GPI Matchmaker: Helping Poker Pros Find Love, Friendship and Hookups

Sliema, Malta - Global Poker Index (GPI), the world’s leading authority on poker player rankings, is excited to announce the launch of the GPI Matchmaker dating app! Already touted as a revolutionary matchmaking tool, the app makes finding & hooking up with eligible poker playing singles a snap from anywhere via intuitive search filters, geo-location features, and more.

Submitted by Press Release on,

Senator Engaged in Automatic Weapons Sale Deal While Preaching Gun Control

A California state Senator indicted last week for his alleged role in a money laundering and gambling scheme, attempted to broker an international arms deal with a US Federal agent all the while pushing gun control in the state.

The FederalBureau of Investigation arrested Yee last Wednesday morning, along with infamous Chinatown gang leader Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow and 24 other individuals.

Perhaps empowered by the series of successful multi-thousand-dollar transactions, Yee upped the ante — and in the process dug himself a far deeper hole with the FBI.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on,

PokerStars Likely to be Prevented From Entering New York, California

Despite reportedly spending substantial amounts of money on lobbyists to push for legalized online poker in the state of New York, a provision in draft legislation could prevent the world’s largest real money online poker room, PokerStars, from setting up shop in the Empire State.

Submitted by Ace King on,

Arrests Made in Borgata Credit Card Fraud Scheme

Two individuals have been apprehended following an investigation into a credit card fraud scheme at Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel and Casino.

The New Jersey pair allegedly attempted to fraudulently charge more than $500,000 using stolen account numbers, were arrested early Saturday, March 29, at the Borgata Casino, in Atlantic City.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on,

Crimea to Become Russian Gambling Zone Following Annexation

Following Russia’s controversial annexation of Crimea from the Ukraine in recent weeks come word that the Kremlin has decided to make the region a “gambling zone” perhaps similar to something along the lines of China’s Macau.

BetOnline

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on,

Hong Kong Shares Up Before Gambling Revenue Data

BEIJING (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares edged up on Monday as a selloff in energy and manufacturing heavyweights on disappointing earnings was offset by strength in gaming stocks before the release of monthly Macau gambling revenue figures.

Mainland China shares were little changed as some recent gainers were hit by profit-taking but strength in energy shares supported the index.

At midday, the Hang Seng Index was up 0.3 percent at 22,127.25 points, while the China Enterprises Index of the leading offshore Chinese listings in Hong Kong was up 0.4 percent.

Submitted by Reuters on,

Heartland Poker Tour Launches HPT500 League

Fargo, ND -  To mark their tenth season, the popular tour and TV show Heartland Poker Tour is rolling out a new opportunity for poker enthusiasts to play on TV.  HPT will launch HPT500, a league concept with players accumulating points towards a seat at a nationally televised Final Table where they will play for a lucrative sponsorship package.  The program will be tested in a few select markets as early as April 1.

Submitted by Press Release on,

Police: Graham, Chaffetz Online Gambling Bill Would Lead to Increase in Crime

Last week, South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Utah Republican representative Jason Chaffetz introduced the Restoration of America’s Wire Act, which seeks to strengthen current federal online gambling prohibition.  The legislation also would prevent individual states from legalizing the activity, including those like Nevada and New Jersey that already offer real money Web gambling.

Submitted by Nagesh Rath on,

G911 Talks to Math Whiz Who Helped Art Chu Win $300k on ‘Jeopardy’

It's no secret among gamblers that having good mathematical skills can help when gambling.

BetOnline

Whether it's counting cards at blackjack, handicapping the horses or figuring out the pot odds in poker, a math whiz has an edge.

Submitted by Thomas Somach on,

Oleksii Khoroshenin of the Ukraine Wins EPT Vienna for €578,392

Ukraine is celebrating its first ever EPT champion with Oleksii Khoroshenin’s €578,392 win in the EPT Vienna Main Event in the stunning imperial Hofburg Palace.

Khoroshenin, 27, an EPT regular who currently lives in St Petersburg, has now jumped from #20 in the Ukraine all-time money list to #7. He made a three-way deal with runner-up Anthony Ghamrawi from Austria and German pro Marko Neumann before taking down the €5,300 tournament. It’s by far his biggest live cash and more than double his lifetime tournament winnings to date.

