Nevada
Online poker play may be on the verge of a comeback in Nevada
Online poker play may be making a comeback in Nevada.
Playing poker over the internet became a thing in the state in the early 2010s when Strip and locals casinos saw a niche and opened poker rooms in their properties and the Nevada Legislature sought ways to expand play and enable local companies to generate new revenue.
Proponents reasoned that some players, once hooked with an online version of the game, would find their way to casinos where they not only could play poker, but also gamble at other games and maybe buy a meal or two.
To be sure, online poker requires a different skill set than those in live rooms as online players are unable to gauge the body language of their opponents when they’re thousands of miles away.
The Legislature debated Assembly Bill 114, and then-Gov. Brian Sandoval signed it into law on Feb. 21, 2013. It was the state’s first dive into online gaming, and proponents suggested that players would flock to poker because it’s a game they would play against each other and not the house, which takes a percentage of the proceeds with every hand dealt.
Station Casinos became the first regulated online poker licensee in the state when it opened Ultimate Poker in April 2013. Caesars Entertainment, which owned the World Series of Poker brand, opened WSOP.com five months later. Michael Gaughan’s Real Gaming Online Poker got started in February 2014 but never had much traction.
Companies offering online poker in Nevada found that the state’s low population base and the requirement that players had to play from within the state’s boundaries limited their growth.
Nevada eventually entered agreements with Delaware and New Jersey that enabled players in those states to compete with Nevadans.
But online poker never took off as proponents expected.
In November 2014, Ultimate Poker shut down, and WSOP.com became the only game in town.
Even after online poker experienced an uptick during the COVID-19 pandemic years, WSOP.com remained the last game standing in Nevada.
But that could change in the months ahead.
Two companies — one a David and one a Goliath — appeared before the Nevada Gaming Control Board this month and will seek approval Thursday from the Nevada Gaming Commission on the extension of a waiver that limits when they can activate their licenses.
Las Vegas-based Z4Poker LLC and MGM Resorts Interactive LLC received recommendations of approval to extend licensing for the 14th time, and if the commission concurs, they will have another year to begin operations.
At Z4Poker, the founder, owner and chief technology officer of the company, Eric Colvin, told board members he is on the verge of providing real-money poker games after offering social play for years.
Colvin said his company had a setback around 2018 when computer software company Adobe Inc. discontinued its Flash product, requiring his designers to rewrite its poker programs.
“Many millions of dollars have been invested in this product to further demonstrate our commitment, and we’re weeks away from relaunching our product on the web,” Colvin told board members.
“So we’re very, very close,” he said. “It’s worth mentioning that we’ve been further enhancing and developing all of the features that we feel are necessary to enter into a real-money market.”
Control Board members, weary of extending waivers year after year because it clogs up the approval process for other prospective licensees, opted to give Z4Poker one more waiver, essentially telling executives they wouldn’t get another.
As a policy, the board wants to get innovative companies operational so that they can profit and provide jobs, which in turn generates tax and fee revenue for the state.
On the other end of the spectrum, MGM Resorts Interactive is a much larger operation but made a similar extension request.
Chandler Pohl, an attorney for MGM Resorts International, explained there is a clearer path toward poker operations for MGM, which partners with BetMGM for its online gaming.
MGM already has licensed operations in Detroit, Atlantic City and suburban Washington, D.C.
Pohl said that since Nevada’s drafting of a compact with Delaware and New Jersey, Michigan has adopted e-gaming and Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia are on the verge of approval in their states.
Maryland and Pennsylvania have potentially large player bases, which means Nevada players could compete with players in those states. For MGM, it was a matter of waiting for the right opportunity to offer poker.
Colvin said the key to success is to build player liquidity. He said around 800 concurrent online players would be needed for a successful launch, and now Z4Poker has around 450.
But the addition of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia poker players may be the boost the industry needs to expand online play in the future.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
Nevada
Nevada SPCA brings adoptable pet to spotlight for Furever Home Friday
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — An adoptable pet is in the spotlight for “Furever Home Friday,” with Amy from the Nevada SPCA featured in a segment highlighting an animal available for adoption today.
The Nevada SPCA encouraged viewers looking to add a pet to their family to consider adopting.
Nevada
5A baseball roundup: Gorman beats Centennial, reaches state tourney — PHOTOS
Alex LaRosa hit for a .262 batting average in 50 plate appearances for the Bishop Gorman baseball team through its 32 games played entering Thursday.
