WPT Launches the Professional Poker Tour

Season One of The Professional Poker Tour(TM) (PPT) is jampacked with a stellar line-up of All-Star players, 134 of which turned out for the Tour's inaugural competition on November 9-10 at Foxwoods Resort Casino. Many of the game's favorites played a hand in the elite competition, but only six prevailed. Chris Bigler, Jennifer Harman, Daniel Harrington, John Juanda, Casey Kastle, and Ron Rose will advance to the PPT Final Table on Nov. 19 where only one will capture the very first PPT victory.

That's like saying you won the first PGA tournament in history, or ensnared the first Wimbledon title. In addition to being entitled to bragging rights and becoming the latest answer on the next generation of Trivial Pursuit, the winner will go home with $200,000, a $25,000 seat to the WPT World Championship, and some serious respect from the poker world. The tournament at Foxwoods is the first of five free-rolls that will offer a total sponsored prize pool of $2.5 million over the inaugural 2004-2005 Season. After its debut at Foxwoods, the PROFESSIONAL POKER TOUR will move on to Commerce Casino (Los Angeles), Bellagio (Las Vegas), and The Mirage (Las Vegas) in Season One of the Tour.

Launched by WPT Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WPTE), the creator of the World Poker Tour(TM) (WPT), Professional Poker Tour reflects the evolution of poker as a sport. Whereas anyone can play on the WPT, only the game's professional elite that qualify will compete on the PPT. The PPT is unique because players can earn PPT Tour Cards throughout the WPT season and begin free-roll tournament play immediately. To be eligible to play on the Professional Poker Tour Professional Poker Tour, players must have proven themselves in past poker competition: By winning or making a Final Table at a WPT event or a WPT Championship, by scoring as a top 10 point leader in WPT Player-of-the-Year rankings, by winning or placing highly in the $10K buy-in event at the World Series of Poker, by securing a spot on either CardPlayer Magazine's Card Player of the Year Top 10 list or Poker Europa's Top 10, or by being a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.

These are the players who made the first PPT final table:

Chris Bigler- From Fislisbach, Switzerland, Bigler was a business-man until he discovered his true calling-poker-just six years ago on a trip to Vegas. He has already made it to more than one World Poker Tour Final Table, including placing fifth at the Bellagios' World Poker Classic in Season One.

Jennifer Harman: To many, Harman is not just the best female player on the planet, but one of the best payers, period. She is the only woman who can claim two World Series titles, and is a regular at the biggest poker game in the world at Las Vegas' Bellagio. Harman was recently featured on WPT "Ladies Night," the WPT Final Table of the Ultimate Poker Classic.

Daniel Harrington: A former attorney who currently resides in Santa Monica, CA, Harrington began playing poker more than a decade ago mainly for the excitement and enjoyment of the game. Harrington has gone from winning state chess championships to winning a World Series title and placing in the money at several final tables.

John Juanda: A thirty-something poker player originally from Indonesia, Juanda is called a "class act" by fellow poker pros and amateurs including celebrities, who appreciate his cool demeanor at the table. He won his first of three World Series titles in 2002. Juanda became instantly famous when he placed second in the first-ever WORLD POKER TOUR tournament: the 2002 Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic. In both 2001 and 2002, Juanda was runner-up to Card Player Magazine's Tournament Player-of-the-Year.

Casey Kastle: A Slovenian American from Chicago, Kastle is the man who spearheaded the efforts to make poker tournaments non-smoking. Kastle first got involved with the game of poker by helping a church group host a charity casino night where he volunteered to deal at a blackjack table. When the event concluded, Kastle played in a $2-$4 poker game which kicked off his love of poker. Kastle placed tenth in last season's LA Poker Classic.

Ron Rose: This retired executive calls the Northwest home, though he and the WPT's own Mike Sexton, have a common link--they both went to the same high school in Dayton, Ohio. Rose is an accomplished tournament player and successful businessman who once held a seat on the stock exchange. The father of three, Rose captured first place in WPT's Battle of the Champions that aired on Super Bowl Sunday in 2004.

Stronger Euro, more people in Vegas!

Pearls of wisdom about the Euro, from IHT France...

