World Cup 2014 Circus: Suarez Loses 888, While Neymar Briefs

The Bite Heard Round the World cost Luis Suarez his World Cup and his 888poker sponsorship this week, but 888 may should thank the toothy Uruguayan within the end. (Image: bbc.com)
It’s all over but the shouting: as we reported earlier this week, the Bite That Rocked the World Cup, aka Luis Suarez loses his mind, now has 888poker officially cutting ties with the Uruguayan striker. Following a four-month playing ban by FIFA that effectively comes to an end his World Cup play, Suarez must now face the sobering reality that he bit off more than he could chew this time around, career-wise.
It absolutely was only last month that 888 signed the, um, colorful character that is Suarez to its ambassador program, and even then, it appeared as if a shaky bet on the part of the online poker giant; all things considered, this had beenn’t exactly the first, or second, or third (you get the concept) time that Suarez sank his teeth into a tremendously bad concept.
‘888poker signed Luis Suárez carrying out a fantastic season for which his achievements had been widely recognised,’ said the organization in a formally issued statement. ‘Regrettably, following their actions during Uruguay’s World Cup match against Italy on Tuesday, 888poker has decided to end Luis Suárez to its relationship with instant effect.’
The FIFA ban and 888 shunning follow a much-publicized dental assault on Italian player Giorgio Chiellini during the pair’s match up between Uruguay and Italy as the final Group D showdown last week in case you live in a bubble and haven’t heard the gory details. Italy was later on knocked out by South America, making it a doubly bad day for Chiellini.
Is it just us or is 888.com the winner that is big all of this? By becoming the to begin Suarez’s sponsors to officially abandon him on the incident, they pretty much got a mention in every paper and news website in THE ENTIRE WORLD. Way to make lemonade away from lemons, 888. That bite seems to have kept you with lots lightning-link-slot of zest. (Sorry, we are for a pun-athon at this time and cannot be stopped).
Brief Encounter
These are branding, the World Cup is a maelstrom of business sponsorship and the rules are extremely strict on brands, and that’s why FIFA has launched a very investigation that is serious Neymar’s underpants. It would appear that the tiny Brazilian playmaker with the dazzling feet and toilet brush hairdo was seen wearing Speedo underwear through the customary post-match exchange of tops when Brazil played Cameroon a week ago.
Now, Speedo, although it does makes very nice underwear, is perhaps not a licensed FIFA brand and herein lies the issue.
In the middle of the investigation is whether Neymar purposefully exposed the Speedo logo on his underwear or whether it was pure accident that the offending articles had ridden up slightly above his shorts (it happens!). We have no idea how they propose to determine this.
Were Neymar’s underpants illegal, and, if so, should he need to remove them? Possibly he should really be prohibited for life. We’ll make sure to bring you updates from the investigation as it progresses.
The Big Payoff
As we also reported within our earlier story, some clever bettors made bank on the top Bite Theory before it simply happened; we’ve more details on how that all played away.
In reality, crucial news reaches us from Sweden, where bookies have settled just below 1,400 kroner ($2,070) to one prescient punter who predicted that Luis Suarez would sink his Bee Gee-like ivories into the soft, tempting flesh of a opponent at the 2014 World Cup.
Jonathan Brack, a 23-year-old teacher from Stenungsund, placed the 80 kroner ($12) bet at likelihood of 174 to 1, therefore the Uruguayan duly obliged by connecting their gleaming dentition towards the shoulder of Chiellini through the Uruguay Italy game, before rolling on to the floor feigning injury to his fangs. It appears that over a 150 people across Europe have won money on similar wagers.
‘ I happened to be looking through some odds prior to the competition started and I saw this bet and thought I had to take a possibility,’ Jonathan told the BBC. ‘I desired to place hundreds but my friend told me not to waste my money on this type of stupid thing.’
But we nevertheless state 888 will be laughing all the way to your bank on this one. After all, Suarez has pretty much given them a lifetime’s publicity in one mad, hellish, impulsive moment. And they don’t need to pay him anymore.
Caesars Showboat Closing Down in Atlantic City
Despite being a lucrative casino, the Atlantic City casino market is saturated, therefore the Showboat is being sacrificed to free up some room in the market, owner Caesars Entertainment claims. (Image: cityatlantic.com)
In a city that seems to be hit by worse financial storms than even Sandy, Atlantic City is seeing yet another land casino hit a reef: Caesars Showboat has announced it will officially shut on August 31. In accordance with Caesars Entertainment, the Showboat is showing the worst performance of its four Atlantic City casino entities, and as such, its demise is imminent.
‘Although we regret the impact that this decision could have on our Showboat associates, we believe this is often a necessary step to help stabilize our business in Atlantic City and offer the viability of our remaining operations into the vicinity,’ said Caesars CEO Gary Loveman within an issued statement. ‘ Since 2006, revenue in Atlantic City has declined by more than $3 billion and competition in the city has increased. The powerful in Atlantic City has led us to the difficult but decision that is necessary shut Showboat.
‘We sincerely appreciate the service, dedication and professionalism shown by the employees of the Showboat over time to deliver incredible experiences to our customers,’ Loveman added.
Showboat Causes Three
It’s been a difficult year for New Jersey’s beachside resort and its particular casinos; in January, the iconic Atlantic Club shut after several buying attempts went south, and just this month, the once-much-touted Revel announced official bankruptcy proceedings with the very real possibility that it, too, may close, if no buyer steps up into the near future.
For the city’s casino workers, this latest news, and in addition, didn’t sit well.
‘I’m heartbroken and crazy, too aggravated to respond in a way that is effective’ said Local 54 Unite-HERE casino worker’s union president Bob MCDevitt. When Caesars announced its want to present Showboat employees with warning pink slips week that is late last McDevitt minced no words, claiming the casino was indeed profitable and calling the possible closure ‘criminal.’
Loveman says Caesars will help the Showboat’s 2,100 casino workers find new jobs with other business properties, either in Atlantic City or in other cities that are US the conglomerate operates business.
Atlantic City mayor Don Guardian was a tad more neutral in his a reaction to the turn off announcement.
‘ I’m partnering with the continuing businesses that stay in Atlantic City. I’m sorry that the Showboat is shutting down,’ the mayor said.
Saturated Market
The opinion seems to be there are simply casinos that are too many Atlantic City; that industry is over saturated and unsustainable, and that it’s being damaged further by competition from casinos in neighboring states. Pennsylvania, which introduced legal casino gambling in the mid-noughties, has now supplanted its neighbor as the second biggest casino gaming market in the US, after Nevada. New Jersey has lost 40 per cent of its revenue since 2006.
Meanwhile, the expansion of casino gambling in New York State will hit New Jersey also harder, with 12 percent of New Jersey gamblers saying, in a present survey, that they are going to take their company to nyc after the new casinos open there. Caesars, which shut down Harrahs Tunica the thirty days, had hinted at a closure that is possible Atlantic City, too. Despite the fact that the Showboat is profitable, unlike Revel and the Atlantic Club, the casino is being sacrificed in order to free up a small room on the market, including Caesars’ own three other Atlantic City gambling enterprises.
While it’s true that the Showboat had been still into the black for Q1 of 2014, its books showed a drastic drop from the same time period year that is last. This year’s equivalent time period only showed a just-under $2 million profit level while first quarter 2013 brought in some $8.5 million in gross operating profits. Furthermore, out of this town’s 11 existing casino properties, Showboat came in at Number Seven in profitability, having a $66.2 million take so far this year; that’s a 16 percent nosedive from the same timeframe year that is last.
The Mardi Gras-themed Showboat opened in 1987 and was purchased by Caesars in 1998. It’s the tiniest of Caesars’ Atlantic City properties when it comes to net income, but inaddition it has relatively low operating expenses. Bally’s, by comparison, is far more expensive to operate and showed a lack of $1.6 million over the period that is same.
The casino is expected to keep available and running through to your 31 shutdown, after which time gamblers will be helped with moving to other city properties, according the Loveman august.
IRS Steps Up Research of Macau Gambling Enterprises
The IRS has allegedly joined up with an investigation in to the movement of funds from United states company-owned Macau casinos. (Image: tripadvisor.com)
The amount of money that is passed around in a single day in Macau would boggle most minds. Even though the growth of Macau casinos has slowed, revenues continue to rise, with the enclave’s gaming take coming in at $45.2 billion. But some fear that this cash isn’t just being played around with in the casinos, and it’s possible that some money could find its method into the hands of crooks or hidden from governments.
That is why agents from the united states of america Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reportedly traveled to Macau in might in order to assemble info on what casino that is american-owned there had been doing with their money. A Reuters report quoted anonymous sources who say that IRS special representative Adam Steiner unveiled the Macau investigation at a Las Vegas anti-money laundering conference earlier this month, during a percentage of this conference when the news was barred from the room.
Treasury Department Casino that is already watching Funds
It’s not surprising that the US government has taken an interest in the incredible sums of money that are being funneled through Macau resorts and casinos. The Treasury Department had recently been keeping close tabs on the money flow into and out of gambling enterprises there. Officials from that department have now been worried that funds of debateable origin could be flowing from Macau to Las Vegas, and that casinos may well not have the settings set up to detect deposits that are suspicious transfers.
The investigation that is latest had been allegedly conducted by the IRS Criminal Investigation unit. It is unclear exactly what the visit to Macau ended up being, though some have speculated that it might probably were a right section of an audit procedure for transactions from Macau to US casinos. Privacy laws in Macau may have made it problematic for agents getting access to information that is important the united states of america.
In particular, concerns are raised over the funds that come in from junket operators who help arrange financing and travel for high-rollers in Macau casinos.
Casinos Asked to Take Precautions
According to sources who had been reportedly into the room at the time of his talk, Steiner warned those in attendance that it absolutely was very important to casinos to truly have the proper settings in spot to notice suspicious money movement, and for there to be potential civil or unlawful penalties if gambling enterprises failed to put them into spot.
These issues could help explain changes in policy that temporarily threw players for a loop at this year’s World Series of Poker while there may not be a direct connection. Numerous players were outraged to learn that they might need a second piece of identification to verify their addresses, though this is later clarified as a request that would save yourself time on future verification paperwork.
‘This policy is because federal demands for licensed casinos to make use of all reasonable efforts to acquire a permanent target of its customers, perhaps not an 11th hour change by the WSOP,’ World Series of Poker Executive Director Ty Stewart said in a statement last month.
Based on Reuters, both the IRS and casino that is major operating in Macau such as Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts Overseas declined to comment on the report.