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What is Wishing Wheel?
In July, Fertitta’s General Counsel Steven Scheinthal told the Nevada Gaming Control Board that the company had a letter of intent from banks to finance the transaction but was waiting for better borrowing conditions. Fertitta is assuming nearly $12 billion in Caesars’ debt and is committed to a $6.6 billion financing package.
“Our hope is that in the next few months there will be a window of opportunity where the market will be hotter and [it’s] a more interest rate friendly environment where we can go raise the money and then just put it in an escrow account,” Scheinthal said at the time.
That window Scheinthal had hoped for seems to be moving further away. Caesars’ proxy filing showed that even during negotiations in the spring, Fertitta refused to go above its $31-per-share offer “due to higher financing costs and increased macroeconomic risks”. From the end of 2025 to late April of this year, higher borrowing costs had resulted in “approximately $40 million per year in additional costs from when the process started”, the filing said.
About Wishing Wheel
Grant said, at the time of his own case against Star Casino, that he had noticed cards being asymmetrical, but that he had no way of knowing what the next card on his table would be – just like other players there.
How does this apply to Grant’s case against Royal Caribbean? Well, things may be different there; Royal Caribbean takes advantage of players in general, arguing that the practice is tantamount to cheating.
The company also prohibits bad behavior, harassment, recording devices at tables, inappropriate handling of cards or chips, hogging slots, and deviating from house rules, as per the official website. Grant has not been accused of any of this specifically, other than his alleged “card counting.”
What is Wishing Wheel?
Prosecutors allege that five suspects had operated internet-based gambling services without the required German licences from at least July 2021. The volume of bets placed on these platforms reportedly exceeded €5.8 billion between mid-2021 and the end of 2023.
In addition to illegal gambling, investigators suspect extensive tax evasion, with a projected tax shortfall of about €77.6 million for 2024.
The DSWV, representing licensed sports-betting operators, broadly welcomed the law enforcement action as a necessary response to the illegal market’s growth and associated risks.