The Lucky Nugget Casino is run by Belle Rock Entertainment who has paid out over $10 million in progressive jackpots between January 2005 and January 2006.

Their latest millionaire, Heidi B. said, “I've been keeping an eye on the King Cashalot total, but had only wagered $40.50 when it happened. I couldn't believe I had actually won - it is still hard to believe! I've won smaller amounts during the 4 years that I have been playing online, but not even in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'll be able to call myself a millionaire!”

Meanwhile, a Belle Rock Entertainment spokesman said of Heidi’s win, “We are delighted to welcome Heidi to the ranks of the many other millionaires who have found fortune at our casinos.”

RTC has made the interesting decision to cater their bonuses this Super Bowl week to players who don’t particularly care for the fanfare and hoopla of the NFL’s penultimate game.

As part of their ‘Anti-Super Bowl Bash’, a new Game of the Day will be featured in each of the seven days leading up to Super Bowl Sunday.

RTC Manager, Adam Sutherland, says that throwing an Anti-Super Bowl Bash is a great alternative to football. “People seem to forget that not everyone is a die-hard football fan. We haven't; that's why we're offering something a little different for those of our online casino players who might want a break from all the Super Bowl hoopla. And with 100% payout guaranteed, Race Track Casino is certainly making it worth their while,” he said.

The gambling academy will form part of a new department in the Blackpool and the Fylde College, which is just footsteps away from the town’s infamous Golden Mile – home of the Blackpool Lights, The Big One and The Krankies.

Blackpool is widely tipped to become the gambling Mecca of the UK in the coming years so new graduates won’t have far to travel in order to put their degrees to work.

The College will enlist its first 350 students next month who will study for a City and Guilds accredited qualification, which will be available at both GCSE and Degree level.

Successful applicants to the course will choose from a range of gambling oriented courses including, training as a croupier and slot-machine engineering

The tournament will run from January to October and will pay winnings to the Top 30 place getters. The winner of the final table in October will receive $200,000 in prize money.

Action Poker Network CEO, Jake Kalpakian said, “We want our players to be rewarded and to feel excited about playing at the Action Poker Network and the $500,000 Freeroll is the just the beginning of our 2006 activities. We''ve guaranteed seats in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) to the players who win our ongoing World Series of Poker Satellite Tournaments, and we''ve made it super affordable.”

On January 14, 118 players from all over France gathered at the Aviation Club de France in Paris to battle for the 20,000€ freeroll prize pool. At the end of the day, Mullemeester emerged the winner, with Arnaud Grumiaux and Loic Dubois placing second and third, respectively.

Sandrine Dubois, Everest Poker’s French Marketing Manager said, 'Everest Poker would like to congratulate Mr. Mullemeester on his victory. He played with dazzling skill and is absolutely deserving of the title. Everest Poker would also like to thank its French players who qualified for the final. We are very proud of the way they played, and we look forward to more great poker accomplishments from all of them!'

The tournament is initially expected to draw over 4,000 entries and surpass the former cumulative prize pool of $3.8 million to well over $5 million. The goal is to turn this tournament into as much of a success as the WPF held each November which had nearly 6,000 entries and a prize pool in excess of $12 Million.

“We’re thrilled that the Foxwoods Poker Classic is the second WPT event hosted by Foxwoods for season four,” said Kathy Raymond, Director of Poker Operations at Foxwoods. “It really raises the bar for the event and takes it from a regional tournament to a national one. This gives Foxwoods yet another chance to host one of the world’s most prestigious poker events and enables our players to compete against the best of the best.”

Three Card Poker is essentially two games in one: “PairPlus” and “Ante and Play”. Players can bet on either one or both, and in different amounts.

PairPlus is a simple game in which players are dealt three cards and are paid according to their value. There is no raising or discarding. It doesn’t matter if the dealer qualifies or even beats the player’s hand, or if the player has placed a bet on the Ante Game. If their hand has a pair or better they win. On the other hand, ‘Ante and Play’ begins with a wager on the ante. After viewing their three cards, players can either raise by putting an equal bet on play, or fold and lose the ante bet.

“No other online casino looks and feels as much like Las Vegas as ours,” says Aces.com Manager Rene Queseda, “So naturally we’re one of the first online casinos to offer the most popular new game in Vegas.”

