A Mega Millions ticket sold in the Garden State has scored what is believed to be the fifth-largest jackpot in the game’s history, lottery officials announced following Tuesday’s drawing for an estimated $1.13 billion. The winning numbers drawn were [Read more…] about New Jersey Player Scores Historic Mega Millions Jackpot
Oklahoma: Man Allegedly Wields a Snake, Robs Casino Patron
There’s a range of weapons robbers use to commit crimes. From knives to handguns, assault rifles and baseball bats, some culprits will stop at nothing to intimidate their victims and rob them of personal belongings. Generally speaking, in case a weapon is involved the charges and possible sentence against the person may be tougher. Whatever the case may be about robbery weapons, it is not often that stories are heard about a person using an animal to conduct a robbery.
In one such peculiar case from Oklahoma, a 43-year-old man is facing charges after allegedly using a snake to threaten and rob a casino visitor. The same person, likely with the same animal, allegedly also attempted to rob a gas station. Ultimately, the person was identified and apprehended by the Oklahoma City Police. As announced by News On 6, the strange criminal case involves a person with the initials J.M.
The 43-year-old, who allegedly used the snake to intimidate people and rob them, was arrested recently. Earlier this week, the person was charged with animal cruelty and robbery by force. Still, it is important to mention that charges are merely accusations before they are proven beyond reasonable doubt in court.
Msgt. Gary Knight of the Oklahoma City Police revealed that it is quite uncommon to hear a case where an animal is used as a weapon for a robbery. He acknowledged that such occurrences are extremely rare.
“You don’t see a snake or even an animal for that matter used as a weapon in a robbery very often.“
Msgt. Gary Knight of the Oklahoma City Police
An Unusual Weapon
The person who was detained was allegedly involved in two incidents. One of the incidents was related to a Remington Park Casino patron, who claimed he was robbed by the 43-year-old. While the visitor was gambling at a slot machine, he saw the suspect who approached him.
In a swift moment, the casino patron saw a snake that the 43-year-old pulled out. The wielding of the snake scared the visitor enough to leave the slot machine and in it was some $400. According to law enforcement, after the encounter, the alleged snake-wielding robber collected the receipt from the slot machine, cashing out some $445.80 and left the casino.
In a separate incident, the same person with the snake allegedly threatened a gas station clerk and other people in the vicinity. Before he was arrested, according to police, the suspect used a pocket knife to cut the head off the snake before throwing it away.
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Powerball Jackpot to Hit $750M, Mega Millions Soars to Nearly $1bn
Surviving since the start of the year, the jackpot from America’s popular lottery game, Powerball, is now getting closer to a mind-blowing $800 million. The grand prize for the upcoming drawing of the lottery game is estimated at $750 million, a figure that makes the jackpot the ninth largest in the history of the game.
The Powerball jackpot was able to grow this much after surviving for nearly three months. The last time a lucky lottery player hit the Powerball jackpot was at the beginning of this year. Considering the estimated $750 million grand prize, the cash option for the jackpot is a hefty $357.3 million.
The $842.4 million jackpot which dropped on January 1, 2024, was the fifth-largest prize from Powerball. The fourth largest jackpot dropped last summer in July when a lucky player from California hit $1.08 billion.
The third-largest grand prize was won in January 2016, a whopping $1.59 billion, while the second-biggest jackpot dropped on October 11, 2023, in California when a lucky lottery player guessed all winning numbers, securing $1.77 billion. Despite the aforementioned hefty wins, nothing can quite be compared to the largest jackpot from the game, a staggering $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won in November 2022.
The winning numbers from Powerball’s Wednesday drawing included white balls 13, 22, 27, 54, 66 and red Powerball 9. While nobody won the jackpot, there was also no one who collected a million-dollar second-tier prize, at least from the latest drawing.
On the bright side, 27 lottery players guessed correctly four white balls along with the red Powerball, securing a $50,000 prize each, while six collected a $100,000 Power Play prize each.
The next drawing for Powerball is scheduled for Saturday, March 23, 2024.
