The “lottery curse” appears to be working its malevolent power on the winner of Maine’s all-time biggest lottery jackpot, poisoning the relationships between the winner, his parents, and the mother of his child.

The anonymous $1.35 billion Mega Millions winner is suing his ex because he claims she blabbed to his parents about the win without his consent.

Now his former partner has hit back against her wealthy accuser, alleging misconduct on his part. Meanwhile, the winner’s father claims he is “not the son I knew.”

Doe Vs. Smith

The former couple are referred to in court documents by the pseudonyms “John Doe” and “Sara Smith,” respectively. That’s because Maine allows lottery winners to remain anonymous.

Doe sued Smith in November 2023, claiming she had violated a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) when she told his dad and stepmom about his newfound riches.

Doe wants an injunction preventing Smith from disclosing any further information about the jackpot. He has also asked the court to order Smith to list every person she told and pay compensatory damages of “an amount to be determined at trial, but no less than $100,000 per unauthorized disclosure.”

Rift Deepens

But in recently filed documents in the case both Smith and the man’s father claim that Doe himself told his parents about the win. Doe also demanded his father no longer speak to Smith, which caused a rift between the two men.

“I told him… ‘You are not the son I knew,’” claimed the father in court documents. “He got angry, calling me a ‘dictator’ and an ‘a***hole.’ I have not heard from my son since, and he has not done any of (the) things he promised.”

Smith alleges in a recent court filing that Doe has hired a security team that allegedly follows her and her daughter around on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, Doe claims that Smith is attempting to expose his identity. He also alleges she falsely accused him of trying to “kidnap” their daughter because he refused to pay for her and her new boyfriend to go on vacation.

RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: RICK), the parent company of Rick’s Cabaret and other gentleman’s clubs, could pull the plug on plans for casinos in Colorado.

In December 2022, the company acquired a four-story, 30,000-square-foot building at 130 Main Street in Central City for $2.4 million in cash with hopes of turning that property into Rick’s Cabaret Steakhouse & Casino. At that time, RCI told investors that affiliated entities had “applied for a gaming license to operate 175 slot machines, six blackjack tables, one craps table, and one roulette table in Central City.”

Now, the company appears to be having second thoughts about its Central City plans. While no firm decision has been made as of yet, RCI may have other avenues through which to better deploy capital instead of waiting for the Colorado regulatory process to take shape.

We may end up with actually withdrawing the gaming license at some point instead of paying all this money for the investigation and waiting the time line they want, I just don’t know yet,” said RCI President and CEO Eric Langan on the company’s recent first-quarter earnings conference call.

RCI and its subsidiaries run more than 60 gaming venues, gentleman’s clubs, and sports bars across the US.

Rick’s Casino Ambitions in Limbo

While the $2.4 million RCI paid for the Central City property isn’t a massive sum of money, it’s arguably somewhat significant for a company with a market capitalization of $449 million.

“I’m currently basically evaluating that timeline with our new refocus on capital allocation, doing a lot of math right now and calculating whether or not we want to even continue to focus on that at all or take our money and energy and focus instead of casino operations back us back on our core business,” said the chief executive office on the earnings call.

He added that the company could consider share buybacks as the Colorado casino efforts move to the back burner. A share repurchase program could be beneficial at a time when RCI is off 29.5% year to date.

Rick’s Not Abandoning Colorado Outright

While casino efforts may be pushed back or abandoned, RCI isn’t giving up on Central City. It will move ahead with opening Rick’s Cabaret Steakhouse there as well as proceed with a new Bombshells restaurant in the city.

Gaming venues in Central City include Century Casino, Dostal Alley Casino, Dragon Tiger Casino, and Easy Street Casino, among others.

Scores of Queens business owners, civic leaders, and residents gathered at State Sen. Jessica Ramos’  (D-Queens) office Monday in an effort to push the legislator to support plans for a new casino in the borough.

The gaming venue would be part of the broader $8 billion Metropolitan Park plan pitched by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen. He’s partnering with Hard Rock International in hopes of landing one of three downstate casino licenses state regulators are expected to award in late 2025 or in early 2026.

Ramos represents the Citi Field area and has thus far been reluctant to back legislation that would change the parkland designation of Willets Point. Changing that classification is essential because without that alteration, Cohen and Hard Rock might not be able to pursue a casino license. That would be to the dismay of some Queens leaders and residents.