Brian Morgan, CEO of Cyberslotz said, “The dragon is the best known Chinese zodiac sign and also the most magical of them all. While 2006 is the Year of the Dog, the new game from Cyberslotz celebrates all the qualities of the dragon. However, we couldn't wait until 2012, the next Year of the Dragon, to release the game and I don't think the Chinese calendar will change for us.”

People born in the Year of the Dragon are traditionally thought to be, ‘popular individuals who are always full of life and enthusiasm, with a reputation for being fun loving'. Cyberslotz believe that these qualities perfectly meet with those of their users are eager to see how players adapt to the new game.

Pokerzone's Managing Director, Jim Sibcy said of the win, 'We are delighted to have won this award in light of the fact we were up against such strong competition, including influential players such as Ladbrokes and WPT'. Creative Director, Sam Orams was equally excited, 'We are particularly proud that the award has been voted for via the viewers and therefore is a true reflection of the popularity in our unique and exciting product.'

Poker Night Live was launched in May 2005 and has since has grown to reach an audience in excess of 200,000 viewers per week.

The couple who run a farm in Kansas both qualified for the cruise after winning tournaments on January 9th of this year. Janice qualified for a $55,000 tournament through PartyBingo.com. Sam qualified on the same day for the world’s largest limit $5-million poker event, after investing just $5. They will both receive packages, worth $13,500 each, and are able to bring along guests with them.

PartyPoker.com spokesman Warren Lush said: 'This is the first time a couple have both qualified for an event on the same day and we're very much looking forward to welcoming them aboard.'

Other notables who attended the launch included: Bruce Willis, Luke Wilson, Chris Gotti, Hank Azaria, Rachel Hunter, Angie Everhart, Steve Bing, Irina Pantaeva, Kevin Johnn, Jason Binn, Vicky Andren, Unik and many other top models and New York scenesters.

Bodog.com Poker is a new concept that incorporates many novel features, including allowing online players to get closer to celebrities and each other. With the new software, Bodog.com poker players will be able to sit down at a virtual table with stars such as American Pie actress Shannon Elizabeth and poker pro Josh Arieh.

The latest version of their poker software is a free download and works on all Mac OSs from 10.3.9 and up, as well as PC. This was the first poker download made available to the Mac community and is now the first fully -immersive 3D poker room with real money play.

'The feedback we have received from our players has been phenomenal,' said Fred Luchetti, Live 3D Poker's Director of Operations. 'But after playing for free for so long, our users were beginning to demand real money play. It was a lot of work, but our developers have built their own backend and transaction processing from the ground up and we are more than pleased to be able to showcase this technology.'

The launch of Bluff Europe will be formally announced at Lyceum Media’s ‘Fire & Ice’ party on 25 January.

Online poker players will receive their copy of Bluff Europe via the majority of UK & Continental European card rooms. And there are plans in hand to acquire additional distribution partners as the growth of online gaming continues.

The combination of the publication’s high-quality content with a precisely-targeted distribution mechanism will ensure that America’s favourite poker magazine is read by European online gaming enthusiasts, many of whom will be seeking a tournament, challenge – or, simply, new poker room to try.

Bluff comes to Europe on 1 March, with a cover story about world-class pro-player Phil Helmuth. There’s also an insight into the ‘Circle of Outlaws’; an international team of up-and-coming poker players seeking global online gaming domination, headed by the Dutch superplayer, Marcel Luske.

Celebrity poker player - and former EastEnders actor - Michael Gekko - talks about his love of the game. And there’s an exclusive report about the ‘Monte Carlo Millions’ – Europe’s most prestigious poker tournament!

The move into Europe marks an important milestone for the magazine, which already attracts an impressive circulation of 250,000 in the US.

Features Editor, Philip Conneller, says: “With Bluff’s winning blend of entertainment and information, we are confident that we can replicate the success achieved in the US - for our readers and our advertisers. The time is right - it’s too-good an opportunity to miss!”

Editor in Chief, Michael Caselli, added: ”The poker lifestyle in Europe is a different animal to that in the US. Bluff Europe reflects that. Where poker goes, we will follow.”

iGaming watchdog, InterCasino, has been empowered by InterCasino to arbitrate all issues which cannot be resolved between a customer and the casino. The primary condition for Casinomester.com’s involvement in any particular matter is that the customer has first attempted to seek a resolution via InterCasino's Support Centre and Casino Manager. If the complainant still feels that further action is necessary, the InterCasino Group will then refer the matter for arbitration and will abide by the ruling decision of the watchdog.

