An explosive finding at the police raid of a suspected gambling den in East Oakland's Webster neighborhood, as the raid also turned up gambling machines, meth, opiates, guns, ammo — and even a whole bunch of dynamite.

Whether it is because of increased enforcement, a breakthrough with tipsters, or just an uptick in illegal gambling, we’re seeing a lot more headlines about busts of illegal Bay Area gambling dens in the news over these past two years. Many of these are in SF’s Tenderloin District (often operating from convenience stores or laundromats), and a number of them would have gladly sold you meth or illicit opioids to enhance your “gaming” experience. Unsurprisingly, many of these illegal gambling dens have also been busted in Oakland.  

Today the Bay Area News Group brings us the news of one fresh new suspected gambling den bust in the Webster neighborhood of East Oakland. Acting on a tip, Oakland police raided a home on the 1700 block of Auseon Avenue. True to their suspicions, they did indeed find illegal gambling machines, and also pistols and loaded magazines, plus suspected opioid pills and meth.

But this particular illegal casino raid was uniquely notable because there was also a great deal of dynamite being kept around at this alleged gambling den.

The raid actually happened back on January 2, and police records are just now becoming public. And this case ties into a whole labyrinth of ongoing Oakland murder investigations, and an apparent syndicate of rival Oakland underground casino operators whose competing operations against one another are turning increasingly violent.

This situation started with a tip. On New Year's Day, a woman reportedly called the police to say that armed gunmen had stormed into the Auseon Avenue home while she was there. Umm, she didn’t say why she was there, and it’s unclear whether it was even her home. Regardless, the police followed up.

Police had already suspected the place served as a gambling den, and responded to find the gambling machines, drugs, and of course the dynamite.

Turns out the home is registered to a (still not publicly unidentified) 39-year-old man who’d already been arrested on gun charges for his tangential involvement with a late-night gas station murder in January 2025. He was charged with felony gun possession in that one, though prosecutors dropped the case feeling they did not have adequate evidence.

But bigger picture, the Oakland Police Department thinks these underground casino operations and the “feuds” between them are now responsible for at least 18 shootings in the last two years. So the aggression between the rival casino factions is getting worse, which may explain why there’s now dynamite turning up at illegal gambling den busts.

Related: Latest Tenderloin Liquor Store Busted Not Just for Being Illegal Gambling Den, But Also Selling Weed, Mushrooms [SFist]

Image: Erik Mclean via Unsplash

An upstairs spot above two unassuming Mission-Bernal restaurants has reportedly been a hotbed of unpermitted late-night after-hours parties complete with gambling machines for the last two months, and City Attorney David Chiu is investigating.

At 3259 Mission Street (near 29th Street), you will find a greasy-spoon but affordable and delicious Chinese restaurant called Jasmine Tea House. Next door at 3261-A Mission, there’s a Yucatán-style Mexican restaurant called Aurora, with hand-painted menus and prices that even undercut the taquerias.

And above these two, there is what looks like a standard upstairs-apartment residential unit. But according to City Attorney David Chiu, that upstairs unit was operating as “an illegal after-hours club,” that based on a November 30 visit, “had a bar (with what appeared to be alcohol), a DJ blasting music, disco lights, and what appeared to be two gambling machines.”

This is all part of Chiu’s office investigating the property for operating an illegal, after-hours club, as Mission Local reported Tuesday. There is no evidence that Jasmine Tea House or Aurora have any affiliation whatsoever with the alleged after-hours club. Chiu’s warning letter is issued to the property’s landlord, Shirley Conway.  

But Chiu’s office produced a series of now-deleted Instagram posts like the one seen above, pretty blatantly advertising “New Location After Hours” at 3261-A Mission Street, on dates between November 28 and December 31, 2024. Numerous DJs were listed on each post.

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The Instagram account that posts these parties is still active, has 15,000 followers, and often promotes after-hours parties at 56 Isis Street. That address appears to be a warehouse, not a nightclub.

Though meanwhile at the Mission-Bernal location, the City Attorney’s office says that officials have observed numerous violations. “On December 28, 2024, around 11 p.m., Entertainment Commission inspectors spoke with a bartender named Cynthia and observed what appeared to be two gambling machines,” Chiu’s office wrote to the landlord. “They also saw that alcoholic beverages were being served.”

