the $10,000 buy-in Gardens Poker Championship. An edited version of this tournament will air on Fox Sports sometime next year.

A report last week by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement confirmed the fifth consecutive month of total gaming revenue growth in Atlantic City, but it wasn’t the brick-and-mortar action that drove the increase.

Gaming revenue was up more than 13 percent overall in October, as the city’s nine casinos brought in $234.3 million compared to $206.4 million the same month in 2017.

However, last year there were just seven casinos operating in Atlantic City. The addition of the Hard Rock and Ocean Resort Casino accounted for an extra $36.3 million in revenue.

Meanwhile, revenue was down 22 percent at Harrah’s Resort, 21 percent at Caesars, 15 percent at Bally’s, 10 percent at the Golden Nugget, and 8 percent at both the Borgata and Resorts Casino. The only property to see growth in their brick-and-mortar operations was the Tropicana, which saw a boost of 2 percent.

Online gaming revenue, however, jumped to a record $26.75 million, which beats the previous record set in July of $25.9 million. All of Atlantic City’s online gaming entities saw growth, except for Resorts Digital, which was flat. The Golden Nugget continues to be the biggest player in the online market, bringing in $9.7 million for 58 percent growth.

Overall, Atlantic City is up a little more than 5 percent for the year, having brought in a total of $2.36 billion through the first ten months of the year.