InterCasino spokesman, Peter Marcus said, “The goal has always been to provide players with an exciting site they can trust and enjoy. Having Casinomeister.com in position to investigate and remedy any issues that can't be resolved by our management team will give players an added level of confidence.”

To win the $25,000 cash prize, a player must knock out all three of the bounty players. A $10,000 consolation prize is awarded if two bounties are knocked out by a single player and $250 awarded to the player that can knocks out any one bounty.

This wasn’t the first strange purchase pertaining to ‘Mr. And Mrs. Smith’ by GoldenPalace.com. Last year, the online casino bought a jar on eBay that contained the captured air of Brad and Angelina.

Richard Rowe, CEO of GoldenPalace.com said, ‘This is the very definition of a pop-culture phenomenon, and we know it will be a perfect addition to our collection of unique and outlandish items.’

Always on the look out for unconventional ways to make headlines, the sonogram joins a list of mind-bogglingly strange items already in GoldenPalace.com’s treasure-trove including a cheese sandwich resembling the Virgin Mary and the Pope Benedict’s old car.

Set for release this coming Thursday January 26 are: ‘Harveys’, a five-reel, 25 payline, multi-coin video slot game; ‘Mardi Gras’, an easy to use three-reel, one-payline, three-coin slot game; ‘Multi-Hand Bonus Blackjack’, a multi-hand version of the single hand blackjack game ‘Bonus Blackjack’; and ‘Deuces Wild 100 Play Power Poker’, which is the third installment in the 100-play power poker games series.

David Brickman, Spokesperson for the Jackpot Factory Group said of the new release, “In 2006, we’re releasing unique games every month. Headlining this month’s list is Harveys, the first online slot game that allows a 500 coin bet. Our casinos are offering triple loyalty points and a $20,000 draw for players who try their luck on these great new Microgaming games.”

Laura Botton of TalkSport said of the new radio programme, “We have run a number of poker competitions and advertorials in the past but given the recent change in regulations and the increasingly popularity of poker we felt the time was right to provide our listeners with more detailed information and access to the experts for answers to questions.”

InterPoker spokesperson Peter Marcus was equally upbeat. “The poker phenomenon is continuing and our recent research shows that players and would-be players are wanting more information and advice on how to play. The aim of this radio feature and live phone-in, one of the first’s for radio, is to provide this,” he said.

Goodson the editor of Chicksnchips, a poker site for ladies who play poker, has played the game for the last twenty years and aspires to win not only a WPT (World Poker Tour) tournament, but also a WSOP (World Series of Poker) bracelet, and the WCOOP (World Championship of Online Poker) within the next several years.

Goodsen is now endeavouring to change the perception that ladies aren’t good players. To prove her point, she has thrown down the poker gauntlet to anyone, male or female, to take play her online in low-stakes tables or buy-in tournaments at a venue of her choosing.

January is a busy month for the best poker players in the world with the WPT World Poker Open, Tunica (19-23 January 2006), the WPT Borgata Poker Classic, Atlantic City (29 Jan-1Feb 2006) and the EPT Scandinavian Open, Copenhagen (19-23 Jan 2006) up for grabs.

Irish bookmaker, Paddy Power, has announced their odds for the events, with punters able to wager both on the outright winner of each tournament and on individual players making the final table

Casino Fortune received the honour due to a number of achievements over the years. Of note, Casino Fortune was the first casino to become a licensee of both Microgaming and Playtech. Furthermore, Casino Fortune was also the first gaming site to hold a license from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.

Extensive charity work, in particular the aiding of victims of Hurricane Katrina and the Asian Tsunami, also raised the casino’s profile.

Casino Fortune President, Dennis Rose said, ‘We are thrilled that the Online Gaming Hall of Fame has recognized us in this way. As far as our charitable contributions are concerned we are proud that we can contribute to a better life for those in need. This is one of the most thrilling days of my life. To be rewarded with this honour is incredibly thrilling and makes our huge efforts so worthwhile.’

From Friday, January 20 through Sunday, January 22 City Club Casino is running its 'Age Pays' bonus offer. Real money players are set to get cash back bonuses based on their age.

For every year of your age, City Club Casino will return 1% of your losses, up to $200. This means that any centurions out there will essentially be playing for free.

