Okada to Meet with Gaming Control Board Over Foreign Payments
The Nevada Gaming Control Board has called in Japanese billionaire tycoon and previous Wynn director Kazuo Okada, along with three other directors of his Universal Entertainment Corp., for a closed-door hearing week that is next. It’s all part of the Control Board’s ongoing research into allegations that $40 million in payments had been designed to Rodolfo Soriano, one of Universal’s casino project consultants in the Philippines. Probably the insinuation is that Soriano received the money to grease some Filipino palms, but we would never imply such thing, of course.
We are able to only report that both the FBI and the Philippines’ equivalent, the National Bureau of Investigation, have already been having a look into the matter to see if such a thing improprietous had been done. Universal Entertainment has maintained that it acted lawfully in the Philippines; after all, who doesn’t give their professionals $40 million as being a token of the esteem?
Meanwhile, nobody’s commenting: not the Nevada Gaming Control Board and certainly no one from Universal Entertainment. Perhaps that is https://real-money-casino.club/wheres-the-gold/ why they call it money that is hush.
No Wrongdoing Alleged
This will be where we have to explain that nobody has actually or officially been accused of accomplishing such a thing, particularly anything wrong. But you can observe it might look funny is all.
All this falls on the heels of Okada’s present resignation slash firing from the Board of Directors of Wynn Resorts; sensing he had been about to be deposed, Okada, ( who has been persona non grata at Wynn for quite some years now), resigned, but the Board returned with a collective flip off by firing him anyway with about a 98% approval vote the extremely next day.
Okada vs. Wynn
The battle with Wynn has been going on for years now, and, stop the presses, stems from problems Wynn has had with Okada over allegations of some financial improprieties (that sounds so much classier than ‘bribes,’ does it not?) to Filipino heavyweights for his casino projects here. No body in the casino business likes to be associated with anybody whose hands may be dirty, ya know.
Needless to say, Okada has received some allegations of his own towards Wynn as well, stating that their 20 percent stake in Wynn Resorts was illegally seized from him at a 30 % discount, making him with only a promissory note worth some $1.9 billion he can collect in a decade. Oh, the cruel, cruel world of high-stakes finance.
Last thirty days, Wynn Resorts retracted some former allegations, such as that Universal had misappropriated trade secrets, that were originally filed in case on Feb. 19, 2012; the retractions signaled a triumph of kinds to Universal. Wynn Resorts remains unmoved, however.
‘It only illustrates our desire to concentrate at the moment upon the breaches of fiduciary responsibility owed to your company,’ Wynn Resorts responded in a statement that is official. ‘The claim for theft of our trade secrets and business that is proprietary will be ripe if and whenever Okada puts them to utilize in his Phillipines casino, or elsewhere.’
Exactly What’s on the line
The Philippines’ government has placed lots of eggs in Okada’s container: they granted him four casino licenses to build and operate a dollar that is multibillion gambling and entertainment complex that could be for a par to compete with Macau and Singapore, two of the most lucrative gaming revenue producers on the earth. Along side three other video gaming developments there, it will be known as Pagcor Entertainment City.
No pressure whatsoever.
Chang Takes Down WPT Event for longer than a Million
It’s every poker player’s dream: to master a major tournament and collect a score that is seven-figure. That dream came true for relatively unknown professional Kai Chang this week at World Poker Tour (WPT) Bay 101 Shooting Star’s 2013 event.
Not merely did Chang win $1,138,350 for defeating a particularly tough and table that is deep-stacked he was also awarded $25,000 entry into the WPT World Championship, to be held at Bellagio in Las Vegas from May 18-24. Nice work if it can be got by you.
Big Names Duke It Out
Seated at the last table with Chang were a field of deep-stacked poker warriors, including Paul Volpe, whom ultimately took third for a $435, 610 payday. It has been a hell of the year for Volpe currently, having taken house over $600,000 for second within the WPT L.A. Poker Classic just a little more than a week before, and completing in the money in January’s PokerStars Caribbean Adventure 2013 as well. Joe Nguyen took home second for $666, 740; he finished 29th in this same occasion last year for a $19,200 finish, so must have already been quite pleased about that much better performance. Other top finishes were renowned poker pro Eric Seidel for $295, 590 in fourth; Chris Johnson in 5th place for $208, 910; and Joe Kuether in sixth for a $162, 240 award.
Chang’s previous victories of note come with a 2006 second-place finish in the $10,000 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit event at Harrah’s Rincon, because well as a 40th place finish that same 12 months in the WSOP Main Event. He bubbled the 2008 last dining table at the L.A. Poker Classic in 2008, getting nothing but some TV coverage from the jawhorse all.
The Action Builds
Chang joined the last table as fifth of sixth in chips on a table that is universally deep-stacked. Starting out by having a healthy 83 big blinds, he grew to chip leader by the 42nd hand of this table that is final and remained at or close to the front runner right up until his first place finish. A combination of all deep stacks and an extremely solid band of players resulted in no one even being eliminated until the 79th hand.
Things moved a bit faster once action got right down to the heads-up match between Chang and Nguyen. It just took six hands for Chang to knock Nguyen out by having a straight to Nguyen’s missed diamond flush draw.
