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Here is our News section where you can keep updated with all offers from gambling industry. Stay tune in this section that I will place exclusive deals.
Fresh casinos news
Archives: Fev/06 | Jan/06 | Dez/05
3/31/2006 gambling news:
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New Progressive Blackjack Game Launches at Online Casino
KiwiCasino.com are now offering their players a new progressive game. Progressive Blackjack has joined Gold Rally, Queen of the Pyramids, Fruitmania and many more online casino games at Kiwi Casino featuring huge progressive jackpot prizes.
Progressive Blackjack is played the same way as standard six-deck Blackjack but now players will also be able to make a progressive jackpot side bet as they play. The progressive jackpot prize starts at a massive $50,000 and should grow very quickly.
Progressive Blackjack includes all the standard online Blackjack options such as single player, multi player and private table options, and with multi window support and slots auto play, players can also set their favourite progressive slots game to auto play and make a deposit at the cashier while they play.
“This is the start of Kiwi Casino’s new resolution to release a brand new online casino game every month,” commented Kiwi Casino Management.
In addition, for every $200 a player deposits at Kiwi Casino before April 19, they’ll receive an entry into the draw to win a fantastic 42” Plasma TV, and if they deposit more than $500 they’ll receive two more entries absolutely free.
Online Casino Offers $5 Million Prize for Triple Crown
Bodog.com have announced that it has extended an offer to Triple Crown Productions to put up the $5-million prize for any owner whose horse wins all three races of the Triple Crown.
'Winning all three of these thoroughbred horse races represents the pinnacle of horse racing,' said Calvin Ayre, Founder and CEO of Bodog.com. 'Bodog.com would be honoured to play a part in ensuring that one of the sport's greatest and rarest prizes is kept intact.'
The Triple Crown is widely accepted to be horse racing's most prestigious and highly regarded racing series. On Saturday, May 6, an estimated 25 million fans in the US and millions more around the world will tune into what’s been labelled, “the most exciting two minutes in sports” and the first leg of the Triple Crown, the 132nd Kentucky Derby at Louisville's Churchill Downs. The 131st Preakness Stakes runs at Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore on May 20, and the 138th Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in Long Island, N.Y., on June 10 rounds out the Triple Crown.
Poker Boom Shows No Sign of Slowing
PokerPages.com has reported that poker had its biggest year ever in 2005, reaching total buy-ins of over $376 million. Additionally, poker continued on its record setting pace to start 2006, with back-to-back record months.
February buy-in dollars reached $25.8 million – the best February ever recorded. This record came hot on the heels of the fifth biggest month all-time in poker as January 2006 buy-ins grew 36% over January 2005 to more than $38 million.
PokerPages.com founder Mark Napolitano said, “There have been whispers among some within the industry who wondered if poker could continue to grow in 2006. But, so far, 2006 has started out to be the strongest year ever in Poker, breaking records in all three PokerPages.com Industry Index (PPII) categories.'
The Index is calculated by comparing the total buy-in dollars from the past month to the same period in the previous year. A figure greater than 100 indicates growth.
Celebrity Winner at Online Casino Remains a Mystery
Aces.com has announced that a celebrity winner has won a jackpot of $32,000 but they are respecting the winner’s privacy by not revealing their identity. The victory came after Aces.com provided a backstage poker table and cash accounts to celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, Deborah Gibson, Backstreet Boys’, Lauren Holly at the Radio Music Awards in Las Vegas recently.
Rene Quesada, the Aces.com Manager, said, 'Our players never know if the person next to them at the Blackjack table or Roulette wheel is someone famous! Many performers and celebrities were all partying with us at the Awards show – it could be any one of them.'
However, this week's focus for Aces.com is not on their casino, rather it is on their sportsbook as the March Madness betting frenzy continues. Quesada said, 'We're just like Vegas. At the hotels on the strip, you don’t just bet on who will win. They offer tons of team and players betting propositions and so do we.'
Online Casino Adds New Game to Mobile Phone Games Suite
Slotland.com has announced the launch of their eagerly-awaited third mobile slot machine. The ‘Golden 8’ has long been a favourite at their online casino and now it makes its debut on Slotland.com’s new WAP gambling site for mobile phones and PDAs.
Hannah Morante of Slotland.com, said, 'All the mobile games are tied into the same progressive jackpots as our web games. Don’t be surprised if someone in the queue in front of you starts kissing their mobile phone in excitement someday – they may have just won $150,000!'
The aim for Slotland.com is not only to provide their players with a greater opportunity to play but also open up the industry to a new breed of player.
Slotland.com’s Mobile Games Marketing Manager, Martin Smith, added, 'Traditional online slots and casino players are older than most mobile entertainment consumers. They may not even have a mobile phone yet, and if they do they probably just use it for phone calls. Younger adults, on the other hand, are more apt to look at their phones as a toy – a small portable computer that can be used for a variety of entertainment.'
PokerShare Announces Its Return to the Online Poker World
After four months of analysing new software, Pokershare.com is set to re-launch its altruistic poker service on the Tain network. In recent months, the company has settled its dispute with Excapsa Software and Game Theory and has now moved on to launching its new software to be exclusively tested by existing players in Beta mode before being made available to the general public.
Poker room Manager, Max Wright, said, 'We’re excited to finally return to the market, we have a great new product which I’m sure will be a hit with all of our old players. I want to get as much feedback as possible before we open the doors to new players next month.”
PokerShare.com offers players the chance to share their success simply by playing; and even on the new network the site will remain true to its unique 'earn while you play' vision.
Lucan Toh, CEO PokerShare, said that their choosing of the Tain network was 'because of its focus on, and high concentration of, ‘real money’ players, as well as its innovative user interface and corporate ambitions.'
In other news, the company even plans to launch an online casino, CasinoShare.com in May 2006.
Online Casino Launch Aggressive Marketing Campaign
Online casino and sportsbook, Bet4Aces.com, has announced the launch of phase one of a four part aggressive marketing campaign targeting the international online gaming market.
As part of the campaign, Bet4Aces will host mock casino nights across the US at major locations including New York, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco. They have also promised to place billboard advertisements in key US markets and key international cities around the globe.
'The company has seen a remarkable turnaround in the past few months with good, positive, steady growth and a customer satisfaction rating of almost 98%', said director of marketing and public relations, Russ Beverly. 'This is what is going to make us the number online sportsbook and casino this year. We are undoubtedly excited and proud', he added.
Bet4Aces.com has contracted independent marketing firm, PostUp! to oversee its marketing efforts. 'We have great new ideas for Bet4Aces.com and the customer is going to be extremely happy with the service Bet4Aces.com is going to present and deliver going forward,' said Sam Lyttle, Vice-President of PostUp! Marketing.
National Poker League Launch Legal Online U.S. Poker Games
The National League of Poker has announced the formal launch of its free online poker portal, nlop.com. This will include the launch of the NLOP Spring Series, a 6-week promotion that will award over $30,000 in cash and prizes including 6 seats to the 2006 World Series of Poker.
'We feel there is huge audience of Americans looking for legal alternatives to offshore sites', explained Alan Miller founder of NLOP. 'While offshore sites claim to offer 'free' poker, most also offer little to win. With NLOP, people can win huge prizes, and because we limit the amount of points they get to play with each day-the NLOP poker experience is more realistic than other free sites'.
Miller continued, 'Poker has exploded on TV, but US advertisers and sponsors have not been able to connect with the online poker audience'. There has been substantial precedent set for media and brand properties to stay far away from these offshore operators, NLOP provides advertisers and sponsors the opportunity to connect with the burgeoning poker demographic in a US-legal and fun fashion'.
Online Casino Hosts Extreme Poker Tournament
Robert Varkonyi, 2002 World Series of Poker Champion, felt the chill as the latest InterPoker.com Extreme Poker Challenge forced him to heat things up in order to stay alive, let alone keep his full faculties intact to record a remarkable win.
Battling temperatures that reached -10oc, the players were given the option of repurchasing lost chips in exchange for their coat, forcing them to play in only a t-shirt. At one point in the match, Internet qualifier Daniel Stein, was forced to peel off his protective layer of winter clothing just to stay in the tournament. Varkonyi later resorted to running laps in between hands to maintain circulation and stave off frostbite.
'The tournament was absolutely stunning -- the players sat atop a seemingly endless ice shelf on the Arctic sea and played a frostbitten game of poker, as the frigid winds tore across the table,' said InterPoker.com spokesperson Peter Marcus. 'All of the players showed an amazing amount of concentration, skill and pure grit during this tournament, especially our Internet qualifiers, who I anticipate will have very promising poker careers.'
After coming from behind to win the tournament, Varkonyi said, 'Winning this title makes my suffering through the most excruciating cold I've ever experienced worth it, and I know this tournament will prepare me well for the 2006 World Series of Poker.'
Another Strange Piece of History Purchased by Online Casino
The bathtub that James Earl Ray stood in when he shot Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has been sold to online casino, Golden Palace for $7,600.
“The 10-day ebay auction ended on Thursday afternoon with Golden Palace Casino placing the winning bid,” said D'Army Bailey, the Memphis judge who owns the tub.
Bailey said that Golden Palace have assured him that they will treat the tub, 'with sensitivity for its historical significance ... and not use the tub in any way that degrades its historical importance.'
The opening bid for the tub was $7,500 and a percentage of the proceeds will benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of Memphis.
The tub first went on sale in July 2004 and drew a bid of $152,000, but eBay removed it because of worries the item might be considered offensive, particularly to King's family. However, the Web site's operators later decided the historic value of the item met its guidelines.
3/28/2006 gambling news:
GameAccount Unleashes Person-To-Person 3-Card Poker !
Skill gaming operator, GameAccount is expanding on their P2P (person-to-person) expertise by launching their '3-Card Poker' product, which is a unique P2P skill-based adaptation of the popular casino game.
This version of 3-Card Poker engages players against online opponents and never directly against the 'House'. This unique style looks certain to be popular amongst as players get the opportunity to demonstrate their own skills against competitors instead of against a computer program.
A player is given a starting stack of $10,000 and the objective is to build a larger chip stack than your opponent with the exact same sequence of cards dealt to both players and the automated, in-game dealer.
The prizes will cater for all types of players and instant-action cash knockout tournaments will be available to both the casual gamer and the seasoned player with entry fees as low as $2.00 or as high as $900.00.
Dermot Smurfit, Marketing Director at GameAccount said, 'Like our successful existing P2P Blackjack product, we’re very excited about the potential for this to be skill-gaming’s latest killer application for iGaming operators generating serious money, very quickly.'
Online Poker Strategy Site Offers $200 Freeroll Tournaments
Everybody likes a free roll and a new bi-weekly tournament has just begun at Titan Poker as sponsored by PokerFishTracker.com
$200 is available in the freeroll tournaments. Every Tuesday will see a $50 freeroll, and every Wednesday will see a $2 buy-in tournament with $150 added to the prize pool.
New players will also get a 100% bonus, up to $500 free, and a $1000 depositor’s freeroll simply by using the bonus code “PFT” when creating their new Titan Poker account.
Poker Fish Tracker has also introduced an in-depth poker bonus codes section where players can find the latest working bonus codes for the major online poker rooms. All of the bonus codes on Poker Fish Tracker are validated and working to get you the maximum sign up bonus for poker rooms like Party Poker, Titan Poker, and Noble Poker.
The freerolls at Poker Fish lead up to the 3rd PFT Poker League tournament at Titan Poker which is scheduled for the last Wednesday of March.
The Joker Announces Dedicated Gambling Joke Site
The Joker has announced the launch of the first web site devoted exclusively to Gambling Humor, gamblingjokes.com.
