Some hands at the World Series of Poker are drama at every flop, turn and river. Others are magic just because you can see the years someone has been playing poker for decades by witnessing just a minute of action on a single street.

The latter certainly applies to this hand from the 2015 WSOP Main Event. Daniel Negreanu’s deep run had everyone gassed at the time – the chance of ‘Kid Poker’ winning the big one made everything seem more exciting, and while he would eventually miss out, finishing 11th for $526,778, his run to the brink of the final table was poker entertainment at its very best.

Negreanu would eventually be left on the rail as Joe McKeehen won $7.6 million for taking the bracelet. In the hand between the pair, however, it was definitely the Canadian player Negreanu who got the better of his American opponent. 

The action was fairly simple. McKeehen three-bet over an opponent’s opening bet, and Negreanu four-bet to 2.6 million chips with ace-king. McKeehen moved all-in with pocket aces and with only Negreanu needing to make the decision, and his stack covering McKeehen’s, the poker legend and six-time WSOP bracelet winner Negreanu went into the tank. As the commentary team of Norman Chad and Lon McEachern described the action as McKeehen prepared to make his move:

They say no-one remembers who finishes in second place. While the runners up is Premier League history have largely been forgotten, however, the exception that proves that rule might be the Liverpool team of 2018/19.

It’s not that Jurgen Klopp’s 2018/19 Liverpool team’s incredible total of 97 points would have been enough to win the Premier League title in most other years. They would have won it in every other year, including the year Arsenal went an entire season without losing (90 points) and Jose Mourinho’s first imperious year at Stamford Bridge (95 points). So what were the reasons that they didn’t win the title with that side? It’s a lot less simple than Manchester City proving to be one point better over the course of that surprising season.

The Manchester City side that went into action in 2018/19 was, of course, on the back of a record-breaking year in which The Citizens amassed 100 Premier League points. That they got within two points of this in the very next season is a feat that is truly remarkable. Many of the reasons for this must be accredited to Pep Guardiola, who propensity for motivating the most high-achieving of players is nothing short of sensational.

City got off to a traditionally strong start, winning their opening fixture away to Arsenal before thrashing Huddersfield 6-1 at The Etihad Stadium. A draw at Wolves followed, however, and City dropped to fifth place before a run of victories concluding in a dominant showing against Brighton restores them to the summit. The prescience of that moment would not be known until May.

New Jersey’s regulated online gambling market continues to set new revenue records as Atlantic City casinos remain closed due to COVID-19, while sports betting continues to suffer from a blank calendar of events.

Figures released Friday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement show state-licensed online gambling revenue hitting nearly $86m in the month of May, a 124.1% rise over the same month last year and handily beating the market’s previous record of $80m in April 2020.

As always, the online casino vertical did the heavy lifting, shooting up 122.8% year-on-year to $81.4m. Online poker posted a larger percentage gain, rising 151.2% to $4.5m, although that represented a step back from April’s record $5.15m, proving that even pandemic lockdowns can’t make online poker seem all that interesting for very long.

On a year-to-date basis, the overall online tally is up 88.3% to $337.8m, with casino rising 88.4% to $320.9m and poker up 86.7% to $16.9m.

Canada needs to legalize single-game sports betting ASAP, according to the major leagues that previously declared betting to be a threat to the nation’s “moral status.”

This week, the commissioners of the National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and Canadian Football League issued a joint statement urging “prompt action” by Canada’s federal government to pass legislation that would “authorize provinces to offer betting on single sporting events.”

Canada’s provincial gambling monopolies already have sports betting, albeit limited to parlays requiring wagers on a minimum of three events. That restriction means most Canadian bettors tend to patronize internationally licensed online sportsbooks that allow an infinitely more favorable betting environment.

The commissioners note that sports betting is already happening in Canada, which they claim is illegal. That’s not technically accurate, as the single-game prohibition applies only to the provincial monopolies and private bookmakers who (foolishly) choose to base their operational infrastructure and/or ‘mind and management’ within Canada’s borders.

UK gambling activity has remained relatively flat during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, according to new stats by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).

On Friday, the UKGC released new data on COVID-19’s impact on gambling behavior, which showed that 75% of recent gamblers – defined as individuals who engaged in some form of gambling activity over the past four weeks – hadn’t increased time or money spent gambling in April, the first full month in which the nation was under pandemic restrictions.

The numbers were higher for ‘engaged’ gamblers, defined as individuals who participated in three or more gambling products over the past four weeks. Some 62% of engaged gamblers increased either time or money spent gambling on a single gambling product, although this doesn’t necessarily equate to overall increases in time or money spent by these engaged consumers.

What’s more, YouGov research showed that around 2% of UK adults stopped gambling during the past four weeks compared to just 0.2% who started gambling for the first time during the same period.

In recent years, the U.S. has fallen behind in technology innovation. Some believe the country has become too complacent, willing to rest on the laurels of its previous successes in the technology industry. However, lawmakers may have come to the realization that the country needs to place greater emphasis on the subject, especially in light of huge advances seen in competing countries such as China and others. According to what’s happening on Capitol Hill, legislators are now pushing for a massive injection of money and resources into research that covers several important areas, including artificial intelligence, 5G networks and quantum computing.

The Senate Armed Services Committee has approved, by a vote of 25-2, the annual use of Department of Defense (DOD) funds above what had previously been allocated to study emerging technologies. This request had been made in response to the massive investments in technology innovation seen in countries like Russia and China, and the request will now move to the Senate to be considered. That chamber is expected to discuss the matter next week.