Adam Sutherland, Manager of City Club Casino said, ‘It seems that, in today's world, youth largely dominates the centre stage, but at City Club Casino, we wanted to give our older and wiser players their own chance to shine. Even though the older you are, the more cash you get back, even players as young as 25 get a quarter of their losses returned to them. This is indeed a unique opportunity.’

Shatner said, ‘When I was contacted about selling my kidney stone to GoldenPalace.com for an original price of $15,000 I turned it down knowing that my tunics from Star Trek have commanded more than $100,000. I offered the stone, stint and string for $25,000 and informed them that 100% of the proceeds would go to benefit Habitat for Humanity and I retain visitation rights.’

GoldenPalace.com, CEO Richard Rowe said, ‘We are very pleased to own this piece of TV history and to be able to help a worthy charity like Habitat for Humanity. We're excited to have a piece of him that can't be replicated, and we intend to take it on tour with our other unusual items.’

GoldenPalace.com has built a reputation for buying unusual items including a cheese sandwich that resembles the virgin Mary, Britney Spears’ pregnancy test and the Pope’s old car.

The 'Play It Safe' seal is proving to be an accurate indicator of reliable online casinos. The FGA report remarks that the level of complaints remains remarkably low at eCOGRA approved venues and represents only a minute percentage of the total volume of business involved.

Andrew Beveridge, CEO of eCOGRA commented, ‘Since FGA operations commenced in April 2004, there have been a total of only 690 complaints, a miniscule percentage of the vast volumes of business handled over that time by some of the largest online groups in the business.’

Over 95% of disputes were dealt with in less than 48 hours, a general benchmark for the industry that remains unmatched by either individual webmaster 'watchdogs' or comparable channels instituted by other industry organizations.

FGA official, Tex Rees, said, ‘The exceptionally low ratio of complaints to total business handled attests to the effectiveness of the eCOGRA standards, and to the consistency in which these are being applied by the operators.’

The Panthers are seemingly the punters choice for betting value at 4-1 in this weekend’s conference finals. A Panthers victory this weekend and then in the penultimate game in Detroit is now looking even sweeter for those pundits who got in on their 25-1 preseason odds.

However, before they get to Detroit, Carolina heads to Starbucks country to face the Seahawks for their 4th road game in a row and, more significantly for SportingbetUSA customers, their 4th straight cover.

Tony Delgado of SportingbetUSA.com said, “The linemakers opened Seattle at –6, but that number was pounded hard down to –3.5 and bettors like to ride a winner. But remember, experience is on the Panthers’ side, as 23 of the current team played in the Super Bowl two years ago.”

The AFC representative for Super Bowl XL will be decided in the first game of the weekend in Colorado, as the Broncos host the impressive Steelers.

Delgado said, ‘Last week, a lot of people were jumping off the Colts bandwagon, taking Denver against New England on Saturday. The Steelers are talented, but Denver’s defensive line is far superior to either Cincinnati’s or Indy’s, and I don’t see Parker or Bettis doing much.’

Joining the gold rush of celebrities into the world of online gambling, Rogers will take the table at 10pm EST. The buy-in for the game stands at $5, with a $25 Celebrity Bounty for anyone who can take out a celebrity.

Featuring a new celebrity each week, HollywoodPoker.com provides tournament style poker at low stakes for the average player.

Pro-player Vince Van Patten said, “If you are going to play poker online, why not try to beat some of Hollywood’s biggest names while you are at it.”

'I've been keeping an eye on the King Cashalot total, but had only wagered $40.50 when it happened,' said Heidi. 'I couldn't believe I had actually won - it is still hard to believe! I've won smaller amounts during the 4 years that I have been playing online, but not even in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'll be able to call myself a millionaire!'

Tim Johnson, chairman of Carmen Media, the owners of Belle Rock Entertainment said of the huge win, 'We are delighted to welcome Heidi to the ranks of the many other millionaires who have found fortune at our casinos.”

River Belle was recently awarded Best Jackpots and Best Progressive Slots by Strictly Slots Magazine.

WPT allows players to battle it out at some of the world’s most prestigious poker tables along with the ability to go head-to-head against live players by utilising the PSP’s wireless online connectivity.

Currently available for Playstation 2, Xbox, and Nintendo Gameboy Advance, WPT features real life professional poker stars, venues featured in the popular World Poker Tour television series and enhanced Artificial Intelligence players.

“With the growing popularity of televised poker shows such as World Poker Tour, poker has become a mainstream sport” said President of Visual Concepts, Greg Thomas. “By partnering with the trusted World Poker Tour brand, we are bringing both gamers and poker fans alike the most realistic poker experience available. And now that World Poker Tour will be available on the PSP, gamers can enjoy the game wherever they go,” he added.

Despite over $3.4m in tournament earnings, a World Series of Poker bracelet and 7 final tables to his name, Ivey still considers himself a regular guy.

“I’m honoured to win the Bluff Magazine Player of the Year award and to be recognised by such a great media outlet as Bluff Magazine,” he said.

Ivey has been playing poker since he was 8 years old and was taught by his grandfather.

“Phil Ivey has emerged as one of the best players of his generation. His focussed play and success at the table have earned him Bluff’s Player of the Year” said Eddy Klein, Co-President of Bluff Magazine.

The blackjack area will feature tips from gambling professionals and behind-the-scenes footage from GSN's World Series of Blackjack TV show in April. This dedicated blackjack channel will allow enthusiasts to get tips from the pros, play a game at any hour and watch behind-the-scenes clips of 'The World Series of Blackjack.'

AOL online gambling enthusiasts will have the chance to compete for a massive $1 million prize pool in the biggest online blackjack tournament ever.

The final of this tournament will be held at Las Vegas Hilton, with the winner earning $500,000.

Unlike other Mac poker rooms, Full Tilt’s software does not use Java thereby providing a fully native, fully functional service for Mac players. Mac online poker players will now have the capabilities to take notes on players, create avatars, view hand histories – all of the same features Windows PC users enjoy.

Other poker rooms are expected to follow Full Tilt Poker’s lead and thrust open their doors to Mac users. Already, Pacific Poker and Pokerroom.com have obliged Mac players and it can only be a matter until other operators, including Party Poker, will follow this growing trend.

Minimum system requirements are Mac OS 10.3 or later to run the software. As the software package is relatively new, Full Tilt Poker is urging Mac users to report any glitches.

Stars such as Snoop Dogg and Backstreet Boys signed the poker table whilst presenting and receiving awards at the gala event in Las Vegas.

The Make a Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy.

Other autographs on the Aces.com poker table include Adrienne Curry of “America Top Model”, Alla Wartenberg of “The Apprentice”, Arianne Zuker of “Days of our Lives”, Kristian Bush of “Sugarland”, Deborah Gibson, Flavor Flav, Lauren Holly, Lifehouse, Michael Buble, Robin Leach and Shane West – nearly fifty in all.

Rene Queseda, Manager of Aces.com said, “When they found out it was for such a good cause, the celebrities were more than happy to give us an autograph.”

Launched only late last year, '32 Card Poker' has been well-received by both players and operators alike, and has grown its share of clients’ poker rake week-on-week. In its first month, the '32 Card Poker' has taken almost 14% of total rake within Poker Nexus, the fast-growing poker network powered by Chartwell software.

“This is an extremely encouraging debut for any new product, let alone poker, so we are doubly-excited that we have a massive poker hit on our hands”, said Lee Richardson, chief executive Chartwell Games. “We are expecting this market share to further grow, and anticipate a strong level of interest, from clients old and new, at ICEi later this month”.

32 Card poker is currently played at www.goldbet.com and www.paradisebet.com, with additional

client sites being added throughout the first quarter 2006.

As part of their grand opening, TouchStone Poker has announced an immediately redeemable Welcome Bonus of 100% along with a free Tournament Pass for any new, real-money player.

TouchStone Poker’s Floor Manager, Wyatt Davison said, “Other poker rooms typically offer new players between 20%-50% bonuses if any at all. Here at TouchStone Poker Room , ours is very rich by industry standards. Most importantly, our new players have immediate access to both betting and their super sized winnings.”

To deliver this experience, TouchStone Poker Room has implemented advanced software to provide sophisticated encryption, player tracking and anti-collusion protection that offers a safe and secure gaming environment.

“We aim to provide poker lovers everywhere with an unbeatable offering – a high-quality, maximum value online poker experience that delivers fast payouts whilst offering exceptional quality,” Davison added.

To mark the launch, Cindy's Poker Room is offering a trip for two to Los Angeles to join her and her celebrity friends at a special VIP celebration.

