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Baseballs aren’t the only round things fancied by Steve Cohen. According to Sportico, the owner of the New York Mets recently picked up a 5.5% stake in the Las Vegas Sphere. Steve Cohen owns 97% of the New York Mets. (Images: Foreground, Getty; Background: YouTube) Cohen bought 1.56 million shares of Sphere Entertainment, which includes the spherical concert venue built for $2.3 billion by majority owner James Dolan, and opened last September. The new investment came to light via a Schedule 13G filing, which is required for investment firms with an ownership stake in a company’s total stock exceeding 5%. Though the filing didn’t include Cohen’s purchase price, 1.56 million …

Canadian authorities have confirmed a criminal investigation is underway into former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter for manipulating NBA games. Jontay Porter during a practice session for the Toronto Raptors, above. Porter was banned for life from the NBA in April after he was found to have conspired with a betting syndicate to spot fix. (Image: NBA.com) The American athlete was banned for life by the league in April for “spot fixing” and leaking insider information to a New York-based gambling syndicate US federal prosecutors claim the group placed bets on Porter to underperform in a January 26 game against the Los Angeles Clippers and a March 20 game against …

WarHorse Casino Omaha at Horsemen’s Park plans to open this August, pending regulatory signoffs by the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission (NRGC). Construction continues on WarHorse Casino Omaha in a photograph shared by WarHorse Gaming on Feb. 22, 2024. The permanent casino facility is on pace to open in August. (Image: WarHorse Gaming) Officials with WarHorse Gaming, a division of Ho-Chunk, Inc., the commercial business arm of the Winnebago Tribe, say the company’s permanent Omaha casino venue is slated to open on August 6. WarHorse Omaha will debut with 800 slot machines, 20 table games, a sportsbook, and an updated simulcast parimutuel wagering experience. The roughly $250 million facility will …

Codere, the Spanish gaming giant that’s the parent of Codere Online Luxembourg (NASDAQ: CDRO), announced a fifth restructuring agreement Thursday that will result in the elimination of 92% of its debt. Codere’s sign when it launched on NASDAQ in November 2021. The gaming company announced another debt restructuring. (Image: X) Under the terms of the pact with creditors, the gaming company’s debt will decline to $138 million from $1.72 billion, with investors who hold Codere’s super senior notes taking control of the company. That doesn’t mark a significant change in control of the firm because many of those investors make up a majority of Codere equity owners. The transaction so …

One of four New York men arrested for alleged involvement in the Jontay Porter betting scandal has denied that he was trying to flee the country when he was detained at JFK International last week. Long “Bruce” Phi Pham, furthest back, pictured with his co-conspirators (right to left) Ammar Awawdeh, Timothy McCormac, and Mahmud Mollah in a restaurant at an Atlantic City casino where they allegedly placed the fraudulent bets. (Image: US Dist. Court for the Eastern Dist. of New York) Long Phi Pham, 38, was apprehended by the FBI on June 3 as he attempted to board a one-way flight to Australia. During his bail hearing at Brooklyn federal …

Historic San Francisco Bay area racetrack Golden Gate Fields will run its last race today, June 9. The track’s closing weekend will involve live music, DJs, and a “Belmont Stakes Watch” party. End of an era: Chase the Chaos wins the 2023 El Camino Derby at Golden Gate Fields. The 80-year-old track will run its last race Sunday, as the popularity of horse racing continues to dwindle in California. (Image: Vasser Photography) Meanwhile, outside, Berkeley-based animal rights group Direct Action will be holding a mock funeral for the estimated 2,000 horses they claim have died at the track since it opened. The vigil will feature a symbolic coffin and flowers, …

Some form of sports betting, be it online, retail, or both, is live and legal in 38 states and Washington, DC, but broader legalization since the 2018 Supreme Court ruling on the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) isn’t serving the desired effect of eliminating black-market betting in some states. Despite permitting both iGaming and online sports betting, New Jersey is home to rampant black-market betting. The same is true of Minnesota and New York. (Image: NJ.com) Fresh data from the Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG) indicate that New Jersey and New York, two of the largest states in terms of regulated sports wagering handle, remain hotbeds of illegal …

Legislation in Delaware to codify the state Internet Sports Lottery Legislative Working Group’s recommendation that more than one online sportsbook platform be permitted is making progress in the General Assembly. BetRivers signage is seen above the Dover International Speedway in April 2024. BetRivers is the exclusive sports betting and iGaming operator of the Delaware Lottery, but some state lawmakers want to end the digital monopoly. (Image: NBC) State Rep. Franklin Cooke (D-District 16) introduced House Bill 365 in April along with Rep. William Bush (D-District 29). The measure seeks to terminate the Delaware Lottery’s monopoly on online sports betting in favor of authorizing up to five additional sportsbook platforms. This …

Efforts to legalize sports betting in Minnesota failed earlier this month for the sixth year in a row. Minnesota Rep. Zach Stephenson is optimistic about sports betting’s odds of passing in the General Assembly next year. Though 2024 wasn’t the year when a sports betting bill crossed the finish line, a compromise has finally been found that appeases varying interests that stand to be impacted by the gaming expansion. (Image: Star Tribune) States obtained the legal authority to determine their own laws regarding sports gambling after the US Supreme Court in May 2018 overturned a federal law that had limited single-game sports wagering to Nevada. Minnesota Democrats who sponsored the …

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) is pushing to boost the state’s sports betting tax to 35% from 15% to raise needed cash and that’s not to the liking of the gaming industry, which one group says is employing “dubious claims” in a bid to defeat the governor’s plan. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signs a bill in August 2023. The Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG) says “dubious” tactics are being used in the fight against Prizker’s attempt to raise sports betting taxes. (Image: AP) The Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG), an independent wagering reform group, asserts that in its effort to ward off Pritzker’s proposal of higher taxes on sports wagering, …