The next big task of the new Philippine interagency task force will be to tally up foreign workers for tax purposes. This news comes from the Department of Finance (DOF), who announced the new goal in an article on their official site.

Specifically, the task force will be looking at Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGOs), where they suspect foreigners might be evading a total of P22 billion ($420 million USD) in yearly income taxes. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said:

“There are still gaps in the numbers and we need to close those gaps. In our computations, there is at least P22 billion a year not being collected in the income taxes from these POGO workers who could possibly exceed 100,000 in number.”

To reduce that number of tax evaders, they plan to make a comprehensive list of all foreign workers currently employed by POGOs. “We have to get a clear picture here,” Dominguez said. “If we do not have that, how can the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) do its job, which is to collect taxes from everybody so that we are being fair to all Filipinos who are paying their taxes?”

Press Association (PA) and Novibet have teamed up to enhance horseracing. The partnership will see Novibet’s customers receive better access to live data, in-depth statistics and form guides from PA’s extensive expertise in the horseracing and betting industries.

According to a press release, “From the likes of Epsom Downs, Kempton Park and Newbury to the more illustrious Cheltenham Festival, Royal Ascot and Grand National, Novibet customers can keep up-to-date with every race thanks to PA’s comprehensive live betting shows which record horses placed within one minute of the race finishing. Customers of the online bookmaker can now benefit from the finest and most reliable insight into each of the hundreds of horse races taking place every month.”

To celebrate the new partnership, new Novibet customers are able to earn up to £25 ($32) in horseracing bets when the join and make their first deposit. The deal comes just ahead of the Grand National, scheduled for April 6, which is one of the largest events on the horseracing calendar.

Novibet manager Hassan Ghalayini states in the press release, “We have invested heavily into growing our horse racing product over the past few months and this deal with Press Association ensures Novibet’s customers now have access to the best horse racing coverage across the UK and Ireland.”

A casino executive who previously worked for Boyd Gaming’s Ameristar Casino in St. Charles, Missouri is suing the casino operator. Kim Carpenter, who worked as an event booker for the venue, alleges that she had been ordered by the top brass to not book shows or concerts that would attract mostly African American attendees. She is suing Boyd on grounds of sexual and racial discrimination.

The lawsuit was initially filed in St. Charles County Circuit Court last December before being moved to a federal court last week. Carpenter’s lawyers allege that she had complained to management about being ordered to not book acts that catered “primarily to black people,” for which she was fired.

The lawsuit further alleges that Carpenter’s termination was based on false pretenses, with Ameristar executives telling her that she was not a “good cultural fit.” She lodged her complaint against management on April 5 last year and was fired the next day. However, she was let go less than a month after having received a “substantial bonus” and positive performance reviews.

Boyd VP of Corporate Communication David Strow issued a statement denying the allegations. He asserted, “We strongly dispute these allegations. However, given that this matter is the subject of pending litigation, we cannot comment further at this time.”

Next Monday, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) has prepared to launch hearings on whether or not Wynn Resorts is suitable to hold a casino license in the state. The process has faced a series of delays as Wynn Resorts, along with founder and former CEO Steve Wynn, have introduced legal measures designed to prevent the release of certain details regarding the sexual misconduct allegations against the executive.

When Wynn Resorts was awarded the license in 2013, it was viewed by the MGC as a legitimate contender and Steve Wynn was deemed a “highly ethical” individual and a “perfectionist who is passionate about everything he does.” When news broke early last year regarding Steve Wynn’s sexual improprieties, his reputation was put on the line.

Wynn Resorts has already admitted that certain high-ranking individuals at the organization were aware of Steve Wynn’s actions, yet they did nothing to stop him. Those individuals are no longer with the company, as Wynn Resorts stated recently, and the MGC is calling into question both Steve Wynn’s activities and those of the company. The commission could ultimately decide to fine Wynn Resorts or revoke the license it was given for the Boston-area casino, Encore Boston Harbor.

Wynn Resorts has pushed forward with Encore, which is expected to open June 23. It is already taking reservations, but a decision by the MGC to revoke the license could bring everything to a grinding halt. It would force thousands of workers out of their jobs and lead to possibly millions of dollars in lost tax revenue, as well as other economic benefits.

A move by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to squash a lawsuit against it shows exactly how it feels about the backlash it has received for its reversal on the Federal Wire Act. New Hampshire, along with its lotteries, filed a lawsuit against the DOJ after it decided to change its stance on the Wire Act, and the department is now looking to have the suit thrown out of court.

