Monthly Archives: February 2015

Nevada regulators vote to legalize Olympic betting

Nevada sports books received some good news on Thursday as the Nevada Gaming Commission unanimously approved an amendment to state gaming regulations to allow betting on Olympic athletic events.

The change allows Nevada books to begin accepting wagers on the 2016 Summer Games in Rio De Janeiro and bookmakers wasted little time, offering lines on men’s basketball, track and field, and swimming.

It was previously believed that the return of Olympic betting to Nevada would be limited in some capacity, particularly as regards to International Olympic Committee-sanctioned events controlled by judges. But the commission opted to allow betting on any “sanctioned event,” although the chairman of the Gaming Control Board has the authority to remove an event or contest at his discretion. Current chairman A.G. Burnett told reporters that conversations on what sports to allow and what not to allow will happen before the Olympics start so don’t expect an immediate answer on this front until next year.

With the ban on Olympic betting now lifted, the Rio shindig will be the first Olympics that Nevada books can put place betting lines on since 2000 Games in Sydney. Olympic betting was outlawed in 2001 when Senator John McCain spearheaded a ban on betting on amateur sports. Somewhat confusing was the notion that McCain’s definition of “amateur sports” didn’t include college athletics, including football and basketball.

Books understand that betting on the Olympics won’t move the needle much as far as handle is concerned. But it does strip away the competitive disadvantage Nevada books experienced anytime the Olympics was held.

CSEA declares end of GTECH contract at Lottery

Gordon Medenica, right, hands off a facsimile prize at New York Lottery Headquarters in Schenectady in 2010. The union reported in its magazine Work Force that state officials awarded GTECH – an Italian multi-billion-dollar company that manages lotteries worldwide – a $25 million contract in September 2012 to create a pilot program that had private sector workers do jobs identical to those of civil service workers at the Division.

Hybrid Cloud Is Focus of IBM Confab

As it gets under way at the MGM Grand & Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, IBM’s InterConnect 2015 corporate convention will touch on , asset management, Internet of Things, application integration, and smarter processes. But a main area of focus is expected to be cloud technology, which gives IBM’s individual businesses a chance to discuss and demonstrate how they can better leverage each other’s technologies and capabilities.

Convert BTC to Euro and Play on over 400 more games!

Thursday 12th February, 2015 – Bitstarz is back with more innovation to improve the overall experience of all their active players. Today they announced a new integration of the Cubits Merchant API. This system accepts Bitcoins and allows players to immediately transfer them to real currency in a quick, simple and very secure way. This is where all the bitcoin players are going to benefit.  They can now deposit bitcoins through cubits and convert the currency to Euro allowing them the option to play on 400 extra games by the giant provider Quickfire.

Players that deposit bitcoins through the new Cubits payment gateway and convert it to Euro, now also have the option to convert the Euro back to bitcoins. This would only be possible if the deposit is made with bitcoins through cubits. Same goes for withdrawals. You can only withdraw through the same payment method that you have deposited with, so if you have made a deposit with Skrill you cannot withdraw with cubits into bitcoin.

The Head of Marketing, Nikolica Vadaski told us, from today, all our players will surely welcome this added value in their gaming experience with open arms. Players who only play with bitcoin will no longer be limited in their play options. They can now play on all Microgaming games that previously only could be played with Euro.

Cubits CEO, Tim Rehder commented: “Working together with Bitstarz to bring Bitcoin payment to their great range of games has been an amazing experience, combining a professional collaboration with an inspiring exchange of ideas. We believe the Cubits Platform, the Bitstarz Casino, and above all, the players, will all greatly benefit from this step forward.”

Cubits are one of Europe’s fastest growing Bitcoin marketplaces. Their user interface is clean, simple and easy to use. Currently accepting 17 national currencies, people can buy, sell, and use Bitcoin almost instantly with the Cubits Wallet.

As of today Bitstarz has extended its buffet of options.  It offers over 600 games to play with and a choice of over seven real currency options (Euro, Australian dollars, British pounds sterling, Canadian dollars, Norwegian kroner, Swedish kronor, US dollars) and also the crypto currency – Bitcoin. Players can mix and match as they please. You can safely say that this new Cubits wallet introduction has made all of the Bitstarz available games multi-currency friendly adding heaps of flexibility to the player’s choice.

