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Gambler Sues Bookmaker Betfred for Voiding His $2.19 Million Jackpot

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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.

Sports Betting Kicks off in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island Follows Monday

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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.

Trung Pham Defeats 4,558 Entries In Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open $1 Million Guaranteed Event

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Trung Pham is having quite the run this November. Just two weeks after winning an event at the World Series of Poker Circuit Choctaw series for his second gold ring the Texas native took down the kickoff event of the 2018 Seminole Hard Rock Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open. The event was a $360 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament with a massive $1 million guarantee. A total of 4,558 entries were made across the eight starting flights to easily surpass the guarantee, creating a final prize pool of $1,376,400. Pham came out on top, earning $123,364 and the title after striking a deal with seven players remaining.

“I ran really great in the tournament,” Pham told Seminole Hard Rock blog reporters. “I won with jacks against kings (flopped a set), and had a big run.”

Pham came into the final day of this event in fourth chip position with 16 players remaining. He survived to the unofficial final table of 10 in ninth position, sitting with just 16 big blinds when the field first combined onto one table. He got involved in several big pots early on, with his stack swinging wildly as he alternated between winning and losing preflop all-ins.

Pham surged into the lead when he picked up the JSpade SuitJClub Suit, which held up against the ADiamond Suit4Spade Suit of David Maslowski. Pham was covered by just a couple big blinds, which meant the Maslowski was left quite short after the hand. He was eliminated shortly after in ninth place ($15,725).

James Lloyd was knocked out in eighth place ($25,927) when his ASpade SuitKClub Suit fell to the KHeart SuitQClub Suit of Pavlos Kasselouris, who made a straight on the turn after the chips went in preflop.

The final seven battled it out for a while, but eventually, the clock was paused in order to discuss making a deal. In the end a chop was made based on ICM that saw Pham awarded the title and the largest payout of $123,364 as the chip leader at the time. Pham also earned 528 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. He currently sits in 180th place in the overall POY standings.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:

Place Player Earnings (USD) POY Points
1 Trung Pham $123,364 528
2 Devond Marshall $109,855 440
3 Kharlin Sued $106,611 352
4 Carlos Loving $102,888 264
5 David Laufer $101,146 220
6 Pavlos Kasselouris $72,444 176
7 Lorell Pascual $68,788 132
8 James Lloyd $25,297 88
9 David Maslowski $15,725 44

WPT Rock n’ Roll Poker Open Comes to South Florida Thanksgiving Weekend

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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.

Victor Adams Wins 2018 Card Player Poker Tour Seneca Fall Poker Classic Main Event

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Victor Adams has won the 2018 Card Player Poker Tour Seneca Fall Poker Classic $1,000 no-limit hold’em main event at the Seneca Niagara Casino & Resort. The Canadian outlasted a field of 249 entries to secure the title, the $53,583 top prize and his spot on an upcoming cover of Card Player magazine. This was the first live tournament win for Adams, whose career earnings have grown to $133,282.

In addition to the title and the money, Adams also scored 432 Card Player Player of the Year points as the champion of this event. This was his second POY-qualified final table of the year, having finished seventh in the WSOP International Circuit Canada main event for $15,400 and 114 points in September.

Adams entered the final day as the shortest stack with seven players remaining, sitting with 451,000 when play resumed on day 3. He got off to a strong start, chipping up and then picking up the ADiamond SuitAClub Suit and calling the all-in of Jason James, who had shoved with the ASpade SuitJClub Suit. Adams’ aces held to send James to the rail in seventh place ($7,913).

In 2015 Alex Visbisky finished third in this event. He managed another deep run this year, but ultimately was knocked out in sixth place when his ADiamond Suit4Diamond Suit couldnt beat the pocket tens of Vadim Rozin in a preflop showdown. Rozin ended up making quads to send Visbisky home with $10,110.

Adams scored his second knockout of the day by winning a race with 10Spade Suit10Club Suit against the AHeart SuitJClub Suit of Tim Vance. Neither player improved and Adam’s tens earned him the pot, eliminating Vance in fifth place ($13,407).

Peter Mancini entered the final day as the chip leader, but his run in this event came to an end when he got all-in with 5Heart Suit5Diamond Suit and failed to hold up against the ADiamond SuitJClub Suit of Chris Meyers, who flopped an ace and hit trips on the turn. Mancini was awarded $18,023 as the fourth-place finisher.

