James Mitchell Wins The 2010 Irish Poker Open! (€600,000)

James Mitchell  got a fair slice of luck on the final table today, but managed to complete an exhilarating victory to take the trophy back home to England, following in the footsteps of Neil Channing back in 2008. Much consolation must go to Paul Carr though, who put up a brave performance today and was incredibly unlucky to not win today after playing some exceptionally aggressive poker heads up.

 

Congratulations to all our other finalists including Rob Sherwood who manage to also take home an extra €100,000 for winning the PaddyPower Sole Survivor contest. This gave an enjoyable twist to the tournament and certainly increased the entertainment for those watching.

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Today: Winner Poker $1k Cash Freeroll

Qualification for today's $1,000 Cash Freeroll at Winner Poker is about to close. If you haven't heard yet, you can qualify for only one player point! The freeroll is set for April 6 at 19:35 GMT. Interested players will only need to sign up for a Winner Poker account through PokerNews, make a minimum deposit and earn one player point to use as 'buy-in' to the tournament. Just look for PokerNews $1k Freeroll under the Scheduled tab of the Winner Poker lobby. While you are there, you will notice we've got other exclusive promotions at Winner Poker. More details at PokerNews Freerolls.
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PartyPoker's Gladiator Promotion

Step into the arena for 30 days of exciting poker action from 3rd March to 1st April. Hit the minimum daily target of 10 points for just five days and you’ll claim a much-deserved entry into a $10,000 freeroll. The more days you earn points on, the bigger your prize will be so don’t rest on your laurels: there’s up to $7,500 in cash to be won.

Finally, we've added a massive incentive for the most dedicated players. Earn 2,000 points every day for the full 30 days and you’ll win an exclusive $12,500 WSOP® main event package which includes the $10,000 main event buy-in, hotel and hospitality and $1,000 spending money. You don’t even have to earn points on consecutive days to be in with a shot at our colossal prizes: we’ll just count up the number of days where you made the targets during the promotion.

 

You don’t even have to earn points on consecutive days to be in with a shot at our colossal prizes: we’ll just count up the number of days where you made the targets during the promotion. For example, if you earn 10 points every day for 10 days, take five days off and then earn 10 points on 10 more days of the promotion, you’ll get the prize for earning 10 points on 20 days. Keep tabs on how many points you’ve picked up so far in The Gladiator by checking your account. Only the bravest players will be rewarded so opt in from 3rd March and rise to the challenge of The Gladiator.

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The Nightly Turbo: Jerry Buss Going Pro

Is Jerry Buss giving up basketball? We'll answer that, tell you about the robbery of a poker game in Austin and more, all in tonight's Nightly Turbo.
PokerStars has announced plans for a cash-game television show called "The Big Game." We'd tell you all about it here, but we've written about it and we're not too keen on repeating ourselves. We've got Sunday Majors results today. It is Monday, after all. Check them out in the Sunday Briefing. PokerNostrum will be covering the 2010 World Series of Poker. We've been doing this for a while now, so you can expect extensive coverage of all the bracelet events.
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Governor of Sicily Raffaele Lombardo wants to respect the commitments for the Casino of Taormina

The Region of Sicily has absolutely not renounced the idea, repeatedly proposed and sought to reopen the Casino in Taormina. We have not forgotten the commitments made by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said the Governor. In pre-election pact the PDL party which supports Berlusconi run together with with the MPA, the Movement leaded by the Governor of Sicily, Raffaele Lombardo. The reopening of the casino of Taormina, province of Messina, was one of the points agreed. A casino in Taormina means with no doubts a boost to the local tourism industry making the casino the first one in south of Italy.
http://www.casinoraptor.com

New laws in Nevada

New laws in Nevada It has been speculated that the Nevada Gaming Control Board is now creating rules to govern the land-based casino operators once the federal government regulates the online gambling industry and gives the green light to Nevada legislators which would then permit Las Vegas casinos to legally offer gambling over the Internet.
While their are strict guidelines when it comes to advertising the casinos in Las Vegas, the laws are unclear when it comes to online gambling and advertising over the Internet. The NGCB as well as government legislators plan to draft rules and regulations for the online gambling industry. They want to make sure that all of the rules and regulations in Las Vegas and the rest of Nevada are up-to-date. Once online casino gambling is legal within the United States, the land-based casinos will rush to enter the new market.
The NGCB wants to make sure that the same rules and protections are in place for online gambling that protect land casino operators, their employees, and patrons in the state of Nevada. The casino operators in Las Vegas have been able to advertise free casino games because online gambling is legally a grey area in Nevada.
http://www.casinoraptor.com

IT analysts stole £33,000 from London casinos

Two IT contractors have admitted using their insider knowledge to cheat casinos out of thousands of pounds by printing false winning betting slips.

