Bay Area Native Tom Hanks Upset Over Oakland Raiders’ Proceed to Las Vegas

Celebrated A-lister Tom Hanks is one of America’s most cherished Hollywood talents.
He’s entertained moviegoers for many years, but with regards to their entertainment that is own states he won’t be tuning in for Raiders football games once the franchise relocates to Las Vegas.
When the Oakland Raiders relocate to Las Vegas, expected to take place in 2020, do not look for Tom Hanks regarding the sidelines.
There’s no crying in baseball, as Hanks’ character Jimmy Dugan so memorably stated in ‘A League of Their very Own,’ but as it pertains to soccer and Hanks’ beloved Raiders, apparently there is.
Appearing at a fundraiser in san francisco bay area to support local training, Hanks told attendees he’s going on a two-year moratorium from watching the NFL following the Raiders jump town for Sin City. Raised and born in the Bay Area, Hanks attended Skyline tall School in Oakland, which is just five miles from where the Raiders have played their games since 1995.
While Hanks was on-hand to raise money for education, and they did to the tune of over $500,000, the celebrity also took time and energy to educate those around him on why the Raiders moving to Nevada is wrong.
‘You cannot just take the Silver and Ebony, put them within an air-conditioned dome in the desert, make them use artificial change within a stone’s throw regarding the fountains of Caesars’ Palace, and call them the Raiders,’ Hanks opined, as reported by theSF Chronicle.
While Caesars Palace does have some smaller water fountain features throughout its pool and property area, it’s confusing if Hanks had been mistakenly referring to the Bellagio’s famed water spectacle.
Raiders Lovers Feel Pirated
Hanks certainly isn’t the only Raiders fan angered by owner Mark Davis moving the storied California NFL group to Nevada. Come August, it’ll be seen whether Oakland fans will continue to offer the franchise despite knowing the Raiders are leaving in the years that are coming.
The Raiders possess some of the very most passionate fans in all of football, and even though many are expected to consistently support the players during their three-year curtain call, other people might boycott the team to punish Davis. If the latter happen, various towns and cities are being considered as a temporary home, as construction on the Strip stadium continues.
Davis received the blessing of the NFL to maneuver the Raiders to Las Vegas in belated March.
The Raiders caused a little bit of controversy at this week’s NFL Draft when it took Gareon Conley of Ohio State in the very first round. A female recently accused Conley of raping her, though he’s strongly denied the allegations that are ongoing.
Hanks Hammers Funding
Like many other Las Vegas locals, Hanks also took issue with how Nevada came to terms on funding the $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat domed stadium.
The state government authorized committing $750 million in resort occupancy taxes generated in Clark County to help persuade the franchise to the Mojave Desert.
‘I’m simply thinking as a fan: It’s an industry that is billion-dollar they have billion-dollar TV contracts. All of the owners are billionaires. Yet when they want to build a stadium . . . they anticipate the city taxpayers to get the building,’ Hanks declared.
Hanks is the very first celebrity that is major come out publicly in reprimanding the Raiders move, and threatening to boycott the NFL once the team departs.
Will others follow? Like Forrest Gump’s momma always said, ‘Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.’
Florida Legislature Edges Towards Deal on Gambling Reform
The Florida home and Senate appeared to be described as a step closer up to a deal to reform Florida’s gambling landscape, as the second day of negotiations closed on Thursday.
Representative Jose Felix Diaz, chief House negotiator, is ready to offer some ‘serious and substantial’ concessions to the Senate to simply help find a deal that is workable May 5. (Image: Miami Herald)
This had been billed by one video gaming consultant as ‘the standoff at the Corral that is OK, or at least what lawmakers call a ‘heavy lift,’ as two chambers, completely polarized on gambling problems, sought to strike an understanding before the might 5 deadline. Many believed a deal could not be performed this year, which may not precisely be away from character for the Florida legislature when it comes to gambling reform legislation.
But it was clear through the outset there is an appetite for compromise involving the expansion-happy Senate while the gambling-shy House, considering a desire to forge for the state a profitable compact with the Seminole tribe.
‘Decoupling’ for Racetracks
The House was intent on a status quo approach, but on Wednesday its chief negotiator, Representative Jose Felix Diaz, showed it was prepared to budge until this week.
‘ We know that time is running away, he said Wednesday so we wanted to make a serious and substantial offer to the Senate.
That meant agreeing to the Senate proposal to authorize ‘decoupling’ for racetracks, which will allow the tracks to supply gambling games and never have to host racing that is live.
The House would accept this, provided the proposition was decided by general public referendum, a condition which was refused by the Senate, Thursday.
The House, somewhat surprisingly, also consented up to a slot casino based in Miami-Dade County, a concession to the Senate’s plan that could authorize two such gambling enterprises in the state.