The Grand Prize from Mega Millions Gets Closer to $1bn
Similar to Powerball, the jackpot from Mega Millions continues to increase as well. Surviving the drawing on Tuesday, the grand prize is not getting closer to a mind-blowing $1 billion. According to Mega Millions, the estimated jackpot for the game’s upcoming drawing is $977 million. While this is a completely mind-blowing sum, the cash option is also a whopping $461.0 million.
Unlike Powerball, four lucky lottery players secured seven-figure prizes from Mega Millions’ latest drawing. The four lottery aficionados won a $1 million prize each for guessing correctly five white numbers drawn.
The next drawing for Mega Millions is scheduled for Friday, March 22, 2024, at 11 PM ET.
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New Jersey Customer Hits $440K Jackpot via Caesars Palace Online Casino
The leading casino entertainment company with a strong presence within the online gambling sector, Caesars Entertainment, announced that one lucky player from New Jersey secured a whopping $400,000 jackpot while playing at Caesars Palace Online Casino. [Read more…] about New Jersey Customer Hits $440K Jackpot via Caesars Palace Online Casino
Cambodia Officials Urged to Hunt Down Key Scam Gang Figures
At the start of the year, Cambodia announced it closed down more than 200 illegal gambling businesses.
Recently, country officials have been urged to hunt down “key figures” who are protecting the industry dominated by Chinese scam gangs plaguing the coastal city of Sihanoukville, also referred to as “sin city.”
Flourishing Scam Industry
The country’s ongoing crackdowns in “sin city” have proven that they are still powered by the scam industry, according to observers.
This is despite the continuous efforts employed by the government to completely eradicate the Chinese crime gangs that have generated billions of dollars using cyber fraud.
At the start of March, officials made over 450 arrests regarding alleged illegal online gambling scams as well as “pig-butchering” scam businesses that were thriving behind the masks of legal casinos.
Similar operations have been observed in condominiums and commercial buildings turned into worker dormitories, offices, and different support sites that the criminal gangs used to run their cyber-fraud businesses.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes in Southeast Asia and the Pacific’s deputy representative, Benedikt Hofman, the high level of concern and efforts shown by local authorities did not suffice to eradicate the scam operations.
According to Cambodia-based Chinese reporter, Huang Yan, police raids normally target small and obscure scam operations.
Post-crackdown, city governor Kuoch Chamroeun made a Facebook appeal, asking for information that would help locate Zhong Huokun, a Chinese national who is suspected of owning one of the two raided locations on March 9-10.
According to the Chinese reporter, before the crackdown, “they always arrested the low-level staff members” while failing to catch general managers of the scam groups.
This is why the governor’s appeal is “very interesting” as it is a first.
Gambling Reform Did Not Bring Improvements
According to Ros Phirun, secretary general of the Commercial Gambling Management Committee of Cambodia, the higher fees and revenue for gaining gambling permits did not trigger the expected results when it comes to controlling the sector.
In other words, as explained by a CyberScamMonitor representative, the extra attention given to their activities did not scare off scam businesses in the city.
On the contrary, it would appear that the industry is deeply embedded in the country, given the evidence showing how “powerful elite actors” are taking advantage of it and guaranteeing its survival.
To tackle the problem the right way, “a comprehensive and sustained crackdown is needed” together with the right type of legal action against the “key figures” running orange protecting the sector.
At the start of 2023, Cambodia announced it made 1,241 arrests in the first half of 2023 in illegal gambling cases.
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Lottery Player Misses $511M Powerball Jackpot But Scoops up $1M
A lucky lottery player has won a $1 million Powerball prize after matching five of the six numbers for the drawing on March 9. As reported by the Florida Lottery, the customer matched all five white balls, narrowly missing the huge Powerball jackpot by not picking the correct Powerball number. [Read more…] about Lottery Player Misses $511M Powerball Jackpot But Scoops up $1M
Powerball Jackpot to Surpass Half a Billion Dollars for Next Drawing
After the triumph of one lucky Michigan Lottery player who hit the staggering $842 million Powerball jackpot at the start of the year, the grand prize from the popular game continues to increase. [Read more…] about Powerball Jackpot to Surpass Half a Billion Dollars for Next Drawing