Business & Financial
Rock Gaming of Ohio Invests $60.8 Million Into Caesars Internet Poker Arm
Just days after it was revealed that Donald Trump’s camp was in talks with 888 Holdings, the Las Vegas Review Journal on Wednesday reported that Caesars Entertainment Corp. has sold an undisclosed percentage of its online poker subsidiary to its partner in two Ohio casinos for $60.8 million.
Carbon Poker Takes Over Poker Nordica Accounts
As reported by Gambling911.com yesterday, online poker site Poker Nordica has closed its doors. But now for the good news: Carbon Poker is now allowing affected players to move their accounts from Poker Nordica over to Carbon and there are plenty of incentives to do so.
8th Straight Week of Online Poker Traffic Decline: iPoker Network Takes Over Number Two Spot
This week marked the 8th consecutive fall in traffic among the worldwide online poker websites, according to PokerScout.com, a site that monitors “real cash” play for most virtual card rooms.
Traffic overall fell 3.5 Percent. A further drop off can be expected due Easter and Passover occurring this week.
Zynga, Wynn in Talks to Offer ‘Real Money’ Online Poker in US
The world’s biggest free-to-play online poker venture, Zynga, is rumored to be joining forces with one of Las Vegas’ most recognized names, Wynn.
The New York Post first broke the story early Wednesday morning with the caveat that “odds may not favor tie-up”:
Palms Casino Prepares to Open New Sportsbook
The fabulous Palms Casino is preparing to open a brand new state-of-the-art sportsbook.
BetOnline.ag Opens Its Doors
BetOnline is excited to announce that on Wednesday, April 4th, 2012 they will transfer all of their accounts to the website www.BetOnline.ag.
Full Tilt Poker is Hiring: Company Still Owes Millions
Shuttered Full Tilt Poker may be closer to a resurrection.
PokerFuse.com reported on Tuesday that a jobs posting out of FTP’s home base of Dublin, Ireland, sought out “multiple multi-lingual customer service positions need to be filled”.
Poker Nordica Shuts Down
Merge Gaming Network online poker room Poker Nordica has shut its doors, however, it appears as if accounts can be moved over to other rooms on the network such as Lock Poker and Carbon Poker.
Once the second largest virtual card room on the Merge Gaming Network after Carbon, Poker Nordica’s reasons for closing shop were not immediately known.
“We unfortunately need to close down Poker Nordica from April 1th 2012!
Calvin Ayre Hires Slotnick Father Son Team to Take on Baltimore US Attorney
Bodog.com founder Calvin Ayre has hired the father son tandem of Barry and Stuart Slotnick to represent him just one month after being charged with money laundering by the US Attorney’s Office out of Maryland.
Trump News Causes 888 Holdings Shares to Surge
Overnight news that real estate and casino mogul Donald Trump is in talks with 888 Holdings to potentially offer “real money” online poker play in the US has sent that company’s shares surging to a 56-week high of 65 pence earlier in the day. New Jersey, which is home to a handful of Trump-branded casino establishments, is looking to become a hub for the regulated online poker industry.
Donald Trump in Talks With 888 Holdings to Offer US Online Poker
News broke late Monday night that Donald Trump and publicly traded Internet gambling firm 888 Holdings are in talks to offer online poker in the US once it becomes regulated.
Trump is the latest in a line of US-based firms looking for potential partnerships in the States as the industry prepares to open up.
Party Poopers: No More Bad Beat Jackpots at PartyPoker
PartyPoker this past week abandoned its Bad Beat Jackpots, citing the desire to “ensure a healthier poker room, offering you better cash games and more players to play against”.
The last PartyPoker Bad Beat Jackpot hit this past Friday. Party offered little, if any, notice regarding the removal.
LGA Addresses Everleaf Gaming Network Non-Compliance Issue….Sort Of
The Lotteries and Gaming Authority of Malta (LGA) is still closely monitoring the “non-compliance” issues involving one of its licensees, Everleaf Gaming.
New York Times: The Neighborhood Bookie Gets High Tech and Goes Pay Per Head
This weekend, the New York Times featured a good article on the local bookies and how they have reinvented themselves by going online.
From The Times:
The basic setup is simple: Instead of taking a phone call from every hopeful bettor, the bookie directs his clients to a Web site, where bets can be recorded, tracked and totaled. The bookie can then log on and see who owes — or is owed — money in the coming week.
MGM Will be ‘Punished’ if They Don’t Get Internet Poker Right in US
CardPlayer.com reports that Nevada Internet poker licenses will not be ready until June and it will take a prolonged period beyond that for testing to occur before sites can go live for real money play.
William Hill Having Tough Time Getting Nevada License: Under Intense Scrutiny
One of the United Kingdom’s biggest bookmakers is having a rough go at breaking into the US market.
European companies are looking to forge relationships with US-based casinos in an effort to get a leg's up in the critical US regulated online gambling market....once it opens up.
