Category Archives: Gambling

LA TRINIDAD, PhilippinesCordillera policemen vow to run after gambling financiers and not only the small fry in the illegal gambling operations in the highland region.

Cordillera police director Chief Superintendent Elmo Sarona said all policemen in the six provinces and two cities in the highland region are already running after anti-illegal gambling operators and financiers who operate discretely through remote control from pension houses, inns and hotels, as their centers of operations.

Increased surveillance operation are being done to catch the gambling financiers, he warned.

On Wednesday, six small fry suspects were caughtred-handedly gambling in separate raids in Baguio City.

Threewere hauled to jail after they were caught playing cards along the road of Middle Quirino Hill. Laborer Jordan Ngawet Baniwas, 51, from West Quirino Hill; carpenter Roger Esteban Ruis, 68, a resident of Middle Quirino Hill, Baguio City and Gil Managtag Domingo, 63, from West Quirino Hill were caught playing cards and betting on them.

In another operation, three more were arrested betting while playing cards at Crystal Cave Road, Bakakeng Central.Anito Albina, 47 and Beth Panis, 57, were caught while Julie Salinas escaped.

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Cordillera cops vow to get gambling bosses - Philippine Star

We hear that our wonderful elected officials recently suggested increased availability of gambling in the state to help balance the budget, and I wonder where are their minds. I remember my grandfather telling me years ago that when they had slot machines in clubs, people would go in when they got paid and lose their entire paycheck hoping to hit it big.

So I guess it is true that history repeats itself, and our elected officials should be charged with negligence in performing their duties to uphold the responsibilities of the state and further jeopardizing the welfare of the people who gamble, as these folks will never admit they have a gambling problem. Nobody wants to admit that the best way for politicians to approach a deficit is to spend less or increase taxes that are nondiscriminatory and everybody pays their fair share. It is easier to blindly approve expanded gambling as you dont see those hurt by this decision and dont have to listen to the people you represent. You do not have skin in the game!

You dont see the people who will spend hours in clubs and other organizations and will most likely go home with nothing, reminiscent of the words spoken by my grandfather. Politicians dont want to charge a tax, as that would be political suicide. They would rather let you hang yourself on your own so they can say it is not our fault you cant control your gambling. They collect a decent paycheck and pension, much better than probably 80 percent of the people in Pennsylvania.

We need to replace politicians with the folks who work a blue-collar job without regard as to whether you are a Democrat or Republican, as that is what started this mess years ago. We need to understand that all need to pay their fair share, even those on public assistance. We need to increase the state sales tax to 7 percent and include clothes. We also need to increase the tax by another 5 percent on alcohol, tobacco and drinks high in sugar as these are directly related to increased health care costs later in life, which are going to cost the working public more to support government programs and be the downfall of Medicare and Medicaid.

Joe McGill, Erie

Billionaires have usurped

branches of government

I can still recall the intense pride and feelings of esprit de corps I experienced serving with my fellow Americans red, brown, black, yellow and white in the common cause of survival.

We stood together, side by side, to face the challenges to our very existence. Unified in the face of every threat, we survived for and died for each other. In unity we prevailed. Not just as Americans, but as brothers.

Now the threat before us is from within. An attack on the core values of the nation so many have died to protect and defend throughout history grows by the minute.

The executive and legislative branches of our government have been usurped by billionaire capitalists who hold loyalty only to profit and privilege, bent on destroying the unity of purpose that actually made us the United States of America.

Stand against this cash-powered coup intent on depriving all citizens of their constitutional birthright, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

This government of the people, by the people, for the people has enabled the construction of this wondrously unique experiment in democracy and personal freedom that has nurtured all for two and a quarter centuries.

Do not let lies, high volume, pervasive propaganda and spin doctors divide and conquer that which so many patriots have given their all to preserve, the United States of America.

