A former White House teleprompter operator must surrender more than $100,000 in profits and pay a $65,000 fine

Good news!

"... for using advance knowledge of President Trump’s speeches to place bets."

"... The settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, announced Friday [8/28/2026], also dealt Gabriel Perez a three-year trading ban. Perez was placed on unpaid leave from his job at the White House after it was determined he used his position to make bets on what President Trump would say in speeches, two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News last month. ..."

"... A Kalshi spokesperson told CBS News in July that the company investigated Perez's trading activity after its surveillance systems detected trades that didn't adhere to typical buying and selling patterns. Kalshi froze Perez's account, locking more than $90,000 in profits he made on the platform, the spokesperson confirmed. 

After completing its investigation, Kalshi referred the case to the CFTC. The Kalshi spokesperson said the company has been working with the CFTC for months. ..."

"... Under the order, Perez must disgorge the profits he made from his unlawful trading totaling $107,539.02 and pay a civil monetary penalty of $65,000, representing a substantial discount under the Division of Enforcement’s new cooperation advisory because of Perez’s exemplary cooperation with the CFTC. Perez agreed to cease and desist from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations. Under the order, a three-year trading ban is imposed on Perez. ..."

Sunday, August 30, 2026 - Join The Flyover

Ex-White House teleprompter operator ordered to pay $172,000 for insider bets on Kalshi

CFTC Orders Gabriel Perez to Pay $172,000 for Insider Trading of Mention Market Event Contracts (official news release)

Gallup survey: Americans say they are gambling less than they were a decade ago. Really!

Maybe the survey design was flawed? Maybe some individuals do not self report their gambling activities anymore as they used to? Maybe other or novel forms of gambling are preferred, but not surveyed? 

Notice in chart 1 below there was a 5 percentage point gain of which 4 percentage points came from a new category of gambling (i.e. fantasy sports games).

Notice in chart 3 below that the method of survey taking makes already an 8 percentage point overall difference.

"Americans say they are gambling less than they were a decade ago. According to a recent Gallup poll, 45 percent of US adults reported gambling in the past 12 months in 2026, down from 64 percent in 2016." 

Doomslayer: Progress Roundup - by Malcolm Cochran

US Gambling Participation Declines

Fewer U.S. Adults Say They Gamble (original news release) "Among all major subgroups, reported participation in a range of gambling activities is lower"

Chart 1 (Source)

Chart 2 (Source)

Chart 3 (Source)

Ranking Arizona: Top 10 Arizona casinos for 2026. Really!

There are only a total of about 26 casinos in operation in Arizona! Most of them, if not all run by native Americans.

Ranking Arizona: Top 10 Arizona casinos for 2026 - AZ Big Media "Here are the Top 10 casinos in Arizona, based on public voting for the 2026 edition of Ranking Arizona, the state’s biggest and most comprehensive business opinion poll. Ranking Arizona is based purely on opinion and ranks companies based on how voters answer this simple question: with whom would you recommend doing business?"

A British couple wins a $1 million lottery jackpot twice in seven years

Amazing stuff! An act of divine intervention!

"A couple from Wales won a $1 million lottery jackpot for the second time in seven years, beating astronomical 24 trillion-to-1 odds while continuing their volunteer work with homeless people."

Thursday, December 18, 2025 - Join The Flyover

Richard Davies, 49,  and wife Faye Stevenson-Davies, 43 (Source). The champagne bottle is little puny! 😊

Why the U.A.E. Is Building a $5B Wynn Casino in the Gambling-Free Gulf

Recommendable! Good news!

How a secretive team of gamblers called ‘the Joker’ took down the Texas lottery

As a teenager, with my buddies, we had similar ideas how hit the lottery jackpot, but we did not have the wherewithal to carry out the plans. Perhaps better this way!

Ten gallon hats are sometimes not enough! 😊 Just kidding!

"How a secretive gambler called ‘the Joker’ took down the Texas lottery.

A secretive team of gamblers hatched a scheme to snag a $57.8 million Texas lottery jackpot by buying up nearly every possible number. Politicians and watchdogs are calling it theft. The bettors say they followed all the rules."

The Wall Street Journal What's news

Why Thailand Wants to Legalise Gambling and Casinos with Palki Sharma

Recommendable! Another country joins the club!

Inside The World’s Fastest-Growing Slot Machine Company

Recommendable!

Japan approves first ever casino to open in 2029

Japan is a special country!

"The Japanese government approved its first casino on Friday, taking a step toward developing a new source of tourism. The casino will focus on attracting domestic tourists as other Asian casinos struggle to recover from a drop in Chinese visitors after the pandemic.

The integrated resort, which is planned to include a casino, conference center, exhibition hall, hotel and theater, could open its doors as early as the fall of 2029."

Japan approves first casino, hoping to create new tourism stream - Nikkei Asia Osaka integrated resort to open in 2029 and compete with others in Asia

America Rolls the Dice with Online Gambling

Recommendable! I did not watch the whole 19 minutes long video.

Not long ago sports gambling was illegal in the U.S. except for Nevada.

Some New Gambling Statistics

Trigger

Wall Street Journal published on 10/11/2013 an article with a catchy title “How Often Do Gamblers Really Win?” (no subscription required) Is this not something we always wanted to know? It is a statistic usually hard to come by.

Results

Quotes from the article  and comments (emphasis added):

1. “On any given day, the chances of emerging a winner aren't too bad—the gamblers won money on 30% of the days they wagered. But continuing to gamble is a bad bet. Just 11% of players ended up in the black over the full period, and most of those pocketed less than $150.”
   [To gamble often is risky! Take your win and enjoy it! Or what do stock traders say, pigs get slaughtered!]
2. “The skew was even more pronounced when it came to heavy gamblers. Of the top 10% of bettors—those placing the largest number of total wagers over the two years—about 95% ended up losing money, some dropping tens of thousands of dollars. Big losers of more than $5,000 among these heavy gamblers outnumbered big winners by a staggering 128 to 1.”
   [Is this addiction, delusion, or joy in suffering?]
3. “Among the findings is an extreme reliance on revenue from a small number of gamblers. Of the 4,222 casino customers, just 2.8%—or 119 big losers—provided half of the casino's take, and 10.7% provided 80% of the take.”
   [They are called high rollers for a reason. Sounds like the Pareto principle or 80-20 rule to me.]
4. “Poker is partly a game of skill, and the outcomes reflect that. About one-third of the poker players classified as "most involved" … ended up winning money over time, while just 10% of the rest ended up in the black.”
   [Let’s play strip poker with players of the opposite sex. :-) Just kidding!]