Gamblingjokes.com's webmaster told the Joker, 'There are many sites that offer humour sections, but this is the first and only site that I know of that is solely dedicated to gambling humour.'
As well as being the first dedicated gambling joke site on the Internet, Gamblingjokes.com is encouraging its visitors to share their gambling jokes with the world. 'Everyone has a funny gambling story or joke to tell and Gamblingjokes.com is the perfect place to share them.' says The Joker.
”Being dedicated strictly to humor makes gamblingjokes.com an island of humor in a world that is filled with sites that are dedicated to strategy, lessons and the practical aspects of gambling. The Joker feels that by offering something so different that a community will be built where visitors will frequent the site to see what their fellow jokesters have to share.”
New Dedicated Poker Network Coming to Sky TV
Jonny Texas Productions has announced it will launch its new poker network from studios in Birmingham this April. The network will air on Sky TV Channel 187 for two hours every weekday evening and will feature shows from the UK and European poker scene, including news, tournaments, live updates, and interviews with major poker players and celebrities.
The launch is a further indicator of success for the Jonny Texas enterprise, which incorporates a highly-successful online poker room (jonnytexaspoker.com), currently attracting up to 6,500 players from around the world; as well as a merchandising company which meets a worldwide demand for 'Jonny Texas' branded poker products.
'The poker scene is enormous, both across the UK and worldwide,' explained Birmingham-born poker star, Jonny Texas. 'The launch of a television network dedicated entirely to poker is the next logical step in the development of the business. The timing of the programming is ideal for people returning from an evening out, and the content is aimed at poker and gaming enthusiasts as well as to a general audience.'
World Blackjack Champion Crowned Aboard Online Casino Cruise
38-year-old Tucker Keeling from Oklahoma has won the inaugural $250,000 PartyCasino.com World Blackjack Championship on board the PartyPoker.com Million V in the Caribbean. Tucker won himself $113,000, and stunned reporters when he revealed that in 2001 he had been given between 2 and 5 years to live after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
'I suppose I've beaten the odds in more ways than one,' said Tucker. 'I've been beating the odds for five years and I'm especially delighted to win because my illness meant I had to quit work some time ago. Even going into the last hand I didn't think I was going to win but I hit 20, which proved to be enough. In the semi- finals, I only won by $25 after betting all my chips and catching BlackJack. It was one hell of a ride.'
Tukker qualified for the tournament online through a raffle on PartyPoker.com, and has attributed his luck to a statuette which goes everywhere with him. 'My little Buddha statue brought me great luck. I'd have him sat at the table by my cards. In the first round I nearly went out but I didn't have him with me then. In every other round I had the statue sitting there bringing me good fortune,” he said.
A PartyCasino.com spokesman said, 'Tucker's story is inspirational. There couldn't have been a better winner.'
Online Poker Room Gives Away Free Stuff
If you like free gifts, then the place to go is PlatinumPoker.com who has some fantastic giveaways available to lucky players.
Everyday, players are selected at random to receive prizes including: 500 Chip PlatinumPoker poker chip sets, luxurious combed cotton long sleeve VIP shirts emblazoned with the PlatinumPoker logo, sweatshirts, t-shirts and logo playing cards are just some of the items that are given away everyday at PlatinumPoker.com.
The only requirement to qualify for the chance of a prize is that the player is playing at a real money table or tournament at PlatinumPoker.com.
Wednesday is the big night for giving away free stuff, when at 9:00pm EDT there is a free stuff freeroll where the winner will walk away with top prizes like the customised Home Poker Set, Laptop Computers or iPods.
Michael Kogan, spokesperson for PlatinumPoker, said, 'There are many places to play poker on the Internet so PlatinumPoker makes it a point to distinguish itself from the others by showing its appreciation to its many loyal players.'
One for the Ladies at Online Poker Room
Pokerheaven.com has announced it is running exclusive satellite tournaments to the 2006 WSOP Ladies Event. These satellites run every day at pokerheaven.com and start out as low as $3.50.
Grant Williams, Poker Room Manager, said, 'We wanted to be one of the first online poker rooms to come out and offer satellites just for female players. This unique promotion has already been a tremendous hit and has brought us many new players to the site.'
PokerHeaven will supply entry fee as well as travel expenses for the winner of this event to the World Series of Poker ladies event, which will take place on July 9 and 10.
But fear not males of this poker world, the site is also offering daily chances to qualify for the main event with entries starting at $7.
Winners Surf to Success at Online Casino
With new online casinos springing up all the time, it takes something a little special to make ripples in industry. The jackpots that are being paid out to members of the wavescasino.com network are certainly proving popular but the site also offers something a little bit different.
Colin Kelvin and Cassian Davis have put their money where their mouth is and have added a page to their website at wavescasino.com where you are able to see the exact winnings by some of the network subscribers. This revealing knowledge certainly gives the players a chance to see where the money is going.
Players have the opportunity to play a wide array of online games including the popular choices of poker, blackjack, slots, roulette and craps.
Some of the subscribers have even decided to play at the casino as a full time job because the jackpots are so large and paid out quite frequently. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are available on a daily basis and this will no doubt grow as the casinos popularity continues to grow.
Online Casino Reaches New Eccentric Extremes
They have the reputation for buying eBay's weird and wonderful items and when a chunk of firewood bearing the image of the Virgin Mary became available GoldenPalace.com didn't disappoint.
The wood was saved just seconds away from being cast into the fire of a wood-burning stove and has now been sold to the casino for $99.
The seller of the item, coincidentally named Faith, said, 'I was about to chuck this into the wood stove when the image in the center caught my eye. This is an image of the Madonna! I could not burn it. It's even got a halo of lighter colored wood around her head! Nothing short of miraculous!'
The wood will be right at home amongst the casino's ever-growing collection of religious, paranormal, and generally eccentric items bought on eBay. GoldenPalace.com is all set to take the items on tour around America as a tribute to popular culture.
GoldenPalace.com has devised some of the most exciting and outrageous advertising campaigns in the past few years and has recently purchased items such as the Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Britney Spears' Pregnancy Test and William Shatner's Kidney Stone.
3/22/2006 gambling news:
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World's Largest Online Poker Tournament Begins Next Week
Ongame Network has announced the arrival of the Ongame Network Poker Classic, which offers a prize pool of $5 million and a guaranteed $1 million for the winner.
Although the tournament will eventually lead to a 45 player final in Barcelona, this is still the largest ever prize funds offered to a poker tournament, all of which started out online.
Play starts on Monday, March 27th and players will move through various levels with the initial buy-in costing just $1. To compete in the tournament players need to register an account with one of the Network's operators.
Patrick Selin, President of Ongame, said, 'We are truly excited to be launching this Poker Classic tournament which we believe marks a milestone in the development of online poker. The guaranteed size of the prize pool available makes it an opportunity no true online poker fan can miss - and I'm sure beginners will be tempted to try their luck too.'
Spill Group Asia Launches Chinese Online Casino Portal
Spill Group has announced the launch of its new online gaming platform youxi.cn. The China based site offers all the most popular online games but claims to differ from other gaming portals in that it is free from disturbances like pop ups or moving banners.
'Most Chinese websites are tiring for the eyes when you look at them: they consist of moving banners, blinking names of games and they are overloaded with information,' says Marc van der Chijs, CEO, Spill Group Asia. 'Youxi.cn wants to be different. The design of the portal allows for a relaxing, pleasurable online gaming experience.'
Youxi is the Chinese word for game or gaming, and the online portal features a wide variety of games including action and adventure games, MMORG's (massive multiplayer online role-playing games), skill, racing and card games.
The top 5 most played games of each category are listed on the home page, all the rest is only one click away. Youxi.cn is free – gamers just need to visit the site and they can start playing right away. And because the site is published in simplified Chinese, the whole of mainland China can play.
Spill Group Asia plans to launch several more websites in the coming months, both for online and mobile gaming.
Poker Network Seeks Online Casino Software Acquisition
Excapsa have stated that they are looking to buy an online casino software developer to add to its core poker games and will soon launch wireless poker games over mobile phones.
'That was the whole reason for us going public -- to put ourselves in the position of a long-term player, as opposed to somebody who would perhaps be an ideal acquisition candidate,' Chief Executive, Jim Ryan told Reuters.
'Today we're a pure poker play ... so the opportunity for us is to bring casino-style games into the equation and games of skill,' he added. 'What we're looking at right now would be casino software developer-operators ... to have the Excapsa network be more of a one-stop shop.'
In the fourth quarter, Excapsa's number of active players increased to 242,000 from 138,000 a year earlier, while average daily revenues rose 86 percent to $303,000.
PlayersOnly.com Casts an Eye Toward American Idol Beauty
Known as the “world's sexiest sportsbook”, PlayersOnly.com bettors are living up to their reputation when it comes to American Idol. It seems that their money is now filtering towards the beautiful, Katharine McPhee despite the fact that the voting public seems to heavily favour Chris Daughtry.
This week, Daughtry went from 5-2 to 2-1 his most recent performance, while McPhee closed the gap by improving her odds from 4-1 to 7-2. However, Daughtry is still taking 17.8% of wagers and McPhee has 16.1%.
Tim Williams, of PlayersOnly.com said, 'We took a lot of razzing last week when word got out that our players were putting their money on the most attractive contestants in the Amazing Race, despite the horrible odds. With American Idol, I’d have to say they seem to be listening more to their heads than their hormones.'
Current odds and betting trends:
Contestant Odds Betting Trend: Chris Daughtry 2-1 17.8%, Katharine McPhee 7-2 16.1%, Mandisa 5-1 3.2%, Taylor Hicks 5-1 9.5%, Paris Bennett 8-1 10.9% , Ace Young 9-1 11.1%, Elliott Yamin 10-1 6.4%, Kellie Pickler 12-1 6.5%, Lisa Tucker 12-1 13.0%, Kevin Covais 60-1 0.2%, Bucky Covington 80-1 0.6%,
Student Wins PartyPoker Cruise During Spring Break
Who wants to be a millionaire? Journalism student, Mike Schneider certainly did, proving once again that the youth movement is on the march in poker.
Schneider, a 22-year-old college student from Minneapolis, became the youngest winner in the five-year history of the prestigious PartyPoker.com Million whilst on a spring break cruise.
528 players came to the M. S. Westerdam to vie for the over $5 million purse offered by PartyPoker in the largest Limit Hold'em tournament in the world.
Schneider could only say that he was “shellshocked” at his victory, but he certainly didn’t show his anxiety under the spotlight. Asked what he was thinking behind his stoic poker face, he admitted thinking, “Oh God, oh God, oh God!”
The Minnesotan began playing in home games four years ago, and graduated to his hometown card room, Canterbury Park at 18. In 2003, he began playing online with PartyPoker.com and the PartyPoker.com Million is only his second high stakes tournament.
Joining Schneider at the final table were California poker professional Kenna James, who has had excellent early success in the 2006 season, James Scott Buller, Los Angeles poker pro Devon Miller and two online qualifiers, Drew Chitiea and Richard Joel.
Buller, who has been aboard all five PartyPoker.com Million cruises, said, 'The young players have changed the whole picture. My first year there were maybe 20 guys under 30. Now we have a boatload of them and at 49, I’m considered an old guy.'
3/21/2006 gambling news:
Record Prize on offer at World Poker Tour
The WPT World Championships on April 18 – 24 at Bellagio in Las Vegas is boasting a massive prize pool of close to $12-$15 million – with a potential $3.5 million for the winner.
If you’re able to afford the $25,500 buy-in to join professionals such as Phil 'The Unabomber' Laak and Antonio 'The Magician' Esfandiari, odds of taking a cash prize home are as good as ever this year, with the top 100 place getters to figure in the money.
