Monthly Archives: November 2020

Rush Street Interactive casino/betting revenue soars in ‘transformational’ year

Online gambling operator Rush Street Interactive (RSI) reported revenue nearly quintupling in the third quarter although customer acquisition costs caused net losses to soar.

This week, RSI announced that its revenue in the three months ending September 30 totaled $78.2m, a 370% rise over the $16.7m the online casino and sports betting group reported in the same period last year. The Q3 sum was also significantly greater than the $64m that RSI earned in the entirety of its 2019 fiscal year.

Q3’s adjusted earnings totaled $9.9m, better than the $1.3m earnings loss in Q3 2019. But advertising and promotion expenses nearly doubled to $17.5m and RSI’s total loss for the quarter was a hefty $28.1m compared to a loss of just $1.6m in the same period last year.

Undaunted, RSI – which operates online via its BetRivers and PlaySugarHouse brands – announced that it was boosting its FY20 revenue guidance from $225m to a range of $265m-$275m, with the caveat that these revised estimates only apply if COVID-19’s second wave doesn’t result in the mass cancellation of college and pro sports activities.

Korey Payne wins MSPT Venetian Main Event for $327,773

Live poker returned to mid-stakes America some months ago, thanks in no small part to the MSPT (Mid-Stakes Poker Tour) and earlier this week, Korey Payne won $327,773 by winning the MSPT stop at The Venetian.

With a swelled field of 1,239 entries and a buy-in of just $1,600, the value was there for all to see – all Payne had to do was what over a thousand players tried and failed to do – survive every other player amid some real quality at the felt.

The final table began with a bust-out, as the three-day event with a prize pool of $1,771,770 was brought closer to a close by 8th place finisher Dale Eberle, who cashed for $28,343. Eberle lost his last chips with king-queen when he moved all-in on a queen-high board and was called by Day 1a chip leader in the event, Salim Admon, who held pocket aces.

Those aces reduced the field to seven and before long, there was one less player in the final table action. Jorden Helstern was short-stacked and lost a coinflip to cash for $37,207 but miss out on the really late stages.

Adelson’s Texas lobbying may be anti-pot, not pro-casino

Casino titan Sheldon Adelson’s lobbying budget is sparking hopes that Texas may finally relent and allow swanky gaming parlors in some of its major cities.

On Tuesday, Austin’s NBC affiliate KXAN reported that Las Vegas Sands chairman Adelson had hired eight high-profile lobbyists ahead of the new legislative session that gets underway in January. The report also noted that Adelson had poured $4.5m into state House races in 2020.

As for what issues may lie closest to Adelson’s heart, authorizing casinos would seem to be the most obvious answer. And with the state staring into a $4.6b pandemic-aided budget hole, discussion of alternative revenue sources will loom large on the legislative agenda.

Texas has no commercial casinos, just a couple of small tribal operations and some dodgy casino ‘cruises to nowhere’ that leave from ports like Galveston. Legislators routinely introduce casinos bills that don’t go anywhere and even state racetracks’ attempts to add ‘historical racing’ pseudo-slots have been smacked down hard.

Doug Polk Catches ‘Old Man Speeding’ Again, Crushes Daniel Negreanu on Day 11

Doug Polk is starting to run away from his opponent, Daniel Negreanu, after yet another dominating performance on Day 11 of the heads-up poker grudge match.

Doug Polk keeps catching old man speeding in his match against Daniel Negreanu. (Image: YouTube)

Negreanu had surprised many poker fans with his competitive performance through eight sessions. But over the past three days — more than 1,500 hands — the GGPoker ambassador has been completely dominated. Part of that Polk dominance in recent days is due to luck. Some, however, has been the result of outplaying his opponent and getting maximum value with his monster hands.

With Wednesday’s two-hour session included, Polk has now turned a six-figure profit three straight sessions. Negreanu remains confident in his play and said in his post-game interview on the GGPoker YouTube channel that he feels he’s run terrible throughout the match. And he might be right, but Polk has also effectively taken advantage of Negreanu’s loose river calling strategy. So, luck hasn’t been the only factor in the current results.