There is no permit for alcohol service or live entertainment at the address. Gambling machines are not permitted or legal anywhere in San Francisco.

It’s not clear whether the landlord Shirley Conway herself is even aware of these alleged activities. Chiu’s letter demands she investigate and respond to his office by January 9, which is tomorrow.

Related: SFPD Busts Illegal Gambling Den in Cayuga Terrace, One Day After Busting Tenderloin Gambling Den [SFist]

Image: Google Street View

Those two Tenderloin convenience stores SFPD raided last month for being underground gambling dens were allegedly also dabbling in guns, ammo, and illegal weed, and City Attorney David Chiu just filed suit to shut them both down.

Back in early September, we reported that the SFPD raided two Tenderloin corner stores and a laundromat for secretly operating underground casinos. The convenience stores in question were both on the same block: SF Discount Market at 238 Leavenworth Street, and the Tenderloin Market and Deli (also called TL Market and Deli) at 200 Leavenworth Street.

Police were tight-lipped about the raids at the time, but eyewitnesses saw cops hauling out more than a dozen electronic gambling machines. Yet there was allegedly plenty more illegal activity afoot at the two liquor stores, according to SF City Attorney David Chiu, as KPIX reports that Chiu has sued both stores and is asking the courts to shut them down.  

According to a press release from Chiu’s office, separate police investigations of the stores turned up loaded firearms and high-capacity Glock magazines, cartons of cigarettes labeled for sale in other states, merchandise for sale that was stolen from Sephora and Walgreens, 83 grams of illegal cannabis, and meth and crack pipes. Per Chiu’s press release, “The drug paraphernalia sold at both markets were in plain view to anyone who entered the stores.”

“For law abiding residents, there is nothing convenient about these stores,” Chiu said in the release. “They have been a blight on the neighborhood for too long and are fronts for gambling dens and fencing operations. These two stores are endangering the safety, health, and welfare of their Tenderloin neighbors. We are asking the Court to spare the community from further harm and hold the owners accountable.”

Chiu’s lawsuit is asking the SF Superior Court to not only levy financial and legal damages against the two stores, but also to shut them both down for a year.

Related: SFPD Raids Underground Casino Operating Inside Tenderloin Market [SFist]

Image via Google Street View

It’s been a jackpot for SFPD efforts to crack down on illegal gambling operations this week, as after a Tuesday raid on an underground Tenderloin casino operation, police on Wednesday popped a Cayuga Avenue home that also had an apparent illegal gambling den.

We reported earlier this week on a Tuesday night SFPD raid on three businesses in the Tenderloin that allegedly had illegal gambling dens operating inside. Two of those businesses were corner stores, and one was a laundromat, all on the same intersection of Turk and Leavenworth streets. Per the Chronicle “San Francisco police seized 16 gambling machines” in those raids.

Now it appears the SF Police Department is on a lucky streak with these illegal casino operations. The department announced that less than 24 hours after the Tenderloin bust, they raided another illegal gambling den in Cayuga Terrace sometime Wednesday. This one was at a private home on the 1200 block of Cayuga Avenue.

SFPD says in their press release that “Officers conducted a search of the premises and seized evidence of illegal gambling, including ten gambling machines, several money dispensers, suspected narcotics (methamphetamine), and over $2,700 in US currency.”

Three people were arrested on charges of operating an illegal gambling parlor, narcotics, and for having outstanding warrants. The department adds that “Officers conducting the search warrant gave several announcements for any occupants inside the residence to vacate on their own accord,” though they do not specify if any of those people left, or whether they were the unnamed individuals who were arrested.

It’s unclear if this bust is related to the Tenderloin gambling raids, but it seems like more than a coincidence that the two raids happened just one day apart.

While arrests have been made, this is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD Tip Line at (415) 575-4444, or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.” Tipsters can remain anonymous.

Related: SFPD Raids Underground Casino Operating Inside Tenderloin Market [SFist]

Image: SFPD via Twitter

We will not be barraged again with sports gambling campaign ads for the November election, as two ballot measures to legalize sports betting in California have been shelved. But we will still be barraged with ads for gambling apps that Californians cannot use.  

