ABC News – When lawmakers carved out an exemption for fantasy sports in a 2006 law targeting online poker, no one predicted that it would spawn an online gambling operation that may someday rival the millions wagered daily in Las Vegas sports books. But huge money changes hands every day in daily fantasy sports games and, unlike a bet on your favorite team to win a game, it’s legal in all but five states. The exploding popularity of the games has attracted investments from traditional media heavyweights Sports Illustrated and USA Today, both of which recently started their own pay-to-play…

Las Vegas Review Journal – Mike Dreitzer credits his success to the mentors he has had in 20 years as an attorney and gaming executive in Nevada. Folks such as former Nevada Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, ex-Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible, former Gov. Mike O’Callaghan and gaming executive and gaming lawyer Shannon Bybee helped Dreitzer early in his career. So it was natural that Dreitzer had an interest when he was contacted more than a year ago by the CEO of an Australian-based slot machine developer that bears the name of a gaming industry pioneer. Dreitzer, 42, joined Ainsworth…

The Day – A man flagged by casino security officials as a “known card cheat” pleaded guilty Wednesday in New London Superior Court to using invisible ink to mark cards at Mohegan Sun on Sept. 15, 2013. Bruce Koloshi, 55, of Summit, N.J., who is also known as Jeffrey William Elliot, pleaded guilty to attempted cheating at gambling and received a 10-month prison sentence followed by three years conditional discharge. As a condition of the plea bargain, Koloshi is banned from Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort casinos. “You are not welcome at any casinos in Connecticut,” Judge Hillary B. Strackbein…

A long-planned initiative to create bigger jackpots by linking Nevada slots to those in New Jersey is up and running. The New Jersey Gaming Enforcement Division says the progressive slots system links 100 machines in Atlantic City with 600 in Nevada. The progressive jackpots grow in size as more gamblers play them. “The division is pleased to have been at the forefront of passing regulations and reaching out to other jurisdictions to enable this expanded gaming opportunity for Atlantic City,” said director David Rebuck. “Much like multi-state lotteries, this new technology and cooperative regulatory agreements will allow combined progressive jackpots…

Poker News – Last year, 20th Century Fox released Runner Runner, a poker-themed movie starring Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake. The film earned $19.3 million at the U.S. box office, well below the estimated $30 million budget. Now, a new poker indie film is slated to be released on September 1. Gutshot Straight by Jay-X Entertainment stars George Eads, who played Nick Stokes on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, as well as Steven Seagal (Under Siege, Marked for Death), Vinnie Jones (Snatch, X-Men: The Last Stand), and Tia Carrere (Wayne’s World, True Lies). The film was written by Jerry Rapp and…

Analysts have been warning for months about the Macau gaming crackdown and a summer slowdown in VIP gaming after officials arrested several local lenders on charges of illegal money laundering. MGM Resorts International, Sands, Wynn Resorts and others with casinos in Macau have been impacted by weakness there. Naturally, revenue for Las Vegas Sands and other Macau-centric casinos collectively fell 3.6% in July to $3.5 billion, Macau officials said recently, led by a slide in high-roller VIP segment gaming. Telsey Advisory Group analyst Chris Jones said Monday that the mass market segment in Macau — tourists and casual middle-class visitors…