Andrew Owen Ashley, 30, Nimesh Bhagat, 31, both from London, admitted theft between July and September 2007.

They received 12 month suspended prison sentences at Croydon Crown Court.

The scam centred on remote betting terminals at casinos that enable customers to place bets without being at the roulette table.

These men not only used their intimate knowledge of two complex systems to break the law and make these fraudulent claims, they also breached the trust of their employers  

Those who make winning bets are given a printed ticket with details of their credit that can then be cashed.

They reprogrammed the machines to print out winning vouchers for sums of up to £600, whatever the outcome on the wheel.

But they were caught out when a sharp-eyed cashier realised a payout was impossible as only £10 had been wagered at odds of 35-1.

Officials traced a string of suspicious wins back to the two contractors, who were employed as problem analysts.

Ashley, of Catford, south-east London, and Bhagat, of Balham, south-west London, each pleaded guilty to theft under the Theft Act 1968. The pair were also ordered to undertake 200 hours of community service and pay back around £16,000 each.

The convictions are believed to be the first where people have been caught mishandling the computer technology behind Britain's gaming industry.

Det Insp Ann-Marie Waller said: "These men not only used their intimate knowledge of two complex systems to break the law and make these fraudulent claims, they also breached the trust of their employers."
http://www.casinoraptor.com

Calvin Ayre attacks Partygaming

Calvin Ayre was on the record since the early 2000’s as saying that privately owned corporate structures are better for the on-line gaming industry than a public structure. He was on a panel with a few executives during the GIGSI conference in Montreal in spring 2006. During my debate I stuck to my position that the flexibility of a private structure gave advantages to private companies and was accused of over stating the size of Bodog (remember I was on the cover of Forbes Billionaires issue a few months earlier) or some such other logic on what my real agenda was.
Less than 6 months later all the public companies, including the ones he was debating with, were out of the US market, one was in fact already shut down. Now, this caused a lot of pain to a lot of people, but the reason is because these same companies are now complaining that the private companies like Poker Stars, Full Tilt (and the soon to be launched European based Bodog Poker Network, run by respected former OnGame CEO Patrik Selin) are somehow competing unfairly by not leaving the US market….

 The real problem the public companies have is not just the private companies (their complaining is now proving that they all agree with me related to the US market by the way), it’s that this same issue is inherent in all other markets. They are all still the big lumbering inflexible beasts they were before and they are all still in an industry that rewards flexibility. But its even worse than this. The same boring competency that you need to sell to the public markets in order to maximize your stock values, well its boring and it makes your brand the same way doesn’t it. Maybe Party should consider changing their name to “40 Winks Gaming” or “Blue Hair Gaming” to get more on brand with how they operate.

Summing up Ayre thinks the existing public companies, with all the fussing around about mergers and other such things that waste time and energy, are going to be slowly passed by aggressive private companies who are nimble and have fun exciting brands. Time well prove if is right or wrong.

http://www.casinoraptor.com

CryptoLogic and Betsson: 3 year agreement

Cryptologic after a similar agreement with Bet24, has signed a three-year agreement to license at least nine of its most popular online betting games to Betsson Malta Ltd. The move means Cryptologic’s suite of games will appear on the websites of www.betsson.com, www.casinoeuro.com and www.cherrycasino.com.
The deal will provide CryptoLogic with recurring revenue based on wagers placed by Betsson's customers. Justin Thouin, Vice-President of CryptoLogic, said: "Betsson is the latest customer to sign up to CryptoLogic's games, underscoring the value our innovative and rich content brings to operators worldwide. With every new licensee CryptoLogic not only expands its global reach but also strengthens its base for generating long term revenues."
Betsson offers a wide range of first-class online gambling products and games in a safe and user-friendly gaming environment. Its product portfolio currently includes: Sportsbook, Betting Exchange, Casino, Poker, Games, Scratchcards and Bingo.

