Monthly Archives: January 2015

EveryMatrix to Sponsor Fire & Ice 2015

16 January 2015, London, UK– EveryMatrix, a leading software provider in the iGaming industry, is proud to be one of the supporting sponsors of the 14th annual Fire & Ice event on 4th February at the Troxy London.

EveryMatrix is supporting this year’s event entitled Fire & Ice: The Reign of Queen Vicwhich takes guests back in time to the golden era of Victorian England. This year’s performances will be as daring, dangerous and decadent as the cream of iGaming society mingle in the opulence of the Victorian ball.

“EveryMatrix is proud to sponsor this unique industry event as we have always supported Fire & Ice in the past because it is not only extravagant debouched fun but a great opportunity to host clients, network and meet old friends in a truly relaxing environment,” Nick Hill,  Sales & Marketing Director EveryMatrix commented.

Lyceum Media’s Fire & Ice party, famous for its provocative and unique entertainment and for attracting the who’s who in gaming takes place this year on Wednesday, 4th February, at London’s Troxy Theatre and will host up to 2,000 iGaming executives on its main floor.

Fire & Ice will be free to attend for all iGaming professionals. Doors open at 9pm with the Stage Show commencing at 10 pm. EveryMatrix will host a VIP table for its distinguished guests.

Companies and executives wanting to attend the Original iGaming networking party should visit www.fireandiceparty.com for details on the party and the pre-party dinner.

Other sponsors of Fire & Ice: Reign of Queen Vic, include: Play’n GO, Affiliate REPUBLIK, Bluff Europe, Callcredit Information Group, CalvinAyre.com, CORE Gaming, Dafabet, Gamesys, Gaming Realms, iGamingBusiness Executive Conference, iGamingCalendar, iGaming Capital, Income Access Group, Magnet Gaming, Openlot, Picante Gaming/GGL, Plain Gaming, Scientific Games, Secure Trading, Sure International, VegasKings.com, WPT Europe.

Katie Lever announced as Chair of American Heart Association's Go Red For Women Luncheon

Scientific Games Corporation announced that its General Counsel, Katie Lever, will serve as the chair for the American Heart Association’s 2015 Go Red For Women Luncheon in Las Vegas. The 2015 luncheon is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Friday, February 27, at the Bellagio Resort and Casino in Las Vegas and features a health expo, beauty boutique, health screenings, and a heart-healthy lunch.

How to Break that Marketing Plateau and Plan New Markets

“There has always been a surge mentality to get in to as many markets as possible in gaming. It doesn’t mean every company is planning it right. Maybe you know of a company that isn’t even planning to expand at all.”

“There is no excuse to not be making international efforts with your online company. Every company is unique. Go and take that uniqueness, that hook, to a new market.”

– Me

History of Expansion

iGaming has always been a global affair. This industry took advantage of tech early and rapidly. This beast exploded across the world at light speed. That is the beauty of online tech, it works almost anywhere and instantly.

For the big gaming operators, like PokerStars, 888, Party and others, pioneering into new markets has been a focus point for as long as I can remember.

For the most part, the top companies expand well and plan well. Cutting edge expansion planning really. Not always positive results, but they try. ‘Stars, (whom has signed up almost 100M players), had a bad time going into New Jersey, as did Party Poker having their CEO Norbert Teufelberger detained by police in Belgium.

Cleveland Cavs signs up with FanDuel; FC Barcelona deals with Mondogoal

The Cleveland Cavaliers have become the latest NBA team to sign a partnership with daily fantasy sports provider FanDuel.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed but it’s been reported that as part of the agreement, FanDuel will receive the opportunity to promote its website through branding on in-arena signage at the Cavs’ home court, Quicken Loans Arena, and on the team’s official website. FanDuel and the Cavaliers will also launch a promotional campaign, dubbed the  ‘#FanDuelfortheWin Sweepstakes’, offering participants the opportunity to win VIP experiences at upcoming home games, as well as other prizes like tickets, autographed merchandise, and other club-related products.

“The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of the most dynamic teams in the NBA, with passionate fans and an exciting roster,” FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles said in a statement. “The Cavs fully align with FanDuel’s mission to make sports more exciting for basketball fans.”

The new partnership with Cavaliers now brings FanDuel’s NBA partnerships to five teams, having struck separate partnership deals with the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets, and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Meanwhile, global fantasy sports platform developer Mondogoal has entered into a partnership of its own, striking a deal with football giant FC Barcelona, considered as one of the most prestigious football clubs in the world. As part of the deal, Mondogoal has already developed and launched a Barcelona-branded version of the fantasy sports game, that the club’s supporters can now access wherever they are in the world.