"This not only makes a vacation to Las Vegas or Hawaii cheaper, but it lowers the price of imports from the United States."

Time to gamble, European people!

Back to Vegas stories - The city of MGM Mirage

Las Vegas, 2010. Big news about boom town!

From www.lvbusinesspress.com, by STEVEN MIHAILOVICH

If the history of Las Vegas consists primarily of casino operators outdoing each other in creating the next generation of grandiose billion dollar-plus casinos, then MGM Mirage made history last week with the announcement of its Project CityCenter development.

Approved by the company's board of directors, the plan calls for a mix of residential, hotel, and retail sites along with the ubiquitous casino to be developed in phases by 2010 along the lines of a master planned community on 66 acres of prime Strip real estate between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo casino resorts.

Unlike the construction of themed casinos, which try to recreate historical or international destinations, MGM Mirage's multi-billion dollar development aims to produce a 21st century urban district akin to Greenwich Village in New York City or Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco that will bring the company into the business of urban planning and potentially take the casino industry to the next stage of its evolution.

"This is the largest development project in the United States at this time," says Jim Murren, president and CFO of MGM Mirage. "No one has embarked on a development [of this scale] in this town. It's hard to equate it to anything. We are going to be leaders in the reshaping of the valley into a global market."

Currently named Project CityCenter, the outline was assembled with the assistance of three urban planning firms over an eight month period. The company settled on the master plan designed by New York-based Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut and Kuhn Architects (EEK), which has previously done similar work for Battery Park City in New York City and the Baltimore's Inner Harbor East.

According to Murren, MGM Mirage and EEK will be interviewing leading architects, general contractors, construction companies and related businesses from around the world over the next 18 months to flesh out the project, which is still in its infancy. Once the blueprints, materials and work schedules are developed within that period, construction will begin and is expected to last 42 months.

"You're not going to see another white tower with fancy gingerbread," Murren says. "It's going to be an icon and you will be able to see it from McCarran International Airport."

Although details remain to be worked out, the first phase will be the construction of a 4,000-room hotel and casino, along with three other 400-500-room hotels managed by independent operators, 1,650 condominium-hotel units and retail, dining and entertainment areas comprising 550,000 of the total 18 million square feet to be developed in the first stage.

Once completed, the first phase will create more than 12,000 new jobs, the largest single infusion of employment in Las Vegas history.

Estimated to cost $3- $4 billion and creating more than 7,000 construction jobs, the MGM Mirage president says the new casino and other structures will depart from the "theme" craze of the past decade and will instead target the kind of qualities that pervade notable communities and neighborhoods in cities worldwide and make them so attractive to tourists.

"I think the era of themes have come and gone in Las Vegas," he adds. "I think the word is 'feel.' It will have an urban feel that is contemporary, modern and forward-looking. The whole project will have that type of nomenclature. It will [incorporate] modern ideas, modern materials. It will recreate a city of the past but be a city of the 21st century."

To develop the project along those lines, MGM Mirage will use top developers and consultants for each of the different segments in the overall project. For instance, in creating retail shopping outlets, the casino operator will rely on consultants to design space and provide tenants that will fashion an inimitable shopping experience similar to that found in places such as Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills or Michigan Avenue in Chicago.

"I don't think Las Vegas needs another mall," says Murren. "We're going to build SoHo (in New York City). We'll get lots of retailers because they know it's revolutionary."

The same philosophy will underpin the residential development. Project CityCenter will blend condominium-hotel units that are used as hotel rooms when the occupant-occupants are away. They can also be sublet and used as fractional timeshares.

MGM Mirage has hired market research firm McKenzie and Co. to determine the market absorption rate of the residential products in order to calculate the optimal amount and timetable of each.

For the three hotels, MGM Mirage has been talking to about 12 different operators to date about entering into management contracts to run the boutique lodgings, most without a presence in Las Vegas, and even the U.S., currently. The arrangement gives MGM Mirage the advantage of tapping into the brands of the individual operators and their loyal and large customer bases.

As a result of the possibility of legalized gaming in Singapore and MGM Mirage's interest in the new jurisdiction, Murren confirmed that one of the hotel operators includes the Raffles chain of Singapore.

"We will own [the hotels] and bring in hoteliers of the type not represented here to manage them," he says. "Many are the absolute best brands in Europe and Asia."