Submitted by Press Release on,

Ravens Ray Rice Marries Fiancee One Day After Indictment for Beating Her

ESPN was reporting Saturday that Ravens running back Ray Rice has married his fiancée a day after being indicted for beating her in an Atlantic City casino.

Rice was indicted Thursday on aggravated assault charge stemming from an altercation with Janay Palmer at the Revel Casino.

Submitted by Don Shapiro on,

Adelson Right Hand Man: 'Poker Player Alliance Twitter Followers are Creepy’

Vice President of Government Relations for the Las Vegas Sands Corp., Andy Abboud, referred to Poker Player Alliance Twitter followers as “creepy” during an Internet gambling conference debate this week, as relayed by noted industry analyst Nolan Dalla.

Sure it was hostile territory at this year’s iGaming North America Conference for presumably the only man in the room who is against legalized online gambling in the US, but Dalla considered the comment a low blow.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on,

Poker News: Online Super Series III Kicks Off With $900,000 in Guarantees

San Jose, Costa Rica – Just a few weeks after sending dozens of players to compete for a million-dollar prize pool in Panama, leading online poker site Americas Cardroom is putting a record amount of cash on the table – this time entirely online. On March 28th, the poker site hosts OSS III, the third installment of their popular Online Super Series.

Submitted by Press Release on,

Nevada Gambling Revenue Falls 14 Percent

LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) - State officials say Nevada gambling revenues tumbled 14 percent in February and took an even bigger dive on the Las Vegas Strip.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported Friday that the state's casinos won $926 million in February, down from more than $1 billion in February 2013.

Las Vegas Strip gambling revenues fell more than 20 percent last month to $556 million. The story was happier in downtown Las Vegas, where casino revenue rose 3 percent to $43 million in February.

Submitted by Associated Press on,

Paddy Power Takes Bets on Which Animal Will be Killed Next at Copenhagen Zoo

In recent weeks, when one thinks of the word “shameful” throughout Europe, three things come to mind:  Putin, Copenhagen and Paddy Power, and not necessarily in that order.

BetOnline

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on,

UB.com Head Rubbed Magazine Cologne Strips on Body to ‘Smell Less Like Prison’

Convicted UB.com founder Brent Beckley relayed to Montana Kaimin how he got involved in UB.com/Absolute Poker and ultimately served a prison sentence as a result.

Submitted by Nagesh Rath on,

Ndrangheta Mafia has More Money Than McDonalds and Deutsche Bank Combined

A report by the Demoskopika research institute in Rome has determined that Italy’s notorious Ndrangheta organized crime family has amassed wealth that tops that of fast food giant McDonald’s and Deutsche bank put together.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on,

Ravens Rice Indicted for Assault on Fiancee at Revel Casino

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — (Associated Press) - Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice has been indicted on a charge he assaulted his fiancee in an elevator at casino in Atlantic City, N.J.

Submitted by Associated Press on,

Poker Pro Marvin Rettenmaier: ‘Why I’m Against Implementing a Shot Clock!’

On his blog, noted poker pro Marvin Rettenmaier has offered up a series of reasons as to why a shot clock should not be introduced to live World Poker Tour (WPT) tournaments.

Submitted by Nagesh Rath on,

Mobile Online Gambling in New Jersey Makes Up One Quarter of Market

A report this week shows that mobile online gambling in New Jersey has accounted for more than a quarter of the overall market at one of the leading websites, WSOP.com.  This includes tablets such as the iPad.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on,

Reuters: Casinos to Vet High Rollers Funds

(Reuters) - U.S. casinos may soon have to vet where their high rollers' funds come from under a requirement being developed by the U.S. Treasury Department, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The move is part of a push to address longstanding regulatory and law enforcement concerns that criminals can use casinos, which have not historically been as closely monitored as banks for compliance with anti-money laundering laws, to convert proceeds of crime into money that appears clean.

Submitted by Reuters on,

California State Senator Charged as Part of Gambling, Murder-for-Hire Case

26 individuals have been indicted in an unsealed criminal complaint in San Francisco with charges that range from drug trafficking to gun running to illegal gambling to even murder-for-hire.

Among those arrested, California state Senator Leland Yee.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on,

PokerHost Moves to Equity Poker Network: Leaves Merge Gaming

PokerHost.com, the online poker arm of sports betting website SBG Global, will be leaving the Merge Gaming Network and moving to the newly formed Equity Poker Network, it was revealed on Wednesday.