You know all those gambling app ads that are suddenly ubiquitous on TV sports broadcasts, featuring celebrity pitchmen like Jamie Foxx, JB Smoove as Caesar, or Patton Oswalt pretending he’s in Ancient Rome? The funny thing is that no matter how many of these infuriating gambling ads you see on California television, you cannot use these apps in California. While you can legally use a limited number of watered-down “daily sports fantasy” products on FanDuel and DraftKings, the full array of sports betting is not legal in California, and you cannot legally use the massively advertised gambling apps like BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, and ESPN Bet.

That’s because California voters rejected two competing sports-gambling measures in 2022, despite all-time record spending of more than $600 million by the dueling gambling campaigns. But as bettors do, gambling proponents just put down more money to try again for the 2024 election, in an effort largely authored by SoCal crypto bros and wealthy poker guys.  

What they did not understand is that Native American tribes run gambling in California, and the California political site Capitol Weekly reports that the tribes flexed their muscle and quashed those new gambling proposals, both of which are now abandoned. While the ballot measures both had the tribal-friendly sounding names of “Tribal Gaming Protection Act" and "Sports Wagering Regulation and Tribal Gaming Protection Act," there was very little tribal involvement in the crafting of these measures.

“Tribes are the operators in California. Period,” California Nations Indian Gaming Association chairperson James Siva said at the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention this month per Capitol Weekly. “We’ll let them know what terms we’ll be willing to accept.”

FanDuel CEO Amy Howe also appeared on a panel at that conference, and clearly waved a white flag. She called their 2022 measure a “spectacular failure” and said that FanDuel “learned a lot” from the defeat.

And it seems they have. Capitol Weekly reports that FanDuel has staffed up with Native Americans, most notably poaching National Indian Gaming Commission chair E. Sequoyah Simermeyer and making him FanDuel’s vice president for strategic partnerships. They've also hired several executives from the prominent gaming industry tribe San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.

So now the soonest we would see sports gambling on the California ballot would be 2026. Until then, there’s a slow dance going on behind the scenes of the sports gambling apps hiring Native American industry influencers, and the tribes assessing how much they can squeeze out of FanDuel and DraftKings.

Related: Men Behind Latest Sports Gambling Ballot Initiative Revealed to Be Crypto Guy, High-Stakes Poker Guy [SFist]

Image via BetMGM

Two dudes who sold an online gaming platform to a Nevada casino giant believe that they have the winning formula for a ballot measure that legalizes sports betting at tribal casinos in California, and they say they're willing the bankroll the whole thing.

As we reported earlier, voters in California may face another assault-by-ads next year, similar to the barrage we faced in 2022, as another ballot measure to legalize sports betting is hoping to get on the ballot in a general election year. A few weeks back, the entities behind the ballot initiative were still hiding in the shadows, but they have no emerged, and they're sounding pretty confident in their chances of getting something passed in 2024.

The two guys behind the latest effort — which came in the form of two proposed ballot measures filed with the state, only one of which will ultimately be seeking signatures — are Reeve Collins and Kasey Thompson. As Bay Area News Group reports, the pair launched online gaming platform Pala Interactive a decade ago, in partnership with the San Diego-based Pala Band of Mission Indians. Both men are likely well off now, after a deal closed last November to sell Pala Interactive to Nevada casino giant Boyd Gaming Corporation for $170 million.

Thompson is a former (current?) high-stakes poker player who describes himself on Instagram (his handle is "wolfofpoker") as a "founder of amazing companies." Just before the pandemic lockdowns, on March 9, 2020, Thompson posted a photo of himself in a private jet with DJ Steve Aoki and Brody Jenner, captioned, "What really happens at 40,000ft when you give @steveaoki and @brodyjenner a ride home...:)"

Collins, meanwhile, describes himself on LinkedIn as "a long-standing pioneer in both digital marketing and the Bitcoin/Blockchain space."

Now, Collins and Thompson hope to win over a majority of the 52 federally recognized tribal governments in California, and get them onboard with a new ballot initiative to open up sports betting at all tribal casinos — something that the casinos would then profit from.

How this is all structured isn't clear, but Thompson confidently tells Bay Area News Group that "this is the best proposal [the tribes have] ever seen."