“Ever since my husband started playing home games with his buddies, I have been hooked,” Cindy explained of her love for poker. “Poker is so hot today, plus it’s a great way to make a little extra cash - and meet new friends!”

At Cindy's Poker Room, players can bet for fun or for real, take part in tournaments or ring games, and raise the stakes with no presets or play safe with fixed limit betting.

Cindy added, “The addition of the Cindy Margolis name will, I hope, instil a greater sense of trust. This is a young and dynamic industry that’s growing very quickly; and one which, in many ways, is reminiscent of the pioneering days of old, wild west.”

Rodney Walker, chairman of World Snooker said, “This is a very exciting and important day for snooker. The World Championship is our premier event, and it is also one of the highlights of the entire sporting year.” Walker added, “We have secured the future of the World Championship at the Crucible, the traditional home of snooker, we have signed a five-year agreement with BBC TV to ensure that the World Championship and the other main snooker tournaments remain on terrestrial television, and now we are able to reveal this new multi-million pound sponsorship.”

John Anderson, 888.com's Chief Executive, was equally enthused by the new agreement. 'We feel the sport has tremendous opportunities,' he said. 'I am personally delighted and it's an amazing opportunity to get into something big. We're looking forward to developing a beneficial and successful relationship,” he said.

In what was a forgettable tournament for the pros, the first three places were taken out by local amateurs to the tune of €150,000, €70,000 and €30,000 respectively. Barney Boatman, the only pro to make it through to the final table, walked away with 4th prize and €18,000.

Over 3,000 people took part in the boylepoker.com Irish Poker Championships making it Ireland’s biggest ever poker tournament. Professional player, Andy Black said, “It was a brilliantly run tournament, which was clearly as a result of all the effort Boylesports have put in over the past few months. All their hard work has paid off.”

Paul Magee of Boylepoker.com said, ‘The tournament has been so successful and is now the biggest poker tournament in Ireland and one of the biggest in Europe. We are already looking forward to next year.”

Players will now be able to play ring games, daily tournaments with entries to the World Poker Tour, the World Series of Poker and other major events. The software includes classic poker games including Texas Hold’em, Omaha and 7 Card Stud, along with other favourites such as Omaha Hi.

Under the terms of the agreement, APG will integrate the software at TenSeatPoker.com and will also be supplying CYOP with Chinese cash play versions of the software later in 2006.

Mitch White, CEO of CYOP said, “By outsourcing the software integration, we are able to commit more of our funds and expertise into marketing the final products, and driving customers to our sites.”

Using a unique currency called FB£ (FreeBingo Pounds) players can purchase game cards and watch as the game balls are pulled by a computer and announced by a Caller using old-style rhyming.

Phil Fraser, managing director of FreeBingo.co.uk, said, ‘Currently we believe about 100,000 people play online bingo in the UK, but with the introduction of free sites like ours, we expect this to rise to around half a million by the end of the year.’

FreeBingo would seem to be Internet gaming at its least harmless. Players at FreeBingo.co.uk are given a balance of ‘Free Bingo Pounds’ when they join the site – and at the end of every month, each FB£ the player has earned will qualify as an entry to a prize draw, which still maintains the competitive thrill of gaming, but without the need to risk money.

To celebrate this New Year’s milestone for the ever-popular progressive slot game, InterCasino and VIP Casino are offering an added sweetener of a brand-new BMW Z4 Roadster to the lucky customer who can win the ‘Millionaires Club’ jackpot in January.

InterCasino Manager Ryan Hartley commented, ‘With the Millionaire’s Club jackpot once again above 1 million dollars, pounds and euros for the first time in 2006, we wanted to do something special for our first big winner of the year.’

InterCasino games recently claimed top spots in the AllOnlineSlots.com editors and writers review, and selected games are offering extremely lucrative bonuses throughout the first month of the year.

Eric Morris, Co-President of Bluff Magazine, said, “Never before have poker players been able to deem, ‘The best of the best’ in over 20 different poker categories. What this means is the Bluff Magazine awards will be a true testament to the companies who receive various accolades.”

Categories for the 2006 Bluff Reader’s Choice Awards include: Most Entertaining Player to Watch, Best All-Around Online Poker Room, Best Online Customer Service, Best Live Poker Tournaments and Best Poker Commentary.

In order to vote, poker enthusiasts need to visit the Bluff Magazine webpage.