“Barcelona is the largest, most engaged club in the world on social media, with over 80 million Facebook followers, and we know that following will be key to the success of our partnership,” Mondogoal CEO Shergul Arshad said in a statement. “Their fans are passionate and involved in all things Barca, and this is a new, fun and innovative way for them to follow and participate with their friends and supporters around the world, in real time.”

The fantasy sports developer’s new deal with FC Barcelona is the latest in a growing number of partnerships the company has struck with other football clubs. Mondogoal already has secured deals with Italian Serie A club AC Milan and English Premier League outfits Manchester City, Liverpool, and West Ham United.

Elaine Wynn joins push to tighten gun background checks

Elaine Wynn, the co-founder of Wynn Resorts and former wife of Steve Wynn, has joined the effort to tighten gun background checks in Nevada. Nevadans for Background Checks, in a statement Friday, said she’ll chair a statewide advisory board to push an initiative that has qualified for the 2016 ballot.

Elaine Wynn Joins Gun Background Check Push

Listen Live Welcome to FM News 100.5 KXNT! FM News 100.5 KXNT is dedicated to being the dominant information and [] 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 – Elaine Wynn, the co-founder of Wynn Resorts and former wife of Steve Wynn, has joined the effort to tighten gun background checks in Nevada. Nevadans for Background Checks, in a statement Friday, said she’ll chair its new statewide advisory board to push an initiative that has qualified for the 2016 ballot.

Non-stop flights from Reno-New York City to boost economy

JetBlue Airways’ plans for the first, daily non-stop flights linking Reno and New York City have local business and tourism officials excited about the potential impact on the region’s broader economy. New opportunities range from filling hotel rooms and luring new business, to bolstering the area’s image based on the sheer prestige of having “New York” and “nonstop” in the same sentence, officials say.

Interview with Wai Ming Yap on Singapore’s Remote Gambling Act

Angelia Ong talks to Wai-Ming Yap of Stamford Law Corporation. He talks about the recently passed law regarding the prohibition of igaming in Singapore.

Singapore’s parliament has passed a law making online and remote gambling a crime. Penalties for individuals, operators and distributors range from fines of US$4,000 to $400,000 and possible prison terms up to seven years.

“Remote gambling covers even if you placed the call on the phone or on television or radio or any remote devices. that acts itself prohibits all forms of igaming or internet gaming. Whether you are operating in Singapore or out of Singapore, it’s all prohibited. This is a quite large piece of legislation. I think very unique in the world. ”

“All even support services that are helping some of these internet companies, they are not allowed to operate within Singapore. even for operators outside Singapore, if they are targeting Singaporeans, they are not allowed. The government are going to enforce that with other measures for example, they will use blocking devices, the URL; they will work with the banks and tell them which are the merchants to stop processing payments. They have a specific area where they actually target children, the young people. Young people are very internet savvy. So they have a particular section that you cannot recruit young people to help in the development of this industry and the penalty is quite severe.”

Online gambling operators have begun their retreat from the Singapore market following passage of the city-state’s new online gambling laws. The bill won’t take effect until an as yet unspecified date this year but international operators are already sent notice letters to their Singapore customers.

 

 

My Poker Pal: Putting Community Back into Poker

Lee Davy sits down with the founder of My Poker Pal to talk about his plans to put the community back into poker.

I don’t think there is anything more important in a person’s life than community. Stick Tom Hanks on a desert island and he starts drawing faces on footballs to keep him from going insane.

Paul Rimmer has spent 20-years in the poker industry, and during that time he has seen a lot of change. What’s bothering him the most? It’s the lack of community. As he told me during our jibber-jabber, “It’s all hoodies and sunglasses these days.”

Paul Rimmer wants the banter back, and this is how he is going to get it.

Who is Paul Rimmer?

“I’ve been in poker for 20-years, and was probably one of the first people to set up a pub league back in 2004. It was called The Premier Pub Poker League. I had a serious knee injury and couldn’t drive. I always had home games, and I got to the point where about 50 people wanted to play. So I set up a local league in a few pubs. That expanded. I got a few partners in and we created The Get Noticed Pub Poker League.”

What is My Poker Pal?

Noah Schwartz Wins WPTAlpha8 Florida

Noah Schwartz defeats Jake Schindler, in heads-up action, to win the compact and bijou World Poker Tour Alpha8 event in Florida.