Because of the massive scope of the project and its goal of creating an urban district, MGM Mirage and the companies ultimately involved in the various service segments will be able to draw the whole gamut of consumers, from mass market to high end.

A resident of Manhattan for 14 years, Murren compared Project CityCenter to his prior home, where people would choose whether to have a quiet dinner in the East Village or see a show in the Broadway Theater District.

"They don't have to be ultra high end [exclusively]," Murren says. "The great thing about a city is its diversity. It is vibrant and dynamic and has people of different backgrounds. Real cities have many different environments, like Manhattan. That's what I loved about the idea. We're not creating a fake city but a real one."

The mix of participants will lead to a creative palette of participation. Although still in the works, the project could allow a range of models, from leases to management contract to joint ventures.

Although the ultimate price of Project CityCenter will be determined once the plans are finalized, the inclusion of others from the start will relieve MGM Mirage of bearing the full costs while allowing the company to maximize efficiencies and realize almost immediate returns.

"We've been talking to a variety of retail, residential and [other entities]," Murren says. "Now the phone is ringing off the hook. We've getting so many calls from people saying would you please let us invest."

Bordering the Bellagio and Monte Carlo, both fully-owned MGM Mirage properties once the proposed purchase of Mandalay Resort Group is approved, Project CityCenter should eventually connect to both properties.

With the 66-acre development taking 11 acres from the Bellagio campus on the north, the first tangible physical structure to emerge from the project will be the construction of a parking garage for Bellagio employees as well as future residents. That portion is set to begin in the middle of next year and will take a year to complete.

While Project CityCenter complements similar projects announced for downtown and UNLV, the undertaking moves MGM Mirage into an almost entirely different field: urban planning. The project is to be supervised by Mirage Resorts president and CEO Bobby Baldwin.

In a city and industry renowned for its ability to replicate success, Murren says it will be difficult for competitors to copy its venture because of the huge financial wherewithal required as well as other resources. Moreover, no company has 66 acres of prime Strip property at its disposal or can afford to acquire as much with an acre currently valued at $20 million.

"We hope they do but I doubt it," he said. "We own the most and best land and have the best financial resources. It's urban planning, which is why we're not doing it alone. It's our first significant departure from the same old same old."

By pulling ahead of the pack, MGM Mirage's entry into the larger urban planning segment puts the company in somewhat unfamiliar, and thereby, riskier territory. Yet Murren contends that is how the company achieved its leading position within the city and its industry in the first place and the only way it will lead in a city whose reputation is based on innovation and imagination.

"The market here is one of a kind," he says. "We could have taken the land and turned it into a casino/hotel and been served [well]. It would have been alright but it doesn't provide the civic opportunities that this does. This is historic for our company and for Las Vegas."

More online gaming...

It should be all for today, about online gaming...

www.casinocitytimes.com
VIP Management Services announced today the launch of its much-awaited online poker product VIPpoker.com. Operated by United Poker Network, this cardroom allows all players from VIP's flagship sites VIPsports.com and BetGameDay.com to experience live, real money online poker with players from all over the world. "UPN has done a fantastic job in delivering us this room, and the initial feedback from all our players has been overwhelmingly positive," said Alistair Assheton, Managing Director of VIP.

Online poker is growing at a huge rate; according to independent studies, the industry is developing at 10% per month. VIPpoker.com is built on brand new software architecture, developed by the team of professionals at AceKicker.com. AceKicker's design is based upon the operational experience of the longest running online cardroom in the world.

CEO Randy Blumer said, "Our online poker solution is designed to meet the demands of the industry's most reputable and respected gaming organizations. We share VIPpoker's core values of honesty and integrity and are proud to be selected as their online poker provider."

The cardroom will be extensively marketed in all the regions VIP operates, including via its European division -- which recently obtained a UK bookmaker's permit, allowing it to operate a sports betting business from Great Britain.

"Obtaining our UK bookmaker's permit is a natural next step for us in seeking global approval for our products," commented Assheton. "We are committed to regulation of Internet gambling, and are also involved in the process of evolving the legislation in our home jurisdiction of Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles."