The object of ‘Jacks or Better’ is to obtain the best possible poker hand. On the initial deal, players are dealt five cards face up. They can hold all cards dealt or get up to five new cards.

The first game to go mobile at Slotland.com, ‘Lucy Stars’, was an instant success, generating over $3.5 millions worth of wagers. Hannah Morante, of Slotland.com was equally enthusiastic about the release of ‘Jacks or Better’ in saying, ‘We couldn’t wait to make this second game available to our community. It was tough to decide which of our games to add to the mobile suite next, but since ‘Jacks or Better’ is so popular on our web site, we know it will also be popular on phones and PDAs.’

The prize package includes a seat at the World Poker Tour Bay 101 Championship in San Jose, the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, the European Championship in London and the Australian Championship in Melbourne.

“The VIPpoker.com World Tour is a one of a kind tournament worth over $60,000 to the winner. Nowhere else can you win seats in 4 major poker championships by playing in one online satellite poker tournament. This is tournament that all poker enthusiasts must be a part of.” said John Olsen, manager of VIPpoker.com.

Satellite qualifiers are held daily at VIPpoker.com or players can buy directly into the final tournament on Saturday January 29th 2006.

Bodog.com Founder and CEO Calvin Ayre, said, ‘We are thrilled to have a household name like Brad Garrett MC the Card Player ‘Player of the Year’ Awards. With Brad and the other top poker names and celebrities expected to attend, this event will be an exciting addition to the Hollywood awards season.’

An Emmy Award winner, Garrett is also keen poker player. At the 2005 World Series of Poker, Garrett rebounded from his average performance in the main event – where he lasted only nine hours – to make the final table in the concurrent celebrity and NBA player charity tournament at The Mirage.

Card Player Publisher, Barry Shulman said, ‘We are looking forward to working with Bodog.com on the Awards Gala to bring more exposure to the stars of poker, the players.’

The new deal means that Sky can offer its customers the some of the most popular Skill Games available online, such as Multiplayer Pool, Hi-Lo Solitaire, Mah Jong and the unique P2P Tournament Blackjack format.

“Sky is continually looking to enhance the range of services that we can offer customers’ says Ian Shepherd, Managing Director of Sky Interactive. “GameAccount’s impressive portfolio and history of successful integrations made them the obvious choice.”

“Clients are consistently amazed at how fast and smooth the integration process is,” says GameAccount’s Chief Executive, John Jones. “This outstanding partnership deal is another vote of confidence from the Sportsbook and iGaming industry in the GameAccount integrated P2P network solution.

Sky Bet joins a long list of betting providers already benefiting from GameAccount’s seamless integration, including SportingBet and Betwwts.

River Belle Online Poker Room also gives its clients the opportunity to locate individual players, pre-select a seat at a table and for those players who are up to the challenge.

Another enticing feature of the poker room is the new “mini-view” feature , which permits players to play at ten tables all at the same time.

Davis wasn’t the only snooker player at the Boylepoker.com championships that took place in Dublin last weekend, with snooker colleagues Alex Higgins Ken and Doherty also in the mix to win some of the prize money. Unfortunately, for the other members of the snooker turned poker player fraternity, neither advanced past the Saturday games.

A student from Cork was the winner of the main event, taking home a healthy purse of €150,000.

“The returns on the money can be phenomenal but I am well aware that I can lose too, so I won't be repeating the mistakes I made in the past,” Leeson says of his new career.

Introduced to the game by footballer-turned-actor Vinnie Jones, Leeson was found guilty of accounting fraud when made enormous bets on interest rate movements whilst working for Barings. He was jailed for six and a half years.

In a recent upgrade of Mac poker software, Pacific Poker now also offers its players new tournaments – the World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournaments run hourly with the final prize being a ticket to the World Series of Poker, and the $50k guaranteed tournaments, in which Apple users can either directly buy in directly play in qualifier tournaments.

In Linux news, users of the open source operating system can also enjoy the poker experience by utilising the same software as Apple poker players – only Safari or Internet Explorer is required.

The ‘Ace of Aces’ leaderboard has been designed “only for the genuine cream of the online poker crop,” according to Poker Room.comPokerRoom.com. This leaderboard provides for its players, 12 individual tournaments and the chance to win the monthly grand prize of $5000 and/or the opportunity to win a free trip and entrance into the World Series of Poker with Team Poker Room.comPokerRoom.com.