But with a chance for the Gaels to punch their ticket to the Class 5A state tournament, LaRosa came up with the biggest swing of his season.
LaRosa hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning and broke a tie game, which proved to be the deciding run in Gorman’s 8-4 win over Centennial on Thursday night at Durango High in a 5A Southern Region winners bracket final.
The Gaels (28-6) have qualified for the 5A state tournament, which begins May 14 at Las Vegas High. The Gaels also advance to Saturday’s 5A Southern Region title game at 10 a.m. Saturday at Durango.
“My teammates, they just push me to be better in everything to do,” LaRosa said. “I know if I get on, they’re going to to get the job done and score me. My job, hitting in the bottom of the lineup is making sure I get on base anyway I can. I just put a good swing on the ball and it got out.”
Centennial falls to the losers bracket final and will play either Arbor View or Palo Verde at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Durango to determine Gorman’s opponent for Saturday and the South’s second spot in the state tournament. Arbor View and Palo Verde play in an earlier elimination at 4 p.m. Friday at Durango to determine Centennial’s opponent.
”It feels good, we fell short the last couple of years (of reaching the state tournament),” LaRosa said. “It just feels good to finall be in it and hopefully we keep going and win it.”
LaRosa’s blast was much needed after a disastrous bottom of the fifth inning for Gorman. The Gaels led 4-0, but Centennial (25-10) cut into the deficit when Jaxon Burr singled which scored Chase Hurley, who led the inning off with a triple.
Then Jake Turner hit a fly ball to left-center field, and as Gorman center fielder DeMari Hall and Logan Grubbs dived for the ball, they collided and the ball went all the way to the wall for a two-run, inside-the-park home run.
Four batters later, Gorman catcher Austin Argenta threw to first base to pick off runner Trevor Henson, but Argenta’s throw was wild and sailed into left field, scoring Kane Barber from second, tying the game.
“I had just given a speech right before we went out to hit that we were good, we weren’t losing this game,” LaRosa said. “We’re still in this game and the dugout went crazy. We just exploded after that.”
LaRosa, who finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored, followed up with his home run in the top of the sixth, which hit the top of the left field fence. That caused a brief discussion between the three umpires before they confirmed it was a home run.
“I was just looking for a fastball to drive into the gap so my teammates could drive me in, but I got lucky, back spun it and it got out of here,” LaRosa said. “At first, I thought it was gone and then I looked up and the ball bounced back in the field.
“Then the (umpire) told me it was a home run and I kind of blacked out. It was a surreal feeling.”
Grubbs added an RBI single in the top of the seventh for Gorman. Chase Wilk was 2-for-4 with a home run in the second, a run scored during a three-run Gorman fourth inning and an RBI on a ground out in the seventh.
Justin Rodrigues had a two-run double in the fourth capped off the fourth inning for Gorman, which put the Gaels ahead 4-0. Rodriguez went 2-for-4 and recorded the final three outs on the mound for the Gaels.
Hurley and Burr each had two hits and a run scored for Centennial.
“It feels good, just returning to a national powerhouse that we were,” LaRosa said. “It’s the standard to be in the state tournament every year and compete for that state championship. So it feels good to bring the culture back to Gorman.”
Other 5A baseball results
No. 2S Arbor View 11, No. 2M Faith Lutheran 3: At Durango, Devin Martin’s two-run home run capped off an eight-run fourth inning for Arbor View, which helped the Aggies (30-7) roll past Faith Lutheran (16-15) in a 5A Southern Region elimination game.
In the fourth inning against Faith Lutheran, the Aggies scored twice on bases loaded walk, a wild pitch, a two-run single from Rhett Bryce and an RBI single by Angelo Ugarte before Martin hit his home run.
Martin finished with three RBIs and Ugarte added two RBIs. Rookie Shepard and Kingston Kela each recorded an RBI for Faith Lutheran.
No. 3M Palo Verde 7, No. 2D Desert Oasis 5: At Durango, Stone Amsden’s grand slam highlighted a seven-run seventh inning to give Palo Verde the lead, and the Panthers (26-8) held on to beat Desert Oasis (26-8-1) in an elimination game.
Desert Oasis, the Desert League’s No. 2 seed, led 4-0 entering the seventh. Owen Anderson and Matthew Simmler each had an RBI single, and Kyle Johnson scored in a wild pitch before Amsden’s homer put the Panthers, the Mountain League’s No. 3 seed ahead.
