
Ben Affleck is one of the stars that are many into the a-listers and gambling classification, however the Hollywood actor could have lost more than his chips in 2015.
Celebrities and gambling once again enjoyed a lively relationship in 2015, countless stars from the wide world of entertainment walking the red carpet into casino floors frequently.
From Hollywood to professional sports, many of this world’s many identifiable personalities invested their free time enjoying the rush and excitement of what gambling has to offer.
With all the festive season in full swing, let’s journey back over the last 12 months to revisit the most headline-worthy celebrity gaming happenings in 2015.
Prevailing Poker
No game attracts more A-listers than poker, the felt notorious for bringing the bad boys and their deep pockets to the tables in Las Vegas.
Ben Affleck is certainly no stranger to your casino, but in June it ended up being revealed poker might have been partially to be culpable for Jennifer Garner to his split.
The sometimes-reliable TMZ reported that Garner simply had enough of Ben’s constant gaming and that she ‘couldn’t take it anymore.’
Dan Bilzerian might argue Affleck should not have ever married within the place that is first. The ‘King of Instagram’ and poker that is former produced a lot of headlines in 2015.
Bilzerian announced their candidacy for president of the united states of america, ended up being forced to release a PSA for weapons safety in part of a plea deal to avoid felony charges for possessing homemade explosives, and even played poker with Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky).
Only a few celebrity that is poker-related were scandalous in nature.
Different superstars used the game once and for all by hosting charity tournaments including Tiger Woods and even previous President Bill Clinton.
Daily Fantasy All-In
2015 had been the entire year of daily dream sports (DFS), DraftKings and FanDuel spending millions of bucks to help keep its platforms sports that are reaching incessantly. The two leading daily fantasy operators also spent heavily on sponsorships.
Three-time Academy Award nominee Ed Norton had been contracted to voice over DraftKings commercials. And though the platforms might be under intense appropriate scrutiny, that didn’t stop famous athletes like New England Patriots celebrity Rob Gronkowski and even the leagues on their own from getting involved.
On HBO’s ‘Last Week Tonight,’ John Oliver put his twist that is own on he thinks is the absurdity regarding the ‘skill-based’ argument surrounding DFS. To have their point across, he enticed Seth Rogen to join in on exactly what became a viral video for the night TV host that is late.
Mayweather Money
The supposed ‘Fight of the Century’ between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in early might generated over $400 million in revenue, but audiences wanted to provide the bout the boot after a less than stellar matchup.
It absolutely was later revealed that Mayweather’s convincing win might have been at the hand of a Pacquiao rotator cuff that is undisclosed injury. Hundreds of thousands placed bets regarding the fight including Mark Wahlberg, Diddy, and Justin Bieber, to name a few.
Following the battle, betters and viewers were outraged, with some even demanding their money back. Class-action lawsuits against Pacquiao and organizers are ongoing.
PokerStars Celeb Folds
PokerStars is no stranger to celebrity, the entire world’s most robust online poker network long paying stars to hold in its Team PokerStars stable.
Soccer legend Neymar joined up with the roster in might along with Cristiano Ronaldo. Four months later, Neymar was hit by having a lawsuit in his house country of Brazil on allegations that the phenom that is 23-year-old $15.7 million in back taxes.
In 2016, PokerStars will back make its way to america by way of New Jersey.
The Garden State recently advised allowing online operators to bankroll or sponsor superstars, meaning famous brands Daniel Negreanu, Chris Moneymaker, or maybe even Neymar or Ronaldo could be coming to a table that is online you soon.
Poker Dealer Illegally Pockets Chips Then Gets Fired
Casino protection personnel at the Cromwell Mint in London could actually detect a poker dealer stealing chips from the tables he was administering. (Image: jupiter.com)
A poker dealer in Southern Kensington, western London, is fired through the Cromwell Mint after casino security personnel discovered the croupier was secretly pocketing thousands of dollars well worth of chips during his shifts.
According to a report by club player casino no deposit codes 2015 the United Kingdom’s Daily Mail, the alleged thief snatched chips from the felt and dropped them into a false pocket that ran from their pants down seriously to his socks.
The dealer would then hand the chips over to an accomplice exterior during routine tobacco cigarette breaks.
Throughout the police’s strip search associated with suspect, one source stated, ‘Chips literally dropped out of him.’
Busted, Perhaps Not Charged
The dealer at the Cromwell Mint has not been identified, nor is he facing charges.
After their termination and suspected scheme that pocketed him a lot of money after another co-conspirator posed as a gamer and cashed in the chips, the Malaysian-based Cromwell owners, the Genting Group, are apparently pleased in simply chalking up the tale as a marginal loss.
