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What is Winter Champions?
The restaurateur donated $5,000 to Grasso’s unsuccessful 2018 campaign for Illinois attorney general in November 2017, but Grasso returned the money the following month after a TV station questioned the contribution, according to Patch.
Grasso was quick to defend Rovito following his arrest, describing him as “a stellar corporate and residential citizen” who has “a YouTube following of a quarter of a million people or something like that.”
Rovito, meanwhile, was such a fan of the mayor that he named a dish after him— “Linguini alla Mayor Grasso”—a pasta that comes with “fresh tomato sauce and basil, tossed with a touch of olive oil, and topped with fresh ricotta.”
What is Winter Champions?
Another bettor noted that gambling debts fractured personal relationships: “Sports betting ruined my six years of friendship because I couldn’t pay back the borrowed loan from my friend. He stopped talking to me.”
Americans wagered nearly $167 billion on sports in 2025 through regulated sportsbooks, an 11% increase year-over-year, according to data from the American Gaming Association (AGA).
The blurring line between financial investing and gambling has been accelerated by the rise of prediction markets—exchanges offering event contracts that are federally regulated as financial derivatives. U.S. News found that over 40% of active sports bettors now also participate in sports prediction markets.
What is Winter Champions?
Playtech CEO Mor Weizer on Thursday said the supplier was expecting to launch in Brazil early next year despite political uncertainty impacting its deal with Caixa.
In 2025, Playtech agreed a partnership to provide a platform for the launch of Brazilian state-owned bank Caixa’s betting operations.
Weizer previously said the Caixa tender could be “one of the most significant opportunities for Playtech for the coming years”.
