Texas political newcomer Cheryl Bean, who will take part in a legislative primary runoff later this month, has repeated her opposition to casino resorts in the state.

In her race to capture the Republican nomination for the Texas House District 97 seat, she recently told CBS News in Texas, “I’m not a fan of gambling.”

One of her objections is that with casinos, the jobs created lead to more union activity. The jobs may be filled by illegal migrants coming across the border, she said. “It gives them a pathway to citizenship,” Bean added about the migrants.

Beyond that, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, also a Republican, is opposed to gambling legislation. He’s said it won’t pass as long as he stays in office and dominates the state Senate. Patrick has endorsed Bean in the primary.

Waste of Money

“It’s a moot point and a waste of taxpayer money to go down that path,” Bean said about casino resort proposals.

Also, gambling is currently available in nearby states with travel times of just two or three hours from anywhere in Texas.

“That’s fine with me,” Bean said.

Bean will face John McQueeney in the May 28 Republican primary. Another key issue in the race is border security.

The House seat is currently held by state Rep. Craig Goldman, a Republican who is seeking to get elected to Congress.

Gambling Proposals

As it now stands, Class III (commercial casino) gambling is prohibited in Texas. So too are online sports gambling and in-person sports gambling at sportsbooks.

In March, Las Vegas Sands filed a new petition to bring casino gaming to Texas. Many lobbyists have been working on the issue in the state and new legislative proposals are likely in upcoming sessions.

Expanded gaming is in Texas’ future, the only question is when, University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus recently told Casino.org. He explained that casino gaming is a big change and will take a few legislative sessions to pass.

A proposed expansion at the Encore Boston Harbor has been postponed indefinitely after a disagreement broke out between casino officials and city leaders over fees and taxes.

The first phase of the expansion was to include 142K square feet of additional floor space. The addition was to be located across from the Everett, Mass. existing gaming complex.

Wynn Disappointed

The delay was revealed in a Wynn Resorts earning call last week. Wynn CEO Craig Billings called the stoppage “disappointing” but says the company has “numerous other development projects globally where we can redirect the capital we intended to deploy in Boston.”

The $400M addition would include more entertainment, restaurants, and gaming facilities. It was expected to include a 979-seat theater, as well as a seven-story parking garage with more than 2,000 spaces for vehicles. The addition would also include a poker room and a sports betting parlor.

The Memoire nightclub would be relocated from the current casino building to the addition. A pedestrian skywalk would connect the existing complex to the addition.

Negotiations Fail

“We remain optimistic about the project fulfilling the city’s and our shared goal of developing an exciting and vibrant destination district on Lower Broadway with restaurants, hotels, theaters, and other recreational uses,” Wynn Resorts said in a recent statement to Massachusetts TV station WBTS.

However, it has become apparent that we are unable to negotiate an agreement with the City of Everett regarding property taxes, impact fees, and infrastructure improvements in a timely fashion. Until these issues are addressed with a financially viable resolution we have a responsibility to our shareholders, and cannot continue to incur project costs.”

A planned second phase addition also would include two additional hotel towers with 800 guestrooms at the Encore property. Encore currently has 671 hotel rooms, which are commonly sold out on weekends.

Everett city officials didn’t provide an immediate comment in response to the company statements.

In addition, Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) announced last week that it’s aware of the project stoppage.

Obviously, we’re all prepared and ready to move forward as things develop further,” MGC Executive Director Dean Serpa said on Thursday.

In 2022, Wynn Resorts previously paused the permit process on the development, to see if it planned facilities were the best use of the property.

The Encore Boston Harbor opened in 2019 at a $2.6B price tag.

Three men are scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday after some 213K fentanyl pills were found in a Henderson, Nev. gaming property parking lot.

Last Wednesday, a Clark County grand jury indicted the defendants, Jesus Aguayo, David Estrada, and Ulyses Lopez-Vazquez in connection with the drug trafficking.

Each was charged with trafficking in a controlled substance, transporting a controlled substance, and conspiracy to violate the Uniform Controlled Substance Act.

The suspects were allegedly taking part in the handoff of the 44 pounds of fentanyl pills, according to Las Vegas TV station KLAS. The pills, described by police as “M30s,” looked like 30 mg oxycodone tablets, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Last August, Henderson police officers found out suspected fentanyl was to be driven from Arizona to the casino. The destination was identified as Henderson’s Sunset Station Hotel & Casino, according to the Review-Journal.

