Global Poker League teams London Royals, and Rome Emperors have selected their wildcard entries, and both Liv Boeree and Max Pescatori will represent their franchises.

Yesterday, we announced the full line-ups for the Moscow Wolverines and Paris Aviators and today we can do likewise for the London Royals and Rome Emperors.

Let’s begin with one of the strongest sides in the Global Poker League (GPL). London Royals Team Manager Liv Boeree emerged from Draft Day with one of the biggest smiles in the room. Many people’s early favorites have just gotten much stronger after Boeree announced on Twitter that Sam Trickett will be joining her franchise.

Trickett is an excellent choice. He is Europe’s winningest live tournament player with earnings exceeding $20m, and he is versatile having competed against the very best players in the world in both cash games and tournaments.

Global Poker League teams London Royals, and Rome Emperors have selected their wildcard entries, and both Liv Boeree and Max Pescatori will represent their franchises.

Yesterday, we announced the full line-ups for the Moscow Wolverines and Paris Aviators and today we can do likewise for the London Royals and Rome Emperors.

Let’s begin with one of the strongest sides in the Global Poker League (GPL). London Royals Team Manager Liv Boeree emerged from Draft Day with one of the biggest smiles in the room. Many people’s early favorites have just gotten much stronger after Boeree announced on Twitter that Sam Trickett will be joining her franchise.

Trickett is an excellent choice. He is Europe’s winningest live tournament player with earnings exceeding $20m, and he is versatile having competed against the very best players in the world in both cash games and tournaments.

This year is another hit for the eSports industry revenue-wise, thanks to brand sponsorships that have started trickling in.

A Newzoo market report forecast the competitive gaming industry will receive 70 percent of all revenue from sponsors and advertisers in 2016.

Brands, from endemic sponsors EIZO to Coca-Cola and PepsiCo companies, are expected to spend around $128 million on sponsoring and another $197 million on advertising around eSports video content. The total, $325 million, represents an increase of 49 percent compared to last year’s figures, and Newzoo believes “growth is set to continue as more brands make their moves into the space.”

“The explosive growth of eSports and the ongoing convergence of games and video provides the biggest opportunity for the games industry since the launch of the iPhone back in 2007,” said Newzoo CEO Peter Warman, according to MCV UK. “Supercell’s Clash Royale, the announcement of Rocket League eSports and the $1 billion investment into Chinese streaming platform Douyu are some recent examples that confirm this.”

This year is another hit for the eSports industry revenue-wise, thanks to brand sponsorships that have started trickling in.

A Newzoo market report forecast the competitive gaming industry will receive 70 percent of all revenue from sponsors and advertisers in 2016.

Brands, from endemic sponsors EIZO to Coca-Cola and PepsiCo companies, are expected to spend around $128 million on sponsoring and another $197 million on advertising around eSports video content. The total, $325 million, represents an increase of 49 percent compared to last year’s figures, and Newzoo believes “growth is set to continue as more brands make their moves into the space.”

“The explosive growth of eSports and the ongoing convergence of games and video provides the biggest opportunity for the games industry since the launch of the iPhone back in 2007,” said Newzoo CEO Peter Warman, according to MCV UK. “Supercell’s Clash Royale, the announcement of Rocket League eSports and the $1 billion investment into Chinese streaming platform Douyu are some recent examples that confirm this.”

James Packer is finally a step closer to breaking ground on his $2 billion Sydney casino.

On Tuesday, the New South Wales government gave the go signal for Crown Resort’s casino and six-star hotel project on Sydney’s waterfront at Barangaroo, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The government’s consent, however, came at a cost: the casino operator agreed to some changes in the structure of the resort’s gaming floor, which includes increasing the width of the public promenade and making several changes to the façade of the western podium elevation, according to the report.

Packer, who own 53 percent of the Melbourne-based Crown Resorts, drew the line at reducing the size of the podium, or the building that houses the gaming floor, telling government officials that “splitting up its gambling offering” could significantly affect the resort’s most important source of revenues.

The first trickle of Global Poker League wildcard picks has hit the media airwaves with both Fabrice Soulier of the Paris Aviators and Anatoly Filatov of the Moscow Wolverines announcing their final team lineups.

The first round of matches of the Global Poker League (GPL) are set to take place less than a week away, and we still don’t know what the full team lineups will be.

The excitement leading up the GPL Draft was palpable. It turned out to be a fantastic event. The lapse in announcing the wildcard picks has been a stumble. It was important to keep the foot on the gas after that glorious evening. It’s time for someone to release the handbrake. It needs to keep moving.

Two managers have done that during the past 24hrs, and a trend has started to form. The first Team Manager to announce their wildcard picks was the World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, Fabrice Soulier. The Paris Aviators chief selected himself and online cash game star Alex Luneau.

The first trickle of Global Poker League wildcard picks has hit the media airwaves with both Fabrice Soulier of the Paris Aviators and Anatoly Filatov of the Moscow Wolverines announcing their final team lineups.

The first round of matches of the Global Poker League (GPL) are set to take place less than a week away, and we still don’t know what the full team lineups will be.

The excitement leading up the GPL Draft was palpable. It turned out to be a fantastic event. The lapse in announcing the wildcard picks has been a stumble. It was important to keep the foot on the gas after that glorious evening. It’s time for someone to release the handbrake. It needs to keep moving.

Two managers have done that during the past 24hrs, and a trend has started to form. The first Team Manager to announce their wildcard picks was the World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, Fabrice Soulier. The Paris Aviators chief selected himself and online cash game star Alex Luneau.

Massachusetts gaming regulators want to study the social casino site of their state’s first casino licensee, even though they’re not sure if the site falls under their purview.

On Tuesday, officials at the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) invited execs at Penn National Gaming’s Plainridge Park Casino to a meeting to discuss the casino’s new free-play online casino, which is powered by Scientific Games’ Play4Fun Network.

The MGC’s interest in the HollywoodCasino.com site was sparked after the Boston Globe ran an article last week detailing concerns by problem gambling groups that the online free-play slots paid off more than Plainridge’s land-based slots, which these critics claimed was giving customers a false sense of optimism regarding their chance to win when playing with real money.

Penn National’s VP of public affairs Eric Schippers told the Globe that while the online free-play jackpots are higher, “as a percentage of spins, the winning experience is similar to the one at the casino.”

Massachusetts gaming regulators want to study the social casino site of their state’s first casino licensee, even though they’re not sure if the site falls under their purview.

On Tuesday, officials at the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) invited execs at Penn National Gaming’s Plainridge Park Casino to a meeting to discuss the casino’s new free-play online casino, which is powered by Scientific Games’ Play4Fun Network.

The MGC’s interest in the HollywoodCasino.com site was sparked after the Boston Globe ran an article last week detailing concerns by problem gambling groups that the online free-play slots paid off more than Plainridge’s land-based slots, which these critics claimed was giving customers a false sense of optimism regarding their chance to win when playing with real money.

Penn National’s VP of public affairs Eric Schippers told the Globe that while the online free-play jackpots are higher, “as a percentage of spins, the winning experience is similar to the one at the casino.”