A Logical Move
WSOP.com plans to merge its online poker player pools in Nevada, Michigan, and New Jersey, possibly in time for the 2024 World Series of Poker.
The Bulletin Board
NEWS: WSOP.com will merge player pools in Nevada, Michigan, and New Jersey.
QUICK HITTER: Why is Dave & Buster’s catching all the heat for its proposed skill game betting app?
LOOSE ENDS: Caesars’ new iCasino App; Gambling has different outcomes in Alabama and Mississippi conference committees.
QUICK HITTER: A new survey of likely Texas voters provides a sliver of good news for sports betting supporters.
VIEWS: The money stolen from Shohei Ohtani for illegal sports betting was funneled through casinos.
AROUND the WATERCOOLER: A fishy shuffle at a Texas poker room.
STRAY THOUGHTS: My pick for the R&R Hall of Fame’s biggest snub.
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WSOP.com to Merge Michigan Online Poker with Nevada and New Jersey
A big scoop from PokerFuse indicates the long-awaited merger of WSOP.com’s online poker player pools in Nevada and New Jersey with Michigan is getting closer. The most likely reason for the long delay in combining the player pools was the use of an older software version in Nevada and New Jersey.
Per Pokerfuse, the merger could occur before the upcoming World Series of Poker tournament series, allowing WSOP.com to offer a unified online bracelet series in all three states.
As PokerFuse reports, “WSOP published the schedules and terms for an upcoming WSOP Online Circuit event for May (not the online bracelet schedule for the summer — we’ll get back to that). These pages have since been taken down.”
Per Pokerfuse, the short-lived pages had clues indicating the merger was imminent, including identical schedules in all three states, larger guarantees, Mystery Bounty Tournaments in the Nevada and New Jersey schedules (only available on the updated software), and the overdue release of the online bracelet schedule.
Pokerfuse’s Nick Jones discussed the possibility of WSOP.com linking its player pools and other online poker topics in a podcast episode released in early April.
Quick Hitter: Dave & Buster’s Isn’t the Only Skill Game App
One small addendum to yesterday’s entry on Dave & Buster’s foray into betting cash-based competitions is the sudden interest from regulators.
Ohio regulators said they have serious concerns about the yet-to-launch product, yet similar products, like FanDuel’s Faceoff, are available for real-money play in Ohio and 30 other states, plus the District of Columbia.
Faceoff is a skill-based competition app that matches players aged 18+ by skill level (sound familiar?).
The free-to-play version is available in most other states, with more encompassing definitions of gambling, including Louisiana, which would have a much better rationale to deny Dave & Buster’s request to launch the app.
Louisiana Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Johns told Robert Linnehan, “I feel that this would be an illegal gambling operation under the current statutes and rules of gaming law in our state. I will be happy to have a conversation with Dave & Buster’s should they choose to petition our Board.”
This is not a dig at FanDuel or its Faceoff app. However, it does raise concern that different operators and products are being treated differently.
Loose Ends: Caesars New iCasino App; Gambling Has Different Outcomes in Alabama and Mississippi
New look Caesars app: Caesars has upgraded its online casino app. According to the press release, the upgraded app includes an “industry-first multi-lobby navigation layout… Players have the innovative ability to explore curated lobbies that house popular game concepts together, including slots, table games, Live Dealer, and more.”
Alabama approves a scaled-back gambling expansion package: It’s Mission Accomplished for the Alabama Conference Committee tasked with finding a compromise on a gambling expansion. The legislation includes the authorization of a state lottery and slot machines at select racetracks and locations. It also gives the Gov. the ability to negotiate a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. Both chambers must still approve the bill (the House approved it, but it fell one vote shy in the Senate, which has until May 14 to pass it), signed by Gov. Kay Ivey, and approved by the voters. I’ll take a deeper dive into Alabama’s compromise bill next week.
Meanwhile… In Mississippi: A conference committee in neighboring Mississippi wasn’t as successful. The state’s attempt to add mobile sports betting to its current retail options will have to wait until next year, as multiple casinos expressed concerns that mobile betting would cannibalize their land-based properties and act as a trojan horse for online casino games.
