Monthly Archives: November 2020

US sports betting records falling like Trump’s hopes of avoiding jail

US sports betting records continue to fall like Donald Trump’s hopes of avoiding prison come the new year.

Figures released by the Indiana Gaming Commission show the state’s licensed sportsbooks handled nearly $231m in wagers in the month of October, up from $207.5m in September and the second straight month the state has set a new handle record. October’s revenue of $21.1m was also in record territory as well as being a 50% rise from September.

Digital wagering accounted for $193m (83.6%) of October’s handle. DraftKings was once again the market leader with $90.5m, well ahead of runner-up FanDuel ($63.6m) and third-place finisher BetMGM ($20.1m).

In Iowa, the Iowa Racing & Gaming Commission reported its betting licensees handling a record $81.9m in October, around $9m better than September’s total. Retail wagering was up 21.6% to $25m while digital bets more than doubled to nearly $57m.

Bad Beat on Final Hand of Day Crushes Negreanu’s Dominating Session

Daniel Negreanu finally won some big pots and was on his way to scoring a huge profit on Day 4 of his challenge against Doug Polk. But a brutal bad beat on the final hand of the day put a damper on the GGPoker ambassador’s impressive session.

Daniel Negreanu put on an impressive performance against Doug Polk on Day 4. (Image: WSOP.com)

Polk entered Wednesday’s session with more than a $260,000 profit in three days — just over 1,000 hands. They’ve agreed to play at least 12,500 hands of $200/$400 stakes on WSOP.com. So, a big lead this early in the match doesn’t guarantee victory by any stretch of the imagination.

But it was crucial for Negreanu to get on the winning track before it’s too late, and before he’s down the cost of a mansion in Beverly Hills. He stopped the bleeding on Day 4 before taking a severe kick to the stones on the last hand.

Login Casino Awards 2020: the voting starts

October 27 is the start date of online voting for the best representatives of the gambling industry within the fourth annual event Login Casino Awards 2020.

Join online voting and support your favorite participants. The voting will start on October 27 at 12:00 p.m. (GMT+3) and will be open till December 7 on the event web page: https://logincasino.com/awards2020/en.

The process of voting and its results will remain open only until November 23. Everyone will be able to track who is the leader and motivate other people to vote actively. Starting from November 24, the voting will become closed, and the announcement of the best industry participants will be held in the online format on December 16 on the event website. 

For the fourth year in a row, a gambling business magazine Login Casino selects the best representatives of the gambling and relating industries. Annually, the award adds strong participants and up-to-date nominations, provided below:

Poker on Screen Special: EPT Retro closes with commentary of champions

The end of an era… or the start of a new one? PokerStars ‘EPT Retro’ re-commentaries were invented initially as a way of entertaining poker fans during the early lockdown period of Coronavirus. They may just be remembered for reminding us of the enduring charm of two players who never even sit at the felt.

Since mid-March, the EPT Retro broadcasts have been a real feather in the cap for PokerStars, a site which may retain the largest market share in business terms, but it would be fair to say has contributed less and less for the fans over recent years.

It was never just the amount of content or the huge prizepools that PokerStars offered at their best, it was the level of entertainment. The stars being present was a guarantee just as much as the money, and players such as Jason Mercier and Victoria Coren offered not only great value for money for fans who were playing along while they watched, but an originality in almost every Team PokerStars Pro roster position. These were genuine superstars of the game, but they were also very different people from varied walks of life.

Just those two examples prove the point, Mercier the Christian Floridian with the basketball court swagger and winsome grin. Coren, now Coren-Mitchell of course, the whip-smart journalist and writer, likely to be fanning her tea with a broadsheet at a side-table during play at a final table. 

Apollo Global makes $2.5b bid for Great Canadian Gaming casinos

Canadian casino operator Great Canadian Gaming Corp (GCG) has found itself a private equity takeover target, but some shareholders are holding out for a bigger offer.

On Tuesday, GCG announced that it had inked a definitive agreement to be acquired by funds managed by US private equity biggies Apollo Global Management. The deal, in which Apollo would acquire all GCG outstanding shares, values the casino operator at over C$3.3b (US$2.52b).

Post-acquisition, GCG said the company would maintain its Toronto HQ, “led by a Canadian management team and with Canadian board members.” Apollo claimed it was “committed to maintaining the company’s current operational footprint and anticipates Great Canadian’s properties will increase under the Apollo Funds’ ownership.”

GCG operates 25 properties across four Canadian provinces, most of which are in Ontario (including Casino Woodbine) and British Columbia (including River Rock Resort). COVID-19 forced the closure of casinos nationwide this spring and while Ontario briefly allowed its casinos to reopen on a limited basis, they were recently ordered back into lockdown. BC has yet to authorize any casinos reopening, even on a limited basis.

The Secret Coach: Watching what you say

This week, it’s Greg Clarke who has paid for saying the wrong thing with his job. Within the game of football, however, it is often the professional footballer whose life is under scrutiny, to a huge degree now compared to years ago. We asked The Secret Coach their opinion on how and what players and those within football say and how much it needs to improve.

