Gaming News

World Series of Poker Kicks Off with Casino Employee Tourney

Submitted by Natalie Cullen, Online Editor

Wednesday, May 29th, 2013, 4:41pm

World Series of Poker Kicks Off with Casino Employee Tourney

The 44th annual World Series of Poker is underway.

The casino employees portion of the event kicked off the tournament Wednesday. It brought thousands of Las Vegas resort workers under one roof at the Rio Hotel and Casino for a $500 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament.

This weekend the tournament continues with the $1,500 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament. The winner of that part of the tournament will get $1 million check.

Those two events are just the beginning of several tournaments that will lead up to the final table.

"We have 62 individual WSOP gold-bracelet events, we call them. And we run over 1,000 tournaments this summer through out the seven weeks we'll be here," Seth Palansky with the World Series of Poker said.

The whole series ends with the World Series of Poker Main Event, featuring 7,000 players and $70 million up for grabs.

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Submitted by Natalie Cullen, Online Editor

Friday, January 11th, 2013, 4:50pm

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Gambling regulators are fining the Palms casino in Las Vegas $1 million for providing undercover agents with prostitutes and drugs, including cocaine and the prescription painkiller oxycodone.

The state Gaming Control Board detailed the transactions in a complaint filed Friday after agents conducted more than a dozen stings last March.

Among other offenses, the complaint says employees of the Palms Casino Resort agreed to sell agents $18,000 worth of cocaine.

Palms spokesman Alex Acuna says in a statement that the company is concerned and disappointed.

Acuna says the Palms has implemented mandatory drug testing, set up a whistle-blower system and made changes in its security department to avoid future incidents.

The $1 million fine must be approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission.

The Palms will also pay $78,000 for investigation expenses.

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Submitted by Natalie Cullen, Online Editor

Friday, July 20th, 2012, 3:31pm

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- A Las Vegas resort is suing a former employee, alleging she misappropriated confidential information about thousands of high-rolling gamblers and hotel guests.

A Nevada state judge on Friday ordered 31-year-old Jessica Hemingway not to distribute the files she acknowledged emailing from the Palms Casino Resort to her home email accounts. She also was told to give casino officials access to her computer.

Hemingway and her fiance, Scott Yelton, say the information hasn't been distributed.

They told Clark County District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez the casino sued Hemingway on Tuesday after she alleged she had been sexually harassed by a supervisor and was fired.

The lawsuit says Hemingway worked as a casino host in the table games department for nine months.

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Submitted by Natalie Cullen, Online Editor

Monday, July 9th, 2012, 4:36pm

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Submitted by Natalie Cullen, Online Editor

Monday, June 4th, 2012, 2:07pm

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- The Playboy Club at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas has closed.

Nightclub management firm N9NE Group issued a statement Monday confirming the permanent closure. Company spokeswoman Ashli Kimenker says there hasn't been an announcement yet about other plans for the space at the high-rise casino west of the Strip.

The casino and Playboy Enterprises said in March that the closure was amicable, and that the parties planned to "pursue new brand opportunities in Las Vegas nightlife."

The Playboy Club at the Palms opened in October 2006, with women dressed as bunnies dealing cards. At the time, it was the first Playboy Club to open since 1988, when patriarch Hugh Hefner closed the last one in Lansing, Michigan.

Others have since opened in Macau, Cancun and London.

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Submitted by Natalie Cullen, Online Editor

Friday, March 16th, 2012, 1:43pm

Officials say the Playboy Club at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas will close in June. No reason was given, and no specific date was set.

A statement released Friday by casino and N9NE Group spokesman Larry Fink said the parting was amicable so each could "pursue new brand opportunities in Las Vegas nightlife." A Playboy Enterprises spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to messages. Fink said he couldn't immediately provide details about other plans for the space at the high-rise casino.

The club at the Palms opened in October 2006, with women dressed in bunnies dealing cards. It represented the first Playboy Club to open since patriarch Hugh Hefner closed the last one in 1988 in Lansing, Mich.

Others have opened in Macau, Cancun and London.

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Submitted by Natalie Cullen, Online Editor

Monday, August 29th, 2011, 3:52pm

A man described as an associate in a sports betting business headed by a prominent Las Vegas-area gambler and developer has been indicted on charges that he stole more than $480,000 from the group.

Ezekiel Rubalcada is due to be arraigned Sept. 19 on a 33-count felony burglary and theft indictment handed up by a Clark County District Court grand jury, court documents show.

Rubalcada, 35, remained free Monday on $131,000 bail posted after he was arrested earlier this month by Henderson police, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The indictment handed up Friday alleges that from January to April Rubalcada siphoned cash from an M Resort betting account belonging to ACME Group Trading LLC.

Rubalcada is accused of staging a phony carjacking in April and telling police that nearly $360,000 in company sports betting money was in the vehicle. Henderson police said the missing money has not been recovered.

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