Doug Dalton, Director of Poker Operations for Bellagio said, 'The pots are getting higher and the number of participants is growing with every tournament and Bellagio is proud to be a part of this phenomenon.'
Steve Lipscomb, Founder and CEO of WPT Enterprises said, “The $25,000 buy-in insures that these players are among the world's best. However, what's fun is that this championship is still an open event and anyone with the heart, the courage and the skills can find themselves at the final table, cashing in for millions of dollars.”
If you can’t afford the buy in, satellite tournaments for the WPT World Championship are being run by more than 49 land-based and online casinos, many with small buy-ins.
Online Casino Makes Las Vegas a Reality
The gap between online casinos and offline casinos appears to be getting smaller and VIP.com is doing its part by offering its guests the chance to win its Las Vegas getaway contest.
Bryan H. was the first VIP.com guest to win the trip for two to Las Vegas, “My wife is so excited about going to Las Vegas – and in typical VIP.com style! We are really looking forward to staying at the new Wynn Las Vegas.”
VIP.com will be giving away three more vacation packages this year, with the next one being awarded June 1, 2006. The package is for two guest and includes airfare, hotel accommodation at the new Wynn Las Vegas and spending cash.
Casino Manager, John Olsen said, “It’s nice to be able to extend our offering with trips such as these so that our guests enjoy a quality casino experience on us both online and offline.”
Freeroll at Online Casino Puts Iowa Man in WPT Championships
An Editor/Publisher, known as Mike P., is the delighted winner of a $28,000 and a seat at the prestigious World Poker Tour (WPT) Championships at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
A cold blooded bluff was enough to give the 29-year-old the prize at PokerListings.com, and in mid-April Mike will be playing for millions of dollars against the best poker players in the world.
Mike started playing poker with his college buddies two years ago and got a taste for the big poker scene when he and his girlfriend visited Las Vegas during last year’s Five Diamond Classic at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino.
Mike said, “We walked around the Bellagio poker room on the first day of the tournament awestruck to see virtually every poker player we had ever seen on TV. It's hard to believe that this time I will actually get to sit down and play with them.”
This poker dream came true thanks to a special freeroll on pokerlistings.com and according to David Williams, senior editor at PokerListings.com, there are lots of opportunities like this one, “Many times the starting field is even smaller than it was in this case, and in some of our feature satellites only 12 or 13 people compete for a prize worth thousands of dollars.”
Giants of Poker and Motorsport Forge Sponsorship Deal
PokerStars.com and Aston Martin Racing have teamed up for the 2006 American Le Mans series.
On Saturday March 18, both of the team's Aston Martin DBR9 racing cars will carry a special PokerStars.com livery when they start the 54th annual Sebring endurance race, the first in this years Le Mans series.
James Turner, Commercial Director of Aston Martin Racing said, “The Sebring race marks the start of an exciting relationship between our two organizations and one which has a great deal of potential for growth.”
Pokerstars has almost five million registered players worldwide and like Aston Martin Racing, PokerStars is based in the United Kingdom.
Dan Goldman, PokerStars Vice President of Marketing said, “PokerStars' association with Aston Martin Racing marks a bold new direction for our company as we strive for ways to combine the excitement and popularity of poker with high-performance motor racing led by the world's most exclusive sports car company.”
London Listing for Online Casino Software Developer
The flotation of online casino software developer, Playtech, has been more than five times covered at a price of around £2.6 a share according to sources close to the flotation.
Playtech’s flotation hopes to raise £175 million and dealing looks set to start around March 27.
The firm is majority-owned by Israeli Internet-gaming entrepreneur, Teddy Sagi who counts the Tote, Bet365 and BetFred among its clients and is the latest in a series of online gambling firms to opt for a London listing.
Online Casino Looks to the East
Real Time Gaming is launching RTG Asia to be based in Singapore, which aims to strengthen the company’s focus on the growing Asian market.
Daniel Schultz, Chief Executive and Chair of RTG Asia said, “The truth is, to become a serious player in the Asian market you have to immerse yourself entirely.”
Dr Finian Tan, Chairman of Vickers Financial Group, who are partners in the project said, “The principals in Vickers have in the past had good experiences in investing in the gaming industry. As a result, we like the space – especially given the consumer boom across Asia in the offline sector as witnessed by Macau's successes and Singapore's moves to enter the industry.”
Young Stars To Lead The Way During March Madness
March Madness has traditionally been a time for the best young players in the game to prove their big-game worth and attract NBA scouts. Names like Iverson and O’Neal turned their dazzling performances during the college tournament into national fame and fortune.
This weekend, SportingbetUSA.com is watching several hot young players in key match-ups during the NCAA First and Second Round and through to the NCAA Finals. Sportsbettors that can spot the future superstars amongst the clout of players – whether their teams make the Final Four or not – stand to make wise bets this month.
“Right now in the Big Show you have several dominant players who are pulling in millions, even though their teams didn’t capture the grand prize when they played in this tournament,” says SportingbetUSA.com Brand Manager, Tony Delgado. “But they all had their moments leading their college teams. Who will be the players that step up this spring at crunch time and use their great play as a springboard to the NBA?”
Joakim Noah will be talked about more then once this spring if he leads the Billy Donavan Florida Gators to a Final Four appearance. With his athletic body and mind for the game, Noah could be enticed with millions of dollars to leave Florida early, as he is just a freshman. The Gators are listed at 25-1 at SportingbetUSA.com and if Noah continues to shine, this could be a great investment.
J. J. Redick and Sheldon Williams will get showered with attention during The Dance, but Duke’s 6-foot-10 freshman Josh McRoberts could play a starring role. Duke has taken on all comers in 2005-2006 and is currently 9-2 at SportingbetUSA.com.
The analysts will also rave about Connecticut’s point guard Marcus Williams or forward Rudy Gay, but keep an eye on their athletic forward Josh Boone,” said Delgado. “Just watch -- this guy will earn millions in the NBA. He’s a holy terror and understands the importance of DEFENSE!”
3/16/2006 gambling news:
Online Casino Hails Latest Poker Winner
With a prize package worth $12,500 for the World Series of Poker, the freeroll tournament at Pokerlistings.com event was sure to be a success.
The prize was won by amateur player Todd Sinclair who beat over 200 players to take first place and the prize.
Todd who spends between 20 and 40 hours competing online every week, is a resident of Kelowna, British Columbia. He was one of 1,000 players to qualify for this lucrative event but ultimately defeated his opponents to claim the $10,000 WSOP Main Event seat and $2,500 in additional money for travel and accommodation expenses.
Todd said, 'I am very excited to be playing in the WSOP this year. It has been my goal to make it there since I began playing. I'm sure the experience will be quite overwhelming and I will just try to have some fun.'
Staffan Rydin, Editor-in-Chief of PokerListings.com said, “We are delighted Todd took this opportunity to showcase his poker talent and collect a seat at the WSOP This $15,000 Freeroll event was one of many top value bonus deals hosted by PokerListings.com,.”
Online Casino Continues Bizarre Marketing Campaign
GoldenPalace.com has continued its trend of buying unusual items as part of their marketing campaign. This time, the item of fancy is a piece of sheet metal that cost them $1500. What makes this piece of metal special is the image emblazoned on it, that of Christ and the Virgin Mary.
Hardy's Hardware employee, Thomas Haley was shocked to discover what appeared to be the image of Christ and, when the sheet is turned upside-down, the image of the nativity scene complete with the Virgin Mary as well.
Haley decided to sell the item on eBay and the online casino snapped it up. Haley said, 'Just seeing it brightens people's day.'
GoldenPalace.com has created an entire marketing campaign around buying unusual eBay items, several with religious overtones. Items like the Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Holy Pierogi, and Divine Pretzel have become bona-fide pieces of American pop-culture.
GoldenPalace.com CEO, Richard Rowe said, “This item has definitely sparked interest and debate. It will make a great addition to the collection of religious items we will be taking on tour later this year.”
Online Casino Ready for the Ultimate Freeze-Out
After winning the first InterPoker Extreme Poker event in astounding conditions 30-feet underwater, off the shores of St. Kitts in the Caribbean, the Finnish Poker Pro, Juha Helppi, was given the option to select the venue for the next Extreme event.
His choice was to pick home advantage and Juha is taking the tournament to his backyard -- in the arctic ice fields of Finland at the world's largest snow castle in Kemi on March 29.
InterPoker spokesperson Peter Marcus is looking forward to the event. 'While Juha undoubtedly has the home field advantage in this tournament, there is always the possibility that a competitive and talented US professionals or one of our InterPoker online qualifiers will take the title from Juha,' he said.
The Snow Castle is made up of approximately 60,000 cubic feet of snow and ice, and maintains a constant internal temperature well below freezing. Juha Helppi said, “The snow castle is very beautiful and very cold -- just like the city where I grew up. I will be right at home in the castle, and aim to take advantage of home field advantage in every way possible.”
Online tournaments to qualify for the tournament will be held on www.interpoker.com at 11.00 AM EST (4 PM GMT) on Sunday, March 12th. The three winners of Internet qualifying rounds will receive a complete Extreme Poker prize package including airfare, hotel and meals for the trip to the Arctic Kemi Snow Castle. The winner of the Kemi Finland event will not only claim the title of 'Extreme Poker Champion,' they will also win an automatic entry into the 2006 Final Extreme Underwater Poker Championship in St. Kitts.
The biggest online betting event is here
It’s called March Madness and it doesn’t betray its name as billions of dollars are gambled on the event every year. Last year’s event had an estimated $4 billion dollars wagered on it making it even bigger than the Super Bowl in gambling terms.
PinnacleSports.com expects betting on this year’s NCAA tournament is all set to dwarf this year's Super Bowl and has a wide range of betting trends under observation.
The 182 sports books in Nevada are expected to take approximately $90 million in 'March Madness' bets, estimates indicate that online bookmakers as a whole will record nearly $1.3 billion in NCAA tournament wagers. A remarkable figure that dwarves the $600 million wagered online on this year's Super Bowl.
Simon Noble, of PinnacleSports.com, said, 'For every person that enters an office pool, there's a good chance you will find another placing a bet on the tournament games over the Internet. As more consumers realize the safety and convenience online sportsbooks provide, the Internet will continue to be the destination of choice for betting on major sporting events like the NCAA tournament.'
PinnacleSports.com was the first sportsbook to release betting lines on this year's NCAA tournament games, posting point spreads as the first round match-ups were announced Sunday night. The company will offer thousands of wagering options on the tournament including player propositions, futures and live in-game betting.
Online Casino to Make a New Millionaire
InterCasino's Progressive Jackpots have had many a big winner over the years but now they are setting a very special record with a new high jackpot totaling nearly $2 million.
Jackpots at the world's largest online casino have steadily increased at a phenomenal rate and the exciting trend is set to continue. Peter Marcus, a spokesman for Intercasino, said, “With the combined jackpot total close to $2 million, we are positive that wonderful things are about to happen to several lucky InterCasino customers – it is only a matter of time before someone's life is changed for the better.'
InterCasino.com is one of the few online casinos that pay out their jackpots immediately and in full which has helped them become a global sensation.
Online Casino Poker Site Offers New Banking Options
Safety is such a big issue in the online gaming market and CelebPoker.com is taking that extra step to ensure that its customers’ money is in safe hands.
Two new banking options offer safety and security for customers CelebPoker’s customers: Click2Pay offers players various ways of managing their money transfers, including deposit and withdraw to their account. This service is crucial for bankroll management and keeping track of play success at CelebPoker.com.