Concession to the Seminoles
Both House and Senate have been looking to hit a cope with the Seminoles that would be worth $3 billion to Florida over seven years.
The tribe is understandably reluctant to accept the biggest casino revenue sharing deal in history and has questioned whether this type of deal would ever be signed off on by federal officials.
Provided it gets its two casinos, the Senate is ready to rethink that figure as a concession to the Seminoles.
There is still much to go over with this wide-ranging package of reforms, and the Senate clearly has the hand that is upper the negotiations. But while there nevertheless are some strategy to use towards opinion, there does seem, at least, to be a real appetite to do the trick before May 5.
Atlantic Club Sale and Waterpark Transformation Canceled, as Financing Dries Up
The Atlantic Club is again straight back on the market after a deal to sell the resort and turn it into family activity center and waterpark fell through.
The eyesight of converting the Atlantic that is closed Club a waterpark has once again been flushed down the slide. (Image: SOSH Architects)
R&R Development Group, a real estate developer based in nearby Ventnor, New Jersey, an oceanfront community just south of Atlantic City, had reportedly reached a deal to purchase the resort from TJM Properties last month. But funding to choose the casino that is shuttered through following a Chinese group withdrew $35 million in financing to R&R, based on thePress of Atlantic City.
Florida-based TJM Properties was none too happy to retain its Atlantic City home.
‘You would think they’d have already been sure of their funding,’ TJM Director of Acquisitions Dale Schooley said.
The Atlantic Club sale was at an undisclosed price, but R&R said they had planned to invest a total of $135 million into renovating the resort. The location has sat vacant since its closure in 2014, one of four casinos to lock its doors that year.
Originally developed by Steve Wynn under the Golden Nugget brand, the Atlantic Club has exchanged hands times that are numerous. In addition to Wynn and Golden Nugget, the resort has been owned by Bally’s, Hilton Hotels, Resorts, and Caesars Entertainment.
Caesars sold the Atlantic Club in 2014 to TJM at the reported price of just $13.5 million.
Washed Up, but No Water
The R&R’s attempt to transform the Atlantic Club into a waterpark isn’t the first time the resort has been targeted for such an attraction for readers experiencing déjà vu.
Endeavor Property Group, a Pennsylvania developer, first tried to buy the Boardwalk place and refurbish it as a waterpark back 2015. The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) approved zoning permits for the project, but those plans also fluttered on funding shortcomings.
The beachfront Atlantic Club is seen as a perfect candidate to be made over into a water-themed attraction with over 1.5 million square feet and two city blocks of flat parking.
Rebuilding Atlantic City
R&R says it plans to make a bid that is new the Atlantic Club once it finds new, perhaps safer, financing. The Chelsea section of Atlantic City has been targeted for redevelopment by private companies, along with the city and state.
The CRDA is spending $17 million into the Atlantic City Gateway venture, a satellite campus for Stockton University that has been built on the lands of this old Atlantic City High School. The intersection of Atlantic, Albany, and Pacific avenues is where the campus will be built, and that’s adjacent towards the Atlantic Club.
Stockton previously tried to establish a campus within the Showboat that is former in, but Carl Icahn, who at the time owned the neighboring Trump Taj Mahal, voiced concerns over having college dorms close to his casino. A deed restriction ultimately forced the college into offering the Showboat.
Not unlike UNLV in Las Vegas, Stockton is well known because of its hospitality system. The university owns the nearby Seaview Hotel and Resort in Galloway, and students help run the historic facility.
Mobile Slots Jackpot Sets Record, as Mega Moolah Gambler Wins $8.7 Million
The biggest mobile slots jackpot in history was hit this week by one gambler that is lucky Microgaming’s appropriately called Mega Moolah game.
John Heywood’s 2015 record-setting jackpot that is online still stands, but a brand new mobile slots jackpot record has been set. (Image: Steven St. John/Wall Street Journal)
The Isle of guy software developer confirmed the news in a press launch, saying an online gambler, who wished to stay anonymous, won €8,012,153.35 ($8.7 million) while spinning on the Tipico network. Based in Malta, Tipico is an internet casino and sports betting platform.
The Mega Moolah hit comes less than a year after another Microgaming progressive jackpot shelled out an $8.6 million reward, the last all-time high for mobile slots.
The win this week arrived on a roughly $6.80 spin. That equates up to a return on investment of approximately 128 million %, not detrimental to a spin’s work.
‘To see our very own record for the greatest jackpot that is ever mobile break is fantastic,’ Microgaming Publisher David Reynolds said in a launch. ‘We’d like to congratulate the Tipico player on their life-changing win.’
Microgaming’s progressive jackpots are compensated in one swelling sum. That varies from many land-based casinos, which frequently pay out progressive jackpots in annual installments more than a number of years, or negotiate with the happy champion on a reduced one-time payment.
