Canada
New York’s Tom Thibodeau wins 2020-21 NBA Coach of the Year Award

New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2020-21 NBA Coach of the Year, the NBA (www.NBA.com) announced yesterday.
This is the second NBA Coach of the Year Award for Thibodeau, who earned the honor in the 2010-11 season with the Chicago Bulls in his first season as an NBA head coach. Now honored in his first season as the Knicks’ head coach, Thibodeau has become the first person to be named NBA Coach of the Year in his first season as head coach with two different franchises. (Cotton Fitzsimmons won the award in his first season as the Kansas City Kings’ head coach, 1978-79, and again in the first season of his second tenure as the Phoenix Suns’ head coach, 1988-89).
Thibodeau received 43 first-place votes and earned 351 total points to edge Phoenix head coach Monty Williams, who finished in second place with 340 points (45 first-place votes). The 11-point difference between the first- and second-place finishers marks the smallest margin since the current NBA Coach of the Year voting format was introduced in the 2002-03 season.
Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder finished in third place with 161 points (10 first-place votes). Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters.
With Thibodeau as head coach, New York finished tied for the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference (41-31) and made the NBA Playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The Knicks won 16 of their final 20 games to complete a turnaround from last season’s overall record of 21-45.
Thibodeau led New York to an 11-4 record in April for its winningest month since March 2014 (11-5). He was selected as the NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for May after guiding the Knicks to a 6-3 record in the final month of the regular season.
The Knicks showed dramatic improvement on defense with Thibodeau at the helm, leading the NBA in points allowed (104.7) and opponents’ field goal percentage (44.0) and ranking fourth in defensive rating (107.8). Last season, New York finished 17th or lower in all three categories.
Under Thibodeau, Julius Randle was named an NBA All-Star for the first time and won the 2020-21 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award. In addition, Derrick Rose was a finalist for the 2020-21 Kia NBA Sixth Man Award, 2021 NBA Rising Stars selection RJ Barrett ranked as the fourth-leading scorer among second-year NBA players (17.6 ppg), and rookie Immanuel Quickley averaged 11.4 points after being selected by New York with the 25th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Thibodeau is the 10th head coach to win the NBA Coach of the Year Award more than once and the eighth to do it with multiple franchises. In addition, he is the third head coach to be selected as NBA Coach of the Year with the Knicks, joining Red Holzman (1969-70) and Pat Riley (1992-93).
New York hired Thibodeau as its head coach on July 30, 2020. He has a career regular-season record of 393-277 (.587) in nine seasons as an NBA head coach, guiding teams to the playoffs seven times. Before joining the Knicks, he served as head coach of the Bulls for five seasons (2010-15) and the Minnesota Timberwolves over three seasons (2016-19).
The NBA Coach of the Year Award trophy is named in honor of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Red Auerbach. The legendary head coach guided the Celtics to nine NBA championships, including eight in a row from 1959-66.
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BetRivers
NetGaming Goes Live in Ontario with Rush Street Interactive via BetRivers Platform

NetGaming, a fast-growing online casino content supplier, is proud to announce its launch in Ontario with Rush Street Interactive, Inc., a leading online casino and sports betting company in the United States, Canada and Latin America. This strategic collaboration marks a significant milestone for NetGaming as it continues to expand its footprint across regulated North American markets.
As part of the launch, Ontario players on BetRivers can now enjoy a diverse portfolio of NetGaming titles, known for their high-quality graphics, immersive gameplay, and unique themes. Standout games such as Zeus’s Thunderbolt, Bison Gold, and Fireball Inferno are among the first to go live, with additional titles set to follow soon.
This partnership is just the beginning. NetGaming plans to extend its collaboration with Rush Street Interactive into Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Mexico over the coming months.
Pallavi Deshmukh, CEO of NetGaming, commented: “We are thrilled to go live with Rush Street Interactive, a powerhouse operator with a strong presence and loyal player base. This launch marks a significant milestone in our
North American expansion strategy and underscores our commitment to delivering exceptional gaming experiences tailored to local player preferences across the region.”
Richard Schwartz, CEO of Rush Street Interactive, commented: “We are pleased to partner with NetGaming to bring innovative, premium games to our players in Ontario. This collaboration aligns with our strategy to offer world-class
entertainment through engaging, action-packed online casino games. We look forward to expanding this partnership into additional regulated markets in the months ahead.”
This strategic partnership highlights both companies’ dedication to providing high- quality, innovative, and responsible entertainment to players in regulated markets.
The post NetGaming Goes Live in Ontario with Rush Street Interactive via BetRivers Platform appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Canada
User-Centric Redesign for Casinosfiables.ca