"The legalization of sports wagering has been a contentious battle in the past, but if the proposition is structured properly and has significant tribal support, 2024 will be the year it passes," says Collins, speaking to the news group.

The pair also hope to win over the tribes by showing them that there is all upside for them in this deal — the two men and their partners are bankrolling the ballot-measure effort, and the tribes only stand to profit, they say.

"If I’m willing to fire $25 million in a few weeks, it shows I’m pretty prepared for this," Thompson tells the news group, regarding the money involved in getting such an effort off the ground, and gathering signatures to get on the ballot.

The two proposed measures, according to documents filed in late October with the Attorney General’s Office, are called "Tribal Gaming Protection Act" and "Sports Wagering Regulation and Tribal Gaming Protection Act". Both would legalize sports betting through the tribes only, but the latter measure includes a framework for how the state would do so.

Thompson said that waiting until the last minute to file the proposed initiatives was strategic, in order to keep any competing measures from sneaking in. But tribal leaders have already expressed some dismay at the fact that they were not consulted first, given how they will have to be involved in any winning ballot measure.

Victor Rocha of the Pachanga Band of Indians, who is conference chairman of the Indian Gaming Association, proclaimed on X two weeks ago "this thing is so dead," and said, "These idiots actually sent a letter to California tribal leaders asking them not to talk to the press until they had a chance to talk to leadership. How stoopid is that?"

Rocha has since said that tribes will take "an incremental approach" to sports gambling, and they aren't interested in another ballot measure like this.

The Indian Gaming Association also put out a statement saying, "While the sponsors of these initiatives may believe they know what is best for tribes, we encourage them to engage with Indian Country and ask, rather than dictate."

Still, Thompson said that he expects the tribes to be won over in the coming weeks as they learn more details. And if this thing plows forward, we can look forward to another onslaught of ads about this.

In 2022, over $360 million was spent on the Yes and No campaigns for the competing Props 26 and 27. Both went down in flames at the ballot box, with the one measure that involved the tribes directly doing only slightly better.

The two initiatives split tribes across the state, and the ensuing barrage of contradictory ads, all of which implied they had the backing of tribes, only served to confused and annoy voters more.

Mobile betting apps FanDuel and DraftKings, which sponsored one of last year's initiatives, could also see this as a money-grab in one of the biggest markets in the U.S., and it seems possible they could step in and bankroll a negative campaign against any ballot measure that they are left out of.

Stay tuned...

Previously: We May, Yet Again, Be Voting on Sports Betting In California Next Year

Photo: Baishampayan Ghose/Wikimedia

Some mystery proponents have filed two proposed ballot measures for the November 2024 election that would again attempt to legalize on-site and online sports betting in California, restricting it to tribe-owned casinos.

Voters in California roundly rejected a pair of competing ballot measures in 2022 that focused on sports betting — one which would have legalized sports gambling at tribal casinos and horse tracks, and one that would have legalized online and mobile sports betting throughout the state. The one involving tribal casinos fared slightly better than the initiative sponsored by the likes of Draft Kings and Fanduel, but it still went down by a two-to-one margin.

So why would someone want to waste millions to try this again so soon? Hard to say! Bay Area News Group reports this week that documents filed last week with the Attorney General’s Office for the proposed "Tribal Gaming Protection Act" and "Sports Wagering Regulation and Tribal Gaming Protection Act" — both of which say essentially the same thing, but the latter has more of a framework attached. Both will now face a 30-day public comment period and a state financial impact review, and then the proponents behind the measures will have 180 days to collect 875,000 signatures.

None of the state's tribal casinos have heard anything about this, and they're not sounding too supportive.

"While the sponsors of these initiatives may believe they know what is best for tribes, we encourage them to engage with Indian Country and ask, rather than dictate," said the Indian Gaming Association in a statement, adding they were "deeply disappointed" not to be consulted on the measure before it was filed.

Victor Rocha of the Pachanga Band of Indians, who is conference chairman of the Indian Gaming Association, went further in a post on X, saying, "These idiots actually sent a letter to California tribal leaders asking them not to talk to the press until they had a chance to talk to leadership. How stoopid is that?"

