Spin Cycle: WSOP At The 10-Day Mark Highlights Week In Gambling

Welcome to “Spin Cycle,” Casino Reports’ weekly Friday roundup of all things impactful, intriguing, impressive, or idiotic in the gambling industry. Pull up a chair, grab a stack of chips and a glass of your beverage of choice, and take a spin with us through this week’s news cycle …

Bracelets, bounties, bad beats, and beyond

At the end of the night Thursday, 10 days of play at the 2026 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas were complete — a nice, round number meriting a Spin Cycle check-in. Here are the most noteworthy stories you may have missed so far at the WSOP:

The stage is set: The WSOP unveiled over the weekend its new Main Event Final Table Arena at Paris Las Vegas, described on the WSOP website as “a state-of-the-art arena designed specifically for live poker coverage.” There’s a main table and 16 additional TV-ready outer tables, plus plenty of seating for railbirds, spread across roughly 25,000 square feet of space.

Better than a bracelet: If you’re going to be eliminated in a tournament in 102nd place for a modest payout of $3,350, this is the way to do it. Andrew Shelton lucked into one of the mystery bounty prizes on Day 2 of the $550 Mini Mystery Millions tournament, and despite getting bounced from the tourney shortly thereafter, he opened his sealed bounty to discover it was worth $1 million — or 2½ times the value of the tournament’s $400,000 first-place payout.

That ain’t right: We’ll let the video speak for itself on this one, the most talked-about hand of the WSOP’s first 10 days:

First time, long time: Among the early bracelet winners, these three stand out:

• World-class chess player Michael Casella emerged from a ridiculously loaded final three in the $1,500 badugi event, beating out Scott Seiver and then Nick Schulman — both seven-time gold bracelet winners — for his first WSOP title.
• Justin Liberto took down the $1,500 mixed Omaha tournament, claiming his second career bracelet and his first in 11 years.
• Naoya Kihara ended an even longer drought, winning the $5,000 six-handed PLO tourney for his first bracelet in 14 years. He became Japan’s first WSOP bracelet winner back in 2012. Remarkably, Kihara was down to a single chip at one point on the opening day of the PLO tournament before coming back to win it all.

More news to know … 

• April revenue numbers from the Nevada Gaming Control Board are in, and they show the Vegas Strip up 6.5% year-over-year (powered by a 15% baccarat bump) and statewide gaming revenue rising from $1.23 billion to $1.29 billion. For all the price gouging and the general economic concerns and visitation concerns, it seems safe to say, as of now, the reports of Las Vegas’ death are greatly exaggerated.

• More to come on this topic at Casino Reports in the next week or two, but for now: congressional candidate Chuck Park of New York made headlines this week with his proposed “Game Over Act,” which would create new public health and consumer protection standards for casino operators. Park’s placing a priority on gambling regulation is not exactly random, as he’s running to represent a district in Queens, the borough that is home to New York’s newest casino.

• Bad news for Las Vegas folks who abhor the annual disruption of the F1 race on the Strip: The Las Vegas Grand Prix has signed an extension to continue hosting the race until 2037 — tacking another 10 years on top of the existing agreement.

• A bit of news tangentially related to the ongoing California cardrooms saga: According to ClaimDepot.com, the California Gambling Control Commission and the Bureau of Gambling Control have agreed to pay $43.3 million to settle a class action lawsuit, and anyone who operated a licensed cardroom or served as a prop player in the state between Jan. 1, 2005, and May 12, 2020, may be eligible to make a claim.

• Is there life yet for the Primm, Nevada gambling properties that have closed in recent weeks? Primm South President Cory Clemetson said Thursday, without disclosing any company names, that an announcement is likely in the next week regarding a new partner taking over the casinos and hotels.

House Rules: Insights from around our network

Bally’s Intralot To Acquire Evoke

The State (By-State) Of Banning Sweepstakes In 2026

Online Casino Operators Looking To Score With Soccer-Themed Slots

And Bet365 Makes Nine: Alberta Sports Betting Registration List Grows For July Start

Ruddock Report: For Online Casino Expansion, It’s A Case Of Wait ‘Til Next Year

Khalid Jones Exits Virginia Lottery, Named Allwyn North American CEO

Resorts World NYC’s Head Start Comes With Additional, Disputed Costs

Small stakes and hot takes

This week on the Casino Reports podcast Low Rollers, I welcomed Discerning Capital Managing Partner Davis Catlin to get his insights on the Fertitta bid for Caesars and the People Inc. bid for MGM, what’s still to come in this M&A wave, what it all means for Las Vegas, and how prediction markets are shaking up the worlds of valuation and investment.

I also went meta with a few gambling podcast recommendations to start my gambling podcast (including one for The Business of Betting’s interview with Matt Kalish), and I told the unlikely low-stakes tale of how I turned my last dime into a handsome $50 in the ol’ PayPal account.

Full episode:

The Shuffle: Other news and views

Louis Vuitton Sues Maryland Casino Over Bag Promotions [The Daily Record]

Why Dayclubs Make Millions For Las Vegas Hotel-Casinos [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

Slot Manufacturers Working To Recoup Tariff Expenses [CDC Gaming]

Why A Yearslong Fight Over Gambling Is Good News For California Politicians [Cal Matters]

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol Table Game Dealers Vote To Unionize [News 5 WCYB]

Two Maverick Cardrooms Close In Washington, Laying Off 123 Employees [The Seattle Times]

New Games, Bigger Prizes: Live! Casino Pittsburgh Rolls Out $1.7M Gaming Upgrade [Latrobe Bulletin]

4 Bears Casino & Lodge Completes $100 Million Addition, Renovation [Minot Daily News]

At Danville Casino, Revenue ‘Keeps Creeping Up And Creeping Up’ [The News-Gazette]

The Bonus Round

Completing the Spin Cycle with a few of our favorite social media posts of the week: