Gambling in the USA
Vegas Pickle Bowl at the Plaza Hotel & Casino to welcome NFL players and celebrities this weekend to benefit children’s charity
Tournaments are free to watch, amateur players can still register to play.
The Plaza Hotel & Casino is proud to welcome the Vegas Pickle Bowl benefiting the Inspiring Children Foundation this weekend.
The event includes a celebrity, athlete, and influencer tournament from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 9 followed by open play from 2 to 7 p.m.
Then on Saturday, Feb. 10, an amateur tournament with multiple divisions for all skill levels will be held starting at 9:30 a.m. The public is invited to watch both tournaments, and interested amateur players can register for the Saturday tournament online at https://www.inspiringchildren.org/vegas-pickle-bowl with fees starting at $100 per player. The event concludes with open play on Sunday, Feb. 11 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The celebrity tournament on Friday will be led by Matt Manasse, professional pickleball player and coach to the stars and pickleball professional commentator Kamryn Blackwood. Numerous NFL players, including former Pro Bowl and Super Bowl players, in town for Super Bowl LVIII will participate in the invitation-only tournament Friday including: Marcellus Wiley, Golden Tate, Cliff Avril, Trill Williams, Gehrig Dieter, and T.J. Edwards.
Other celebrities and athletes playing in the Friday invitation-only tournament, include:
- Logan Lisle – comedian
- Kelly Dod – cast member, The Real Housewives of Orange County
- Casey Patterson – Olympian
- Joey & Steven – AreYouKiddingTV
- Rick Brenkus – BrinxTV
- Joe Benavides – UFC fighter
- Tyler Wagner – former MLB pitcher
- Andrew Spencer – contestant, The Bachelorette and The Bachelor
- Taylor Nikolai – social media influencer
- Luke Sanson – model
- Carl Michael – magician
- Jenna Bandy – sports influencer
The event benefits the Inspiring Children Foundation, which provides physical, social, emotional, and mental health to at-risk youth. For 22 years, Jewel’s Inspiring Children Foundation (ICF) has been transforming the lives of at-risk youth in Las Vegas through a whole human approach to physical, emotional and mental health. ICF serves hundreds of youth in-person and millions online.
95% of students in their Leadership Program have earned college scholarships for academics & athletics (tennis) to some of the best colleges in the US.
Parts of the program are now being duplicated in 22 cities by other nonprofits. For more information, please visit https://www.inspiringchildren.org.
IGT announced that its Wheel of Fortune Slots, Powerbucks, and MegaJackpots games awarded four momentous jackpots in January.
Lucky slots players won the following million-dollar-plus jackpots last month:
• On January 5, a Wheel of Fortune Slots player won $1,132,199 playing Wheel of Fortune Super Cash Link at Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Miss.
• On January 8, a Powerbucks slots player won CA$1,657,823 playing Whitney Houston Powerbucks slots at Lake City Casino Vernon in British Columbia, Canada.
• On January 15, a Powerbucks slots player won CA$1,056,637 playing Gong Xi Fa Cai Grand at ACE Casino Red Deer in Alberta, Canada.
• On January 18, an online slots player won $1,247,834 playing MegaJackpots Cash Eruption on Caesars Palace Online Casino in New Jersey.
Wheel of Fortune slots have minted over 1200 millionaires and awarded over $3.6 billion in jackpots since their launch in 1996. IGT Powerbucks slots have paid 74 jackpots of CA$1 million or more since their Canadian debut in 2016.
The post IGT Games Deliver Giant Million-Dollar-Plus Jackpots in January appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
AI in lottery
Scientific Games Appoints Rich Wasserman as Senior Vice President of Product Engineering
Scientific Games has appointed Rich Wasserman as Senior Vice President of Product Engineering, reinforcing its commitment to advancing lottery systems technology and digital innovation.
Based in Atlanta, the global lottery provider continues to expand its technology leadership as one of the fastest-growing suppliers of retail and digital lottery solutions worldwide.
Leadership Experience from Amazon, Facebook and Stitch Fix
Wasserman brings more than 20 years of experience leading engineering, data science and product teams across high-performance technology platforms.
He previously held senior leadership roles at:
- Amazon
- Stitch Fix
At Stitch Fix, he served as Vice President of Engineering and Data Science, leading automation, AI-driven systems and platform optimization initiatives. Wasserman holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and a Computer Science degree from the University at Buffalo.
Driving Innovation Across Global Lottery Platforms
In his new role, Wasserman will oversee Product Engineering across Scientific Games’ global portfolio serving more than 150 government-regulated lotteries. His responsibilities include advancing:
- Retail lottery systems
- Digital lottery platforms
- Hardware and software innovation
- Data analytics and AI capabilities
- Consumer engagement technologies
CEO Pat McHugh stated that Wasserman’s experience scaling AI-powered platforms at world-class technology firms will help accelerate innovation and deliver next-generation lottery solutions focused on sustainable growth.
Strengthening Lottery Technology Leadership
Scientific Games continues to invest in technology, analytics and digital transformation to enhance consumer experiences across retail and online lottery channels. The appointment underscores the company’s strategy to integrate advanced analytics and machine learning into its global lottery ecosystem.
The post Scientific Games Appoints Rich Wasserman as Senior Vice President of Product Engineering appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Gambling in the USA
Scientific Games Appoints Rich Wasserman as Senior Vice President of Product Engineering
Former Amazon, Facebook and Stitch Fix Exec to Lead Product Engineering for Global Lottery Provider
Scientific Games has named Rich Wasserman as Senior Vice President of Product Engineering. Wasserman brings more than 20 years of experience leading global engineering, data science and product organizations across complex, high-performance technology platforms.
As the industry’s fastest-growing lottery systems technology provider, Scientific Games continues to invest in technology and talent to deliver seamless consumer experiences across lottery retail and digital channels.
Wasserman previously held senior leadership roles at Amazon and Facebook, where he led large-scale systems powered by advanced analytics and machine learning. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Engineering and Data Science at Stitch Fix, leading integrated teams focused on automation and platform optimization. Wasserman holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and a degree in Computer Science from the University at Buffalo.
In his new role, Wasserman will lead Product Engineering across Scientific Games’ global product portfolio serving government-regulated lotteries, advancing hardware and software platforms to accelerate innovation, expand analytics capabilities and consumer-engagement to deliver long-term value for lottery customers worldwide.
“We’re excited to add Rich’s deep technical expertise scaling innovative, AI-driven platforms at world-class organizations to further strengthen Scientific Games’ technology leadership,” said Pat McHugh, Chief Executive Officer of Scientific Games. “As we continue investing in innovation and analytics across retail and digital lottery solutions, his experience and leadership will help us deliver the next generation of high-performance products that drive sustainable growth for our lottery customers worldwide.”
Scientific Games serves more than 150 lotteries globally with a comprehensive portfolio of retail systems, digital platforms, instant games and analytics solutions.
© 2026 Scientific Games, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
The post Scientific Games Appoints Rich Wasserman as Senior Vice President of Product Engineering appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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