Rocha added, "this thing is so dead."

Still, no one has figured out who is behind initiatives, though we may figure that out fairly soon.

They why is pretty simple, as analyst Geoff Zochodne tells the news group. "It’s the biggest of the crown jewels for that type of betting. So while it seems crazy to try again to unlock the market after such a resounding defeat [in 2022], the upside is just so significant that maybe people can’t help themselves."

Prosecutors say that a patron at an illegal gambling den in Oakland was stripped naked and brutally beaten for six minutes in a January 2022 incident caught on video, and the three men believed responsible now face torture charges.

The motive for beating is not clear from court documents, but as the East Bay Times reports, Alameda County prosecutors say that a man identified only as John Doe suffered a "large amount of blood loss" and was beaten unconscious in the incident — beaten with a firearm and allegedly stomped on the head.

Torture charges were filed Tuesday against 22-year-old Terrance Hadnot, 31-year-old Wai Hoang, and 24-year-old Christopher Darby. The location where the beating allegedly took place, a residential building on the 1900 block of 17th Avenue in Oakland, is a suspected gambling parlor that was listed as Hoang's residence in 2018.

Additionally, prosecutors have charged 47-year-old Jenevieve Ramirez with being an accessory after the fact to the torture of John Doe, and Hoang and Darby both face illegal gun charges.

Illegal gambling parlors have been busted all over the Bay Area in the last two decades, including, most recently, a raid on two homes last month that were allegedly being used for gambling and crack cocaine production in San Jose.

The gambling parlor on 17th Avenue was raided by Oakland police in late August, at which time they seized four semi-automatic firearms, 15 pounds of suspected marijuana, 12 gaming machines, and $3,000 in cash according to an OPD press release.

The raid had occurred after months of complaints from neighbors — and it's unclear when police discovered footage of the January beating, or whether the victim came forward.

As the East Bay Times reports, Hoang was busted at the 17th Avenue home in 2018, at which point he was allegedly in possession of 75 pounds of marijuana and four firearms. In October 2020, Oakland police say they seized a backpack containing drugs and Hoang's driver’s license at an illegal gambling parlor on 14th Avenue. They wouldn't ultimately bust that gambling den and arrest Hoang until nine months later, in June 2021. At that point police say they seized meth, marijuana, and heroin, along with eight firearms, 30 high capacity magazines, a bulletproof vest, 18 gaming machines, and $21,000 in cash.

It's not clear from the East Bay Times's reporting if Hoang was out on bail or what he was charged with following that 2021 arrest.

Hoang and the others are all scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday.

Photo: Ays Be

Our long, statewide nightmare of sports-betting campaign commercials for dueling propositions is over, and for now California voters have roundly rejected all expansion of sports gambling — at casinos or otherwise.

It was the most spending ever in a ballot-initiative race in the state, with the campaigns for Propositions 26 and 27 spending a combined $600 million to deluge us with TV and YouTube ads for the last several months urging Yes votes on one and No votes on the other, and vice versa.

Prop 26, which would have legalized sports gambling at tribal casinos and horse tracks, garnered only 30% of the vote at last count, per the Associated Press. And meanwhile Prop 27 won a dismal 16% of the vote. The latter proposition would have legalized online and mobile sports betting throughout the state, and was cast as a money grab by out-of-state corporations like Draft Kings and FanDuel, who would be taking market share away from tribes when it came to gambling.

"Our internal polling has been clear and consistent for years: California voters do not support online sports betting," says Anthony Roberts, tribal chairman of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, speaking to the AP. "Voters have real and significant concerns about turning every cellphone, laptop and tablet into a gambling device, the resulting addiction and exposure to children."

But voters also had little to no interest in expanding sports betting to tribal casinos. And the state's highly regulated and taxed cardroom industry was staunchly opposed to Prop 26, saying that it would take market share away from them in favor of a handful of wealthy tribes.

Prop 27 had also cast itself as being a funding initiative to address homelessness, because 10% of revenue was said to go to homelessness. But Governor Gavin Newsom, while never endorsing or rejecting either of these props, did make the comment that 27 was "not a homeless initiative," as the AP notes.

