UK-listed bookmaker Ladbrokes has appointed an interim examiner to oversee a restructuring of its money-losing Irish operations.

On Tuesday, Ladbrokes announced that it had successfully applied to the High Court of Dublin to provide its Irish operations with protection from creditors “with a view to allowing the company to trade as a sustainable business going forward.” Ladbrokes estimates the process of putting together “a Scheme of Arrangement” with creditors will take up to 100 days. Deloitte restructuring specialist Ken Fennell has been appointed as examiner.

Lads says it has endured “several years of declining profits” at its Irish operations, including a €5m loss in 2014 after revenue fell 11%. The company claims it needs to restructure “to create a sustainable competitive business which is currently held back due to real estate legacy issues.” Many of Lads’ Irish betting shop leases were reportedly inked before the country’s overheated property market crashed in 2009.

Lads insists it will be “business as usual” at its Irish operations and customers will not be affected. The process will have “no impact” on Lads digital or telephone wagering business. However, some of the 840 individuals who currently work in Lads’ Irish division will likely face redundancy as a result of the restructuring.

Sam Mitten-Laurence and Ivan Luca are the big winners in Season 5 of the United Kingdom & Ireland Poker Tour in Dusk till Dawn Nottingham, after bagging victories in the Main Event and High Roller.

PokerStars have waved bye-bye to Dusk till Dawn (DTD) for another year, and the pairing of Sam Mitten-Laurence and Ivan Luca have written all of the headlines. For Mitten-Laurence, this will be a new feeling. For Luca, it’s a feeling he is getting very used to indeed.

First to Sam Mitten-Laurence and his wonderful run in the Season 5 £1,100 United Kingdom & Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) Main Event. According to the Hendon Mob database this was Mitten-Laurence’s first live score, and what an impressive one it was. He overcame a field of 914 entrants to take the first prize of £182,000, in the £1m Guaranteed Event.

The quality was there to see as we reached the race to the final table. The Dane Morten Mortensen finished 30th, the Spaniard Sergio Aido finished 16th, and the impressive Brit Ben Vinson finished 12th.

Effective altruist, Louie Helm, delves into the research to understand the deeper effects that poker has on society, and covers his findings in a three-part series on the Raising for Effective Giving blog.

There are times in your life when the whole world passes you by like a cloud in the sky. You wake up, brush your teeth, wash your face, head to work, do your thing, come home, have a bath, and sit down in front of the idiot box for your night of entertainment before doing it all again.

At times like these you aren’t really thinking. You’re on autopilot. You have a sense of what society demands of you. It has been hammered into your brain by your parents, schoolteachers and now your boss. The idea of whether you are having a positive effect on society never floats into your mind. It’s up there with that cloud I spoke about.

I have found that as I age, my impact on society becomes more important to me. I guess you could say that I have woken up. I’m not sure what the trigger was. Is it mortality creeping up on me? The need to make an impact before I leave this world, or to squeeze in everything that’s important to me in the time remaining?

Daniel Negreanu starts his Twitch adventure on a high after winning $50,000 playing mixed games, whilst lying in his bed, during his first real money Twitch experience.

Daniel Negreanu has launched his Twitch career in superlative fashion, winning $50,000 playing mixed games, whilst horizontal in his bed.

Kid Poker made his first appearance on Twitch on Tuesday, April 14. He thanked the newest PokerStars recruit, and Twitch star, Jamie Staples, for setting him up, as he proceeded to get involved in some play money games, whilst giving viewers a tour of his home, and an introduction to his dog.

That one appearance netted him over 4,000 subscribers and attracted over 150,000 unique views. On Sunday, Negreanu decided to get involved in the real thing. He one-tabled a $400/$800 Mixed Game, playing against the likes of Ben Sulsky, Matthew Ashton and Luke Schwartz, and he did it all from the comfort of his own bed.

Greg Himmelbrand has won the Maryland Live! Mid Stakes Poker Tour’s Main Event, after beating Justin Liberto in heads-up action, to take the first prize of $72,910.

[Image Credit: PokerNews]

Season 6 of the Mid-Stakes Poker Tour (MSPT) keeps on rocking for the weekend warriors, and Greg Himmelbrand is the latest champion after overcoming Justin Liberto, in heads-up action, to take the first prize at the Main Event at Maryland Live!

It was the first time the MSPT had visited Maryland Live! and it attracted 270 entrants. The former World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Adam Friedman finished 24th, and the talented Christian Harder finished 12th.

The first day of GiGse 2015 has kicked off at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco, an event dedicated to the regulated US iGaming market and surrounding industries such as social casino, real money skill games and daily fantasy sports.

So far the event feels busy, intimate and well attended with one room dedicated to booths, food, refreshments and networking and two additional rooms dedicated to panels, presentations and Open Space sessions.

Unfortunately due to Union restrictions, CalvinAyre.com were stopped from filming anywhere within the conference, but we’ll do our best to provide you with still visuals from the panels and Open Space sessions so you can get a feel for what was happening on the floor.

Today’s “Outside-in Debate: iGaming 2015 and beyond” featured Lawrence Vaughan of Real Gaming, Matt Davey of NYX Gaming and Chris Sheffield of Penn National Gaming Inc, a panel of innovators as pointed out by moderator Julian Harris.

Virtual sports, mobile games and video lottery provider Inspired Gaming has partnered with Greek betting operator OPAP on the launch of 3,960 video lottery terminals (VLTs).

OPAP has an exclusive 10-year license to operate up to 35,000 VLTs in Greece, 16,500 of which can be operated through its own network while the remaining 18,500 will be subcontracted via 4–10 sub-concessions.

“OPAP is one of Europe’s largest and most established operators and we are proud to be selected as one of their VLT suppliers, following a competitive tender process,” said Inspired Gaming founder and CEO Luke Alvarez. “We will be launching a significant number of Inspired VLTs in the coming months and we look forward to many years of on-going success in Greece with OPAP.”

The agreement followed OPAP’s agreement with Scientific Games to supply 5,000 VLT machines.