M. Maxon, Erie

Repealing ACA would hurt

fight against opioid crisis

The defeat of the Affordable Care Act repeal was a win in Pennsylvanias fledgling fight against the opioid epidemic. At the neighborhood clinic where I serve as a nurse practitioner, my patients rely on their health insurance to cover the tens of thousands of dollars in costs for opioid addiction treatment, including prescriber visits, counseling and medication.

Because of the Medicaid expansion, and the essential health benefits that guarantee addiction services are included under the ACA, about 3 million more Americans with substance abuse issues now have insurance coverage. If the ACA is repealed, these folks would lose their coverage and $5.5 billion annually would be cut from opioid addiction services.

Washington politicians such as Sen. Pat Toomey should be fighting to help prevent the deaths of the 13 Pennsylvanians who perish each day from drug overdoses, instead of trying to give their health care funding away to millionaires and pharmaceutical and health insurance companies.

Tarik S. Khan, Philadelphia

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Using gambling to balance budget will harm people: Letters to the editor - GoErie.com

The casino industry's largest lobbying group in the U.S. on Thursday rolled out a new code of conduct with consumer protection measures that it says are meant to promote responsible gambling.

The code of the American Gaming Association calls on casino operators to be more transparent with patrons and provide training to employees. Its announcement in Las Vegas came within months of two high-profile criminal cases that drew attention to the effects of compulsive gambling as authorities believe the perpetrators were problem gamblers.

"(Responsible gaming) is an everyday, year-round responsibility that we have to every player that walks through our doors and onto our casino floors," said Elizabeth Cronan, the association's senior director of gaming policy. "... We appreciate that this is an issue that must be top-of-mind industry-wide for all employees, from those that interact daily with consumers on the gaming floor to the senior executive leadership and the boards of directors."

The new code calls on casino operators to generally explain patrons the odds of winning or losing at various games and to not use advertising that contains claims that gambling activity will guarantee a person's social, financial or personal success. It also includes training requirements for employees on procedures for dealing with underage gambling and other issues.

The industry's longstanding estimate is that between 98 percent and 99 percent of casino patrons gamble responsibly. This year, however, the remaining one to two percent have grabbed attention around the world.

In April, the man who randomly gunned down a Cleveland retiree and posted video of the crime on Facebook in the footage talked about having trouble with his girlfriend and losing everything he had to gambling. Two months later, police in the Philippines said the lone suspect behind a deadly attack on a casino and shopping complex in Manila was a heavily indebted Filipino gambling addict.

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Casino industry in US has new rules for responsible gambling - CNBC

Google has agreed to let Play Store customers court cruel mistress Lady Luck.

A spokesperson confirmed to The Register that, as of August 2, the store formally allows gambling apps.

Folk in the UK, Ireland and France are part of this experiment.

According to Apple's Developer guidelines, the Apple App Store allows gambling apps with several conditions. Geo-restricted apps with "real money gaming" such as poker, for example, must be free and have all necessary licensing and permissions.

Google has sporadically allowed gambling apps in the Play Store. Forbes reported that ahead of the 2015 US NFL season, the store carried some apps for placing wagers on players. However, a spokesperson told The Reg that before August 2, such apps were not permitted.

The Play Store will now support gambling apps subject to strict regulations and requirements.

"We're experimenting with rolling out real money gambling apps in select markets over the next few weeks that ensures user safety," the spokesperson said, "as part of our continued effort to offer new experiences on Google Play."

According to the Google Play Developer Policy Center, the rules for apps in the UK, Ireland and France are as follows:

The Register takes no responsibility for any financial inconveniences or other harm that may result from venturing forth.

Sponsored: The Joy and Pain of Buying IT - Have Your Say

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Google drops poker face, allows gambling apps on Play Store - The Register

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ST. CLOUD The mayor of Richmond has agreed to a plea agreement that convicts him of illegally directing meat raffle profits intended for the Little League Fund into the adult amateur baseball account.

James Jim Hemmesch was originally charged with a felony count of Gambling-Unlawful Expenditures of more than $2,500, but the agreement will reduce the charge to a misdemeanor and allow Hemmesch to avoid any jail or prison time.

An investigation into the theft of funds from the Richmond amateur baseball team by former manager Scott Kron led to the charges against Hemmesch.

Court records show Hemmesch directed meat raffle profits from the Richmond Firemans Relief Association to be deposited into the Richmond Little League Fund. Thats a lawful donation of gambling profits. However, the complaint indicated he conspired with the gambling manager and then-team manager Kron to have some of the funds deposited from the Little League account into the adult baseball team account. That is not allowed by law.

Records show Hemmesch called a state compliance agent who was looking into the thefts by Kron and asked about funds given to the adult baseball club via the Little League account. Hemmesch went on to state he was aware the Firemans Relief Fund could not give money to the adult team.

The total receipts to the Richmond Royals in a one-year period between 2013 and 2014 totaled more than $9,500 to the adult team.

A Stearns County judge stayed a 90-day sentence and placed Hemmesch on probation for a year. He must perform 80 hours of community service and pay $200 of a $1,000 fine.

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Richmond Mayor Agrees to Plea Deal in Illegal Gambling Profit Donation Case [VIDEO] - WJON News

This is apaid-for submitted press release. CCN does not endorse, nor is responsible for any material included below and isnt responsible for any damages or losses connected with any products or services mentioned in the press release. CCN urges readers to conduct their own research with due diligence into the company, product or service mentioned in the press release.

BitDice is looking to prove the fairness in crypto-gambling as the Blockchain gambling platform differentiates itself from the competition who are being questioned about their own fairness in results.

By diversifying their technology, and even opening themselves up to the use of fiat currencies, BitDice will meld the cryptocurrency betting world, which already makes up roughly five percent of the entire online gambling industry, with fiat gambling by alleviating fears of the Black Box phenomenon.

Beyond a Single Technology

Besides allowing the user to choose if they want to play with fiat currency or digital, BitDice is even offering players the choice in technology. In other crypto-gambling platforms, the single technology is essentially a clone of a simple dice game that is run on the Ethereum network and its smart contracts this comes with its limitations.

The Smart Contracts can be cumbersome, especially in a gambling environment, as the speed and transaction fees can infuriate and frustrate players.

Ethereum networks impose higher latency speed for validating wager results and on top ofthat comes a transaction fee a user must pay with each wager.

By diversifying its technology, BitDice can run its games free of charge on the server withpublicly observable and provably fair algorithms that include different types of cryptocurrencies and are capable of processing up to 20 wagers a client per second.

Providing Absolute Fairness

Of course, when gambling online, the biggest fear is that the games are rigged, and there is no fairness involved. This is especially an issue with crypto-gambling as the Random Number Generation (RNG) algorithm cannot be invoked within the Blockchain.

It leads to outsourcing to other parties, which in themselves, are also outsourcing, which clearly leaves plenty of gaps for tinkering with results. Each layer of data transmission can be intruded upon an affected to the benefit of the casino.

This is where BitDice has stepped up the game by successfully implemented the provably fairness concept that serves its purpose and eliminates risks of cheating without outreaching any third-party provider.

A client-seed, generated and known by the user, is linked with the server-seed to create an unhackable random outcome which can be verified immediately after the bet is made, but cannot be known in advance by any party.

Standing out from the Crowd

Traditional casinos, of course, have their limitations, as do Smart Contract casinos, but BitDice has addressed many of these shortcomings in order to put themselves head and shoulders above the competition.

Yes1 One should apply a top-skill technical expertise to understand and interpret the codeof the smart-contract. Smart-contracts can be easily twisted without being noticed by anaverage user.

No2 To accommodate high-roller players the funds shall be readily available and kept inhot wallets (online), which is a very insecure way of holding crypto assets. Last examples Edgeless and Dao.Casino wallets were drained because of mistakes in the code.

