
Update March 2, 2016: that he sees ‘no path forward’ in his campaign since we first published this story, back-of-the-field GOP runner Ben Carson has announced. That he may do so when he speaks on Friday at a Washington, D.C. conference although he has not officially ended his run as yet, it’s expected.
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Anyone who’s considered Donald Trump as some fringe candidate that would eventually fizzle out of the race that is republican voters stumbled on their senses got a big splash of cool water on Super Tuesday. Sweeping most of a substantial lead to his races, the Donald proved he’s here to stay into the 2016 presidential process.
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were Super Tuesday’s big winners, and a head-to-head general election between the 2 now seems more likely than in the past. (Image: AP/Zuma)
Long thought to function as firewall to the billionaire’s campaign, Super Tuesday turned alternatively into an accelerant for Trump’s competition to the White House.
The former casino magnate and reality show star had won seven of the 11 states up for grabs, including the politically conservative Georgia, the potential swing state Virginia, and the Bible Belt’s Arkansas and Alabama by end of day. Trump also took Massachusetts, Vermont, and Tennessee.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz managed to rally his valuable home state, also as Oklahoma and Alaska, while Florida Senator Marco Rubio scored his very first victory in Minnesota.
‘This is an amazing night … it’s really been great,’ Trump said during a press conference that is victory. ‘It had been a extremely tough night for Marco Rubio … he is a lightweight.’
Clinton Keeps Pace
Super Tuesday was supposed to be Cruz’s night, as the religiously conservative senator was hoping to pounce on the southeastern United States’ heavily evangelist base that is christian. Instead, voters largely went for the twice-divorced Manhattanite in Trump.
That takes the 2016 presidential battle one giant step nearer to the showdown that’s been impending for weeks: Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump into the general election.
Tuesday had been no surprise on the Democratic side either, once the frontrunner stretched her lead over challenger Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Like Trump, Clinton took seven states in all to Sanders’ four.
In her success speech at the conclusion associated with day, Clinton didn’t waste time in attacking Sanders. Instead, she went after her GOP that is likely challenger.
Using a jab at Trump’s ‘Make America Great once more!’ motto, Clinton said, ‘We understand offering work to accomplish, but that work, that work just isn’t to help make America again that is great. America never ever stopped being great.’
Clinton won Georgia, Virginia, Alabama, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas, and Arkansas. Sanders won his home state of Vermont, plus Colorado, Oklahoma, and Minnesota.
Super Schmoozeday
There have been no Spotlight surprise moments on Tuesday, with several events being called the minute polls closed by tv news outlets rushing to declare the victor first. Cruz and Sanders both took their house states, as expected, and the favorites Trump and Clinton took the all-important Virginia.
Cruz Texas that is winning and sweeping Minnesota for their debut victory only put Trump closer to securing the GOP nomination.
The 2 primary challengers to Trump doubled down late Tuesday, reiterating that they aren’t dropping out to guide each other. And Ohio Governor John Kasich and former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, running fourth and fifth respectively, said they too aren’t suspending their campaigns.
Rubio and Cruz, perhaps oddly, talked yesterday evening as if these were the big winners.
‘So long as the field remains divided, Donald Trump’s path to your nomination remains much more likely,’ Cruz claimed. ‘For the candidates who’ve not yet won a state … we ask you to prayerfully give consideration to our coming together.’
Rubio said of his runner-up finish in Virginia, ‘We basically fought Donald Trump to a draw despite having to generally share the ballot having a true range those who probably took votes away,’ the senator said, referring to also-rans Kasich and Carson.
Paddy Power Slapped by Regulator over Bad Anti-Money Laundering Measures
Paddy energy, which began its new presence as one half of Paddy Power Betfair with a scolding that is strong the UKGC. (Image: twitter.com)
Irish bookmaker Paddy Power is used to having its wrists slapped by Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority right now. The controversial business actually revels in the notoriety its risqué advertising brings, plus it understands that some condemnation comes with that reality.
But a 888 casino review report published week that is last the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) details transgressions that are far more harmful to the business’s reputation than the sporadic off-color television spot about blind soccer players kicking a cat into a tree.
The regulator criticized Paddy Power for ‘serious failings’ in its anti-fraud and money laundering procedures in the report, highlighting two customers at the business’s land-based gambling shops who had been discovered to have laundered money through the bookmaker’s fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs).
Customer Fraud Conviction
The report also found that the operator had failed to take ‘reasonable steps’ to determine the source of some of its customers that are online gambling funds, citing one example of a customer whom had been later convicted of fraud.
Bank worker Mark Cooney was sentenced to 28 months in prison in September, after pleading bad to stealing almost £250,000 ($348,000) from the reports of elderly or customers that are deceased purchase to fund their gambling addiction.