Given the money at stake if California ever did join the 30 other states that allow online sports betting, this may not be the last time we see sports gambling on the ballot. But sweet lord Jesus we don't have to listen to these ads again for at least a couple of years.

Likely thanks in part to an ad campaign with Governor Gavin Newsom as its face, the No on 30 campaign won out on Tuesday, with the AP calling it after 41% of ballots were counted. At that point, the measure was going down with 59% voting No — and as Vox notes, this initiative, which would have taxed the very wealthy in order to fund electric-car-charging infrastructure and other climate initiatives, was initially popular before Newsom went to bat against it.

As SF noted earlier, this was likely a favor by Newsom to his wealthy donors and VC friends, but Newsom's people called that characterization "offensive."

Also, the dialysis wars are over — for now — with Prop 29 going down with 70% No votes, thanks to an onslaught of ads funded by dialysis clinic corporations. But since this was, for the third even-year November election in a row, largely a push by the nurses' union, SEIU-United Health Care Workers West, to get Big Di to the negotiating table and do some more hiring, this also may not be the last we hear about this. The two main companies, Fresenius Medical Care and DaVita, have spent tens of millions of dollars to defeat these measures, starting with Prop 8 in 2018, and then Prop 23 in 2020 — but will the union try for Round 4 in 2024?

Related: SF Props Roundup: Car-Free JFK Wins, Mayoral Election Years Moved, Dueling Affordable Housing Props Still Dueling

Photo by Ron Vesely/Getty Images

A combined $400 million-plus in spending has bought no love for the two competing sports gambling measures on California’s November ballot, whereas a new millionaire’s tax stands just 1% shy of the majority threshold it needs.    

You might remember that in the big 2020 Trump vs. Biden election, one of your California ballot measures was a gig worker measure called Prop 22, which Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and their tech ilk spent a record-setting $224 million to get passed. A month out from the 2022 elections, that record has already been shattered. Those two competing sports gambling measures, Props 26 and 27, have spent well above $400 million combined according to the Los Angeles Times, with the election still more than 30 days away.

And at 30-some days out, it looks like this was not money well spent. The Bay Area News Group reports on a new set of polls on many of the state ballot measures, and both gambling measures are polling quite terribly. Prop 26, which would allow sports gambling at tribal casinos, has only 31% support. Prop 27, which is backed by DraftKings and FanDuel and would legalize sports betting in California on those platforms, is doing even worse at a measly 27% support.

“These results suggest that the sports wagering initiatives are foundering in the face of the opposition advertising campaigns,” said Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies co-director Eric Schickler, whose institute conducted the polls, said in a statement. “The lack of support among key demographic groups makes passage of each an uphill climb, at best.”

And then you’ve got this Prop 30, which proposes to add an additional 1.75% tax on people making $2 million or more a year to fund electric vehicles. As Cal Matters points out, and as you see above, Gavin Newsom is campaigning hard against it. He calls Prop 30 “a Trojan horse that puts corporate welfare above the fiscal welfare of our entire state,” insinuating (though he won’t say their name) that Lyft hopes to use these funds to subsidize electrifying their vehicle fleet.

And this one’s worth watching. Per the News Group, “The poll also found that more California likely voters are inclined to support than oppose Proposition 30, a new tax on the rich that primarily would subsidize the proliferation of electric cars and the charging station infrastructure needed to power them. But the 49% in favor was short of the majority needed for the new tax to pass, with 37% opposed and 14% still undecided.”

Notable fact: The SF Standard’s billionaire VC funder Michael Moritz is also one of the top donors to the No On 30 campaign, as noted at the end of the ad above. Other opponents to Prop 30 include the California Chamber of Commerce, and the California Republican Party.

Supporters — which include the Chronicle Editorial Board and the California Democratic Party — suggest that while the measure may not be perfect, it's a least a step in the right direction for addressing climate change.

But speaking of Gavin Newsom, did you even realize he’s up for reelection in November? The race continues to be a nothingburger, as Newsom is trouncing his opponent, Sacramento-area state Senator Brian Dahle, by a 53%-31% margin.

Related: Dueling Sports Gambling Ballot Measures Have Tribes, Sportsbooks Spending Big on Misleading Ads [SFist]

Image: Joe Kukura, SFist

There are probably no good guys in the November ballot fight over gambling measures Props 26 and 27, but there is a record $425 million going into ads from tribes and online sportsbooks determined to grab financial control of internet sports betting in California.