Pills Came from Mexico

The pills originally were transported into the United States from Mexico, the report revealed.

Officers staked out the casino lot before approaching a Dodge Charger where they found the illicit drugs inside the trunk. Seated in the car were Aguayo, Estrada, and Lopez-Vazquez.

The men were arrested on August 27, and appeared in Henderson Justice Court following their arrests. Each posted a $20K bond and was released from custody. If convicted, the men could face years in prison.

A fourth unidentified person who was apparently at the casino lot to purchase the illegal drugs fled from the crime scene. That suspect was never charged.

Fentanyl is Deadly Problem

Fentanyl continues to be a challenge for health and police officials in Clark County, as well as nationwide.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that’s 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) told the Las Vegas Weekly.

Last year, Clark County saw 237 fentanyl-related deaths. Clark County also saw a 97% jump in fatalities when fentanyl was mixed with methamphetamine (meth) or cocaine from 2020 to 2023, according to data from the SNHD, as reported by the Nevada Current.

One of the biggest dangers is fentanyl being mixed with stimulants because one of the drugs of choice here in Clark County, or specifically Las Vegas, is methamphetamine, as a party city,” Katarina Pulver, health educator for SNHD, told the Weekly.

“Many people are taking what they think is methamphetamine or cocaine to go out and have a good time, but it’s laced with fentanyl,” she added.

Police are investigating possible sex trade activity in the area of a Pennsylvania gaming property and a nearby hotel.

As recently as late last month, Upper Merion Township Police Department detectives assigned to the special investigations unit (SIU) were searching for those involved in a suspected prostitution ring at the Valley Forge Casino’s Stardust Hotel in King of Prussia, Pa., according to Patch.

The investigation was launched after a woman advertised her services on a website. Police also received tips regarding suspicious activity around the hotel.

Detectives put the hotel area under surveillance on March 27 and waited in a parking lot to see if the woman was there.

During the police operation, the suspect was seen leaving the hotel. Officers asked the woman to provide identification. She gave police a name, officers said, but detectives quickly realized it was fictitious.

Resisting Arrest

Following a short struggle, the woman was placed under arrest. Upon searching her, police said they found drug paraphernalia, an unspecified amount of suspected crack cocaine, and syringes.

She was charged with giving a false ID to law enforcement, resisting arrest, possession of drug paraphernalia, and drug possession.

It also was discovered that the same woman was wanted on a warrant for drug charges by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, police said.

Local news reports didn’t identify the woman or provide her age or address.

More Drug Counts

Two men also were with the woman at the hotel.

He was charged with drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Both the man and the woman later were booked at Pennsylvania’s Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

Charges are now pending in local court.

It’s unknown if the woman or either man will face prostitution-related charges.

The second man wasn’t charged and was released from police custody. He wasn’t identified in local news reports.

It appears that police investigation of possible prostitution and related criminal activity at the hotel is continuing.

Senior Decide Colleen Kollar-Kotelly reportedly gave prosecutors till July 27. to offer a replica of the plea settlement between defendants Heather Morgan and Ilya Lichtenstein. The listening to in Washington court docket will happen on August 3.

Reuters primarily based its info on present court docket paperwork. Though it didn’t specify the doc in query, on July 20 the submitting abstract reveals that the Justice of the Peace case for each people was closed pending deadlines, motions and expungements.

Morgan and Lichtenstein had been arrested in 2022. February. and had been accused of laundering roughly 100,000 BTC from the Bitfinex hack six years in the past.

The case continues to develop

seethereality beforehand reported that the pair allegedly laundered 119,756 Bitcoin (BTC). In the course of the confiscation, the worth of the stolen funds reached nearly 3.6 billion. USD, though their worth was 4.5 billion. USD when this story appeared in 2022. in February The above quantity is once more 3.6 billion at present market costs. USD.

Prosecutors charged the pair with conspiracy to commit cash laundering and conspiracy to defraud america. These costs carry a most sentence of 20 years in jail and 5 years in jail.

