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  • ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race Live!’ to Close at Flamingo Las Vegas

    ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race Live!’ to Close at Flamingo Las Vegas

    RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! will take its final bow at the Flamingo on New Year’s Eve, concluding an impressive 1,500-show run on the Las Vegas Strip.

    RuPaul, center, celebrates the 1,000th performance of RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! with the show’s cast on March 15, 2025. (Image: Denise Truscello/Getty)

    The theatrical residency originally opened in the Flamingo’s main showroom in January 2020, stepping into the spotlight occupied for over a decade by sibling icons Donny and Marie Osmond. After being shut down by the pandemic in March 2020, the show reopened Aug. 5, 2021, and has been a Flamingo fixture ever since.

    Kind of a Drag

    Adapted from the Emmy-winning reality TV phenomenon—which premiered on Logo TV in 2009 before moving to VH1 and later MTV—the stage production featured a rotating ensemble of cast members from the show. They included Aquaria, Kim Chi, Yvie Oddly, Jaida Essence Hall, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, Latrice Royale, Naomi Smalls, Ginger Minj, Eureka O’Hara, and Kylie Sonique Love.

    Though RuPaul never performed in the Vegas residency, he co-directed the show alongside longtime collaborator and Drag Race choreographer Jamal Sims, reuniting a creative partnership that dates back to RuPaul’s 1994 residency at the Sahara Hotel.

    Season 10 finalist Asia O’Hara long served as the show’s longtime resident emcee.

    Ostensibly following a group of drag performers preparing to compete on the TV series, the show blended solo lip-sync numbers, group choreography, stand-up comedy, and interactive crowd work.

    Produced by World of Wonder and Voss Events, the residency featured an original soundtrack penned by RuPaul, World of Wonder’s Tom Campbell, and pop songwriter Leland.

    End of the Runway

    The residency’s impending closure follows on the high heels of, in the words of Vital Vegas, “rumors of lower ticket sales, significant financial losses, cast downsizing and lowered compensation for the remaining performers.”

    Like several other mid-tier Las Vegas production shows, RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! has faced stiff competition from A-list residencies, professional sports, and especially the Sphere.

    Still, producers frame the New Year’s Eve finale as a transition rather than a permanent goodbye.

    “This is just the beginning, as we are in discussions to expand the RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! universe to other cities across the country and around the world,” World of Wonder co-founders Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly. “We will be forever grateful for the charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talents of our extraordinary cast and crew who took the art of drag to a whole new level.”

    Tickets for the remaining performances are available here.

    The post ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race Live!’ to Close at Flamingo Las Vegas appeared first on Casino.org.

  • Prediction Platforms Ramp Up Lobbying Efforts as States Push to Regulate the Sector

    Prediction market operators Kalshi and Polymarket are ramping up lobbying efforts and recruiting political figures from both sides of the aisle as they fight US states’ attempts to regulate sports-event contracts as gambling. Any ruling allowing state laws to apply to prediction markets could force operators to seek licenses, follow local customer-protection rules, and even cease operations in certain jurisdictions.

    Companies Are Hiring Former Government Officials

    A recent report from advocacy group Demand Progress describes a growing political influence campaign. Titled “Prediction Markets’ Bet on Influence”, it reveals a surge in Kalshi’s lobbying expenses. This coincides with the appointment of former government officials to roles connected with the industry. Kalshi reportedly spent $1.8 million on lobbying in the first half of 2026, nearly three times the $615,000 it reported for all of 2025.

    Amidst mounting scrutiny, the industry has built up its influence operation in Washington.

    Demand Progress statement

    Kalshi’s hires include former Obama administration official Stephanie Cutter and former Biden administration official John Bivona. The company also hired Tony Hanagan, a former senior Republican floor staffer, and Jed Bhuta, who worked for Democratic members of Congress. According to Demand Progress, Polymarket has hired David Urban, a former adviser to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

    The report also focuses on the Coalition for Prediction Markets, an industry group Demand Progress describes as a lobbying front. The coalition named former Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney its president and appointed former Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry, who led the House Financial Services Committee, as senior adviser. Donald Trump Jr. is reportedly involved with both Kalshi and Polymarket.

    Conflicting Court Rulings Have Caused Confusion

    Ella Fanger, a policy adviser for Demand Progress, criticized the companies’ efforts, arguing that state and tribal gambling laws remain a critical protection against predatory practices by operators. She noted that prediction platforms should not be able to sidestep gambling oversight, warning that the absence of state-level controls could leave consumers vulnerable to unregulated sports betting and insider trading.

