Monthly Archives: April 2016

US court deals Laos a setback in pursuit of Savan Vegas’ former operators

The government of Laos will get no help from US courts in pursuing claims against the former operators of the Savan Vegas casino.

Last Thursday, a federal court judge in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands granted a motion to dismiss a petition brought by the Laotian government seeking the issuance of subpoenas against Bridge Capital LLC, the alleged power behind the former operators of the Savan Vegas Hotel & Entertainment Complex.

If you’re just joining us, in 2007, the Laotian government entered into a joint venture with a consortium consisting of Netherlands-registered Lao Holdings and Macau-based Sanum Investments to run the Savan Vegas casino. But the government seized the property in 2012, claiming to be owed $23m in back taxes and penalties from the operators.

After the JV went south, the parties began arbitration proceedings, which were settled in June 2014. The terms required Lao Holdings and Sanum to sell their interest in exchange for Laos dropping its tax-dodging and criminal bribery charges. Both parties quickly accused the other of violating the settlement, and here we are.

Global Poker League Week 2 Action: Galfond v Mercier Headline

The schedule for the second week of the Global Poker League is out with the highlight being the impending heads-up clash between San Francisco Rush’s Phil Galfond and New York Rounders’ Jason Mercier.

Ok, I have to admit. I was wrong.

Partly.

When I reviewed Day 1 of the Global Poker League (GPL), I doubted that poker could elicit the emotion, excitement, and elevation necessary to turn poker from a game played in smoke filled, french fry chomping casino halls, to the largest eSports arenas in the world.

Global Poker League Week 2 Action: Galfond v Mercier Headline

The schedule for the second week of the Global Poker League is out with the highlight being the impending heads-up clash between San Francisco Rush’s Phil Galfond and New York Rounders’ Jason Mercier.

Ok, I have to admit. I was wrong.

Partly.

When I reviewed Day 1 of the Global Poker League (GPL), I doubted that poker could elicit the emotion, excitement, and elevation necessary to turn poker from a game played in smoke filled, french fry chomping casino halls, to the largest eSports arenas in the world.

Danny Willett Wins The Masters and Betting Emporium Calls it at 66 to 1

Danny Willett comes from nowhere to win The 2016 Masters and the team at the Betting Emporium gave him away as a free tip when he was 66/1.

66/1.

You don’t see odds like that too often.

Unless you are a member of the Betting Emporium, the sports tipping site created by two of the UK’s finest poker exports Neil Channing and Joe Beevers.

Charity April on LCB

“Give and it will come back to you” is a phrase we would like to begin with. This April LCB has decided to give back to one of greatest charity organizations ‘Kiva’ by setting up the LCB $500 April Kiva Charity Contest exclusively for our members. There are no boundaries when the charity and good will is in question. The least we can do is to encourage all our members to show their hearts of gold and take part in this extraordinary contest. All our members have to do is to join our Kiva team and LCB will donate the money on their behalf to the recipient they choose. So far LCB and its members have loaned $5,700.

What is Kiva and how it works? Kiva is a non- profit organization established in 2005 with the aim to connect people all around the world by providing them with the opportunity to get on their own feet and get out of poverty. What sets them apart from other charity institutions is the simple wish to lend money to people in need, people who are striving to survive all around the globe no matter where they live and what color their skin is. With more than a million lenders, 98% repayment rate, 84 different countries and 450 volunteers around the world, Kiva team ensures that 100% of every dollar you lend to their organization goes straight to the people whom you want to donate to without them taking a cut.

We always strive to stay ahead of the competition and be unique in what we are doing. Once we open up a LCB shop among various casino chips and e-wallets Kiva voucher found its place in the shop offer. Just to let you know LCB was set up in 2006. We are well aware that some child in some remote country is probably starving, or that some African country does not have good water supplies, that some man out there has an amazing business plan but not enough funds to make it live. We are very proud and happy to be the part of worldwide organization such as Kiva. We want to bring awareness to all of our members that the slightest contribution can make this world a better place. Lending only $25 does not make much difference for you but does make a huge difference for someone who desperately needs them.

And that’s not all. Please have in mind that LCB encourages casinos to give the loan as well. Once they donate certain amount of money they automatically compete for the best place on our Most Charitable Casinos list, they are also given free exposure on our site. We can just mention some of the casinos that are regular charity donators Tropezia Palace, Red Flash Casino, Silver Sands and Slotland. The feeling of helping others is great, but the feeling of bringing awareness and promoting generosity among people of is even greater. That’s exactly what LCB is doing not only this month but since its foundation.

Global Bet partners EASIT for Synot Group’s Virtual Sports Self-Service Terminals

Global Bet has announced a partnership with EASIT company to produce a revolutionary new Virtual Sports self-service solution to be rolled out across 1,000 Synot locations just in time for Euro 2016.

The new multi-year deal, which will expand into a global operation, will offer the full portfolio of Global Bet’s Virtual Sports through a custom made cabinet designed exclusively by Synot. The first 1,000 standalone solutions will be showcased by Synot in their Czech and Slovak locations.