Reuters mentioned in its present report that prosecutors are actually looking for to drive Morgan and Lichtenstein to forfeit belongings value about $3 billion. USD primarily based on the present spot costs of assorted cryptocurrencies. By the best way, among the many claimed belongings aren’t solely cryptocurrencies, but in addition gold cash “mined and recovered by regulation enforcement” in California.

Morgan and Lichtenstein stored it public. Morgan made a web-based rap profession underneath the title Razzlekhan. Lichtenstein labored as a serial entrepreneur and likewise ran a YouTube channel as an beginner magician.

The couple’s uncommon private lives and alleged high-profile crimes prompted Netflix to announce a sequence primarily based on the 2 people. That sequence hasn’t been launched but.

The submit Plea settlement between American couple accused of laundering stolen Bitfinex funds appeared first on seethereality.

“StakeHound continues to illegally withhold or in any other case deprive Celsius of all these worthwhile native tokens.”

Celsius mentioned StakeHound refused to return the funds it had been entrusted with when it went bankrupt final 12 months, including that the funding platform had filed an arbitration settlement towards it in Switzerland, saying it was underneath no obligation to return the fund.

Celsius claims StakeHound misplaced 35,000. ETH keys.

Based on the court docket submitting, the inventory platform mentioned that in 2021 misplaced keys from Celsius 35,000 ETH, which implies she has no obligation to return. On the time, StakeHound accused Fireblocks of shedding the keys and sued the custodian.

Celsius mentioned the arbitration violates Part 362 of the U.S. Chapter Code, which prohibits a creditor from taking any authorized motion or debt assortment towards anybody who has filed for chapter.

The bankrupt firm desires the court docket to order StakeHound to repay the funds and pay damages for breach of contract.

“StakeHound needs to be ordered to switch to Celsi any tokens it truly or constructively holds or in any other case present native tokens in change for stTokens and to pay precise and exemplary damages, legal professional’s charges and pre- and post-judgment curiosity.” from breach of obligation and willful misconduct, and will due to this fact be ordered to proceed with the arbitration towards Celsius in violation of the automated keep.

StakeHound had but to file a protection to the allegations at press time.

Celsius Chapter Efforts

In the meantime, the lawsuit marks the newest effort by Celsius to recuperate a few of the funds caught on different platforms. For the reason that chapter submitting, the bankrupt lender has been planning to maintain collectors wholesome.

The lender not too long ago obtained court docket approval to liquidate its Bitcoin (BTC) and ETH altcoins. Nonetheless, Kaiko’s report means that the lender’s liquidation course of may put extra strain on the cryptocurrency market.

Based on Arkham Intelligence informationCelsius at present has 598.67M shares. USD of digital belongings, and its CEL native token accounts for about 100 million. USD of this fund.

The report Celsius suing for $150 million appeared first on seethereality. USD crypto asset restoration from StakeHound.

The corporate’s Bitcoin Belief (GBTC) additionally fell to its lowest level since 2022, in response to ycharts. Might.

The GBTC low cost is narrowing

In accordance with ycharts knowledge, GBTC’s low cost to web asset worth (NAV) has fallen to 27.49%, and its shares are buying and selling near $20.

Over the previous few weeks, GBTC’s low cost has been lowering, and its share worth has surpassed Bitcoin. For context, whereas GBTC shares have gained almost 43% over the previous month, BTC has solely gained 17% in worth over the identical interval. seethereality. knowledge.

Market watchers attributed GBTC’s improved efficiency to BlackRock’s bid for a Bitcoin spot ETF. For the reason that asset supervisor on June 15 utilized for an prompt BTC ETF, different conventional monetary establishments, together with Constancy and others, utilized for the same ETF.

Grayscale points in SEC vs. BTC leveraged ETFs

July 10, Grey criticized The US monetary regulator’s determination to approve a weighted BTC ETF, a mutual fund that goals to generate greater returns utilizing derivatives and debt, has argued that the SEC’s actions show it’s appearing arbitrarily.

The agency wrote:

“The 2x Weighted Bitcoin Futures ETF makes use of leverage to double the efficiency of the S&P CME Bitcoin Futures Every day Roll Index day by day. This opens up an excellent riskier funding product for traders than conventional bitcoin futures exchange-traded merchandise.