The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would see about $740.5 billion spent on innovation research. The House version of the NDAA is going to be discussed starting in about ten days, when it goes before the House Armed Services Committee, and the Senate will work on its own version in tandem with the House’s efforts. According to a brief (in pdf) released by the Senate on the subject, “Unfortunately, in key technologies and capabilities, we’ve fallen behind our near-peer competitors. The FY21 NDAA accelerates innovation so we can compete effectively and regain our comparative advantage over China and Russia.”

The NDAA would like to see “more than $300 million above the president’s request for DOD science and technology research, and extends or adds authorities that accelerates research [and] authorizes $200 million above the president’s request to prototype new critical subsystems for naval vessels, including unmanned vessels.” Additional funds would go to assess “U.S. efforts to develop biotechnologies compared to our adversaries; development of Artificial Intelligence use-cases for reform efforts; enhancements to the Quantum Information Science research and development program.” Other money would be used to conduct research that compares “methods for recruiting and retaining technology researchers used by both the U.S. and Chinese governments.”

First, development firm Biloxi Capital, in November 2019, announced that it was seeking permission to build a casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Then, rock band KISS announced that it was getting behind a KISS-themed casino in the city this past February. With two major gambling projects now planned for the region, Biloxi has become a magnet for new ideas, and a third – and massive – undertaking is now being presented. The latest would be built on the former site of the Broadwater Beach Resort and carries a price tag of around $1.1 billion.

The Sun Herald explains that the developer of the proposed casino, Broadwater Development LLP, wants to use the 266-acre former resort property to build a casino, marina, golf course, hotel, wellness spa and additional amenities. Broadwater hopes to get the city to offer it some incentives to complete the project, including through Mississippi’s tourism rebate initiative, the Mississippi Tourism Project Incentive Program. That program provides certain financial considerations for large tourist-driven projects, provided they meet the criteria. The amenities planned for the development and a private investment above the minimum threshold of $10 million help Broadwater meet those criteria.

According to a city filing (in pdf) on the subject, “[Pursuant] to Section 57-26-3 of the Tourism Act, the rebate to the Developer will be approximately 80% of the amount of sales tax revenue collected from the operation of the tourism project, after making the diversions required in Section 27-65-75(7) and (8), of which payments will be limited to 30% of approved project costs or for the prescribed rebate term, whichever occurs first.”

Biloxi Mayor Andrew Gilich supports the project and has already signed off on it; however, the city council still apparently has to weigh in. Given the scope of the resort and what it means to the local economy, provided Broadway isn’t found to be running any illegal schemes, there’s no reason to expect the project not to be greenlighted. The City Council will meet next Tuesday to discuss the issue. 

The jury is still out on when casinos in Massachusetts will be able to reopen their doors to patrons. Many states across the US have already begun to welcome visitors again, while adhering to stringent health and social distancing protocols, but Massachusetts isn’t there yet. In fact, according to the most recent data from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC), the state may not be ready until the end of the month, at the earliest. The continued shutdown is going to make it more difficult for the casinos, and the state, to begin recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.

Local media reports that June 29 is the earliest that Encore Boston Harbor could get back in action, according to the Wynn Resorts property’s management. This could be pushed back even further, as the MGC has yet to approve a policy to allow the gambling houses to reopen. Once the policy is in place, Encore and the state’s two other casinos, the MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park, have said they need at least two weeks to implement whatever guidance is included by the MGC. However, that guidance has not yet been passed down.

The revelations were made yesterday as the MGC held a public meeting to go over the plans for casinos to resume operations with Massachusetts almost ready to move into Phase 3 of its recovery scheme. The state just moved into Phase 2 this past Monday, and each phase is expected to be in place for a couple of weeks before the next is initiated.

With that in mind, the casinos have a lot of work to do. They have to present to the MGC their own plans for how they will respond to the state-driven protocols and must cover “the steps and measures the licensee will take to achieve compliance with the guidance and protocols issued by the Centers for Disease Control [and Prevention] (CDC), the Massachusetts Department of Health (DPH), Governor [Charlie] Baker’s orders, and the Guidelines ultimately adopted by the Commission.” Those plans have to be presented at least a week before the venues are allowed to reopen, or there might be possible delays.

The Charles Schwab Challenge got underway yesterday and the golf tournament has proven to be a smashing success all the way around. Not only are sports fans happy to see activity resuming, but sports gambling fans are thrilled, as well. While major sports leagues like the NBA and the NHL, among others, are still at least a month away from getting back into action, pro golfers in the PGA are returning to the greens and sports bettors are returning to their sportsbooks. There has been no shortage of action, and DraftKings has taken control. The major sportsbook announced that, on the first day of the tournament, it had seen more wagers than it ever saw with any other four-round event.

Casino.org got an email from the communications director for DraftKings, Stephen Miraglia, explaining that the company has been pleasantly surprised by the action it witnessed yesterday, the first day of the Charles Schwab Challenge. He states, “The Charles Schwab Challenge became our most bet golf tournament ever today before round one had been completed. Live money since first tee time this morning is already at 30% of pre-match wagering totals. To put that number in perspective, the last true golf tournament was the Arnold Palmer Invitation – this tournament has already done more in live wagering after one day than the Arnold Palmer did over four days.”

Golf was added to the DraftKings sports roster just two years ago and has consistently picked up more support as it grows. Last month’s “The Match: Champions for Charity” event in Florida, which saw Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning triumph over Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady, had been the most-active golf event in terms of wagers. However, the current event, which runs through Sunday, could set a new record for wagers.

DraftKings recently went public, and the sportsbook has seen nothing but substantial growth and responses since then. It has already been singled out by a handful of financial analysts, and investment bank Oppenheimer wasn’t going to miss out on the excitement. It started covering the company yesterday, giving it an “outperform” rating with a $48 price target – the current price is $36.28, down from the $40.64 it saw a week ago.