The addition of these services to the WebDollar system on CelebPoker is seen as a major benefit to the diverse options that players have while playing at the online casino.
3/8/2006 gambling news:
Online Casino Offers Million Pound Mobile Prize
Wild Jack Mobile Casino (WJMC) has announced the release of ‘Major Millions’, a progressive jackpot slot games with an unprecedented maximum jackpot for a mobile game of £1 million.
To play, UK players simply need to text WJMC to 89895, follow the registration process and then download the WJMC 'Casino Lobby'. Players with compatible phones can quickly be spinning the three reels of this classic slot machine 'style' game to have a chance of becoming an instant millionaire.
The enticement of mobile gaming is proving to be a success for the online casino industry. Simon Swanson, UK Country Manager for WJMC said, “We are delighted to be the first to market with this exciting game which offers players the chance to become instant millionaires. Major Millions is one of eight games available from WJMC which brings the thrills and excitement of the casino to the palm of your hand.”
Wild Jack also offers other mobile games such as Roulette, Blackjack, Treasure Nile, Fruit Fiesta, Jacks or Better and Scratch Card.
Online Casino Gives Away Another Luxury Poker Vacation
Kiwi Casino Poker has announced the second winner of a luxury vacation to compete in the New Zealand Poker Championships. The most recent winner, Jason Rosenberg from Las Vegas, will be flown to New Zealand to compete against current World Series of Poker Champion, Joe Hachem and 2006 Crown Casino Aussie Millions winner and New Zealand native, Lee Nelson.
Rosenberg said of his surprise win, ‘I am so excited! I lived in New Zealand for a year and have always wanted to come back. I am so grateful for the opportunity and am honoured to be representing Kiwi Casino Poker in the New Zealand Poker Championships.’
There are still opportunities to join these players if you can reign supreme at one of Kiwi Casino Poker’s satellite tournaments. The online casino is giving away one of these fantastic packages for every forty players in five super satellites being held between March 31 and July 21. That’s potentially 60 of these fantastic packages up for grabs.
Live and Breathe Poker at Online Casino
River Belle is set to send one of its players to compete in the 2006 World Series of Poker. To enter players should log on to RiverBellePoker.com and click on the WSOP Multi Event promotion. The final contest to determine the River Belle player who will go to the WSOP takes place on May 20. All of River Belle’s players will be able to enter the qualifying tournaments, with buy-ins from as low as $1.
After winning the contest to become the River Belle representative, the lucky winner will then have two months to practice before they travel to Las Vegas in July. Included in the winner’s package will be up to 60 nights of accommodation, round trip tickets for the player and their guest, plus $3,500 in spending money.
'This is an opportunity to live and breath poker for two months,' said Tim Johnson, Chairman of Carmen Media Group, owners of Belle Rock Entertainment. 'This promotion is available to every single River Belle player. I wish everyone the best of luck as always, but in this case luck will only get your foot in the door. The rest is up to your skill and passion for poker.'
Bringing Women to the Poker Table
Online sportsbook, Betfair is ready to unleash a massive marketing drive in the hope of attracting more women to online poker. To help in their quest, Betfair has included a prize incentive of a handsome male poker dealer to pay a visit to your home.
It is meant as a lighthearted way to introduce women aged over 21 to the poker brand and Betfair has unveiled a series of five weekly online tournaments, which allow 500 women the chance to play for free every Tuesday night, for a cash prize of £500.
The overall winner of the live tournament will go on to play at the World Series of Poker Ladies Event in Las Vegas in the summer, whilst the runners up will compete against one another for a prize pool of £3,000.
Online Casino Opens Irish Open Poker Market
The excitement is beginning to build for Europe’s oldest poker tournament and fittingly Irish bookmaker, Paddy Power has been the first to announce odds for the Irish Open. The event, to be held in Dublin in April, is one of the richest in Europe with a 1€ million guaranteed prize pool.
The good news for punters who attack the early market odds is that Paddy Power is providing extra value by offering a refund on outright bets placed before the start of the tournament for any player who makes the final table but does not win. Stakes will also be refunded if a bet is placed on a player who does not play in the event.
Currently, only outright bets are being offered but as things progress a host of other markets will spring up. The final table of the event is to be broadcast on Sky Sports 2 on Easter Monday at 9pm with Paddy Power offering ‘running bets’ throughout the night.
Online Casino Opens Doors for the Ladies
In an industry that has been reputedly male dominated for so long, Drawdead.com has further enhanced the recent drive to make women feel more welcome in the online gaming world by launching a new 'Ladies Only' Freeroll Poker Forum.
Sara Freeman, who was recently named Vice President of Sales and Marketing for drawdead.com said of the new innovation, “We are excited to introduce the newly opened LadyFreerollerz.com and feel that this expansion will continue to pave the way for a more prominent presence of women in today's poker world.”
The members of Ladyfreerollerz.com are eligible to participate in the private online freeroll poker league sponsored by FreeRollerz.com. Here the ladies will be able to play for free whilst still having the chance to win money. The freerollerz league combines the exclusive feel of smaller private freeroll tournaments and the excitement of competing with your fellow forum members.
Betty Leondhart, Chief Administrator for Ladyfreerollerz.com said, “This forum is an awesome place for women to get together, discuss poker strategies, poker games, and for women to feel the camaraderie that men have in the poker world.”
3/3/2006 gambling news:
African Charity Project by Online Casino Nears Completion
A school in Malawi, Africa funded by charitable donations from Slotland.com is almost complete and has announced that it will be looking to start filling teaching positions very soon.
Despite a bad winter in Africa, local villagers have worked through the conditions to ensure that the school will be ready to open next month.
The project, named “New Hope for a New Generation”, will provide education and opportunities for the children of an impoverished African village.
“We’re so happy that the Slotland.com community is able to make such a big difference in the lives of so many people,” said Slotland.com Manager Hannah Morante. “People tell us all the time that they choose to play slots at Slotland.com because they know it is a different kind of online casino.”
“The whole village has pulled together to get our school built,” said Project Manager, Tereza Mirovicova.
The Return of the Richest Poker Game of All Time
Purportedly the largest head-to-head poker game of all-time saw billionaire banker Andy Beal match $20 million against a rotating cast of the best poker players in the world, which included Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harman, Todd Brunson and Ted Forrest.
Last month, Beal played the world’s best poker players for stakes of $30,000/$60,000 and $50,000/$100,000 at Wynn Las Vegas. Average pot size per hand was over $300,000 with the largest pot weighing in at $1.9 million. To play in a game of such astronomical stakes, twenty of the world’s best poker players had to combine their bankrolls. They played three series of matches in February where each side started with at least $10 million on the table, with millions more in reserve. Wins and losses ran as high as $10 million in a single day, and one session featured two $8 million swings.
This game was the latest instalment of the “richest poker game of all time”, which started in 2001 when banker Beal, became interested in poker. Beal developed into a world-class high-stakes hold‘em player, who once won $12 million in one day.
The only person allowed to document this historic rematch “hand by hand” was Bluff poker columnist Michael Craig, author of The Professor, The Banker and The Suicide King: Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Time (Warner Books, June 2005). Craig himself was influential in arranging the multimillion dollar rematch and at Beal’s insistence, agreed to sit at the table to document the 2006 games.
To read an excerpt of the story please visit www.bluffmagazine.com
Pokerstars Launch Their Battleships
PokerStars.com, have launched their latest heads-up innovation – ‘The EPT Battleship Poker Championship’.
Players of the new game will be offered the opportunity to play heads up matches both online and live, with contestants playing face-to-face, laptop-to-laptop in the style of the well known board game ‘Battleship’.
The two-day tournament will take place during the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Grand final in Monte Carlo next week. Some of the best poker players and stars from around the world will be in attendance for the climax of the richest poker tour in Europe.
There are 32 seats available for the two-day tournament which starts at 4pm on March 9. The finals and semi finals are to be projected live for everyone to tune in to the action. You can also follow the match on PokerStars.com by clicking the Battleship event from the main lobby. There will also be running commentary from guest commentator, Lee Jones, PokerStars.com Poker Room Manager.
Superior Poker to Sponsor Spring Break
CasinoAffiliatePrograms.com has announced that its top poker affiliate program, Superior Poker, will sponsor the “Interactive Drink Competition” at the CAP Spring Break 2006 in Miami Beach.
Each year, CAP brings together the best affiliates and operators in the online gambling industry and over 100 top affiliates and Casino Affiliate Programs Certified Partners have attended the event in previous years.
“We are pleased to welcome Superior Poker as a silver sponsor at CAP Spring Break 2006,” said Lou Fabiano, founder of CasinoAffiliatePrograms.com and CAP Spring Break. “The interactive drink competition’s clever format is sure to be a great way for attendees to network while having fun together.”
Registration is free for all affiliates or potential affiliates, as well as CAP Certified Partners. Affiliates and Casino Affiliate Programs Certified Partners can register at: http://www.capspringbreak.com/registration/
Online Casino Couple: To Have and to Hold’em
Having met online at Partypoker.com and fallen in love, Jackie Johnson and Gary Suffir have now announced that they are planning to start a family and that all bets are for a baby called “Chip”.
The couple met online in September 2004 in a $30 Omaha game in the site's virtual chat rooms after Jackie defended Gary in a row over a bad beat. They remained in contact and after a few months Jackie moved to New York City from Las Vegas to live with Gary in March 2005.
Now a year later, they are getting hitched at the Paris Hotel in Vegas on March 7th, with famous poker ambassador Mike Sexton as a witness, and it seems the sound of baby feet could soon be heard.
‘We thought that if the baby is a boy we could call it Mike after Mike Sexton but in honor of the way we met we'll call him Chip,’ said a smiling Gary. ‘If our baby is a girl we may call her Linda after Linda Johnson, the first lady of poker, but Queenie is a possibility.’
Jackie, a 27 year-old artist, said, ‘We're just so happy to have found each other and we can't wait to start a family.’
PartyPoker.com spokesman Warren Lush said, ‘It is with great delight that we are hosting what we believe is the world's first online poker wedding. We hope that they'll have and to hold'em forever and ever.’
Bet24.com Join Ongame Poker Network
Ongame have announced the addition of Bet24.com to its poker service. Bet24.com members will now be able to play poker against the more than seven million players already connected to Ongame Network including players from PokerRoom.com and Coral Eurobet.
Bet24.com, a sportsbetting, casino and poker service, is now promising their members bigger and better tournaments, improved software functionality and greater player liquidity. “We are delighted to be able to further expand our poker network,” commented Ongame CEO Patrik Selin. “Our aim is to create Europe’s largest online poker community.”
Holger Kristiansen, CEO of Nordic Betting Ltd, was equally enthused in saying, “We are looking forward to becoming part of the Ongame Network and to offer our customers high activity around the clock, big tournaments and a lot of other new poker features. Together with a new, fresher site layout we are sure that our co-operation with Ongame will enable us to grow our poker business tremendously,” added.
Bet24.com Join Ongame Poker Network
Ongame have announced the addition of Bet24.com to its poker service. Bet24.com members will now be able to play poker against the more than seven million players already connected to Ongame Network including players from PokerRoom.com and Coral Eurobet.
Bet24.com, a sportsbetting, casino and poker service, is now promising their members bigger and better tournaments, improved software functionality and greater player liquidity. “We are delighted to be able to further expand our poker network,” commented Ongame CEO Patrik Selin. “Our aim is to create Europe’s largest online poker community.”
Holger Kristiansen, CEO of Nordic Betting Ltd, was equally enthused in saying, “We are looking forward to becoming part of the Ongame Network and to offer our customers high activity around the clock, big tournaments and a lot of other new poker features. Together with a new, fresher site layout we are sure that our co-operation with Ongame will enable us to grow our poker business tremendously,” added.