Grayscale identified that the joy generated by this weighted BTC ETF means that “itraders need BTC publicity with ETF shell safety.

The agency added that the SEC had no good motive to disclaim approval of spot merchandise whereas approving leveraged futures contracts.

Final 12 months, the SEC rejected Grayscale’s plan to transform its Bitcoin Belief into an ETF, forcing the agency to file a lawsuit with the SEC, arguing that the spot ETF was no completely different from the futures ETF the SEC had beforehand accredited.

The submit Grayscale Challenges SEC Ruling on Weighted Bitcoin ETF as GBTC Low cost Narrows appeared first on seethereality.

Disclaimer: By selecting to lock your ACS tokens with seethereality, you agree and acknowledge that you can be certain by the phrases and circumstances of the third-party digital pockets supplier, in addition to any relevant phrases and circumstances of the Entry Basis. seethereality assumes no duty or legal responsibility for the availability, entry, use, locking, safety, integrity, worth or authorized standing of your ACS Tokens or your Digital Pockets, together with any loss associated to your ACS Tokens. You’re solely answerable for the dangers related along with your ACS token lock utilizing seethereality. Please go to our phrases web page for extra info.

in 2022 June 29 The US SEC rejected Grayscale’s utility to transform the Greyscale Bitcoin Belief right into a home Bitcoin ETF. On the identical day, Grayscale filed an attraction in a DC court docket difficult the SEC’s resolution.

The court docket’s ruling on the lawsuit may decide the destiny of a string of extraordinary Bitcoin ETF filings filed final month.

Grayscale says SEC acted ‘arbitrarily and capriciously’

The crux of Grayscale’s argument is that the SEC acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” in rejecting home Bitcoin ETF functions, particularly provided that it has already authorised Bitcoin futures ETFs. The SEC violated the Securities Trade Act by “unfairly discriminating” in opposition to home Bitcoin ETF issuers, Grayscale says.

In different phrases, Grayscale believes that spot and futures Bitcoin ETFs carry related dangers and needs to be handled equally. Moreover, each spot and Bitcoin futures ETFs are priced based mostly on the identical underlying spot markets, another excuse why they need to be handled equally, in keeping with Grayscale.

Grayscale made its closing oral arguments within the case on March 7. The SEC stated that day that spot and Bitcoin futures ETFs are associated, however that correlation doesn’t equal causation. The core of the SEC’s argument is that spot Bitcoin ETFs are extra susceptible to manipulation and fraud as a result of the underlying spot market stays unregulated. Nevertheless, the regulated Chicago Mercantile Trade that trades Bitcoin futures ETFs has enough safeguards in opposition to fraud and manipulation.

I’m ready

Whatever the consequence, the court docket’s ruling shall be essential for anybody trying to situation spot Bitcoin ETFs within the US. If Grayscale loses, the corporate may face an “en banc” listening to, which is uncommon in that each one D.C. Circuit judges hear the case. Alternatively, Grayscale can attraction the choice to the Supreme Courtroom.

On condition that many market analysts are optimistic in regards to the approval of instant Bitcoin ETF filings, the court docket’s resolution on this case may have a big influence on the outlook for issuers of such ETFs.

The court docket’s resolution in Grayscale v. SEC lawsuit might be essential for non-filing Bitcoin ETF candidates appeared first on seethereality.

The rising marketplace for non-fungible tokens has created confusion about their relationship to copyright legislation. A few of that is as a result of inexperience and misunderstandings of the folks minting NFTs, however so much additionally has to do with the constraints of present copyright legislation and current licenses.

One attainable answer could be to create a particular license for NFTs. For now, the dearth of readability is more likely to expose builders and retailers to pricey lawsuits.

NFTs and copyright: a standard false impression

Many individuals, each minting and buying and selling NFTs, consider that the proprietor of the NFT owns the copyright to the minted picture, however that is incorrect. In legislation, there are two forms of rights: the possession of a bodily object and its illustration.

For instance, when you’ve got a espresso mug, you’ll be able to promote it to anybody, however as soon as bought, it stays your property and you haven’t any additional rights. However you can even take a photograph of it and make as many copies as you need and promote these copies with out promoting the mug. You can too let another person copy your picture. That is what copyright is: a set of restricted rights to the replica of property.

