Category Archives: Gambling

The casino at Encore Boston Harbor will resume around-the-clock operations by the middle of next week. Gov. Charlie Baker announced this week that the state's 9:30 p.m. business curfew will end on Monday. An order that asked people not to go out between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. will also be expiring. On Friday, Encore officials announced their plans to resume 24-hour casino operations, pending approval from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.Casino officials said they plan to extend gambling hours on Monday and Tuesday to 9 a.m. through midnight and begin 24-hour operations on Wednesday. Additionally, Encore officials said the hotel would begin hosting guests on Thursday through Sunday evenings starting on Feb. 4 and the spa will reopen on Saturdays and Sundays starting on Feb. 6. The resort will continue to operate under the state's 25% capacity limit and officials said that existing safety measures, including temperature checks and required face coverings, will continue.

The casino at Encore Boston Harbor will resume around-the-clock operations by the middle of next week.

Gov. Charlie Baker announced this week that the state's 9:30 p.m. business curfew will end on Monday. An order that asked people not to go out between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. will also be expiring.

On Friday, Encore officials announced their plans to resume 24-hour casino operations, pending approval from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

Casino officials said they plan to extend gambling hours on Monday and Tuesday to 9 a.m. through midnight and begin 24-hour operations on Wednesday.

Additionally, Encore officials said the hotel would begin hosting guests on Thursday through Sunday evenings starting on Feb. 4 and the spa will reopen on Saturdays and Sundays starting on Feb. 6.

The resort will continue to operate under the state's 25% capacity limit and officials said that existing safety measures, including temperature checks and required face coverings, will continue.

Read more:

Encore Boston Harbor plans to resume 24-hour gambling within days - WCVB Boston

Several years of stalemates have stymied a plan to allow sports wagers in Connecticut casinos.

Legislation to also allow bets online, which was put on the back burner the last three years, is now back on the table.

Those involved in the negotiations are betting this could be the bills year to pass.

"It feels like everyone wants to get this done. I can genuinely say that with certainty, said Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which runs Foxwoods Casino in Ledyard.

With casino revenues cut in half by the pandemic, lawmakers wasted no time drafting a bill with bipartisan support to get the games going online.

"Other states around us have shown that it can be very successful in terms of generating revenue, pointed out Republican Senator Paul Formica, the deputy minority leader from East Lyme.

The bill would allow the state's two tribes to open sports books in their casinos and capture gaming revenue from internet sports betting. Leaders said it could be a real shot in the arm to Connecticut casinos and state coffers.

"It is in the tens of millions of dollars and could be upwards of $100 million dollars a year, said Senator Bob Duff, Majority Leader.

With state budget deficits growing and gambling revenues down, Jason Chung, a University of New Haven assistant professor in sports management, said this bill has a better chance of passing than it did previously.

"This year definitely gave a lot of states the green light to consider alternate revenue coming from gambling sources, Chung explained. "Anything you can do to keep revenues coming in I think states are really looking hard to see what they can do to fast track that process."

A 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling opened up the opportunity for states to take advantage of online gaming.

Butler, who has been in talks with Governor Ned Lamont and other lawmakers, said those whove been on the fence in the past seem to be coming around to the idea.

I think what's changed is the situation that we're in. The revenue challenges the state's having, and the broader acceptance of online transactions, he said.

Part of past hang-ups has had to do with the states compact with the tribes.Any changes have to be negotiated between the governor and tribal leaders for this legislation to pass.

In exchange for their exclusivity, they provide 250 plus million dollars a year to the states revenue picture, Formica explained.

The Connecticut Lottery would also be able to sell tickets and conduct keno games online under this bill.Butler said part of the ongoing discussions with the governor have to do with whether the tribes would have any stake in that revenue as well.

A spokesperson for Governor Ned Lamont confirmed the negotiations were ongoing but wouldnt elaborate.

With more people staying home and letting their fingers do the shopping, supporters believe it makes dollars and sense to legalize online gambling.

"If we don't do it this year we're just leaving money on the table, said Duff.

