Shaolin Spin

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They took the dispute to international arbitration, claiming Laos had violated investment treaties protecting their businesses.

The two sides reached a settlement in 2014, but that agreement also fell apart, and the casino companies renewed their claims.

Ultimately, the gamble backfired.

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Given the rise of prediction markets, this week arguably represents the most frenzied campaign since the historic PASPA decision in 2018. Buttressed by massive capital injection from substantial funding rounds, operators have spent handsomely on celebrity endorsements. Over the last week, ads featuring LeBron James, Sydney Sweeney, Marshawn Lynch and Jeremy Piven have showered the airwaves. Even Pete Sampras, who disappeared from the public spotlight for the better part of two decades, resurfaced in a US Open spot for Kalshi.

While Polymarket pulled off a coup with the signings of James, Eli Manning and Derek Jeter, a Novig ad featuring Sweeney arguably received as much fanfare. Sweeney, an Emmy Award-nominated actress known for her role in HBO’s Euphoria series, stars in the spot titled “Just Sports.” As of Friday afternoon, the Novig post on social media platform X received at least nine million views.

Throughout the ad, Novig throws shade on its rivals for offering niche markets on events such as the timeframe for when traders believe that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro will be removed from office. Unlike operators such as Kalshi and Polymarket, Novig has opted to limit its offerings to purely sports. “No betting on wars, or deaths…or politics,” Sweeney mused.

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Like other sportsbooks in Las Vegas, Boyd Gaming is taking on significant liability on the Las Vegas Raiders, coming off their big win in Los Angeles to go 2-0 on the season.

“I think the Raiders are probably overachieving and giving more than what most people expected,” the Boyd Gaming VP said. “There’s a lot of sentimental support in Las Vegas. They’re clearly our biggest liability on the futures-bet market to win the Super Bowl. People bet them at long odds for that. The first game (27-13 over Miami), people didn’t hold that into much account because it was the Dolphins, the worst team in the NFL. But still, they played pretty well.”

“But after yesterday’s game, they’re going to draw a lot more support because they were pretty good underdogs (against the Chargers),” Scucci added.