The copyright proprietor can license the rights to 1 particular person or to all, or just for particular functions, and set the phrases of the license. There are additionally by-product rights.

For instance, a e-book creator will normally promote the correct to self-publish the e-book, however retain the rights to make movie or TV diversifications that may be bought later. There are additionally by-product rights to by-product merchandise, equivalent to tv rights to a film adaptation of a novel, or the correct to display a film in a movie show, make it right into a DVD, or add it to a streaming service.

Importantly, the sale of a bodily object doesn’t embrace copyright until particularly included within the transaction. That is most evident within the case of the novel, the place the creator can promote his manuscript with out promoting the copyright. Alternatively, should you promote your espresso mug, the brand new proprietor doesn’t routinely get the correct to make and promote your picture.

How US copyright legislation works for NFTs

The Web makes the state of affairs rather more sophisticated.

Based on US copyright legislation, James Grimmelmann and Yan Ji of Cornell Regulation College and Tyler Kell of the Cryptocurrency and Contracts Initiative say that should you take an image of your mug and scan it into your laptop, you are making a separate copy.

If you happen to add it to the net, the server the place it’s saved has a separate copy, and each time somebody visits your web site and views the picture, one other copy is created. So you should purchase a picture in NFT and never have the authorized proper to view it.

Earlier than NFT, this was not thought-about an issue. In spite of everything, even an excessively litigious music firm that sends takedown notices for a brief snippet of a track taking part in within the background of a publicly filmed video may have hassle suing folks for listening to the iTunes preview of the track they uploaded.

However now NFT homeowners are beneath the impression that they personal the copyright to the works they minted or bought and are attempting to sue or license their non-existent rights.

About 20 years in the past, Barbara Streisand unsuccessfully sued a photographer and his web site to have a photograph of her home (a photograph taken to doc coastal erosion in California) faraway from the Web. Nonetheless, if she had made the video NFT and sued the individuals who downloaded or shared it for copyright infringement, she would have been out of luck.

Copyright NFT Worldwide

Copyright confusion spreads internationally as a result of copyright legal guidelines range from nation to nation. A piece created by an NFT could also be copyrighted in a single and public area in one other. Completely different nations additionally produce other legal guidelines governing issues like royalty rights.

Though legal professionals and firms engaged on copyright haven’t clashed, confusion over the copyright standing of NFTs may have an effect on the market worth of the tokens. For the reason that NFT market may be price billions, this is usually a big cloud over them.

Who owns the artwork?

The same problem is that whereas possession of NFTs is on the blockchain, mintable digital artwork has no such provenance. The rightful proprietor of a copyrighted work can sue for substantial income and damages. One other complication might come up from jobs created by synthetic intelligence.

At the moment, the US Copyright Workplace says that AI works usually are not copyrightable, however it’s unclear what rights creators have if their work is used to show AI or is chosen by them.

Particular NFT License Supply

One attainable answer to the confusion could be for copyright holders to create a particular NFT license related to tokens in order that the license is routinely transferred with the token. The license couldn’t be separated from the NFT and might be recorded as a part of the blockchain by minting the token.

This license could also be automated (obligatory) until the copyright proprietor makes a particular provision. This might assist defend their rights and keep away from confusion and battle. This strategy is taken by Dapper Labs’ NFT license, which grants sure rights to its NFT patrons. Nonetheless, the NFT license isn’t associated to the possession of the NFT.

Conclusion

It’s unlikely that new laws would clear up these issues. The present mental property rights regime is deeply entrenched and main pursuits equivalent to report labels and movie studios will struggle tooth and nail to maintain issues the way in which they’re.

Given these complexities, NFT builders and merchants want to coach themselves about copyright legislation and guarantee they keep inside its boundaries to keep away from authorized issues. Whereas it will not disrupt the trade in the way in which that unfairly linking cryptocurrencies to cash laundering and different crimes, lawsuits and damages for violations will likely be costly and restrict funding.

Disclaimer: The data contained on this article isn’t, and isn’t, authorized recommendation; As a substitute, all info, content material and supplies offered herein are for basic informational functions solely. The data offered within the article is probably not the latest authorized or different info. This text accommodates hyperlinks to different third celebration web sites. Such hyperlinks are for the comfort of the reader, person or browser.