gambling

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Oakland to Drop 80-Year-Old Pinball Ban

Machines were once considered moral menace

(Newser) - The California city of Oakland is about to finally scrap an anti-pinball law nobody has paid much attention to since World War II. The game was outlawed in Oakland and many other cities in the 1930s, when the machines didn't have flippers and were considered gambling devices, the San ...

How Gamblers Manage to Get Lucky Streaks
 How Gamblers 
 Manage to Get 
 Lucky Streaks 
study says
May 18, 2014 9:17 AM CDT

How Gamblers Manage to Get Lucky Streaks

They're not really based on luck: study

(Newser) - Lucky streaks shouldn't really happen. After all, the chances of a successful bet this time aren't affected by a win last time. Yet the phenomenon of lucky streaks—as well as losing streaks—does occur, scientists found after reviewing 565,915 online bets on horse racing, soccer, and...

Las Vegas Casino Boots Ben Affleck for Counting Cards

He's reportedly done for life at Hard Rock Cafe

(Newser) - Actor , director , citizen of the world , and ... card cheat? That's apparently how Vegas views Ben Affleck, who has been banned from gambling at the Hard Rock Cafe for life because he got caught counting cards in blackjack, reports TMZ . What's more, an alert went out to all...

Gambler Sues After Losing $500K While Blackout Drunk

Mark Johnston says casino should not have issued lines of credit

(Newser) - A California man lost $500,000 while gambling at a Las Vegas casino over Super Bowl weekend, but he doesn't think he should have to pay—because he was so drunk at the time. "I feel like they picked my pockets," says Mark Johnston, who is suing...

Things You Can't Buy With a Credit Card (Like Pot)

MarketWatch rounds up 10 examples where plastic is forbidden

(Newser) - Don't give up on cash just yet: There are plenty of items that remain difficult or impossible to get with your credit card, MarketWatch reports. Ten reasons you may want to keep going to the ATM:
  • Neither Visa, MasterCard, nor American Express will let you buy marijuana with plastic,
...

Attention, Sinners: US 'Vice Index' Is a Little Low

Which is actually bad news for consumer spending, says analyst

(Newser) - Brace yourself: Things are about to get tame. So says the vice index, which tracks spending on booze, gambling, and prostitutes: Its September reading was 104, the lowest it's been since February, the Wall Street Journal reports. The bad news may stretch beyond the realm of sin: It's...

15 Years Later, Crazy Bet on Grandson Worth $200K

Little Harry Wilson grew up to be a pro soccer player

(Newser) - Like a good return on your investment? Try betting that a toddler will become a professional athlete—a gamble that turned $80 into roughly $202,000 for a grandfather in Wales, the BBC reports. Peter Edwards, 62, made the bet on grandson Harry Wilson nearly 17 years ago and just...

Why You Lost Your Money Playing Slot Machines

All those bells and whistles made you think you were winning: Study

(Newser) - There's a reason casinos sound the way do, with their endless barrage of dinging slot machines: It's all about taking your money. So say gambling researchers who looked into why slots are so brutally effective in extracting every last coin, reports Pacific Standard . Sorry, conspiracy theorists, the games...

Nevada Bill Would Legalize Betting on Elections

Hey, other countries vote on our elections, lawmaker argues

(Newser) - Nate Silver is about to make a bunch of money if Tick Segerblom gets his way. The Nevada state senator introduced a bill this week that would legalize gambling on federal elections, Fox News reports. While that's not legal anywhere in the country right now, Segerblom notes that it'...

Report Blows Lid Off Crime, Drugs in Aussie Sports

'Blackest day in Australian sport,' says one official

(Newser) - Australian sports are besieged by performance-enhancing drugs and organized crime, according to a year-long government investigation, reports the Wall Street Journal . The report didn't name names, but it indicated illegal hormones and other performance enhancers are widespread in Australian sports, facilitated by coaches and trainers. "The findings are...