Website: https://ico.bitdice.me

Email: [emailprotected]

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BitDice: Not Gambling on Fairness - CryptoCoinsNews

Amaya Inc. (AYA) is a good long-term investment since it currently generates free cash flow of $335MM, has many competitive advantages such as its scale and market share, and is best positioned to benefit from the increase in demand for online gaming with its Stars brands. Once the U.S. legalizes online gambling, Amaya will be able to quickly capture the pent-up demand in the U.S.

Its interesting to see a scenario like Amaya, the online casino, sports book, and poker room provider based out of Canada. U.S. companies that have reached peak market share/opportunity domestically are often pressured by investors to expand overseas internationally in order to fuel growth and add to the top line. Once there are plans proposed by the company to do so (and those plans are executed successfully), shareholders are rewarded with higher earnings and therefore a higher stock price. Amaya is kind of like the opposite scenario. The company is currently the dominant player in the online gambling space globally, generating revenue from big European markets such as Italy, UK, Spain, and France. But the big question mark surrounding Amayas true potential for global domination of the gambling space is the United States. It seems almost inevitable that within the next 10 years, online gambling will eventually be legalized on a federal level within the U.S. given that there are multiple states that are going through the legislative process to legalize online gaming. What better exposure can an investor get than Amaya?

Amaya has been able to grow its revenue over the past five years, increasing its revenue from $77MM in 2012 to $1.2 billion in 2016. The growth has certainly been appealing and should have investors interested. Amayas decision to build out its online casino and sportsbook is a step in the right direction given it already has the infrastructure and scale in place. I dont believe the company will have any trouble holding onto its market share. The business, by nature, has high barriers to entry given the requirement of licenses. Additionally, Amaya has the benefit of a recognized brand, scale, and infrastructure. Once gambling is legalized on a national scale within the United States, Amaya should be able to dominate the space domestically, just as Poker Stars and Full Tilt had done before 2011.

Source: GuruFocus

Amaya has had success in growing its EBITA and EBITDA margins over the past five years. This earnings power can be attributed to Amayas position as a leader in the industry and the operating leverage associated with its business model. The majority of Amayas costs being fixed allows its incremental revenue dollars to flow straight to the bottom line, which can be attractive for an investor and goes well with the companys ability to maintain its huge market share. The competitive advantages speak to the quality if this cash flow as well.

Source: GuruFocus

I dont believe the company is overly levered at this point in time, as debt to EBITDA has come down a bit and is hovering around 5.5-6.0x. The chart above illustrates the companys recent deleveraging, as a result of amortization of term loans issued in 2014.

Source: Author/GuruFocus

The interest coverage (as measured by EBITDA/Interest Expense) for FY 2016 is the highest it has been in five years. This is driven by higher EBITDA and lower leverage for 2016. A high coverage at close to 3.0x gives an investor comfort in knowing there hasnt been overextension by management. Additionally, the company has clearly proven that it can successfully de-lever after having taken on close to $3 billion in long-term debt.

Source: Google Trends

Poker is once again on the rise in the U.S. The 2017 WSOP Main Event was the 3rd largest event in the history of the WSOP. Poker in the form of entertainment is also growing, with the new streaming service PokerGO that allows subscribers access to poker broadcasts, whether live or pre-recorded. The chart above shows the term Poker in Googles search trends increased to a level not seen since 2012. This data is cyclical in nature given the timing of the WSOP main event. However, the peak is whats important. This data supports the potential shift in popularity surrounding poker, which should lead to pressure to allow gaming in the U.S. as popularity continues to rise back up to pre-2011 levels.

