Seized Lottery Winnings -- A Texas appeals court ruled on Wednesday that convicted drug dealer Jose Luis Betancourt cannot claim lottery winnings due to him because the ticket was bought with drug money. Betancourt was convicted in May 2003 of conspiracy and two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. The jury ruled that he should forfeit half his interest (about $5.5 million) in the lottery jackpot, but a three-judge panel for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals--based on a federal law allowing the government to seize all property and proceeds obtained from drug trafficking--on Wednesday separated him from the other half. The appeals court also upheld Betancourt's drug trafficking conviction and his sentence of more than 24 years in prison.
New Player -- British sports bar operator Sports Café announced plans this week to launch an Internet casino in September. "Sports Café Casino" will initially offer online casino games and poker, but the group plans to branch out into other areas. The site will be powered by software from Boss Media. The six-strong sports bar's newest property opened its doors in Liverpool in April, and new venues are in development in Cardiff and Newcastle.
Poker Tourney -- The fourth annual PokerStars.com 's World Championship of Online Poker looks to be the biggest one yet, with more than 10,000 players expected to take part in the online-only event taking place Sept. 4-18. The tournament is expected to yield a total prize pool exceeding $8 million. It will feature 15 individual poker events, including a final tournament of No-Limit Hold 'Em. The final event is expected to draw the second largest field of players ever for a poker tournament, behind only the main event for the 2005 World Series of Poker. Prize money for the online tournament ranks ninth worldwide for a single event
Spam Sentence -- A former America Online engineer who sold 92 million stolen e-mail addresses to an alleged online gambling spammer was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in prison. Jason Smathers, 25, pleaded guilty in February to hacking AOL's customer database and selling the e-mail addresses of customers for $28,000. It was among the first prosecutions under the federal anti-spam laws that took effect in 2004.
Boxing Sponsorship -- Sportsbook.com announced today that it will be the title sponsor for a boxing match to air Saturday on HBO. The bout, between "Ferocious" Fernando Vargas and Javier Castillejo, will take place at the AllState Center in Chicago and is the third boxing sponsorship for the Sportsbook.com, which sponsored Julio Cesar Chavez's last fight on May 28 and Miguel Cotto's last fight on June 11.