This is a great project and Jessica we’re calling out to you. We love you, but we need your help and without you this cannot go through,” said Aaliyah Rose Scott, of Jackson Heights, as reported by CBS New York.

The rally at Ramos’ office was organized by the Coalition for Queens Advancement.

Ramos Previously Criticized Cohen’s Tactics

While Ramos has been noncommittal regarding whether or not she’ll introduce legislation to remove Willets Point’s parkland status, she says she’s open to dialogue with Queens groups and citizens that both support and object to the gaming venue.

Last month, Ramos and Queens Future — a group with ties to Cohen — released polls detailing locals’ views of the gaming project. Not surprisingly, the poll commissioned by a Ramos donor indicated negative views on the casino while the Queens Future survey showed strong support for Metropolitan Park.

“We want Metropolitan Park. We want this for the jobs for the young people…we want this for the green space, we want this because we deserve nice things,” said Saeeda Dunston, with Elmcor Youth and Adult Services, according to CBS New York.

Interesting Timing for Queens Casino Rally

The timing of the Monday gathering is interesting on multiple. First, it arrived against the backdrop of clarity that in the case of many of the groups vying for New York City-area casino permits, there are no backup plans. That’s true of Cohen and Hard Rock. Should Metropolitan Park not procure a casino permit, the project won’t come to fruition and Willets Point will likely remain an “asphalt jungle” for years to come.

Second, the possibility of surprises in the New York casino competition could be increasing as industry observers note ethics concerns could hamper bids by Genting and MGM Resorts International. Those operators run Empire City in Yonkers (MGM) and Resorts World New York in Queens (Genting).

That’s relevant because when New York policymakers approved legislation to allow for three gaming venues in the downstate region, it was widely believed Empire City and Resorts World New York were essentially grandfathered into two of those permits.

Emmett Investment Management, a money manager focusing on mid- and small-cap stocks, penned a letter to PlayAGS (NYSE: AGS) investors on Tuesday telling them they should oppose the $1.1 billion takeover offer floated on May 9 by Brightstar Capital Partners.

The board of the Las Vegas-based slot machine approved the go-private bid from the private equity firm and if shareholders do the same, the transaction could close in the second half of this year. Brightstar’s offer values PlayAGS at $12.50, or a 40% premium to where the stock closed on May 8. PlayAGS shares are up 33.3 over the past week but have yet to ascend to $12.50.

In its letter to investors, Emmett questioned the timing of the offer becoming public, noting it arrived just a day before the target released impressive first-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) results.

The Brightstar transaction was announced just hours before the release of AGS’s transformational first quarter results,” wrote Emmett CIO and founder Alexander Rohr. “The Company’s first quarter results reinforce our optimistic view of AGS’s prospects, as organic adjusted EBITDA grew 21%, far outpacing the industry. Business mix is also improving at AGS: adjusted EBITDA from the Company’s interactive segment, to which the market assigns the highest multiple, increased almost 9x year-over-year and almost 50% sequentially.”

New York-based Emmett owns approximately 1.5% of PlayAGS outstanding equity.

Emmett Says Takeover Bid Overshadowed PlayAGS Earnings

It’s not uncommon for some investors to oppose acquisitions and there are recent examples of professional market participants resisting gaming industry takeovers.

“If market participants had been given the opportunity to digest first quarter results absent Brightstar’s bid, we believe AGS shares would be trading well above the current market price of $11.40,” wrote the Emmett chief investment officer. “Any reasonable forecast of AGS’s 2024 adjusted EBITDA increased by ~15%, which on a constant enterprise value/EBITDA multiple—arguably conservative given improving mix—would imply a share price higher than $11.40.”

Rohr went on to write that PlayAGS investors are essentially being asked to accept a bid “that offers effectively zero—or negative—premium.” He added that the company’s first-quarter numbers don’t reflect the potential upcoming benefit to the company via possible disruption in the industry caused by the pending merger of International Game Technology’s (NYSE: IGT) global games unit with Everi Holdings (NYSE: EVRI). He said that transaction could actually help PlayAGS add market share, and that probably isn’t accounted for in the Brightstar offer.

Emmett Not Opposed to PlayAGS Selling, Sees Scant Value In Brightstar Bid

Rohr said his firm isn’t averse to PlayAGS being acquired, but he believes the Brightstar offer isn’t adequate compensation for investors given the progress the target has made and its potential to build on that over the long term. Rohr also outlined a scenario in which PlayAGS could create significant value for shareholders without the takeover.