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Quick Hitter: TX Gambling Survey’s (Somewhat) Positive Results
The Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation surveyed 1,600 likely voters and asked their thoughts on three general topics the Texas Legislature is expected to discuss in 2025.
“56 percent of the people surveyed supported the construction and operation of Destination Resort Casinos in Texas, compared to just 30 percent who opposed.
“The poll found 47 percent of Texans support legalizing online sports gambling compared to 37 percent who said they were against it.
“The only measure with more people in opposition (42 to 41) was to legalize the operation of sportsbooks at Texas professional sports venues.”
While a positive sign, the results are quite close, with sports betting only getting a plurality of support. Further, favorable polling rarely nudges legislative action, while opponents of gambling often cite negative polling.
Money Stolen From Shohei Ohtani Laundered Through Casinos
The Shohei Ohtani-Ippei Mizuhara sports betting scandal is far from over. According to a new ESPN report, Mizuhara sent multiple $500,000 payments from Ohtani’s bank account to Matthew Bowyer, the California bookie who was taking Mizuhara’s action.
For those who may have missed the backstory, Mizuhara is accused of stealing $16 million from Ohtani:
“Ohtani’s longtime friend and interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, allegedly stole $16 million from Ohtani’s bank account to cover gambling losses that spanned back to 2021. Per reports, Mizuhara had a net loss of more than $40 million. Ohtani has denied any wrongdoing; Mizuhara is scheduled to be arraigned on May 9 and could face as much as 30 years in prison.”
Multiple sources told ESPN that the payments were sent from Ohtani’s account and “forwarded to California and Las Vegas casinos, where the money was deposited in gambling accounts, converted to playing chips, and later cashed out to pay the bookie.”
The news comes on the heels of former MGM Grand President and Resorts World President and COO pleading guilty “to failing to report to federal officers about illegal gamblers playing at MGM Grand when he worked there in 2018,” as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Sticking out like a sore thumb is the fact that Sibella was President and COO when Resorts World opened its doors in June 2021. He was removed from that position in September 2023, which places him at the property when, as ESPN reports, Mizuhara was wiring money to marker accounts at Resorts World and Pechanga Casino in California. According to ESPN, Bowyer lost $7.9 million from June 2022 to October 2023 at Resorts World.
The Nevada Current was happy to make the Sibella connection in an article yesterday, noting, “State gaming regulators are said to be inquiring about Sibella’s relationship with Bowyer, according to a source who has agreed to be interviewed by the GCB. Agents may also be re-examining their earlier exoneration of Sibella, according to the source.”
The previous charges that Sibella pleaded guilty to stemmed from a different bookmaker, Wayne Nix, and his time at MGM Grand. That leaves him open to further charges should he be linked to Bowyer.
I don’t see this story going anywhere, and if you haven’t read it already, I highly recommend Will Green’s excellent column at Robn Sports on the still-unanswered questions in the Ohtani-Mizuhara case.
Around the Watercooler
Social media conversations, rumors, and gossip.
Shaun Deeb posted a video of a very suspicious shuffle at Legends Poker Room in Houston, Texas, which he claims has fired multiple dealers for setting decks in the past month.
Click to watch the video. You can slow the footage down by pausing it and sliding the navigation bar.
From the looks of it, the dealer positions a slug of cards and then executes multiple fake shuffles and a fake cut. From experience, be wary of anyone who fumbles cards and then deftly shuffles them.
In the replies to Deeb’s post, more people have posted videos of other instances of what look like set decks.
I’ve written about the questionable legality of membership poker rooms in the past, and as Jessica Welman tweeted:
And, as PokerNews reports, this is not the first scandal at Legends.
Stray Thoughts
If you ever want to hear me rant, just bring up that Supertramp isn’t in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Supertramp’s top 5 (ranked by me) is up there with any band:
The Logical Song
Goodbye Stranger
Give a Little Bit
Bloody Well Right
Take the Long Way Home
Honorable Mention: Breakfast in America