Freaky Fortnight – Funny Gambling Stories from January 2023

Although the world of online poker sites, live card rooms, casinos, sports betting and other gambling is full of routine, everyday events, there are times when we come across a piece of news that makes us scratch our heads and mutter “ WTF?” For your entertainment, we’ve featured some of the below the weirdest and weirdest gambling news from the last two weeks of January 2023 in this installment of Great two weeks.

Mike Postle bails out of court-ordered debt after finishing 7th in the tournament

First we return to the scandal surrounding poker player Mike Postle. As many people know, Postle was at the center of one of the biggest cheating scandals in the game in the past few years. In 2019, Veronica Brill posted a series of tweets claiming he was cheating. Brill and a group of other plaintiffs sought compensation for the loss of his hands when he was allegedly cheating.

Brill and Postel filed lawsuits against each other, although Postel’s $300 million lawsuit was a monumental failure. Instead of getting paid, he was left with collecting legal fees and a damaged reputation. Brill and others countersued for their legal fees and ultimately won. Postle now owes Brill more than $27,000, but he has yet to pay it. She set out to find a way to confiscate Postle’s winnings from a poker tournament in which he was participating.

Initially, there were rumors that Postle’s earnings had indeed been seized from a tournament he won on Jan. 16 at the MGM-owned Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Postle finished seventh in the $1,200 buy-in Million Dollar Heater Main Event for a prize of $32,703.

However, Brill’s lawyer confirmed that the attempt to garnish his earnings failed largely because of the delays inherent in the court filing process. If Postel tries to play poker again in Mississippi in the future, however, much of the necessary paperwork has already been completed and it will be much easier for him to forfeit his winnings.

Minnesota Brothers Run TikTok Gambling Loy

According to sources, two brothers in Minnesota created and operated a gambling scheme on TikTok involving gambling in state casinos. That led to the Alcohol and Gambling Division, which began investigating the two Edina residents. The scheme allegedly sees them collect fees to play slot machines on behalf of others watching on TikTok.

First the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports on Jan. 20, a search warrant affidavit contained the allegations against one of Edina’s men. It states that he used cash apps to collect the initial $5.99 subscription fee. Then for every $100 deposited that he could bet with, he wanted $25. He then went live on TikTok showing himself and his brother playing slot games.

The man has 165,000 followers on the social media app that are based around the world. His video highlights archive features wads of money and slot machines racking up jackpot payouts. At one point, a $15,000 win was witnessed in December 2022. Court documents suggest the brothers played the game at Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake and Treasure Island Resort & Casino outside Red Wing.

The Minnesota Department of Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement confirmed the investigation with a spokesperson, saying they had never encountered a situation like this before. The scheme is said to violate the casinos’ anti-money laundering protocols, and placing bets on behalf of others is illegal under Minnesota law. However, none of the men investigated have yet been charged.

Poker dealer avoids jail despite being insider in €50K heist

A professional poker dealer in Dublin, Ireland acted as an insider for a robbery at the casino where he was employed. David Wright, 36, of Tallaght, south Dublin, pleaded guilty to stealing €50,000 from the casino as well as €700 worth of cigarettes in 2018. Wright himself was not involved in the actual robbery; however, Judge Pauline Codd said he had betrayed his employer to those willing to commit the crime.

She declared that it was reasonable for him to have foreseen certain threats of violence being made. She reluctantly imposed a suspended prison sentence considering that an extended period of time has passed since the robbery was committed. Wright has also made a concerted effort to recover within that timeframe. The four-year suspended sentence comes with strict conditions that he keep calm and demonstrate good behaviour, and Wright will also have to pay a €3,000 fine.

An investigation by the garda, Ireland’s national police service, identified two vehicles involved in the robbery, one of which belonged to Wright. His bank history also shows cash deposits of €2,500 and €1,100 made in the weeks following the casino robbery. When police arrested Wright, he was “forthcoming and extremely remorseful,” they said. He then pleaded guilty to the theft at the Fitzwilliam Card Club at a very early court date.

Kanye West 2024 US Presidential Run Betting Odds

Preparations for the 2024 US elections have already begun. And it looks like there’s already a well-known celebrity thrown into the mix. A controversial musician Kanye West is again in some people’s minds as a figure who will run for president. He tried to win the position in 2020; however, it only secured 60,000 votes out of approximately 160 million cast.

Despite this disappointment, the odds are once again available for sports bettors to back Kanye for 2024, although the odds of him becoming the next US president suggest that victory would be highly unlikely. His odds on the BetOnline platform are currently +20,000. However, punter Everygame likes Kanye’s chances much better, listing him at ‘only’ +10,000 to win. The Bovada linemen apparently think the same as the more conservative folks at BOL, also presenting odds of +20,000 for Kanye to win.

Unless he makes some pretty bold moves next year, his underdog status is unlikely to change much. A few other sites may offer odds that are a bit more favorable, but it’s almost certain to be a big shot no matter where you look.

If you’re not going to back Kanye West to win, you can always place a bet on whether or not he’ll run for president. BetOnline has +125 odds for him to run, while +40,000 odds for him to remain the Republican nominee.

Vegas authorities are seeking the identity of a man in connection with the casino robberies

In an appeal to the public issued Jan. 18, Las Vegas police are searching for a man believed to be responsible for several robberies of cashiers at casinos. The crimes were committed in casinos located in neighborhoods along the Vegas Strip. A police investigation in the city uncovered a string of robberies dating back to November 2022.

The authorities post a video on the internetshowing surveillance footage showing two vehicles. The clip also features a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt, gloves, mask and sneakers.

Details of the location of the recordings have not been released. No further information was given on how much was stolen. The incidents under investigation occurred at the following locations:

• November 16, 2022 – Gold Coast Casino a few blocks west of The Strip
• December 12, 2022 – Green Valley Ranch in Henderson
• December 20, 2022 – Silverton, south of The Strip
• December 24, 2022 – Rampart Casino, Northwest Las Vegas

The man detectives are looking for is described as between 25 and 35 years old and between 6-foot-1 and 6-foot-3 in height. He was driving two different cars that were reported stolen: a dark gray Chevrolet Cruze and a silver Mazda 6.

Despite the fact that casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada often use multiple cameras and employ multiple security personnel, the robberies still managed to take place. Officers are often told to look out for criminals during a robbery to avoid injury.

However, this is not the first case of money theft in high-profile gambling cases. Numerous reports of theft involving poker players, casino gamers, etc. have been reported in recent history, such as the time from 2015 to 2019 when a man embezzled $22 million from his employer to fund his gambling habits. One of the more recent stories involved an Internet fraudster who managed to steal up to $10,000 at a time from unsuspecting online gamblers. This happened through the BetMGM casino and even affected WSOP bracelet winner Joseph Cheong.