
Gambling, soliciting prostitutes, ripping off a ladies’ charity and leaking painful and sensitive company information, it’s all just a later date on the job, apparently, for the previous chairman of America’s biggest milk-processing companies.
William ‘Billy’ Walters leaves a Manhattan court that is federal. He is alleged to own made $43 million in illegal stock trades on Dallas-based Dean Foods. He is pleading not liable.
Tom Davis, the previous president of Dean Foods, of Dallas, continued his testimony in the trial of his one-time friend, the legendary gambler Billy Walters, on Wednesday. Walters is accused of making $43 million from illegal trades on Dean Foods’ stock, utilizing information that is privileged supplied by Walters.
Since the star witness for the prosecution, Davis was expected by United States Assistant Attorney Brooke Cucinella to disclose any unsavory information about his background that may later surface throughout the course regarding the test. This is standard training, as it’s preferable that such information is presented to the court in advance instead of being wheedled from the witness later on by way of a protection attorney.
And, child, did Davis deliver!
$200,000 On One Hand of Blackjack
The court had heard the previous day how the nature of Davis’ relationship with Walters changed after the latter loaned him around $1 million. After Davis became indebted to him, Walters’ ask for information became ‘more demanding.’
On Wednesday Davis explained that also after borrowing the money, their failed investments that are numerous gambling practices forced him to embezzle $100,000 from a tennis charity for battered females. Davis eventually paid the money back, but later took another $50,000 which he spent on ‘gambling and hookers.’
Davis stated that he initially received $625,000 from Walters but he blew it quickly, losing $200,000 alone on one hand of blackjack in 2011 at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. He then asked Walters for another loan of $400,000 which he said would be to help refinance a bank in Dallas.
Davis Lying, Says Walters Attorney
‘I made a tremendously bad decision at that period of amount of time in my life,’ admitted Davis, in what Bloomberg described this week as ‘his gravelly Texas drawl.’
‘I’d developed a friendship that is strong Mr. Walters,’ Davis said. ‘I knew who Billy Walters was… he had been a gambler that is fairly famous. He had a complete lot of connections in Las vegas, nevada. He was a sports that are big. I was frankly enamored with him.’
Barry Berke, Walters’ attorney called Davis ‘a liar’ who ‘wrongfully implicated Walters only after he got caught stealing from the charity and cheating on his taxes.’
‘we have been going to show through incontrovertible proof he’s lying about every single allegation of his entire story,’ Berke said.
Davis is testifying against his friend that is former as of a plea bargain with federal prosecutors after admitting costs including securities fraud and wire fraud.
Michigan Online Gambling Supporters ‘Cautiously Optimistic’
Michigan online gambling advocates state they truly are encouraged by the recent help that’s been generated for the latest internet casino bill introduced in Lansing.
State Sen. Mike Kowall is once again cheerful about his Michigan online gambling bill’s possibilities, but native groups that are american opposed. (Image: MI Senate GOP)
State Senate Majority Leader Mike Kowall (R-District 15) introduced SB 203 earlier this month. In the event that legislation becomes law, commercial casinos and federally recognized tribes would be allowed to have online gaming licenses to provide interactive poker rooms and internet gambling.
It’s perhaps not the first-time Kowall has attempted to push through a bill that would end online gambling prohibition in the Wolverine State. But this time around, there appears to be more support.
Talking with WZZM 13, the ABC affiliate in Grand Rapids, Kowall said he’s ‘cautiously positive’ on SB 203. ‘The number 1 issue is to be sure online gaming is safe while bringing in some revenue in to the state during the same time,’ he explained.
Tribes Opposed
Land-based gambling in Michigan is presently reserved to Native American groups which are allowed to supply games of chance on their reservations that are sovereign. The exception is Detroit, in which the authorization of three commercial gambling venues was approved within a voter referendum in 1996.
Three years later on, the 3 casinos in Motor City exposed for business. Indigenous American teams were none too happy at the time, plus the potential expansion of online gambling is now seen by Indian leaders as more legislation that fails to respect tribal sovereignty.
The tribes tell the Michigan Senate Regulatory Committee that they are allowed under federal law to commence internet gambling in a joint letter from the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi and Saginaw Chippewa Indians.
‘ The legislation requires unwarranted and unconditional waivers of myfreepokies.com sovereign immunity,’ the letter states. ‘By neglecting to notice that Indian tribes are already authorized to conduct on reservations internet gaming under both the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, the legislation would curtail these lawful areas of Indian tribal gaming.’
Where There Is Cash, There’s Help
The tribe’s opposition is due to their belief they would be unfairly tariffed when they decided to move forward with online gambling. Both Native American groups state from doing so if they want to offer interactive gaming to persons on their sovereign lands, there’s no barrier currently preventing them.
But if passed and finalized into legislation, Kowall’s bill would require not only the operators that are commercial Detroit, but in addition the tribes, to pay $100,000 per year should they wish to launch on line gambling. Ten % of the revenues that are gross additionally be directed to your state’s coffers.
Michigan, like so many governments around the nation, continues to consider brand new income channels as tax payments remain at reduced amounts than before the Great Recession hit in 2008.