3/31/2006 gambling news:
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New Progressive Blackjack Game Launches at Online Casino
KiwiCasino.com are now offering their players a new progressive game. Progressive Blackjack has joined Gold Rally, Queen of the Pyramids, Fruitmania and many more online casino games at Kiwi Casino featuring huge progressive jackpot prizes.
Progressive Blackjack is played the same way as standard six-deck Blackjack but now players will also be able to make a progressive jackpot side bet as they play. The progressive jackpot prize starts at a massive $50,000 and should grow very quickly.
Progressive Blackjack includes all the standard online Blackjack options such as single player, multi player and private table options, and with multi window support and slots auto play, players can also set their favourite progressive slots game to auto play and make a deposit at the cashier while they play.
“This is the start of Kiwi Casino’s new resolution to release a brand new online casino game every month,” commented Kiwi Casino Management.
In addition, for every $200 a player deposits at Kiwi Casino before April 19, they’ll receive an entry into the draw to win a fantastic 42” Plasma TV, and if they deposit more than $500 they’ll receive two more entries absolutely free.
Online Casino Offers $5 Million Prize for Triple Crown
Bodog.com have announced that it has extended an offer to Triple Crown Productions to put up the $5-million prize for any owner whose horse wins all three races of the Triple Crown.
'Winning all three of these thoroughbred horse races represents the pinnacle of horse racing,' said Calvin Ayre, Founder and CEO of Bodog.com. 'Bodog.com would be honoured to play a part in ensuring that one of the sport's greatest and rarest prizes is kept intact.'
The Triple Crown is widely accepted to be horse racing's most prestigious and highly regarded racing series. On Saturday, May 6, an estimated 25 million fans in the US and millions more around the world will tune into what’s been labelled, “the most exciting two minutes in sports” and the first leg of the Triple Crown, the 132nd Kentucky Derby at Louisville's Churchill Downs. The 131st Preakness Stakes runs at Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore on May 20, and the 138th Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in Long Island, N.Y., on June 10 rounds out the Triple Crown.
Poker Boom Shows No Sign of Slowing
PokerPages.com has reported that poker had its biggest year ever in 2005, reaching total buy-ins of over $376 million. Additionally, poker continued on its record setting pace to start 2006, with back-to-back record months.
February buy-in dollars reached $25.8 million – the best February ever recorded. This record came hot on the heels of the fifth biggest month all-time in poker as January 2006 buy-ins grew 36% over January 2005 to more than $38 million.
PokerPages.com founder Mark Napolitano said, “There have been whispers among some within the industry who wondered if poker could continue to grow in 2006. But, so far, 2006 has started out to be the strongest year ever in Poker, breaking records in all three PokerPages.com Industry Index (PPII) categories.'
The Index is calculated by comparing the total buy-in dollars from the past month to the same period in the previous year. A figure greater than 100 indicates growth.
Celebrity Winner at Online Casino Remains a Mystery
Aces.com has announced that a celebrity winner has won a jackpot of $32,000 but they are respecting the winner’s privacy by not revealing their identity. The victory came after Aces.com provided a backstage poker table and cash accounts to celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, Deborah Gibson, Backstreet Boys’, Lauren Holly at the Radio Music Awards in Las Vegas recently.
Rene Quesada, the Aces.com Manager, said, 'Our players never know if the person next to them at the Blackjack table or Roulette wheel is someone famous! Many performers and celebrities were all partying with us at the Awards show – it could be any one of them.'
However, this week's focus for Aces.com is not on their casino, rather it is on their sportsbook as the March Madness betting frenzy continues. Quesada said, 'We're just like Vegas. At the hotels on the strip, you don’t just bet on who will win. They offer tons of team and players betting propositions and so do we.'
Online Casino Adds New Game to Mobile Phone Games Suite
Slotland.com has announced the launch of their eagerly-awaited third mobile slot machine. The ‘Golden 8’ has long been a favourite at their online casino and now it makes its debut on Slotland.com’s new WAP gambling site for mobile phones and PDAs.
Hannah Morante of Slotland.com, said, 'All the mobile games are tied into the same progressive jackpots as our web games. Don’t be surprised if someone in the queue in front of you starts kissing their mobile phone in excitement someday – they may have just won $150,000!'
The aim for Slotland.com is not only to provide their players with a greater opportunity to play but also open up the industry to a new breed of player.
Slotland.com’s Mobile Games Marketing Manager, Martin Smith, added, 'Traditional online slots and casino players are older than most mobile entertainment consumers. They may not even have a mobile phone yet, and if they do they probably just use it for phone calls. Younger adults, on the other hand, are more apt to look at their phones as a toy – a small portable computer that can be used for a variety of entertainment.'
PokerShare Announces Its Return to the Online Poker World
After four months of analysing new software, Pokershare.com is set to re-launch its altruistic poker service on the Tain network. In recent months, the company has settled its dispute with Excapsa Software and Game Theory and has now moved on to launching its new software to be exclusively tested by existing players in Beta mode before being made available to the general public.
Poker room Manager, Max Wright, said, 'We’re excited to finally return to the market, we have a great new product which I’m sure will be a hit with all of our old players. I want to get as much feedback as possible before we open the doors to new players next month.”
PokerShare.com offers players the chance to share their success simply by playing; and even on the new network the site will remain true to its unique 'earn while you play' vision.
Lucan Toh, CEO PokerShare, said that their choosing of the Tain network was 'because of its focus on, and high concentration of, ‘real money’ players, as well as its innovative user interface and corporate ambitions.'
In other news, the company even plans to launch an online casino, CasinoShare.com in May 2006.
Online Casino Launch Aggressive Marketing Campaign
Online casino and sportsbook, Bet4Aces.com, has announced the launch of phase one of a four part aggressive marketing campaign targeting the international online gaming market.
As part of the campaign, Bet4Aces will host mock casino nights across the US at major locations including New York, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco. They have also promised to place billboard advertisements in key US markets and key international cities around the globe.
'The company has seen a remarkable turnaround in the past few months with good, positive, steady growth and a customer satisfaction rating of almost 98%', said director of marketing and public relations, Russ Beverly. 'This is what is going to make us the number online sportsbook and casino this year. We are undoubtedly excited and proud', he added.
Bet4Aces.com has contracted independent marketing firm, PostUp! to oversee its marketing efforts. 'We have great new ideas for Bet4Aces.com and the customer is going to be extremely happy with the service Bet4Aces.com is going to present and deliver going forward,' said Sam Lyttle, Vice-President of PostUp! Marketing.
National Poker League Launch Legal Online U.S. Poker Games
The National League of Poker has announced the formal launch of its free online poker portal, nlop.com. This will include the launch of the NLOP Spring Series, a 6-week promotion that will award over $30,000 in cash and prizes including 6 seats to the 2006 World Series of Poker.
'We feel there is huge audience of Americans looking for legal alternatives to offshore sites', explained Alan Miller founder of NLOP. 'While offshore sites claim to offer 'free' poker, most also offer little to win. With NLOP, people can win huge prizes, and because we limit the amount of points they get to play with each day-the NLOP poker experience is more realistic than other free sites'.
Miller continued, 'Poker has exploded on TV, but US advertisers and sponsors have not been able to connect with the online poker audience'. There has been substantial precedent set for media and brand properties to stay far away from these offshore operators, NLOP provides advertisers and sponsors the opportunity to connect with the burgeoning poker demographic in a US-legal and fun fashion'.
Online Casino Hosts Extreme Poker Tournament
Robert Varkonyi, 2002 World Series of Poker Champion, felt the chill as the latest InterPoker.com Extreme Poker Challenge forced him to heat things up in order to stay alive, let alone keep his full faculties intact to record a remarkable win.
Battling temperatures that reached -10oc, the players were given the option of repurchasing lost chips in exchange for their coat, forcing them to play in only a t-shirt. At one point in the match, Internet qualifier Daniel Stein, was forced to peel off his protective layer of winter clothing just to stay in the tournament. Varkonyi later resorted to running laps in between hands to maintain circulation and stave off frostbite.
'The tournament was absolutely stunning -- the players sat atop a seemingly endless ice shelf on the Arctic sea and played a frostbitten game of poker, as the frigid winds tore across the table,' said InterPoker.com spokesperson Peter Marcus. 'All of the players showed an amazing amount of concentration, skill and pure grit during this tournament, especially our Internet qualifiers, who I anticipate will have very promising poker careers.'
After coming from behind to win the tournament, Varkonyi said, 'Winning this title makes my suffering through the most excruciating cold I've ever experienced worth it, and I know this tournament will prepare me well for the 2006 World Series of Poker.'
Another Strange Piece of History Purchased by Online Casino
The bathtub that James Earl Ray stood in when he shot Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has been sold to online casino, Golden Palace for $7,600.
“The 10-day ebay auction ended on Thursday afternoon with Golden Palace Casino placing the winning bid,” said D'Army Bailey, the Memphis judge who owns the tub.
Bailey said that Golden Palace have assured him that they will treat the tub, 'with sensitivity for its historical significance ... and not use the tub in any way that degrades its historical importance.'
The opening bid for the tub was $7,500 and a percentage of the proceeds will benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of Memphis.
The tub first went on sale in July 2004 and drew a bid of $152,000, but eBay removed it because of worries the item might be considered offensive, particularly to King's family. However, the Web site's operators later decided the historic value of the item met its guidelines.
3/28/2006 gambling news:
GameAccount Unleashes Person-To-Person 3-Card Poker !
Skill gaming operator, GameAccount is expanding on their P2P (person-to-person) expertise by launching their '3-Card Poker' product, which is a unique P2P skill-based adaptation of the popular casino game.
This version of 3-Card Poker engages players against online opponents and never directly against the 'House'. This unique style looks certain to be popular amongst as players get the opportunity to demonstrate their own skills against competitors instead of against a computer program.
A player is given a starting stack of $10,000 and the objective is to build a larger chip stack than your opponent with the exact same sequence of cards dealt to both players and the automated, in-game dealer.
The prizes will cater for all types of players and instant-action cash knockout tournaments will be available to both the casual gamer and the seasoned player with entry fees as low as $2.00 or as high as $900.00.
Dermot Smurfit, Marketing Director at GameAccount said, 'Like our successful existing P2P Blackjack product, we’re very excited about the potential for this to be skill-gaming’s latest killer application for iGaming operators generating serious money, very quickly.'
Online Poker Strategy Site Offers $200 Freeroll Tournaments
Everybody likes a free roll and a new bi-weekly tournament has just begun at Titan Poker as sponsored by PokerFishTracker.com
$200 is available in the freeroll tournaments. Every Tuesday will see a $50 freeroll, and every Wednesday will see a $2 buy-in tournament with $150 added to the prize pool.
New players will also get a 100% bonus, up to $500 free, and a $1000 depositor’s freeroll simply by using the bonus code “PFT” when creating their new Titan Poker account.
Poker Fish Tracker has also introduced an in-depth poker bonus codes section where players can find the latest working bonus codes for the major online poker rooms. All of the bonus codes on Poker Fish Tracker are validated and working to get you the maximum sign up bonus for poker rooms like Party Poker, Titan Poker, and Noble Poker.
The freerolls at Poker Fish lead up to the 3rd PFT Poker League tournament at Titan Poker which is scheduled for the last Wednesday of March.
The Joker Announces Dedicated Gambling Joke Site
The Joker has announced the launch of the first web site devoted exclusively to Gambling Humor, gamblingjokes.com.
Gamblingjokes.com's webmaster told the Joker, 'There are many sites that offer humour sections, but this is the first and only site that I know of that is solely dedicated to gambling humour.'
