Spin Cycle: Lucky 7s At WSOP, Fiery Words From SGLA 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 …

Is 7 bracelets good? Depends who you ask

We’re a week-and-a-half into the 2025 World Series of Poker, and there’s not much debate over what the biggest story so far is, nor over what was almost the biggest story.

The biggest story: There’s already a double bracelet winner. Brit Benny Glaser won both Event No. 8 ($1,500 Dealer’s Choice) and Event No. 15 ($1,500 Mixed: Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better), extending a streak that dates to 2000 of somebody winning two bracelets in a single World Series every year.

And Glaser isn’t some out-of-nowhere rando. These were the sixth and seventh WSOP wins of his illustrious career. (Interestingly, none of those wins were in no-limit hold’em.)

While Glaser celebrates becoming a seven-time bracelet winner, the almost biggest story concerns a superstar player stuck on seven wins. Daniel “Kid Poker” Negreanu (he’s 50 years old, but once you’re the “kid,” you’re always the “kid”) came oh-so close in Event No. 9 ($10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better), only to settle for second place, losing heads-up to Ryan Bambrick and falling short of capturing his eighth WSOP title.

Other sweeps group gets in on angry words game

Two weeks after launching, the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA) is getting the hang of the advocating-for-sweepstakes-operators routine.

In other words, like the Social & Promotional Games Association (SPGA), the SGLA is now distributing statements of rebuke when states propose or advance legislation to stifle sweepstakes casino growth.

In response to the Connecticut House of Representatives sending a sweeps ban bill along to the governor, SGLA Executive Director (and former Congressman) Jeff Duncan said:

“It’s unfortunate that this legislation was hastily passed based on incomplete information with little attempt to engage with legitimate industry operators that prioritize player protections. The result is a win for the black market, and other groups with vested interests that campaigned for this bill with falsehoods and misinformation.”

The SGLA was even more pointed in its reaction to Louisiana’s anti-sweeps bill passing in the House, writing in the press release headline that Louisiana’s lawmakers were “Misled by False Claims.” Here, Duncan stated:

“Louisiana residents will be abruptly cut off from popular, free-to-play online games enjoyed by millions nationwide after lawmakers fell for a campaign of deliberate misinformation from parties with clear vested interests that was designed to eliminate legitimate competition. This legislation was rushed through the legislature without providing the industry any meaningful opportunity to engage, while competitors and critics were given ample voice in a concerted effort that prevented a commonsense solution.”

The view from Vegas

There was an onslaught of news out of Nevada this week regarding economic uncertainty, changing costs, and vacillating visitation. A sampling of some stories worth checking out:

• From CDC Gaming Reports: A Truist Securities analyst observed that Vegas Strip room rates are beginning to show a downward trend.
• From the Las Vegas Review-Journal: Resorts World is now offering free parking in hopes of getting more people in the door.
• Also from the Review-Journal: One casino-hotel is charging $60 plus tax for an early check-in — and social media responses were not exactly friendly.
• From the Las Vegas Sun: The five Democrats from Nevada in the Senate and House pointed fingers at President Donald Trump and his tariffs for hurting tourism and also inflating housing costs.
• From the Nevada Independent: The decrease in international travelers could impact not just the casino industry but also the outdoor tourism business in the state.
• And on a more positive note from CDC Gaming Reports: The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority expressed optimism about convention attendance in Sin City.