Magnus Grinneback, Business Area Director of Betsson.com, said: "We are confident CryptoLogic's highly innovative games will enhance our customers' gaming experience and attract more demand. We look forward to working with CryptoLogic to help us achieve just that."

http://www.casinoraptor.com 

Casino Gaming Stock Quotes

 CryptoLogic Ltd,an Internet casino and branded gaming software company reported a narrower fourth quarter loss contributed to lower expenses. A loss of $24.8 million or $1.97 a share has been reported with quarterly revenue down 13% to $9.9 million due to lower contributions from Internet radio and Internet poker businesses.

“2009 was a tough year as a number of adverse factors including a global economic downturn overshadowed the company’s progress in implementing its innovative new strategy to reduce costs and return to growth. At the same time, new business momentum remains encouraging as branded games continue to roll out and hosted casino licensees implement new initiatives. With new licensing activity staying strong and the overall online casino/gaming market showing some improvement, we look to the year with cautious optimism.”

CryptoLogic said they expect to further reduce overhead cost in 2010 by implementing additional measures to streamline operations and lower overall employee expenses.

 

As well as integrating its Cyprus office with existing operations in Malta. As a result of the relocation being completed later this year the company hopes to enhance customer service and back office capability. Staff based in Cyprus are being offered the opportunity to relocate in Malta but rumors suggest the deadline for this has been postponed.

In addition the company is also actively developing gaming content tailored for the rapidly expanding mobile Internet, social networking and 3-D environments with its first 3-D games anticipated to be launched in Q2 2010.

 

WYNN 67.74   +1.85   +2.81%

LVS         17.87   +0.69   +4.02%

MGM 11.27   +0.50   +4.64%

BYI         39.05   +0.39   +1.01%

ISLE   7.76   +0.14   +1.84%

ASCA 16.12   +0.36   +2.28%

PENN 24.26   +0.21   +0.87%

CRYP   3.04   -0.01   -0.33%

IGT         17.10   -0.07   -0.41%

WMS 38.55   +0.20   +0.52%

BYD   8.16   +0.21   +2.64%

PNK   8.54   +0.29   +3.52%

MCRI   8.34   +0.40   +5.04%

RIV           0.00   +0.00    +5.04%

CNTY   2.43   +0.05   +2.10%

 

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Partygaming incentive plan

In accordance with PartyGaming’s long-term incentive plans for Executive Directors, the following awards over the Company’s ordinary shares of 0.015 pence each (“Shares”) have today been granted under the PartyGaming Plc Executive Share Option Plan (“ESOP”) to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Group Finance Director.
Jim Ryan, Chief Executive Officer, has been awarded an option over 250,000 Shares and Martin Weigold, Group Finance Director, has been awarded an option over 200,000 Shares. These options vest subject to the growth in the Company’s Clean Earnings per Share over the three-year period 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2012. The threshold for vesting, at which 25% will vest, will be 5% Clean EPS annual growth over the three-year period, rising on a straight-line basis to 100% vesting if annual Clean EPS growth equals or exceeds 15% over the period. Each option is exercisable at 310.10 pence per Share and has been awarded at nil-cost. Unless exercised following the satisfaction of the aforementioned performance condition, these options will lapse on 5 March 2020.
This is the third award to be granted under the ESOP to Mr Ryan. The first grant was made in October 2008 over 645,100 Shares and the second award was made in April 2009 over 125,000 Shares. This is the fourth award granted under the ESOP to Mr Weigold. The first award was made in May 2007 over 88,360 Shares, the second award was made in March 2008 over 171,402 Shares and the third award was made in April 2009 over 337,500 Shares.
http://www.casinoraptor.com

Casino online: the new generation

Microgaming is one of the leading online casino software providers in the world, and they have once again struck gold with their Cashapillar slot. The game is a five-reel, 100 pay line slot that can be played at $.01 or $.02 a coin.
The maximum number of coins that can be played is 1,000, equalling $20 a spin. At the lower $.01 per coin, the game can be played at a $10 a spin max. It is inside the game, however, that players are getting lost in the world of caterpillars.
http://www.casinoraptor.com

Gaming Stock News

Ladbrokes The new week of trading is about to begin on the London Stock Exchange and that is good news for gaming company Ladbrokes. The gaming giant had a slight decrease in price to finish last week. On Friday, Ladbrokes stock closed at 145.90. That was a loss of 2.50, or 1.68% for the day.
The company had spent some time as the second highest gaming stock last year, but quickly relinquished that title back to William Hill. For William Hill, it was good news on Friday. Although it was not a monumental increase, William Hill stock rose .40, to 195. While not a bad price, it pales in comparison to the highest gaming stock on the market. PartyGaming has long been the most stable of all the gaming stocks, and Friday the company soared over the 300 mark.
The gain of 8.30, or 2.81%, helped PartyGaming end the week at 303.30, easily the highest of all gaming stocks. PartyGaming spent much of 2009 cleaning up their problems with the US. Once they settled with the US, the company began to expand by acquiring other gaming companies. The successful 2009 campaign has made PartyGaming one of the top investments on the London market.
 http://www.casinoraptor.com