Amsden finished 2-for-4 for Palo Verde. The Panthers had just six hits.
Lincoln Guillermo was 2-for-4 with a home run for Desert Oasis, and Brody Griffith was 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Landon O’Dell had an RBI single for the Diamondbacks and Aidan Smith added an RBI and a run scored.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
Nevada
‘Egregiously unsafe’: Nevada attorney general sues Discord
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Another platform is coming under fire by the State of Nevada over alleged unsafe conditions for children.
On Wednesday, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford filed a lawsuit against Discord, which is a communication platform that facilitates instant, text, and chat messaging as well as voice and video calls. Users are also able to share media, including photos and videos.
“Discord’s popularity with minors also makes it popular with a much more dangerous cohort: child predators, who seek to groom and exploit minor users,” the 100-page complaint reads in part. “Discord knows that the children on its platform are at risk, and further knows that children and their parents and guardians are afraid of malicious actors on the platform. Yet Discord has done very little to protect these children, and has refused to implement safety features that it knows would greatly ameliorate the risk.”
The complaint lists several cases as alleged proof that the platform is dangerous:
- In 2023, a Las Vegas man was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting a minor and producing child pornography of his victim, whom he groomed on Discord.
- In 2024, a Reno man was sentenced to 10 years in prison to be followed by a lifetime supervised release for grooming a minor on Discord.
- In 2025, a sting captured eight individuals who had used Discord — among other communications platforms — to solicit sex from law enforcement agents posing as children.
According to the complaint, a group called 764, which was located on a Discord server that contained violent videos and “how-to” guides on sexually exploiting and extorting minors online, “has acknowledged a presence in Nevada”. The FBI’s Las Vegas field office is part of one or more of the agency’s 250 investigations into the organization.
Ford’s team also alleges that Discord has several flaws in its design, which is putting children at risk. For example, insufficient barriers for strangers contacting children, misleading and/or ineffective filters, parental control issues, and an “absence of age or identity verification in the account creation process.”
In February 2026, Discord tried to implement a requirement where users had to authenticate their age “with a face scan or by uploading a form of ID if they want to access adult content.” However, the complaint states that after user backlash to that announcement, “Discord immediately went into damage control mode and walked backed its commitment.”
According to the complaint, Ford’s team is seeking civil penalties of up to $15,000 per violation of the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act and up to $25,000 for each violation directed at a minor.
Discord has denied the claims made in the complaint and sent Channel 13 the following statement:
“The lawsuit’s characterization of Discord does not reflect the platform we have built or the investments we have made in user safety. Discord is a communications platform built to connect people around playing games. Users join Discord communities intentionally, based on their interests, and unlike social media, the platform has no algorithmic feed, infinite scroll, or public “likes” pushing content to mass audiences.
Our safety systems combine advanced technology and human-led investigations, alongside user reports to help identify accounts or spaces engaged in harmful activity, including exploitative and child sexual abuse materials. We require all users to be at least 13 to use Discord and also provide teen users and their parents and guardians with important privacy and safety tools, including Teen Safety Assist and our Family Center. We look forward to collaborating with policymakers in working toward a safer online experience for all users on Discord and across the internet.”
Discord Spokesperson
This is not the only platform that is facing lawsuits in Nevada.
Last month, Ford announced the State of Nevada had reached a settlement with the online gaming platform Roblox.
In addition to abuse concerns, 13 Investigates partnered with ABC News Investigates to tell you how teenagers were being recruited on Roblox to become hackers.
WATCH: 2023 cybersecurity incidents lead to Nevada Gaming Control Board changes
2023 cybersecurity incidents lead to Nevada Gaming Control Board changes
As part of that settlement, Roblox officials agreed to several changes to make the platform safer, including age verification, content control, enhanced parental controls, and agreements to spend $2.5 million for online safety awareness campaigns as well as workshops and training for law enforcement.
APRIL 2026: Nevada reaches settlement with gaming platform Roblox
FULL PRESSER: State of Nevada reaches settlement with online gaming platform Roblox
Ford’s office has filed similar consumer protection lawsuits against TikTok, Snap, Meta, YouTube, and Kik, all alleging harmful design features and a lack of common-sense online safety measures for children.
According to Ford’s office, they’re set to go to trial against TikTok and Snap next year.
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