As well as being the first dedicated gambling joke site on the Internet, Gamblingjokes.com is encouraging its visitors to share their gambling jokes with the world. 'Everyone has a funny gambling story or joke to tell and Gamblingjokes.com is the perfect place to share them.' says The Joker.
”Being dedicated strictly to humor makes gamblingjokes.com an island of humor in a world that is filled with sites that are dedicated to strategy, lessons and the practical aspects of gambling. The Joker feels that by offering something so different that a community will be built where visitors will frequent the site to see what their fellow jokesters have to share.”
New Dedicated Poker Network Coming to Sky TV
Jonny Texas Productions has announced it will launch its new poker network from studios in Birmingham this April. The network will air on Sky TV Channel 187 for two hours every weekday evening and will feature shows from the UK and European poker scene, including news, tournaments, live updates, and interviews with major poker players and celebrities.
The launch is a further indicator of success for the Jonny Texas enterprise, which incorporates a highly-successful online poker room (jonnytexaspoker.com), currently attracting up to 6,500 players from around the world; as well as a merchandising company which meets a worldwide demand for 'Jonny Texas' branded poker products.
'The poker scene is enormous, both across the UK and worldwide,' explained Birmingham-born poker star, Jonny Texas. 'The launch of a television network dedicated entirely to poker is the next logical step in the development of the business. The timing of the programming is ideal for people returning from an evening out, and the content is aimed at poker and gaming enthusiasts as well as to a general audience.'
World Blackjack Champion Crowned Aboard Online Casino Cruise
38-year-old Tucker Keeling from Oklahoma has won the inaugural $250,000 PartyCasino.com World Blackjack Championship on board the PartyPoker.com Million V in the Caribbean. Tucker won himself $113,000, and stunned reporters when he revealed that in 2001 he had been given between 2 and 5 years to live after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
'I suppose I've beaten the odds in more ways than one,' said Tucker. 'I've been beating the odds for five years and I'm especially delighted to win because my illness meant I had to quit work some time ago. Even going into the last hand I didn't think I was going to win but I hit 20, which proved to be enough. In the semi- finals, I only won by $25 after betting all my chips and catching BlackJack. It was one hell of a ride.'
Tukker qualified for the tournament online through a raffle on PartyPoker.com, and has attributed his luck to a statuette which goes everywhere with him. 'My little Buddha statue brought me great luck. I'd have him sat at the table by my cards. In the first round I nearly went out but I didn't have him with me then. In every other round I had the statue sitting there bringing me good fortune,” he said.
A PartyCasino.com spokesman said, 'Tucker's story is inspirational. There couldn't have been a better winner.'
Online Poker Room Gives Away Free Stuff
If you like free gifts, then the place to go is PlatinumPoker.com who has some fantastic giveaways available to lucky players.
Everyday, players are selected at random to receive prizes including: 500 Chip PlatinumPoker poker chip sets, luxurious combed cotton long sleeve VIP shirts emblazoned with the PlatinumPoker logo, sweatshirts, t-shirts and logo playing cards are just some of the items that are given away everyday at PlatinumPoker.com.
The only requirement to qualify for the chance of a prize is that the player is playing at a real money table or tournament at PlatinumPoker.com.
Wednesday is the big night for giving away free stuff, when at 9:00pm EDT there is a free stuff freeroll where the winner will walk away with top prizes like the customised Home Poker Set, Laptop Computers or iPods.
Michael Kogan, spokesperson for PlatinumPoker, said, 'There are many places to play poker on the Internet so PlatinumPoker makes it a point to distinguish itself from the others by showing its appreciation to its many loyal players.'
One for the Ladies at Online Poker Room
Pokerheaven.com has announced it is running exclusive satellite tournaments to the 2006 WSOP Ladies Event. These satellites run every day at pokerheaven.com and start out as low as $3.50.
Grant Williams, Poker Room Manager, said, 'We wanted to be one of the first online poker rooms to come out and offer satellites just for female players. This unique promotion has already been a tremendous hit and has brought us many new players to the site.'
PokerHeaven will supply entry fee as well as travel expenses for the winner of this event to the World Series of Poker ladies event, which will take place on July 9 and 10.
But fear not males of this poker world, the site is also offering daily chances to qualify for the main event with entries starting at $7.
Winners Surf to Success at Online Casino
With new online casinos springing up all the time, it takes something a little special to make ripples in industry. The jackpots that are being paid out to members of the wavescasino.com network are certainly proving popular but the site also offers something a little bit different.
Colin Kelvin and Cassian Davis have put their money where their mouth is and have added a page to their website at wavescasino.com where you are able to see the exact winnings by some of the network subscribers. This revealing knowledge certainly gives the players a chance to see where the money is going.
Players have the opportunity to play a wide array of online games including the popular choices of poker, blackjack, slots, roulette and craps.
Some of the subscribers have even decided to play at the casino as a full time job because the jackpots are so large and paid out quite frequently. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are available on a daily basis and this will no doubt grow as the casinos popularity continues to grow.
Online Casino Reaches New Eccentric Extremes
They have the reputation for buying eBay's weird and wonderful items and when a chunk of firewood bearing the image of the Virgin Mary became available GoldenPalace.com didn't disappoint.
The wood was saved just seconds away from being cast into the fire of a wood-burning stove and has now been sold to the casino for $99.
The seller of the item, coincidentally named Faith, said, 'I was about to chuck this into the wood stove when the image in the center caught my eye. This is an image of the Madonna! I could not burn it. It's even got a halo of lighter colored wood around her head! Nothing short of miraculous!'
The wood will be right at home amongst the casino's ever-growing collection of religious, paranormal, and generally eccentric items bought on eBay. GoldenPalace.com is all set to take the items on tour around America as a tribute to popular culture.
GoldenPalace.com has devised some of the most exciting and outrageous advertising campaigns in the past few years and has recently purchased items such as the Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Britney Spears' Pregnancy Test and William Shatner's Kidney Stone.
3/22/2006 gambling news:
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World's Largest Online Poker Tournament Begins Next Week
Ongame Network has announced the arrival of the Ongame Network Poker Classic, which offers a prize pool of $5 million and a guaranteed $1 million for the winner.
Although the tournament will eventually lead to a 45 player final in Barcelona, this is still the largest ever prize funds offered to a poker tournament, all of which started out online.
Play starts on Monday, March 27th and players will move through various levels with the initial buy-in costing just $1. To compete in the tournament players need to register an account with one of the Network's operators.
Patrick Selin, President of Ongame, said, 'We are truly excited to be launching this Poker Classic tournament which we believe marks a milestone in the development of online poker. The guaranteed size of the prize pool available makes it an opportunity no true online poker fan can miss - and I'm sure beginners will be tempted to try their luck too.'
Spill Group Asia Launches Chinese Online Casino Portal
Spill Group has announced the launch of its new online gaming platform youxi.cn. The China based site offers all the most popular online games but claims to differ from other gaming portals in that it is free from disturbances like pop ups or moving banners.
'Most Chinese websites are tiring for the eyes when you look at them: they consist of moving banners, blinking names of games and they are overloaded with information,' says Marc van der Chijs, CEO, Spill Group Asia. 'Youxi.cn wants to be different. The design of the portal allows for a relaxing, pleasurable online gaming experience.'
Youxi is the Chinese word for game or gaming, and the online portal features a wide variety of games including action and adventure games, MMORG's (massive multiplayer online role-playing games), skill, racing and card games.
The top 5 most played games of each category are listed on the home page, all the rest is only one click away. Youxi.cn is free – gamers just need to visit the site and they can start playing right away. And because the site is published in simplified Chinese, the whole of mainland China can play.
Spill Group Asia plans to launch several more websites in the coming months, both for online and mobile gaming.
Poker Network Seeks Online Casino Software Acquisition
Excapsa have stated that they are looking to buy an online casino software developer to add to its core poker games and will soon launch wireless poker games over mobile phones.
'That was the whole reason for us going public -- to put ourselves in the position of a long-term player, as opposed to somebody who would perhaps be an ideal acquisition candidate,' Chief Executive, Jim Ryan told Reuters.
'Today we're a pure poker play ... so the opportunity for us is to bring casino-style games into the equation and games of skill,' he added. 'What we're looking at right now would be casino software developer-operators ... to have the Excapsa network be more of a one-stop shop.'
In the fourth quarter, Excapsa's number of active players increased to 242,000 from 138,000 a year earlier, while average daily revenues rose 86 percent to $303,000.
PlayersOnly.com Casts an Eye Toward American Idol Beauty
Known as the “world's sexiest sportsbook”, PlayersOnly.com bettors are living up to their reputation when it comes to American Idol. It seems that their money is now filtering towards the beautiful, Katharine McPhee despite the fact that the voting public seems to heavily favour Chris Daughtry.
This week, Daughtry went from 5-2 to 2-1 his most recent performance, while McPhee closed the gap by improving her odds from 4-1 to 7-2. However, Daughtry is still taking 17.8% of wagers and McPhee has 16.1%.
Tim Williams, of PlayersOnly.com said, 'We took a lot of razzing last week when word got out that our players were putting their money on the most attractive contestants in the Amazing Race, despite the horrible odds. With American Idol, I’d have to say they seem to be listening more to their heads than their hormones.'
Current odds and betting trends:
Contestant Odds Betting Trend: Chris Daughtry 2-1 17.8%, Katharine McPhee 7-2 16.1%, Mandisa 5-1 3.2%, Taylor Hicks 5-1 9.5%, Paris Bennett 8-1 10.9% , Ace Young 9-1 11.1%, Elliott Yamin 10-1 6.4%, Kellie Pickler 12-1 6.5%, Lisa Tucker 12-1 13.0%, Kevin Covais 60-1 0.2%, Bucky Covington 80-1 0.6%,
Student Wins PartyPoker Cruise During Spring Break
Who wants to be a millionaire? Journalism student, Mike Schneider certainly did, proving once again that the youth movement is on the march in poker.
Schneider, a 22-year-old college student from Minneapolis, became the youngest winner in the five-year history of the prestigious PartyPoker.com Million whilst on a spring break cruise.
528 players came to the M. S. Westerdam to vie for the over $5 million purse offered by PartyPoker in the largest Limit Hold'em tournament in the world.
Schneider could only say that he was “shellshocked” at his victory, but he certainly didn’t show his anxiety under the spotlight. Asked what he was thinking behind his stoic poker face, he admitted thinking, “Oh God, oh God, oh God!”
The Minnesotan began playing in home games four years ago, and graduated to his hometown card room, Canterbury Park at 18. In 2003, he began playing online with PartyPoker.com and the PartyPoker.com Million is only his second high stakes tournament.
Joining Schneider at the final table were California poker professional Kenna James, who has had excellent early success in the 2006 season, James Scott Buller, Los Angeles poker pro Devon Miller and two online qualifiers, Drew Chitiea and Richard Joel.
Buller, who has been aboard all five PartyPoker.com Million cruises, said, 'The young players have changed the whole picture. My first year there were maybe 20 guys under 30. Now we have a boatload of them and at 49, I’m considered an old guy.'
3/21/2006 gambling news:
Record Prize on offer at World Poker Tour
The WPT World Championships on April 18 – 24 at Bellagio in Las Vegas is boasting a massive prize pool of close to $12-$15 million – with a potential $3.5 million for the winner.
If you’re able to afford the $25,500 buy-in to join professionals such as Phil 'The Unabomber' Laak and Antonio 'The Magician' Esfandiari, odds of taking a cash prize home are as good as ever this year, with the top 100 place getters to figure in the money.