Playtech and Ladbrokes Bingo

Ladbrokes Bingo are the fastest growing online bingo room and the company has a long history of player security, great promotions and a variety of online bingo games.
Check them out and you can claim a welcome bonus £20 free when you deposit just £5. It was made public today that major online Bingo Software Company, Virtue fusion has been purchased by Playtech.The company which power Ladbrokes Bingo is believed to have gone for around £36million. Playtech are slowly building their own position with successful Poker and Casino clients and the purchase of Virtue Fusion suggests things are going very well.
For the new owner, Playtech, this deal can only be a good thing. Virtue fusion is considered by many to be the market leader in Bingo software and they were recently recognised for this at the recent iGaming Business awards.

www.casinoraptor.com

The leggend

Poker legend, Brunson said; “I’m supposed to play in the Premier League tournament that is being filmed at the M Casino here in Vegas. It is the most widely watched TV show in Europe, with a $100,000 buy-in. That would be great exposure for DoylesRoom but there is no way I’ll be 100% recovered from all that dental surgery so I’ll have to cancel.”

Doyle Brunson, is to take a break from all poker activites following lengthy dental surgery it was announced earlier this week. Brunson spent 6 hours having dental problem corrected and is expected to make a full recovery. ‘Texas Dolly’ is giving himself plenty of time to recover, though, and has withdrawn from the forthcomig PartyPoker Premier League event in Las Vegas.Brunson also noted in his blog that; “There is no use playing unless you are at your best. The competition has gotten so good you need to feel good physically as well as mentally to have a chance to win. My gut feeling is just chill out until the WSOP and try to have a big series.”
The 76 year old poker legend recently returned to the United States after attending the London Affiliates Conference (LAC) in late January. We were lucky enough to catch up with Doyle for a chat at that conference so stay tuned for our exclusive interview with the great man here at Poker News Headlines.

www.pokernostrum.com

California dream

WHILE-California is traditionally one of the more liberal states in the nation, there are those who oppose online poker regulations. Some lawmakers believe that Internet gambling could be dangerous and create many more problem gamblers.

THE STATE-of California has been one of the leaders when it comes to casino gambling expansion in the US. The Senate Governmental Organization Committee begins an informal hearing on Tuesday, and many members of land-based casinos will be present. Among those that are scheduled to be heard from are ISP's, tribal leaders, and problem gambling representatives.

CALIFORNIA-lawmakers began talking about regulated online poker in the last quarter of 2009, and the idea is gaining steam in the new legislative season. California is looking for ways to help balance the state budget, and online poker could be a tremendous asset to legislators.

CURRENTLY-online poker is one of the trendiest activities across the world. With the US currently having an unregulated Internet gambling industry, most of the action coming from US players is going to offshore gaming operators.
http://www.pokernostrum.com

The new channel

HEADSUP ENTERTAINMENT-decided to wait until March to launch the new channel so as not to take away the attention of the Winter Olympics from the public.
THE NEW CHANNEL- will be sponsored by leading online poker operators, the first one to jump on the bandwagon being 888 Holdings. This gambling operator will sponsor commercials and content among other things.
LIVE FEEDS-from top Canadian poker tournaments will be seen on the new poker site, while interesting shows on poker’s history – with an emphasis on the Canadian poker industry – will be screened. The idea of the new poker channel is simple – to track poker tournaments as they occur around Canada and report live on these events.
THESE EVENTS-will be complemented by regular shows that will bring a good balance to the channel. These will include clashes between poker greats during the Canadian Open Poker Championships. The new CanadianPokerPlayer.tv is one of the most exciting projects to launch in the North American poker industry in a long time, and is set to bring the history and action of the game to millions of players who will enjoy the local flavor.
SOME OF THE TOP-players in action to be seen on the channel will include Joe Hachem, Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Laak and Huck Seed. “We believe we will see changes in the way sponsors react to their customers and having the ability to reach large scale audiences with on-the-spot promotions,” said The Chief Executive Officer of HeadsUp Entertainment, Kelly Kellner. “I am excited to be able to deliver a medium for innovation of content delivery.”

www.pokernostrum.com

LAC London 2010 the industry biggest networking bash

A personal report by Francesco Greco
 The most important convention of the year, now in its ninth edition, has finished Saturday. It's 3AM of Sunday after C-Planet's party at Conventry. I'm drinking a beer with my fellas by 7am we need to be at Gatwick, South terminal. Common situation for igaming people after this LAC 2010.   
Business Raptors Ltd with 4 representatives, including myself, was there at all events. When there is a shaking hands or a dance at a party with
representatives of the fair sex of potential partners: Business Raptors will be there, always there tireless and operational at all levels.

