Spin Cycle: Booming Rhody Rev, Impressive IGI Roster 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 …

Small state, big revenue increase

America’s smallest state by land mass — and seventh smallest by population — is growing rapidly when it comes to online casino revenue. Rhode Island reported its June 2025 iGaming numbers this week, and they’re positively booming some 16 months into the state’s legal online casino era.

Bally’s has an online casino monopoly in The Ocean State, and the company raked in $4.9 million in revenue for the month of June, an increase of 109% over June 2024. Online slots accounted for $3.7 million of the haul, while digital table games produced $1.2 million.

For the full fiscal year from July 2024 to June 2025, revenue was $45 million.

Brick-and-mortar revenue, meanwhile, at the state’s two casinos was essentially flat, totaling $51.8 million in June, compared to $52.3 million the year before.

UNLV International Gaming Institute board announced

One of the leading organizations for research and education in the gaming space, UNLV’s International Gaming Institute (IGI), announced Monday the 14-person group that comprises its inaugural Executive Director’s Advisory Board.

“It is my great pleasure to welcome this esteemed group to IGI’s inaugural advisory board,” IGI Executive Director Brett Abarbanel said in a press release. “This board will help elevate IGI’s profile of academic excellence through its commitment to our mission. We are honored to welcome these accomplished experts and look forward to benefiting from their dynamic perspectives and support in creating meaningful connections between IGI and its stakeholders.”

The members of the board, listed alphabetically:

• Peter Arceo, chief gaming officer, Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation
• Richard Baldwin, managing partner, GGHM
• Jan Jones Blackhurst, independent director, Caesars Entertainment, executive director, UNLV Black Fire Leadership Initiative
• Carlos Carrion, VP international sales and business development, SlotCycle
• Justin Carter, SVP, regional operations, Penn Entertainment
• Daron Dorsey, president and CEO, AGEM
• Jessica Feil, VP regulatory affairs and compliance, OpenBet
• Chris Grove, partner emeritus, Eilers & Krejcik Gaming
• Anika Howard, president & CEO, Wondr Nation
• Lori Kalani, chief responsible gaming officer, DraftKings
• David Lopez, CEO, AGS
• Brian Mattingley, former chairman, Playtech
• Laura McAllister Cox, CCO, Rush Street Interactive
• Simon Thomas, executive chairman, Hippodrome Casino

The formation of this board comes two months after the IGI’s opening of its AiR Hub research center.

Gun violence and the gaming industry

The casino world found itself at the center of an awful week of gun homicides in the U.S.

At 7:30 a.m. Monday in Reno, Nevada, a gunman opened fire outside the Grand Sierra Resort, the city’s largest casino, killing three people and injuring three others before police shot and arrested him. The suspect was identified as Dakota Hawver, a 26-year-old Reno resident who reportedly purchased his 9 mm handgun legally. His motive remained unknown as of press time.

“We are heartbroken by the senseless violence that occurred in our parking area earlier today,” read a statement issued by the Grand Sierra. “Our thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this tragic incident.”

Also Monday, on the opposite side of the country, a man shot and killed four people — including a police officer — and then himself at the 345 Park Avenue office tower in Manhattan. The gunman was identified as 27-year-old Shane Tamura, a worker in the surveillance department at Horseshoe Las Vegas who didn’t show up for his scheduled Sunday shift and instead drove to New York to commit his tragic act.

According to the Associated Press, Tamura had a history of mental illness, and had been arrested in September 2023 for a misdemeanor trespassing charge at a Las Vegas casino.

House Rules: Insights from around our network

NOT GIL-TY?: Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas pleads not guilty to allegedly running high-stakes poker game [by Jill R. Dorson]

WAITING GAME: BetMGM CEO: We won’t be first mover on prediction markets [by Daniel O’Boyle]

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND: Manhattan may get a casino? Hold my gabagool, says New Jersey [by Jeff Edelstein]

LIFE’S A PEACH: Georgia gaming legalization debate starting up again, after several unproductive years [by Chris Altruda]

MANO A MANO: Peacock, PokerGO, PokerStars bringing back National Heads-Up Poker Championship [by Eric Raskin]

PAYING THE PRICE: DraftKings’ $450K fine in Massachusetts spotlights protocol problems [by Jill R. Dorson]

LET FREEDOM RING: Michael Hershman: The man with the Freedom Plaza plan [by Chris Altruda]

THE MORE YOU KNOW: The importance of thorough background checks as a gaming regulatory tool [by Richard Schuetz]

ARE YOU READY?: The NFL preseason is not only for ‘degenerates’ [by Aaron Moore]

THREE OF A KIND: A third bill to roll back 90% gambling-loss writeoff cap filed in Congress [by Jill R. Dorson]

THE TRIBES HAVE SPOKEN: Tribal gross gaming revenue: $43.9B in 2024 [by Brant James]

SWEEPING STATEMENT: Of course it’s gambling: The AGA’s shocking discovery that water is wet [by Jeff Edelstein]

Small stakes and hot takes

This week on the Casino Reports podcast Low Rollers, Jeff Edelstein and I welcome BetMGM ambassador Brian Christopher for a lively conversation about becoming a slots influencer (738K YouTube followers at last check), why online casino is better for responsible gambling, and more. Here’s a taste:

Jeff and I also discuss athlete gambling controversies from the seemingly guilty (Emmanuel Clase) to the maybe not (Malik Beasley) as well as the mysterious non-confirmation (so far) of potential CFTC head Brian Quintenz — plus Jeff makes either his best or worst joke ever (I’m still not sure which it is). Full episode:

The Shuffle: Other news and views

NOT TO TROT: Historical horse racing machines key to the sport’s future in California are in peril [Los Angeles Times]

WHEN IN ROME: Play’n Go expands North American reach with Caesars Entertainment partnership [Complete iGaming]

DESERT DESERTED: Visitation to Southern Nevada falls 11.3% in June [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

WET AND WILD: Video captures slot machines drenched as Reno casino floods [USA Today]

MARCUS’ MARKERS: NBA player Marcus Morris Sr. arrested in Florida, faces fraud charge related to alleged casino debt [CBS Sports]

LIMITED TIME ONLY: Seeking unlimited Nevada license, Aruze Gaming granted five years [CDC Gaming Reports]

GAMING THE SYSTEM: Former Wampanoag tribe chairman pleads guilty to tax fraud related to casino [MSN]

DRIP, DRIP, DRIP: Resort-casino first on the Strip to pilot water-saving tech [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

RED ROCKING: Red Rock Resorts enjoys best quarter in its 49-year history as Las Vegas locals market thrives [CDC Gaming Reports]

The Bonus Round

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

• Every now and again, it can be tremendously lucky to take a brutally bad beat. In the Foxwoods poker room last week, with the progressive bad beat jackpot built to $287,481, a player holding pocket eights made four of a kind … and so did a player with pocket kings. That meant the loser was the big winner with a payout of almost $115,000, the winner of the hand got $57,000, and the four other players at the table each received $29,000. Not bad at all for a bunch of $1/$3 no-limit players.

• At the crossroads of gambling scandals and entertainment news, we have this update: Variety reports that the scripted series about Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter and his expensive betting habit is probably headed to Starz. (Great, another premium network we need to borrow a family member’s password to watch. Err, I mean, pay to subscribe to.)

• Fun way here to end the week, with one of the greatest livestreaming gambling reaction videos yet: