The gambling world can sometimes produce really off-the-wall stories. Every month there are plenty of cases of individuals going to extreme lengths to pay back debts, or of simply bizarre behavior at casino properties around the globe. It can be entertaining and sometimes sad.
January was no exception, as there was plenty that happened in the casino world.
Here’s a look at some of the most colorful and/or noteworthy from the month that was.
Man Pleads Guilty To Leaving Casino To Rob Bank, Then Returning To Continue Gambling
A West Virginia man has told a judge that he left a casino to rob a bank, only to return with the money and continue playing. Kerry Johnson, 52, was indicted in November over the early August incident. According to police, Johnson put a $25 chip on a blackjack table to keep his seat and then drove 13 miles to a nearby bank and told the tellers that he had a bomb. After leaving with about $5,000 in cash, he returned to the blackjack table to continue playing.
Gambler Bets $8,500 On Novak Djokovic To Profit Just $100, But Tennis Star Ends Up Losing
According to a report from ESPN, a bettor at a sports book in Las Vegas decided it was a good idea to risk $8,500 on tennis legend Novak Djokovic at -8,500 odds to get past Denis Istomin in the second round of the Australian Open. A Djokovic victory would have netted the gambler just $100. Istomin was a huge underdog versus the man who has won 12 grand slam singles titles and is considered one of the best in the game’s history. Istomin was ranked no. 117 in the world (Djokovic was no. 1), and ended up winning 7-6 (10-8) 5-7 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
Poker Hall Of Famer Lists Bracelet On eBay
The winner of the 1983 World Series of Poker main event listed his piece of poker history on the auction site eBay. Tom McEvoy, who was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2013, had the bracelet included in a package that was selling for $15,000. The original price was $13,500. The package appeared to have been taken off eBay, and it was unclear if it sold. The 72-year-old has four WSOP bracelets and about $3 million in lifetime tournament earnings. His most recent cash was in the 2016 main event. He finished in 644th place for $18,714. However, he’s had only five cashes at the summer poker festival since 2010.
Poker Tour Called Ponzi Scheme In New Lawsuit
A fledgling poker tour has been accused of fraud, racketeering and operation of a Ponzi scheme in a lawsuit filed in Maryland. The Players Poker Championship (not to be confused with the $50,000 buy-in Poker Players Championship tournament) allegedly intentionally failed to pay out about $200,000 in winnings from the final table of its 2016 PPC Aruba World Championship in November, according to the lawsuit. The tour is accused of lying to players that the delay in payment was due to issues with the Aruban government.
Barista Wins Nearly $1M In World’s Top Betting Contest While Watching Games From TV At Work
One Starbucks worker might be able to take a permanent break from serving countless cups of coffee each day, thanks to the most prestigious football betting contest in the world. A Las Vegas barista identified by only his first name Damon won the 2016 Westgate Las Vegas SuperContest, a $1,500 buy-in that drew more than 1,800 entries this year, which was a record turnout. He didn’t even take off work the day he had more than $900,000 on the line. He watched the end of a Sunday’s slate of games from a TV at his work.
Man Stabs Cop With Pen After Wife Urinates On Self At Casino
A man is accused of stabbing a tribal police officer with a pen after he and his wife were denied re-entry to a casino because she urinated on herself, the FBI says. Aaron Martin Vorac, 37, is accused of assaulting a federal police officer. He is named in a criminal complaint pending possible indictment by a federal grand jury. He is accused of punching and stabbing George Closser, a tribal police officer for the Little Traverse Band of Odawa Indians, before security officers for Odawa Casino Resort helped subdue the suspect.
Cops Bust Illegal Gambling Club Posing As A Deli
Officials took down a Suffolk County gambling club that had posed as a deli and arrested its manager, cops said. Police, along with local town code enforcement officials, inspected the Chiquito Deli on New York Avenue near East 19th Street in Huntington Station in response to community complaints. While inside, they found a gambling club in the basement with about 30 people inside—and confiscated dice tables, dice, joker poker machines, cash and drugs. They also arrested the manager of the deli. He was charged with criminal nuisance and promoting gambling.
Adam Jones Kicked Out Of Casino Before Arrest At Hotel
Adam Jones’ arrest on January 3 continues to look worse and worse now a few weeks after the incident took place. The arrest at a Cincinnati hotel was just Part II of what’s become a multi-part series of debacles. According to TMZ, Cincinnati PD has confirmed Jones was “acting disorderly” at JACK Cincinnati Casino and was asked to leave. Security and police escorted the NFL star out of the building. One witness said Jones had verbally attacked employees at the casino and had an altercation with a casino patron who was trying to record the incident on his cell phone.
Fired Guard At Atlantic City Casino Gets 11 Years For Armed Heist
A former security guard who lost his job at Caesar’s Casino in Atlantic City has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for a 2014 armed robbery at his old workplace, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office announced. Izyiah Plummer, 22, lost his job at Caesar’s for unspecified reasons before he and three co-conspirators devised a plot to rob the casino at gunpoint on the morning of July 21, 2014.