‘Centurion Cup’ another weekly leaderboard, is based on 10-table Sit & Go Tournaments. Each player’s performance is scored and ranked with the top three each week winning a cash prize. For the lucky top ten players, an invitation to an exclusive weekly winner-takes-all Coliseum Sit and Go Final awaits along with the opportunity to win the huge cash pri Poker Room.comPokerRoom.com's Manager in UK Krister Malm says, 'We have begun this year with the launch of two tournament leaderboards and we are committed to continuing innovation at Poker Room.comPokerRoom.com throughout 2006 and offering online and mobile gamers the very best in games and technology.'

William Hill said that operating profits for the year ended Dec. 27 was `slightly' more than the company's estimate of 230 million pounds ($396 million) to 240 million pounds.

During an extraordinary summer, Tom Segal tipped a winner on 10 consecutive Saturdays in his Pricewise column in the Racing Post, including one at 20-1 odds. This had an effect on the profits of all the major bookmakers.

Shares of William Hill rose as much as 6.6 percent in London as concern about profitability at Britain's bookmakers eased. The stock, along with shares of Ladbrokes owner Hilton Group Plc and Ireland's Paddy Power Plc, slid in November after the companies said earnings were hurt by too many winning favourites.

‘The beauty of it all is that we've invented nothing new. We're just taking games that have been around for decades and putting them in people's homes.’

Three big London stock market flotations generated revenues of around $2 billion for the industry.

PartyGaming takes about half of that $2 billion pot and is assessing acquisitions and everything from mobile phones to interactive television to access more players.

Plans to launch the new PartyCasino are in place as well as two new games and a 'shared purse', which will help players switch from game to game.

PartyGaming also plans to launch its games in six new currencies and languages.

Overwhelming favourite is WWE professional wrestler, Stacy Keibler, who has seen odds of 4/1 already shorten to 2/1. Close behind her is actress Tia Carrere with odds to win the competition at 7/1, followed by fellow actress Lisa Rinna at 15/2. Famously tanned actor George Hamilton currently stands at 9/1 to win the competition.

Simon Noble, of Pinnacle Sports.com, said, ‘Betting on reality series has become extremely popular with our customers and usually provides a very accurate predictor of who will become the eventual winner on the show.’

All card rooms on the Prima Network have a ticker in the lobby that keeps track of the Bad Beat Jackpot. From predetermined Bad Beat Tables, a small portion of the rake is taken out of the pot and moved to the progressive Bad Beat Jackpot. The prize pool continues to grow until someone loses with at least four-of-a-kind, eights or better. The prize pool is shared among all players seated at the table giving ten lucky players a late Christmas present.

David Brickman, Spokesperson for the Jackpot Factory Group said ‘The thrill of playing a progressive is second to none. Above each progressive game, players watch the jackpot rise before their eyes, and the potential return on investment is unfathomable.’

In 2005, The Jackpot Factory had an astounding 105 progressive jackpot winners last year. Brickman commented, ‘Being one of the oldest online casino groups we've seen quite a lot of progressive jackpot winners. Last year our players collectively won over $4 million and this year we hope to double that number.’

The sponsorship is the biggest in Five’s history with 72-hours of poker programming, beginning in December 2006, broadcasting during weekdays at the late night slot of midnight.

Five’s head of commercial development, Jonathan Lewis, says the deal with PartyPoker is a matrimony between Five’s editorial and commercial endeavors. “We realized very early on that poker programming was significantly outperforming station average audience levels in the late night slot.'The deal also sees the beginning of a new website which will include poker tutorials, competitions and free weekly broadband downloads. 'We also saw the huge emergence of the online poker sector and were able to capture this in one overall deal,' Lewis adds.

The handheld devices are to be connected to a main casino server and would be checked out by patrons who can set up an account and put limits on how much they would want to spend in advance.

Several companies have already shown interest in developing the wireless device, including Cantor G&W (Nevada) LP, a financial services business who have already created an interactive bond-trading device.

The tournament was co-hosted by Los Angeles socialite and hotel heiress, Nicky Hilton, along with her boyfriend Kevin Connolly and attracted 92 guests, including actress and poker enthusiast Jennifer Tilly. The prize pool came in at an estimated $120,000.

Elizabeth is an experienced poker player having played in the Rio’s 2005 WSOP and Hilton is a self-confessed online poker player.