Casinosfiables announced that they have redesigned their existing site – https://casinosfiables.ca/ to better address current user demands.
Although the site’s functionality aligns with modern industry standards, the redesign is a step in the right direction and could very well give a competitive edge.
The changes addressed certain functionality concerns and aligned with ever-changing user preferences and behavior.
• Seamless page transition – The overall performance of the site improved, so pages loaded faster, despite the addition of new elements.
• Integrated social media buttons – Buttons that lead to social media pages became more visible, so it is easier for readers to complete engagement incentives that granted them affiliate-exclusive rewards or promo codes.
• More valuable insights – Previously, charts and ratings were only explained in separate reviews. The new roundup charts and ratings had a dropdown feature that provided more insights or clarity behind the rating.
• Relevant search filters – Some trends or categories that targeted user intent weren’t visible in the previous version. The updated version introduced new categories that better reflected player preferences, or included roundups based on casino features (e.g., cashback, no wager promos, game providers) that weren’t at the forefront previously.
• Author pages – Readers who had similar opinions and game preferences to the site’s authors gained the ability to find other texts from those authors. Each casino expert received a dedicated page listing all of their publications.
The changes were finalized over the past few months. The team pushed these updates in batches rather than a single big update.
The post User-Centric Redesign for Casinosfiables.ca appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
BCLC
Vancouver Resident Purchased Winning $40 Million Lotto Max Ticket While Quenching Sparkling Water Craving

Phuc Duc (Daniel) Chau loves the Bubly brand of sparkling water and stopped in a convenience store to purchase a can. Chau likes to buy lottery tickets based on a gut feeling, and due to the employee’s bubbly nature while he purchased his Bubly, Chau also purchased a Lotto Max ticket for the May 23, 2025 draw.
It was this ticket that ended up scoring Chau a whopping $40-million jackpot.
“I was at work when I found out,” recalled Chau of the moment he realized he won. “I was going through my bag to find a cough drop, but I saw that I had two lottery tickets in my bag and decided to scan the tickets, but I needed to update the [BCLC Lotto!] app first. The first ticket I didn’t win anything, but the second said $40 million. I have never seen that many zeroes in my life, ever. I dropped my phone and then called BCLC right away!”
At the time of the prize claim, the Vancouver resident hadn’t yet shared the news of his win.
“My partner doesn’t know yet! I want to share the news with them in a special way.”
Chau shared that his dream has always been to travel the world. “There are so many places I want to go to, so I haven’t fully decided!”
When asked if he will quit his job, he said, “I haven’t decided, but I want to continue to support my community in a different way.”
On how it feels to be a multimillionaire?
“It means a lot to me. It opens up an opportunity for me to give back to my family, community and the world all around me. It’s not meaningful unless you can share this with those who need it.”
Chau purchased the winning ticket at the 7-Eleven on Imperial Street and Boundary Road in Burnaby.
So far in 2025, B.C. lottery players have redeemed more than $146 million from Lotto Max. Lotto Max is a nationwide lottery game drawn on Tuesdays and Fridays after 7:30 p.m. (PST).
Players can purchase tickets at lottery retailers or at PlayNow.com. Winning numbers and group release forms can be found online at www.bclc.com. Players can check their lottery tickets anytime, anywhere on iOS and Android devices.
BCLC offers socially responsible gambling entertainment while generating income to benefit all British Columbians. Players can visit PlayNow.com to learn how to set time and money limits.
The post Vancouver Resident Purchased Winning $40 Million Lotto Max Ticket While Quenching Sparkling Water Craving appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
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