The Mega Moolah progressive jackpot has since reset, and is currently at about $1.5 million. It can be expected to achieve value quickly, but, as mobile slots players flock to the game that is hot.
The largest slots that are online came in 2015, when UK soldier John Heywood won $20 million on a $0.32 stake.
Monte Carlo Moolah
Not to ever be outdone, an even bigger bet return, in terms of percentages, was struck during the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas this week.
A really lucky player, who additionally wanted to stay anonymous (maybe it’s exactly the same person!), turned a $0.25 spin for a Wheel of Fortune machine into $725,000. That represents an almost 290 million percent return.
It was just in March when another Wheel of Fortune player won $585,000 during the Monte Carlo as well, also on a $0.25 spin. The Wheel of Fortune game is operated and developed by IGT.
How Progressives Work
Unlike traditional standalone slots, progressives link the gaming products together into networks, often across many properties, as well as in the case of iCasinos, interactive platforms.
Every time a gambler loses on a slots spin, a small portion of this casino’s take is fed to the jackpot that is progressive. The jackpots can grow quickly with hundreds, sometimes thousands of machines and players testing their luck on the same game.
Of course, chances of hitting the treasure chest are slim to none. Nevertheless they do take place, as proven by the winners that are recent.
Chances of hitting a modern jackpot aren’t precisely known, as many factors go into the calculation including the number of devices, slots format, waging thresholds, etc. But oddsmakers have theorized that it’s around one in 50 million.
Nevada’s biggest progressive jackpot that is land-based currently Megabucks, which has over $11.3 million in its vault right now up for grabs. Megabucks exists at dozens of Strip casinos and across the Silver State.
Maine Casino Proposal Bankrolled by Offshore Firms Linked to Controversial Figure Shawn Scott
A campaign that is contentious a brand new casino in Maine, that has been included with the state ballot in November, ended up being funded by a complex web of offshore organizations from the controversial businessman Shawn Scott, new filings revealed this week.
Shawn Scott, third from left, has been revealed to be behind the Maine casino referendum push, as suspected. Several companies connected to him may now receive fines from the Maine’s ethics committee over the late disclosure. (Image: Press Herald)
The only known contributor to the casino push had been the campaign committee known ‘Horseracing Jobs Fairness,’ whose sole listed officer is one Lisa Scott, who, it has been revealed, is Shawn Scott’s sister until these new disclosures.
She, and she alone, ‘officially’ funded the $4.2 million campaign that is signature-gathering attained the required quota to force the referendum.
Fined in Massachusetts
Nevertheless the documents that are new filed on Wednesday to the Maine Ethics Committee, reveal the cash was at reality provided by network of corporations, associated with her bro, which had been kept hidden from officials until after the goal, the referendum, was accomplished.
Perhaps with justification. It’s the same community that tried and failed to obtain a slots parlor up and running in Massachusetts last 12 months, and ended up being fined for pulling similar a similar stunt.
Bridge Capital, an investment that is high-risk considering the Pacific area of Saipan in which Shawn Scott is just a partner, received a $125,000 penalty from Massachusetts for concealing its involvement in the act.
Bridge Capital is perhaps not mentioned in the filings in Maine, but it shares a CEO utilizing the contributor that is main the campaign, Capital Seven, which is run by Shawn Scott.
In 2015 a gambling facility run by Bridge Capital was seized by the federal government of Laos corruption that is following.
Skewed Ballot Question
Horseracing Jobs Fairness has claimed the proposition to construct a casino with 1,500 brand new slots in Penobscot County was created to increase funding for the state’s embattled horseracing industry.
But the concern forced onto the ballot is heavily weighted. It asks voters to decide whether or not the state should accept license applications only from ‘an entity that owned in 2003 at the very least 51 percent of an entity licensed to use a commercial track in Penobscot County that carried out harness racing with pari-mutuel wagering on more than 25 days during calendar year 2002.’
The only ‘entity’ on the planet that fits this very specific description is Shawn Scott. In 2003 he bankrolled a effective referendum to permit slots during the struggling Bangor Raceway, 22 dukes casino bonus codes which he had purchased the prior year for just over $1 million.
Right after, the Maine Harness Racing Commission accused him of demonstrating ‘sloppy, if you don’t irresponsible financial management’ and noted he had 37 lawsuits against him in four states. He later sold the Bangor raceway and all its recently installed slot machines for a $50 million profit.
Maine’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee co-chairman Garrett Mason told Maine Public this the ballot campaign ‘stinks’ and is ‘corrupt. week’
‘We knew something was wrong using them. The committee knew that in its questioning … and I think the organizers are starting to figure out that people’re on to them,’ he included.
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