We are past Labor Day and heading into mid-September, which means election advertisements galore disrupting your football-watching and fall TV premiere season. And considering that there is, sigh, yet another goddamned kidney dialysis measure on your November ballot, you’d figure dialysis ads will dominate the state election advertisement landscape.

But no! A dueling pair of gambling measures is raising more money than the previous most expensive measure Prop 22 in 2020, which pulled in around $224 million in contributions. These are Props 26 and 27; and as KGO explains, Prop 26 would allow sports betting only at Native American-run casinos (and a few horse race tracks), Prop 27 would allow online sports gambling from sites like FanDuel and DraftKings, giving some percentage of proceeds to the tribes.

Despite the other barrage of gambling ads you often see in sports broadcasts, Californians currently cannot technically place bets on DraftKings and FanDuel. Those platforms only allow Californians to play in Fantasy sports leagues, which do offer some payout. Prop 27 would open the floodgates to all forms of sports betting on those platforms, Prop 26 would allow you to make those bets in-person only at tribal casinos.

And as the Chronicle reports, both sides are using very misleading ads to avoid saying the above, and instead framing the issues as “real solutions for the homelessness crisis" and "stand with tribes."

The most money is being pumped into the “Yes on 27" ads. The ad above speciously claims that “Tribal leaders urge you to vote Yes on Prop 27.” Well, maybe a couple of them do. But as the Chronicle notes, “By ‘some,’ that means three of California’s tribes support the ballot measure. The No on 27 campaign counts more than 50 tribes that oppose it.”

The tribes aren’t clean here either. The above “No on 27” ad decries that the measure would turn “every cell phone, laptop, tablet and even video game console into a gambling device, opening up online gambling to anyone, anywhere, anytime.” Umm, that is how internet websites work.

The part they leave out is that those same tribes are working on a 2024 ballot measure that would do the exact same, just with the revenue flowing primarily to them, rather than DraftKings and FanDuel.

If Props 26 and 27 both fail, nothing  changes, and we probably vote on a different proposed sports gambling model in 2024. If both measures pass, both sides are likely to sue each other.  

“The proposition with the most votes could argue the other proposition conflicts with theirs,” according to KGO. “They could take legal action to prevent it from becoming law.” So then it would be up to the courts to decide where the chips fall.

Related: Casinos Took a Bath Over Draymond’s Seven-Second Performance, as Clever Betters Took the Under in Prop Bets [SFist]

Image: Joe Kukura, SFist

Turns out the house doesn’t always win, as a few bettors with quick fingers bilked online sportsbooks for a sum reportedly in the millions Sunday, when the Warriors announced Draymond Green would only play for a few seconds.  

Golden State Warriors fans will remember Sunday night’s game as the long-awaited return of Klay Thompson from an ACL injury. And lordy, were those fans rewarded when Thompson executed a thunderous dunk over two Cleveland Cavaliers in an eventual 96-82 win.

But online gambling enthusiasts will remember that game for a dunk on the online casinos and sportsbooks. Some bettors performed a quick-witted gaming of the system that ESPN reports cost the casinos a sum that “climbed into the seven figures.”

These bettors did not win by picking the Warriors to win, instead, they exploited “prop bets.” Anyone who’s suffered through the 2019 Adam Sandler film Uncut Gems is familiar with these side bets, which allow you to wager on who will score first, whether a certain player will score over/under a certain total, or whether whomever singing the National Anthem makes it take longer than two minutes. These prop bets are an excellent way to separate gambling addicts from their money.

Unless the gamblers have “inside information,” which kind of happened on Sunday. Nine minutes before tip-off, the Warriors officially tweeted that “Draymond Green will be on the court for the opening tip-off to honor Klay Thompson but will not participate in the remainder of the game.” And indeed, Green was pulled from the game after seven seconds, following his ceremonial appearance to welcome Thompson back.  

The sportsbooks generally had Green’s point total over/under at 7.5 points, and his rebound over/under at 8.5 rebounds. People who’d already bet were instantly screwed, and hey, that’s just gambling. But some clever bettors used those nine minutes to take the under, and the online casinos and sportsbooks got played for millions.

