November’s Crazy Stories in the Gambling World

An overwhelmed gambling industry produces really amazing stories. We all know that. Each month there is new individual who is doing extreme stuff to pay back a debt, a new dealer who tricks the casino or just a weird behaviour at a random casino around the world. Sometimes it’s entertaining and sometimes it’s sad. November had its share when it comes to this. Here’s a glance to some noteworthy stories from last month.

A Woman Lost $825 Because of a Selfie

An Australian gambler was so happy when she won $825 due to Prince of Penzance’s victory at Melbourne Cup. She was delighted to the point that she posted a captioned selfie on Facebook with the text “Winner winner chicken supper!”

Shockingly the selfie cost her all her rewards. The lady, referred to just as Chantelle, from Perth in Australia, went to take the cash and was informed that it had all been collected. It was then that she found that the bar code had been perfectly visible in her selfie, and had been used as a part of request to collect the prize.

Bust Gambling Ring Issue: Police Dog Got Attacked With A Machete

A Canadian police dog was severely attacked by a man with a machete when the police went to investigate rumors about an illegal gambling ring. Officers seized very large amounts of money and arrested a few Toronto men. When police entered the house a man rushed outside holding a machete. The source is a police report and police warned him to drop the weapon, yet officers he would not.

Student Poker Tournament Offers Handguns As Rewards

A weird incident took place in Oregon, where a libertarian group accused the local University of violating some student rights. It seems that the institution refused to sponsor a gun giveaway event at the university. The group started protests because of a new campus policy which banned concealed firearms. Winners of the poker tournament received three guns as grand rewards. The UO student authority did not pay for the event, so the a conservative group called Young Americans for Liberty asked for their rights to be recognized.

Police Arrested Gambling Grandmas in Florida

A group of women in their late 80s was busted by the police during a game of Mahjong. With a “loss limit of $4, the games were taking place near Orlando. It seems that the complex was used for bingo and poker games, too. However, the officers decided that the games did not violate any gambling laws, as the stakes were too low. In Florida is not a crime to play a game using real money if the stakes are lower than $10. The games will resume.

UK Boy Sentenced to 12 Months in Prison for Cyber Attack on Online Gambling Company

A UK teen has been sentenced to year in prison due to a flooding attack on an i-gambling website that resulted in about €24.000 loss. The teen was accused of flooding the website to the point where it was inoperable. Although he was sentenced, he got suspended shortly. The judge motivated this by saying that he needs to “get out more” and finally “get a life”.

Anger Management for Mike Ditka’s Son

Mike Ditka’s son has to take anger management classes after an altercation with a casino patron earlier this year. He was ordered by a judge after the incident happened in Des Plaines, at Rivers Casino.

Poker Professional Sentenced for $31 Million Scheme

Travell Thomas, a New Yorker who is famous for being a poker professional, has been sentenced by FBI for orchestrating a nearly $31 million coercive and fraudulent debt collection scheme. Travell Thomas has earned almost $500,000 throught tournaments in his career as a poker professional and is now accused of conspiracy and wire fraud. A few other people were charged along with him. FBI reported that nearly $750,000 in cash were received by Thomas, money which went toward cosmetic surgery and jewelry for his wife, tickets for pro sports games, a wedding reception, and other gambling expenses.

Man Slapped Another Poker Player for Having “Baby Nuts” and Got Arrested

Weird incidents happen in Florida. An amateur poker player has recently been arrested for slapping another player at the Gulfstream Park casino. Cemal Egilmez has allegedly taunted the player before slapping him, yelling at the other that he had “baby nuts”. The police report said that Egilmez taunted his opponent to the point where the other man stood up and showed Egilmez a nearly $500,000 balance in his bank account from his smartphone. It seems that made Egilmez go crazy.

Former New York Police Department Detective Charged for Illegal Poker

The former NYPDF detective was sentenced to three years of community service and probation for running multiple illegal poker games on Staten Island. Having been a member of NYPD for over 19 years, Richard Palase was one of the 13 people busted for hosting underground poker games, which included New York Police Department sergeant Mastrantonio Ralph as well, who was sentenced in April. Prosecutors have asked for a sentence of 16 to 22 months in jail for Palase. His probation includes 8 months of home confinement and loss of his career.

Poker Dealer Caught Cheating With Card Up His Sleeve

A poker dealer of Cleveland’s Horseshoe Casino was accused for allegedly trying to cheat with a card hidden up his sleeve. He claimed that it was just an accident. The 57-year-old was indicted by a jury, yet they have not provided a motive for his actions.

Robert Brown insisted that it was just a misunderstanding. “A card accidentally went up my sleeve. I do know know how it got there”, he said.