If the DOJ were to begin enforcing its opinion on the Wire Act, lotteries across the country could be brought to a grinding halt. This would lead to billions in lost revenue for the states and New Hampshire was one of several to lead the charge against the DOJ for what most have indicated was an influenced decision by the top law enforcement agency of the U.S.

The DOJ responded to the lawsuit last Friday, submitting a 37-page document that requests the lawsuit be dismissed. There’s little chance that its request will be honored, but the mere fact that it submitted the petition shows that it is not willing to backtrack on its position.

Not surprisingly, after New Hampshire received so many amicus briefs to its lawsuit, here comes Adelson to put his weight behind the DOJ. The Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling (CSIG), which is funded by Adelson and his Las Vegas Sands casino company, has filed an amicus brief supporting the DOJ. The group is expected to be joined by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), which asserts that online gambling threatens revenue generated from scratch-off and in-state lottery sales. Ironically, the NACS could be shooting itself in the foot, as the DOJ opinion could force multi-state lotteries such as Megabuck and Powerball to halt.

Genting UK has spent the past several years trying to find someone willing to take the Maxims Club Casino in Kensington, UK off its hands. It has finally found a buyer and its parent company, Genting Malaysia Bhd, announced last Friday that it has sold the casino’s operator, Coastbright Ltd., to a Canadian company for $45.6 million.

Sonco Gaming Inc., along with several investors, is the new owner of Coastbright and Maxims. The Canadian company is mainly involved in the ownership and operation of gambling venues around the globe.

Maxims was once an exclusive casino in Kensington, a borough of London. It is located in a 19th century building that was once owned by a friend of Charles Dickens in one of the wealthiest parts of the UK. It has been competing with other exclusive gambling facilities and never gained the traction Genting expected. The gambling operator purchased the venue about ten years ago and continued slow performance has had it looking for a new owner for several years.

The Maxims brand covers other types of facilities, as well. It is found in casino resorts owned by Genting in Asia, but it isn’t clear whether or not the sale will force changes in those branded offerings.

The World Poker Tour may no longer partner the Bay 101 Shooting Stars event, but the iconic tournament went ahead, all the same, handing Sandeep Pulusani a rare win in San Jose. 

The opportunity to compete alongside some of poker’s most famous faces is one of the reasons people turned up in their droves to compete at the Bay 101 Shooting Stars event, but it also seems the World Poker Tour (WPT) brand had an important role to play.

The WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star event had become poker’s favourite puppet show, making annual headlines after Phil Gordon beat Chris Moneymaker, heads-up, to capture the inaugural crown back in 2004.

Then, in 2018, a single season after Sam Panzica had defeated a record field of 806-entrants to bank $1,373,000, the WPT dropped the iconic event from the roster.

Poker’s alleycats continue to fight in the partypoker MILLIONS South American with Guillaume Nolet scratching his way to victory in the €10,300 High Roller, and Jonathan Depa clawing his way to the top spot in the €25,000 High Roller. 

Phil Hellmuth Jr. may be winning burlesque awards for his shimmy and shake partypoker MILLIONS South America Main Event entrance, but the man isn’t locking up any titles; unlike Guillaume Nolet and Jonathan Depa.

We begin with Nolet who has taken down the $10,300 High Roller for a career-best score of $300,000. The event attracted 97-entrants, and there were a few slivers of Uni amongst the raw fish.

Chief amongst them was the 2013 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion, Ryan Riess, who has been a beast of late, breaking into the Global Poker Index (GPI) Top 10 where he currently resides in ninth. Riess had to settle for eighth in this one, one place higher than his successful run in last season’s MILLIONS UK Main Event. The former World Poker Tour (WPT) Season VIII Player of the Year, Faraz Jaka, also made an appearance at the final table; Joaquin Melogno flushing The Toilet in fifth.

A fellow poker player has robbed the home of Darren Elias, holding a 19-year-old babysitter at gunpoint while she cared for Elias’s two-year-old child. 

The New Jersey home of Darren Elias doesn’t feel like home to the Elias family this morning.

On Thursday, 24-year-old, Shannon Soroka from Philadelphia, forced his way into Elias’s family home, put a gun in the back of a 19-year-old babysitter, and demanded she shows him where Elias keeps his money and valuables.

Elias and his wife were out at the time of the burglary.