Paddy Power has appointed Gav Thompson as its new chief marketing officer, taking over the company’s brand strategic direction.

Thompson has 20 years’ experience working in strategic marketing, brand, and innovation with leading consumer brands such Guinness, PlayStation, Toyota, 3, Absolut, Pepsi, FedEx, Bacardi, O2 and giffgaff.

Andy McCue, chief executive of Paddy Power, welcomed Thompson to the company and referred to him as “a world-class marketing talent and his passion for customers, brand experiences and innovation” a perfect match for the company.

“Gav joins at an exciting phase in the business, and will be a superb addition to a strong team,” added McCue

The American Gaming Association (AGA) has invited the newly-confirmed Attorney General Loretta Lynch to join state attorneys general and other top law enforcement officials in partnership with the gaming industry through its initiative to crack down on illegal gambling operations.

The US Senate confirmed the nomination of Loretta Lynch on Thursday to become US attorney general, getting a 56-43 votes.

“The legal, highly regulated, $240 billion casino gaming industry invites Attorney General Lynch to join us in exposing illegal gambling through our new initiative that is bringing together law enforcement officials to strengthen communities in every state,” said AGA President and CEO Geoff Freeman.

“AG Lynch has demonstrated a strong track record on this issue and a keen understanding of the serious problem illegal gambling has become across the country, and we hope to work with her to combat shady operators who don’t protect consumers, don’t create jobs and don’t contribute a dime in taxes in support of their communities,” Freeman added.

Macau’s struggling VIP market fell 42.1% in Q1, according to statistics released by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ).

High-rollers lost MOP 37.7b (US $4.72b) at Macau’s baccarat tables in the first three months of 2015, while mass market revenue – including slots and electronic table games – fell 27% to MOP 27.1b ($3.4b). The VIP share of the overall revenue pie came to 58.2%, down significantly from 63% in Q1 2014, which was itself down from its traditional 70% range. The mass market share rose from 36.3% to 41.8%.

Looking closer at the mass category, slot machine revenue was down 26.3% to MOP 2.9b while ‘live multi-game’ products struck the month’s lone positive note, rising 6.3% to MOP 537m. The ‘hybrid’ tables, which combine live dealers with electronic wagering and settlement, are expected to continue to grow, especially with Macau taking a hard line on its live gaming table cap.

Everyone expected the VIP market to be in the dumps but the mass market figure was being closely watched to gauge its ability to mitigate the VIP slide. There is a caveat regarding the mass numbers, as some casino operators reclassified some premium mass tables as VIP midway through 2014 in order to skirt the smoking ban on the mass market floor that took effect in October.

Lee Davy makes use of a train ride to London by bringing you a weekly news round up that includes a live stream of Daniel Negreanu releasing a stream; PokerStars saying bye-bye to another star; the Chinese coming down heavy on the APPT; an extra chapter in the Lock Poker saga, and a whole host of individual praise and back patting.

When pondering the weekly news highlight I’m torn between the Lock Poker debacle and Daniel Negreanu’s urine.

That’s what I love about this game. One moment you are writing about people taking the piss, and the next it’s people taking a piss.

Wee will have to wait for Negreanu’s stream. Not even Kid Poker’s poker is bigger than another chapter in the Lock Poker saga. So what were the criminals up to this week? Well, according to USPoker’s John Mehaffey, Lock Poker has finally taken the hint and shut up shop.