Diego Ventura leads Caribbean Poker Party Main Event final table

With just nine players still in the hunt to become the Caribbean Poker Party’s Main Event, Peruvian poker pro Diego Ventura is in pole position to close out what would be famous victory.

With just nine players from the total of 1,037 entries, each of which cost $5,300 to enter, it is Ventura, who led Day 1b, who has the advantage heading into the final furlong of a terrific tournament. He’s gone wire to wire before and Ventura is on the brink of doing so again.

Ventura has the chip lead with over 307 million chips, which is an astonishing lead, all things considered. Second in chips is Grayson Ramage with 193 million, while coming in third is British player Jonathan Proudfoot with 142,411,766 – less than half the stack of the runaway leader.

Ventura has put in an incredible few days at the virtual felt during this CPP Main Event and will be fighting hard for the top prize of $879,894, while the person who is unlucky enough to bust in 9th place will cash for only $65,331.

BetMGM teams up with Pittsburgh Steelers

As sports partnerships go, it’s a touchdown, a slam dunk and a top corner piledriver all in one. BetMGM, the market leading sports betting and digital gaming entertainment company, have partnered with the runaway leaders of the AFC North, the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Having come together from GVC Holdings, the company associated with partypoker and World Poker Tour among others in a stellar business history, and MGM Resorts, BetMGM is the one-stop shop for land-based and online sports betting, as well as tournament poker and online gaming.

Partnering up with the Steelers is a good move, for both parties in the deal. The Pittsburgh Steelers are flying high in the AFC North, with ten wins from ten games so far in the regular season. Though incredibly successful this season, the Steelers have a rich history in the game. As the fifth-oldest franchise in the NFL, the Steelers have won six Super Bowl titles, tied for the most in the NFL, and have appeared in eight finals overall. With an incredible 31 former players, coaches or contributors inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Ryan Huzjak, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, can’t wait for the partnership to begin. 

“We are excited to introduce BetMGM to Steelers Nation,” he said. “Not only will BetMGM be elevating some of our existing platforms, but they will be introducing new and exciting opportunities to Steelers fans. We are looking forward to kicking off this partnership.” 

Canada’s single-game sports betting dream closer to reality

Canada’s long and winding road to single-event sports betting appears to be clearing as the ruling Liberal party prepares to adopt another party’s wagering bill as its own.

On Wednesday, Minister of Justice David Lametti indicated that the Liberals plan to introduce a bill amending Canada’s Criminal Code to remove language limiting provincial gambling bodies to parlay wagers involving a minimum of three events.

Lametti reportedly plans to hold a press conference Thursday announcing that the governing Liberals will effectively be taking over the C-218 private members’ bill introduced this spring by Kevin Waugh, Conservative MP for Saskatoon-Grasswood, on behalf of New Democratic Party MP Brian Masse, who represents the riding of Windsor-West, home to the Caesars Windsor casino.

Private members’ bills are considered legislative Hail Mary’s, in that the ruling party generally has its own priorities and, even if it supported the intentions behind another party’s efforts, would have to share bragging rights should the bill buck the odds and be passed into law.

SportPesa Kenya resumes online betting — for real, this time

Sports betting operator SportPesa has officially resumed its Kenyan-facing operations – for real, this time – although how long it remains available remains to be seen.

On Tuesday, the ke.SportPesa.com domain and its associated iOS and Android apps finally began accepting wagers from Kenyan bettors, nearly one month after the first attempt to revive the SportPesa brand ran headlong into regulatory roadblocks.

SportPesa Kenya’s official Twitter feed has been busy advising new customers on how to open accounts, make deposits and place wagers, while instructing bettors who were SportPesa customers prior to the company’s 2019 market exit on how to reactivate their existing accounts.

SportPesa exited Kenya following a prolonged tax dispute with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) that resulted in the suspension of its license by the Betting Control & Licensing Board (BCLB). SportPesa’s return came via a new BCLB licensee, Milestone Games Ltd, which is majority controlled by SportPesa CEO Ronald Karauri.