Spin Cycle: American Appointment, Canadian Expansion Highlight 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 …

In other AGA news this week …

DraftKings and FanDuel departing the American Gaming Association largely overshadowed everything else going on with the industry trade group, but there was another AGA development of note — and a possibly telling one about where the AGA goes from here.

On Tuesday, the AGA announced that Delaware North CEO Lou Jacobs will be the next chairman of the organization’s board of directors, beginning in January when Michael Rumbolz’s two-year term ends.

“It’s an honor to lead the AGA at such a dynamic time,” Jacobs said in an official statement. “I look forward to building on AGA’s success and working with CEO Bill Miller and the board to ensure legal gaming remains a strong economic engine for communities across the country.”

In the wake of the exits of online-focused operators DraftKings and FanDuel, the appointment of Jacobs, the CEO of a land-based casino company, may be perceived as a statement about the AGA’s identity and focus.

Ontario jumping into the pool

The landscape for peer-to-peer online games in Ontario is about to change. The Canadian province’s Court of Appeal issued a 4-1 decision in favor of allowing international pooled liquidity — meaning in such games as online poker and daily fantasy sports (DFS), Ontario players will able to compete against players in other jurisdictions.

It’s not quite official yet, as the Canadian Lottery Coalition has 30 days to appeal the decision.

In the U.S., DFS player pools are combined across all states where the games are legal. Regulated U.S. online poker is more complicated, with certain sites pooled across certain states. No regulated U.S. online poker sites, however, pool U.S.-based players with any in other countries.

Ulvis Alberts, 1942-2025

Think of just about any classic 1970s or ’80s World Series of Poker photograph you’ve ever seen; chances are it was snapped by Ulvis Alberts.

Alberts, the WSOP’s first official photographer, died Tuesday at age 83. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Alberts was born in Latvia in 1942 and immigrated to the U.S. in 1949. In his 20s and 30s, before he began photographing poker players, he took pics of celebrities ranging from Jack Nicholson to David Bowie to Cher. In 1977, Jack Binion invited him to shoot at the WSOP, and Alberts went on over the next several years to capture iconic black-and-white images of the likes of Doyle Brunson, “Amarillo Slim” Preston, and Stu Ungar.

In 1981, Alberts released a book of his poker photos titled Poker Face, and he followed that with Poker Face 2 in 2006 at the height of the poker boom.

(Quick fact-check on actress-turned-poker-player Jennifer Tilly’s tweet above: Binion, 88, is still alive.)

House Rules: Insights from around our network

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT: Unallocated risks — a new approach to sports betting regulation [by Tom Lee]

MAKING A RACQUET: U.S. Tennis Association granted TRO in Metropolitan Park dispute [by Chris Altruda]

WHO’S RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?: What DraftKings, FanDuel exits from AGA mean for prediction market RG [by Jeff Edelstein]

START SPREADING THE REVE-NEWS: New Jersey iGaming revenue hits record $260 million in October [by Chris Altruda]

CONTINUE SPREADING THE REVE-NEWS: Michigan iGaming revenue soars to record-setting $278 million in October [by Chris Altruda]

OK, THAT’S ENOUGH REVE-NEWS: Pennsylvania continues October iGaming record revenue haul [by Chris Altruda]

A PEACH OF A PRIZE: Mega Millions history made in Georgia with $980 million win [by Eric Raskin]

GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION: California’s tribes have no reason to trust DraftKings, FanDuel [by Jill Dorson]

THE $4 BILLION QUESTION: Can Resorts World hit its ambitious New York revenue target? [by Chris Altruda]

Small stakes and hot takes

This week on the Casino Reports podcast Low Rollers, I welcome Mitch Malherbe, better known on social media as “Casino Collective,” to discuss a passion/hobby that has incredibly taken him to 500 casinos (and counting). He shared stories of his greatest blackjack triumph and his worst blackjack tilt and revealed his favorite and least favorite casinos in the country. Here’s a taste:

I also analyze the news of DraftKings and FanDuel severing ties with the AGA and offer my thoughts on the NFL wanting to ban (in other words, push to the unregulated market) certain prop bets. Full episode:

The Shuffle: Other news and views

ONLY SLIGHTLY SICK: There are too many problem(atic) gamblers [How Gambling Works]

ELECTRIC NEBRASKA: Lincoln and Omaha casinos set record for revenue and tax contributions [Nebraska Public Media]

COCKEYED OPTIMISTS: UNLV says Las Vegas tourism projected to rebound in 2026 driven by pro sports, value [CDC Gaming]

DALLAS MAVERICKS: Casino giant aims to put landmark destination-resort in Dallas [NBC DFW]

THE BATTLE OF BEACON HILL: Wynn Resorts fights back against online gambling push on Beacon Hill [Boston Globe]

DRAMA IN QUEENS: Rally held in attempt to block new casino from opening near Citi Field [ABC 7]

PICKETING PERSISTENCE: Casino workers enter second month of strike in Shelbyville [WTHR 13]

PALACE PAYMENT: Nevada regulators outline reasons behind $7.8 million fine levied against Caesars [CDC Gaming]

ASIAN INFUSION: Chinese gamblers, cartel cash — the secret pipeline through Las Vegas’ biggest casino [CNN]

The Bonus Round

Completing the Spin Cycle with some odds and ends and our favorite social media posts of the week.

• Caesars Online Casino has made some additions to its Signature Blackjack game, including an ability to switch up the buttons to suit left-handed players. (As a southpaw myself, I feel seen. Thanks, Caesars.) Also, the new and improved version includes new side bets (Empire Poker and Empire Pairs) and a choice between single-hand and multi-hand formats.

• Not all of the tweets in The Bonus Round are fun/funny. Some are rather scary. Such as:

• So the A’s really are moving to Vegas? The pouring of concrete would seem a positive indicator:

• How’s this for a sign of the times?

• No, I am not above sharing my own attempt at a humorous gambling industry tweet:

• Spoilers for the finale of season two of Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge here: Poker pro Steven Jones (Player 183 on the show) finished in third place. Jones famously finished second in the 2023 WSOP Main Event, earning $6.5 million. Squid Game: The Challenge, unfortunately for him, is a winner-take-all deal, meaning Jones received no prize money while the eventual winner pocketed $4.56 million.