Cantor Gaming's Mike Colbert was arrested

[Inkwell77]

It's a power play and Nevada wants all the gaming power. I wish the U.S. would just wake-up and make Nevada the only state you can gamble with. Make it legal for any U.S. resident to open a gambling account in Nevada. Regulate it, take a small fee and move on. penetrate the NFL, NHL, MLB and the NCAA. They are all hypocrites. They openly lobby against legal wagering in other states, but reap huge ratings from degenerates watching the games.

I don't disagree but states don't want their tax dollars going to Nevadaa. Every state has to get their cut.

It would 100% be the most efficient way of doing business. One hub ala the Nasdaq, NYSE, etc.

[A4K]

I don't disagree but states don't want their tax dollars going to Nevadaa. Every state has to get their cut.

It would 100% be the most efficient way of doing business. One hub ala the Nasdaq, NYSE, etc.

I agree and that's an easy problem to solve. I'm just sick and tired of the morality card being played by politicians. We all know the truth... Nevada doesn't want competition and neither do the state lotteries, horse tracks, dog tracks, and Indian casinos.

Yeah, make Nevada the HUB and regulate it.

[paranoyd androyd]

My understanding is that Cantor has nothing to do with this. Maybe he was laundering money through.

through cantor, wtf? how exactly do you think he'd do this?

[A4K]

through cantor, wtf? how exactly do you think he'd do this?

The site cut me off. I said Pinny.

Either way, it's easy to launder money through sportsbooks. Bet both sides, at different books and eat the juice.

[VegasVixen]

My buddy who works for Cantor just txtd me that he knows Mike, and not only did he run the book @ the M, he is like a vice president or something for Cantor

[VegasVixen]

Update- My buddy @ Cantor just heard Mike was the VP of Risk Management

Also, heard about 40 more arrests have been made

[Vegas39]

Update- My buddy @ Cantor just heard Mike was the VP of Risk Management

Also, heard about 40 more arrests have been made

Heard on about 8-10 arrests in Vegas here. Has that changed

[VegasVixen]

Heard on about 8-10 arrests in Vegas here. Has that changed

He said Cantor's holding a press conference in the morning

[Vegas39]

He said Cantor's holding a press conference in the morning

damage control

[RealSlimShady]

Heard on about 8-10 arrests in Vegas here. Has that changed

8-10 in Vegas. Rest are elsewhere

[paranoyd androyd]

The site cut me off. I said Pinny.

Either way, it's easy to launder money through sportsbooks. Bet both sides, at different books and eat the juice.

laundering what money though? cantor's revenues are legit. or are you proposing he ran some illicit business outside of cantor?

and btw, no one who runs an illicit business in the usa would ever try to launder money through an offshore book. that had to be a joke.

[Vegas39]

8-10 in Vegas. Rest are elsewhere

gonna go on a limb and say a few in NY

[RealSlimShady]

Update- My buddy @ Cantor just heard Mike was the VP of Risk Management

Wonder if risk management meant laying off excess action into pinny??

[Vegas39]

Wonder if risk management meant laying off excess action into pinny??

Or they faded all Mayweather bets there

[A4K]

laundering what money though? cantor's revenues are legit. or are you proposing he ran some illicit business outside of cantor?

and btw, no one who runs an illicit business in the usa would ever try to launder money through an offshore book. that had to be a joke.

I'm not suggesting anything. Just throwing out a hypothetical.

I'm not stating that laundering money through an off-shore or Vegas casino is a bright idea, but it has happened. There is a reason why the FinCEN rules are so strict with American casinos.

[A4K]

Or they faded all Mayweather bets there

Now that's some funny sh!t!

[Trident]

Update- My buddy @ Cantor just heard Mike was the VP of Risk Management

Also, heard about 40 more arrests have been made

His title was Vice President of Race and Sports Risk Management, nothing more than a fancy way of saying he was in charge of the Race and Sportsbook.

[Grits n' Gravy]

A lot of people are going to be out a lot of money. Cantor will be in damage control. Not sure Penn severs ties with them but Adelson has a lot of office space for them to make it their hub as does another major company that was in negotiations to start a partnership with Cantor at almost all of their numerous properties in Nevada.

[rm18]

So is it still business as usual for the company I am in Vegas Friday night? and I have a couple cantor futures too

[TheLock]

I agree and that's an easy problem to solve. I'm just sick and tired of the morality card being played by politicians. We all know the truth... Nevada doesn't want competition and neither do the state lotteries, horse tracks, dog tracks, and Indian casinos.

