Joined: Apr '11
Location: Romania
Age: 58 (M)
Posts: 2432
25 individuals in the US have been indicted in a nationwide crackdown on illegal sports betting.
This includes two well known poker names, former Full Tilt pro Paul Sexton and WSOP regular Steven Diano, who were among eight people arrested in Las Vegas yesterday.
The arrests were made in connection to activity on the Pinnacle Sports betting site, which was one of the largest online sportsbooks in the US prior to departing the market in 2007 following the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
The ring is alleged to have earned over $50 million in profits for accepting sports betting wagers illegally, between April 13 2011 and October 18 2012.
Diano has been accused of being one of the ring's bookmakers, while Sexton was a "collector/distributor" of money, which involved moving money between the US and offshore sites in Costa Rica and Panama.
Both men are facing the possibility of up to 25 years in jail.
Joined: Mar '09
Location: Greece
Age: 47 (F)
Posts: 14136
I only have heard as a poker player Paul Sexton. The other one is unfamiliar to me. With what is happening to US it was extremely risky and stupid to handle such amounts in illegal betting. Like they didnt know gambling is a goldmine for US government lately.
Joined: May '08
Location: Lithuania
Age: 39 (M)
Posts: 10090
so much corruption in betting these days- look at italy: people know what teams are gonna to win, how many goals are gonna be scored, at which minutes goals gonna be scored! this is ridiculous- seriously, who would want to bet knowing these things exist? i think even playing in the casino gives you better odds
Joined: Jan '11
Location: United States
Age: 60 (M)
Posts: 3361
Wow Paul Sexton! I watch this guy on WPT poker events all the time and never thought he'd be involved with something like this, but I guess money is money and if one can earn it by illegal activities and thinks they won't get caught they'll do it.
Shame on you Mr. sexton! Your to uphold the law and abide by the rules
Joined: Apr '09
Location: Australia
Age: 40 (M)
Posts: 6483
Posted by Mober: With what is happening to US it was extremely risky and stupid to handle such amounts in illegal betting.
Yes - but I would *wager* that is also exactly why they were doing it.. Think about poker, before the USA banned it, Party Poker was the biggest site, then they closed to US customers and FTP and Stars became giant by continuing to accept US traffic.
The reality is; with so many sites blocked US bets, those that are willing to do it are set to make a small fortune.
Posted by Mober: Like they didnt know gambling is a goldmine for US government lately.
And a goldmine for all those still involved, sharing a giant market among just a few international sites still taking USA bets.
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Posted by Macubaas: The only good thing is that the US justice is really one of the best and probably he will get what he deserves.
Out of curiosity, what is it that you think they done when you say 'get what he deserves', You know the only crime was accepting USA bets right?
Joined: Mar '09
Location: Greece
Age: 47 (F)
Posts: 14136
I wonder in what parallel universe you are living in Macubaas, if you think that US justice is one of the best. Does this observation of yours, comes from gambling related cases, or in general?
