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Nevada casinos won just over $1 billion from gamblers in January, according to figures released this week by state gaming regulators. Any time the casinos win more than $1 billion …

The 2018 World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event drew a total of 493 entries, but after five full days of action at the Commerce …

Alex Foxen has won the 2018 L.A. Poker Classic Rockstar Energy High Roller, defeating a field of 50 entries in the $25,000 buy-in event to win $424,625. This was the …

Presque Isle Downs & Casino named Kevin O’Sullivan general manager Jan. 3.

O’Sullivan, known by employees as “K.O.,” replaces Jeff Favre, the brother of Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre, reported Go Erie.

Recently, Jeff Favre took on the role of vice president and general manager of another Eldorado Resorts property, Isle of Capri Casino Hotel Lake Charles, in Louisiana.

O’Sullivan brings know-how

With 25 years of experience in the global gaming industry, O’Sullivan first came to Eldorado Resorts in 2012. He started as senior director of operations for Scioto Downs in Ohio and then moved to the Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in West Virginia.

Finally, he made it to Presque Isle Downs & Casino, serving as an assistant general manager.

According to WENY News, O’Sullivan has a track record with the following brands:

• Horseshoe Gaming
• Hard Rock Casino & Hotel
• Foxwoods Casino Resort
• Sun City South Africa
• London’s Victoria Casino

The Presque Isle Downs difference

O’Sullivan started as a slot technician, moved through Europe and then ended up on a cruise ship that brought him to the US. While his first interest is growing revenue, he wants to do that securely and utilize what makes Presque Isle Downs different to help the business. He told Go Erie:

“Part of it is the racing. The other part of it is the employees. We have a lot of competition. Our employees understand that for Erie and everybody to get a piece of the action we have to do well and we’re all on that same page. Let’s push Presque Isle to the next level because it’s going to help the community, too.”

In the meantime, O’Sullivan will focus on growing table games, putting out new equipment, and adjusting the hotel menu. O’Sullivan is also making sure he keeps options open, whether they will utilize them or not (PA casino gaming expansion, anyone?). He’ll also be keeping an eye on his competitors within and without the state.

What Presque Isle Downs has to look forward to

Presque Isle Downs comes in as one of four crowdpleasers in PA in the way of table games revenue. Up 4.88 percent from last year, sitting at $1,212,307, Presque Isle Downs continues to make waves. Overall the casino is up 3.42 percent from the prior year.

The change from one year to the next: $8,807,940 (January 2017) to $9,109,070 (January 2018).

As an available auctioneer for the satellite casinos in PA, Presque Isle Downs could win a property and start to settle the score over nearby competition.

Presque Isle Downs relies on Ohio players for revenue. While Sands Bethlehem is a distance from the boundary line in Erie, all three are about equidistant from Cleveland. Brand recognition and global reach could separate Sands from Presque Isle Downs. Already, the casino may have to worry about Mount Airy’s new mini casino.

At this point, Presque Isle Downs has stayed quiet on whether they’ll bid at auction. Even so, O’Sullivan was quick not to dismiss it in his interview with Go Erie.

If the casino continues to offer perks like it offered Super Bowl tickets, it could be in good shape.

The post Presque Isle Downs Finds A Fitting Replacement For Favre appeared first on Play Pennsylvania.

A District Court Judge has tossed out Czech casino owner Leon Tsoukernik‘s $10 million countersuit against ARIA Resort & Casino and Australian poker pro Matthew Kirk claiming they conspired to get him drunk and rip him off in high-stakes poker session.

All sides admitted Kirk and Tsoukernik played the late-night poker session inside ARIA’s Ivey’s Room in May 2017. Tsoukernik had been drinking. Then he got stuck, borrowing in increments of $500,000 twice and $1 million twice in order to stay in the game.

By the time the session wrapped up, Tsoukernik had borrowed a total of $3 million and lost it all back to Kirk. All this has been confirmed by texts between the pair.

In the days following, attempts were made to broker a deal and settle the debt. Kirk recovered $1 million but ultimately sued Tsoukernik to try to get his hands on the rest.

In October, a Clark County District Court Judge threw out all but two of ten claims Kirk filed against Tsoukernik. The judge called it an unenforceable gambling debt. However, Kirk was allowed to continue to pursue the money on claims of fraudulent inducement and unjust enrichment.

This meant if Kirk could prove Tsoukernik had no intention of paying, Tsoukernik could be found at moral fault and held responsible for the debt and damages.

The $10 million counterclaim

Kirk’s lawyers continued to pursue the matter on those grounds. In November, Tsoukernik fired back with his $10 million counterclaim.

Tsoukernik’s counterclaim alleged he was taken advantage of by both Kirk and the casino. It claimed he was over-served until visibly intoxicated, induced to play for high stakes. It also claimed Kirk was at least partly responsible for getting him to that point.

Tsoukernik claimed they got him so drunk, he needed help counting his chips and misread his cards. The counterclaim sought $10 million in damages for defamation of character and emotional distress.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, part of Tsoukernik’s argument that Kirk and ARIA conspired together centered around the idea Kirk was hiding where he got the cash to play for such stakes.

High-stakes poker backing has no bearing

However, in throwing out the claim, District Judge Linda Bell said Kirk’s refusal to divulge the source of his backing is hardly fraudulent. Plus, where he got the money to play really has no bearing in the case.

Tsoukernik’s lawyer Lesley Miller argued that Kirk’s failure to reveal the source of his money was deceitful. Miller also suggested Kirk “fraudulently conspired with ARIA representatives” to put Mr. Tsoukernik in a vulnerable situation.

However, Judge Bell appeared to agree with Kirk’s attorney Richard Schonfeld. Schonfeld claimed Kirk never ordered Tsoukernik a drink, and therefore held no responsibility for his level of intoxication.

As far as ARIA’s role in allegedly over-serving Tsoukernik is concerned, Judge Bell suggested that is an issue for the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Judge Bell ordered Tsoukernik to pay Kirk’s legal fees for work on the counterclaim. However, she left the door open for Tsoukernik to refile the claim on different legal grounds.

Tsoukernik has close developed close ties with the World Series of Poker over the past year. His King’s Casino in Rozvadoz, Czech Republic became the new home for World Series of Poker Europe in 2017. Tsoukernik was reportedly the first player to reserve a seat in the $1 million buy-in Big One For One Drop poker tournament to be held at the 2018 WSOP.

Plus, two WSOP Circuit events were held at King’s in 2017, and a third will go off in March 2018.

The WSOP is owned and operated by Caesars Interactive Entertainment. ARIA is an MGM Resorts property.

The post Judge Tosses Tsoukernik Suit Against Kirk And Aria appeared first on Play Nevada.

More Evidence That Connecticut Is Considering Online Gambling Legislation Emerges

Connecticut lawmakers held a 20-minute press conference to brief the media on the possibility of bringing legal sports betting to the Constitution State. But that wasn’t all that was said. As Online Poker Report speculated a couple of weeks ago, there also appears to be some appetite for online gambling in Connecticut. The topic was […]

The post More Evidence That Connecticut Is Considering Online Gambling Legislation Emerges appeared first on Online Poker Report.