Former poker blogger Jay Newnum is stepping far from poker after receiving probation for stealing from the dealer’s tip container (Image: betraisefoldmovie.com)
When you’re a poker blogger/reporter hired to cover a good-sized competition at a major land casino, probably building a move on the dealer’s tip field just isn’t your decision that is best ever. Apparently, not everyone grasps that reality, and today from the ‘what were you thinking’ files comes news that 41-year-old probably-not-anymore poker blogger Jay Newnum has received probation for stealing almost $700 while covering a Foxwoods casino poker tourney on 16 of last year december.
One from Column A
The Fishers, Indiana blogger evidently returned the stolen funds taken from the tip box reportedly snatched up using chopsticks, a visual we find pretty amusing within a Mega Stack Challenge $600 No-Limit Texas Hold’em tournament held at the popular Mashantucket, Connecticut casino.
Newnum will be permitted to take part in something called ‘accelerated rehabilitation,’ an official state court system which will wipe his record clean if he makes it through the probation duration without using chopsticks on anything but chow mein and moo goo gai pan. Newnum dodged a bullet using this sentencing, as a maximum could have been brought by this class B misdemeanor of six months in jail as well as up to $1,000 in punitive fines.
Despite the incident occurring back in mid-December, there was clearly nothing official released about the case from Connecticut authorities until belated week that is last.
Keeping Quiet
Newnum himself has been pretty mum about the whole situation; maybe not that that should surprise anyone. a significantly cryptic post on his whojedi page refers to dealer’s union president Billy Shea, who reportedly ended up being the object of personal attacks after discussing the theft in his own website articles. To blame appears to be under some type or kind of gag order whether self-inflicted or on advice of counsel, who knows but posted on his blog that he will ‘step away from the poker world indefinitely.’
Probably a wise move, since we doubt he’s going to secure much work from now on; he’s already been prohibited indefinitely from establishing foot in Foxwoods again.
Newnum’s vague comments about the incident shed no light on how someone who obviously has spent plenty of time in casinos wouldn’t realize that the petty theft would be caught on eye-in-the-sky cameras, making it pretty difficult to deny his wrongdoing.
In their last weblog remarks in the matter, he expressed support that is ongoing the poker community he will no longer be an integral part of:
‘Yesterday, I called Billy [Shea, dealer’s union president] personally. We spoke at length, not in what he had posted, but rather concerning the reactions from the city. I hold no ill will as he simply did what he felt he needed to do as union president against him. It was a conversation that is great Billy and I also do appreciate him taking the time and energy to speak with me. I have spent a decade within the poker community, and now have truly come to appreciate this game and the family of individuals in it.
‘That being said, it seems for the best that I step far from the poker world indefinitely. I do desire to express gratitude to my family and my buddies, both inside and outside of poker, who have been extremely supportive during this period. Finally, even though I won’t become a part of the poker globe for the time being, I’ll be rooting for the industry to continue steadily to grow, expand, and enhance, in all the methods that we know it can.’
Newnum was one of about 21 poker professionals featured as an interviewee in the film Bet Raise Fold, a poker documentary billed as ‘the story of online poker’ that debuted in mid-2013. Friday it follows the rise and fall of online poker pros, from the industry’s inception to the crash of Black. Besides Newnum, many industry heavy hitters luminaries such as Daniel Negreanu, Greg Raymer, Tom Dwan and Tony Dunst are showcased, with extra commentary from poker insiders, scientists and authors like Newnum.
US Casino Expansion Continues to Pump Up in 2014
US casino expansion will continue unabated in 2014, despite exactly what some experts say is market over-saturation.
It may be hard to believe, but it was not that long ago when casino gambling into the United States was confined to Las vegas, nevada, Atlantic City and a few outposts in the south such as Biloxi. Now it may appear like there’s hardly place throughout the nation where you’re more than a few hours from the casino. There are still some holdouts, but 30 states now have at least one casino, with plenty more coming soon. Here’s a appearance at where things stand and where they might continue to go in the us video gaming industry as we head into 2014.
Northeast Has growth that is most
By far, the absolute most expansion has been in the United that is northeastern states which is now competitive to the point of saturation. Late last year, New York voters authorized an amendment to your state constitution which will permit as many as seven Las Vegas-style resort casinos to go into procedure over the next decade. That could fundamentally include one or more gambling enterprises located right in New York City, but will start with casinos in several upstate zones. Bids are currently being taken from operators, therefore the champions are going to be determined later this year.