Paddy Power ‘made no inquires that are direct about where his cash came from, the regulator said.
The betting company stated it had flagged Cooney as ‘medium risk’ and recommended that further information be obtained, but no action had been taken. The operator acknowledged that it neglected to follow its very own diligence that is due with respect to checks on clients.
In a third case, betting store senior staff were found to possess motivated a problem gambler to keep betting until he had lost five jobs and became homeless.
When the man, known only as Customer A, finally began to make fewer visits to the shop, an employee that is senior junior staff that ‘steps should be studied to increase Customer A’s visits and time spent in the gambling premises.’
£300,000 in Fines
‘This was grossly at odds because of the licensing goal of preventing people that are vulnerable being exploited by gambling,’ said the Gambling Commission.
Paddy Power, which month that is last its €10 billion merger with Betfair, is likely to make a voluntary payment of £280,000 to a ‘socially responsible’ cause, plus £27,250 to the Commission to pay for the research.
It is also needed to submit its anti-money-laundering procedures to a review that is third-party to strengthen its customer checks.
‘The historical failings outlined in this report had been clearly unacceptable,’ said a spokesperson for the Paddy Power that is enlarged Betfair.
‘Paddy Power has since somewhat strengthened its interior procedures and staff have been retrained to ensure these procedures are implemented effectively. Paddy energy Betfair takes its duties extremely seriously so we have cooperated fully using the Gambling Commission at every phase of this process,’ the ongoing company spokesperson added.
Amaya Sets Parameters with CEO David Baazov and Withholds Revenue Projections as Takeover Talks Continue
Amaya CEO David Baazov is trying to simply take back his company that is own the gaming corporation will not be forecasting earnings in 2016. (Image: QMI Agency tvanouvelles.ca that is/
Canadian gaming operator Amaya Inc. has released a statement that is cautionary investors this week. In it, the company reveals that the Montreal-based business will maybe not be creating ‘earnings guidance’ with regards to its 2016 financial performance, in light of CEO David Baazov’s continued takeover negotiations using the firm.
While Baazov and their unannounced partners haven’t officially produced proposition to take the business right back private, Amaya stated its Special Committee assigned to handle the arbitration, along with its Board of Directors’ Audit Committee, stumbled on the final outcome that publishing fiscal projections would not be in its best interests.
‘The Board established the Special Committee after Mr. Baazov notified the Board on January 31, 2016 of his intention to make a proposition to acquire Amaya for C$21 ($15.65) per common share in money,’ Amaya said in a press release this week. ‘The Special Committee has appointed Barclays Capital Canada Inc. to act as financial consultant towards the Special Committee . . . to help in considering any proposal which could be forthcoming, also as other alternatives that may be available to Amaya.’
Amaya also announced that it has implemented limitations on how its CEO handles information that is confidential the discussions. Especially, Baazov is prohibited from sharing such intelligence with any outside partner that is potential.
Share Value Impacted
The news headlines that Amaya won’t be posting revenue that is quarterly moving forward may appear insignificant, however the truth is, the development poses serious risks to its overall share value.
Traded on both the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada and NASDAQ in america, guidance reports on a company’s future earnings ‘can have a major influence over analyst stock ratings and investor choices to buy, hold, or sell’ according to Investopedia.
Amaya stock unsurprisingly fell on Wednesday on the news headlines of guidance being omitted for the moment. Stocks dropped by 2.49 percent on NASDAQ to a closing cost of $14.47.
No Parental Guidance
The business forecast that is foregoing isn’t all bad news, however. In reality, in hindsight, it could have actually been good if Amaya hadn’t released that information in 2015.
Last August, during its 2nd quarter results, Amaya reaffirmed its year-long 2015 income projections, a decision that will return to haunt the gaming business in November.
Blaming everything from the dollar that is strengthening to the Euro to the severe financial slowdown in Greece, Baazov fessed up that his company ended up being likely to fall 13 percent short of those approximations.
Amaya shares plunged 32 percent in the news briefly thereafter. In only six-and-a-half hours of trading, Amaya went from a valuation of $23.56 to $15.99.
Baazov, who founded Amaya in 2004 and primarily centered on business-to-business video gaming solutions before attracting investors for the $4.9 billion takeover of Rational Group and its subsidiary PokerStars, today owns 18.6 percent of Amaya’s outstanding shares.
Their expected offer of $15.65 per share to take the organization off the exchanges that are public personal again values the organization at around $2.8 billion. Perhaps not so ironically, that’s just under the $2.9 billion Deutsche Bank, Barclays, and Macquarie Capital provided in credit financing to Amaya for the Rational buyout.