Doug Dalton, Director of Poker Operations for Bellagio said, 'The pots are getting higher and the number of participants is growing with every tournament and Bellagio is proud to be a part of this phenomenon.'
Steve Lipscomb, Founder and CEO of WPT Enterprises said, “The $25,000 buy-in insures that these players are among the world's best. However, what's fun is that this championship is still an open event and anyone with the heart, the courage and the skills can find themselves at the final table, cashing in for millions of dollars.”
If you can’t afford the buy in, satellite tournaments for the WPT World Championship are being run by more than 49 land-based and online casinos, many with small buy-ins.
Online Casino Makes Las Vegas a Reality
The gap between online casinos and offline casinos appears to be getting smaller and VIP.com is doing its part by offering its guests the chance to win its Las Vegas getaway contest.
Bryan H. was the first VIP.com guest to win the trip for two to Las Vegas, “My wife is so excited about going to Las Vegas – and in typical VIP.com style! We are really looking forward to staying at the new Wynn Las Vegas.”
VIP.com will be giving away three more vacation packages this year, with the next one being awarded June 1, 2006. The package is for two guest and includes airfare, hotel accommodation at the new Wynn Las Vegas and spending cash.
Casino Manager, John Olsen said, “It’s nice to be able to extend our offering with trips such as these so that our guests enjoy a quality casino experience on us both online and offline.”
Freeroll at Online Casino Puts Iowa Man in WPT Championships
An Editor/Publisher, known as Mike P., is the delighted winner of a $28,000 and a seat at the prestigious World Poker Tour (WPT) Championships at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
A cold blooded bluff was enough to give the 29-year-old the prize at PokerListings.com, and in mid-April Mike will be playing for millions of dollars against the best poker players in the world.
Mike started playing poker with his college buddies two years ago and got a taste for the big poker scene when he and his girlfriend visited Las Vegas during last year’s Five Diamond Classic at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino.
Mike said, “We walked around the Bellagio poker room on the first day of the tournament awestruck to see virtually every poker player we had ever seen on TV. It's hard to believe that this time I will actually get to sit down and play with them.”
This poker dream came true thanks to a special freeroll on pokerlistings.com and according to David Williams, senior editor at PokerListings.com, there are lots of opportunities like this one, “Many times the starting field is even smaller than it was in this case, and in some of our feature satellites only 12 or 13 people compete for a prize worth thousands of dollars.”
Giants of Poker and Motorsport Forge Sponsorship Deal
PokerStars.com and Aston Martin Racing have teamed up for the 2006 American Le Mans series.
On Saturday March 18, both of the team's Aston Martin DBR9 racing cars will carry a special PokerStars.com livery when they start the 54th annual Sebring endurance race, the first in this years Le Mans series.
James Turner, Commercial Director of Aston Martin Racing said, “The Sebring race marks the start of an exciting relationship between our two organizations and one which has a great deal of potential for growth.”
Pokerstars has almost five million registered players worldwide and like Aston Martin Racing, PokerStars is based in the United Kingdom.
Dan Goldman, PokerStars Vice President of Marketing said, “PokerStars' association with Aston Martin Racing marks a bold new direction for our company as we strive for ways to combine the excitement and popularity of poker with high-performance motor racing led by the world's most exclusive sports car company.”
London Listing for Online Casino Software Developer
The flotation of online casino software developer, Playtech, has been more than five times covered at a price of around £2.6 a share according to sources close to the flotation.
Playtech’s flotation hopes to raise £175 million and dealing looks set to start around March 27.
The firm is majority-owned by Israeli Internet-gaming entrepreneur, Teddy Sagi who counts the Tote, Bet365 and BetFred among its clients and is the latest in a series of online gambling firms to opt for a London listing.
Online Casino Looks to the East
Real Time Gaming is launching RTG Asia to be based in Singapore, which aims to strengthen the company’s focus on the growing Asian market.
Daniel Schultz, Chief Executive and Chair of RTG Asia said, “The truth is, to become a serious player in the Asian market you have to immerse yourself entirely.”
Dr Finian Tan, Chairman of Vickers Financial Group, who are partners in the project said, “The principals in Vickers have in the past had good experiences in investing in the gaming industry. As a result, we like the space – especially given the consumer boom across Asia in the offline sector as witnessed by Macau's successes and Singapore's moves to enter the industry.”
Young Stars To Lead The Way During March Madness
March Madness has traditionally been a time for the best young players in the game to prove their big-game worth and attract NBA scouts. Names like Iverson and O’Neal turned their dazzling performances during the college tournament into national fame and fortune.
This weekend, SportingbetUSA.com is watching several hot young players in key match-ups during the NCAA First and Second Round and through to the NCAA Finals. Sportsbettors that can spot the future superstars amongst the clout of players – whether their teams make the Final Four or not – stand to make wise bets this month.
“Right now in the Big Show you have several dominant players who are pulling in millions, even though their teams didn’t capture the grand prize when they played in this tournament,” says SportingbetUSA.com Brand Manager, Tony Delgado. “But they all had their moments leading their college teams. Who will be the players that step up this spring at crunch time and use their great play as a springboard to the NBA?”
Joakim Noah will be talked about more then once this spring if he leads the Billy Donavan Florida Gators to a Final Four appearance. With his athletic body and mind for the game, Noah could be enticed with millions of dollars to leave Florida early, as he is just a freshman. The Gators are listed at 25-1 at SportingbetUSA.com and if Noah continues to shine, this could be a great investment.
J. J. Redick and Sheldon Williams will get showered with attention during The Dance, but Duke’s 6-foot-10 freshman Josh McRoberts could play a starring role. Duke has taken on all comers in 2005-2006 and is currently 9-2 at SportingbetUSA.com.
The analysts will also rave about Connecticut’s point guard Marcus Williams or forward Rudy Gay, but keep an eye on their athletic forward Josh Boone,” said Delgado. “Just watch -- this guy will earn millions in the NBA. He’s a holy terror and understands the importance of DEFENSE!”
3/16/2006 gambling news:
Online Casino Hails Latest Poker Winner
With a prize package worth $12,500 for the World Series of Poker, the freeroll tournament at Pokerlistings.com event was sure to be a success.
The prize was won by amateur player Todd Sinclair who beat over 200 players to take first place and the prize.
Todd who spends between 20 and 40 hours competing online every week, is a resident of Kelowna, British Columbia. He was one of 1,000 players to qualify for this lucrative event but ultimately defeated his opponents to claim the $10,000 WSOP Main Event seat and $2,500 in additional money for travel and accommodation expenses.
Todd said, 'I am very excited to be playing in the WSOP this year. It has been my goal to make it there since I began playing. I'm sure the experience will be quite overwhelming and I will just try to have some fun.'
Staffan Rydin, Editor-in-Chief of PokerListings.com said, “We are delighted Todd took this opportunity to showcase his poker talent and collect a seat at the WSOP This $15,000 Freeroll event was one of many top value bonus deals hosted by PokerListings.com,.”
Online Casino Continues Bizarre Marketing Campaign
GoldenPalace.com has continued its trend of buying unusual items as part of their marketing campaign. This time, the item of fancy is a piece of sheet metal that cost them $1500. What makes this piece of metal special is the image emblazoned on it, that of Christ and the Virgin Mary.
Hardy's Hardware employee, Thomas Haley was shocked to discover what appeared to be the image of Christ and, when the sheet is turned upside-down, the image of the nativity scene complete with the Virgin Mary as well.
Haley decided to sell the item on eBay and the online casino snapped it up. Haley said, 'Just seeing it brightens people's day.'
GoldenPalace.com has created an entire marketing campaign around buying unusual eBay items, several with religious overtones. Items like the Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Holy Pierogi, and Divine Pretzel have become bona-fide pieces of American pop-culture.
GoldenPalace.com CEO, Richard Rowe said, “This item has definitely sparked interest and debate. It will make a great addition to the collection of religious items we will be taking on tour later this year.”
Online Casino Ready for the Ultimate Freeze-Out
After winning the first InterPoker Extreme Poker event in astounding conditions 30-feet underwater, off the shores of St. Kitts in the Caribbean, the Finnish Poker Pro, Juha Helppi, was given the option to select the venue for the next Extreme event.
His choice was to pick home advantage and Juha is taking the tournament to his backyard -- in the arctic ice fields of Finland at the world's largest snow castle in Kemi on March 29.
InterPoker spokesperson Peter Marcus is looking forward to the event. 'While Juha undoubtedly has the home field advantage in this tournament, there is always the possibility that a competitive and talented US professionals or one of our InterPoker online qualifiers will take the title from Juha,' he said.
The Snow Castle is made up of approximately 60,000 cubic feet of snow and ice, and maintains a constant internal temperature well below freezing. Juha Helppi said, “The snow castle is very beautiful and very cold -- just like the city where I grew up. I will be right at home in the castle, and aim to take advantage of home field advantage in every way possible.”
Online tournaments to qualify for the tournament will be held on www.interpoker.com at 11.00 AM EST (4 PM GMT) on Sunday, March 12th. The three winners of Internet qualifying rounds will receive a complete Extreme Poker prize package including airfare, hotel and meals for the trip to the Arctic Kemi Snow Castle. The winner of the Kemi Finland event will not only claim the title of 'Extreme Poker Champion,' they will also win an automatic entry into the 2006 Final Extreme Underwater Poker Championship in St. Kitts.
The biggest online betting event is here
It’s called March Madness and it doesn’t betray its name as billions of dollars are gambled on the event every year. Last year’s event had an estimated $4 billion dollars wagered on it making it even bigger than the Super Bowl in gambling terms.
PinnacleSports.com expects betting on this year’s NCAA tournament is all set to dwarf this year's Super Bowl and has a wide range of betting trends under observation.
The 182 sports books in Nevada are expected to take approximately $90 million in 'March Madness' bets, estimates indicate that online bookmakers as a whole will record nearly $1.3 billion in NCAA tournament wagers. A remarkable figure that dwarves the $600 million wagered online on this year's Super Bowl.
Simon Noble, of PinnacleSports.com, said, 'For every person that enters an office pool, there's a good chance you will find another placing a bet on the tournament games over the Internet. As more consumers realize the safety and convenience online sportsbooks provide, the Internet will continue to be the destination of choice for betting on major sporting events like the NCAA tournament.'
PinnacleSports.com was the first sportsbook to release betting lines on this year's NCAA tournament games, posting point spreads as the first round match-ups were announced Sunday night. The company will offer thousands of wagering options on the tournament including player propositions, futures and live in-game betting.
Online Casino to Make a New Millionaire
InterCasino's Progressive Jackpots have had many a big winner over the years but now they are setting a very special record with a new high jackpot totaling nearly $2 million.
Jackpots at the world's largest online casino have steadily increased at a phenomenal rate and the exciting trend is set to continue. Peter Marcus, a spokesman for Intercasino, said, “With the combined jackpot total close to $2 million, we are positive that wonderful things are about to happen to several lucky InterCasino customers – it is only a matter of time before someone's life is changed for the better.'
InterCasino.com is one of the few online casinos that pay out their jackpots immediately and in full which has helped them become a global sensation.
Online Casino Poker Site Offers New Banking Options
Safety is such a big issue in the online gaming market and CelebPoker.com is taking that extra step to ensure that its customers’ money is in safe hands.
Two new banking options offer safety and security for customers CelebPoker’s customers: Click2Pay offers players various ways of managing their money transfers, including deposit and withdraw to their account. This service is crucial for bankroll management and keeping track of play success at CelebPoker.com.
The addition of these services to the WebDollar system on CelebPoker is seen as a major benefit to the diverse options that players have while playing at the online casino.
