Breaking Casino News from Las Vegas
On July 21st, 2014, a Las Vegas player was given 3 years probation for his participation in an illegal bookmaking scheme. Mitchell Garshofsky, a 54 year-old sports bettor and poker player, was sentenced to 6 months on house arrest complete with electronic monitoring in accordance with the terms of his probation.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey also ordered Garshofsky to serve 100 hours of community service and fined him $10,000. Richard Wright, Garshofsky’s defense attorney said his client is a religious, honest man who is truly sorry for what he has done.
Garshofsky along with his co-defendant Aaron Virchis both pled guilty in April to 1 count of felony operation of an illegal gambling enterprise. Both defendants forfeited approximately $1 million to the government.
IRS agents led a financial crimes task force which raided Garshofsky’s home to seize evidence of the illegal bookmaking operation. The evidence that was found linked the illegal bookmaking business to offshore gambling operations. The evidence suggests that Virchis and Garshofsky were communicating with offshore betting sites like Matchbook, BetCRIS and Pinnacle Sports.
First Female Gaming Regulator Inducted into Gaming Hall of Fame
The first female gaming operator in the casino industry has been inducted into the Gaming Hall of Fame. On July 21st, 2014, the American Gaming Association (AGA) announced its list of inductees. The list includes Patricia Becker who was a member of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board, Caesars Executive Vice President Jan Jones Blackhurst, gaming attorney Bob Faiss and Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association Ernie Stevens.
The ceremony will be held on September 29th, 2014 at the Global Gaming Expo which is taking place in Las Vegas. Patricia Becker served on the Gaming Control Board in 1983. She was appointed by Governor Richard Bryan and she is the only woman who has served full time on Nevada’s regulatory panel.
After Becker served as a regulator, she had several executive positions with Harrah’s Entertainment and Aladdin Gaming. She also served on a number of boards for technology and gaming companies. She was also chief of staff for Governor Bob Miller for two years and was the Executive Director at the UNLV International Gaming Institute for five years.
Jones Blackhurst served two terms as the mayor of Las Vegas – she was the first female mayor of that city. She began working for Caesars in 1999 and is currently the head of government relations, corporate responsibilities and communications.
Faiss, who passed away in June, was a historian of Nevada gaming law and casino industry expansion for 40 years. Faiss was also a partner at the Lionel Sawyer & Collins law office and was the chairman of the gaming and regulatory law department.
Stevens is the second Indian gaming Hall of Fame inductee and currently serves as the leader of the National Indian Gaming Association. He is part of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and has been involved in Indian gaming since 1993.