 

The Secret Coach knows plenty about saying the right thing and in the right way, being a professional football coach in English football… who will remain anonymous. They’ve worked with some of the biggest names in the game, been through the coaching badges and is currently part of the coaching team at an English league side… and that’s all we’re telling you. As ever, this week, The Secret Coach pulls no punches! 

“Football has evolved so much and is a global business,” says The Secret Coach. “Players and officials are in the spotlight so much more than in years gone by and in positions of responsibility whether they like it or not. With this comes greater scrutiny. This is harder for young stars, being exposed early with success they have from playing the game. Being young, they are making their mistakes the same as we did growing up, but they are doing it in the public eye. With the introduction of camera phones and social media, no-one is safe from prying eyes. Unfortunately, if you want to be in that position you have to make those sacrifices.” 

PokerStars the drag on Flutter’s Q3 online gambling gains

UK-listed online gambling giant Flutter Entertainment reported strong growth in the third quarter despite a middling performance by its PokerStars brand.  

In a trading update issued Wednesday, Flutter said its overall revenue in the three months ending September 30 totaled £1.325b, up 27% from the same period last year. The company boosted its full-year earnings projection from £1.175b-£1.325b to £1.275b -£1.35b, although that’s not counting an expected loss of £160m-£180m in its US-facing operations.

The Q3 stats assume that The Stars Group, which officially became part of the Flutter family this spring, was fully contributing to both the most recent quarter and Q3 2019. The PokerStars unit was by far the least impressive component of Flutter’s Q3, with revenue of £262m, down roughly £1m year-on-year (although up 5% on a constant currency basis).

PokerStars’ problems stem in part from its abrupt late-August decision to exit Chinese-language markets, which came just days after Flutter announced plans to improve Stars’ anti-money laundering and responsible gambling compliance.

NFL odds roundup: Week 10 lines & trends

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

It was a no-brainer for the Cincinnati Bengals to pick LSU quarterback Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft after Burrow had a record-setting Heisman Trophy-winning season last year. Who was the second-best quarterback prospect in the draft? Some scouts preferred Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa and others Oregon’s Justin Herbert.

With the No. 5 overall pick, the Miami Dolphins took Tagovailoa even though he had some injury red flags over Herbert, who was considered the more prototypical NFL signal-caller but also raw. Herbert went with the next pick to the Los Angeles Chargers. On Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET, Tua and the Fins host Herbert and the Bolts in what could be the beginning of a terrific rivalry. Tua and Herbert never faced off in college. Miami is a 3-point favorite and has won 20 of its past 24 at home against west coast teams.

The San Francisco 49ers are missing almost an unprecedented number of players due to injury so they will not be repeating as NFC champions or likely even make the playoffs. The Niners partially earned the NFC’s top seed last year with a wild 48-46 victory in New Orleans in Week 14 of the regular season. That proved a crucial tiebreaker for San Francisco, which is back in the Big Easy on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET. The Saints are -9.5 but 2-7 ATS in their past nine at home.

Polk Catches Cards, Dominates Negreanu in First Online Session

Daniel Negreanu got off to a strong start against Doug Polk during the first and only live poker session they’ll play in their heads-up challenge. But the Upswing Poker founder bounced back nicely with a dominating performance in the first online session.

Doug Polk clobbered Daniel Negreanu throughout the first online session. (Image: WSOP.com)

The long-time feuding poker pros will play as many as 25,000 hands of $200/$400 No-Limit Hold’em. They’re playing all but the first 200 hands on the WSOP.com poker site in Nevada.

On Friday, they began the online portion of the challenge, and played for almost exactly two hours. Playing two tables at a time, the poker pros completed 424 hands during the session for a total of 624 hands overall. Negreanu opened the match with a $116,500 victory Wednesday at the PokerGo Studio in Las Vegas.

Galfond Challenge Update: Kornuth Still Holds Massive Lead

Phil Galfond still trails by a sizeable amount in the third Galfond Challenge against the challenger, poker coach Chance Kornuth. But the competition is moving at a snail’s pace, and still isn’t even close to reaching the halfway point.

Phil Galfond and Chance Kornuth may never end their competition. (Image: Twitter)

The high-stakes Pot-Limit Omaha challenge began more than a month ago. At this pace, it may not finish before the Daniel Negreanu-Doug Polk match, which has just begun. Kornuth and Galfond agreed to play 35,000 hands at $100/$200 stakes on WSOP.com in Nevada.

Due to travel issues and not wanting to be outside the US for so long, the match isn’t taking place on Run it Once, the poker site owned by Galfond. And thus far, the change in scenery hasn’t been kind to the poker site founder.

GGPoker’s High Rollers Week Starts Today, $22 Million Guaranteed

GGPoker’s High Rollers Week has begun, with the popular online site offering players a chance to compete in 20 high-stakes tournaments offering $20 million in guaranteed prize money from Nov.8 – 15.

Get in on the high-stakes action at GGPoker. (Image: GGPoker.com)

The poker site, represented by Daniel Negreanu, has grown in terms of popularity in recent months. A big part of that growth is due to the WSOP Online Bracelet Series the site hosted this past summer.

From July to September, the poker site hosted more than 50 gold bracelet events, including the $5,000 Main Event, which generated the largest prize pool in online poker history (over $27 million). Now, GGPoker is taking another step toward competing with the likes of Partypoker and PokerStars.