Adams entered three-handed play as the shortest stack but managed to pick up pocket aces against the pocket queens of Chris Meyers to double up. Meyers was left with just over six big blinds after the hand but managed to claw back into contention.

The final three ended up playing for roughly six hours before the next elimination took place. Vadim Rozin was dealt the 8Heart Suit8Diamond Suit moved all in from the button for around 1.1 million with blinds at 30,000-60,000 with a 60,000 big-blind ante. Adams called with the ADiamond SuitJClub Suit. The board ran out AClub SuitKSpade SuitJSpade Suit2Club SuitKDiamond Suit and Rozin was sent home in third place ($24,397).

Adams took roughly a 3.5-to-1 chip lead into heads-up play against Chris Meyers. The shorter stack was able to even things out in a big hand by making trip three on the turn against Adams’ pocket aces. The lead changed hands several times from there. By the time the final hand arose Adams was on top. With blinds of 60,000-120,000 with a 120,000 big-blind ante, Meyers moved all-in from the button for 1,655,000 holding the ADiamond SuitJDiamond Suit. Adams quickly called with KDiamond SuitKClub Suit. The board bought the 8Diamond Suit7Heart Suit6Heart Suit7Spade Suit3Heart Suit, securing the pot and the title for Adams. Meyers earned $33,848 as the runner-up finisher.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded in this event:

Place Player Earnings (USD) POY Points
1 Victor Adams $53,583 408
2 Chris Meyers $33,848 340
3 Vadim Rozin $24,397 272
4 Peter Mancini $18,023 204
5 Tim Vance $13,407 170
6 Alex Visbisky $10,110 136
7 Jason James $7,913 102
8 Maximilian Droege $6,154 68
9 Steven Calvaneso $4,945 34

 

The Seneca Gaming and Entertainment poker room is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week on the first floor of the Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel. The 23-table room features 13 big screen televisions, free wifi, free drinks, free parking, player rewards and spreads a large selection of hold’em, stud and Omaha games. The gaming floor offers roughly 4,000 slot machines, table games and keno.

The world-class gaming facility opened in 2002 as the result of an $80 million remodel of the Niagara Falls Convention and Civic Center into a full-service casino. The property also features fine dining, star-studded entertainment, a health and wellness spa and many other premium guest amenities. For more information, or to book a room, call 716-299-1100 or visit the casino homepage.

To learn more about the CPPT and see other upcoming tour stops, visit the tour’s homepage.

Online Gaming Helps Push Atlantic City Casino Revenue Growth In October

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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.

Filipe Oliveira Wins the Caribbean Poker Party $5,300 Main Event for $1.5 million

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Portuguese player Filipe Oliveira has won the 2018 Caribbean Poker Party $10 million guaranteed $5,300 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event. The tournament attracted a total of 1,815 entrants, which meant that the event ended up with an overlay of more than $900,000. Oliveira earned a massive $1.5 million first-place prize as the champion of this event, dwarfing his previous career live tournament earnings of just over $100,000.

Filipe Oliveira entered the final day in fifth chip position with 11 players remaining, including the likes of Anton Wigg (10th – $110,000), 2018 World Series of Poker main event seventh-place finisher Alex Lynskey (9th – $155,000) and Joe Kuether (8th – $218,500).

While Oliveira came into the day with an above average stack, he discovered himself rolling down the leaderboard after losing several big pots at the final table. He diminished down to just 3.5 big blinds during six-handed action but managed to find a triple up, getting all-in with KHeart Suit6Club Suit and flopping a six to take the lead in the hand. He held from there to chip up from 35,000,000 to roughly 120,000,000. He found another double up not long after that to get himself right back into contention.

Oliveira won a coin flip with pocket nines against the KSpade SuitJDiamond Suit of Pascal Hartmann. The board ran out ASpade Suit4Club Suit2Spade Suit8Diamond Suit5Club Suit to send the German home in fourth place with $800,000. He continued to chip up during shorthanded play, taking the chip lead into heads-up even after Craig Mason knocked out Marc MacDonnell in third place ($1,000,000). Oliveira increased his advantage even further as heads-up play continued.

In the final hand Mason raised from the button and then called Oliveira’s three-bet to 120,000,000. The flop brought the QDiamond Suit9Club Suit2Spade Suit and Oliveira bet 60,000,000. Mason moved all-in for 299,000,000 and Oliveira called with AHeart Suit9Heart Suit for middle pair and an ace kicker. Mason was in rough shape with the KHeart Suit9Spade Suit. The turn was the JDiamond Suit and the river the 4Heart Suit, securing the pot and the title for Oliveira and sending Mason to the rail in second place ($1,200,000).

