Gossip Column: Rio Casino Demolition Rumors Gaining Momentum, Jeff Gross & Andrew Neeme Pick 2 PSPC Platinum Pass Winners Instead of 1 & More

What’s life without a bit of spice and gossip? And if it is the poker fraternity that interests you, then you’re in just the right space for a fresh update on the interesting stories that revolve around the poker industry.

While there were rumors aplenty that Caesars International is giving serious thought to moving the World Series of Poker (WSOP) venue, a brand they own, to their upcoming Caesars Convention Center, this time we hear, that the Rio may get demolished altogether!

As you mull over the realistic possibilities of this shocker, much has been happening in the PokerStars Platinum Pass Adventure where different Team Pros had announced their unique, self-designed campaigns to award the coveted PSPC Platinum Passes. It seems that Jeff Gross and Andrew Neeme who had teamed up to run one of the adventure campaigns, have picked not one, but two winners, each to be awarded a Platinum Pass.

Back in Vegas, it is the recently beleaguered pro William Kassouf who was spotted at the Wynn Fall Classic Championship. Kassouf announced his intention to attend the series on Twitter, where he had recently faced a volley of insults following his reported theft of chips off a fellow player during the GUKPT stop in Leeds last month.

Rio Casino to be Demolished Soon?!

We know this is a piece of news that’s oft been brought up in the recent months and we have always ended up wondering if it will really happen. The Rio All-Suite Casino and Hotel has been the seat for the annual extravaganza i.e. World Series of Poker (WSOP) for donkey’s years and who’d have thought a day would come when the Rio could fall, down to it last brick, to make way for an ambitious Major League Baseball (MLB) Stadium project?

If the recent grapevine is to be believed, the possibility of Rio’s demolition is not completely ruled out. In fact the Las Vegas based blog – Vital Vegas has claimed that there are fresh inputs to substantiate the rumor that Rio could be demolished, and then the site could be sold to accommodate an MLB Team.

Early this year, MLB commissionerRob Manfred mentioned at the Dan Patrick show, “Vegas is a viable expansion alternative.” Manfred has plans for increasing its franchises to 32, up from the current 30.

While Vegas already has an NHL team, the Oakland Raiders will soon be moving to Vegas after the completion of their stadium, being built at the cost of nearly $2 Billion. With sports betting of the country getting a fresh lease of life, all the major sports leagues have supported legalized gambling. In this context, the entry of MLB into Vegas cannot be ruled out altogether, since the Sin City has traditionally been the gambling hub of the U.S.

“There’s been a spike in investor interest in parcels around Rio,” Vital Vegas claimed, adding, “The speculation part: If an MLB ballpark plan is in the works, it’s an ‘Aha’ moment for why Stations has invested so much in the nearby Palms casino, when it can’t possibly recoup the investment—unless they know something we don’t.”

On the other hand, the shifting of WSOP to the Caesars Forum convention center has been the talk of the town. In fact it was Vital Vegas that reported a possible shift over from the venue, after the $375 Million complex is completed in 2020. While WSOP has publicly denied this, in 2013 PokerStars had claimed that the Caesars offered it the Rio and the WSOP. Then in 2015, fresh rumors took ground that the Rio may be up for sale, at a potential value of $500 Million. Will it happen or not happen? With the next WSOP a year away, Caesars has chosen to keep quiet on the issue.

PokerStars Pros Jeff Gross & Andrew Neeme Pick Two Winners For Their PSPC Adventure

We have heard of PokerStars coming up with intriguingly new ways in conjunction with their team pros to award Platinum Passes to players vying to join the action at the PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC), that will be one of the biggest $25,000 buy-in events ever hosted anywhere in the world.

In the latest news it seems, PokerStars pros Jeff Gross and Andrew Neeme have already picked winners from their designed Platinum Pass Adventure campaigns. But behold, it wasn’t just one winner that the duo ended up choosing, but two! A little bending of the rules we’d say, but why not. Gross took to Twitter to share the news and explained why.

The winner of the $30,000 @PokerStars #vloggerinparadise has been announced! @bp22 Andrew & I decided! #PokerStars has agreed for a 2nd winner!! Head to @andrewneeme to hear who the 2nd winner is! Retweet & comment with your PokerStars ID to have a chance & win 1 of 3 $55 tickets pic.twitter.com/6C9LN5VjrY

— Jeff Gross (@JeffGrossPoker) October 10, 2018

Neeme followed suit, and admitted that it was too difficult to pick only one winner.

It was too difficult to pick just one.

So, not one, but TWO people from the #VloggerInParadise challenge are going to the Bahamas!! @JeffGrossPoker @bp22 and I agreed, and are happy to announce that the second winner of the $30,000 @PokerStars Platinum Pass is… pic.twitter.com/yhS5iFhCdd

— Andrew Neeme (@andrewneeme) October 10, 2018

So what was really, their PSPC Platinum Pass Adventure all about? Vlogging obviously. Both Neeme and Gross are avid vloggers and they chose to get people to vlog for winning the coveted Platinum Pass worth $30,000.

Finally, they picked Matt Keifer and Oliver Biles as the winners of their campaign. Reacting to their victory, Keifer and Biles had much to say.

Keifer said he felt, “Like being five again at Christmas!”

Biles, in the meantime admitted he was so elated and shouting with joy that he probably woke up the entire hotel!

Will Kassouf is Back in the News & Heading to Vegas

Poker player William Kassouf was embarrassingly dropped off by his sponsor Grosvenor Casinos after his antic of drunken ‘chip-theft’ came to light last month. Much was said about Kassouf who was vilified by the poker fraternity on social media platforms. Now it seems, Kassouf is back, and intends to return to live poker, despite being shamed.

In his latest tweet, Kassouf has shared photos of his flight to Vegas and some taken after reaching Sin City.

Laters London! Vegas baby! Booyah! YOLO!
🤑💪☀️💰🍾🎉☝️#Vegas#YOLO pic.twitter.com/uBF7vXbatZ

— William Kassouf (@WilliamKassouf) October 11, 2018

Earlier, Kassouf did render a public apology for what he admitted was his foolish behavior during an “embarrassing incident”. The incident came to light following claims by a player, who was a friend of someone, from whom Kassouf allegedly tried to (and eventually succeeded) palm off casino chips during the GUKPT Leeds stop in England.

It is with great sadness that I write the following statement but I feel it necessary to clarify the situation now that I’m at liberty to do so. pic.twitter.com/x7vvhTMMUE

— William Kassouf (@WilliamKassouf) September 18, 2018

However, the public furore saw Kassouf’s sponsor, Grosvenor Casinos dropping him off their roster. It seems now, that Kassouf has finally taken the bold step of trying to get back into live tournament play. If his tweets are anything to go by, he will be seen at the Wynn Fall Classic Championship soon, where he will be seen in action at the $1,500 buy-in event.

So this is all for this update on the juicy tidbits taking the rounds, stay tuned at PokerGuru, as we shall soon be back with more!

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