Monthly Archives: March 2015

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis Makes Mad Poker Prediction

Greece can make €500 million per annum in tax revenue from online gambling. That’s the ambitious claim Yanis Varoufakis made to his peers recently when discussing the subject of online gambling. Although Greece is currently experiencing a major financial crisis, Varoufakis believes his projections are correct and that he can find half a billion Euros each […]

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March Madness 2015: Top seed Villanova gets early exit

We all knew that it was going to happen. The only question was which number seed was going to fall first. Well, we got our answer when 8 seed North Carolina State bounced out top seed Villanova, 71-68, in the Round of 32.

It was an upset that you can add to the Wolfpack’s lore of stunning March Madness runs. Sure, it’s not quite as special as Jimmy Valvano’s 1983 championship-winning squad, but you can definitely slot this one just below that. NC State also got some help from a surprisingly tight Villanova, a far different team from the one that walloped 16 seed Lafayette by 41 points two days ago.

Villanova’s surprising early exit was the biggest storyline in a day that saw the other top seed in action, Kentucky, book their ticket to the Sweet 16 by beating 8 seed Cincinnati, serving notice yet again that they’re the clear-cut favorites to go all the way.

2 seed Arizona also advanced to the Sweet 16, as did 3 seed Notre Dame and 4 seed North Carolina. The other 4 seed in action, Georgetown, got sent home by 5 seed Utah while 11 seed UCLA continued its improbable run by running past 14 seed UAB.

Caution over casino cash future

Richmond City Council will not be throwing caution to the wind despite a record $21 million windfall last year from River Rock Casino and Resort revenues. That’s because the long-term fate of the casino, including an agreement that sees the B.C. Lottery Corporation provide 10 per cent of casino revenue share to the city, is not set in stone.

Gaming Industry News Weekly Recap – Stories You Might Have Missed

THE AMERICAS

Caesars Entertainment publicly expressed concern over its “ability to continue as a going concern:” Bwin.party said it had made a land-based partner in Pennsylvania; the Restoration of America’s Wire Act hearing was rescheduled (again); George Orwell and Dr. Seuss got mentions at New Jersey’s sports betting court fight; the Borgata’s free-throw tourney proved a hit; Adam Meyer pled insanity to his extortion and weapons charges; legal issues caused the demise of Warren Buffett’s $1b March Madness bracket challenge; Nathan Associates’ Alan Meister dished on his Indian Gaming Industry Report and Koolbit CEO Gerrard Cunningham celebrated GiGse’s moves towards the ‘unconference’ format.

EUROPE

The UK Gambling Commission suspended the licenses of 666bet and MetroPlay; World Betting Exchange shut down due to increased regulatory costs in the UK; the UK gov’t told betting operators to brace for a new Horserace Betting Right; Ladbrokes promoted Jim Mullen to CEO; Bwin.party launched Manchester United’s first real-money online casino; London’s Park Lane Casino offered high-rollers a light; Italian online sports betting nearly doubled; SafeCharge GM Shemer Ktaz offered tips on crafting payment strategies; Rafi Farber expressed concern over where Net Ent’s money might be stashed while Lee Davy quizzed Jason Somerville about reinventing the sponsorship game and revealed why Microgaming’s Alsx Scott is one person you’ll never ask ‘why so serious.’

Borgata free-throw tournament a hit with players; Borgata sues AC over borrowing

The son of a basketball coach has won the first non-poker skill-based tournament organized by a US casino.

Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa announced its basketball free-throw tournament last month in what Borgata Snr. VP Joe Lupo called a bid to engage “a little bit younger demographic.” By 9am on Saturday, there was a 50-deep lineup at the sign-in station. In the end, 1,022 people – mainly twenty- and thirty-somethings – anted up the $20 entry fee for a shot at a $10,220 payday.

But the day belonged to Al Callejas, a 37-year-old Pennsylvania resident who played NCAA Division III ball at the University of Scranton. New Jersey native Wayne Nelson earned $6,132 for placing second, despite an unorthodox style that involved banking in every shot off the backboard. The Press of Atlantic City quoted Nelson justifying this technique by saying: “It’s a casino. The bank is always open.”

The Borgata won’t truly know if the event was a success until data from the contestants’ Borgata Rewards cards indicates how many stayed on to eat, drink and gamble at the casino. Regardless, Lupo said the Borgata will “100%” host similar skill-based contests in future. Lupo told the Inquirer that future contests could involve electronic games similar to Angry Birds, X-Box titles or even the venerable old arcade game Asteroids.

London’s Park Lane Casino preps outdoor gaming area so high-rollers can smoke

A swanky London hotel is preparing to launch an outdoor casino at which patrons would be allowed to smoke ‘em if they got ‘em.

The Hilton Hotel in Park Lane opened a ‘no riff raff’ private casino last year for which entry requires a £1k membership fee. The hotel, which is owned by Malaysian gaming and hospitality conglomerate Genting, now plans to open a roof garden extension next month to cater to its nicotine-addicted high-rollers.

The Daily Mail quoted the hotel’s operations director David Mills saying many of the venue’s clients come from countries that have never heard of smoking bans. The rooftop addition to the Park Lane Casino would feature roulette, baccarat, blackjack and three-card poker tables. However, Westminster Council has banned the property from providing live or recorded music lest it disturb the neighbors even more than the waft of some really nasty Middle Eastern cigarettes.

CAESARS PLEADS FOR EXEMPTION FROM NEW ORLEANS SMOKING BAN

Shot Clock Proves Popular At Dusk Till Dawn

Poker shot clocks have been a controversial topic over the last few years. While few think they should be in every single event, many in the poker community have argued that having a set time limit for players would both speed up the sometimes glacial pace of play that occurs as players start to spend […]

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1 Way Las Vegas Sands Makes Easy Money in Asia

In 2014, the company posted $2.84 billion of net income, well ahead of Wynn Resorts luxury brands to certain higher-end resort properties. Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson had this to say during the Q4 2014 earnings conference call: “Our combined retail mall operations in Asia achieved an operating profit just shy of US$0.5 billion in 2014.

Italian online sports betting up 90%; SNAI enjoys ‘significant’ virtual betting boost

Italy’s online sports betting market enjoyed a surge in February but punter-friendly results kept revenue flat.

Online sports betting stakes in the month of February rose 90% to €227.1m, reflecting the expansion of betting options introduced last year by Italian regulator AAMS and last fall’s launch of Bet365’s Italian-facing site. However, Italian-licensed online sportsbook revenue was flat at €20.2m as a host of football favorites lived up to their reputations.

Hopes are high that the turnover trends will continue due to AAMS proposals to further loosen restrictions on betting options. A plan to swap the turnover-based tax for one based on gross gaming revenue is also expected to help Italian-licensed operators offer the kinds of incentives currently only available via operators licensed outside Italy.

VIRTUAL BETTING HAS “VERY SIGNIFICANT” IMPACT ON SNAI RESULTS