Among the stands many friends and former colleagues. Vincenzo Dente and Domenico Gallotta of Betclick discussing where igaming business is going form an
Italian point of view, Uri Levi, and George and Kyprianos from Redkings, EGO actually, along with my mentor Michael Golembo. They are doing extremely well in Limassol
Cyprus. And then the legendary Pedro Calderon affiliate manager of
Chilipoker, a close friend of my Maltese period. I see the French friends of Gambling-Affiliation always present and highly efficient as ever.
A warm greeting to President Fabrice and CEO Antoine. And John Benjamin of ChanceRoom professional as usual. Briefly Lac in London is not just business but also a way, a spot where the daily contact friends on MSN or Skype, for once materialize and become what they are: friends. In front of a beer we talk business's and life and how the market has changed in recent years.

London Affiliate Conference in London is not just meet old friends but an opportunity to make new friends and drawing new business scenarios. I will make a few names Claire Letouzey, Affiliate Relationship Manager of Roxy Affiliates, Inbal Cohen Affclub.com, Itai Loewenstein, boss of Kamaya Holdings Ltd, Diego Di Giorno of Globet, Jonathan Lee of WnXwn.com, Meital Hillel of Affeurope, Sophia Lai of SEGA and many others. Let me thank you for your patience to read my this very personal report I need to come back on Skype and MSN to harvest what we have plant in these 3 days.

Business Raptors contacts Francesco greco and Carlo stumpo

Business Raptors Ltd appointed Francesco Greco and Carlo Stumpo as Web Strategist and CEO to design and develop the company’s online presence adhering to the business development strategy. Busienss Raptors is an Igaming business solutions provider.
Carlo Stumpo, MSc Software Engineering, has been appointed CEO,  of Business Raptors Ltd, in 2009. He will be responsible for Corporation’s Marketing, External and Internal Communications as well as Investor Relations. Carlo Stumpo will report to President of Business Raptors Ltd
Francesco Greco,MA Philosophy and Cognitive Science, has been hired by Business Raptors as Web Stategy consultant to design and develop a company’s online presence adhering to the business development strategy.

EPT Deauville Day 1b: Pagano strikes again

339 RUNNERS- Today's Day 1b field at the Casino Barriere went and blew it out the water. Once all the late registrations and so on were over with, 429 players had paid their money and taken their Day 1b chances, bringing the total number of runners to an incredible 768 - smashing last year's record figure of 645 to smithereens. As is traditional for the second start day, the big names were rather heavier on the ground than they were on Day 1a. Team PokerStars Pros who ventured out of their hotel rooms included Dario Minieri, Vicky Coren, Greg Raymer, Luca Pagano, Alex Kravchenko, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Jude Ainsworth, and - after around three hours, sparking concern that he would miss this start day as well after failing to show up as scheduled yesterday - Peter Eastgate. Also gracing the felt were the likes of Freddy Deeb, Isabelle Mercier, Rob Hollink, and Joe Beevers. It was an impressive turnout by any standards.
LUCA PAGANO AND DARIO MINIERI- The Italian Pro got off to an excellent start, almost doubling in the first level, and by level 8 he'd amassed over 200,000. He dipped a little towards the end of the day, but still managed to be top of the Day 1b pops come bedtime, on 198,500. Pagano's fellow countryman and Team PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri shot into a monstrous early lead after he turned a straight to bust Dutch bracelet winner Marc Naalden in the biggest pot of the tournament up to that point. Minieri couldn't hang on to his gigantic stack, though, and finished the day on 64,000.
CHIPLEADER CEZARESCU- Former poker press member turned PokerStars Sponsored Player Julien Brecard had an excellent start to the day. A pair of sneakily played aces early in the day set him up for a good run, although he dropped below his 65,000 high point later in the day. The winner of the People's Choice award at last night's French Poker Awards eventually went through to Day 2 with 58,900. Folks who failed to make it through included Brice Cournut, Vitaly Lunkin, Ricardo Sousa, Jeff Sarwer, and Joep van den Bijgaart. Happy folks who go through, on the other hand, included Peter Eastgate, Juha Helppi, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier and Alex Kravchenko. Day 1a chip leader Robert Cezarescu remains the man to beat going into Day 2 on 216,900. Hot on his heels are Vladimir Geshkenbein, Luca Pagano and Ludovic Lacay, among others