Most of them have done the right thing and honored the bets, and even reimbursed those who’d bet the over and got soaked. The last holdout was DraftKings, who’d frozen bettors accounts pending an “investigation” into the matter,  but Action Network reports they bit the bullet and just paid out everyone late Tuesday.  

These are understandable quirks we are going to see as online gambling becomes (disgustingly) normalized. The real trouble comes when we learn that players and refs are throwing games purposefully to win money, which has totally happened in the not-too distant past, and that’s when we really learn how online gambling is destroying the integrity of sports.

Related: Steph Curry Breaks NBA All-Time 3-Point Record, Says He's 'Comfortable' Being Called the Greatest Shooter Now [SFist]

Image: PHOENIX, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 25: Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors reacts after a three-point shot against the Phoenix Suns during the second half of NBA game at Footprint Center on December 25, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Warriors defeated the Suns 116-107.

Former Fizzary spot turned nightclub vandalized this weekend https://t.co/hQKKxnZZIC pic.twitter.com/ZMlElsgYQl

— Capp Street Crap (@cappstreetcrap) December 7, 2015

After months of neighborhood complaints, at least one shooting, and a desperate man spray-painting warning signs all over his own business, the illegal late-night gambling den run out of the former Fizzary building has finally been shut down.

Early yesterday morning, eviction and No Trespassing signs were posted to the exterior of the building, reports Capp Street Crap. The notices warned that violators would be subject to arrest, and a spokesperson with the Sheriff's Department confirmed to Capp Street Crap that the eviction had indeed occurred.

You may remember the fancy soda and candy shop closed down in 2015, but unbeknownst to many at the time, the business owner, Taylor Peck, continued (or began) living out of the space above the store after it closed. He also, and this was his fatal mistake, rented out the ground-floor space to a group of subtenants who quickly turned the place into an after-hours party spot.

Gambling, late-night drug sales and prostitution allegedly occurred at the shuttered shop, and Peck, seemingly unable to get the activity to stop, tagged his own building with warnings to the community and police. Peck was soon evicted himself, but the illegal after-hours action — which had been going on since at least September of 2015 — only continued.

This is not the only case of an illegal club operating out of a shuttered business, and the police even announced an Excelsior-focused crack down on this type of activity last October. The operations are apparently difficulty to stop altogether, however, as the people who run them simply move from one building to the next.

Peck thinks that is exactly what is going to happen, telling Capp Street Crap that the people who he dealt with will likely move on to torturing another unsuspecting landlord.

“God help the property owner, tenants, and neighborhood that those low life speakeasy vampires will inevitably sink their infected fangs into next,” said the apparently exasperated Peck.

As for Peck? He told Mission Local that he's just glad the whole ordeal has come to an end.

“I’m evicted and I’m done, and I was out before them.”

All previous coverage of the Fizzary on SFist.

The excitement generated by the as-of-yet undefeated Golden State Warriors extends far off the court, as sports fans around the country are placing bets on the team that is now the odds-on favorite to win the title according to at least one major sports book.

The team, which currently has 23 wins and zero losses, has blown past predictions made earlier in the year, reports the Chronicle. The paper spoke with Nick Bogdanovich of William Hill U.S. Race & Sports Book, who shared in fans' excitement.

“This is an amazing story," said Bogdanovich. “The NBA season is a marathon, not a sprint. But you gotta give these guys kudos; they’re playing like it’s a sprint,” Bogdanovich continued. “Over and over, they just win, win, win.”

As betting on sports is illegal in California, casinos just across the state line are reaping the benefit from Warriors fever.

Capitalizing on fan excitement, casinos are offering all kinds of Warriors-related bets. For example, you can bet on if the Warriors will lose fewer games than the San Francisco 49ers (which, as the Chronicle points out, is a particularly stinging insult to the Niners as the Warriors play 82 times to the Niners' 16).

There's still a lot of the NBA season left, and we know deep down that many things could still go wrong. But! We're not going to think about that. Instead, let's all just watch this video of Stephen Curry melting the court, NBA Jam style.

All previous coverage of the Golden State Warriors on SFist.