The deal will make EASIT and Global Bet Eastern Europe’s biggest provider of Virtual Sports Self-Service Betting Terminals and follows the successful delivery of the online product for Slovak operator eTIPOS in recent months.

Announcing the deal, Synot´s Chief Executive, Miroslav Valenta Jr.: “SST‘s have proved exceptionally popular with customers with over 80% of stakes being placed on football and continuing to increase.

Doug Polk Breaks Twitch LiveStream Record Winning $162k in PokerStars Kilimanjaro Event

Doug Polk, the self-proclaimed ‘best No-Limit Hold’em player in the world’ has broken the record for the most money won while streaming live on Twitch by taking down the $700 buy-in Kilimanjaro event on PokerStars for $162,000.

Last month, Arthur Crowson over at PokerListings did an excellent job of exposing the poker community to the best poker streams that occupy the digital airwaves over at Twitch Towers. Crowson needs to add one more stream to that list, and it belongs to Doug Polk.

When PokerStars announced plans to host a new tournament series called ‘The Mountain Series‘ my immediate reaction was ‘what’s the point?’ It sounded like an idea that fell out of a five-minute conversation by a water cooler in PokerStars HQ. It was uninspiring. It made no sense. The theme of the series didn’t connect with me as a customer of the site. It would be quickly forgotten. Now, thanks to Polk, it will be remembered for a little while longer.

On Sunday, April 10, Polk took down the Mountain Series Kilimanjaro {9-Max, Freezeout} event. It was a $700 buy-in event. It carried a $750,000 guarantee. Polk took the first prize of $162,000. While that’s a significant amount of moolah, Polk has probably become a little desensitized to such wins during his career as the self-proclaimed ‘Best No-Limit Hold’em Player in The World.’

Doug Polk Breaks Twitch LiveStream Record Winning $162k in PokerStars Kilimanjaro Event

Doug Polk, the self-proclaimed ‘best No-Limit Hold’em player in the world’ has broken the record for the most money won while streaming live on Twitch by taking down the $700 buy-in Kilimanjaro event on PokerStars for $162,000.

Last month, Arthur Crowson over at PokerListings did an excellent job of exposing the poker community to the best poker streams that occupy the digital airwaves over at Twitch Towers. Crowson needs to add one more stream to that list, and it belongs to Doug Polk.

When PokerStars announced plans to host a new tournament series called ‘The Mountain Series‘ my immediate reaction was ‘what’s the point?’ It sounded like an idea that fell out of a five-minute conversation by a water cooler in PokerStars HQ. It was uninspiring. It made no sense. The theme of the series didn’t connect with me as a customer of the site. It would be quickly forgotten. Now, thanks to Polk, it will be remembered for a little while longer.

On Sunday, April 10, Polk took down the Mountain Series Kilimanjaro {9-Max, Freezeout} event. It was a $700 buy-in event. It carried a $750,000 guarantee. Polk took the first prize of $162,000. While that’s a significant amount of moolah, Polk has probably become a little desensitized to such wins during his career as the self-proclaimed ‘Best No-Limit Hold’em Player in The World.’

Bet365 claims more than one-third of Italy’s online sports betting market

Bet365 continues to dominate Italy’s online sports betting market, according to new stats covering the first quarter of 2016.

Italian gaming industry news site Agimeg.it reports that Bet365 garnered more than one-third of all online sports wagers handled by Italian-licensed operators in the three months ending March 31, roughly on par with Bet365’s performance on the FY15 charts.

Italian-licensed online operators reported total sports wagers of €970m in Q1, of which €346.2m (35.7%) was wagered with Bet365’s local site. The next closest operator, Gala Coral Group’s Eurobet brand, was a very distant second with €101.3m (10.4%), while third place went to William Hill with €75.9m (7.8%).

The rest of the online top-10 reads as follows: Sisal €71.3m (7.3%), SNAI-Cogetech €68.4m (7%), Lottomatica €50.4m (5.2%), Paddy Power €45.2m (4.7%), Bwin €44m (4.5%), GoldBet €33m (3.4%) and Unibet €13.8m (1.4%).

Bet365 claims more than one-third of Italy’s online sports betting market

Bet365 continues to dominate Italy’s online sports betting market, according to new stats covering the first quarter of 2016.

Italian gaming industry news site Agimeg.it reports that Bet365 garnered more than one-third of all online sports wagers handled by Italian-licensed operators in the three months ending March 31, roughly on par with Bet365’s performance on the FY15 charts.

Italian-licensed online operators reported total sports wagers of €970m in Q1, of which €346.2m (35.7%) was wagered with Bet365’s local site. The next closest operator, Gala Coral Group’s Eurobet brand, was a very distant second with €101.3m (10.4%), while third place went to William Hill with €75.9m (7.8%).

The rest of the online top-10 reads as follows: Sisal €71.3m (7.3%), SNAI-Cogetech €68.4m (7%), Lottomatica €50.4m (5.2%), Paddy Power €45.2m (4.7%), Bwin €44m (4.5%), GoldBet €33m (3.4%) and Unibet €13.8m (1.4%).