A lifelong poker player who moved online in 2004, Josh founded Beat The Fish in 2005 to help online poker players make more-informed decisions on where to play and how to win once they got there. He hopes to counter the rampant dishonesty in online gaming media with objective reviews and relevant features. Tech nostalgic. Use CoinATMradar.com to find Bitcoin ATM’s in your area. These machines are fast, secure, and easy to use - even for first time Bitcoin users. Please note that some machines may ask for ID prior to allowing purchase or exchanges. Additionally, you will need a Bitcoin address to move funds.
Controversial high-stakes sports bettor turned tout “Vegas Dave” Oancea faced up to 40 years in prison on 19 felony charges, but walked out of federal court on Monday a free man, sentenced to three years probation, 150 hours of community service, and mandatory gambling treatment. He is also banned from Las Vegas sportsbooks for three years.
Oancea already a prolific gambler for a decade, rose to prominence in 2015 when he went on a terrific run, betting longshot futures. He bet $100,000 on the Kansas City Royals, picked to finish last that season, to win the World Series. When they came through, he won $2.5 million. It was the largest payout on a future bet ever. A couple weeks later, he put $20,000 on Holly Holm to beat undefeated and insanely dominant Rhonda Rousey in a UFC bout at +1,100 odds. Holm shockingly won and Oancea cashed for $240,000, a record for a UFC Bet. He also placed a future bet on the Denver Broncos the following year and won $2.3 million when the team claimed the Lombardi Trophy. He had made his name.
In 2017, though, he was indicted on charges that he used other people’s social security numbers to open player accounts at Las Vegas casinos from about February 2015 to February 2016. He claimed that he had to do that because the casinos wouldn’t take his business because he was a winning player. In the end, he pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor charge of “causing a violation of record keeping and procedures.”
Vegas Dave is someone that is known to only a niche group of people, but the recent Showtime documentary series, “Action,” got his face and name out there to a much wider demographic. In the program, he comes off as by far the least likeable person the film crews followed, obsessed with the perception of success and how luxury items further that image. He is your classic, loud-mouthed tout, selling his sports betting picks for hundreds and even thousands of dollars a pop. On the show, he gave viewers a look at purchases being made in real time, how he made hundreds of thousands, and sometimes over a million dollars, in a single day or weekend simply selling his picks. He wasn’t making money betting; he was making money convincing people to buy his “expertise.” And when his picks lost miserably, he moved on, not seeming to care at all that he was draining people’s money.
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I have no idea if he is a nice, likeable person in private, but his public persona is cringeworthy. He comes off as a combination hype man/motivational speaker/grifter.
In a 2,000+ word screed on Facebook this week, Oancea wrote, in part:
For the last three years, I’ve faced the biggest gamble of my life being indicted by the Federal Government on 19 felony counts carrying a potential sentence of 40+ years in federal prison. But true to who I am — a gambling man — I bet on myself and decided at that moment to stand up for my constitutional rights and to defend my freedom and innocence. Today, I walked out of the federal courtroom a free man with zero felonies and zero prison time.
Top 5 (Previous) Reasons To Avoid BetOnline Poker
BetOnline is a large international sportsbook and poker room that accepts players from all around the world. The book also accepts US players, with poker players and sports bettors alike heading to the room because of their positive ratings by SportsbookReview.com and other review websites.
While BetOnline seems to have a lot to offer online gamblers, a nice deposit bonus, 24/7 support and a user friendly interface, the room fell flat in many areas.
Latest Updates at BetOnline
December 6, 2013: We recently sat down with a representative from BetOnline, and he answered 10 tough questions. It sure looks like they are turning things around.
June 24, 2013: After significant arbitration between old and new management at the Chico Network (BetOnline’s parent network), a new management team took control of the Chico Poker Network. We are in “wait and see” mode regarding a recommendation to play at BetOnline.
Below is a history of what happened at BetOnline. While we believe these issues are behind them, with new management they have turned a new leaf. We don’t ever want to forget history so we plan on keeping this page live:
BetOnline Poker Network Had Rampant Collusion
BetOnline offers a poker room that is on the Chico Network, but were once claiming to be part of the non-existent Hero Poker Network. BetOnline Poker has neither confirmed nor denied publicly that they made up the network, but players could easily tell that BetOnline Poker was on the Chico Network by comparing tables and software.
Players were able to play both on the BetOnline and Action Poker software (both Chico Network Skins) at the same time on the same tables from the same computer. Collusion was extremely simple and very frequent.
BetOnline Attempted to Steal Successful Poker Bankrolls
In November of 2011, a 2+2 user had his 65,000 dollars in winnings confiscated off him for collusion play. As we mentioned previously, this is devilishly easy given the network setup, but this player vehemently denied this accusation. Furthermore, BetOnline did not produce any evidence to the player that he was guilty of player collusion. The player finally received his funds months later, after SportsBookReview.com filled a claim on his behalf and his play was deemed lawful.
Soon, the thread was filled with other players saying the same thing. BetOnline was simply accusing players of collusion if they seemed to run up their balance in the poker room. Though, many of these players did receive their funds back, after going to SportsBookReview.com for help, BetOnline was consistently attempting to seize poker bankrolls from players without producing any evidence!
BetOnline Did Not Honor Promotions
BetOnline offers some great deposit promotions, but asks that players email support within 24 hours of depositing to receive their free plays or deposit bonus. Even after emailing, and hounding live chat support, players still may not receive their bonus offers. Management will use any technicality they can to avoid giving players their bonuses and will do anything to not honor their promotions. They seem to make up the rules as they go along, and will do anything to defraud their own player base.
BetOnline Has Terrible Customer Support
BetOnline has a support staff that is renowned by sports bettors for all the wrong reasons. Even though they are available 24 hours a day, live chat representatives have many documented instances of being rude to customers and calling them names. Emails are rarely answered quickly and often times the question or issue is not resolved.
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Payouts Were Not As Advertised
Due to the crackdown on online gambling in the US some sites have had delays in payouts, which is understandable. However, BetOnline over-promises and under delivers by claiming checks will arrive within a week, and often has customers waiting much longer and going through hell to get their money.
When a player normally requests a payout, the sports book or poker room will approve the request and inform the bettor that it is processing once it has been approved. Apparently, BetOnline is not interested in proper business practices as only rarely will players receive their payouts by just requesting it from their available balance; they will have to call, email, and live chat their way to get their withdrawals processed. On top of that, some of the cashiers’ checks they do finally send out bounced once they hit players!
We recommend all US players to avoid BetOnline Poker at all costs and don’t trust any person or site that recommends BetOnline as a quality alternative. Get out while you still can and head over to the most reputable poker room still available to US players: Americas Cardroom.