Monthly Archives: February 2015

County budget officer: Much of county share of casino money goes to existing programs

The line between what should be funded by the county and what should be funded by revenue from Maryland Live! casino has been blurred. And adding to the confusion, Gov. Larry Hogan ‘s recent budget proposal calls for balancing the state’s books by taking about $4.1 million from the statewide Video Lottery Terminal Fund, to which Maryland Live! is the biggest contributor.

Seals with Clubs Bitcoin-Only Poker Site Flatlines Amid Security Concerns

Seals with Clubs (SWC), the Bitcoin-only poker site, has announced its closure. Following a week of being offline, a notice was posted on the website explaining its decision to cease operations. “On approximately February 11th, 2015, several events occurred related to operational security that we consider to indicate Seals With Clubs now operates in a perpetual […]

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Ingham County man pockets $2 million in Michigan Lottery instant game

An Ingham County man who has chosen to remain anonymous won $2 million playing the lottery’s $2 million CA$H instant game, the Michigan Lottery announced Friday. The man bought the winning ticket at a Shell gas station, located at 1831 East Grand River Ave. in East Lansing, according to Jeff Holyfield of the Michigan Lottery.

Data: Frequent lottery winners defy the odds

A six month Call 6 Investigation reveals some Hoosier Lottery players winning more than a hundred times, seeming to defy the odds and raising eyebrows of nationally known statisticians. Call 6 Investigator Kara Kenney and Digital Producer Jordan Fischer obtained and analyzed winning tickets dating back to 1993, and they wanted to know how the frequent winners did it.

California Online Poker Adam Gray and Isadore Hall Bills Give Golden State New Momentum

California online poker may have some real momentum behind it, as two new identical online poker bills have been introduced into the state Legislature. State Senator Isadore Hall (D-South Bay) and State Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced) introduced the bills, known as SB 278 and AB 431 respectively, on Thursday. Given the identical nature of the […]

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Resorts Casino Enters New Jersey Online Poker Market

Resorts Casino Hotel has received preliminary approval to begin offering online poker and casino games in New Jersey, a move that would make them the fifth operator currently hosting such games in the state, joining the Borgata, Caesars, the Golden Nugget and the Tropicana. While Resorts will first have to begin a five-day testing period […]

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Cne RFP: Airline Tickets for Guest Travel to Las Vegas from Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa

Cherokee Nation Entertainment, LLC, , a wholly owned tribal company of the Cherokee Nation, is seeking qualified bids from reputable travel agencies for 42 airline tickets to be held until 5/5/15 for travel on 5/8/15. Please quote using the following specifications: a The 42 tickets must be for a direct round-trip flight between Las Vegas, NV and Tulsa, OK.

SealsWithClubs shuts down after operational security compromised

Bitcoin-only online poker site SealsWithClubs has abruptly shut down for good following unexplained technical issues that compromised the site’s security.

The SealsWithClubs site had been offline for over a week following what the company described as “several events … related to operational security.” As a result of these events, SealsWithClubs’ operators believe the site “now operates in a perpetual state of jeopardy.” SealsWithClubs declined to offer specifics, but said these may be revealed at a later date “if any team member chooses to come forward of their own volition.”

SealsWithClubs says it doesn’t believe “any of our Bitcoin wallets used in operations to be compromised or lost.” Players have been urged to withdraw their funds “as soon as possible” and “cease all activity to their account deposit addresses now.” Withdrawals “will only be open for a limited period of time,” which the company suggests could be “at least a few months.” The company insists the operation “is, and has been, completely solvent up to this point in operations.”

In the notice announcing the shutdown, SealsWithClubs says chairman Bryan Micon intends to “carry forward the business with his own team” in Antigua. The company says it “makes the most sense to hand off assets” – including a new SwC 2.0 software package and the swcpoker.eu domain – to Micon, but there will be “no administrative oversight carried over” to Micon’s new site.

SealsWithClubs will not be providing Micon with account passwords, authentication info or balance details. However, SealsWithClubs will provide Micon with account names and their associated email addresses and Krill loyalty point totals. The company says this should allow Micon’s team “it they choose, to reserve usernames and e-mail password resets to users as well as honor their Krill amounts.”

SealsWithClubs’ demise, however temporary, is a blow for Bitcoin acceptance in the online gambling industry. The site was by far the largest Bitcoin-only poker room in operation. In December 2013, the site warned users to reset their passwords following unauthorized access of its customer database server.

South Africa online gambling bill tabled as casinos launch anti-online campaign

South Africa’s online gambling hopes got a minor boost this week with the tabling of the latest version of the Remote Gambling Bill (PMB 3 – 2015).

The private member’s bill was tabled by Democratic Alliance MP Geordin Hill-Lewis, the shadow minister for trade and industry. Largely identical to Lewis’ previous efforts, the 2015 version seeks to expand South Africa’s online menu from the current sports-only betting regime to one that includes casino and poker verticals.

Also similar to Hill-Lewis’ previous efforts, the 2015 version is expected to die from neglect. Last month, South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry emphatically declared that there is “no intention on the part of the government to propose the legislation of online gambling.” This stance was foreshadowed in November by PricewaterhouseCoopers, who said they “don’t see anything happening” for South Africa’s online gambling expansion “for quite a a period of time.”

While Hill-Lewis keeps up a stirring rendition of High Hopes, the Casino Association of South Africa (CASA) is blaming illegal online gambling for taking money out of the hands of South Africa’s legal casinos and the government’s tax coffers.

CASA CEO Themba Ngobese believes “aggressive” online gambling operators are partially responsible for South African casino revenue growth falling from 10% in the 2012-13 fiscal year to just 0.6% in 2013-14. Ngobese estimated that at least 5% of this revenue contraction was down to people choosing to gamble online rather than in CASA-approved gaming joints. Ngobese said this has cost the government R110m (US $9.5m) in tax revenue.

CASA recently launched a campaign to educate South Africans about “the consequences of illegal gambling.” The campaign will provide info on illegal online gambling across online, radio and print advertising as well as via social media. Chief among the consequences highlighted will be the possibility of R10m fines and 10-year prison sentences for South Africans caught operating or playing on illegal sites.

The campaign also seeks to alert property owners and landlords that their premises might be used for internet cafés that offer access to online gambling sites. CASA has even set up hotlines for concerned citizens to fink on suspected operators. Ngobese said the campaign has “already had some good reports to the provincial gambling boards” which are being “followed up by investigators in sting operations.”