House Rules: Insights from around our network

THE KIDS AREN’T ALL RIGHT: Children should be the sole focus of responsible gambling [by Jeff Edelstein]

MO’ MONEY: National online casino revenue totals $868.6 million in April, up 32.5% over 2024 [by Chris Altruda]

FADE ACCOMPLI: The Rockies Investment Plan (RIP) [by Brant James]

TUB STUMPING: Tuberville on Alabama lottery: It’s up to the people [by Jeff Edelstein]

SEARCHING FOR SILVER LININGS: Is what’s bad for sports betting good for online casino? [by Steve Ruddock]

OPEN RHODE: Rhode Island Senate passes amended bill to open wagering market to competition [by Jill Dorson]

OVER AND OUT: Illinois Gaming Board Chairman Schmadeke steps down [by Chris Altruda]

PROTECT THE BAG: Texas judge orders lottery commission to freeze woman’s jackpot win [by Jeff Edelstein]

MEANS TO A QUINTENZ: New CFTC chair’s confirmation hearing set [by Brant James]

TOO MUCH INFORMATION: Parsing signal and noise in an overcrowded sports betting information marketplace [by AJ Moore]

WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK: Who ya gonna call about money laundering? [by Richard Schuetz]

Small stakes and hot takes

This week on the Casino Reports podcast Low Rollers, Jeff Edelstein and I welcomed Sports Betting Alliance President Jeremy Kudon in the midst of a gutting week for his organization and the regulated industry, and he shared his insights on Illinois’ tax shenanigans. Here’s a taste:

Jeff and I also gave our thoughts on the Illinois maneuvering, including why it may backfire on the tax collectors and how it suggests lawmakers there don’t care at all about responsible gambling. We also talked about RG for kids, jinxing futures bets, and favorite Yiddish words. Full episode:

The Shuffle: Other news and views

TEXAS TOAST (FOR NOW): Casino gambling in Texas less likely after tough legislative session for proponents [The Dallas Morning News]

LAWYER DOWN: Any law allowing online casino gambling in Ohio could violate the state constitution [WKYC 3]

INCREMENTAL INNOVATIONS: The new table games [Global Gaming Business Magazine]

STRAIGHT FIRE: Caesars launches exclusive slot game with Light & Wonder [Complete iGaming]

STAKE AND SHAKE: CA judge sends sweeps case involving Stake.us to arbitration [SBC Americas]

PLAYING KOI: List of opponents of massive Koi Nation casino in northern California keeps growing [iGaming Business]

FIELD VISION: NFL partners with ICRG to advance research on gambling behaviors among college athletes and students [press release]

WEST COAST WOES: California-based gaming company operated as illegal gambling business, prosecutors say [CBS News]

JERSEY STRONG: New Jersey is a national model for iGaming and sports betting; Don’t destroy it [Burlington County Times]

NOT ABOVE THE LAW: Central Florida sheriff charged with protecting ‘massive’ gambling operation [ABC 7]

LEAVING LAS VEGAS: Culinary, casino resorts unite to reestablish court that could ban people from Strip [The Nevada Independent]

The Bonus Round

Completing the Spin Cycle with some odds and ends and our favorite social media posts of the week. This time, with the WSOP rolling, it’s an all-poker edition!

• One of the opening-day events at the World Series of Poker, $1,000 Mystery Millions, managed to get great stories out of both of its million-dollar bounty winners. The first to cash in, 23-year-old Tyler Montoya, produced perhaps the quote of the Series so far after learning he’d just won a million bucks: “If you’re a stripper at the strip club, you should be working tonight.” The other million-dollar bounty went to Thomas Zanot, whose big score is, amazingly, $5.4 million shy of his luckiest hit ever. In 2023, Zanot raked in a $6.4 million Pai gow progressive jackpot at the Flamingo.

• A recent Reddit thread reported that the hot celebrity couple of the moment, Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner, enjoy not just being a top pair, but also holding top pair. They were spotted playing in a private poker game in L.A. one day, then attending a Knicks playoff game in New York the next day, then playing poker in L.A. again the day after that. Celebrities! They’re just like us! (Other than the ability to fly from coast to coast daily and buy into private games the rest of us have no access to.)

• For those in Vegas and looking to play mixed-cash games rather than the WSOP tournaments, the annual Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival starts this Sunday at the Bellagio. Games will go on for five days, followed by two days off, and five more days on. Full details here.

And let’s wrap things up with a cool story at the intersection of softball and poker: