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Dan?Ippolito
As Casino City's associate editor, Dan produces and edits all of our weekly newsletters, and he writes about the gaming industry for our websites and the GPWA Times Magazine. Dan graduated from Marist College in 2017 with a degree in Communications and a concentration in Sports. More articles by Dan?Ippolito

Casino City��s Friday Five: More US states pushing for sports betting edition

5?July?2019
By?Dan?Ippolito

Yesterday, the U.S. celebrated the anniversary of its Independence Day, with many people attending barbecues, fireworks and parties throughout the country. As we turn our attention back to the gaming world, we see two more U.S. states making progress in legalizing sports betting, a jackpot in Las Vegas, another World Series of Poker bracelet winner as the annual $10,000 Main Event kicks off, and a summer promotion at Intertops Casino Red.

Let��s start this week��s Friday Five with the jackpot:

5. Jackpot win at Fremont Hotel and Casino
A guest of Fremont Hotel & Casino turned a stay in downtown Las Vegas into a $221,380 payday, hitting IGT��s Wheel of Fortune Triple Red Hot Sevens slots jackpot Sunday, 30 June.

The wager on the spin was only $1.25.


4. Dream Cruise Casino Bonus Contest at Intertops Casino Red
During the Dream Cruise Casino Bonus Contest, Intertops Casino Red players will be competing with each other for $240,000 in prizes.

The contest starts on Monday, and every week until 2 September the casino will reward regular players with bonuses up to $500.

��Quite often, big winners will tell us that they plan to take a luxury vacation with the money they��ve won�� said Intertops Casino��s manager. ��Of course, you can spend your prize money on whatever you like, but I��ll bet a dream cruise is at the top of a lot of bucket lists!��

Every Monday, 300 players with the most points win $30,000 in prizes �� up to $500 each. The top 20 each week are also entered in a final draw for $1,000 to be held 2 September.

3. Hui wins $50,000 Poker Players Championship
Phil Hui has captured the $50,000 Poker Players Championship title to win his second bracelet and $1,099,311, the biggest cash of his career by far. He topped a field of 74 players to capture one of the most prestigious tournament victories in poker.

��I still don��t know if it��s real or not. Every day I made the next day, it��s been like a dream. No sleep, just super anxious before every day, but when I get to the table, I��m comfortable,�� Hui said.

Hui��s strategy was to play low-variance lines in big bet games and then to gain chips in the H.O.R.S.E. games.

Hui won his first bracelet in 2014 in the $3,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Eight or Better. He now has 39 WSOP cashes and seven final tables. He now has over $2 million in WSOP career tournament winnings. The win in the PPC also puts him in second place in the WSOP Player of the Year race, behind Daniel Zack.

In addition, this year's $10,000 Main Event began on Wednesday and continues into the weekend.

After another 12 hours plus of poker, Day 1B of the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event - World Championship has come to an end with a little over 1,400 players advancing to Day 2AB. There were 1,915 entries recorded today, bringing the total number to 3,250 through the opening two flights. Adam Owen put the largest stack of 351,800 chips into his bag.

2. Sports betting debuts in Arkansas
Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort has become the first in Arkansas to offer sports wagering with the opening on Monday of its newly remodeled Race & Sports Book in the north end of the casino.

The casino��s General Manager Wayne Smith placed the first legal wager, a $5 bet for the Dallas Cowboys to defeat the New York Giants on 8 September.

Arkansas became the ninth U.S. state to offer legalized sports betting since PASPA was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in May 2018.


1. Illinois governor signs capital plan that includes massive gambling expansion
Last Friday, Governor JB Pritzker signed Rebuild Illinois into law, the most robust capital plan in Illinois history and the first in nearly a decade.

SB 690 legalizes sports wagering, expands gaming and provides for the vertical revenues in the Rebuild Illinois Capital plan.

The Illinois Lottery will be granted a master license that will allow lottery sports betting terminals in 2,500 retail locations in the first year and 2,500 in the second year across the state. This license is for 4 years and must be competitively selected.

Sports betting is estimated to generate approximately $58 million to $102 million annually, which will be dedicated to much-needed infrastructure projects across the state, including universities, affordable housing and hospitals.

Overall, the historic plan will make $45 billion worth of investments in roads, bridges, railways, universities, early childhood centers and state facilities like the crime lab and veterans' homes over the next six years, creating and supporting an estimated 540,000 jobs over the life of the plan and revitalizing local economies across the state.

Casino City��s Friday Five: More US states pushing for sports betting edition is republished from Online.CasinoCity.com.

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