    No matter how they choose to frame themselves, prediction markets are fundamentally gambling websites that should not be able to evade sensible regulation.

    Demand Progress statement

    Recent court decisions have emboldened states to continue their challenges. In September, the Sixth US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Ohio and Tennessee could treat sports event contracts as a type of gambling. In Nevada, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reached a similar conclusion. However, these decisions conflict with another ruling that prevented New Jersey from regulating prediction markets.

    These different outcomes have left the core argument of who can regulate prediction markets unsettled. Several states have asked the US Supreme Court to intervene and deliver a definitive ruling. With the sector’s future on the line, lobbying efforts will likely continue. In the meantime, companies like Kalshi and Polymarket could face an increasingly fragmented US market.

  • Ohio Convenience Store Worker Arrested for Printing Lottery Tickets to Pay Off Bills

    A convenience store worker in Ohio faces felony charges after printing hundreds of unauthorized tickets. According to reports, the man had learned how to print Keno tickets without paying and used that to pay his bills.

    The Man Had Learned to Exploit the Lottery Terminal

    The man involved in this printing of tickets was identified as Joshua Melvin Hartley of Cleveland. The 32-year-old worked at a Sheetz convenience store in the Solon suburb and had apparently learned how to use an obscure lottery terminal function that effectively allowed him to print Keno tickets without paying a cent.

    With this knowledge, Hartley printed himself hundreds of Keno tickets over the course of two months. Reports put the sum of the tickets he printed at $17,000. It should be noted that this refers to the price of the tickets and not the sums they actually won.

    Hartley’s motivation seems to have been paying off bills.

    Supervisors Noticed the Unusual Losses

    Sheetz’s management learned of the scam roughly two months later when a loss prevention supervisor noticed the unusual losses. The store teamed up with the Ohio Lottery Commission, which allowed them to uncover the suspicious activity.

    After checking the dates when the transactions happened, store managers determined that all of them occurred when Hartley was on shift. Managers then checked footage, which showed Hartley using the lottery terminal to print dozens of Keno tickets without paying.

    Police representatives commented on the matter, saying that, as of the time of this writing, it is unclear where Hartley learned how to abuse the lottery terminals. They added that it was possible that he was able to figure it out on his own.

    In any case, Hartley admitted to the scheme when confronted by the police. Authorities arrested him and seized $2,000. They plan on securing court-ordered forfeiture and returning the money to Sheetz.

    In the meantime, Hartley was booked at Solon Jail after his arrest. He now faces a fourth-degree felony theft charge.

  • Brazil Extends Nationwide Betting Ban for Another 60 Days

    Brazil Extends Nationwide Betting Ban for Another 60 Days

    Brazil’s National Congress has extended the country’s nationwide betting ban for another 60 days, giving lawmakers until March 4, 2027, to decide whether to make the restrictions permanent.

    Brazil’s betting ban has been extended while lawmakers debate whether to make it permenant. (Image: Christof Koepsel/Bongarts/Getty Images)

    Congress President Davi Alcolumbre signed Act No. 118, formally extending the provisional measure that introduced the ban. The decision was published in Brazil’s Official Gazette on November 11.

    The ban was introduced to the shock of the global gambling industry back in September. This extension was automatic under Article 62 of Brazil’s Constitution. But Congress will need to pass further legislation if it wishes to make the ban permanent. 

    The new period begins November 24, although the countdown is suspended during Congress’s recess from December 23 to February 1.

    Brazilian law dictates that while a provisional measure must take effect immediately, it requires approval from both the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate if it is to become permanent legislation.

    If Congress fails to approve the measure before the extended deadline, it will expire.

    Debating the ban has been made a top priority by Brazil’s Congress, but the joint congressional committee that will be responsible for examining the legislation has not yet been established. Although lawmakers have been nominated to serve on the committee, no chair has been appointed. 

    Once formally established, the committee will review the measure and produce a report before Congress takes a final vote.

    Lawmakers Propose Changes to Betting Restrictions

    There have already been 99 amendments proposed to the legislation, five of which have been withdrawn.

    Some of the amendments would bring regulated sports betting back to Brazil, while at the same time maintaining the ban on online casino games.

    Among the other proposals on the table are plans to tighten gambling advertising regulations, prevent betting operators from sponsoring sports teams, stadiums, or tournaments, and strengthen enforcement against unlicensed gambling websites.

    For the time being, the provisional measure banning betting remains in force while lawmakers decide which of the amendments to approve or whether to allow the ban to expire next year.

    The post Brazil Extends Nationwide Betting Ban for Another 60 Days appeared first on Casino.org.

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