Continue reading here:

Lawmakers Betting on Bipartisan Bill to Legalize Sports Gambling - NBC Connecticut

The Nova Scotia government has quietly dissolveda non-profit arm's-length government organization dedicated to funding gambling prevention and research groups, moving the money to a more general mental health pool.

The decision to end Gambling Awareness Nova Scotia (GANS) is being criticized by a community group that received grants through the organization, and which says there's now looming uncertainty about whether its work will be supported.

"In the middle of COVID ... isn't there more of a need to do this prevention work and community awareness work?" said Bruce Dienes, chair of Gambling Risk Informed Nova Scotia, a non-profit that aims to reduce the community harms associated with gambling. "This is the time when people are most vulnerable."

Part of the funding for GANS, according to the government's website, was "generated from a percentage of VLT revenues, matched by the Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation."

The province said in a statement that VLT retailers provide about $250,000 annually to support mental health and addictions services.

The province did not say when the organization was dissolved, but Dienes said he learned of it in the fall andGANS's regulations were changed in October.

Hesaid he was told by the Department of Health and Wellness that because of "new information" it had come to realize there are comorbidities with gambling also associated with depression and anxiety, which justified sharing the funds more widely.

"The idea that this is new information is ridiculous, we've known this for decades," he said.

Dienes believes the province made the move as a way to deal with the "profound lack of funding for mental health in Nova Scotia."

No one from the Department of Health and Wellness was available to speak to CBC for this story.

In a statement, spokesperson Marla MacInnis confirmed that GANS will become part of the overall mental health and addictions budget which is roughly $300 million annuallyciting changes in the last two decades around gambling and how best to support it.

"Problem gambling often occurs with other mental health and addictions issues, and due to the stigma, people often initially seek help for other issues. It's best if people can access support that addresses these issues together," MacInnis said.

One of the consequences of the pandemic has been the restrictions placed on gambling in Nova Scotia related to public health protocols.

There were no sports games to bet on, and many casinos and bars were ordered to closed.In the height of the spring COVID-19 lockdown, counselling therapist Elizabeth Stephen said some of her clients simply stopped gambling.

"It was like a gift to some people that have problems that never really get that break," said Stephen, who is based in Halifax. "Of course, that didn't last long."

After a second shutdown late in 2020, the province reopened the Halifax and Sydney casinos, video lottery terminals and First Nations gaming establishments on Jan. 8.

Igor Yakovenko, an assistant professor at Dalhousie University, said international data found that gambling decreased in all forms as things were closed globally.

When restrictions loosened in Nova Scotia, Stephen said some of her clients returned to gambling, butit varied case by case. In some instances, she said people who hadn't gambled in a long time returned to VLTs because of the "wearing-you-down kind of stress of COVID."

Yakovenko, who is a clinical psychologist, said there are many barriers for people to get help, including not knowing where to go in Nova Scotia. He said research suggests that harm reduction and prevention are the most effective ways to help people.

"We need services and public health resources that minimize problems from developing in the first place or, if you're already gambling, they prevent you from escalating that gambling," he said.

Earlier this month, CBC News reported that the Atlantic Lottery Corporation is preparing to expand its online casinos toNova Scotia and P.E.I., which would allow for bigger bets than what is currently allowed on in-person VLTs.

The pandemic is believed to have made a significant dent in Atlantic Lottery's revenues.

Dienes said having VLTs available online goes against the province's VLT moratorium, which removes the gaming devices if a bar shuts down instead of reallocating them.

"They call them the crack cocaine of gambling," he said. "To backtrack on that acknowledgement of the danger of VLTs and to be slowly getting rid of them, and to move to amplifying that on the internet with essentially unlimited access is appalling. It's totally irresponsible."

According to the Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation's website, there are 2,012 VLTs in the province and 651 VLTs in Mi'Kmaw communities.

Both the Nova Scotia Department of Finance and Atlantic Lottery say the implementation of online casino-style games in Nova Scotia is still being evaluated. Neither provided a timeframe for when a decision will be made.