We believe AGS would have a bright future as a standalone public company, with at least $225 million in 2026 adjusted EBITDA clearly achievable. Even on a multiple of 7x adjusted EBITDA — a significant discount to slower-growing peer Light and Wonder’s 9x NTM multiple — AGS shares would trade at $24.70, nearly 100% higher than Brightstar’s bid,” he opined.

Rohr didn’t mention other potential suitors for PlayAGS and some analysts have noted the target is unlikely to be the subject of a bidding war.

Nassau Community College is paying a lobbying firm, but that doesn’t mean the educational institution will push New York lawmakers to approve a gaming license for Las Vegas Sands at Nassau Hub.

State lobbying records indicate the junior college hired Shenker Russo & Clark, LLP last year at a rate of $5,000 per month and recently renewed its contract with the firm. The initial agreement called for the Albany-based law firm to lobby on behalf of the college on issues such as education, funding, and casino gaming.

(Shenker Russo & Clark, LLP should) focus its efforts on the State budget and any other general legislation as it affects the College for the purpose of improving the educational experience for the students and the College Community,” according to the terms of the original contract.

Las Vegas Sands, the largest gaming company by market capitalization, is hoping to build a $6 billion casino hotel at the site of Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale. Despite some controversy surrounding that effort, the LVS bid is widely viewed as one of the most credible in downstate casino competition.

Nassau Community College Taking Different Approach than Hofstra

In an interview with Newsday, Jerry Kornbluth, a spokesman for the college, said the institution has not asked Shenker Russo & Clark to lobby on behalf of the school as it relates to the casino project, adding that Sands is likely doing its own lobbying.

So chippy has that relationship become that in February, former Gov. David Paterson (D-NY) — now a Sands lobbyist — said Hofstra barred him from speaking at the school at which he earned his law degree. The following month, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman (R) leveled allegations of collusion against Hofstra, claiming representatives of the school may have endeavored to help New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International, the bidders for a Queens casino license.

Hofstra has denied those claims, though the school has made clear it’s not opposed to New York City-area casinos. It just doesn’t want one near campus. For its part, Nassau Community College isn’t engaging in such flaps and its support of the LVS plan is reasonable when accounting for the school’s large budget deficit.

Nassau Community College Could Benefit from Casino

While Nassau Community College isn’t directly lobbying on the Long Island casino plan, the school has something to gain if Sands wins a gaming license or something to lose if that doesn’t happen.

In January 2023, the gaming company said it will use the school as its training facility. That public-private arrangement could be a jobs creator and revenue generator for the school.

The partnership between the casino operator and the community college could spark the creation of related course fares, including classes focusing on casino and hotel management, security, culinary programs, and meetings and banquets, among others.

The Las Vegas Valley is home to hundreds of bars, pubs, restaurants, and taverns at which customers can play keno, slots, and video poker. As the owner of more than 70 such venues, Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ: GDEN) is the dominant operator of Sin City gaming bars, but it could face new competition and it could be familial in nature.

On its recent first-quarter earnings conference call, Red Rock Resorts (NASDAQ: RRR) President Scott Kreeger said the gaming company could entertain establishing a footprint in the Las Vegas tavern business.

It’s a great place to invest in,” said Kreeger on the call. “It’s a unique customer with a different profile than our core customer. So, it skews younger and skews toward the sports bettor. We like that kind of customer.”

As reported by Howard Stutz of The Nevada Independent, should Red Rock pursue direct gaming bar competition with Golden, it could make for some interesting family gatherings because Golden CEO Blake Sartini is the brother-in-law of Red Rock CEO Frank Fertitta III and Vice Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta. In 1983 Sartini married then Delise Fertitta and one of their three children is named Lorenzo, presumably after her brother.

Red Rock Has Clear Tavern Ambitions

It’s not a matter of “if,” but when Golden and Red Rock butt heads on the tavern front. The latter already has seven such locations under contract with a pair slated to open later this year with the rest following in 2025.

“We think it’s an opportunity for us to kind of expand into what we call the micro-market within the (Las Vegas) valley,” added Kreeger.

In Nevada, gaming taverns feature bars and restaurants and are classified as restricted venues because they are allowed a maximum of 15 gaming devices.

Golden Ready for Gaming Bar Fight

Owing to Red Rock’s status as one of the largest operators of casinos catering to Las Vegas locals, the company is a credible competitor in the gaming bar business. However, Golden has advantages of its own. Those include its level of name recognition among Las Vegas locals, a strong balance sheet, and a prudent acquisition strategy. That includes Golden often getting first crack at gaming pubs that are put up for sale.

