Casino City’s Friday Five: Betting scandals, jackpots and remodels edition

The MLB has been in headlines for the wrong reasons as pitcher Emmanuel Clase is accused of intentionally throwing balls in order to cash bets. The MLB took less than a week to propose a prop betting limit on pitches. Also making headlines this week, we have a case of college basketball betting manipulation, a major Las Vegas resort room remodel, a massive jackpot from the Strip, while FanDuel appears to be beating DraftKings to the punch by entering the prediction market game on 1 December.
Let’s begin with Las Vegas making a millionaire:

5. $3.8 million progressive jackpot win at The Venetian Las Vegas
On 5 November, a guest at The Venetian Las Vegas, who wished to remain anonymous, was playing Ultimate Texas Hold’em they were dealt a spade royal flush activating the mega tier of the resort’s Millionaire Progressive.

By making a $5 side bet the guest was eligible to win the mega tier of the Millionaire Progressive for $3,845,727, the largest table games jackpot ever paid out at the resort.

4. Six college basketball players involved in betting-related game manipulation
The NCAA Committee on Infractions released three separate infractions decisions after NCAA enforcement investigations uncovered violations by six student-athletes who competed in men's basketball at New Orleans, Mississippi Valley and Arizona State.

The individuals — Cedquavious Hunter, Dyquavian Short, Jamond Vincent, Donovan Sanders, Alvin Stredic and Chatton "BJ" Freeman — are no longer enrolled at their previous schools.

Additionally, all three cases involved lack of cooperation by student-athletes, who knowingly provided false or misleading information to investigators.

The violations at New Orleans came to light in February 2025, after the NCAA enforcement staff contacted New Orleans, which reported also receiving a tip about potential game manipulation by men's basketball student-athletes. Specifically, a student-athlete reported overhearing Cedquavious Hunter, Dyquavian Short and Jamond Vincent discussing a third party placing a bet for them on their game on 28 December 2024.

3. Betting limits coming to MLB pitch-level markets
Major League Baseball announced the Commissioner’s Office has worked closely with its sportsbook partners to proactively create new safeguards to limit pitch-level markets.

Effective immediately, all MLB Authorized Gaming Operators will cap wagers on pitch-level markets at $200 and exclude those bets from parlays.

These new measures—implemented across sportsbook operators representing more than 98% of the U.S. betting market—are intended to mitigate integrity risks, and maintain the transparency and data access benefits that the regulated sports betting market provides.

This comes after Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase was accused of purposely throwing balls in order to cash bets in a gambling scheme. The pitcher pleads not guilty to the pitch rigging allegations.

MLB and its major sportsbook partners just announced new limits on pitch-level markets: pic.twitter.com/nrNdk4LXJ5

— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) November 10, 2025

2. MGM Grand completes $300 million room renovation
This week, MGM Grand Hotel & Casino Las Vegas unveiled an entirely new collection of 3,969 rooms and suites in its main tower. The $300-million transformation features interiors inspired by the glamour and energy of the disco era.

Bathrooms now feature spa-like walk-in showers with sleek glass enclosures and bright porcelain finishes. Minibar units have been upgraded to include separate guest-use refrigerators for added convenience.

An additional 111 suites were added to the hotel’s collection, bringing the total to 753. Ranging from 675 to 1,784 square feet, these accommodations offer refined finishes, bright open layouts and inviting sectionals. Suite bathrooms were fully refreshed with double mirrors, quartz benches and upgraded showers.

1. FanDuel to launch prediction app in December
FanDuel and CME Group unveiled that they will launch prediction markets through the new FanDuel Predicts app that will expand access to financial markets for millions of customers in the U.S.

FanDuel Predicts will launch in December as a standalone mobile application. The app will provide access to sports event contracts across baseball, basketball, football, and hockey.

In states where online sports betting is not yet legal, customers who are not on tribal lands will be able to trade event contracts on the outcome of sporting events. As new states legalize online sports betting, FanDuel will cease offering sports event contracts in those states.

In addition to sports, event contracts will be offered on benchmarks such as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100, prices of oil and gas, gold, cryptocurrencies, and key economic indicators such as GDP and CPI.

FanDuel and @CMEGroup unveil new prediction markets platform FanDuel Predicts to launch in December that will provide customers the ability to trade sports outcome contracts in non-online sports betting states. Read more here: https://t.co/xzTxrpRZGA pic.twitter.com/YNDydZm8IV

— FanDuel News (@FanDuelNews) November 12, 2025