Greg Weston, a spokesperson with Atlantic Lottery, said they regularly consult with responsible gambling experts when developing new products. He also said he believes it's important to offer a regulated alternative to the 3,000 offshore gambling websites available to Atlantic Canadians.

"One benefit would be to repatriate players now playing with illegal offshore providers, and by doing so repatriating money being spent on offshore sites to help fund public services to benefit Atlantic Canadians," he said in a statement.

Both Yakovenko and Stephen hopethe province consultswith experts in the area and usescurrent research in deciding whether Atlantic Lottery should be allowed to move to an online casino model.

"From my perspective, the risks far outweigh the profits," Stephen said. "Someone has to lose in order for us to make money."

Read more from the original source:

N.S. dissolves gambling awareness organization, reallocates funds from VLTs - CBC.ca

The basic facts of Evander Kane's money troubles are laid bare on page 16 of the Chapter 7 bankruptcy claim filed in the Northern District of California on Jan.9.

Total debts owed by the San Jose Sharks veteran:$26.8million.

Total assets:$10.2 million, most of it in the value of three houses two in Vancouver and one in San Jose.

What's less plain to see ishow the 29-year-oldarrived at this financial breaking point,a dozen years into a professional hockey career that has to date earned him $53 million.

Part of the answer may lie a little deeperin the 73 page document,in the sectionwhere the filer has tolist losses sustained in the previous one year due to theft, fire, disaster or gambling.

There is a single entry: $1.5 million lost because of"gambling at casino and via bookie (sports betting)."

It's not the first time Kane's gambling has received a public airing.

In 2019, he was sued for half a million dollars by The Cosmopolitan, acasino in Las Vegas.

According tothe Las Vegas Review-Journal, court documents stated he owed the casinofor eight credits or "markers" in amounts between $20,000 and $100,000 taken out on or about April 15, 2019. Thedate coincided with the Sharks playing the Golden Knights inLas Vegas during the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Cosmopolitan dropped the lawsuit in 2020, likely dueto an out-of-court settlement. But the Chapter 7 filing suggests gambling may be aproblem for the East Vancouver native.

And he'd hardly be an isolated case, says Declan Hill, University of New Haven professor of investigations specializing in sports, gambling and organized crime.

"This is the tip of an iceberg," said Hill. "There is a silent epidemic of gambling-related addiction issues among professional athletes."

Research has shown athletes can be more susceptible to gambling problems. Simply, the qualities that make someone excel in sport are the same ones that make them suck at gambling, said Hill.

"They're dedicated, they're focused, they never give up. They're always chasing because they can overturn a deficit ... going into the last minute or third period," he said.

There's also a dynamic between the casinos orbookmakerswho arehappy to supply action to young, confident menwith money in search of an outlet to their high pressure job.

And unlike other addictions, said Hill, gambling problems aren'teasy to spot.

"If a top athlete becomes addicted to cocaine or alcohol, you aregoing to know. You'regoing to be able to see physically quite quickly that the athlete is just not as good as they should be," said Hill.

"Become an addict to gambling, and there'sno physical sign. Theonly symptomis the bank account."

NHL players can seek help through the player assistance program, run jointly by the NHL Players' Association and National Hockey League.

A 1-800 number is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week allowing players to connect confidentially to targetedcounsellingfor things like gambling addiction and substance abuse.

According to NHLPAspokesman Jonathan Weatherdon, program doctors also meet with each team every season to give an overviewof the service,includingdiscussions about gambling addiction.

"Per the [Collective Bargaining Agreement] NHL players are not able to bet on NHL games," said Weatherdon.

Kane's bankruptcy filing lists 47 creditorsincluding banks, credit card companies, the IRS, lawyers, his agencyand anumber of individuals who appear to have extended personal loans.

Generally, in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the filer's non-exempt assets are liquidated and the proceeds used to pay creditors.

Kane's filing asks the three houses and other personal property be exempted. It also listsseven dependents: his newborndaughter, his parents, a grandmother, two uncles and a sister.

The filing also says he could opt outof his contract at some point this season because of COVID-19 concerns, affecting his salary.

Whatever the final result, most of his creditors will likely receive pennies on the dollar, if anything at all.