“In April, we purchased two additional taverns, growing our tavern portfolio to 71 locations, with 68 of them in the Las Vegas Valley. We anticipate opening our 72nd tavern by the end of Q2, and we still target growing the portfolio to over 90 locations within the next few years,” said Golden CFO and President Charles Protell on that company’s May 8 earnings conference call.

In terms of Las Vegas casino hotels, Golden’s portfolio consists of The Strat near the Strip and two Arizona Charlie’s locations — a significantly smaller portfolio than Red Rock’s. However, Golden is one of the top operators in Laughlin and Pahrump — two markets in which Red Rock doesn’t have venues.

Minnesota harness racing track Running Aces has added two more casinos to a federal racketeering suit that claims tribal operators in the state are running “illegal” games.

Last month, the Columbus, Minn.-based racino sued the Grand Casino Hinckley, Grand Casino Mille Lacs, and Treasure Island Resort. Running Aces claims they conduct class III card games that are not covered by their tribal-state gaming compacts, such as Three Card Poker and Ultimate Texas Hold’Em.

The Grand Casinos are owned by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Treasure Island belongs to the Prairie Island Indian Community.

In an amended complaint filed Tuesday, Running Aces added Mystic Lake and Little Six Casinos, which are owned by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC).

‘IGRA Violated’

The racino accuses all five casinos of violating the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), as well as state laws, by operating not only class III card games but also “video games of chance,” such as slots.

The tribes are permitted by the state to offer these games under the terms of their compacts. Minnesota was the first state to sign compacts with its federally recognized tribes after the enactment of IGRA in 1988.

But the Minnesota criminal code “specifically prohibits and makes illegal the playing of electronic video games of chance for any person,” as the lawsuit notes.

This is something the tribes “know only too well,” per the lawsuit. When Running Aces applied to Minnesota Racing Commission to “modestly expand its ‘dealer assist’ table games,” the SMSC objected on the grounds that “video games of chance are not permitted in Minnesota,” the suit states.

‘No Merit’

“All that we have ever sought was to be treated fairly, compete on a level playing field, take advantage of improvements within the pari-mutuel environment, and operate without fear of being eliminated,” Running Aces president and CEO Taro Ito said in a statement to local CBS affiliate KSTP-TV. “It is our sincere desire to have our day in court and let the facts determine the outcome.”

But the SMSC dismissed the Running Aces lawsuit as having “no merit,” labeling it a “desperate stunt to attack the good reputation of tribes and tribal gaming” in a statement to FOX 9.

All gaming conducted at Mystic Lake and Little Six Casinos complies with tribal law, federal law, and the gaming compact that was executed in 1989,” read the statement.

The SMSC claims Running Aces is seeking to “mislead the public and influence the final stages of the Minnesota Legislature’s 2024 session,” to prevent the passage of a bill that would hand a sports betting monopoly to the tribes.

The Ohio Lottery has admitted that the names and social security numbers of more than 538K customers were compromised in a cyberattack on Christmas Eve last year.

In a regulatory filing, the lottery said it concluded its investigation into the attack on April 5, adding that there was no evidence the stolen data had been misused by any malicious actors. It didn’t attribute the attack to a group or individual.

However, on December 27, a ransomware group calling itself “DragonForce” claimed responsibility for the breach.

Dark Web Data Dump

DragonForce claimed it swiped 3 million records, or 600GB worth of data, 94 GB of which the group said it had made available for download in CSV format on the dark web. It asserted that dates of birth and home addresses are included in the data dump, which appears to contradict the Ohio Lottery’s filing.

In letters to the victims, the lottery apologized for the incident, adding that it was “committed to maintaining the privacy of personal information in our possession and have taken many precautions to safeguard it.”

“We continually evaluate and modify our practices and internal controls to enhance the security and privacy of your personal information,” it added.

The lottery said it has offered those affected 12 months of credit monitoring and ID theft protection.

What is DragonForce?

DragonForce appears to be a new threat actor, and the Ohio Lottery appears to have been its first victim. DragonForce has gone on to target Coca-Cola in Singapore and Yakult Australia.

In mid-March, the government of Palau, an island nation in the Western Pacific, was hit by a ransomware attack that knocked out its computer servers. DragonForce claimed responsibility, but so did another group, LockBit.

