America’s legal sports betting hopes remain in limbo after the US Supreme Court appeared to ignore New Jersey’s challenge of the federal sports betting prohibition.

On Monday, the Court issued its Orders List spelling out which cases it will consider during the Court’s 2017 term, which begins this October. Among the cases hoping to be included on this list was New Jersey’s appeal of lower court rulings blocking its plans to allow legal sports betting at Atlantic City casinos and state racetracks.

But while New Jersey’s case doesn’t appear on the Court’s list of cases it intends to hear, it also doesn’t appear on the much larger list of petitions that the Court has explicitly rejected. This leaves open the possibility that the Court could address the issue via a supplemental ‘miscellaneous order’ at some future date. The case could also be ‘relisted’ for consideration in a future Court term.

In 2014, the Court refused to hear New Jersey’s previous petition regarding its original sports betting legislation, but the Court signaled its interest in the current case in January by asking the Solicitor General to file a brief detailing the federal government’s official position. The Solicitor General urged the court to reject New Jersey’s petition, but it’s anyone’s guess as to whether the Court chose to heed this advice.

Another peek under the covers at the 48th Annual World Series of Poker including a first gold bracelet for the aptly named Nathan Gamble, and Phil Hellmuth goes after bracelet #15 in the $10k Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship.

credits: PokerNews

When it comes to the best-suited surnames for poker Nathan Gamble is right up there with Chris Moneymaker, but there was nothing gamble like about his dominant final table performance in Event #46: Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo.

The 27-year old from Texan went on a malevolent rampage on the final table, snapping people out of their dreams like twigs in a cold, harsh winter, ending up with a 10:1 chip lead against Adam Hendrix in heads-up action.

The lengthy probe into how Crown Resorts lured Chinese high-rollers to its casinos ended in a quick-fire trial on Monday, with a Chinese court handing short jail terms to the operator’s Australian staffers.

Multiple media outlets reported that the Baoshan District Court gave Jason O’Connor, Crown’s head of international VIP services, a 10-month sentence, while the two other Australians were handed nine-month sentences.  The fate of 16 other current and former Crown staff who are also on trial is currently unclear.

The sentences, according to the Australian consul general in Shanghai, would run from the date when the Crown staffers were first detained, which means the employees only have a couple of months left to serve.

If you recall, the 18 Crown-affiliated staffers were arrested in October for suspected “gambling-related crimes.” While never officially confirmed, the staffers are widely suspected of having met with Chinese high-rollers to promote trips to Crown’s Australian resorts for the express purpose of gambling, which is prohibited on the Chinese mainland.

An Amazon customer has lodged a petition appealing to CEO Jeff Bezos to accept digital currencies like Bitcoin as a mode of payment.

The petition, lodged through Change.org, stated that digital conglomerate Amazon would increase its customers’ value of life if the site allows its users to use cryptocurrencies to pay for purchases. The petitioner, identified as Eilrahc Issatoshi, described digital currencies as “efficient and groundbreaking payment methods,” which will pave the way for “more streamlined commerce” and improved purchasing experience for Amazon shoppers.

“This logical expansion in the payment options for Amazon’s customers would help to proactively modernize the purchasing process and ultimately improve quality of life by bringing together the most efficient distribution systems with the most efficient and convenient payment systems available,” the petition stated.

The petition, which has set a 5,000 goal, has managed to gather 3,836 supporters as of writing. The petition also received a few upvotes on Reddit, although some community members are skeptical that Amazon, which has been historically hesitant to support digital currency, will pay attention to the request. As one Reddit user puts it: “They’ll accept it when they want to… If they want to… They will incorporate Bitcoin when they feel it is the right time and place.”

After serving the Shun Tak Holdings board for more than four decades, Macau’s gambling king Stanley Ho is handing over the reins of the Hong Kong conglomerate he founded to his daughter, Pansy Ho.

In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the company said the 95-year-old magnate has stepped down from his position as chairman of Shun Tak Holdings. He also ceased to be a director or officer at the conglomerate, and instead will take on the title of chairman emeritus.

The flamboyant tycoon, who heads one of the most lucrative gaming businesses through SJM Holdings, is credited for helping transform the city state from a sleepy peninsula into the world’s biggest gambling hub. After suffering a stroke in 2009, the elder Ho, who has four wives and 16 children, started decentralizing his corporate empire and allowing his family members manage it.

Pansy Ho, 54, has been the managing director of Shun Tak Holdings before taking over as the group’s executive chairman. Her sisters, Daisy and Maisy, also hold the positions of deputy managing director and executive director of the company, respectively.

The Russians have won their fourth bracelet, and the UK have taken their third, as the 48th Annual World Series of Poker remains on course for another groundbreaking year.

The $10,000 Six-Max No-Limit Hold’em Championship is one of the toughest competitions of the summer. It’s exterminate or be exterminated. The action is fast, furious, and frenetic. The parade of oddballs that usually illuminate a World Series of Poker (WSOP) event, replaced by nothing but the very best card players in the biz.

But that view isn’t shared by the eventual winner Dmitry Yurasov.

“Easy game,” Yurasov told WSOP reporters with his tongue firmly pressed into his cheek when asked how he managed to snag the gold.

A stark contrast as Loren Klein wins his second World Series of Poker bracelet in successive years, and Ben Maya wins his first after playing in only two events all year.

For some, the thought of winning a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet is the pinnacle of their career. For others, it feels slightly different.

“I’m just trying to feed my family,” said a no frills Loren Klein after winning his second bracelet in Event #41: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha.

The man with the name that wouldn’t look out of place on the side of an expensive bottle of aftershave began smelling of roses, after dominating the 870 player field from Day 2 onwards, where he finished as the chip leader.

Two more bracelet wins to catch up on as Ernest Bohn registers his first Hendon Mob cash by winning a Stud event, and a man who didn’t know how to play most of the games wins the H.O.R.S.E

“You are weird,” my drunken father said with a cigarette hanging from his lip while placing his bacon into an inch of vegetable oil.

His astonishment came because I was eating a plate of broccoli.

He has smoked, drank, and eaten his entire life terribly. But I have no doubt he will go on to outlive me. Sometimes, life throws up these rarities that manage to prove the stereotype wrong.