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Pokernostrum and Italian Carrier Cavour

Italy's newest aircraft carrier, the Cavour, will set sail Tuesday for Haiti to provide logistical and and operational support to relief efforts there, navy sources said on Monday. Pokernostrum.com supports the Italian effort in this Internation race of solidarity. Italy besides USA is the only nation who decided to take action sending an aircraft carrier to save the day in Haiti.

Captain Gianluigi Reversi will command the mission which will see the participation of the military corps of engineers who will be bringing some 100 vehicles, including earth-moving and construction equipment. The mission is a joint one with Brazil which will provide doctors and nurses for the ship's fully-equipped onboard hospital which has various operating rooms and wards for intensive care and first aid.

The hospital staff will be picked up when the Cavour makes a technical stop in Brazil after crossing the Atlantic. This will be the maiden mission for the Cavour which entered service in June of last year. The ship has a crew of 530, although it can host up to 1,200 people, and carries up to 20 helicopters and aircraft. Aside from its state-of-the-art medical facilities, the Cavour, which can cruise at 30 knots, can generate enough electricity for 6,000 homes. Italian government and his PM Silvio Berlusconi is showing once again an International commitment to bring peace and aid in the world.
 http://www.pokernostrum.com

EPT Deauville: Pokernostrum report

Fifth season for the EPT sponsored by Pokerstars. The tournament will take place in Casino Barriere in Deauville, France, from 20th to 24th of January. A remarkable field of 339 runners was assembled for Day 1a of the EPT Deauville, putting the event easily on pace to eclipse last year's record-setting field once again. Some familiar faces in the crowd when the cards went flying shortly after noon. We recognize Luana Spataro from Italy, Team PokerStars Pros Katja Thater, Arnaud Mattern, and Vlad Zguba, along with a few other notables.

Mike "Timex" McDonald made the trip over from Canada, and even American Craig Bergeron came out to play. The action was fairly measured and calm to start the day, but things accelerated to a blistering pace by the time the clock hit zero. A few players had their hands on significant chip leads today, but only one of them can take that title into the overnight hours. Tonight, that honor appears to belong to the late-surging Robert Cezarescu. His count of 216,900 should put him ahead of the trailing pack that includes Vladimir Geshkenbein, Jamel Maistriaux, and Martin Kabrhel.

That's about all we have for you from Day 1a. We'll be right back here in the casino at noon tomorrow for the second flight of starters. We expect a full house, and we hope you'll join us right back here for Day 1b.
http://www.pokernostrum.com/

4 NEW MULTI-PLATFORM GAMES FROM ZUKIDO

The slew of new games for online gamblers already released this year has been further augmented by 4 new offerings from the UK-based Zukido software developer.

The four games, Fireball Football, Mini-Rock Star, Monster Mash Dash and The Winning Line are all of the multi-lingual mini-slots genre on a no-download interface that is compatible with a wide range of platforms such as those available from Finsoft, Orbis andGTS. The new arrivals expand the Zukido inventory to 7 mini and 10 full-sized games.

Although not directly well known to punters, Zukido has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry in developing innovative Internet gambling offerings, working for various well known companies in the gaming and lottery sectors. Integrating the games into different platforms can be effected without major changes to game architecture.

The games are produced 'brand free', enabling them to be easily reskinned to a client's requirements. Currently Zukido's pproducts can be found in over 15 languages on the sites of major online gambling companies like Bet365, BetFred, Stan James, Skybet, andBingo Universal, and white labels such as The Sun Bet.
http://www.casinoraptor.com

ChanceRoom says what goes around comes around!

Online gambling operator ChanceRoom.com has dreamed up an imaginative online gambling offering that is sure to catch attention, virtually turning the giant Roue de Concorde ferris wheel into a monumental roulette wheel. Until 24 January, the giant ferris wheel on the Place des Concordes in Paris will provide virtual roulette-inspired action in which contestants will win cash prizes for guessing which number it will stop on. The Places des Concorde is the largest public square in Paris and the giant Egyptian obelisk at its center serves as the roulette-wheel pointer on ChanceRoom’s virtual game Roue de Fortune. The game designers have created a quick and easy, visually entertaining online offering using a very creative video-simulation.