The company was founded in 1997 and has grown into an international operation with 150 employees in 3 countries. Licensed in both the UK and Netherlands Antilles, the group recently appeared on the "Power 25" list of the 25 most influential global online gaming operators; published by eGaming Review. The company operates 9 distinct gaming brands and currently has turnover in excess of $750 million per year with strong growth.

www.betbug.com
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Gambling tycoon donates £50,000 to Labour

Games of power, money and chance... From www.onlinecasinonews.com

Figures in the Electoral Commission published this Tuesday show the director of a large Online Casino company gave £50,000 to the Labour party in the months before the Gambling Bill.

Peter Coates, the director of Bet365.com donated the cash in July of this year, while the controversial proposals to reform the gambling industry were being drafted. Coates claims the timing is coincidental and has nothing to do with the Bill.


He told the Telegraph newspaper: 'I have been supporting the Labour Party all my adult life. I believe in the party's values and I shall go on supporting the Labour Party. It has nothing whatever to do with any gambling bill.”


Coates, who has given substantial cash donations to the Labour party in the past, warned that the government should not be too hasty to install Las Vegas style casinos in the UK, but that the Gambling Bill was not a slippery slope to damaging our society.


However, the donation has fuelled sceptics who have already pulled the Government up on links with US casino firms who lobbied Labour about gambling tax.

Negreanu Capitalizing On Poker Craze

More poker players going pro... From pokermag.com

That's when Daniel Negreanu decided he'd rather play poker for a living.

“I worked as a telemarketer for precisely one afternoon,” the Toronto native chuckled over the phone from his Las Vegas home.

“That's when I realized this whole job thing, that's just not for me."

Negreanu, 30, is considered one of the best young poker players in the world. At 23 he became the youngest world championship event winner in history. So far this year he estimates he's won around $3 million US.

Ask what makes a good poker player and Negreanu sounds like a psychology major, not someone who started playing as a 17-year-old at charity casinos in Toronto.

“My biggest strength is the ability to read people, “ he said. “If I sat down with you for 15 to 20 minutes I would have a pretty good idea of your personality type, your makeup, what you're capable of. When you have a good feel for people, a good understanding of human behaviour, that will translate into an ability to get into people's heads at the poker table.

“If I'm in your head and I know what you're thinking, then the cards don't even matter. I just know what you're going to do and I know how you think. “

Poker has dealt television a new winning hand. The World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker attract huge audiences in the U.S. and Canada. Poker players have gone from shadowy figures in smoke-filled backrooms to instant celebrities.

There's Phil Laak, noted for his Unabomber look of wearing a sweatshirt with the hood up and Jennifer Harman, a five-foot-two blonde some people call the best poker player on the planet and a person Negreanu considers one of his best friends.

“Today the poker player is the modern day rock star,'' boasted Negreanu. “There are guys that work nine to five in a cubical and go home to an empty apartment. I'm certain their dream would be 'wouldn't it be cool to have that lifestyle.'“

Poker's cruel reality is its biggest attraction, Negreanu said

“It's the purest form of reality TV, “ said the strict vegetarian. “Nothing is staged, nothing is scripted. Everyone is putting up their own hard-earned money to play. Also, it's a sport that is every man's sport. You can be fat and out of shape and you're not going to be an NHL star. But you have a shot in poker. “

Negreanu rarely plays tournaments in Canada, saying the pots are too small. He still manages to show his Canadian roots at the table, often choosing from one of the 25 NHL jerseys he owns. The collection stems from a fantasy hockey pool he's been involved with since 1996.

“I used to just buy a jersey of a guy I have on my team, “ he explained.

Negreanu has been photographed wearing Detroit, Toronto and Pittsburgh sweaters, but doesn't own a Vancouver Canuck jersey.

Poker players make money either at tournaments, or playing at casinos or in online games. At this year's World Series of Poker, 2,756 players anted up $10,000 US each. Winner Greg Raymer, a patent lawyer from Stonington, Conn, walked away with $5 million US. The top five players won over $1 US million each.

When not at a tournament, Negreanu will head to a Vegas casino. For him, a night at the table is just a day at the office.

“If I show up at 6 p.m. I say I'm working for six hours and then I quit at midnight,'“he explained.

