Former Mohegan Sun Pocono Exec Sentenced to 32 Months for Bogus Loyalty Card Scheme

A former executive at the Mohegan Sun Pocono in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania is sentenced to 32 months for his role in a scheme that involved the casino’s slot machines and creating bogus loyalty benefits.
Casino fraudster Robert Pellegrini (seen here in December after pleading bad) will be investing in dapper matches for inmate orange during a prison sentence that is 32-month. He will also need to pay near to a half-million dollars in restitution to the casino where he once worked.
Robert Pellegrini was VP of player development for the Mohegan Sun when he and two other people concocted a scheme to bilk his companies using customers’ stolen loyalty card PIN numbers to play for free, permitting the gang to help keep the winnings. The operation ran from May 2014 to April 2015, before Pellegrini had been busted.
It had been the role of Rochelle Poszeluznyj, a cocktail waitress, to note down players’ loyalty card PIN numbers as she served them drinks, before moving them onto Pellegrini, who would create copies of the cards which he then full of free slot money. Then it had been Mark Joseph Heltzel, an individual whom had previously been caught cheating at blackjack but was mysteriously not banned, whom posed as a regular customer and used the cards to play slots, splitting the winnings among the group.
The court was told how the trio utilized $478,100 in free slot play to create $418,793 in illicit winnings.
Problem Gambler
‘I’m a man that is flawed’ Pellegrini, who claims to be always a problem gambler, told the judge. ‘I’ve made errors in my entire life, this being the largest,’ he said. ‘we didn’t take to pay my bills. It absolutely was to aid my gambling.’
When asked just how a gambler that is compulsive hold down a high-profile job at a casino, Pellegrini responded: ‘in which do you consider casino employees go on the days off? They visit other gambling enterprises.’
The scheme was uncovered when a dealer at the Mohegan Sun Pocono, who had been apparently in deep love with Poszeluznyj, spilled the beans to authorities, because he viewed Heltzel as a rival on her behalf affections.
Getting Busy
Prosecutor Michelle Olshefski countered Pellegrini’s assertion that he had maybe not stolen for greed, noting that whilst the scam was ongoing, he had hundreds of thousands of dollars within the bank, in addition to a amount of assets. She said phone records proposed he had been the ringleader of the scheme and because he had ‘bills to pay. that he regularly told his accomplices to ‘get busy”
Nevertheless, Senior US District Judge the Richard Caputo departed from sentencing guidelines after hearing impassioned pleas from his family members and character testimonies suggesting he had been of otherwise good character.
Pellegrini must also pay $478,350 in restitution to his former boss. He could have obtained because much as 20 years in jail.
Poszeluzny and Heltzel have actually both pleaded bad and are due become sentenced at a later date. Heltzel faces 175 mostly felony counts of theft, identity theft, criminal conspiracy, and winning by fraud. His bail was set at $500,000, but ended up being paid off to $150,000, because of the comprehending that he’d surrender any firearms and spend just 10 percent of the bond to walk free until his sentencing date.
Federal Trade Commission Moves to Block DraftKings-FanDuel Merger
The usa government took first steps toward quashing a proposed merger between day-to-day dream sports giants DraftKings and FanDuel, contending the deal would create an illegal monopoly that controls 90 percent of the DFS market.
FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles (left) and DraftKings CEO Jason Robins (right) argued that a merger was in top interests of DFS players, but FTC administrators disagreed. (Image: Vanity Fair)
On Friday, the Federal Trade Commission, in conjunction aided by the Offices of the Attorneys General of California and Washington DC, filed a suit in federal region court to seek an injunction to halt the offer.
‘ We are disappointed by this decision and continue to believe that a merger is in the interest that is best of our players, our companies, our employees as well as the dream sports industry,’ said DraftKings CEO Jason Robins and FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles in a joint statement. ‘ We are considering all our options as of this time.’
Antitrust-Worthy
The FTC claims the deal it illegal to engage in ‘unfair or misleading functions or practices in or affecting commerce. since it had been taking form would violate Section 7 for the Clayton Act, which forbids mergers and acquisitions that would in effect create a monopoly, and Section 5 of the FTC Act, which makes’
Ultimately, the FTC refused to swallow DrafKings’ and FanDuel’s core argument that daily dream sports comprised just a small section for the much wider dream activities market, dominated by the season-long variety.
The commission concluded that DFS consumers do not view season-long as a ‘meaningful substitute’ for DFS.
‘This merger would deprive customers of the substantial benefits of direct competition between DraftKings and FanDuel,’ said Tad Lipsky, Acting Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition.
The FTC contends that neither new entrants in the DFS company, nor any future expansion by existing operators, would be likely to deliver meaningful competition, as the two companies hold a combined 90 percent estimated market share.
Love-Hate Relationship
DraftKings and FanDuel announced their intentions to merge final November, following months of speculation. As competitors, they spent an estimated $750 million wanting to out-market one another, based on ESPN, while offering a broadly product that is similar.