Caribbean Poker Party $5,300 Main Event Official Final Table Results:

Position Player Country Prize
1 Filipe Oliveira Portugal $1,500,000
2 Craig Mason United States $1,200,000
3 Marc MacDonnell Ireland $1,000,000
4 Pascal Hartmann Germany $800,000
5 Konstantin Maslak Russia $600,000
6 Diogo Veiga Portugal $400,000
7 Alex Turyansky United States $300,000
8 Joe Kuether United States $218,500

Steffen Sontheimer Wins 2018 Caribbean Poker Party $250,000 Super High Roller Championships

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The 2018 Caribbean Poker Party Super High Roller Championships drew a field of 34 entries, each posting the massive $250,000 buy-in to build a final prize pool of $7,517,500. In the end, German poker pro”Steffen Sontheimer”:https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-players/299014-steffen-sontheimer defeated a stacked final table to emerge victorious with the title and the first-place prize of $3,685,000. This was the largest payday of the 28-year-old’s tournament career, and it brought his lifetime live earnings over $12.6 million.

After two full days of action, the field of 34 entries had been narrowed to just six players. Only the top four finishers made the money, which meant that two of the final six were ultimately sent home empty-handed. The first player to be knocked out on day 3 was Isaac Haxton, who made top pair and a flush draw with JDiamond Suit10Diamond Suit on a JClub Suit8Diamond Suit6Diamond Suit flop. He check-called the flop and the 9Club Suit turn, only to check-call the all-in shove of Sontheimer on the ASpade Suit river. Sontheimer’s ADiamond SuitJSpade Suit made two pair on the river, enough to send Haxton to the rail two spots shy of the money.

Two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Nick Petrangelo was knocked out on the $700,000 bubble, running ASpade SuitKSpade Suit into the JSpade SuitJDiamond Suit of David Peters. The board improved neither player and Petrangelo eliminated in fifth place.

Four-handed play began with Sontheimer holding a massive chip lead, having 16.9 million of the roughly 34.2 million chips in play. The final four battled it out for a while, with the shorter stacks all doing their best to outlast each other and earn an additional $720,00 for laddering up to third place.

High roller regular Mikita Badziakouski was the first to fall. His stack had dwindled to around 12 big blinds when it folded to Sean Winter in the small blind. Winter moved all-in with the AHeart SuitQDiamond Suit and Badziakouski called with his KDiamond SuitJClub Suit. The board came down AClub Suit9Heart Suit2Heart SuitKHeart Suit3Diamond Suit and Badziakouski busted in fourth place ($700,000). This was the Belarusian’s 11th final table of 2018, and he earned 240 Card Player Player of the Year points for his latest deep run. With five titles, 4,926 points and $14,594,839 in year-to-date earnings, Badziakouski now sits in 10th place in the 2018 POY race standings.

Just moments later Sontheimer opened to 400,000 from the button holding the AHeart SuitKClub Suit. David Peters moved all in for 1,995,000 with the KHeart SuitQClub Suit out of the small blind. Winter folded and Sontheimer made the call. Sontheimer hit a king on the turn to send Peters to the rail in third place. The 2016 Card Player Player of the Year award winner earned $1,420,000 and 320 POY points for his 23rd final table of the year. With $10,290,733 in cashes so far and 7,197 points, the American poker pro has secured his hold on the fourth-place spot on the POY leaderboard.

With that Sontheimer took roughly 22 million chips into heads-up play against Sean Winter, who held just over 12 million. The two were pretty deep stacked, but it didn’t end up taking that long for all the chips to get into the middle.

In the final hand of the tournament Winter limped in from the button for 160,000 holding the AClub SuitQHeart Suit and Sontheimer raised to 700,000 from the big blind with the AHeart SuitKHeart Suit. Winter then three-bet to 2,000,000. Sontheimer moved all in, having Winter’s stack of 10,295,000 covered. Winter made the call and saw that he was in rough shape as the dealer prepared to burn and turn. The board came down 10Spade Suit5Diamond Suit3Heart Suit4Spade Suit9Diamond Suit and Sontheimer’s ace-king high was enough to earn him the pot and the title. Winter took home $2,430,000 as the runner-up, the largest cash of his career. He earned 400 POY points for his 13th final-table finish of 2018, climbing into 37th place in the POY rankings as a result.