“I don't care how much I'm up or down. I see it as a job. Other poker players don't have it down to a science. “

Negreanu knows he's defied the odds and become a winner. He offers some sobering advice to anyone thinking about trying to earn a living playing cards.

“One out of a 1,000 people who attempt to play poker for a living actually make it,“ he said.

“If a kid is still intent on doing it, then I would give him some guidelines about making sure he's disciplined and stays within his financial limits. Take a very scientific approach and a serious business approach. “

Miss World, India and betting

Exotic bets from exotic places... News from www.123bharath.com

Indian beauty queen Sayali Bhagat is a hot favourite to be crowned Miss World at its 54th edition slated later this year in the tropical island of Sanya in China, according to Internet bookmakers Interpops.com.

"The world needs some spice! It will certainly have it if Sayali Bhagat becomes the jewel in India's crown when she wins the 54th Miss World contest," the betting site said Thursday.

"At Intertops.com, Miss India is turning out to be the hottest dish India has ever offered at 7/1," the bookmakers said, adding that other keen contestants from Brazil, Albania and Dominican Republic are demanding 9/1.

"Miss World has changed its voting procedure this year and will be a truly global contest as the whole world gets a chance to vote over an eight-day period," said Intertops.com chief operating officer Michael Maerz.

"From Nov 26 the voters can chose their favourite lovely via the Internet, as well as telephone and text, until the final on Dec 4 when it is televised globally," he said.

"It's a great opportunity for all customers at Intertops.com. Once the voters are online they can also check the odds and make the contest all the more exciting - proving you do not have to be beautiful to win!"

The bookmakers said there were also some unfortunate "flavourless offerings" that may not make it past the first course. At the bottom of their betting menu are Miss Turks and Caicos at 100/1 and Miss Kenya at 150/1.

"But we all know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder!"

Incorporated in St. Johns, Antigua, Interpops.com claims to offer more than 600 betting options daily as also a full range of online casino games, fun games and multi-player poker live with real people.

Already betting on 2008 US election?

From www.onlinecasinonews.com

Just one week after the hugely anticipated results of the 2004 US presidential elections have been announced, BetWWTS.com have released odds on the outcome in 2008. This year’s race saw a record high in terms of volumes of wagers placed on the candidates, and it looks as though BetWWTS are keen to get in early for the next round.

The bets being offered include the chance to make a wager on who will win the nomination for both parties. For the Republican party the favourites listed so far include Rudolph Guiliani the popular New York Mayor who is listed at 1/5. Behind him, with significantly higher odds, is Arizona Senator John McCain at 7/1. In equal third place are Secretary of State Colin Powell and New York Governor George Pataki both listed at 15/1. Governor of Florida and President Bush’s brother Jeb is then sat at 20/1 while Arnold Schwarzeneger is the long shot listed at 100/1.


For the Democrats John Edwards is currently the favourite, listed at 3/2. New York Senator and former first lady Hilary Clinton follows at 5/2, while John Kerry still remains a contender at 6/1. Just behind these top three is Howard Dean at 8/1, trailed then by former Vice President Al Gore at 20/1 and new Senator of Illinois Barack Obama at 24/1.

WTO Turns Up Heat on US Online Gambling Ban

Updates on the WTO dispute, by Roy Mark from www.internetnews.com

A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel ruled today that U.S. prohibitions on Internet gambling are unfair trade practices and that the country should open its borders to international casinos. The office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) said it would "vigorously" appeal the "deeply flawed" decision.

In the ruling, the WTO affirmed a March preliminary decision favoring the Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, home of numerous Internet gambling casinos. Antigua argued that the U.S. committed to honor cross-border gambling as part of its 1995 agreement to join the 148-member WTO.

When the U.S. became a member of the WTO, it submitted a "schedule of services" the country was willing to make mutual trade commitments on.

Included in the U.S. schedule was the term "other recreational services." Antigua and the WTO interpret that to mean Internet gambling.

"Their claim is that our obligations and our commitments under our General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) agreement included an obligation to Internet gaming services," a senior U.S. trade official said. "We fundamentally reject that. We vehemently disagree with the panel's finding that the term includes gambling services."