New York is not the only state in the region that has forced for casino expansion. In Massachusetts, you may still find three casino licenses up for grabs, with word on who will win each license expected to come in April. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania which has 12 gambling enterprises of its already will allow pubs to incorporate gambling machines this year, with a lot more than 2,500 bars reportedly expected to utilize for licenses to take action. Plus in Maryland, there are already four casinos, with another opening this and a sixth expected by 2016 year.
Every one of this competition has come at the cost of the center that is former of Coast gambling, Atlantic City ( and to a lesser extent, Pennsylvania, which saw its revenues fall slightly in 2012). The gaming revenues from the 12 Atlantic City casinos fell below $3 billion for the time that is first 22 years in 2013, and the Atlantic Club Casino was forced into bankruptcy and closed within the very first thirty days of 2014. In the bright side, online gaming was introduced, bringing within an additional $8.4 million into the last five weeks of the season once their Web betting internet sites went online.
Newbies Join the Fray
Other states are considering adding casinos for the time that is first or opening up their doors to larger results. As an example, Virginia’s home of Assembly happens to be considering a bill that enables for casino gambling at Hampton Roads which would mark the first casino of any kind in the state. Meanwhile, Florida is eyeing a bill that would permit privately-operated casino resorts, though that has to be balanced from the $1 billion they currently receive annually from the Seminole Tribe, which now operates several venues and pays that quantity to maintain the exclusive rights to offer card games in hawaii.
Ohio is looking at incorporating to its collection of casinos, too. With gambling revenues slipping slightly, the state is looking forward to the three new casinos that are expected to open here by July 2014.
Finally, some states are looking to improve their current facilities instead of build new ones. For example, Mississippi’s gambling industry is nevertheless recovering a years that are few Hurricane Katrina, and hopes to speed that data recovery with renovations and new accommodations at a number of their state’s 36 casino properties.
Borgata Winter Open Event #1 Cancelled When Fake Chips Detected
It had been a rocky start for this season’s Borgata Winter Open poker competition, as suspected fake chips halted the event (Image: NBC40.net)
They say that most you need to win a poker tournament is a chip and a chair. Needless to say, having a few extra chips will enhance your odds and some players are not appearing to care where those chips come from.
Regulators Cancel Event
The first event for the Borgata Winter Poker Open at the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City was first suspended on Friday, then sooner or later cancelled on Saturday on sales from the brand New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement, after casino officials confirmed that the ‘significant number of counterfeit potato chips’ had been in play during the tournament. The suspension came myfreepokies.com after suspicions began to mount about the chips that are fake the event on Thursday night. Before play had been scheduled to resume at noon on Friday, the tournament staff made the decision to suspend the function.
At the time of Monday, all award cash that had yet become rewarded had been frozen even though the investigation proceeded on orders from state regulators. The competition had been suspended with just 27 players remaining in contention. The event began with 4,814 players, all of who paid a buy-in of $560. The top prize was to be $372,123, with a complete award pool of simply over $2.4 million. Once the tournament was halted, Allard Broedelet was the chip leader, holding more than 10.3 million chips.
Explore a beat that is bad.
‘Thus far, investigators have actually discovered that more than one tournament entrants improperly introduced a significant number of counterfeit chips in to the tournament, gaining a unjust advantage and compromising the integrity of play for the big event,’ said Borgata president and chief running officer Tom Ballance.
‘It is extremely unfortuitously that the criminal actions of those individuals can have a detrimental affect more than 4,000 other entrants,’ he added. ‘The integrity of our games and the confidence of our players is of the utmost importance to us.’
Possible denomination that is 5K Fake Chips
While details of the scheme never have yet been released by detectives, speculation has run wild online, where players who participated in the event have tweeted pictures of what they claim are counterfeit chips. A twoplustwo.com forum thread has showcased conversation suggesting that the fake chips were of the denomination that is 5k and that there may happen significantly more than $1 million in fake chips in play when the tournament was suspended.
The casino has not yet determined or at least made publicly clear what might happen with players’ entry fees to the event once the investigation is complete. They simply said in an issued statement that ‘that all prize that is unpaid [will] be held in trust until more information and quality can be determined.’
As in any major casino, security is tight during the Borgata. Despite some stress on casino staff as a result of the enormous size of the event, you can still find multiple digital cameras on every table, which could provide evidence as to who was behind the counterfeit potato chips. Neither casino nor state officials have actually talked about just what (if any) evidence they have actually uncovered so far, but. No charges have yet been filed in connection to this case.
The cancellation of the very first event did perhaps not slow straight down the Borgata Winter Poker Open as a whole. Based on Ballance, the remainder of this competition series will go on as scheduled.
‘We thoroughly verified all remaining chips in our stock, and are confident in moving forward with our competition schedule as planned and approved by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement,’ he stated.