Casino Gambling Tips and Information
A convenience store in Houston advertises selling a winning Mega Millions jackpot ticket. The Texas Lottery has revealed that the Mega Millions Consortium is weighing considerable changes, including a steep price increase. (Image: Getty) [Read more…] about Mega Millions to Increase Ticket Price, Ditch Megaplier and Just the Jackpot Options
Two very lucky visitors recently tried their luck on a Dragon Link slot machine at the Wynn Las Vegas some 18 hours apart. [Read more…] about Jackpot: Two Players Both Win $1M on Dragon Link Slot at Wynn on Same Weekend
Thailand is pressing ahead with plans to set up its first-ever official casinos as part of a broader push to legalize gambling and create a mega-entertainment complex. This move marks a significant shift in policy for a country where most forms of gambling are currently illegal. The government has decided to push ahead with the casino project after 80% of participants in a recent public hearing supported the proposal.
A study by the Finance Ministry estimated that the casino project would predominantly attract Thai gamblers, who could make up as much as 90% of the customers. The government hopes giving players a legal avenue would help counteract the widespread underground betting in the country. Currently, only state-controlled horse racing and a national lottery are legally allowed.
Legalizing casinos is expected to help boost the economy, create jobs, and bolster state revenues while luring more tourists into the country. Most of the country’s neighbors, including Cambodia, Singapore, Myanmar, and the Philippines, have already legalized casinos. The ruling Pheu Thai Party has argued Thailand must be able to compete with these nations in the gaming sector.
Thaksin Shinawatra, a key figure behind the current government, has been vocal in his support for legalizing gambling. In a recent speech, he outlined the benefits of regulating and taxing gambling activities. He argued this measure would generate significant revenue for the country and help formalize a sector that already operates informally on a large scale.
The Thai Ministry of Finance is spearheading a massive entertainment complex featuring casinos. The bill to legalize the project will incorporate feedback from the public hearing and head to the cabinet for approval. Once the bill passes this milestone, it will go to the Council of State for review before moving to the House of Representatives for a final decision.
We will now adjust the bill based on the feedback and discuss it with our coalition partners before sending it to the cabinet for approval.
Julapun Amornvivat, Deputy Finance Minister
Under the proposed regulations, only public companies with a registered capital of no less than 10 billion baht ($300 million) can operate gaming establishments. They would also need to acquire a 30-year license from the Entertainment Complex Policy Committee, with the option for 10-year renewals. Each license will have a fixed cost of 5 billion baht ($149 million) with an annual fee of 1 billion baht ($30 million).
While previous attempts to legalize gambling have met resistance from conservatives, the current administration is confident about this fresh attempt. While this measure goes against Buddhist values, the overwhelming public support highlights how most Thai citizens recognize the need for reforms in the face of an ever-growing black market sector and rising competition abroad.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350 and while millions of players tried to hit the grand prize, nobody guessed correctly the winning numbers from its latest draw. On Friday, two players came close to the grand prize by matching five numbers, but nobody guessed correctly all drawn numbers which were white balls 10, 17, 20, 24 and 54, along with the gold Mega Ball 8.
Considering the survival of the Mega Millions grand prize on Friday, the jackpot is now estimated at the mind-blowing $681 million or $336.1 million in cash. The next drawing for the hefty prize is scheduled for Tuesday, September 3 at 11 PM ET.
In case a fortunate player beats the 1 in 302.5 million odds, they would win the seventh largest jackpot in the history of Mega Millions. What’s more, since the launch of the popular lottery game in 2002, 22 jackpots have been won in September.
The most recent Mega Millions grand prize that dropped in September was a $431 million jackpot from 2021. At the time, a fortunate player from New York won the grand prize from the game’s drawing on September 21, 2021. Still, in case a lucky winner matches all numbers on the upcoming drawing, they would be winning the largest-ever prize won in September.
While the jackpot continues to grow, so does the interest in Mega Millions. The latest draw saw 1,445,634 winning tickets within all prize tiers except for the jackpot.
Two fortunate players matched five numbers on the latest draw. One lucky winner from Wisconsin matched five numbers and paid extra for the game’s Megaplier, allowing them to win a $4 million prize, considering the 4x Megaplier on Friday. The second lucky player from Florida won the standard $1 million prize.
A total of 50 winners matched four white balls along with the gold Mega ball on Friday’s drawing. While six lucky players collected a $40,000 Megaplier prize each, the remaining 44 took home the standard $10,000 prize each.
On the other hand, a total of 1,105 Mega Millions players matched four numbers from the latest draw. While 239 of those won $2,000 Megaplier prize each, the remaining collected the standard prize of $500 each.
The last time an incredibly fortunate player won the game’s jackpot was early in June. At the time, a player from Illinois matched all winning numbers from the Mega Millions draw on June 4, winning the mind-boggling $552 million jackpot.
A tragic incident happened in Reno, where authorities are investigating a suspected murder-suicide that involved one of the famous casinos in the city. The unnerving incident has shocked the community, raising questions about safety and security within such establishments, especially as casino-related crime makes headlines with worrying regularity.
The investigation started when officers with the Reno Police Department responded to a report of a man with a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a local casino this Sunday. The man, whose identity remains confidential, was found in a hotel room and pronounced dead at the scene. However, further investigation revealed that this suicide could be linked to another suspected crime over 100 miles away.
Following that bleak find, Reno police let the Yuba City Police Department know they should perform a welfare check on a female at an apartment on Stabler Lane in Yuba City. The connection between the two locations became tragically clear when Yuba City officers forced entry into the apartment and found the lifeless body of 38-year-old Catalina Aceves of Live Oak.
The relationship between the two people and the circumstances leading up to the event are currently under investigation.
Yuba City Police Department
Authorities have since classified the incident as a murder-suicide, with evidence suggesting that the deaths of Aceves and the unidentified man are linked. The exact relationship between the two victims remains under investigation, but police suspect some sort of domestic dispute that might have escalated and led to the tragic event.
The Yuba City and Reno communities are grappling with the shock of this event, which has become another addition to a streak of high-profile violent crimes at or near US casinos. Just last month, a couple from Riverview, Florida, were ambushed and shot after winning $3,000 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
The masked suspects followed them home and left the male victim with multiple gunshot wounds to his legs, but quick intervention by police saved his life. A police investigation led to the arrest of two men suspected of being involved in the armed robbery. Authorities suspect a third man may be involved as well.
Returning to the current case in Reno, both police departments are actively cooperating to piece together the timeline and motives behind the incident. So far, investigators believe no other individuals are involved in the case. The families and communities are mourning this senseless loss in search of answers after this devastating incident.
Ahead of the start of the 2024 National Football League (NFL) season next week, the gambling regulator in charge of horse racing, pull tabs, raffles and bingo in Arizona, [Read more…] about Arizona Gambling Watchdog Warns of Rising Gaming Scam Calls
The Mega Millions jackpot has arrived on the game’s top 10 richest prizes list.
Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing at 11 p.m. ET from the Georgia Lottery’s draw studio in Atlanta comes with an advertised jackpot of $575 million. That ranks No. 9 on the Mega Millions top jackpots list. [Read more…] about Mega Millions Jackpot Enters Record Territory
