Where could a poker player not make what might be the most important call of his poker career? As you probably predicted, the answer is… only at the World Series of Poker. A year ago, it was the 2019 WSOP Main Event and Dario Sammartino took on young hopeful Nick Marchington in a hand that will likely never be forgotten.

With just 11 players left in the 2019 WSOP Main Event, there was a lot of money at stake. That long into the world’s longest poker tournament, each pay jump is brutal. With just one player needing to bust to bring the final 10 players to the same table (albeit the unofficial table since nine is fine for the WSOP Main Event), Dario Sammartino was faced with an all-in from Nick Marchington.

The background to the hand warrants explanation, with Marchington very much the young pup looking to bark at the ankles of the big dog. Marchington three-bet all-in for a massive 22.2 million over the top of a fairly modest opening bet to 1.7 million from Sammartino. Sammartino doesn’t know the amount that Marchington is all-in for, however, so asks the dealer.

The answer comes: 17 million.

Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International (IPI) has finally named a new CEO after being threatened with the revocation of its gaming license if it didn’t find someone to occupy the executive hot seat.

On Monday, the Saipan Tribune confirmed that IPI had appointed its senior VP for security and surveillance Donald Browne as the company’s new chief executive. IPI’s senior VP for public affairs Tao Xing said Browne’s appointment was made official as of July 17.

Browne’s appointment came three weeks after Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) gambling regulators ordered IPI to announce a replacement for Mark Brown, who abruptly exited the CEO’s corner suite last December (for the second time), leaving the Commonwealth Casino Commission with no one to query regarding IPI’s mounting challenges.

Considering IPI’s status as a going concern is practically a day-to-day decision, it’s hard to see why Browne with an ‘e’ would want the job. Seriously, if IPI was a ship it would be named ‘Saipanic’ given that it appears almost guaranteed to suffer the same ignominious end as a certain doomed ocean liner. 

Cambodia’s largest casino NagaWorld has been cleared to fully reopen its gaming operations following their lengthy COVID-19 shutdown.

On Sunday, the Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp reminded investors that Cambodia’s Ministry of Economy and Finance had cleared casinos to relaunch their gaming operations provided they conform to the health & safety rules set by the Ministry of Health.

NagaCorp, which relaunched VIP table game and slot machine operations at its flagship NagaWorld property in Phnom Penh nearly two weeks ago, said Sunday that its agreement with the Ministry of Health had been amended to permit NagaWorld to reopen “all of its casino businesses,” including mass market tables and electronic gaming.

Earlier this month, NagaCorp chairman Tim McNally told GGRAsia that NagaWorld had enjoyed “a very positive response” to its VIP reopening. McNally added that he anticipated “increased visitation” as word spread that the property was finally back in business after the country ordered all its casinos to close on April 1 to minimize further COVID-19 transmission.

It is now July 20, and, with a little bit of luck, the NBA, NHL and MLB players will be suiting up for games very soon – most likely between this week and the next. That’s great news for sports fans and, if the NFL can work out its issues, September and October will see a ton of action. Fortunately for many, there is already a lot happening, and online sportsbook Bodog has continued to be a hot target for gamblers looking to make up for lost time. This past weekend was another productive one for the operator, with soccer once again seeing the majority of the wagers.

It may come as a surprise to some that Major League Soccer came in first in terms of the league with the most action on Bodog this weekend. It received 19.9% of all wagers, followed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which garnered 18.40%. Giving soccer’s take a boost were the GT G-26 League with 7.3%, Italy’s Serie A with 5.33% and, in tenth place, the English Premier League with 4.91%. In total, soccer accounted for about 37.4% of the handle.

The PGA’s Memorial Tournament and NFL 2020 Sims took a big piece of the action, as well, at 16.53% and 11.08%, respectively. Spain’s Jon Rahm had a stellar weekend, taking the Memorial Tournament with a three-shot win to kick Rory McIlroy out of first place in the World Golf Rankings. Given that he was assessed a two-stroke penalty only makes the win more impressive. That followed an amazing chip shot from the rough on the 16th to pick up a birdie, but the penalty didn’t dampen his spirits.

As far as individual events go, the Memorial Tournament received the biggest percentage of the wagers on Bodog, taking 31.82%. The soccer match between the Los Angeles FC (LAFC) and the LA Galaxy in the MLS on Saturday took second with a distant 11.10%. LAFC captured a 6-2 victory, having been the -215 favorites going into the match.

The past couple of years for the United Kingdom’s gambling industry has seen escalating regulations, expectations and fear campaigns, driven by a certain type of politician. To put it all into perspective, our Becky Liggero Fontana spoke with Steve Donoughue, Founder, GamblingConsultant.co.uk, after their recent iGaming NEXT POWER Hour.

