The Catfather

What is The Catfather?

Christian Cipollini, senior trading manager at BetMGM, noted that heading into Sunday’s games, sportsbooks needed key underdog covers to offset a strong Week 1 for public bettors. Getting outcomes from the Browns, Saints, Titans, or Dolphins provided much-needed relief to the house.

In the end, Week 1 and Week 2 could hardly have been more different, said Joey Feazel, head of football at Caesars Sportsbook.

The book enjoyed a steady diet of low-scoring primetime games in Week 1, but Week 2 began with an all-you-can-eat touchdown buffet for bettors on Thursday night,” Feazel said. “Seven of the eight most popular touchdown scorers cashed, and the only player who failed to score, DJ Moore, was refunded under Injury Protection.”

What is The Catfather?

In response to a query from local news outlet Patch, Republican Mayor Gary Grasso confirmed the existence of the donations from the Capri restaurant and the Are We Live nightclub, two Burr Ridge businesses owned by Filippo “Gigi” Rovito.    

Rovito, whom NBC Chicago previously reported has alleged ties to the Chicago Outfit, is facing federal charges of operating an illegal gambling business and conspiracy to collect extensions of credit by extortionate means.

He was among 22 people arrested in coordinated raids by the FBI April 29 following a long-running investigation dubbed “Operation Porterhouse Parlay,” which allegedly uncovered links between illegal gambling operations and restaurant networks spanning Northwest Indiana and suburban Chicago.

About The Catfather

When Australia hosts its first-ever regular season NFL game, an estimated 10,000 US fans are expected to attend the matchup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground following an exhausting trip that features one of the world’s longest flight paths.

The historic showdown between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers will take place at a venue located 7,971 miles from Levi’s Stadium, home of the last meeting between the NFC West rivals. Both teams are based in California, a fertile ground for prediction markets given a sports betting ban in a state with more than 39 million residents. But the Americans in attendance for Thursday night’s matchup (Friday in Melbourne) will not be able to live-trade from their seats.

That is because trading on prediction markets is illegal down under, according to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, the nation’s regulator on financial services. Last month, in perhaps the ASIC’s strongest warnings yet against the asset class, the commission reiterated that prediction markets are not licensed as financial markets to operate in Australia. Through the guidance, the regulator urged consumers to exercise caution before partaking in certain investments on offshore platforms which have not obtained licensing nationwide.