POSTED: Thursday December 10th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CNBC PRESENTS "CNBC INVESTIGATES: THE BIG BUSINESS OF ILLEGAL GAMBLING"

CNBC Original Reported by CNBC's Melissa Francis to Premiere on Wednesday, December 16th at 9PM ET/PT on CNBC

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., December 10, 2009-Beyond the Las Vegas strip
there’s a thriving underworld of illegal gambling.  It’s a
multi-billion dollar business and millions of Americans are in on the
action…



On Wednesday, December 16th at 9PM ET/PT, CNBC presents “CNBC
Investigates: The Big Business of Illegal Gambling,” a CNBC Original
reported by CNBC’s Melissa Francis that takes viewers inside this
high-stakes business that brings some people immense wealth, while
others pay the ultimate price.



The one-hour program delivers an in-depth look at just how mainstream
illegal gambling has become.  From sports betting to online casinos to
high-stakes poker, a high percentage of the betting is placed
illegally. Interviews with “Paul,” an illegal sports bookmaker who
knows each bet he takes can land him in jail; professional gambler
“Vegas Runner” who takes his job as a gambler as serious as any Wall
Street trader takes his job; and the dangerous case of Nick Sarillo, a
restaurant owner who freelances as a bookie, crosses the Mob and pays a
heavy price; shed light on this lucrative, but risky activity.



CNBC also looks at how illegal gambling is moving out of the basement
and onto the Internet where it’s more difficult for law enforcement to
stop.  Technology has made illegal gambling much more accessible and
the same computer used for work or to connect with family and friends
can also be used to wager outside the law.  CNBC speaks with Jay Cohen,
an Internet entrepreneur who starts a 200 million dollar offshore
gambling website and becomes the first American prosecuted for running
an online bookmaking operation.



The program concludes with the debate over legalizing gambling.  It’s
an argument that is gaining traction in Washington and CNBC speaks with
congressmen from both sides of the argument-Congressman Jim McDermott,
a Democrat from Washington State and the sponsor of a bill that would
regulate and tax online card games and Congressman Bob Goodlatte, a
Republican from Virginia and author of “The Unlawful Internet Gambling
Enforcement Act.”



For more information including video clips and slideshows log onto illegalgambling.cnbc.com.



Melissa Francis is co-anchor of CNBC’s “The Call” (M-F; 11AM-12PM ET).



“CNBC Investigates: The Big Business of Illegal Gambling” is produced
by Kurtis Productions.  Sharon Barrett is the Executive Producer and
Mike West is the Senior Producer for Kurtis Productions.  Charles
Schaeffer is the Executive Producer for CNBC.  Ray Borelli is the Vice
President of Strategic Research, Scheduling and Long Form Programming.



“CNBC Investigates: The Big Business of Illegal Gambling” will re-air
on Wednesday, December 16th at 10PM & 1AM ET; Friday, December 18th
at 9PM & 12AM ET; Saturday, December 19th at 7PM ET; and Sunday,
December 20th at 10PM ET.



ABOUT CNBC:



With CNBC in the U.S., CNBC in Asia, CNBC in Europe, CNBC World and
CNBC HD+, CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news and
provides real-time financial market coverage and business information
to more than 95 million households in the United States and Canada. The
network’s 16 live hours a day of business programming in North America
(weekdays from 4:00 a.m.- 8:00 p.m.) is produced at CNBC’s global
headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and also includes reports from
CNBC News bureaus worldwide. CNBC.com and CNBC Mobile Web (<http://mobile.cnbc.com/ <http://mobile.cnbc.com/>
>) offer real-time stock quotes and charts, CNBC’s breaking news
& analysis, market and pre-market data. Additionally, CNBC.com
provides videos, live streaming of events and market opens in Asia and
Europe, and industry and topic-specific blogs from our award winning
reporters and guests.



Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its
programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at <<http://nbcumv.com/cnbc/>.

 Contact:



       Jennifer Dauble

       201-735-4721

       Jennifer.Dauble@nbcuni.com

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Keywords · CNBC · gambling · sports betting

Name: Lyndsay M Iorio
Organization: NBC
Email:
Phone: +1.212-6642160
URL: http://www.nbcuni.com

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