Press contact:

Gamble With Bitcoin, Win With Cubits

European Bitcoin Marketplace Cubits Announces Partnership With Betconstruct

Cubits has been steadily making a name for itself as Europe’s fastest growing marketplace to buy, store, send and receive Bitcoin. Now, with a past deal with  and a recent announcement regarding a partnership with Betconstruct, Cubits is also on the way to becoming the industry-standard Bitcoin platform for the European and international iGaming industry. With its simple and elegant user interface, its secure cold storage wallet system, and its near-instantaneous processing of Bitcoin orders, Cubits is ideal for online casinos to offer Bitcoin deposit and pay out functions for their customers.

Betconstruct is one of the world’s largest software providers for gaming businesses, specializing in live sportsbook betting and other casino games, and currently powering more than 70 gaming partners on a global scale. Betconstruct has the unique feature of offering their entire online casino platforms and software solutions for purchase directly within their website. Now, with their partnership with Cubits, Betconstruct is making it possible to use Bitcoin for these direct buy options, making their modular drag-and-drop virtual environment easier and faster to use.

For customers who want to use Bitcoin to top up their balance at a fiat casino, Cubits offers the possibility for BTC payments alongside EUR ones. Via its conversion service, Cubits gives the customer instant access to virtually any casino. With Cubits, customers now also have the option to get a pay out in Bitcoin, regardless of what currency was used to play. Cubits co-founder and CEO Tim Rehder says “we’re excited to be the first and only Bitcoin Marketplace that gives the public the power to use this revolutionary new form of currency, to give them access to games previously barred to them, and most uniquely, to offer a Bitcoin pay out option even within fiat-based games.” Having Bitcoin pay out is something no other casino, nor Bitcoin Marketplace, currently offers, and Rehder is confident that the Cubits pay out function will be a game changer in the iGaming industry.

Only eight weeks have passed since Cubits began partnering with established players in the iGaming industry. Nonetheless, Cubits is already making a major impact on the way Bitcoin is being integrated into the online gaming environment. After the announcement of the recent deals with Betconstruct and SoftSwiss, Cubits’ professional services, tailored to iGaming, are surely on their way to becoming the industry benchmark.

Contact Cubits at [email protected]

Harness Racing Jockey Hits Milestone

Harness Racing Jockey Hits Milestone

 

By Frank Scandale @FScandale

 

Profile: Daniel Dube

Occupation: Harness driver

Born: 06/08/1969

Birthplace: Quebec

Resides: Millstone, NJ

Height: 5 feet 7 inches

Colors: Green-White-Black

 

When you reach a key milestone in your racing career, how do you motivate yourself for the rest of the rides?

 

Dan Dube, a French-Canadian harness racer who has been racing at Yonkers Raceway in New York this winter, now has the answer to that question as he reached a coveted 8,000-career victory plateau at the end of February.

 

“You always do your best. It is fun to win races. But when you are young, you want to just win races, but when you get a little older, you see the purses and that helps push you,” Dube answered with laughter.

 

Dube, now 45, He doesn’t discount that 10,000 wins are possible. “Yes, having a good purse, that is certainly motivation. But all the races are special.”

 

Taking time out in between races this week, Dube spoke briefly about his career, saying he started racing as a teenager, maybe 13 or 14 years old, having been trained by his driver-trainer father, Leo. When he turned 18, he joined the professional ranks and has not looked back since. Six years after he began in 1993,he won trainer and driver of the year awards at Hippodrome de Quebec and the Roger White trophy as the outstanding trainer in the province of Quebec. Dube continued to add awards, including in 1999 when he captured his first driving titles in the United States as he was the leader at the now-defunct Garden State Park in Cherry Hill, NJ, in both wins and earnings and was the top driver at Yonkers.

 

He reached his 8,000th win on Thursday night, Feb. 26, when the temperature was a relatively balmy 21 degrees, compared to some single-digit temps earlier last month.

 

He achieved the half-mile oval win behind a pacer named Clem in the eighth race of the evening, leading wire to wire, stopping the clock at 1:56 and rewarding his backers with a handsome $22.60 win mutual for a $2 bet in 1:56, and rewarding his backers with a $22.60 win mutual for a $2 wager.

 

Dube plays down his win total.

 

“I don’t really look at (the numbers),” Dube said. “I don’t put any pressure on myself. I’m happy the season has gone well so far.”