The news is much better for Kane himself. Once his debts are dischargedhe gets a fresh financial start and some breathing room, one would assume, to move on with what's been a life-changing year in other, more positive ways.

He became a father for the first time in the summer. And in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder and the rise of Black Lives Matter, he became a central figure incalling out racial injustice in hockeyand is now co-head of the Hockey Diversity Alliance.

And his hockey career is far from over, with four-plusyearsremaining on the seven year, $49 million contractsigned with the Sharks in 2018.

As prosports and governments rush to increase their revenue base through expanded gaming, Hill says it's important that people understand a basic truth about gambling.

"To be a successful gambler is very, very difficult and the only people who really do it well are emotionless math geeks," he said. "Everyone else should leave it well alone."

Continued here:

Athletes and gambling: Is there anything to learn from Evander Kane's bankruptcy? - CBC.ca

Online gambling in Michigan is set to begin on Jan. 22, and many are worried this is only going to increase gambling addiction across the state.

Limited Licensed Psychologist and CEO of Addiction Resource Center Harbor Hall in Petoskey, Patrick McGinn says its similar to alcohol or drug addiction. The behavioral things that happen with people who have problems gambling almost mirrors what you see in other addictive disorders, he said. It does act on the same reward centers and you get increased dopamine levels which are the feel good chemicals.

He says the availability to place bets is going to be too convenient for some to resist. Were going to see more gambling addiction. This is going to be too easy. Its going to be too easy to get involved in. Its going to be too easy to sign off your paycheck and put it into when youre doing things online.

McGinn believes people will start seeing the effects soon. You might see people that are going to like the womens resource center or the food pantry to make ends meet or going to Salvation Army to help pay their bills, he said. So thats kind of where I think were going to initially see the impact.

His best advice is for friends and families to watch out for those struggling with addiction. Those struggling with gambling addiction should call the Michigan Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-270-7117.

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Online Gambling in Michigan Sparks Fears of Rise in Addictions - 9 & 10 News - 9&10 News

TEHRAN - Iranian volleyball coaches and players are concerned with rumors about betting and match-fixing in the countrys volleyball.

The subject of match-fixing through the betting system came under scrutiny last month when Sasan Khodaparast, ex-coach of Azar Battery, raised the issue of betting in the volleyball.

Gambling could be damaging for our volleyball. Its two or three years that the results of some games have been really surprising. These incidents have raised suspicion about gambling in this sport and we, who are working in volleyball, understand it, Khodaparast said before retiring from his post. His remarks provoked different reactions. Some did not deny the existence of betting in volleyball but believed that there were no credible documents to prove it.

Tehran Times spoke to some Iranian volleyball figures to find out how they see the situation and what they suggest to prevent further problems in this regard.

Ahsanollah Shirkavand, former player of Iran mens national volleyball team and current captain of the Shahrdari Varamin Volleyball Club believes that betting is a problem in volleyball.

We cannot deny that there is kind of betting and gambling in our volleyball, especially in the lower leagues. Im sure that in the Iranian Super League the betting problems are so small, if any. This is due to the level and positions of the players and coaches who work in the super league, as well as the sensitivities and supervisions that exist in this league, Shirkavand said to Tehran Times.

Betting in football and some other sports may be far more widespread than volleyball. I believe that even in our volleyballs lower leagues there is not an organized system of betting and it is still limited to sporadic cases. However, we must start the necessary measures now to prevent its further spread. It is really unfair and treacherous that someone, who can be a player, a coach, or a referee, to bet and ruin the efforts of the other players and staff of a team, added the 39-year-old volleyball star.

Mohammadreza Tondravan, head coach of the Foolad Sirajan team, told Tehran Times that he has just heard about betting in volleyball and not seen anything obvious.

I cannot say with certainty that there is betting in Iranian volleyball because I only have heard about it and have not seen or experienced it personally. However, it is a completely serious issue that should be taken into consideration by the Iranian Volleyball Federation and even the countrys security and intelligence official to prevent damage to the reputation of our volleyball, said the former Qataris Al Arabi head coach.

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Is there any gambling in Iran volleyball? - Tehran Times

With the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday earlier in the week, the NBA schedule has been rather inconsistent this week, as we follow up a 10-game slate Wednesday with a three-game slate Thursday.

Because there are three games, I will run through a brief betting breakdown on where my preference lies in each game.

Los Angeles Lakers at Milwaukee Bucks (-1, 228 total, William Hill)

This may be the hardest game on the slate to bet in terms of sides, as this game is quite literally a toss-up. Because there isnt a massive edge here, Ill be turning my attention to the 228 total. While its common for early season games with superstar matchups to run at faster paces and run scores up, the under here feels juicy. In both meetings between these teams last season this under wouldve hit, as neither game ended with more than 116 points. While the Bucks are running a top-10 pace, they arent running as fast as they did last season. On top of this, both teams are top-12 in defensive rating, with the Lakers ranking No.1 overall.

New Orleans Pelicans at Utah Jazz (-6.5, 217.5, William Hill)

This is the second leg of a back-to-back (in terms of opponent, not day of play), as the Jazz just beat the Pelicans 118-102 in Utah on Tuesday. What sticks out here is the total, as the previous game went for 220 total points. Both teams run a bit of a slower pace and excel more defensively than they do offensively, so it makes sense that the total is still a bit low. With that said, the spread implies that this contest should be closer than the last game. If thats the case, theres a higher likelihood for a back-and-forth game with more points, making the over enticing here up until 218.5.

New York Knicks at Golden State Warriors (no line at the time of writing)

With no line posted (Wednesday afternoon), the best we can do is forecast this game. The Knicks have embraced Tom Thibodeaus game plan, ranking top-5 in defensive rating (106.4), while ranking dead last in pace (96.63). Contrary to the Knicks, the Warriors rank third in pace (104.5) and 17th in defensive rating (110.2). Only one of the Knicks last seven games ended with a total north of 220 points, while theyve failed to crack 100 points as a team in five of those seven games. If this total is posted at or above 218.5, I would target the under with confidence.

The rest is here:

Gambling: A betting look at the three NBA games on Thursday - Colorado Springs Gazette

When I went to my first football match as a six-year-old, the dominant sensory experiences were the vivid but sponsor-free blue and red strips of the players, the intoxicating aroma of tobacco and the animated noise of an adult crowd, chorusing the na-na-na, na refrain of Hey Jude.

Aside from the fading paint of a few hoardings, commercial messaging was absent. Looking at that games programme, which along with the crackling tannoy provided the media dimension to the match-day experience, there were ads for a dry cleaners, a paint shop and the local funfair.

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Gambling was limited to a Willy Wonka-like Golden Goal contest, which shared 130 prize money among tickets that showed times coinciding with the ball going in the net. Then there was the vague hope of riches from a pools coupon ritually filled out earlier that week with a series of Xs.

The modern young fan experiences the sport differently. Watching games on Sky, he/she sees Jeff Stelling endorsing Sky Bet, or is urged Bet in play now! On the BBC theres no escape from shirts embossed with logos for Betway, BetVictor, LoveBet or ManBetX a study by Goldsmiths University last season found that betting logos, either on shirts or billboard ads, were on screen for between 71-89 per cent of the time on Match of the Day.

When I was a kid, betting was associated with horses. Today, football is easily the gambling industrys most lucrative sport. Football gambling has grown with the global popularity of the English game, and the evolution of the sports media serving it.

Younger fans are brimming with tactical insight gleaned from data-rich modern sports coverage. Theyve built encyclopaedic knowledge of players from video games such as FIFA and Football Manager. Betting companies know this and feed them increasingly complex products.

We are at a point where many younger fans see a punt as essential to enjoyment of a game. Take James Grimes, who was 16 when he raked in 90 from a 5 stake for an accumulator. I remember going to collect the cash and having the feeling Im good at this! Grimes did have an exceptional ability to read the game by 17 he was a coach at Sheffield Uniteds academy. But by then he was gambling online and on his way to debts of 100,000, which wrecked his career.

He blames the ads: When someone is telling you the game matters more if theres money on it, that sticks in your head.

Grimes, 30, runs the Big Step campaign for Gambling With Lives, a charity created by bereaved families of gambling addicts. Had he been born earlier things might have been different. Traditional forms of gambling like the pools didnt have the same addiction. I wasnt born an addict but there was 24-7 betting sold to me through my favourite sport. There are hundreds of thousands with a similar story.

A Government review of betting in sport will finish in March. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden says the gambling sector has evolved at breakneck speed and sports minister Nigel Huddleston says we need to pull our legal framework into the digital age. A House of Lords committee recommended in July that betting ads be banned in or near sports venues, including sports programmes.

A study of football shirt sponsorships last week found that the Premier League has a stronger relationship with gambling than any of the worlds top leagues; betting brand shirt sponsorship went from zero to 50 per cent of teams between 2000 and 2020. In Germanys Bundesliga, its almost non-existent. Simon Chadwick, professor at Emlyon business school in France, anticipates a ban in the European Union but not in Britain. Some fans see it as integral to the match day experience and gambling is a significant source of revenue for the exchequer. You might see some public health messaging around it but I dont envisage a ban.

Clubs will claim that they cant withstand the financial losses. But the same was said of tobacco sponsorship, a sinister presence in my youth when it was omnipresent in Formula 1, snooker and cricket. Plenty of global brands want their names on Premier League shirts.

For a game that markets itself as a societal force for good, endorsing causes such as the anti-racist Kick It Out campaign and the Heads Together mental health charity, its extraordinary that football should be in hoc to betting companies.

Sports teams, star players and even broadcasters have been following brand purpose strategies which signal their commitment to important social causes, says Richard Gillis, founder of the sports business podcast Unofficial Partner. But does it undermine their credibility if they do this while simultaneously promoting gambling and taking money from betting companies?

Link:

Time to worry as football becomes the gambling industrys most lucrative sport - iNews

LINCOLN, R.I. (WPRI) When the state shuttered Twin Rivers casinos last year, it was in the name of public health. But the months-long closures had an unintended consequence: some 200 dealers are now poised to lose their health insurance in the midst of an ongoing pandemic.

Twin River employees that spoke with 12 News believed they would be eligible for benefits if they worked at least 30 hours a week when the casinos reopened. But that average needed to be sustained over a six-month period. Extended closures and limited hours made it impossible for some workers to meet eligibility requirements.

Louis Pear has been a dealer at the casino for nearly five years and said he was careful to make sure he hit that 30-hour threshold when he returned to work.

I dont think anybody thought that they were going to use the time that we werent at work against us, you know, during a furlough, Pear said.

One employee, who asked that her name not be published out of fear of losing her job, said she and approximately 214 dealers at Lincoln and Tiverton are now at risk of being uninsured.

If you didnt get called back the first week of July, it literally made it impossible for you to keep your insurance, she explained. It didnt matter if you worked 40 hours every single week since you got called back. If you got called back late July, August, September that meant you werent going to keep your insurance.

The dealers we spoke with said they werent notified in advance, and found out when a list of ineligible employees was posted recently at the casino. Some expressed concern that dealers who havent been recalled from furlough might still be unaware that their benefits have lapsed.

Theres no need, this entire thing could have been avoided had they just, when they called you back let you know: Because its so late, youre probably not going to get insurance,' one dealer said.

Pear said health insurance is critically important to him because he has a heart condition.

I feel like theyre gambling with our health, our livelihoods, our lives, and its just not right, he said.

In a statement sent to 12 News, Twin River spokesperson Patti Doyle said, Regrettably, continued COVID-19 guidance of reduced hours and limited offerings has necessitated the reduction of some employee hours. We all look forward to the day when these restrictions are lifted.

Coverage for the now-ineligible employees was set to expire at the end of December, but Michael Sabitoni said the dealers union, Local 711, stepped in to ensure the workers would at least keep their insurance through the end of the month.

I am currently exploring avenues with the employer to minimize the amount of people that might go into the category of uninsured, so Im actively working on it as we speak, he said.

Pear said hes worried about what might happen if things dont change by Feb. 1.

Insurance is of the utmost importance to me. I couldnt get by without insurance, he said. I wish they would step up and do the right thing.

Excerpt from:

Gambling with our health: Twin River dealers decry loss of health benefits amid pandemic - WPRI.com

A few years ago, Johnstown jazz musician Frank Filia asked his second cousin, Russell Shorto, an internationally known author, a question: What are we gonna do about the story?

Shorto instantly knew what the story was.

His grandfather and namesake, Russell Russ Shorto, had been a central figure in the Johnstown mob during the city's 20th Century heyday. His writer's mind started to develop ideas as they spoke, but, at that moment, he told Filia he was not interested.

The seed, though, had been planted.

And, ultimately, the brief encounter provided the inspiration for Shorto's most recent book Smalltime: A Story of My Family and the Mob set for release by W.W. Norton on Feb. 2. Shorto, throughout countless hours of research, conversations, writing and travel, explored his family's connection to the mafia in Johnstown, eventually creating a story that is part memoir and part narrative history book.

(Frank) burst the bubble, said Shorto, a Johnstown native, who now lives in Cumberland, Maryland. I realized that whatever reasons people had for being silent about it, those people are all gone.

"This is just history. There were enough old people around who had insights into it that I should do it now, and if I don't do it now it's going to be gone. It was thanks to Frank that I started really looking into it.

Filia, who knew Shorto's grandfather, called the book a beautiful piece of work that he's doing.

And it's something that really, really has to be said on his part, Filia said. It's a story about Johnstown in the '50s and the fascination with Johnstown when it was booming. When I was a kid at 16 working in a poolroom, making a hundred (dollars) a week. It was 1951, think about that. Hustlers all around, numbers writers. Fascinating, so fascinating.

Russell Shorto, author of Small Time: A Story of My Family and the Mob, discusses past establishments in downtown Johnstown on Jan. 19, 2021, in front of the former City Cigar store on Main Street.

City Cigar, Wolves' Corner

One cold winter afternoon this past week, Shorto stood near a building on Main Street that was once home to City Cigar.

The shop, located just a few feet away from City Hall, once bustled with the activity of colorful bookies and pool shooters, during World War II.

That was like their base of operation, Shorto said. They had the offices upstairs. People brought the G.I. Bank (a local gambling game), the numbers and all that, they brought stuff up there. They made regular rounds, but this was where they stopped. Everybody, all the old guys would talk about Wolves' Corner. This corner here, Main and Market (across Main Street opposite City Hall) ... was called Wolves' Corner. That's where the guys would hang out. You would whistle at 'broads.' If somebody was going to pick you up or whatever, that's where you'd be.

Author Russell Shorto holds a copy of his new book,Small Time: A Story of My Family and the Mob,"on Jan. 19, 2021, in Johnstown.

Russ Shorto was an important figure at City Cigar and in all of Johnstown after having grown up in an era when local Italians were treated as subhuman, unable to work in the mills or get bank accounts, as his grandson explained.

That was that generation that had that kind of suffering and that kind of experience, Shorto said. So then my grandfather was born and raised in that, and comes of age in the '20s, (during) Prohibition.

"And so, at that time, his father had been murdered. His mother raised nine kids and she has a still in her house in Conemaugh Borough, and she's making moonshine for a local kind of pre-mob neighborhood guy. And my grandfather is selling it out of Coke bottles, is the story that they would tell.

Russell Shorto, author of Small Time: A Story of My Family and the Mob, discusses past establishments in downtown Johnstown on Jan. 19, 2021, in front of the former City Cigar store on Main Street.

From moonshine to gambling

Russ Shorto switched to gambling after Prohibition ended.

He eventually helped build an organization in a town run by Joseph "Little Joe" Regino, author Russell Shorto's great-uncle that generated, by one estimate, $40 million in the 15 years after World War II ended.

I grew up with the notion of him as this really dark, kind of scary figure, which I guess in some ways he was, his grandson said. But, looking at it from that perspective, it was kind of like what choice did he have? He was barred from everything and this is what he grew up with. It complicates the picture in interesting ways in terms of where you came from.

