Founder of Bubba’s Casino Dies

Friday August 5,2011 : ONLINE CASINO OWNER PASSES ON
 
Founder of Bubba's Casino had a varied career
 
US football hero, movie star and online casino and sports book owner were just three of the activities in the colourful life of Charles ‘Bubba' Smith, who died this week aged 66 years.
 
The gigantic former NFL player leveraged his fame on the field to star in the comical Police Academy series of movies, and still found time to found Bubba's Casino.com, which now operates under different ownership and is related to Belmont Casino.
 
Back in the pioneering days of the industry Smith was one of the first celebrities to see the opportunities in online gambling, fronting for a casino and sports book he started using the old Starnet software.
 
His contempories included celebs in fields as diverse as country music (Kenny Rogers), baseball (Reggie Jackson), boxing (Larry Holmes) and television (Pamela Anderson in her Baywatch heyday).
 
For Bubba Smith, his venture into online sports betting had consequences; he was banned from Michigan State U, where he had played college football early in his career.