Portugal’s brick-and-mortar casino market returned to growth in 2015, although it has a long way to go to recover its former glories.

According to the Associação Portuguesa de Casino (ACP), the country’s 11 casinos reported revenue of €288.6m in 2015, an 8% improvement over 2014’s total. However, that is but the first step in eliminating the 37% decline the local casino industry experienced between 2008 and 2014.

Total table game revenue improved 12.4% while slot machine revenue rose 7.2%. The ACP blamed the poor slot showing on increased competition from international online casino sites. Portugal is preparing to institute a new regulated online gambling regime but high tax rates and ring-fenced poker rooms could keep operator interest to a minimum.

Portugal’s leading casino operator Estoril-Sol, whose chairman is Macau casino icon Stanley Ho, earned the bulk (€182.3m) of 2015’s casino take. The Lisboa Casino led all comers with €78.9m, up 7.8% year-on-year, while the Estoril casino rose 6.5% to €61.5m and the Povoa de Varzim added €41.9m.

Three news stories rolled into one after Jeff Gross joins Global Poker Link, Ranking Hero launches Trixir and the LA Times publishes an editorial backing the licensing and regulation of all online gambling and not just fantasy sports.

We will start this titillating triumvirate of tales with more news emanating from Global Poker Link.

Tyler Hancock’s business is making waves thanks to their innovative staking platform allowing punters to take shares of professional poker players playing both live and online while sweating the action on Twitch (online).

Jeff Gross has joined the team. The high stakes regular immediately offered up staking options for his Aussie Millions package. He wasn’t alone. Canadian Courtney Gee also joined the team and started selling pieces of her Turbo Championships of Online Poker (TCOOP) on PokerStars. Dylan Hortin also has a package available for the TCOOP series.

Three news stories rolled into one after Jeff Gross joins Global Poker Link, Ranking Hero launches Trixir and the LA Times publishes an editorial backing the licensing and regulation of all online gambling and not just fantasy sports.

We will start this titillating triumvirate of tales with more news emanating from Global Poker Link.

Tyler Hancock’s business is making waves thanks to their innovative staking platform allowing punters to take shares of professional poker players playing both live and online while sweating the action on Twitch (online).

Jeff Gross has joined the team. The high stakes regular immediately offered up staking options for his Aussie Millions package. He wasn’t alone. Canadian Courtney Gee also joined the team and started selling pieces of her Turbo Championships of Online Poker (TCOOP) on PokerStars. Dylan Hortin also has a package available for the TCOOP series.

A small Nebraska bar is struggling to stay in business after its keno machine went rogue and customers took advantage.

Smartville Station, a local watering hole in the unincorporated community of St. Mary in Johnson Country, is having trouble making ends meet after its lone keno machine experienced a major malfunction last Halloween.

According to the Lincoln Journal Star, it was a truly spooky Halloween night when some of Smartville Station’s regulars noted that the machine had stopped generating numbers in a random fashion and was instead repeating the same pattern over and over again.

Bar owner Susan Goracke thought it was freak luck when seven of her customers claimed winning tickets each worth $500 or less that night. But Goracke started smelling a rat the following day, when her first customer of the day claimed a $6k ticket and another customer claimed a $3k winner shortly thereafter.

A small Nebraska bar is struggling to stay in business after its keno machine went rogue and customers took advantage.

Smartville Station, a local watering hole in the unincorporated community of St. Mary in Johnson Country, is having trouble making ends meet after its lone keno machine experienced a major malfunction last Halloween.

According to the Lincoln Journal Star, it was a truly spooky Halloween night when some of Smartville Station’s regulars noted that the machine had stopped generating numbers in a random fashion and was instead repeating the same pattern over and over again.

Bar owner Susan Goracke thought it was freak luck when seven of her customers claimed winning tickets each worth $500 or less that night. But Goracke started smelling a rat the following day, when her first customer of the day claimed a $6k ticket and another customer claimed a $3k winner shortly thereafter.

PokerStars Team Pro Liv Boeree is a guest on London Real this week where she fields questions about Dan Bilzerian, her San Remo win and why there aren’t more women playing poker.

I first saw Liv Boeree in 2009.

I was playing in the £1,075 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) event at the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) at The Casino at The Empire in London’s Leicester Square.

I had Chris Ferguson to my immediate right, John Juanda to my immediate left, and Davidi Kitai eyeballing me from across the felt. A player was eliminated. He left. In his place sat this striking young woman looking like she was the daughter of a love affair between Russell Brand and Metallica.

PokerStars Team Pro Liv Boeree is a guest on London Real this week where she fields questions about Dan Bilzerian, her San Remo win and why there aren’t more women playing poker.

I first saw Liv Boeree in 2009.

I was playing in the £1,075 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) event at the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) at The Casino at The Empire in London’s Leicester Square.

I had Chris Ferguson to my immediate right, John Juanda to my immediate left, and Davidi Kitai eyeballing me from across the felt. A player was eliminated. He left. In his place sat this striking young woman looking like she was the daughter of a love affair between Russell Brand and Metallica.

A former Betfair exec says Pinnacle Sports’ claim of suspicious betting patterns on an Australian Open tennis match was a publicity stunt.

The day after prominent online bookmaker Pinnacle went public with claims of having identified suspicious betting patterns on a mixed-doubles match at the 2016 Australian Open, Scott Ferguson accused the site of making a “cheap grab at free publicity.”

Ferguson, who formerly served as head of education at Betfair and now works as an industry consultant, told Fairfax Media that he doubted Pinnacle’s sincerity given that neither Betfair nor tournament sponsor William Hill reported unusual activity on the match in question.

On Sunday, the New York Times reported that Betfair attracted $25k in wagering on the match in question but Fairfax said Betfair had taken only $11k and the site kept markets open – including in-play bets – even after Pinnacle went public with its claims. A William Hill Australia spokesperson said the site “saw no suspicious betting activity” on the match.

A former Betfair exec says Pinnacle Sports’ claim of suspicious betting patterns on an Australian Open tennis match was a publicity stunt.

The day after prominent online bookmaker Pinnacle went public with claims of having identified suspicious betting patterns on a mixed-doubles match at the 2016 Australian Open, Scott Ferguson accused the site of making a “cheap grab at free publicity.”

Ferguson, who formerly served as head of education at Betfair and now works as an industry consultant, told Fairfax Media that he doubted Pinnacle’s sincerity given that neither Betfair nor tournament sponsor William Hill reported unusual activity on the match in question.

On Sunday, the New York Times reported that Betfair attracted $25k in wagering on the match in question but Fairfax said Betfair had taken only $11k and the site kept markets open – including in-play bets – even after Pinnacle went public with its claims. A William Hill Australia spokesperson said the site “saw no suspicious betting activity” on the match.