 

He is also ‎on the outskirts of $95 million career purses, and is best known as the primary driver for two Harness Horses of the Year – Gallo Blue Chip (2000) and Rock N Roll Heaven (2010).‎ Dube may not look at the numbers, but he is indeed a big numbers man.

 

Proving that motivation theory, Dube stayed hot at Yonkers by winning five more races just days after his benchmark 8,000 wins.

 

With the wins, Dube joined 27 others who have cracked the 8,000-win mark in their careers. He has a long way to go to catch the all-time race leader David Palone, who has racked up 16,890 wins in his career. Only one other driver, Herve Filion, has collected more than 15,000 wins.

‎‎

 

Jackpot-winning lottery ticket sold in Northeast Philly

A Cash 5 ticket sold at a restaurant supply store in the Crescentville section of Northeast Philadelphia won the jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing, the Pennsylvania Lottery announced. The ticket, sold at PJP Marketplace at 537 Adams Ave., correctly matched all five balls, 08-12-13-20-22, to net a prize of $450,000, less 25 percent federal withholding.

SEO Tip of the Week: Onsite Trust Optimisation – Making Sure Your Site is Well Maintained

90 Digital CEO Nick Garner talks about another important part of Trust Optimisation which is making sure that your site is well maintained in this edition of CalvinAyre.com’s SEO Tip of the Week.

Short intro to Trust Optimization. Along with on site optimization and link acquisition, there seems to be a third element to ranking well on Google, it’s called Trust Optimization. Trust Optimization is based on the information we have got from anecdotal evidence on click through rates and rankings along with explicit guidelines from Google stating what they are looking for in a trusted website. Check out the 1st post in this series so you are orientated on Trust Optimisation. Back to the post… If a house looks derelict, the windows have been smashed the roof is caving in,  then it’s likely no one is looking after that property.  It’s the same with a website. If images don’t render, there are too many error 404 pages,  broken css making the page look wrong then it’s a derelict website.  Users don’t like it and neither do google. Google say: Website Maintenance: How can you tell that a website is being maintained and cared for? Poke around: Links should work, images should load, content should be added and updated over time, etc. In webmaster tools there is a report which shows you the number of crawl errors on your site. The crawl error page shows details on URL’s  which google couldn’t crawl or which returned an error code.  Typical site errors they identify are :

DNS errors—the Domain Name System, which translates the name of your site to a numerical address for the server that provides your website files.

Server errors—your host provider’s server functionality, such as connection reliability and speed.

robots.txt failure—the file that Google must first access before it can crawl your site. It tells Google which pages it can and cannot access.

URL errors: These are where google lists specific errors when trying to crawl specific desktop, phone, or Android app pages. Here is an example of a WMT page: Besides google webmaster tools there are 3 other tools which are very helpful for identifying site problems:

BUU:  http://beamusup.com/  Beam us up in a Free executable desktop tool which will crawl a website and organise the information in an excel spreadsheet.  The only downside is that it falls over on big websites. But saying that it is massively useful.

Regulators OK Merger Between Lottery Operator, Slot Maker

Listen Live Welcome to NewsRadio 100.5 KXNT! NewsRadio 100.5 KXNT is dedicated to being the dominant information and talk source for Las […] CBS Sports Radio 1140 and 100.5-2 FM HD2 CBS Sports Radio 1140 and 100.5-2 FM HD2 7255 South Tenaya Way Suite 100 Las Vegas, NV 89113 Business Office: 702-889-7300 Business Fax: 702-889-7373 Gina Massenzi, General Sales Manager, 702-889-7566, [email protected] Kyle Helmick, Promotions & […] LAS VEGAS – Nevada gambling regulators say a $6.4 billion merger between an Italian lottery operator and U.S. slot machine maker can move ahead.

GTECH buyout of IGT given tentative approval

Phil Satre, left, International Gaming Technology chairman, and Patti Hart, IGT CEO , during a special Gaming Control Board Hearing on the licensing of the GTech Holdings-International Gaming Technology merger/buyout at the Sawyer Building, 555 East Washington Boulevard on Thursday, Feb 26, 2015. GTECH HoldingsO recently purchased slot machine giant International Game Technology for $6.4 billion.

Calling the Clock: Acronym Time With News From the BPA’s, ACF, PPA and the CPAC

Put the kettle on, break open those hob nobs, and settle down for a week of poker news covering the British Poker Awards, closure of French poker clubs, fights to legalize online poker in the U.S, talk of cheats, and a young man from the Bronx who is smashing it.

