Spin Cycle: Beginning Of WSOP Main Event Highlights Week In Gambling

Welcome to “Spin Cycle,” Casino Reports’ weekly 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 …

The waiting is over

Typically a Friday feature here at Casino Reports, Spin Cycle is coming at you a day early this week due to the 4th of July holiday. And that conveniently means that Spin Cycle aligns with the start of the World Series of Poker Main Event, which features four Day 1 options, from Thursday through Sunday.

Will we see a record field size, topping the 10,112 runners who entered the $10K tournament in 2024? We’ll know next week the exact prize pool and how much first place is worth. The bigger news for now is that ESPN has released its full broadcast schedule for the tournament — the first year in which the Manning brothers’ Omaha Productions is taking the reins.

To watch the livestreams (well, slightly delayed streams, to protect the integrity of the game), you’ll need an ESPN+ subscription. From July 2-8, the streams will run from 8 p.m.-2 a.m. ET, and as the field whittles down from July 9-13, the streams will be going from 3-7 p.m. ET and then from 9 p.m.-3 a.m.

By the end of play on July 13 (Day 8 of the tournament), only nine players will remain, and they’ll take a break — during which tightly edited broadcasts, recapturing the early-poker-boom-era feel, will air and familiarize viewers with the final table combatants. Two hours of edited episodes will premiere July 21 on ESPN2 and two more will follow July 28 on ESPN2, setting the stage for the (almost) live final table, which streams starting at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2 on Aug. 3, then shifts to the flagship ESPN station on Aug. 4 (9 p.m.) and Aug. 5 (10:30 p.m.) until a champion is crowned.

To get you in the mood, here’s the latest edition of WSOP Countdown, with a guest appearance by the man who won this tournament 20 years ago, Jamie Gold:

More news to know …

• The biggest story from the WSOP over the week leading up to the start of the Main Event is that three players — Benny Glaser, Michael Mizrachi, and Shaun Deeb — each claimed their ninth career bracelets, putting them in a four-way tie with the late Johnny Moss for sixth place all-time. Glaser won the $50K Poker Players Championship for $1.34 million, Mizrachi pipped him with $1.35 million for winning the $10K pot-limit Omaha championship, and Deeb captured a more modest $181,625 for prevailing in the $1,500 8-Game Mix. That win put Deeb atop the WSOP Player of the Year leaderboard — for now. Glaser sits in the sixth place, and Mizrachi, the reigning Main Event champ, is in 10th.
• RIP to an icon of the gambling world, Steve “Fats” Diano, who died of cancer in late June at the age of 62. Diano is a member of the Sports Gambling Hall of Fame and was known for more than 40 years as one of the true “sharps” of sports betting, plus he was an avid poker player, making three WSOP final tables (all in stud variants).

• BetMGM announced Monday the relaunch of a new-look version of its Borgata Online site, featuring streamlined navigation, a new rewards hub, and an expanded game selection. This is accompanied by on-property activations and celebrations for those in Atlantic City over the July 4th holiday weekend. “Borgata provides a seamless connection to online and in-person experiences and exemplifies what a legal, regulated online casino can achieve,” said BetMGM Chief Revenue Officer Matt Prevost. “This latest product investment underscores how seriously we take our responsibility to players, regulators, and all who have made Borgata Online what it is today.”
• Typically, casino license renewals tend to be a formality — they pop up on regulators’ schedules, the license gets renewed, nobody bats an eye. But in West Virginia, the Greenbrier cut things awfully close with its gaming license, as Metro News reported. The property’s required audited financial statements were not submitted on time, adding a layer of complication to the already sticky situation of the casino being owned by Sen. Jim Justice, the former governor of the state. But on Tuesday, the financials were submitted a mere two hours before the Greenbrier was going to be forced to temporarily close its casino doors.

House Rules: Insights from around our network

California Judge Strikes Down New Regulations, Allowing Cardrooms To Keep Dealing Table Games

Kalshi: Indian Country Can’t Enforce Its Laws On Us

Fanatics Enters UAE Market Through Partnership With Momentum

Rocking Las Vegas

Maryland Regulators Taking Heat For Sending Letter Written By AGA

Winning Powerball Ticket Nearly Flew Out The Window

Bally’s Ready To Debut Life-Size Monopoly Live Prize Wheel In Atlantic City

Small stakes and hot takes

This week on the Casino Reports podcast Low Rollers, presented in partnership with DraftKings Casino, I welcomed Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Chief Counsel Steve Cook — in the wake of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's ruling that "skill games" are illegal slot machines — for a conversation about gray-area gaming, a regulator's challenges, and more.

I also marveled at the greatness of Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi as he prepares to defend his WSOP Main Event title, plus I provided an update on my World Cup wagering and I shared my initial thoughts on the new Monopoly Rush Hour slot game.

Full episode:

The Shuffle: Other news and views

The Last Days Of Aqueduct [Curbed]

Record-High May Hotel Rates Don’t Deter Las Vegas Visitation, With Volume Up 2% Over 2025 [CDC Gaming]

Lake Mac Casino Unveils Live Table Games With Ribbon Cutting Ceremony [North Platte Post]

50 Years Since New Jersey Approved Gaming In Atlantic City, The Future Is Bright [Press of Atlantic City]

Great Canadian Entertainment Fined $120,000 By AGCO For Unauthorized Casino Software Use [CP24]

Trainees Learn To ‘Enjoy The Moment’ At Casino Table Games Schools [TribLive]

‘Not All Geared Towards Partying Anymore’: Vegas Pools Embrace Wellness Trends [Neon]

‘Statistically Impossible’: Local Gangster Won $1.16M At RI Casino, Court Records Say [MassLive]

Online Gambling Access May Pose Heightened Risks For Elderly Adults In Ohio [WOSU.org]

The Bonus Round

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