Yeah, make Nevada the HUB and regulate it.

Word.

[Vegas39]

So is it still business as usual for the company I am in Vegas Friday night? and I have a couple cantor futures too

Would say your safe

[gauchojake]

The house of cards is coming down. Offshore betting is going the way of the dodo ala online poker. Tying the Vegas books to pinny is a harbinger.

[Trident]

A lot of people are going to be out a lot of money. Cantor will be in damage control. Not sure Penn severs ties with them but Adelson has a lot of office space for them to make it their hub as does another major company that was in negotiations to start a partnership with Cantor at almost all of their numerous properties in Nevada.

From all reports Cantor was not involved in any way except they had a employee who was a agent, wouldn't be surprised if they say they cooperated fully with all the different agencies etc etc and will be business as usual.

He isn't the first person to work in a casino to get busted and he won't be the last, only reason it's such big news is because he was probably the most visible and quoted Book Manager in Vegas.

[paranoyd androyd]

The house of cards is coming down. Offshore betting is going the way of the dodo ala online poker. Tying the Vegas books to pinny is a harbinger.

welcome to 5 years ago

[gauchojake]

welcome to 5 years ago

[paranoyd androyd]

[Grits n' Gravy]

From all reports Cantor was not involved in any way except they had a employee who was a agent, wouldn't be surprised if they say they
cooperated fully with all the different agencies etc etc and will be business as usual.

He isn't the first person to work in a casino to get busted and he won't be the last, only reason it's such big news is because he was probably the most visible and quoted Book Manager in Vegas.

Companies involved are publicly traded and in business with some that don't want anymore negative press. That is the major issue. Agree that it is business as usual but the media relation directors are going to earn their money before it gets swept under rug.

[tuckman]

Cantor knew of this situation before Mike got picked up this morning. M was housing loads of money from out of state players its being said. Cantor wasnt blind to this, but had no choice but to throw Colbert under the bus to try and save face imo

[19th Hole]

Sports book director for Cantor Gaming arrested, faces eight charges<!--cCat has invalid value--><!--cCat has invalid value--><!--cCat has invalid value--><!--cCat has invalid value--><!--GD--><!--QYZ 1146869051,2323353551,98.136.133.19;135x 50;ipatf;;1;-->





<!--endclickprintexclude-->By Howard Stutz
AND Chris Sieroty
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Posted: Oct. 24, 2012 | 1:44 p.m.
Updated: Oct. 24, 2012 | 7:22 p.m.
Cantor Gaming sports book director Mike Colbert was arrested Wednesday in Las Vegas by state gaming agents in conjunction with a warrant filed by the District Attorney's office in Queens County, N.Y.
Gaming and legal sources confirmed the charges involve PinnacleSports.com, one of the largest off-shore sports wagering websites. Sources said agents for the website were arrested in several cities Wednesday. Colbert, 32, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center. He faces eight counts of conspiracy, money laundering and enterprise corruption, and is scheduled to appear Monday in Clark County District Court.
Gaming Control Board Chief of Enforcement Jerry Markling said Colbert was arrested at 6 a.m. at his home. He was one of eight people arrested in Las Vegas on New York charges. Others arrested were Las Vegas residents Kelly R. Barsel, 42, Jerry M. Branca, 67, Steven S. Diano, 48, Brandt A. England, 49, and Joseph D. Paulk, 35; and Henderson resident Paul Sexton, 29.
Colbert is believed to be the only one with ties to Nevada's gaming industry.
Control board agents will continue to investigate the matter to see if there were any regulatory violations, but Markling declined further comment on the matter, referring additional questions to New York prosecutors. A news conference is scheduled in Queens Thursday morning.
"It's a New York case. We are working with them," Markling said.
According to its website, PinnacleSports.com was established in 1998 and is licensed by both the government of Curacao and the Alderney Gambling Control Commission.
Gaming and legal sources said the matter does not involve Cantor Gaming and is unrelated to its business in Las Vegas, which includes leased space in seven Las Vegas-area casinos - M Resort, Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, The Venetian, Palazzo, Tropicana, Hard Rock and Palms - where it operates race and sports books.
Colbert oversees the company's race and sports book business, and is chief oddsmaker.
Cantor Gaming officials declined comment on the arrest. The company is cooperating with Nevada gaming authorities and met with officials Wednesday at the M Resort, where Colbert is based. M Resort opened in March 2009 as Cantor's first Las Vegas sports book, and often took big wagers. M Resort officials did not respond to calls seeking comment Wednesday.
According to various sports wagering publications Colbert is a 10-year veteran of Nevada's race and sports book industry. He is considered one of the industry's most respected personalities and routinely is quoted on sports wagering issues by national publications and on sports talk radio programs, including The Las Vegas Sportsline
In an interview last week with SportingNews.com Colbert said the National Football League and other groups opposed to New Jersey's efforts to legalize sports wagering lack strong arguments and Cantor Gaming would explore opportunities there.
"The integrity argument, to me, is a complete facade," Colbert told SportingNews. "It's a smokescreen that they're putting up there, because it sounds good to maybe the average guy who doesn't understand the business. But if you're in the business and know what's going on, you know that if there is ever anything close to something shady, that we will be the ones that are able to point it out. That argument is so bad, and they continue to say it. It's kind of silly."
Colbert was described in a 2010 interview with Wired Magazine as someone who "has been around gambling all of his adult life."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 702-477-3871 end_of_the_skype_highlighting. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.

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[MeatWad]

Pathetic US gaming laws are likely to blame in the first place. Basically they define all offshore operations as illegal and when people facilitate their operations in the US, it is an arrestable offense.

Only in the US was an honest legit company like Pokerstars breaking the law. Because the US had to write laws to define their operations as illegal.

Sad pathetic country, if US interest aren't profitting they want to start arresting people who allow US citizens to gamble. Yet the SEC doesn't indict anyone for fraud at Lehman Brothers, total hypocritical joke of a country.

[skrtelfan]

not good news man

[RaleighDevil]

The legislation was passed due to the desire to end gambling. The Democrats were the ones wanting to have the government take a slice of the profits. Why do you think it was added to a homeland security bill? It couldn't get majority support on its own. Don't oversimplify it.

[Vegas39]

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -The Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed details Thursday of an illegal sports betting operation that included the arrests of eight people in southern Nevada.
According to an announcement by the FBI, the operation based in Queens County, N.Y. involved owners of off-shore sports betting websites that profited in more than $50 million over 18 months.
In the indictment, the FBI said eight people from Nevada had roles in the operation that included bookmaking, money collecting and distributing and serving as intermediaries between bookmakers and bettors.
In the indictment, the FBI said the money collectors served as banks, and they often transported money via courier, avoiding wire transfers and CC transactions that would otherwise be prohibited by federal law.

The people who were charged in Nevada included 32-year-old Michael Colbert, who, according to the FBI, is the vice president of Cantor Gaming.
The FBI said Colbert was one of five people to have served as money collectors and agents in the operation. The FBI also said these people were responsible for "settling up" with the bettors.

Another Las Vegas man, 43-year-old Ian Mandell, was also charged as a money collector-agent.
According to the FBI, the other Las Vegas-based arrests included:

• Kelly Barsel, 42;
• Jerald Branca, 67;
• Steven Diano, 48;
• Brandt England, 46, also noted for being owner of betting website Pinnacle Sports;
• Joseph Paulk, 35;
• Paul Sexton, 29.

In total, 25 people were netted in the operation in five states, according to the FBI.
Charges for those arrested include enterprise corruption, money laundering and conspiracy

[Chimneyfish]

Dumb government logic: "'Illegal gambling is not a victimless crime,' [Queens District Attorney Richard A.] Brown said at a morning news conference. 'Such unlawfully earned profits are often diverted into more insidious criminal enterprises.'"

Laundering gambling profits is only necessary when gambling is illegal. By legalizing gambling, the government would be removing the incentive for doing the very activity that they are citing as a reason to keep gambling illegal in the first place.

Plus, I highly doubt that they can link any of these guys like Colbert to any involvement in actual "insidious criminal enterprises." It's a hyperbolic generalization used to make tax payers feel better about using their money to prosecute victimless crimes that the general public probably isn't very bothered about.

If we really want to get rid of gambling profits being diverted towards funding insidious enterprises, why not take a look at government lotteries?

[Emily_Haines]

You know what the funny thing is that most of the people crying in this thread about the Feds not having anything better to do will be voting for Romney.