Meanwhile, both companies have struggled after experiencing growth that is initially explosive. Regulatory doubt and legal challenges have plagued the industry from late 2015 onward, and it’s also on that front where in actuality the two organizations believe together they are able to wage the fight that is strongest.
Tough Fold: Legal Online Poker Off the Table in New York for 2017
The State Assembly in New York will never be passing a bill to legalize online poker before the chamber adjourns this Wednesday, June 21. That is according to the NY regular News, which spoke to Assemblyman Gary Pretlow (D-Westchester), the prime sponsor of legislation that would’ve made the fourth most populous state the fourth state to own game that is online.
The online poker dream team in nyc, State Sen. John Bonacic (left) and Assemblyman Gary Pretlow say they will continue their push for legal online poker in 2018. (Images: State of New York)
Assembly Bill 5250 desired to redefine Texas Hold’em and Omaha as games of skill rather than chance, a key distinction that would’ve allowed both games to be played online.
But Pretlow changed his tune that is optimistic going the final week of legislative session, telling proponents to withhold their enthusiasm. ‘There was some opposition,’ Pretlow said. ‘We’ll pick it up the following year more than likely.’
Better Luck Upcoming Year
The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading lobbying group for internet poker in Washington, DC, explained that the 2017 campaign in New York should give players plenty to cheer about.
‘This year the bill maybe not only easily passed away the Senate, but also for the time that is first an iPoker bill passed an Assembly committee. This is progress,’ the PPA stated in a media that are social.
Pretlow has been at the forefront of trying to end internet poker prohibition in the Empire State. The Democrat first introduced this issue into their chamber right back in 2014, and during the last 3 years, he’s remain committed to advancing the discussion.
State Sen. John Bonacic County that is(R-Orange led the fight in the New York Senate, with even more success.
His companion bill earlier this month stumbled on a vote that is full the Senate floor and easily passed, 53-9. But once sent to the construction to be merged with Pretlow’s bill, it stalled in the Standing Committee on Codes.
A key hurdle ended up being how to handle ‘bad actors,’ such as PokerStars, a significant supporter associated with the bill, who accepted digital payments from brand New York customers even after the Unlawful online Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 prohibited it.
Another roadblock for 2018 is conventional knowledge that has discovered bills associated with gambling tending never to move during election years.
Population Control
Online poker in the United States has mostly been a bust since 2011. Which was the Department of Justice issued an impression that the Wire that is longstanding Act which banned many forms of gambling through the transmission of phone lines, applied only to sports betting.
That meant that individual states had been liberated to license and control online gaming activities except sports betting. Though the DOJ under Attorney General Jeff Sessions has toyed with the basic idea of re-evaluating the 2011 opinion, up to now efforts to restore the wire work with specific prohibitions on all forms of online gambling have fallen flat.
But still, just three states have actually legalized some forms of online gambling, plus the fairly little populations of Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware haven’t quite allowed the poker to fully realize its online potential.
Nyc, nevertheless, stood to somewhat shake up the poker that is online, with almost 20 million residents that may potentially more than double the size associated with overall American player pool, while also motivating other states to move forward with legislation of these own.
Pennsylvania, the fifth most populous state, immediately behind brand New York, is the next market to watch. The Keystone State is considering an extensive expansion of gambling and overhaul that is regulatory and there legalizing internet poker is a possibility nevertheless up for grabs.
Florida Seminole Tribe’s Bond Credit Rating Upgraded by Moody’s, Fitch
The Seminoles of Florida are going to save a fortune in the months that are coming after bond and credit score services Moody’s and Fitch both upgraded the tribe’s bank debt and bond credit ratings.
The Seminole Tribe’s seven gambling enterprises in Florida, managed by gaming professional Jim Allen, can borrow money at lower interest rates, after Moody’s and Fitch upgraded the Native American group’s ratings. (Image: Miami Dolphins)
Moody’s Investment Services upgraded the Florida tribe’s existing term debt and bonds rating to Baa2, and its Special Obligation Bonds to Baa3. The classifications are still described as ‘non-investment grade’ speculations while those increases are welcomed news to the Seminoles.
However, it inches the Tribe’s debt and bonds nearer to investment-grade securities, and even the bump that is smallest within the Moody’s rating ladder represents huge savings in terms of great interest compensated to lenders.
‘The ratings improvements, affirmations and strong brand new ratings are superb news for the Seminole Tribe of Florida as we look toward a great, stable future,’ Seminole Chairman Marcellus Osceola Jr. said in a presser. Seminole Gaming CEO Jim Allen https://real-money-casino.club/ added that the upgrades ‘will conserve millions of dollars by assisting to keep costs that are borrowing.’
Bullish on Gaming
While the Moody’s news had been cheery, things are searching even brighter for the Seminoles at Fitch. The ratings agency upped its categorization for the Tribe’s gaming division to Better Business Bureau.