Noah Schwartz has carved out a piece of history after becoming the first player to win both World Poker Tour (WPT) Main Event, and WPT Alpha8 titles.

The Floridian captured the WPT Alpha8 Florida title, on home soil, after edging out the up and coming Jake Schindler, in heads-up action, in the winner takes all format.

[Image Credit: WPT]

Winner takes all?

Unusual as the concept may sound, it was needed, as only six players showed up to contest the $100,000 buy-in, hence the $585,000 prize was reserved for the last man standing.

During my little tete-a-tete with the WPT President Adam Pliska, recently, he told me that the intention was to have a lot more Alpha8 events, but they quickly realized that the state of the poker economy had to be taken into consideration. I think this showing was a sign of that economy struggling to maintain the fast pace that the organizers set.

Global Poker Masters Update: Sickos Out and Sickos In

The teams for the Global Poker Masters are close to completion after the Global Poker Index announces the final four positions for each of the eight qualifying nations.

The Global Poker Index (GPI) has moved a tad closer to their final roster of players, for the forthcoming Global Poker Masters (GPM), after announcing the first four placements from the eight qualifying nations.

There are four changes from the automatic selections. The GPM is going to lose some star power, but the top dogs that are coming in to take their place weigh that up nicely.

“There have been no disappointments.” Said the GPI, CEO, Alex Dreyfus, when questioned about the players that dropped out. “There were some schedule conflicts for them and I wanted players that were keen to commit. Players who were keen to participate, but couldn’t guarantee their attendance had to make way for the player next in line. They understood.”

We were already aware of the biggest omission of the bunch, after Dan Colman signaled his intention not to attend very early in the process. The in-form Bryn Kenney was drafted in to replace the 2014 GPI Player of the Year, and Olivier Busquet, who replaces Pratyush Buddiga, will now join him.

There are also changes in the UK, Canadian and Russian teams. Stephen Chidwick makes way for the European No.1 money earner Sam Trickett, Mike McDonald makes way for the former World Champion, Jonathan Duhamel, and Artem Metalidi moves aside to give Igor Yaroshevsky a berth.

Dreyfus flew out to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) to chat to the players. I asked him what the feedback was like for the GPM. It was great news.

Judge slams Caesars’ asset transfers as “impermissible” violation of federal law

A federal judge has ruled that key elements of casino operator Caesars Entertainment’s proposed financial restructuring likely violated federal law. In a ruling in Manhattan federal court last Thursday, US District Judge Shira Scheindlin (pictured) rejected an attempt by Caesars to quash a lawsuit brought by junior creditors who feel they’re being unjustly treated via Caesars’ financial rebirth.

The creditors had sought to reverse Caesars’ shifting of certain profitable assets out of its debt-laden Caesars Entertainment Operating Co (CEOC) division, thereby shielding these assets from creditors ahead of CEOC’s bankruptcy filing. The junior creditors also protested Caesars’ claim that its sale of 5% of CEOC to undisclosed institutional investors had alleviated CEOC of honoring its debt obligations to these junior creditors.

In her ruling, Scheindlin referred to Caesars’ elimination of its debt guarantees as “an impermissible out-of-court restructuring.” Scheindlin said Caesars’ gambit was “exactly” the type of shenanigans that the federal Trust Indenture Act of 1939 was “designed to prevent.”

Caesars had never denied the factual nature of the plaintiff’s allegations but insisted that the junior creditors had no right to sue because the company had yet to default on its debt payments. But Scheindlin cited a previous case that ruled transferring assets and eliminating guarantees “constitutes an impairment of the right to sue for payment.”

Caesars spokesperson Stephen Cohen sold Bloomberg that it disagreed with Scheindlin’s ruling because it was “based simply on the plaintiffs’ allegations.” With the suit still pending, Caesars has no ability to appeal the ruling unless Scheindlin gives them permission.

Caesars’ plan to convert CEOC into a real estate investment trust has received the support of most of its senior creditors, who would receive equity in the new REIT to the tune of 92¢ on the dollar. Junior creditors holding over $5b in second-lien notes would receive only about 10¢.

CEOC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Chicago last Thursday (15), just days after junior creditors asked a Delaware Chancery Court judge to push CEOC into involuntary bankruptcy. Shortly after Caesars filed in Illinois, Delaware Judge Kevin Gross ordered the Chicago bankruptcy proceedings to be put on hold to give him time to determine which court had jurisdiction over the matter. None of this affects day-to-day operations at any of Caesars casinos across the United States.