Equity Poker is currently home to the online poker arms of Heritage and 5Dimes sportsbooks.

Submitted by Nagesh Rath on,

Caesar’s to Shut Down Harrah’s Casino in Tunica

JACKSON, MISS. — (Associated Press) - Caesar’s Entertainment said Wednesday that will close its Harrah’s casino in Tunica on June 2 and lay off as many as 1,300 workers.

Las Vegas-based Caesar’s, which owns Harrah’s Reno, Harrah’s Lake Tahoe and Harveys Lake Tahoe, also owns the adjoining Horseshoe Tunica and Tunica Roadhouse in a nearby complex. The company said employees will have preference for openings at those operations and at Caesar’s properties under development in Las Vegas.

Submitted by Associated Press on,

Dianne Feinstein Support of Online Gambling Prohibition Bill has Many Baffled

California Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein stunned many folks when it was revealed she would be backing legislation introduced Wednesday to prohibit online gambling.

BetOnline

Submitted by C Costigan on,

FBI Raids Net Raymond ‘Shrimp Boy’ Chow: Collected Gambling Debts for Triad

A series of FBI raids in both the San Francisco and Sacramento areas resulted in the arrest of Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow, a former member of a Chinatown street gang and latest member of a Hong Kong-based triad allegedly tied to Hong Kong and San Francisco-based gambling dens. 

Submitted by Gilbert Horowitz on,

Russia Placing Sanctions on Internet Gambling Sites: Mostly From UK

Russia has apparently declared war on Internet gambling.

Though the blacklist was implemented some 16 months ago, it has only expanded dramatically in recent days to include the likes of UK-based sites such as Ladbrokes and William Hill along with a number of other European online wagering firms.

This move comes as the European Union has imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea. 

Coincidence?

Submitted by Ace King on,

Off Message: Republicans Attack on Internet Gambling Gets in Way of 2016

(Reuters) - Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson became a major player in Republican politics in the 2012 elections, when he spent more than $90 million in an unsuccessful effort to oust Democratic President Barack Obama.

Now the 80-year-old billionaire wants something from Washington: a ban on Internet gambling, a growing industry that Adelson says could hurt the casino industry. On Wednesday, some of Adelson's allies in Congress, including South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, plan to propose legislation that would do just that.

Submitted by Reuters on,

Internet Gambling Control Act of 2014 Introduced by Graham, Chaffetz

South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Representative Jason Chaffetz, a Republican from Utah, introduced the Internet Gambling Control Act of 2014 Wednesday morning.  It is a measure that would prohibit all forms of Web gambling in the US at the federal level while enforcing state governments to cease offering the activity as well. 

Submitted by C Costigan on,

Attorney in Full Tilt Poker ‘Black Friday’ Case to be Denied Lawyer Fees

The attorney for a defendant in the notorious “Black Friday” online poker investigation will be stiffed.

Submitted by Ace King on,

Breaking News

Delta to Focus on Premium Flyers Between Atlanta and Las Vegas

Delta to Focus on Premium Flyers Between Atlanta and Las Vegas

A one way flight between Atlanta and Las Vegas for Wednesday December 7. As of August 20, fight class was a mere $609 with just three seats booked. If you think that's expensive, consider that nearly all the other nonstop first class one way flights out of Atlanta were going for $2000!
Can Prediction Markets Be Manipulated by One Huge Trader?

Can Prediction Markets Be Manipulated by One Huge Trader?

A prediction market can change fast. One minute, an outcome is trading around 45%. A few large orders come in, and suddenly the market is sitting at 55% or even higher.
How Much Does One Huge Bet Really Move a Betting Line?

How Much Does One Huge Bet Really Move a Betting Line?

A bettor walks into a sportsbook and drops $500,000 on one side of a game. Another sends in a seven-figure wager just hours before kickoff.
Kentucky GOP Strategist and CNN Commentator Scott Jennings Next Trump Press Secretary Odds - Now Favored

Kentucky GOP Strategist and CNN Commentator Scott Jennings Next Trump Press Secretary Odds - Now Favored

Jennings had opened as a 16-1 long shot following the news that Leavitt would be leaving. The payout would be $1600 for every $100 bet.