News

Casino City’s Friday Five: Illegal sportsbooks and college basketball edition

1 November 2024
By Dan Ippolito

In just three days, the men’s college basketball season begins and we have some best bet suggestions on who we think can cut down the nets in April. We also have a Florida casino crowning a millionaire, The LINQ Promenade in Las Vegas being sold, ESPN BET making moves, and Bovada getting in hot water in Tennessee.

Let’s begin with a major winner:

5. $1 million slot win at a Florida casino
A local player hit a jackpot of over $1 million at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa on Monday, 21 October.

Liz, a resident of Tampa, wagered only $25 and won a grand jackpot of $1,071,227 on a Dragon Link Golden Century slot machine.

4. Caesars Entertainment to sell The LINQ Promenade
On Tuesday, Caesars Entertainment announced an agreement to sell The LINQ Promenade to a joint venture to be formed between TPG Real Estate and the Investment Management Platform of Acadia Realty Trust for $275 million.

The LINQ Promenade is an outdoor entertainment district located just off the Las Vegas Strip between The LINQ Hotel and the Flamingo Hotel. This pedestrian-friendly area spans over 300,000 square feet and features a 1,200-foot-long walkway filled with a variety of shops, restaurants, and entertainment options.

This sale is subject to customary approvals and other closing conditions and is expected to close during the fourth quarter 2024.

A day later, Caesars announced the closing of the previously announced sale of its intellectual property rights for the World Series of Poker brand to NSUS Group Inc. for $500 million.

Caesars retains the right from NSUS to host the flagship WSOP live tournament series at its Las Vegas casinos for the next 20 years and will receive a license from NSUS to continue operating its recently upgraded WSOP Online real-money poker business in Nevada, New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania for the foreseeable future.

Today, we announced the closing of the previously announced sale of our intellectual property rights for the World Series of Poker brand to NSUS Group Inc. As previously disclosed, the transaction includes US$250 million in cash and a $250 million promissory note due five years… pic.twitter.com/jrOCiCLphq

— Caesars Entertainment (@CaesarsEnt) October 29, 2024

3. Top 10 bets to win 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship
The college basketball landscape has been dramatically reshaped by NIL deals and the transfer portal. But with the dust settled and rosters finalized, teams are setting their sights on the upcoming season. Here's a look at 10 programs poised to make a deep run and contend for a national championship.

Baylor (+2200)
The top three scorers from last year’s Baylor tournament team are not going to be scoring any points for the Bears this season.

Langston Love, the team’s best shooter from a year ago, knocked down 48% of his long distance shots and will be back this season alongside a couple of major portal transfers.

Norchad Omier has the chance to become one of the top big men in the country. At Miami last year, Omier averaged a double-double with 17 points and 10 boards. He is going to be a great inside presence for the quick wings and guards around him.

Jeremy Roach has been Duke’s primary point guard for four years and he will do more of the same for Baylor this upcoming season. Roach knows how to win games down the stretch and does a really good job protecting the basketball with just over one turnover per game.

Houston (+1400)
The Houston Cougars have the luxury of returning a majority of its core team from last year. The loss of Jamal Shead will hurt as he was the floor general and probably the best on-ball defender the team had.

However, bringing back L.J. Cryer, Emanuel Sharp and J’Wan Roberts is a great place to start your roster.

Cryer, last year’s leading scorer for Houston, is also the team’s best shooter. Sharp, another double-digit scoring guard from last season, can really get in a rhythm and when he makes a couple early, he is capable to give you 20 in the blink of an eye.

Roberts is a very aggressive defender who knows how to score inside and use his body to create easier looks at the rim for himself.

The best part about this Cougars team is when they aren’t making shots, they aren’t out of the game. They play with some of the most heart of the defensive side of the ball and that is the philosophy of head coach Kelvin Sampson.

Duke (+1000)
If you follow college basketball at all, you have most likely heard of the name Cooper Flagg, who many think will be the top pick in next year’s NBA draft.

He was the top recruit of his class and he was able to practice and scrimmage with Team USA before the Olympics. At 6-foot-9, Flagg can shoot it from deep, pull-up from mid-range, or take two power dribbles and get to the rim with ease.

COOP &1 @Cooper_Flagg pic.twitter.com/P9pCUnbjuf

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) October 28, 2024

2. ESPN and ESPN BET account linking now available
PENN Entertainment and ESPN announced today that account linking between ESPN BET and ESPN is now available for customers, creating a deeply integrated media and betting experience. By linking accounts, fans now have the ability to track upcoming, live and settled bets within the ESPN app and on ESPN.com.

With this product enhancement, ESPN BET will soon bring fans more personalized bets and timely promotions based on their favorite sports, teams, players, and fantasy rosters.

“Bringing this new feature to market is an important step as we work to create a fully interconnected media and betting ecosystem between ESPN and ESPN BET,” said Aaron LaBerge, Chief Technology Officer at PENN Entertainment.

1. Tennessee Spors Wagering Council takes action against Bovada
Earlier this week, the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council issued $50,000 in fines to Bovada.lv, an unlicensed and therefore illegal sportsbook operating in Tennessee.

Bovada failed to comply with cease-and-desist letters delivered to addresses in Curaçao, and Council investigators placed wagers through Bovada’s platform on three separate occasions, including as recently as 16 October 2024.

The Sports Gaming Act authorizes the Council to impose a $10,000 fine for the first offense of accepting wagers without a license, which rises to $15,000 for the second offense, and $25,000 for the third offense.

$50,000 in fines have been issued to Bovada for operating an unlicensed sportsbook in Tennessee. Subsequent offenses may lead to a $25,000 fine for each occurrence, an occurrence being a single wager accepted in TN. #sports #sportsbetting #tngov #tennessee https://t.co/fuAngDTBck

— Tennessee Sports Wagering Council (@tnswac) October 23, 2024