Especially as Covid-19 shut everyone inside, fears ratcheted up about problem gambling, and reports are now being delivered which suggest gambling has to be massively curbed. “We believe that there should be a regulated gambling industry,” he said. “We obviously have different views to what extent it should be but what we’re not is outrightly against gambling, which is what the All Party Group Gambling Harms are.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivynIOxs-fo?feature=oembed]

Donoughue isn’t impressed with the All Party Group, and he offered some perspective on how such groups decide on their mission. “What you have to remember about select committees, there is a tendency to pick topics that are either in the newspapers or actually will make sure you get a lot of press coverage, because politicians are whores for press coverage, I know that I come from political family,” he said. “

As more states have rolled out legalized sports gambling to their residents, several have implemented laws that greatly restrict wagers on college games. Some states have completely banned the activity, while others have allowed it, provided no in-state team is involved in the target of the bet. The issue is how to protect the integrity of the game, as well as athletes, and the federal government is going to table a discussion on the issues starting this week. According to a report by ESPN, a hearing will be held this Wednesday by the Senate Judicial Committee that might possibly pave the way for legalized sports gambling on a nationwide level.

“Protecting the Integrity of College Athletics” is primarily designed to explore ways to address intellectual property rights centered on the athletes’ promotion of their name, image and likeness (NIL). However, also included in the hearing will be a discussion on sports gambling, which could be the catalyst for opening the market across the entire country. A bill introduced last year to legalize sports gambling hadn’t found much support, but the coronavirus situation is definitely causing lawmakers to remove the blinders.

For the longest time, the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association) had strict policies against college athletes selling themselves for branding purposes and would not only punish the players, but the schools, as well. This changed last year after California stood up to the organization, implementing the “Pay to Play” law, which gave athletes in the state the legal right to seek endorsements and be paid for their talents.

The NCAA wasn’t happy with the law at first and threatened to challenge it in court. However, after other states followed suit, it backed down and agreed to lighten up. That helped paved the way for the Senate Commerce Committee to hold a hearing at the beginning of this month to discuss federal regulations for how student-athletes could sign endorsement deals, and this week’s hearing will continue to push the issue forward.

The last remaining state that had to approve the merger between Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment has spoken up. Everyone was watching as New Jersey was taking longer than expected to reach a decision, but the state’s Casino Control Commission (CCC) issued its ruling on the $17.3-billion deal Friday – three days after beginning to consider the plan in earnest. With the last checkmark on the long list of regulatory approvals received, the U.S. could soon have its largest casino operator ever by the end of this month.

At the center of the concerns from New Jersey was the fact that the entity would have four of the nine casinos in Atlantic City once the merger is complete. Regulators were apprehensive that this much control would be detrimental to the success of all the casinos, and that the new operator would try to exert its heavyweight status on the city and the competition. However, by the time the discussions were over, the CCC felt that those concerns may have been exaggerated, and its chairman, James Plousis, explained, “Eldorado executives have been honest about the challenges that lie ahead and acknowledged the importance of Atlantic City to their success.”

Eldorado has agreed to remove deed restrictions that exist on three Atlantic City properties that are under Caesars’ control – the former Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, The Claridge hotel and the Showboat Hotel Atlantic City. In doing so, the company is opening up the opportunity for another operator, or operators, to grab a place on The Boardwalk and bring gaming to any of the three. In addition, the expected sale of Bally’s to Twin River Holdings will be completed, which will reduce the company’s gaming footprint to three properties in the state.

Once the paperwork is signed and the dust settles, the gaming operator, which will carry the Caesars name but be run primarily by Eldorado brass, will have 52 venues in 16 states. However, additional properties will have to be sold in order for Eldorado to meet its target purchase price, and there could as many of three Indiana and two Nevada properties that are put up for sale. Investors behind Eldorado will maintain 56% control of the new entity.

Online gambling operator Genesis Global has had its UK operating license suspended due to “a number of compliance issues.”

On Monday, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) announced that it had commenced a review of Genesis Global Ltd’s UK-facing operations under section 116(2)(a) of the Gambling Act 2005, which allows the UKGC to review the operations of any licensee it suspects of being unsuitable to carry on the activities permitted under its license.

The UKGC said it suspects that Genesis Global has breached section 116(2)(a) and thus considers it appropriate to immediately suspend UK-facing activity on 12 Genesis Global sites — casoola.com, casinoplanet.com, kassu.com, casinocruise.com, casinogods.com, casinojoy.com, genesiscasino.com, pelaa.com, sloty.com, spela.com, spinit.com and vegashero.com. — pending the conclusion of its review. 

The UKGC has instructed Genesis Global to allow customers of these sites to access their accounts for the purpose of withdrawing their accounts balances. The UKGC has also advised customers not to place any bets through these sites.

Three more WSOP bracelets were won across the weekend on WSOP.com as the Online Series continued to make dreams come true remotely rather than in Las Vegas.

There are a number of different game formats in this year’s WSOP Online Series, which is expected to completely replace the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas this year and has certainly taken its place in the summer schedule. 

All three bracelets that were won over the weekend, were, however, done so in no limit hold’em, the classic and most popular format played by up to 6% of the world’s population from the deepest rainforest to the arctic glaciers.

The first winner of the weekend had a rather… unfortunate name for a poker player.