Filed under:Two lanes, two drivers, two cars, thousands of dollars, and only one winner. At the drag strips of Orlando, Florida, you’re only as good as your last winning bet.I’m outside in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of Orlando, Florida. There are buzzards circling overhead, maybe a dozen of them. A faint smell of burnt rubber lingers in the air, and the pavement all around me is literally on fire. I’m surrounded by thousands of people, and where I am, nothing is what it seems. It’s December, but it’s hotter than hell.The crowd is getting excited to see John Gotti and the Chosen...…Filed under:Two lanes, two drivers, two cars, thousands of dollars, and only one winner. At the drag strips of Orlando, Florida, you’re only as good as your last winning bet.I’m outside in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of Orlando, Florida. There are buzzards circling overhead, maybe a dozen of them. A faint smell of burnt rubber lingers in the air, and the pavement all around me is literally on fire. I’m surrounded by thousands of people, and where I am, nothing is what it seems. It’s December, but it’s hotter than hell.The crowd is getting excited to see John Gotti and the Chosen...WW…

Down in the valley beneath the shadow of Sugarloaf Mountain, where the hot vapors rise from the healing waters of the springs, L.V. Rowe was on one hell of a roll at the dice table. He was crowded in between the stickman and the other dice players, who were lined up two and three deep at all five tables, making the wide marble-and-crystal-appointed room feel small.“Five! A no-field five!” yelled the boxman.The gamblers whooped. The dealers placed the checks down on the felt in front of the winning players. Rowe picked his up and placed them in his stack along the rail of the table. The...…Down in the valley beneath the shadow of Sugarloaf Mountain, where the hot vapors rise from the healing waters of the springs, L.V. Rowe was on one hell of a roll at the dice table. He was crowded in between the stickman and the other dice players, who were lined up two and three deep at all five tables, making the wide marble-and-crystal-appointed room feel small.“Five! A no-field five!” yelled the boxman.The gamblers whooped. The dealers placed the checks down on the felt in front of the winning players. Rowe picked his up and placed them in his stack along the rail of the table. The...WW…

Filed under:How a Twitch-streamed no-limit hold’em player found himself at the heart of one of the most fascinating gambling controversies in yearsOn January 12, a group of poker players gathered at Stones Gambling Hall near Sacramento to play no-limit hold’em. The game was being streamed on Twitch, part of a regular broadcast from the casino called Stones Live. The audience was able to see the players’ face-down cards because of RFID sensors in the cards and on the table, and the game was broadcast on a half-hour delay so that viewers couldn’t relay information from the broadcast to the...…Filed under:How a Twitch-streamed no-limit hold’em player found himself at the heart of one of the most fascinating gambling controversies in yearsOn January 12, a group of poker players gathered at Stones Gambling Hall near Sacramento to play no-limit hold’em. The game was being streamed on Twitch, part of a regular broadcast from the casino called Stones Live. The audience was able to see the players’ face-down cards because of RFID sensors in the cards and on the table, and the game was broadcast on a half-hour delay so that viewers couldn’t relay information from the broadcast to the...WW…