We start our round up at the British Poker Awards (BPA). Victoria Coren-Mitchell was the biggest winner. She was nominated for three awards. She picked up all three.

“If anyone asks I am wearing TKMaxx.” She tweeted with glee.

Her victories in the categories of Best Social Media User, Personality of the Year and Performance of the Year, means she has now won a total of six awards in the past five years. That ties with Sam Trickett as the most successful BPA winner of all time.

Trickett wasn’t nominated for a single award in 2014 – the first time that has ever happened. So what did he do whilst everyone else was enjoying a free glass of Ranking Hero flavored champagne?

He crashed his £275,000 Ferrari.

Don’t sweat it though.

BGO Entertainment Re-Launches Affiliate Programme in Partnership with Income Access

Affiliate programme for UK-facing online bingo and casino operator is now powered by Income Access acquisition platform

Montreal, QC. February 26th, 2015 – BGO Entertainment, the Alderney-licensed operator of the online casino and bingo brand bgo.com, has announced that the company has re-launched its affiliate programme in partnership with Income Access, a turnkey provider of technology and digital marketing services for the iGaming industry. The launch follows the recent migration of BGO Entertainment’s affiliate programme, bgo Buddies, to Income Access’ award-winning acquisition platform.

Founded in 2012, BGO Entertainment operates the online casino and bingo website bgo.com. The brand’s sophisticated selection of games, supported by celebrity brand ambassadors Dan Bilzerian, the internet sensation, and Verne Troyer, the Hollywood actor, has seen it enjoying growing popularity among players.

Powered by BGO Entertainment’s proprietary software, bgo.com’s bingo offering features a wide range of games and super jackpots in excess of £900,000. The brand’s online casino offers players state-of-the-art slots and table games, including blackjack, roulette, baccarat and poker, which are powered by IGT, Net Entertainment, Microgaming, Bally, Eyecon, and NextGen Gaming as well as by bgo Studios, the brand’s in-house development team.

The bgo.com brand offers new players an enticing welcome bonus when they register. All new players receive 20 free spins just for registering and a bonus of up to £200 when they make their first deposit as well as 180 free spins on the brand’s online slots.

The re-launch of the bgo.com affiliate programme, bgo Buddies, on the acquisition platform of Income Access, winner of the eGR B2B ‘Best Affiliate Software’ award for the last two years straight, will see affiliates being offered equally generous commission structures.  Affiliates will receive revenue share of between 25% and 35%, depending upon the number of new depositors they refer per month.

“We’re delighted to announce the re-launch of the bgo Buddies affiliate programme after its migration to Income Access’ software,” said Allan Turner, Head of Performance at BGO Entertainment. “We’re looking forward to being able to provide our affiliate partners with improved tracking functionality on both desktop and mobile devices, and also giving them a greater level of reporting, enabling them to optimise their campaigns more comprehensively.”

Caesars sells stake in Ohio casinos, tries to torpedo creditor probe

Casino operator Caesars Entertainment has sold its 20% stake in three Ohio casinos to its partner Rock Gaming.

Terms of the deal, announced Thursday by the local subsidiary of Detroit-based Rock Gaming, were not disclosed. Rock Ohio Ventures will now own 100% of the three properties – Horseshoe Cleveland, Horseshoe Cincinnati and the ThistleDown racino – while Caesars will continue to manage the properties. Rock Gaming and Caesars will continue to share ownership of the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore in Maryland.

The sale was possible because the three casinos were held outside Caesars’ main unit, Caesars Entertainment Operating Co (CEOC), which is currently embroiled in highly contentious Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

CAESARS TO HIRE INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU TO INVESTIGATE ASSET TRANSFERS

Thursday also brought news that CEOC has asked the bankruptcy court to appoint an outside examiner to determine whether Caesars’ controversial asset transfers amounted to, as junior creditors have alleged, a blatant ‘looting’ of CEOC to shield those assets from creditors’ clutches.

Caesars has offered to provide $10m to fund the investigation, which they believe will take 120 days to conduct. Caesars helpfully suggested that similar probes currently being conducted by creditor groups should be shut down so as not to interfere with this probe.

Wilmington Trust, which represents creditors owed $479m, filed papers with the court accusing Caesars of not being interested in discovering “what they did or what they should do now to remedy their wrongs, but rather to forestall creditor investigations and access to documents.”