Where companies level according to the top credit assessors is key to how much they will be paying lenders. This chart shows how countries rate overall. (Image: World Economic Forum)
According to Fitch, the investment-grade distinction is according to a favorable gambling environment in the Sunshine State, and the Seminoles’ ‘steady, good working trends when compared with more flat growth seen in other US gaming markets.’
The Tribe has borrowed $2.4 billion to repay outstanding term loans and fund expansions at its Hollywood and Tampa casinos. ‘These improved and renewed investment-grade reviews … can help Seminole Gaming to continue as one of the planet’s most lucrative gaming enterprises,’ Allen added.
Both ranks agencies additionally credited the tribe’s ongoing commitment to pay for video gaming taxes to Tallahassee, despite not having a compact that is valid Florida.
Stalled in State’s Legislature
The state’s legislature neglected to arrive at terms over an arrangement that is new using the House seeking to help keep gambling in its current status, while the Senate sought to expand gaming and put slots at dog and horse racetracks in eight counties.
The top chamber additionally wanted to allow the Seminoles to provide craps and roulette, in exchange a commercial casino resort become built in either Broward or Miami-Dade Counties. Moody’s and Fitch thinks the tribe’s continuing to pay out video gaming revenue could play into its favor during upcoming negotiations that are compact.
Bonds Explained
A bond is a debt investment issued by businesses to investors who lend the entities money. They’ve been distinctive from shares, in that the lender isn’t acquiring ownership in the borrower’s business.
The issuing of bonds happens when a ongoing business requires to improve money. Bonds in many cases are viewed as fixed-income securities, due to the fact companies issuing them agree to pay either an adjustable or fixed rate of interest to lenders.
The interest rate depends upon how long the lending period is, the number of yearly payments to your lender, and most importantly, the credit quality of the bonds, particularly, the chance linked to the loan.
Moody’s and Fitch reducing the risk that is long-term the Seminole Tribe’s bonds means interest rates will slightly reduce, and on $2.4 billion, that equates to millions of dollars saved.
Touchdown for Redskins, as Supreme Court Overturns ‘Disparaging’ Trademark Patent workplace Ruling
The United States Supreme Court has sided with the Slants, an Asian-American rock band that was denied a trademark by the US Patent and Trademark Office on the grounds that the name was disparaging to persons of Asian descent in a major ruling that reverses a longstanding statute.
The Washington Redskins trademark wasn’t renewed in 2015 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, but the Supreme Court says the law is on the NFL team’s part. (Image: Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press)
Writing in the majority viewpoint, Justice Samuel Alito declared, ‘ The commercial market is well-stocked with merchandise that disparages prominent figures and teams, and the line between commercial and non-commercial speech is not always clear. If affixing the label that is commercial the suppression of any speech that may lead to political or social ‘volatility,’ free message would be endangered.’
Three years ago, online recreations books had the odds of Washington being forced to replace the group’s name at around Yes (+300), No (-500). As is generally the situation, the bookmakers got it appropriate.
The ruling is a touchdown for Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. Snyder has repeatedly refused to rename the NFL franchise, despite intense public scrutiny and even after multiple Native American teams said they found the team name to be disparaging.
In 2014, 50 US Senators, 48 Democrats, and two Independents, signed a letter sent to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell asking the league to force the Redskins to rebrand. The document requested the league’s ownership deliver the message ‘that racism and bigotry don’t have any accepted place in professional sports.’
What is in a Name?
Should the Supreme Court have seen the situation in another light, the fallout could have been far-reaching. In American sports, there is a host of potentially team that is controversial.
In Major League Baseball, there is the Indians and Braves, and some have issue with the Yankees designation. In the NBA, there’s the Boston Celtics, characterized by an obese, pipe smoking Leprechaun. There is the NFL Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings, plus in university sports, the Spartans, Trojans, Scots, and Irish are among potentially ‘negative’ names in NCAA programs that are athletic.
Of course, one man’s ‘offensive’ is another’s ‘who really cares?’ Cases in point:
The NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders are coming to town, albeit not until 2020. The Oakland franchise was at first likely to be named the Señors, but ended up being changed to the Raiders in 1960. Can a man in a football helmut with eye spot and swords on either side of their head be considered offensive? The Las Vegas Golden Knights are coming to play within the NHL this fall. Are knights an indication of white privilege? Classist elitism? Imperialist conquering? The Crusades?
It’s all in how the thing is it, therefore the High Court claims additionally it is all within the bounds of free message.
Talk Freely
The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) had denied the Slants’ application by citing the Lanham Act. The 1946 statute that is federal trademark requests to avoid being disparaging in nature, and to avoid falsely suggesting a ‘connection with persons, living or dead, institutions, opinions, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt, or disrepute.’
The PTO tried to make the argument that trademarks are government speech, as they’re qualifying by the agency that is federal. Justice Alito rejected that thinking, saying, ‘It offends a bedrock First Amendment concept: Speech may not be banned on the ground that it expresses ideas that offend.’