Richard Mills, a USTR spokesperson, said in a press statement, "Throughout our history, the United States has had restrictions on gambling, like many other countries. Given these restrictions, it defies common sense that the United States would make a commitment to let international gambling operate within our borders. Antigua is arguing for a result that was never imagined, much less bargained for."

The case now goes to a seven-member WTO appeal panel. The USTR said a decision is likely in the spring of 2005.

"This is not a situation where Antigua is claiming some discrimination against their service providers, per se," the USTR official said. "Federal and state laws against interstate gambling apply to everyone. It is not a case where U.S. companies can do one thing but Antigua and Barbuda companies can not."

The 1961 Wire Wager Act specifically prohibits the use of telephone lines for the purpose of placing a sporting bet. Since the Internet uses telephone lines, courts have consistently ruled the Wire Act also covers Web sports wagering, but a recent federal appeals court decision said it was beyond the scope of the original law to include placing a casino bet online.

The Department of Justice is appealing the decision, but even if a future court decision says the law does apply to online casinos, all of them are located offshore and beyond the jurisdiction of the U.S.

Congress is also considering strengthening U.S. anti-gambling laws. One proposal calls for banning the use of credit cards and other transfer instruments to offshore gambling sites.

"Contrary to what the [WTO] panel asserted, there is no obligation for WTO members to conduct international consultations before taking action to protect public morals and public order and enforce criminal laws," Mills said. "WTO members were already restricting gambling and other activities affecting public morals and public order long before they created the WTO."

The original WTO agreement was negotiated by the Clinton administration.

"I have no doubt they had no idea and expectation that they were making a commitment in our GATS schedule to open up gambling services," the senior trade official said. "If you think about it, it's ludicrous to think they would have thought that since nearly every state in the country bans these types of services and there are a number of federal laws that ban interstate gambling."

It is estimated that as much as 60 percent of all offshore gambling dollars come from Americans. Although the Wire Act poses enough of a threat to drive online gambling sites out of the country, offshore casinos and sports books have grown from about two dozen sites in 1995 to almost 2,000 last year.

The House Banking Committee was told last year Americans will gamble more than $2 billion through the sites in 2003.

e Casinos Join eCOGRA Player Safety Initiative

eCOGRA is certifying casinos, to make sure they respect gaming fairness.

www.casinocitytimes.com
Speaking from the European Interactive Gaming 2004 conference in Barcelona, Spain, the directors of eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) have announced the award of its Seal to five more quality Internet casinos.

All powered by Microgaming, the casinos underwent extensive independent testing and inspection by professional teams from international audit group PricewaterhouseCoopers to ensure compliance with the stringent requirements of the organisation regarding operational efficiency, fair gaming and player protection.

eCOGRA CEO Andrew Beveridge says that other operations are currently under consideration, and that the eCOGRA initiative to present the online gambling community with a wide range of safe, honest and efficient online casino venues continues to gather momentum.

"The latest seal awards bring to 49 the top-class casinos that have committed to genuine and enforced regulation", he said.

"Further online gambling operators are currently being considered, and interest in the eCOGRA standards is growing from players, casinos, leading poker rooms and software providers alike".

eCOGRA requires that member casinos are financially stable and have adequate reserves to cover wagers. The probity of casino management is scrutinised, together with player protection measures, payout times and financial facilities, games fairness, responsive Support and general operational efficiency. Policies have to be in place for communicating with clients and dealing with player complaints, and satisfactory technical capabilities and anti money-laundering systems are critical.

"We anticipate that players will continue to seek out Seal casinos due to the obvious advantages of playing at regulated venues, and the availability of independent disputes processes through our Fair Gaming Advocate," said Beveridge. The eGAP requirements, inspection and monitoring and the award of Seals are the responsibility of independent directors on the eCOGRA Board, all of whom are well known and highly respected gambling industry personalities.

For full details please visit http://www.ecogra.org. Issued by: Andrew Beveridge, CEO Date: 9 November 2004 Telephone: +44 20 7887 1480 Email: pr@ecogra.org Note for Editors: eCOGRA is a non-profit, non-partisan body with a full time staff in London, England.

Founded by major online software and casino operator groups in 2002, the organisation spent some time researching the concept of regulation with experts throughout the world before formulating a practical set of requirements essential to fair and efficient gambling operations, together with an independent inspection and monitoring system for enforcement.