Soccer Infiltrated by Organized Crime


 Soccer Infiltrated by 
 Organized Crime 
Match-Fixing Probe
Feb 4, 2013 10:36 AM CST

Soccer Infiltrated by Organized Crime

Investigation casts doubt on 680 matches

(Newser) - Is soccer completely rigged? You'd be forgiven for thinking that, in light of a Europol investigation released today that identifies 680 matches authorities suspect were fixed for gambling purposes. The alleged culprit: an Asia-based organized crime syndicate. Authorities suspect at least 425 people, including players and both match and...

Zynga Is Trying to Get a Gambling License

Company files paperwork in Nevada

(Newser) - Papa needs a new pair of … cows? Zynga yesterday filed the first salvo of paperwork necessary to obtain an online gambling license in Nevada, the Wall Street Journal reports. But don't expect to be betting on Farmville (or more likely titles like Zynga Poker) anytime soon. The document...

Hot British Betting Topic: Archbishop of Canterbury?

New pick asks gamblers who made money on him to donate it to charity

(Newser) - The man picked to be the next archbishop of Canterbury has made a public plea, but it's not exactly on a churchly topic. Justin Welby took to Twitter to ask everyone who made money gambling that he'd be the new archbishop to donate the winnings to their local...

$100K Stolen From Churches by ... Gambling Nun?

Sister Mary Anne Rapp faces grand larceny charge

(Newser) - A New York nun is facing a grand larceny charge today after allegedly stealing more than $100,000 from two churches where she worked … and using the money to reportedly fuel her gambling habit. Sister Mary Anne Rapp is accused of stealing donations from parishioners, and sources tell the...

9 Charged in Gambling Ring—on Pee Wee Football

Suspects include coaches in Florida youth league

(Newser) - Authorities said today they uncovered a massive gambling operation targeting youth football games in South Florida, leading them to arrest nine men, including several coaches with extensive criminal backgrounds who they say exploited kids to turn a profit. The 18-month long investigation started when ESPN journalists brought Broward County Sheriff'...

Judge: Poker Is a Game of Skill, Not Chance

And therefore, 'it is not gambling'

(Newser) - A federal judge ruled today that poker is more a game of skill than chance, a ruling embraced by advocates who want to legalize Internet poker in the United States. Judge Jack Weinstein in Brooklyn relied extensively on the findings of a defense expert who analyzed online poker games. The...

Now on Facebook: Gambling for Real Money

Well, so long as you live in the UK

(Newser) - Because Facebook isn't already addictive enough ... UK users will now be able to gamble, in addition to posting photos of the excellent pork tenderloin they made for dinner last night. The Next Web reports that Gamesys' new app Bingo Friendzy is the first to allow those over 18 to...

Poker Legend Amarillo Slim Dead at 83
 Poker Legend 
 Amarillo Slim 
 Dead at 83 
obituary
May 2, 2012 12:08 AM CDT

Poker Legend Amarillo Slim Dead at 83

Texan was game's first superstar

(Newser) - Amarillo Slim, a poker Hall of Famer who was instrumental in bringing the game into the national limelight, died Sunday at 83 of colon cancer, his son tells the Los Angeles Times . Slim, born Thomas Austin Preston, Jr., "brought poker out of the back alleys," says a historian...

Being Overweight Pays Off Today at Casino

Mardi Gras promotion at Gulfstream Casino aims to put big butts in the seats

(Newser) - It's Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, and the Gulfstream Park and Racing Casino in Florida is celebrating—what else?—fat people. In a promotion that's sure to make Michelle Obama cringe, the casino is offering players 10 cents in free slot machine credits for every pound...

Coming Soon: Drug to Treat Gambling Addicts?
Coming Soon: Drug to Treat Gambling Addicts?
new study
Feb 21, 2012 11:05 AM CST

Coming Soon: Drug to Treat Gambling Addicts?

New study discovers why some people may take financial risks

(Newser) - Why are some stock traders and gamblers so willing to take financial risks? A new study shares a possible answer: Scientists found that people with higher levels of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine in a critical part of the brain related to sensory and reward systems are less sensitive to the pain...

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