Russell Shorto, author of Small Time: A Story of My Family and the Mob," discusses past establishments in downtown Johnstown on Jan. 19, 2021, in front of a property on Franklin Street that used to be the Melodee Lounge.

But tension arose whenever his son, Tony Shorto, Russell Shorto's father, tried to get involved with life at the shop.

There was a complicated relationship between him and my grandfather, which I think stems from the fact that my dad wanted to be in the business and his father didn't want him to for his own protection, I guess you would say, but was not a very articulate man, Shorto said. So what he would do was when he caught him at City Cigar, he would beat the crap out of him. They basically didn't speak for most of their lives.

Still, Tony Shorto, supported his son's writing of the book about their family.

I wouldn't have done it if he didn't want to do this with me, Shorto said.

Shorto said most family members were OK with his project.

My grandfather was, in many ways, a bad guy," Shorto said, "and maybe because of that, I think people in my family since then have kind of bent over backward to try to be model citizens.

A murder, then crackdown

Feb. 6, 1960or maybe a little after midnight into Feb. 7was the last time Joseph Pippy diFalco, a local bookie, was seen alive.

He was stabbed with an icepick, his remains later found in the Conemaugh Dam Reservoir. The murder remains unsolved by the police and court system, although, in Smalltime, Shorto interviews a person face to face who he flat-out asks Did you kill him?

Russell Shorto, author of Small Time: A Story of My Family and the Mob, discusses past establishments in downtown Johnstown on Jan. 19, 2021, in front of Gautier Steel at the corner of Washington and Clinton Streets.

The murder became one of the main subjects in the book.

It occurred to me, 'OK, I've got a murder right in the middle of the story, so that ought to be part of it,' Shorto said. In a way, this murder, which was never solved, is kind of the beginning of the end for the operation.

DiFalco's murder occurred not long before President John Kennedy and Attorney General Robert Kennedy started a crackdown on organized crime in 1961.

Suddenly, in the course of that year, in Johnstown in particular, the mayor of Johnstown is communicating with the attorney general in Washington, Shorto said. The streets are flooded with cops and with FBI people. This activity that until then was in the open, was happening in the open, suddenly people were being shut down, people were being locked up.

'Great history ... memories'

Shorto, who received a Dutch knighthood in the Order of Orange-Nassau for strengthening Netherlands-United States relations, has written six other books:

Revolution Song: A Story of American Freedom

Amsterdam: A History of the World's Most Liberal City

Descartes' Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason

The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America

Saints and Madmen: How Pioneering Psychiatrists Are Creating a New Science of the Soul

Gospel Truth: The New Image of Jesus Emerging from Science and History, and Why It Matters

But Smalltime was the first to deal with modern history and a subject directly involving his personal life.

Shorto said the new book provides a look into a bygone Johnstown when people felt that they were part of something that mattered, they were part of history, as the mills made steel that helped build the nation and create a bustling, prosperous town.

Russell Shorto, author of Small Time: A Story of My Family and the Mob, discusses past establishments in downtown Johnstown on Jan. 19, 2021, in front of a property on Franklin Street that used to be the Melodee Lounge.

Francis Ford Coppola, director of The Godfather, said the book draws a convincing portrait of a time when Italian Americans werent permitted to live in certain neighborhoods or rise too high in the political firmament in a blurb in "Smalltime."

Coppola continued: This remembrance of his grandfathers and great-uncles lives of slots and pinball machines, 'tip seals, skeeched dice, and places like the Melodee Lounge and City Cigar mixes great history and lovely, lingering memories: Long conversations about spaghetti sauce and aunts who kissed you on the lips: those were the ways we were Italian.

And, on a personal note, the experience made Shorto a promoter of the idea of doing your family history because of that, because it gives you this kind of 3D version of yourself, because you have this much fuller idea of your past.

(There's) maybe a little extra something because I was named after my grandfather, so that helps, he said. In my case, it's just a variation on the American immigrant story. But, of course, the Italian immigrant story is it's own thing.

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