Reports claim the dealer had £12,000 ($17,600) in cash when his apartment was searched. That’s about 40 percent for the worker’s yearly salary that is base of44,000.
The exact same source added that the employee was ‘extremely lucky to get away without being charged.’
Dirty Discounts
Controlling thousands of poker potato chips happens to be much too tempting for numerous dealers through the years, a payday that is significant hands reach seducing many, but few actually get away with the crime.
Gamblers might think that video surveillance is honed in on their actions, but in truth just as much, if not more, scrutiny is placed on the casino’s workers.
In addition to closed-circuit monitors, floor managers oversee each employee’s performance and are been trained in detecting fraudulence not only among gamblers but in addition the dealers.
The Maryland Live! Casino in Hanover, Maryland, has more than 1,200 cameras monitoring 4,000 slot machines and over 125 card tables. The venue’s president and general manager says the casino spends ‘in the millions, and growing,’ on security.
Las Vegas boasts more cameras per square foot than any airport or recreations stadium in the United States, yet dealers along with gamblers continue to try worse odds to their luck than what exactly is being offered on the felt.
Other Notable Scandals
2014: A Hollywood Casino dealer in Pennsylvania is busted for stealing $2,000 in gaming chips july.
September 2015: Two dealers in Singapore strike a deal with a gambler to receive 20 % regarding the 65-year-old man’s winnings. The conspiracy took destination at another Genting-owner home, but the 2 dealers were sentenced and caught to four months in prison.
November 2015: The Horseshoe Casino in Cleveland accuses its own for hiding a card from the deck. The dealer denied all allegations and said it had been a ‘fluke.’
Cheating and fraudulence has long plagued gambling and been used as fodder by critics of the casino industry for reasoning against any market expansion.
Nyc AG Eric Schneiderman Threatens DFS business with $3 Billion in Fines
New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman puts the screws in the ‘persistently fraudulent’ DFS industry in the Empire State. (Image: politico.com)
Nyc Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has the DFS industry in his crosshairs and it is irritation to pull the trigger.
Schneiderman’s pre-Christmas injunction to bar DraftKings and FanDuel from operating in New York State ended up being lifted by the appeals court judge just hours after it absolutely was granted, and so the frustrated AG resolved to ramp up the pressure regarding the sites.
Late last week, he amended their lawsuit against DraftKings and FanDuel to seek the return of the many buy-ins paid by customers who played in New York throughout 2015, along with a $5,000 fine head that is per.
In a nutshell, with 600,000 DFS customers in the state, the AG’s office is looking for a sum that would come across a huge selection of huge amount of money in buy-ins, plus around $3 billion in fines.
Therefore much for the summer season of goodwill.
The attorney general accused the sites of committing ‘repeated and persistent fraudulent acts,’ singling out first deposit bonuses (variations of which are commonly used throughout the online gambling industry) as evidence of supposed malpractice in the amendment.
He also claims that the web sites constantly misrepresent the chances and skill amounts required to win ‘life-changing’ quantities of profit their marketing and advertising.
‘Fundamental Misunderstanding’
‘The attorney general’s revised problem reveals that the lawyer general’s office still doesn’t understand fantasy sports,’ complained David Boies, an attorney representing DraftKings, in an official statement. ‘It is founded on the fundamental misunderstanding of fantasy sports tournaments.’
Schneiderman clearly feels he understands the DFS industry simply fine, thank you.
As part of an investigation launched by the attorney general’s office in October, he demanded transparency that is complete the business models of both FanDuel and DraftKings, which, as leaders of a self-regulated industry, remain opaque.
His assertion that the sites’ operations are ‘fraudulent’ suggests he wants to shut them down, however the threat of a dollar that is multi-billion could be designed to force them into some type of settlement negotiation should New York prefer to regulate and license DFS through its legislature.
New York State represents the biggest DFS market in America, and thus has huge bargaining energy in the occasion of future regulation.
Meanwhile, In Kentucky…
Ny is not the only state presently looking to claw back player funds from on line gambling.
Just before christmas, Kentucky tripled its claim against Amaya Inc. to $870 million.
Their state is attempting to extract from the poker parent regarding the amount deposited, gambled, and lost by state residents on PokerStars between 2006 and 2011, during which period online gambling transactions involving US citizens were forbidden.
The state thinks its claim is supported by a state that is two-centuries-old built to protect the families of impoverished gamblers, allowing them to recover all losses incurred by their reprobate kin.
Amaya has said that PokerStars raked in just $18 million from Kentucky residents during the period in question and is anticipated to impress from the lawsuit, which it has dismissed as ‘frivolous.’