The first online casinos were accredited in early 2004, and since then a steady stream of online casinos has committed to the eCOGRA ideals and achieved Seal status. Specialised eGAPs have recently been constructed for the booming poker industry, and it is anticipated that leading poker networks will soon join the eCOGRA initiative, too. Approved casinos are identified by a seal, and commit to a set of professional operational practices which are independently enforced through inspection and monitoring by major international business groups. The infrastructure includes a Fair Gaming Advocate for any player disputes that cannot be resolved at casino level.

New betting trend to hit US

Peer to peer betting going mainstream in US... From www.onlinecasinonews.com

Peer-to-peer betting has long been popular in Europe, and it is now swinging its way to the States through sites like Betbug.com, however, it is unclear whether the trend is legal under America’s stringent gambling laws.

Peer-to-peer betting lets you wager directly with another person via the internet, bypassing the bookie or casino. And this is where it gets complicated. Some believe the practice is legal because of the lack of a mediator, but legal analysts claim this is irrelevant; a bet is still a bet.


A Betbug spokesman said, “We feel that Betbug is no different to two guys putting money down on a Lakers' game.” But the Department of Justice is just begging to look into the operations at Betbug to see if it is in violation of gambling laws.


The gambling trend is modelled after music and movie file-sharing sites, which have also had their fair share of controversy. Punters see if anyone wants to bet on a subject, which can be anything from politics to fashion trends. They then place their money in an account on the site. After the event the winner collects, minus a small commission that goes to the host. It is a cheaper way to gambling, taking the middleman out of the equation, meaning you can make more from your bets.


Betbug.com is going to start taking bets in the Summer of next year.

Gambling Bill to be Redrafted

With Las Vegas, AC, and Macau, UK is going to play a big role in the gaming industry. From www.onlinecasinonews.com

Arts minister, Richard Caborn, has told a parliamentary committee that he is redrafting clause 7 of the UK gambling Bill, which pertains to the introduction of so-called super casinos to the country. The revision is expected to limit the amount of super casinos to six and introduce a three-year pilot scheme where the effects of the casinos can be closely monitored.

A DCMS spokesperson told the Scotsman newspaper, 'we are still reflecting on the points and concerns that have been raised about casinos… amendments are being put in place to assuage concerns about the proliferation of casinos.”


The government’s position will be seen as a climb down following the powerful media and political backlash which greeted the Bill.


Meanwhile, at the EIG conference this week in Sitges, Spain, Chairman of the Bill’s Joint Scrutiny Committee, John Greenway MP warned iGaming operators that they could face a similar backlash.


“What has happened over the past two weeks regarding casinos could happen to you,” he said. “It may appear to come out of the blue, but the media’s ability to manufacture a story should not be underestimated.”


The Bill is due before the Commons again on Tuesday.

Game of poker hits a hot streak

Poker getting hotter and hotter, and hotter! From msnbc.msn.com

The game of poker is on a winning streak, thanks in part to the popularity of several television shows devoted to the game. And casinos, bookstores and retailers who sell poker gear say it looks like the pot is going to get even bigger.

Retailers are betting that playing cards and chips will be among the must-have items during the holiday shopping season. Stores are showcasing displays of casino-quality chips and gaming tables with holders for drinks and betting chips.

"I'm not a big poker player, but I know a lot about it because it's such a hot item," said Kmart spokeswoman Caryn Klebba. "It seems like the teenagers are in love with it."

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Karen Burk said the renewed interest in poker could make a deck of cards a popular stocking stuffer of the holidays this year.

Poker, which was introduced to much of the country by riverboats on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers in the 1800s, is now seeing another surge thanks to tournaments being televised on cable networks.

"The World Series of Poker" on ESPN along with Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown" and the "World Poker Tour" on the Travel Channel are among the hit new shows. ESPN said the last hour of its championship finals posted a hefty 2.8 rating representing more than 2.5 million households. ESPN hopes to draw similar numbers when it airs its first Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas. Few networks were interested in poker until the World Poker Tour turned into an overnight success a year ago.