3/8/2006 gambling news:
Online Casino Offers Million Pound Mobile Prize
Wild Jack Mobile Casino (WJMC) has announced the release of ‘Major Millions’, a progressive jackpot slot games with an unprecedented maximum jackpot for a mobile game of £1 million.
To play, UK players simply need to text WJMC to 89895, follow the registration process and then download the WJMC 'Casino Lobby'. Players with compatible phones can quickly be spinning the three reels of this classic slot machine 'style' game to have a chance of becoming an instant millionaire.
The enticement of mobile gaming is proving to be a success for the online casino industry. Simon Swanson, UK Country Manager for WJMC said, “We are delighted to be the first to market with this exciting game which offers players the chance to become instant millionaires. Major Millions is one of eight games available from WJMC which brings the thrills and excitement of the casino to the palm of your hand.”
Wild Jack also offers other mobile games such as Roulette, Blackjack, Treasure Nile, Fruit Fiesta, Jacks or Better and Scratch Card.
Online Casino Gives Away Another Luxury Poker Vacation
Kiwi Casino Poker has announced the second winner of a luxury vacation to compete in the New Zealand Poker Championships. The most recent winner, Jason Rosenberg from Las Vegas, will be flown to New Zealand to compete against current World Series of Poker Champion, Joe Hachem and 2006 Crown Casino Aussie Millions winner and New Zealand native, Lee Nelson.
Rosenberg said of his surprise win, ‘I am so excited! I lived in New Zealand for a year and have always wanted to come back. I am so grateful for the opportunity and am honoured to be representing Kiwi Casino Poker in the New Zealand Poker Championships.’
There are still opportunities to join these players if you can reign supreme at one of Kiwi Casino Poker’s satellite tournaments. The online casino is giving away one of these fantastic packages for every forty players in five super satellites being held between March 31 and July 21. That’s potentially 60 of these fantastic packages up for grabs.
Live and Breathe Poker at Online Casino
River Belle is set to send one of its players to compete in the 2006 World Series of Poker. To enter players should log on to RiverBellePoker.com and click on the WSOP Multi Event promotion. The final contest to determine the River Belle player who will go to the WSOP takes place on May 20. All of River Belle’s players will be able to enter the qualifying tournaments, with buy-ins from as low as $1.
After winning the contest to become the River Belle representative, the lucky winner will then have two months to practice before they travel to Las Vegas in July. Included in the winner’s package will be up to 60 nights of accommodation, round trip tickets for the player and their guest, plus $3,500 in spending money.
'This is an opportunity to live and breath poker for two months,' said Tim Johnson, Chairman of Carmen Media Group, owners of Belle Rock Entertainment. 'This promotion is available to every single River Belle player. I wish everyone the best of luck as always, but in this case luck will only get your foot in the door. The rest is up to your skill and passion for poker.'
Bringing Women to the Poker Table
Online sportsbook, Betfair is ready to unleash a massive marketing drive in the hope of attracting more women to online poker. To help in their quest, Betfair has included a prize incentive of a handsome male poker dealer to pay a visit to your home.
It is meant as a lighthearted way to introduce women aged over 21 to the poker brand and Betfair has unveiled a series of five weekly online tournaments, which allow 500 women the chance to play for free every Tuesday night, for a cash prize of £500.
The overall winner of the live tournament will go on to play at the World Series of Poker Ladies Event in Las Vegas in the summer, whilst the runners up will compete against one another for a prize pool of £3,000.
Online Casino Opens Irish Open Poker Market
The excitement is beginning to build for Europe’s oldest poker tournament and fittingly Irish bookmaker, Paddy Power has been the first to announce odds for the Irish Open. The event, to be held in Dublin in April, is one of the richest in Europe with a 1€ million guaranteed prize pool.
The good news for punters who attack the early market odds is that Paddy Power is providing extra value by offering a refund on outright bets placed before the start of the tournament for any player who makes the final table but does not win. Stakes will also be refunded if a bet is placed on a player who does not play in the event.
Currently, only outright bets are being offered but as things progress a host of other markets will spring up. The final table of the event is to be broadcast on Sky Sports 2 on Easter Monday at 9pm with Paddy Power offering ‘running bets’ throughout the night.
Online Casino Opens Doors for the Ladies
In an industry that has been reputedly male dominated for so long, Drawdead.com has further enhanced the recent drive to make women feel more welcome in the online gaming world by launching a new 'Ladies Only' Freeroll Poker Forum.
Sara Freeman, who was recently named Vice President of Sales and Marketing for drawdead.com said of the new innovation, “We are excited to introduce the newly opened LadyFreerollerz.com and feel that this expansion will continue to pave the way for a more prominent presence of women in today's poker world.”
The members of Ladyfreerollerz.com are eligible to participate in the private online freeroll poker league sponsored by FreeRollerz.com. Here the ladies will be able to play for free whilst still having the chance to win money. The freerollerz league combines the exclusive feel of smaller private freeroll tournaments and the excitement of competing with your fellow forum members.
Betty Leondhart, Chief Administrator for Ladyfreerollerz.com said, “This forum is an awesome place for women to get together, discuss poker strategies, poker games, and for women to feel the camaraderie that men have in the poker world.”
3/3/2006 gambling news:
African Charity Project by Online Casino Nears Completion
A school in Malawi, Africa funded by charitable donations from Slotland.com is almost complete and has announced that it will be looking to start filling teaching positions very soon.
Despite a bad winter in Africa, local villagers have worked through the conditions to ensure that the school will be ready to open next month.
The project, named “New Hope for a New Generation”, will provide education and opportunities for the children of an impoverished African village.
“We’re so happy that the Slotland.com community is able to make such a big difference in the lives of so many people,” said Slotland.com Manager Hannah Morante. “People tell us all the time that they choose to play slots at Slotland.com because they know it is a different kind of online casino.”
“The whole village has pulled together to get our school built,” said Project Manager, Tereza Mirovicova.
The Return of the Richest Poker Game of All Time
Purportedly the largest head-to-head poker game of all-time saw billionaire banker Andy Beal match $20 million against a rotating cast of the best poker players in the world, which included Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harman, Todd Brunson and Ted Forrest.
Last month, Beal played the world’s best poker players for stakes of $30,000/$60,000 and $50,000/$100,000 at Wynn Las Vegas. Average pot size per hand was over $300,000 with the largest pot weighing in at $1.9 million. To play in a game of such astronomical stakes, twenty of the world’s best poker players had to combine their bankrolls. They played three series of matches in February where each side started with at least $10 million on the table, with millions more in reserve. Wins and losses ran as high as $10 million in a single day, and one session featured two $8 million swings.
This game was the latest instalment of the “richest poker game of all time”, which started in 2001 when banker Beal, became interested in poker. Beal developed into a world-class high-stakes hold‘em player, who once won $12 million in one day.
The only person allowed to document this historic rematch “hand by hand” was Bluff poker columnist Michael Craig, author of The Professor, The Banker and The Suicide King: Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Time (Warner Books, June 2005). Craig himself was influential in arranging the multimillion dollar rematch and at Beal’s insistence, agreed to sit at the table to document the 2006 games.
To read an excerpt of the story please visit www.bluffmagazine.com
Pokerstars Launch Their Battleships
PokerStars.com, have launched their latest heads-up innovation – ‘The EPT Battleship Poker Championship’.
Players of the new game will be offered the opportunity to play heads up matches both online and live, with contestants playing face-to-face, laptop-to-laptop in the style of the well known board game ‘Battleship’.
The two-day tournament will take place during the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Grand final in Monte Carlo next week. Some of the best poker players and stars from around the world will be in attendance for the climax of the richest poker tour in Europe.
There are 32 seats available for the two-day tournament which starts at 4pm on March 9. The finals and semi finals are to be projected live for everyone to tune in to the action. You can also follow the match on PokerStars.com by clicking the Battleship event from the main lobby. There will also be running commentary from guest commentator, Lee Jones, PokerStars.com Poker Room Manager.
Superior Poker to Sponsor Spring Break
CasinoAffiliatePrograms.com has announced that its top poker affiliate program, Superior Poker, will sponsor the “Interactive Drink Competition” at the CAP Spring Break 2006 in Miami Beach.
Each year, CAP brings together the best affiliates and operators in the online gambling industry and over 100 top affiliates and Casino Affiliate Programs Certified Partners have attended the event in previous years.
“We are pleased to welcome Superior Poker as a silver sponsor at CAP Spring Break 2006,” said Lou Fabiano, founder of CasinoAffiliatePrograms.com and CAP Spring Break. “The interactive drink competition’s clever format is sure to be a great way for attendees to network while having fun together.”
Registration is free for all affiliates or potential affiliates, as well as CAP Certified Partners. Affiliates and Casino Affiliate Programs Certified Partners can register at: http://www.capspringbreak.com/registration/
Online Casino Couple: To Have and to Hold’em
Having met online at Partypoker.com and fallen in love, Jackie Johnson and Gary Suffir have now announced that they are planning to start a family and that all bets are for a baby called “Chip”.
The couple met online in September 2004 in a $30 Omaha game in the site's virtual chat rooms after Jackie defended Gary in a row over a bad beat. They remained in contact and after a few months Jackie moved to New York City from Las Vegas to live with Gary in March 2005.
Now a year later, they are getting hitched at the Paris Hotel in Vegas on March 7th, with famous poker ambassador Mike Sexton as a witness, and it seems the sound of baby feet could soon be heard.
‘We thought that if the baby is a boy we could call it Mike after Mike Sexton but in honor of the way we met we'll call him Chip,’ said a smiling Gary. ‘If our baby is a girl we may call her Linda after Linda Johnson, the first lady of poker, but Queenie is a possibility.’
Jackie, a 27 year-old artist, said, ‘We're just so happy to have found each other and we can't wait to start a family.’
PartyPoker.com spokesman Warren Lush said, ‘It is with great delight that we are hosting what we believe is the world's first online poker wedding. We hope that they'll have and to hold'em forever and ever.’
Bet24.com Join Ongame Poker Network
Ongame have announced the addition of Bet24.com to its poker service. Bet24.com members will now be able to play poker against the more than seven million players already connected to Ongame Network including players from PokerRoom.com and Coral Eurobet.
Bet24.com, a sportsbetting, casino and poker service, is now promising their members bigger and better tournaments, improved software functionality and greater player liquidity. “We are delighted to be able to further expand our poker network,” commented Ongame CEO Patrik Selin. “Our aim is to create Europe’s largest online poker community.”
Holger Kristiansen, CEO of Nordic Betting Ltd, was equally enthused in saying, “We are looking forward to becoming part of the Ongame Network and to offer our customers high activity around the clock, big tournaments and a lot of other new poker features. Together with a new, fresher site layout we are sure that our co-operation with Ongame will enable us to grow our poker business tremendously,” added.
Bet24.com Join Ongame Poker Network
Ongame have announced the addition of Bet24.com to its poker service. Bet24.com members will now be able to play poker against the more than seven million players already connected to Ongame Network including players from PokerRoom.com and Coral Eurobet.
Bet24.com, a sportsbetting, casino and poker service, is now promising their members bigger and better tournaments, improved software functionality and greater player liquidity. “We are delighted to be able to further expand our poker network,” commented Ongame CEO Patrik Selin. “Our aim is to create Europe’s largest online poker community.”
Holger Kristiansen, CEO of Nordic Betting Ltd, was equally enthused in saying, “We are looking forward to becoming part of the Ongame Network and to offer our customers high activity around the clock, big tournaments and a lot of other new poker features. Together with a new, fresher site layout we are sure that our co-operation with Ongame will enable us to grow our poker business tremendously,” added.