Assumptions when doing a valuation for AYA were taken from historical data. Free cash flow for FY 2016 was $335MM, which was a 6.72% increase from the year prior. I believe this growth rate is sustainable long term especially with the prospect that this company may be able to enter the U.S. market over the next 10 years. Running a DCF using conservative assumptions yielded the following results:

Growth

0.00%

WACC

12%

2016 FCF

$335,460,000

PV of 10 years

$1,895,423,817

Terminal Value

$2,795,500,000

PV of Term Value

$900,076,183

Intrinsic Value of FFCF

$2,795,500,000

Source: Author/GuruFocus

I assumed no growth over the next 10 years (which is highly unlikely) and a discount rate of 12% (given WACC of 11.29%). For terminal value, I assumed the same discount rate at year 10 and discounted it to arrive at its present value. The result is an intrinsic value of the cash flows of the business of $2.8 billion. Todays market cap of the company is around $2.6 billion. Theres a small margin of safety given extremely pessimistic assumptions about the future cash flows of the company. This analysis should provide comfort for a long-term investor.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Link:

Amaya Is Best Positioned For Online Gambling - Seeking Alpha

More gambling goes on during PGA Tour practice rounds than you might guess. Some players, mostly earnest rookies, go out to chart the course and work on their games, but I'd say the majority of groups on a Tuesday or Wednesday have action going. If there's a standard bet out here, it's a $100 nassau with partners. You also see a lot of $200 and $300 closeouts. Even if I link up with another single for just a handful of holes, I like to play for something. It's a way to stay sharp.

It's a rule that there's no gambling allowed, so tour officials don't like it. But there are a lot of things they do that we don't like.

If you really want to get amped and are looking for a game "with a comma," it's a more select crowd. But not hard to find. Some guys are pretty loud about the money games they organize, where the stakes get to five or eight or even 10 grand during a normal week. Away from tour events, the games can get stupid. Like 40 and 50 grand a man. You need thick skin for those.

Because when we play with our own cash, we talk like we never would in a tournament. Of guys I've played with, I'd say Ernie Els is the Hall of Fame needler. If you're Big Easy's partner and aren't holding up your end, he'll ride you to the point of tears.

I've won once on the PGA Tour. I spring for a first-class plane ticket now and then, but mostly I live modestly.

A thousand dollars is the perfect amount to get my full attentionit hurts to remove that kind of heft from my walletbut I'll play for more with anyone who wants. I don't care if you're top 10 or trying to get into Web.com events, there are no strokes.

The other thing you won't find on the PGA Tour is Venmo or PayPal. All debts are settled in cash. Not paying within 24 hours is grounds for public humiliation, which usually means getting called out on the range, though guys have taken to social media, too. When I go on the road, my last stop before the airport is always the bank.

I'll gamble on tournament days. If it's a Friday and everyone in my group is clearly missing the cut, I'll suggest $100 skins the rest of the way in. Same thing for Sunday morning. If the guy I'm paired with and I are starting in last place or damn near, it's hard to get motivated. Even if I shoot 65, I move up maybe 10 places. And a solid round like 69 or 70 is going to yield something like $1,500 more in prize money, pre-tax. It might sound illogical, but the glory of taking a few hundo off a colleague becomes more interesting than a potentially slightly larger cut of a purse. Maybe it's the tactility of cash, rather than the blink of a couple right-hand digits in my bank balance, that gets my blood pumping.

In competition, I've never started a wager on the first tee. It's a back-nine move, and only late in the front if you both make a bunch of bogeys early. Generally the time to start is the minute the golf starts looking like a race to see who can finish the hole the fastest, because playing with indifference is dangerous. At the end of a disappointing week, the last thing you want to do is grind. But if you're not always trying to get it going, you've got about zero chance of discovering that thingsome little key or thoughtthat turns your game around. It happens all the time: A guy misses three cuts in a row and then wins.

You could call me a bit of a degenerate. Each year when we play in Las Vegas during football season, I'll spend an afternoon in a sports book letting five figures ride. I do it for the rush, which is maybe the same reason other people do drugs or dangerous sports. But if you're not used to feeling heat, how can you expect to be ready when your moment comes and you're standing over a golf shot worth half a million? With Max Adler

RELATED: A beginner's guide on how to bet on golf

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Undercover Tour Pro: There is gambling at Bushwood, and during tour events, too - GolfDigest.com

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) reported another big quarter this week, dominated by the company's resorts in Asia. It's not a surprise the company grew, given Macau's gambling revenue growth and the opening of The Parisian last fall. What this quarter gave us a look at is where growth is concentrated and how the company's resorts are holding up against increased competition.