Pennsylvania’s new online gambling bill is poker-only, no bad actor clause

Pennsylvania’s newest online gambling bill is poker-only, confusing supporters who believed HB 649 sponsor Rep. John Payne’s use of the phrase “internet gaming” meant the bill would allow operators to offer online casino games.

The full text of HB 649 has since been published (read it here) and, while it also makes repeated mention of “internet gaming,” the bill’s definition of “authorized game” is limited to “any interactive poker game approved by the [Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board].”

In announcing his bill on Wednesday, Payne had cited a study that projected the state’s regulated online gambling market could generate revenue of $120m in its first year. Suffice it to say, Sheldon Adelson will win a PokerStars Spin & Go before a poker-only intrastate market earns that sum in one year. New Jersey’s regulated market produced only $29.1m in online poker revenue in its first year, and Pennsylvania’s population is nowhere near 4x the size of New Jersey’s.

Only the state’s existing gaming licensees are eligible to obtain online licenses, but the bill contains no specific ‘bad actor’ provisions regarding these licensees’ technology partners aka ‘significant vendors.’ Suitability will be judged on whether a significant vendor’s “prior activities, reputation, habits and associations .. create or enhance the dangers of unsuitable, unfair or illegal practices, methods and activities in the conduct of interactive gaming.”

As previously revealed, online gaming licenses will cost $5m for existing gaming licensees and $1m for significant vendors. Operators will ante up 14% of their gross gaming revenue, payable on a weekly basis. Players would have to be 21 years of age or older.

Other details include a willingness to enter into agreements with other intrastate markets for the purpose of sharing liquidity. Absent those agreements, attempts to wager with a Pennsylvania-licensed operator from outside the state will result in the forfeiture of any winnings.

The bill also bars internet cafés from making computer equipment available “principally for the purpose of accessing interactive games.” Individuals who get caught offering unauthorized online services will face fines of $75k to $150k for a first offense, rising to $300k for a second offense. Licensed manufacturers and suppliers face fines of up to $300k for a first offense, rising to $600k. Licensed gaming entities face fines from $600k to $1.2m.

Rob Yong Talks Awards; Nicolas Fraïoli Talks Pain, and Manuel Bevand Talks Ted

A triumvirate of talking tales as the Dusk till Dawn owner, Rob Yong, talks about the British Poker Awards, former Aviation Club de France Tournament Director, Nicolas Fraïoli, talks about the loss of his job, and former Winamax Team Pro, Manuel Bevand, gets the opportunity to talk at a Ted conference.

The 2013 International Stadiums Poker Tour (ISTP), held at Wembley Stadium, remains the greatest poker tournament I have ever experienced.

You had to be there to experience the vastness of the operation. Nobody thought they would pull it off. Perhaps, these were the two reasons that nobody voted for it as Best Live Tournament at the European Poker Awards that year?

I’m not the only one who believes the public got that wrong.

“I made a mental note to boycott poker awards after the ISTP Wembley didn’t even win a bowl of rice, or get as much as a nomination at the European Poker Tour Awards.” Dusk till Dawn (DTD) owner Rob Yong wrote in his latest blog post.

Yong finally got over it. Being nominated for a ton of awards usually clears any blocked sinuses.

Yong and the team came away with three awards. He makes no mention of his personal award for Growth and Contribution and instead concentrates his word count on the hard work done by the World Poker Tour (WPT) team for the award winning WPT500 event.

Talking Ted With Manuel Bevand

Lee Davy finds time to talk to the former Winamax sponsored pro, Manuel Bevand, about his forthcoming appearance on the Ted Conference stage.

Anyone that watches Manuel Bevand playing poker can quickly deduce that this is a smart man. So I wasn’t surprised, albeit a little envious, when I learned that he was about to make his Ted Conference debut at the TEDx Ecole Polytechnique in Paris on 23 April 2015.

It’s not easy talking in front of some of the smartest engineering students in the world.

But if anyone can do it, Manub can.

Talking at a Ted Conference is a bucket list goal of mine. How did this become something that you wanted to do?

“Well, I suppose everyone has something to say? When I started watching TED talks I became hooked and started wondering about what I would say on that stage. I put it on my bucket list, and attended my first event (TedXClapham) as a spectator, but I didn’t know I would have to speak three months later. The opportunity just presented itself and I’m super excited.”

How did it present itself?