The WPT that is next event be in Venice, Italy on March 25 and you will be televised.
Minted Poker Tells Their Players to Money Out
Minted Poker is fed up and embarrassed with the network they currently call home, the Everleaf Gaming system, and is telling their players to cash out all of their money immediately. This is a result of what they call ’embarrassing’ money down delays on the network, with most withdrawals using 6 months or higher to process, associated with the ones which are actually being processed at all.
As well as telling their players to cash out, they’ve additionally advised players to take a few actions in an endeavor to force Everleaf into action. One is to file complaints with the Lotteries and Gaming Authority(LGA) of Malta, although the LGA has a sketchy reputation for dealing with issues within their jurisdiction and enforcing their rules.
The LGA recently released a statement saying they had looked into the issue of withdrawals at Everleaf and found that a majority of players had been paid to that end. That statement was quickly refuted by group of several players whom stated the majority of their withdrawals nevertheless had not been processed significantly more than 9 months after the fact. The LGA included they would continue to monitor Everleaf to ensure funds had been being properly paid away to the players on its system.
Minted had even taken the extreme step to block all deposit options to their site; this for the sake of their players never to sink more money in to the system, also to try and spur Everleaf into action. Nevertheless, Everleaf has remained unresponsive throughout the fiasco, which certainly brings their credibility that is current into.
Minted Poker is in the procedure of going to a new network, and hopes their players’ money balances will be transferred once that move is completed. With the state that is apparent of at Everleaf nevertheless, it’s perhaps not probable that may come to pass simply speaking order.
Minted Poker is just certainly one of several ‘skins’ on the Everleaf Network. A few of the dozens of other internet sites on the system include bluffbet.com, palmbet.com, pokerutd.com, and valhallapoker.com. Traffic on the network has drastically decreased within the month that is last Everleaf banning U.S players due to threatened appropriate action by the Department of Homeland Security. U.S players who’d accounts have also been unable to withdraw their funds since the move.
PokerStars Battles It Out with the United States Gaming Association
A report from Forbes magazine earlier in the day this week stated that Caesars Entertainment Corporation, the greatest gaming that is land-based in the world, has recently tried to offload two of its top and recognisable brands to on the web poker firm PokerStars.
‘Caesars Entertainment approached PokerStars and wanted to sell us certain assets such as the Rio Casino in Las Vegas,’ stated head of business communications for PokerStars, Eric Hollreiser. ‘Caesars Entertainment recommended that this acquisition would provide us with a better relationship with Caesars Entertainment and would assist PokerStars gain a license in Nevada.’
According to the magazine, PokerStars was approached last month by an unnamed executive representing Caesars Entertainment to discuss a preliminary deal for PokerStars to take the Rio All-Suite Hotel on and Casino, as well as the World number of Poker brand name.
However, Hollreiser explained that PokerStars chose to decline the offer because the firm had no intends to ‘acquire another casino in the near term’. Currently, the online video gaming operator is amidst the entire process of purchasing the Atlantic Club Casino and Hotel in Atlantic City which will allow it to submit application to the brand new Jersey Casino Control Commission for the intrastate online poker license.
However, the program to submit such an application has been somewhat tainted following an opposing that is brief proposed purchase of this Atlantic Club Casino and Hotel by the United states Gaming Association (AGA).
The AGA submitted a 24-page ‘not-so-brief’ to the latest Jersey Casino Control Commission and Division of Gaming Enforcement stating that the Rational Group US Holdings is a ‘business built on deceit, chicanery therefore the flouting that is systematic of States legislation’.
‘Any action allowing PokerStars to be licensed would send a damaging message to the realm of gaming and to the world beyond gaming that businesses that engage in chronic lawbreaking are welcome in the licensed video gaming business,’ stated the brief, as if trying to prevent online gaming Armageddon.
Should the AGA be successful in blocking PokerStars’ plans to purchase the venue for $50 million, a reported 2,400 jobs could possibly be in danger.
In reaction towards the schoolyard-type chants of the AGA, Eric Hollreiser called upon the New Jersey Casino Control Commission and Division of Gaming Enforcement to come quickly to their own conclusion centered on ‘expert regulators’ and suggested that the AGA was simply ‘picking a fight that is public aided by the company. He added that PokerStars was deemed suitable for application to a license in America by the U.S. Department of Justice.
‘We works with authorities including the New Jersey regulators and other state that is interested to talk about our qualifications and allow them to comment on what they find,’ stated Hollreiser.
‘PokerStars is among the largest and most respected internet gaming companies because we work closely with regulators and are in good standing with governments throughout the world holding licenses in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Estonia, Belgium, Malta and the Isle of Man.’
‘we shall continue steadily to work absolutely with regulators in New Jersey and somewhere else whenever they review our qualifications,’ he finished.
Should Hollreiser’s good-light-shedding statements be believed, we now have to concern the motive behind the AGA’s squabble-like claims. After all, in the event that largest land-based gaming company on the planet sees healthy to offer two of these most prized brands to the firm, then perhaps PokerStars deserves only a little more consideration than the AGA is willing to provide.