Anyone can play the free game simply by clicking throught to the French language website LaRouletteDeLaConcorde.com. This special event is being coordinated by the same French PR firm that helped ChanceRoom help save Parisians from le grippe (the flu) by handing out free face masks on the streets of Paris this winter. ChanceRoom manager, John Benjamin said this week: "We wanted to use something in real life like the Roue de la Concorde for this event because we think real life can be fun!“ ChanceRoom.com operations include an online casino, poker and sports betting, all accessible with one account and with one wallet. Software provided by GTech G2 is in use in English and French versions.

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PENNSYLVANIA EXPANDS GAMBLING

The state of Pennsylvania has seriously upped the competitive ante in land gambling, legalising poker, blackjack and other table games at its casino licensees this week as it seeks to close budgetry gaps with gambling tax revenues.

Casinos in the eastern state have traditionally been restricted to offer only slot gambling. The dramatic change to a wider gambling offering is expected to take up to six months before practical implementation, but reports indicate that the move has caught the attention of several neighbouring states whose casinos will inevitably be impacted, notably New Jersey's Atlantic City.

The extended games offering will be available through 14 Pennsylvanian casinos after the Pennsylvania House voted by a margin of 103 to 89 to approve the introduction of table games. Only 12 Republicans voted for the measure, while 10 Democrats voiced their opposition to it in a vote split largely along party lines.

In the Senate, a total of 28 “yays” and 22 “nays” were recorded in a similar margin of victory, reports Associated Press.

In response to the passage, the Mason-Dixon Resort and Casino declared that it would apply for a license to open a property near the historic town of Gettysburg.

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell would have been forced into a quandary if the bill hadn’t passed. Reuters reports indicate that the state would have had to lay off nearly 1 000 of its personnel due to a lack of revenue. Under the new measure, tax funds will be raised from casinos, which will be allowed up to 250 table games, while resorts will be permitted to have up to 50. Licenses would run $16.5 million and $7.5 million, respectively. Table games are taxed at a rate of 16 percent for the first two years and 14 percent thereaft

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GOLD RALLY DELIVERS THE GOODS

The belated news emerged this week that a Greek player on the Playtech-powered Bet365 online gambling site had the best Christmas ever, thanks to a Euro 450 000 jackpot hit on the Gold Rally progressive.

The unidentified punter, who had only been with Bet365 about six months, could not believe his luck when the nine lucky symbols dropped into place.

In a telephone call shortly afterwards, the Greek player told Bet365 staff that the enormity of the win had not really sunk in yet. It all happened so fast that he did not at first realise he had achieved a life-changing win. But he did say that for him, his wife and children (three and one on the way) it would make a big difference in that he would be able to pay off his mortgage and put some of the win away for the kids.

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ONLINE GAMING IS GOOD FOR YOUR BRAIN!

Studies in Canada last year that showed that senior citizens benefitted mentally from participation in online activities have been complemented by studies in the United States which indicate that the same positive effects apply to students.

The December issue of the British science journal 'Perception' reported on a study carried out by US psychology researcher Rolf Nelson at Wheaton College, Illinois which suggested that online gaming may have a positive influence on the development of the human brain.

In Nelson's study, 20 students regularly played online games and showed signs that such activity can boost cognitive ability in different key areas.

The 20 students were presented with a spatial relations problem both before and after playing either a strategy or action game. In the second test, participants who had played the action game were found to have completed the task much faster than during their first attempt, while those who played the strategy game reportedly finished the task with a far greater degree of accuracy the second time around.

Nelson concluded that playing action games can improve cognitive speed, while puzzle and strategy games may enhance cognitive accuracy in the long-term – with the results showing strong evidence to support both claims.

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REGULATING AN EXPENSIVE BUSINESS

According to an article in the January issue of the magazine Gamesworld, the costs of regulating the British gambling industry have tripled since the advent of the Gambling Commission in 2005.

Gamesworld claims that annual costs of running the Gambling Commission now stand at GBP 15 million compared to the GBP 5 million overhead of its predecessor the Gaming Board.

