February Has Delivered a Wide Selection of Interesting and Peculiar Gambling News

A selection of the most important and peculiar news from the gambling industry occurred in the month of February.

If you think gambling is boring, think again. Las Vegas and United States in general may have lost the title “gambling capital of the world” to Macau, but there’s still a lot of things happening in the industry under American gambling laws.

The gambling industry news is not all about people winning and losing, or various executives changing posts from one company to another. Sometimes there are really funny and interesting stories happening to ordinary gamers, ranging from bizarre behavior at casinos and elsewhere. Let’s take a look at some of the most important gambling stories occurred in the country last month.

Veteran slot machine in Vegas hasn’t paid out a jackpot in 20 years

MGM Grand is hosting a renowned slot machine Lion’s Share. The peculiarity of this particular one-armed bandit lies in the fact that it hasn’t awarded a jackpot in nearly two decades. The current sum total of the jackpot has already crossed $2,000,000 landmark and is now standing at over $2.3 million. What makes the situation even more interesting is the fact that under Nevada regulations, the machine cannot be removed until the jackpot is won.

Las Vegas Sands websites subjected to hackers attack

The story everyone has certainly heard of in the American gambling news was hackers targeting Las Vegas Sands websites. It was all regarded as personal attack on Sheldon Adelson, the owner of the corporation. The websites of The Palazzo and The Venetian in Vegas, as well as The Sands Casino Resort in Pennsylvania and other casino establishments in Singapore and Macau were targeted. The online pages were closed and then put back in under a week.

Prison terms for playing online poker in Pennsylvania

An array of interesting gambling news from February

• Criminal charges proposed for playing at online poker sites in the United States

• Two steak dinners instead of $29 million jackpot

• Poker player banned from WSOP events after pocketing a chip

In a bizarre turn of events in Pennsylvania, a lawmaker from the state has proposed introducing prison sentences for playing at American poker rooms online. Pennsylvania is actually one of the states where legalization of online gambling is being widely discussed. So, the latest statements from an elected official seem strange at the very least.

The proposal that has been aired can potentially make playing online poker a criminal offence. The first violation will be a summary offense with a $300 fine and up to 3 months in jail, while the second one will me a misdemeanor with a $2,500 fine and up to 1 year behind bars. Some people are really out of touch with reality.

Penny pinochle game shut down in Washington retirement home

Snohomish, Washington, has been hosting a penny-ante pinochle game at a senior center for over 25 years. Last year the state has passed a law amendment banning any real-money card rooms. As it turns out the innocent game of pinochle, seniors have enjoyed for two decades, has fallen into that category and had to be shut down.

Poker player banned from WSOP events for taking a chip

Chan Pelton, a regular poker tournament player with over $300,000 in career earnings was banned from all WSOP events and properties. His offense was taking a single tournament chip from a table during a recent World Series of Poker Circuit festival at Palm Beach Kennel Club in South Florida.

Chan pocketed a 25,000 tournament chip from his own stack, when he was heads-up with another player at the final table of $1,000 buy-in HLHE tourney. The poker player has won the tournament and the $47,061 that went for the first place finish as well as a WSOP Circuit ring.

Pelton, a tournament regular from Texas with over $300,000 in career earnings, then went on to win the tournament, the $47,061 first-place prize and a WSOP Circuit ring. However, the surveillance cameras have confirmed he took the chip.

Later on, Pelton has returned the chip in questing, stating he only wanted a souvenir, but the player was banned from all WSOP events and properties in the future.

NFL star arrested at Atlantic City casino

Ray Rice, a renowned NFL star, and his fiancée were arrested at a casino in Atlantic City on a charge of simple assault. The authorities possess video surveillance footage revealing Rice hitting his fiancée and knocking her out. Shouldn’t have bet all on “zero” probably.

Borgata Poker Tourney cheat gets more charges

You remember the case of a crook accused of using fake poker chips during a tournament in New Jersey. Last month he has been also charged with copyright infringement, when the police have discovered several thousands of illegal DVDs during the search of his home. Christian Lusardi, as it turns out, has been subject of customs agents investigating since 2012. Cheating at poker is bad for you, really!

A long lawsuit has been settled between NFL star and a casino

Michael Merriweather, former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, has finally settled the federal wage theft and discrimination lawsuit. The case was against The Meadows Racetrack and Casino located in Pennsylvania. Settlement terms were not disclosed to the public.

$29 million jackpot winner offered two steak dinners instead

Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City saw a software glitch resulting in a huge slot machine win. A happy woman couldn’t believe her eyes when a machine awarded her close to $29 million jackpot. But she went home empty-handed that day. The casino said it was a technical fault and refused to pay, offering the “winner” two steak dinners instead. Apparently the woman is now seeking legal help.

Canadian businessmen indicted over $13 million casino debt

Two Las Vegas casinos have succeeded with their lawsuit against a Canadian businessman. The debtor was indicted by a grand jury on charges of failing to pay back $12.9 million in casino debts. Semion Kronenfeld is now facing 12 counts, the biggest ones being not paying back markers of $7.9 million to The Venetian and $5 to The Green Valley Ranch Resort.

We’re confident March will bring more interesting and peculiar gambling industry news, so we advise our readers to stay tuned and visit our site regularly.