Sean Chaffin

A plumbing issue at a Pennsylvania casino is alleged to have created a messy situation, with one woman playing slots at the property claiming to have been covered in fecal matter. She has now sued, arguing that the experience left her in the hospital for over two weeks. Rita Romagnoli, of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, was playing slots with her husband at Live! Casino at the Westmoreland Mall in Pittsburgh on July 28 when an overhead pipe in the facility burst, drenching her in fecal matter. The lawsuit alleges that she contracted a serious illness and was in the hospital for 15 days. “She didn’t know what had fallen on her, but it didn’t take her long to figure out it smelled pretty bad,” Romagnoli’s attorney Joseph Hudock Jr. told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “She didn’t know what had happened. A couple days later, she ended up in the hospital with bacterial pneumonia.” “It was very traumatizing. She could have died.” Seeking Compensation The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that bacterial pneumonia can cause fever, cough, dyspnea (a sensation of running out ...

The Las Vegas Strip will soon have one less poker room. The Sahara, located at the far north end of the Strip, announced last week that its seven-table room would be shut down Nov. 16 to make room for more slot machines. “When it debuts in mid-December, the enhanced offerings will include dedicated slot banks where players can be some of the first in Las Vegas to play the newest test games from top gaming content providers,” the casino’s general manager Paul Hobson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “More details about this latest Sahara innovation will be announced soon.” The room, which re-opened in February 2020, offered cash games and several lower buy-in tournaments throughout the week, including a crazy pineapple event, but failed to get the necessary traffic to continue. Just The Latest Poker Room Shutdown The closure comes as Las Vegas has seen many other poker rooms closed in recent years, including several during the COVID pandemic. Treasure Island also shuttered its poker room in 2018. In recent years the Mirage, Excalibur, the Tropicana, the Flamingo, Harrah’s, the ...

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Jennifer Tilly has become quite a regular at the poker table over the last two decades, and seems to have inspired a fellow actor. After doing considerable research into the game before appearing in the recent poker movie Dead Money, actor Emile Hirsch unveiled a large painting of Tilly at the poker table on Twitter on Friday. In a photo with the work, the painting appears almost as tall as Hirsch, who checks in at 5 feet, 7 inches tall. Tilly seemed flattered by the effort. “This is very cool!” she said on Twitter. “I didn’t know you were a painter also!” In preparing for Dead Money, Hirsch spent time checking out Las Vegas cash games and speaking with high-stakes live stream regulars like Alan Keating and Nikhil ‘Airball’ Arcott. He even made an appearance on the Hustler Casino Live cash game stream. “It was an incredible experience diving into the world of poker and gambling,” the actor said. “I got so obsessed with the game that I regularly found myself googling ‘gambling addiction.’ I’ve partaken in many vices in ...

The legal battle over the Seminole tribe’s exclusivity to online sports betting in Florida appears to finally be coming to an end. After a long back and forth that included appeals to the state’s highest court and the U.S. Supreme Court, the tribe reached a deal on Monday with racetrack and poker room operators involved in the legal efforts. The agreement with West Flagler Associates, Bonita-Fort Myers Corp., Southwest Florida Enterprises, Inc., and Isadore Havenick means the legal dispute will come to an end. As part of that, the Seminoles will cooperate to offer wagering on the sport of jai alai on the Hard Rock Bet mobile app. “This is truly a win-win agreement for the Seminole Tribe and West Flagler,” Hard Rock CEO Jim Allen said in a news release. “This agreement establishes a relationship of collaboration among the Seminole Tribe and West Flagler in the State of Florida. Rather than engaging in years of additional litigation, this agreement will allow the parties to work together to promote jai alai, which has played an important role in Florida’s gaming ...

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The U.S. online poker market has basically had three operators since the country took a state-by-state approach a little over a decade ago. That changed Thursday with the launch of BetRivers Poker from Rush Street Interactive (RSI) in Pennsylvania. The unveiling comes after RSI purchased Run It Once Poker in 2022 from high-stakes poker pro Phil Galfond. The company now plans to expand into additional jurisdictions as part of RSI’s long-term approach. “This ground-breaking launch marks a significant milestone in RSI’s broader poker strategy, offering a unique player-first experience designed by poker players, for poker players,” the company noted. Galfond Ket In Designing Platform BetRivers Poker was designed using continuous real-time feedback from players and an experienced senior leadership team, many of whom are former poker pros, RSI noted. Galfond worked as part of the team and brought his own insight to ensure the platform is a fit for poker players at every level. “As poker players, we designed this platform from the ground up to be for the players – all players,” Galfond said. “From the amateur playing their ...

Along with electing state and federal officials on Tuesday, some Americans will also be deciding on a few gambling and casino-related issues. The issues range from sports betting and new casino licenses to how gaming tax revenue can be used. Here’s a look at a few of the gaming initiatives on the ballot this year. Arkansas Voters in the Natural State will be weighing in on two issues related to the state’s casino industry and lottery. Issue 1 would expand the state’s lottery scholarships program to apply to students who choose career and technical schools. The program has awarded 770,000 scholarships worth $1.4 billion since launching in 2009, with 92 cents of every dollar in lottery sales used to help the state’s students. Supporters hope to see the scholarship program apply to those who don’t choose a traditional college or university. Issue 2 on the ballot would repeal a casino license in Pope County that many residents opposed and require local elections for future licenses. Supporters argue that the measure would give local residents a say on casino development in ...

After two straight revenue slides in July and August, state casino revenue bounced back in September, according to figures from the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Nevada’s casino industry reported revenue of $1.3 billion in September, a 3.34% increase compared to $1.27 billion for the same month in 2023. However, for the fiscal year (July 1, 2024, through September 30, 2024), revenue has decreased almost 2.6%. The numbers in Clark County, home to Las Vegas, also had some key drops that affected the totals. The Las Vegas Strip saw revenue fall 1.8% to $727.7 million from $741.2 million in September 2023. While slot revenue rose 8.8% to $426.9 million, table game revenue dropped 16% to $300.8 million. A key component of the table games decrease was almost a 40% drop in baccarat revenue. Gaming Control Board officials noted that high-end baccarat players could significantly affect the overall revenue totals and that is what has led to the revenue decreases on the Strip. “The wild card is the baccarat hold percentage and that will determine the Strip’s ability to beat 2023,” Gaming ...

Mariano Grandoli Makes The Right Read But Can't Find The Fold In $142K Pot