PokerStars.com, a popular Web site that offers poker online, estimates based on anecdotal research that from 50 million to 60 million people play poker at least once a month. Games range from high school students gathering in basements on weekend nights to college students playing at all hours to organized tournaments for all ages.

Noah Campbell, 25, started a weekend tournament in Toledo, Ohio this year that draws a combined 80 players on Friday and Saturday nights, with the money going to charities. He spent at least $2,000 buying tables, cards and chips. Campbell said many of his friends are buying their own supplies too — including high-end chips and cards.

"They want to emulate what they see on TV," he said.

Sears, Roebuck and Co. sells a $99 gaming set that comes in a portable velvet-lined case with a chrome handle and 300 chips and two decks of cards. Georganne Greece, a buyer for the company's game room group, said expectations are that poker supplies will see a huge surge in sales in the coming months.

"It's somewhat in its infancy," she said. "But early indications are that we're going to sell through most of this product — even the high-end items."

Most items began arriving at Sears stores in the middle of August. "We saw it fly away," she said.

Reading up on the game
Booksellers are also seeing a pickup in poker-related sales. Titles by some of the game's best-known players, including Phil Hellmuth and Doyle Brunson, have been top sellers at Borders bookstores, said Beth Bingham, a spokeswoman for Borders Group Inc.

In the last year, Borders has added 20 percent more poker-related books. "It's not just the book titles," Bingham said. "There's a lot more products — we're carrying poker games, a Texas Hold 'Em game."

Restoration Hardware, the furniture and home decor retailer, sells playing cards and all the extras — mechanical card shufflers, playing card coasters and shot glasses. The retailer, just like any good poker player, had a little luck on its side, too. It began stocking gaming items a few years before the poker boom.

Dave Glassman, a spokesman for the Corte Madera, Calif.-based company, said at first the items "didn't get much visual importance in the store." But the company was well-positioned to capitalize when poker shows on television began drawing fans. Now the items are front and center inside its stores and catalogues.

Crate & Barrel spokeswoman Bette Kahn said poker's elevation is a testament to the power of television. It's hard to say whether card playing will stick around, she said.

"It may not be a fad. They've played poker for years and years," Kahn added.

More players at the tables
Across the country, casinos are expanding to keep up with demand. In Iowa, for example, the renewed interest has "totally revived" poker at the Meskwaki casino near Tama, said spokeswoman Betsy McCloskey.

McCloskey said the casino's planned $100 million expansion likely will include more poker tables. Before the upsurge in television poker, the casino's tournaments were half-full, poker room manager David Corns said. Now, eight 12-player tables easily fill up for two tournaments, he said.

"You see a lot of new players, and a lot of that comes from Texas Hold 'em on TV," said Carla Reuter, 49, of Waterloo, a regular at the weekly Meskwaki tournaments.

Texas Hold 'em is a fast-paced, comparatively simple game in which players make the best five-card poker hand out of the two face-down cards in their hand and five face-up community cards.



Nancy Fandel, 56, of Solon, said televised poker revived her interest in the game, which she learned watching over her dad's shoulder at low-stakes family games.

"I always wanted to go to a poker room," Fandel said. "I won $500 my first time out. I was hooked."

In Las Vegas, arguably the capital of poker, Harrah's Entertainment and ESPN say they'll capitalize on poker's best-known event by beginning a series of high-profile tournaments across the country next year.

The Las Vegas-based gambling company hopes name recognition shuffles rival tournaments to the back of the pack, while enriching shareholders and players as it tries to carve out a huge swath of the market. The company is betting the individual events will attract hundreds, with each participant spending $10,000 for a seat at one of the tournament tables.

While the Harrah's tournaments will carry the World Series of Poker name, the crown jewel will remain the legendary poker game that has been held at the smoky Binion's Horseshoe hotel-casino in downtown Las Vegas since 1971.

When it begins next summer at the Rio hotel-casino off the Las Vegas Strip and Binion's, Harrah's believes more than 5,000 people could enter the 36th annual World Series of Poker seeking what ESPN calls "poker immortality."

The 2004 world series attracted a field of 2,576 players, far surpassing the 839 in 2003. Next year, the total prize pool in the No-Limit Texas Hold' Em main event could exceed $50 million, with the $5 million first place being increased by several million.