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ESTONIA GEARING UP FOR ONLINE GAMBLING

2010 will likely see exciting developments in Estonia, a small Baltic nation already respected internationally for its software development capabilities that is reportedly moving into the online gambling regulatory field (see previous InfoPowa reports)

Industry observers report that several international online gaming operators and software providers with interests in Estonia are playing important roles in developing an online gambling industry in the country.

The Estonian government is likely to approach the introduction of a regulatory jurisidiction in two carefully thought out and well planned stages; starting with a liberalisation of online gambling within the country and then moving to internationalise its offerings early in 2011, welcoming foreign operators who can satisfy local regulatory requirements.

The tax revenues generated by opening up online gambling are much needed; the global recession has reportedly hit the small country hard, sending its economy and consequently tax revenues into a sharp decline

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ITALIAN SPORTSBETTING GIANT REJECTS TAKEOVER BID

Private equity companies offered Euro 600 million

The Italian business media are reporting an unsuccessful attempt to acquire control of the major Italian online sportsbetting firmSindacato Nazionale Agenzie Ippiche SpA (SNAI) by private equity firms Bridgepoint and Axa Private Equity, who reportedly offered Euro 600 million.

The publicly listed sports and horseracing betting firm has a debt burden of Euro 275 million and recently reported a net loss of Euro 9.5 million for the year to September '09, although this was a definite improvement on the same period in 2008 when the company made a loss of Euro 20.1 million.

SNAI Servizi Srl, the parent company of the betting firm, received a binding offer from the two private equity firms for its gaming and betting activities in November that would have seen Bridgepoint acquire 75 percent of the Italian group while Axa would own the remaining 25 percent.

In addition to its online operations, the Italian giant also boasts 900 branded land outlets and over 2 500 smaller gambling stalls; SNAI racetrack operations in Milan were specifically excluded from the deal.

The two would-be purchasers revealed that their offer valued SNAI at around six times its 2009 pro forma EBITDA, and said that financing for the deal would have been forthcoming from a consortium of banks.

“The board of SNAI Servizi Srl has examined the offer from Bridgepoint and Axa and has believed the offer not in its own interest,” read a statement from SNAI.
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CHINESE WARNING ON INTERNET GAMBLING

Government's primary targets in 'internet purification' remain pornography and gambling

The Chinese government used an announcement of Internet pornography prosecution statistics this week as a further opportunity to caution that online pornography, gambling and "...other sites deemed harmful to society" remained its primary targets in the "purification of the Internet."

Associated Press reports that Beijing's pervasive policing of cyberspace and attempts to block the Internet are already among the world's most stringent.

The Ministry of Public Security said this week the "purification of the Internet" and fighting of online crime are closely tied to the country's stability.

A Ministry spokesman said future efforts would focus on China-based operators of overseas-registered Web sites and companies that provide Internet services, or register domain names, or rent virtual space with 'undesirable' content. The ministry also offered rewards to members of the public who provide useful information in policing efforts.

Critics of the often draconian enforcement tactics adopted by the Chinese say that these often act as a cover for detecting and blocking sensitive political content. Its restrictions of the Internet have been referred to as the "Great Firewall of China."

Many foreign sites have been blocked by China's Internet authorities, including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and a host of other media and news Web sites.

Last year, China backed down from a requirement for all new computers to be loaded with a controversial Internet-filtering software known as Green Dam Youth Escort after a major outcry from Chinese citizens and computer companies. Ostensibly, that software had been introduced as a filter against porn.
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BIG DEAL FOR BOOKMAKER.COM

Costa Rican firm acquires an additional two sportsbetting brands

The respected and long-established online sportsbetting firm Bookmaker.com has announced its acquisition of two well known sportsbetting brands, Las Palmas and Bet Canadian for an undisclosed consideration.

Mickey Richardson, CEO of BookMaker.com said this week that the acquisition will guarantee customers premium service, benefits and advantages.

“Maintaining our growth strategy is critical for us and we continue to achieve our goals by finding strong players in the industry that can complete our wide range of products, or by sharing our benefits with customers that have been playing with other companies through the acquisition,” he said.

Richardson vowed that the transition will be transparent to Las Palmas and Bet Canadian customers, who are being notified of the change with a planned communication strategy.

Las Palmas and its parent company Horizon20 have been a successful brand since 2001, although earlier in 2009 there were complaints of payout delays which are currently being resolved. Bookmaker.com told the sportsbetting information site Sports Book Review that it will keep the brands, which it now fully owns, and bring them to the level of service appropriate to a Bookmaker/BetCRIS product. SBR commented that Bookmaker has acquired many brands that have needed aid over the years.
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