DragonForce is apparently unrelated to the Malaysian pro-Palestine hacktivist group of the same name whose attacks against government agencies in the Middle East are motivated by politics and not financial gain.

On Tuesday, New Hampshire’s Republican Governor Chris Sununu signed a bill to prohibit greyhound simulcasting from January 1, 2027. The state joins Kansas, Colorado, and Massachusetts in recently outlawing the broadcasts, in which races are streamed in real time, enabling bettors who are far from the racetrack to wager on races.

Live greyhound racing has been illegal in New Hampshire since 2009, but the new law puts an end to all betting on greyhounds for good.

Currently, only one venue in the state offers simulcasting, the racebook at the Brook in Seabrook. New Hampshire carved simulcasting out of the 2009 ban as a way to protect the economic interests of the Brook, which was then known as Seabrook Greyhound Park.

In the ensuing years, the Brook has transformed itself into a flourishing casino, offering charitable gaming via sports betting and historical horse racing machines (HHRs). Greyhound simulcasting is no longer a crucial part of its business model.

Connecticut Bans Live Racing

The move comes a week after Connecticut’s Democratic Governor Ned Lamont signed a bill to ban live dog racing. His is the 43rd state to outlaw the sport.

There have been no active dog tracks in Connecticut since the closure of Plainfield Greyhound Park and Shoreline Star Greyhound Park in 2005, but the bill’s supporters wanted to ensure that the tracks could never reopen. Simulcasting remains legal in the state.

Dog racing is a cruel activity and it has no place in Connecticut,” Governor Lamont said in a statement. “It’s mindboggling to think that at one time people considered this a legitimate sport, and I give credit to animal advocacy groups for their activism that has raised awareness about the abuse and extreme conditions these dogs face, leading to bans in nearly every state across the country. Signing this bill is an easy decision.”

‘Walls Closing In’

The move represents another nail in the coffin for a dwindling sport in the US. Live dog racing is now confined to just two venues, Wheeling Island Casino & Racetrack and Mardi Gras Casino & Resort, both in West Virginia.

Florida, once the epicenter of the sport in America, discontinued greyhound racing at the end of 2020. That’s after residents voted to change the state constitution to ban betting on the sport. An overwhelming 69% of residents backed the amendment.

Arkansas’ last track, Southland, pulled the plug at the end of 2022.

“The walls are closing in on greyhound racing in the United States,” Carey Thiel, executive director of Grey2K USA Worldwide, an advocacy group for greyhound protection, told Casino.org. “Betting on American dog races is down by a whopping 47% since 2019, and one state after another is severing ties with this cruel industry.”

A Bethlehem, Penn. man who allegedly operated a voucher-counterfeiting scheme for skill-gaming machines across northeastern Pennsylvania was charged last week with felony theft and forgery.

Anthony Diehl targeted convenience stores, presenting bogus “winning” tickets either in person or through his recruited network of vulnerable individuals, mainly drug addicts, according to prosecutors. These individuals would typically cash in the vouchers, either in exchange for drugs or for a cut of the illegally obtained “winnings.”

In this way, the network bilked numerous convenience stores and gas stations in multiple counties out of more than $20K, prosecutors said.

Diehl is accused of creating the vouchers himself using chemicals and printers to alter the information and inflate the prizes.

Return to the Scene of the Crime

Diehl was caught after he returned to the scene of an alleged crime – namely, the Carbon Mini-Mart in Palmerton.

On January 28, 2023, a man matching Diehl’s description cashed out two vouchers for a total of $695 at the convenience store, which were later discovered to be forgeries, and the incident was reported to police.

Responders arrived to find Diehl and another individual. The accomplice told them Diehl had provided him with the ticket to cash and that staff had refused the request.

Police searched Diehl’s vehicle and found a printer, a laptop, and other equipment. Investigators who later examined the laptop discovered more than 100 forged vouchers inside Microsoft Word documents, as well as the watermarks of numerous skill game manufacturers.

Google Searches

His Google search results showed hundreds of searches for businesses throughout Pennsylvania that deployed gaming terminals.

Investigators were able to match some of the vouchers on Diehl’s laptop with those that had been fraudulently cashed at other stores in the state.

The full list of charges against Diehl are corrupt organizations, conspiracy to violate, forgery, theft by deception, theft by unlawful taking, unlawful use of computer, unlawful duplication, possessing instrument of crime with intent, and theft by deception.

He is currently free on $100K unsecured bail and is due in court on May 31.