Sheldon Adelson Done With Newt Gingrich: ‘He’s at the End of His Line’ (Video)
In an interview featured on the Jewish Journal Thursday, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson essentially said that Newt Gingrich’s campaign to become the GOP US Presidential nominee is over.
Foxwoods $2 Billion Debt, FBI Probe
(Associated Press) - - For two decades, the Mashantucket Pequots lived like Indian gambling royalty. Luxury cars abounded on their tiny, gated reservation of colonial and ranch-style homes in the woods of southeastern Connecticut.
Casino Hires Robert De Niro as Celebrity Flack
You talkin' to me?
A casino in South Korea hopes you'll be listening!
The Paradise Walker-Hill Casino in Seoul, South Korea, has announced that it has hired actor Robert De Niro to serve as a paid celebrity spokesman for the casino.
The casino, which is South Korea's oldest and is open to foreigners only--meaning no South Koreans are allowed in--is located in the Sheraton Walker-Hill Hotel, a luxury hotel in Seoul that is popular with tourists and foreign business people.
Merge Gaming Expected to Take Over Number 7 Spot Next Week
Merge Gaming, which has been clinging onto the number 8 spot of most trafficked online poker rooms in the world for the past few months, is likely to become the 7th largest as early as next week.
Merge and Winamax.fr were essentially in a dead heat for the number 7 spot though Winamax’s 24 hour peak traffic was still greater than that of the Merge network, which hosts a handful of Gambling911.com sponsor card rooms including Lock Poker, Carbon Poker, PDC and Aced.com.
Alderney Gaming Control Commission Publishes External Review of Full Tilt Poker
The Alderney Gaming Control Commission (AGCC) has published an independent external review of its investigation leading up to the revocation of Full Tilt Poker’s license last summer.
Full Tilt Poker was named in a US-Government indictment April 15, 2011. Executives from the beleaguered firm were charged with money laundering and bank fraud. Accounts connected to FTP were frozen. The company has not paid customers for nearly a year now.
Betfair to Introduce New Brand: Enters Fixed-Odds Market
The world’s largest betting exchange, Betfair, has announced its intention to enter the lucrative fixed-odds market.
Sportingbet Enters Partnership With Foxwoods Resort Casino
Sportingbet is now in advanced discussions with land-based operator Foxwoods Resort Casino about providing it with an online platform for intrastate poker and casino games over the coming months, such as in Connecticut, as part of a joint venture, according to a report in This Is London.
888.com Reports Full Year Earnings Nearly Doubling
(Reuters) - British online gaming company 888 Holdings' full-year earnings nearly doubled, helped by strong growth of its casino and poker offering, and the company named Brian Mattingley as chief executive.
The company, which operates 888 casino, poker, sport and bingo brands, said it planned to invest in several newly regulated markets across Europe and the United States.
More Britons prefer to stay at home, watching TV and gambling online, updates from consumer-facing companies showed, amid fears that the UK will slip back into recession.
Second Man Pleads Guilty to Charges Related to Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars Indictment
John Campos, the former vice-chairman of a Utah bank that processed payments for online poker firms Full Tilt.
Poker, UB.com and PokerStars has plead guilty to a single misdemeanor charge
WMS Industries Latest to Apply for Nevada Internet Poker License
Casino game maker WMS Industries announced Tuesday it has applied for an Internet gambling license in the state of Nevada. The Silver State became the first to legalize intrastate online poker for real money with the potential to expand beyond its borders should federal legislation be passed.
Sportingbet Looking to Re-enter US Market After Paying Fine to US Government
Reuters was reporting that Sportingbet, one of Europe’s biggest online gambling firms, has made a final payment of $6 million to the U.S. Justice Department, as per a settlement reached in 2010 over alleged illegal Internet gambling, and said that it was exploring opportunities to re-enter the market.
Sportingbet to Appeal Spanish Injunction
* Expects licence from Spanish gaming regulator by May 25
(Reuters) - British online gaming firm Sportingbet Plc said it would appeal an injunction against it sought by Spanish casino group Codere, aimed at restricting online betting and gaming in that country.
In December, the Spanish company had sought several injunctions against companies operating in the online betting and gaming industry citing unfair competition before licences under new laws were about to be issued.
Chad Elie Pleads Guilty in Full Tilt Poker, Black Friday Case
(Bloomberg) - Chad Elie, a Las Vegas man who processed payments for online poker companies, pleaded guilty to a scheme to deceive banks into processing hundreds of millions of dollars in Internet gambling transactions.
Elie, 32, was one of one of 11 people charged last April by prosecutors in the office of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in a revised indictment against the founders of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker.
Oh The Irony: Rick Santorum Banner Ads Appearing on Poker Site
GOP Presidential candidate Rick Santorum is opposed to pornography, contraception, heavy metal music and most forms of gambling, especially the Web kind, yet shockingly his banners began appearing on the popular TwoPlusTwo.com poker forum in recent weeks, right along side a thread questioning why members of that forum should be asked to support someone who supports Internet poker prohibition (which is precisely what the tower banner we saw was asking the forum community to do)
