Casino News: September 2023 highlights

The casino world is always an exciting one. The tables, slots, and cardrooms are jumping with activity at every time of day or night – especially online! But the action isn’t just in the games themselves. Interesting stories can come from any corner of the gambling and gaming world.

This month, we’ve got people gambling with fake chips, players betting on sports, a very questionable fold, and more. Check out the list below, and learn which happenings made headlines around the globe.

Counterfeit chips cause $89K+ loss!

Ever wondered how easy it would be to make fake chips and gamble with them? You’ll never see a story like this in online casino news at Ignition Casino, but it did happen at a fairly large spot in Macau. A team of 8 thieves brought in fake chips and successfully used them to pull in around $89,000 in winnings… until they were caught, of course.

How did their false chips get spotted? It was the texture.

While valid chips generally look and feel quite nice, the fake ones were rough and just seemed “off.” People are pretty good at spotting these things. The chips also didn’t have the requisite ID tags inside.

Two men were captured, while six escaped. Hundreds of thousands in fake chips were confiscated, and the casino will undoubtedly be stepping up their efforts to prevent and detect scenarios like this in the future. Remember: cheaters never win… for long.

Iowa players targeted for betting on sports

Athletes are natural competitors, and many of them love betting as much as the next person. The only problem is they have to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Betting on their own games is a huge no. And this prohibition is so powerful, it often extends to bar any betting at all, especially by college athletes who are under 21. So, what’s the solution?

Well for some Iowa athletes, betting using other people’s accounts!

One quarterback made hundreds of bets using his mother’s account, mostly on Iowa sports. Another used an older brother’s identity to bet on college football and basketball. A third player bet on games, including one football game he was on the bench for (the bet came in by a half point). As a result, many are now subject to criminal charges in the State of Iowa.

The worst fold in the history of the High Stakes Poker?

Let’s say you’re playing poker. You’re in the small blind with QQ. Are you feeling good? It’s a pretty decent hand, and it’s great for playing back at those late bullies.

Well, Nick Schulman found himself in this situation, and action was raised preflop $15K to him. He came back over the top, bumping it up to $50K. The villain (Rick Salomon, in this case), simply 4-bet all in. He had been on quite a tear and saw no reason to slow down.

Schulman considered his options, but those queens don’t look quite as pretty when you have to bet your whole stack on them, do they? He laid them down, bummed out at the missed opportunity to play good cards.

Salomon flipped over his hole cards: 4-2 off suited. Schulman reacted, “Easily the worst fold in the history of the show.”

He’s being hard on himself. How many of you think you could have found the stones to make the call with a six-figure pot on the line? It’s easier said than done, that’s for sure.

Virtual sports betting hitting $35B by 2030?

Virtual sports might have sounded crazy at one point, but we can attest to their success. Virtual sports are here to stay. Soccer, horses, cards… the list continues to expand. And for that reason, industry analysts are projecting that virtual sports betting will grow by 17% annually, hitting the 35 billion mark by the end of the decade.
Virtual sports betting screen & layout on Ignition Casino
One of the factors driving this trend is the fact that virtual sports is on demand. While in real life, fans have to wait a week or more for some leagues to serve up a game worthy of a bet. Your favorite team might even have a bye week, leaving you high and dry for quite some time. But the virtual sportsbook is always kicking off another game, and running them quite quickly!

The games might be computer versus computer, but the action is there when the mood strikes, and that’s something that the statistics have shown matters more than anyone might have suspected!

Betting on the Titan sub disaster? Yikes.

When the Titan submarine and its 5 passengers lost communication with the outside world on their ill-fated voyage to see the wreckage of the Titanic, the world was gripped by the story. Engineers and nautical experts analyzed the situation in agonizing detail, while sympathetic folks around the world prayed for a safe recovery.

But one site began taking crypto bets on whether the passengers would survive or not, which angered many who thought that tragedies should not be betting opportunities. The casino industry is one that famously embraces freedom to a large degree, but there are some lines that perhaps should not be crossed.

Casino news: August 2023 highlights

$10m jackpot winner!

In August, a player named “Jesus” struck gold on the “Megabucks” slot machine, pocketing over $10 million. Though impressive, it fell short of the $14M record jackpot earlier this year.

Poker pro’s yacht in flames

Diego Gonzalez’s luxury yacht went up in flames, fortunately with no casualties among the 17 people on board. The “lion” of poker has been low-profile lately, with his last big win at an EPT event.

Rise of mobile betting

Mobile betting’s popularity continues to soar. It’s becoming the preferred choice for online sportsbooks and casinos, with some platforms serving mobile users more frequently than desktop users.

Debunking casino myths

Anthony F. Lucas, a professor at UNLV, affirms that casinos don’t manipulate games to thwart hot streaks. Rigorous regulations ensure fairness. Ignition Casino is proud of its audited games and celebrates player wins.

Bed bugs in casino hotels

Recent reports of bed bugs in casino hotel beds highlight one more reason to favor online gaming. Rest easy knowing that no Ignition Casino player has ever had a bed bug encounter. Online gaming wins again.