Casino City’s Friday Five: Slot wins, casino openings and prediction markets edition
14 August 2026By Dan Ippolito
Palms Casino Resort is bringing a non-smoking gaming area to guests. In addition, we have a temporary casino opening in Florida, a millionaire crowned in Las Vegas, a six-figure jackpot from Florida, and the CFTC telling prediction markets to drop American odds.
Let’s begin with a poker jackpot:
5. Six-figure Ultimate Texas Hold'em jackpot lands at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek
A table games player placed a $5 side bet and won a $775,860 Royal Flush multi-game progressive jackpot while playing Ultimate Texas Hold'em at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek in Florida on 10 August.
The multi-game progressive includes Ultimate Texas Hold’em, Three-Card Poker, Mississippi Stud, DJ Wild Stud Poker, and Let It Ride. To win the jackpot, a player must place the $5 side bet and hit the qualifying hand, which is a royal flush.
4. $1.8 million slot win at Resorts World Las Vegas
A guest visiting Resorts World Las Vegas from Texas hit the Dragon Link Grand Progressive Jackpot for $1,896,388 at 11:32 p.m. on 7 August.
The guest, who was staying at the property, was joined by friends when the jackpot hit after approximately eight minutes of play. Playing at a $25 denomination, the guest placed a $250 bet and landed the Grand Progressive and bonus winning combination, claiming over $1.8 million.
The dragon delivered. ?? Congratulations to our guest on an incredible $1.8 million Dragon Link jackpot win at Resorts World Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/dKUhn9RBDF
— Resorts World Las Vegas (@ResortsWorldLV) August 8, 2026
3. CFTC tells prediction markets to drop American odds
Financial markets advocacy group Better Markets says the push to drop American odds is designed to distinguish prediction markets from traditional sportsbooks.
Benjamin Schiffrin, Director of Securities Policy for Better Markets, issued a statement in connection with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission telling prediction markets not to use American odds in event contracts.
Below is a portion of the statement:
“The CFTC’s desire to help prediction markets avoid the inescapable conclusion that their event contracts on sporting events involve gambling knows no bounds. As we recently highlighted, prediction markets allow users to see the chances of a team winning a game in ‘American odds’—the same way as they appear in a sportsbook. The CFTC has now told prediction markets to disable this feature in a desperate attempt to dupe people into thinking event contracts on sporting events are not the gambling devices they so clearly are.”
2. Seminole Hard Rock Tampa to open temporary casino
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa will transform its Hard Rock Event Center into a temporary smoke-free gaming area as the resort moves forward with plans to introduce a new smoke-free experience. The temporary gaming area is scheduled to open to the public in late September.
Hard Rock Event Center Casino will feature 682 new slot machines, such as Lightning 10 Year Storm, Dragon Link, Phoenix Link, Railroad Riches, Monopoly and Thunder Empire.
The temporary casino will also offer 34 table games relocated from the existing casino floor. The selection will include Blackjack, Ultimate Texas Hold’em, Three Card Poker, Mississippi Stud and Roulette.
??EVENT CENTER GAMING??
— Seminole Hard Rock Tampa (@SHRTampa) August 10, 2026
We will be transforming our Hard Rock Event Center into a temporary smoke-free gaming area as we move forward with plans to introduce a new smoke-free experience.
The temporary casino is scheduled to open to the public in late September ?? pic.twitter.com/7Dg1Zv1WEJ
1. Palms to add new non-smoking gaming area
Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas is giving guests even more ways to play with the debut of a new, fully enclosed non-smoking gaming area, adding 7,300 square feet of dedicated casino space and 224 slot games to the resort’s gaming offerings.
Located near the William Hill Sportsbook, the new gaming area will open to the public on 24 August, followed by an official grand opening celebration and Spin It Forward IGT Celebrity Charity Slot Challenge on 1 September.