Sontheimer took home 480 POY points as the champion. This was his fifth final table showing of the year, but he remains just outside of the top 200 after taking down this event.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:

Place Player Earnings (USD) POY Points
1 Steffen Sontheimer $3,685,000 480
2 Sean Winter $2,430,000 400
3 David Peters $1,420,000 320
4 Mikita Badziakouski $700,000 240

David Haye Knocked Out in Less than a Round During First Poker Tournament

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Former cruiserweight and heavyweight champion David Haye has suffered an embarrassing defeat in his first poker tournament in Blackpool, England.

The retried boxer joined a recent £165/$210 side event at GUKPT Blackpool as part of his  partnership with Grosvenor Casinos. Anteing up alongside 127 other players, Haye was using the event to improve his skills ahead of next year’s GUKPT Goliath where he’ll aim to win his first major poker title.

However, despite a crash course ahead of the tournament, Haye was eliminated within three hands. Such was the speed of his exit that Grosvenor’s live reporting team missed the action, meaning it was up to the organizers to alert the media via an official press release.

David Haye Battered in Three

As Haye watched from the sidelines with his mentors, Jeff Kimber, Katie Swift and Joe Beevers, Dave Maudlin went on to clinch the £5,860/$7,543 top prize after beating Roy Finlay heads-up.

Although he lasted less than a round at the poker table, coach Kimber said Haye’s experience battling over 12 rounds in the ring should help him bounce back.

“He’s got loads to learn but he’s a champion sportsman and that competitive edge means he wants to learn more and get better” said Jeff Kimber.

Prior to partnering with Grosvenor Casinos, Haye claimed to be a complete poker novice. Although he was involved in a promotional event for Full Tilt back in 2014, his skills as a player are virtually nonexistent.

As a testament to his lack of poker knowledge, the sports star admitted during a recent training video (see below) that he still gets confused by clubs and spades.

Sports Star Still Valuable Despite Poor Performance

Irrespective of his recent performance, Haye’s route to the 2019 GUKPT Goliath will give Grosvenor Casinos with some valuable exposure. With remote gaming duty in the UK set to rise by six percent in 2019, British operators are looking to bolster their bottom-lines any way they can.

By enlisting the services of David Haye, Grosvenor is bidding to harness the boxer’s mainstream profile and attract new players to ante up online and live.

Although Grosvenor Casinos might be slightly late to the party, using sports stars to promote poker is one that’s been successful for other operators over the years. In 2015, Partypoker signed retired boxer Carl Froch, while PokerStars has worked with Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr and a host of other sports stars.

While many are still prepared to debate the idea of poker being a sport, the value of using famous faces such as David Haye isn’t seen as a gamble by the leading operators.

Greektown Casino-Hotel Sells To Penn National, VICI For $1 Billion

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Just two months after a report that billionaire Dan Gilbert was looking to cash out of the casino industry, his company JACK Entertainment (formerly Rock Gaming) has confirmed the sale of their Detroit property, the Greektown Casino-Hotel.

Gilbert, who also owns casinos in Cleveland and Cincinnati, made the deal for $1 billion, and plans to invest proceeds from the sale in other Detroit-area real estate projects. The 56-year-old and his partners will net a few hundred million after taxes and paying off the casino’s $400 million in debt.

The buyer is a partnership formed by New York-based VICI properties, which is an offshoot of Caesars Entertainment, and Penn National Gaming. VICI has committed $700 million to buy the land, while Penn will pay $300 million for the casino and hotel. Additionally, VICI has agreed to lease the property to Penn for an annual rent of $55.6 million for 15 years.

The purchase is the latest in a buying spree for Penn National, which acquired Pinnacle Entertainment in October for $2.8 billion.

In June, the company purchased the Margaritaville Resort Casino in Bossier City, Louisiana for $115 million. In 2017, Penn bought Bally’s Casino and Resorts Casino in Tunica, Mississippi, and in 2015, they picked up the Tropicana in Las Vegas for $360 million.

In total, Penn National now has a hand in 41 gaming facilities in 19 jurisdictions, including Florida, Illinois, Colorado, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Ohio, and West Virginia. In 2017, the company brought in $3.1 billion, and employed nearly 19,000.

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