Luck is always a factor in the gambling industry as well. So results should be compared on an apples-to-apples basis against a year ago and what the rest of the market is doing.

Image source: Las Vegas Sands.

Overall, Macau revenue was up 23% to $1.82 billion, and adjusted EBITDA jumped 23% to $600 million. This showing compares with a 21.9% jump in Macau's gambling revenue, but remember that Las Vegas Sands has one more resort this year than it had a year ago -- The Parisian.

Here's a look at the gambling volume trends for Las Vegas Sands' resorts in operation for over a year:

$968 million (50.5%)

$626 million (3.7%)

$5.17 billion (24.7%)

$1.67 billion (2.3%)

$2.52 billion (18.2%)

$1.37 billion (9.5%)

$2.42 billion (28.4%)

$295 million (28.3%)

Data source: Las Vegas Sands Q2 2017 earnings report.

Volume fell considerably in the VIP market and fell at Sands Macau and Sands Cotai Central in the mass market as well. This is a theme for the quarter -- down big in VIP and holding steady in the mass market.

These results compare with a 35.3% jump in VIP play at Wynn Macau, Wynn Resorts'(NASDAQ: WYNN) Macau peninsula property, to $16.02 billion, although mass-market volume dropped 9% to $1.07 billion. And Wynn Palace generated another $11.6 billion in VIP volume and $729 million in mass-market play.

The only reason Las Vegas Sands kept up with growth in the Macau gambling market is that it opened The Parisian last fall. Without that, it would have lost a lot of market share, primarily to Wynn Resorts. And with MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM) and SJM Holdings opening properties in the next couple of years, it's likely there will be even more pressure on the company's market share.

The most important resort in Las Vegas Sands' portfolio is still Marina Bay Sands. And it's still performing incredibly well. Revenue jumped 17.7% to $836 million, and adjusted EBITDA was up 37.8% to $492 million, although both were helped by incredibly good luck.

VIP volume and mass-market volume were up 29.2% and down 2.7% respectively, which is a better indication of how the resort is doing. And occupancy of 94.3% with an average daily room rate of $397 shows just how in demand this property is.

Las Vegas Sands generated $1.21 billion in adjusted EBITDA, which is more than enough to pay its dividend of $0.73 per share. And investors owning the stock today should look at this as a dividend stock rather than a growth stock, given that there aren't any new resort developments on the horizon.

Investors should expect that gambling revenue in Macau probably won't keep up with the market as a whole as MGM and SJM open their properties. But Las Vegas Sands should still hold a profitable position in the mass market with its properties in the core of the Cotai Strip. And with Marina Bay Sands churning out well over $1 billion in cash flow every year, this is a great dividend stock to own for the long term.

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Las Vegas Sands Is Losing Its Grip on Macau's Gambling Market - Madison.com

A South Lake Tahoe man is set for trial in a Stateline, Nev., incident that left another man with a broken jaw.

Michael R. Burghard, 29, is charged with assault with a deadly weapon and battery causing substantial bodily harm after a bar fight last November. According to reports, he and the victim were arguing at the Lakeside Inn and Casino after Burghard accused the victim of taking his player points at one of the gambling machines.

The two went outside to argue when the victim said Burghard went to his truck, came back with a pistol, and allegedly struck the victim in the face with it. When a bar staff member came out to intervene, Burghard had gotten into his truck and allegedly attempted to hit the staff member before driving off. The first victim had to have his jaw wired shut because of the incident.

Burghard denied all charges in court Tuesday morning. The district attorneys office also announced it also would be pressing charges for battery on a prisoner for a separate incident in addition to this case.

The trial is set for the week of March 19, 2018.

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South Lake Tahoe man in alleged gambling fight set for trial - Sierra Sun