It’s difficult to identify just simply how much the Michigan online gambling bill might experience for the state, as it’s unclear how many gambling enterprises and tribes would bite. However, some forecasts demand just as much as $30 million an once the market reaches maturity year.
Amaya Reports Record Revenue in Q4 But Profits Fall Slightly Short
PokerStars parent Amaya has reported record profits in Q4 and across 2016, citing ‘proactive changes’ to the online poker ecosystem, along with better-than-expected growth of its casino operations.
Amaya CEO Rafi Ashkenazi said that record revenues were down up to a controversial but successful policy of rebalancing PokerStars’ ‘ecology’ along with better-than-expected recreations book and casino results. (Image: Amaya)
The company that is canadian, year-over-year, revenues rose 5.9 percent in Q4, to $310 million, and 7.8 percent for the entire of 2016, to $1.15 billion.
Nonetheless, profit in the quarter that is fourth 53 cents a share, which missed the average projection of 56 cents.
PokerStars’ changes to its ecosystem, initiated in belated 2015, triggered sit-out protests by some players during the time, mainly its high amount, high stakes players, who had been, by definition, its best customers.
Rebalancing the Poker Ecosystem
But Amaya wanted to tip the scales and only leisure players, or web depositors, who had previously been scared away in recent years by a skill that is widening and the increasing usage of poker monitoring pc software by multi-tabling, net-withdrawing advantages.
It tweaked its player benefits scheme and introduced a number of recreational-friendly ‘jackpot’ style games, which were created to amount the playing industry by increasing the luck factor. To the horror of pros, it seems to have worked.
Even so, Amaya is wary of relying completely on poker since the appetite for the game continues to wane globally.
‘[Changes to poker] and customer acquisition initiatives continue to reverse certain negative trends and we are needs to see organic growth in that business, our casino offering exceeded objectives as we introduced restricted marketing campaigns and centered on our cross-sell efforts, and we continued to create and develop our sportsbook,’ said Rafi Ashkenazi, Amaya CEO.
Product Diversification
Poker accounted for 70 % of revenue in Q4 compared with 78 per cent in the previous quarter, while the share of on-line casino and sports guide rose to 25.8 % from 17.2 percent, correspondingly.
Last year had been a turbulent one for Amaya. It saw its founder and major shareholder, David Baazov, resign as chairman and CEO, in the face of serious insider trading charges, while a proposed merger with William Hill was derailed by way of a William Hill shareholder revolt.
Nevertheless, Amaya is reducing your debt it accumulated in its $4.9 billion takeover of PokerStars, which means increased revenues will begin to translate soon into bigger profits.
‘ The strong performance of our company has assisted us to reduce our currency risk, lower our interest cost, and accelerate the payment of the remaining amounts owed on our deferred re payment responsibility, all of which will let us continue pursuing our four strategic priorities,’ stated Ashkenazi. ‘We expect to continue our 2016 momentum and execute on our strategy in 2017.’
Georgia Casino Bill Resuscitated But Prognosis Not Good
Supporters of casino video gaming in Georgia have actually new, albeit slim, hope. The state’s Destination Resort Bill, which died in the Senate final thirty days, has resurfaced in the home with a few tweaks and a sponsor that is new.
State Representative Ron Stephens hopes to breathe new life into the push to bring casino video gaming to Georgia. (Image: yogonet.com)
Representative Ron Stephens (R -Savannah) presented an updated form of the bill to the House Regulated Industries Committee on Thursday. He hopes that by proposing four licenses as opposed to two, the legislation will gain more statewide support by enabling more communities to profit.
Double the Fun
The bill that is previous a casino for the Metro Atlanta area and another for a smaller city, such as for example Savannah or Columbus, thus alienating most of the state from participation.
‘[With the previous bill], we’ve eradicated the ability for many places around their state to even be the main game, in the event that you will. No pun intended,’ Stephens told committee members.
‘We actually want for a investment that is high-end tourism,’ he added.
There was an awareness that if Atlanta is to compete nationwide in the convention company it requires an even more compelling entertainment offering in the downtown area. a recent survey revealed that 22 percent of Atlanta convention visitors said they would not come back to the city because of not enough night activity.
Under the terms regarding the bill, the Atlanta resort would require a good investment of at minimum $2 billion from the effective bidder, utilizing the second casino that is largest requiring at the very least $450 million. Two smaller, ‘tertiary’ properties would additionally be permitted with a minimum investment of $150 million each.
Dissenting Sounds
But to opponents of casino gaming, the doubling of licenses will simply make the proposition doubly unappealing, and there are many dissenting voices in the state, particularity from church groups.
‘Casinos are a definite web loss for the state,’ claimed Dave Baker, executive director of this Faith and Freedom Coalition of Georgia. ‘ They bring addiction, bankruptcy and crime. That includes trafficking that is human. And we work to fight many of these things in plenty other bills to bring casinos to the state is just moving completely in the incorrect direction.’
The previous version for the bill, sponsored by Senator Brandon Reach, failed even to make it out of a Senate committee, following a committee hearing on the bill had been canceled due to lack of interest. Its reemergence into the House suggests that its sponsors at least believes this has a better opportunity there.
Stephens, certainly, is positive, although he concedes it will take some political maneuvering to make it work.
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