Monthly Archives: June 2016

3-Barrels: Duke Joins The Moth; Romanello Joins Party; Neuville Wants to Join the GPI Top 50

3-Barrels of pure value including an appearance on The Moth by Annie Duke, Roberto Romanello makes an immediate impact as an ambassador of partypoker, and Pierre Neuville eyes a spot in the higher echelons of The Global Poker Index.

We don’t often see Annie Duke at the poker tables. Unlike her brother Howard Lederer, and his former Full Tilt Director, Chris Ferguson, one doubts that will change anytime soon.

Duke has taken everything she has learned at the poker tables and turned it into a sweet gig as a public speaker and business consultant. Earlier this week she appeared on The Moth Podcast, a unique live storytelling experience, where she talked live and unaided on the theme of The Big Things You Don’t Do.

The crux of her talk centred around the 2004 Tournament of Champions; an event Duke won for $2m and in particular, a hand she played early in that game when she laid down pocket tens against an all-in from Greg Raymer.

Philippine judge behind raids on gambling operators told to stop issuing warrants

A Philippine judge who approved nuisance police raids on local online gambling operators has had his warrant-issuing privileges suspended by the country’s Supreme Court.

Last week, the Philippine News Agency reported that the Supreme Court had issued a resolution on May 31 cutting the wings of Malabon City RTC Branch 170 Judge Zaldy B. Docena for the “overissuance of search warrants.”

Judge Docena is hereby prohibited from issuing any search warrants in the next six months while the authorities conduct an investigation into the rationale behind some of his decisions to issue warrants.

The Supreme Court has ordered the Office of the Court Administrator to “immediately seal/secure all records/folder pertaining to the applications for search warrant received by Judge Docent.”

Philippine judge behind raids on gambling operators told to stop issuing warrants

A Philippine judge who approved nuisance police raids on local online gambling operators has had his warrant-issuing privileges suspended by the country’s Supreme Court.

Last week, the Philippine News Agency reported that the Supreme Court had issued a resolution on May 31 cutting the wings of Malabon City RTC Branch 170 Judge Zaldy B. Docena for the “overissuance of search warrants.”

Judge Docena is hereby prohibited from issuing any search warrants in the next six months while the authorities conduct an investigation into the rationale behind some of his decisions to issue warrants.

The Supreme Court has ordered the Office of the Court Administrator to “immediately seal/secure all records/folder pertaining to the applications for search warrant received by Judge Docent.”

The intergenerational Junket operator

This is a guest contribution by Boyd Peters. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

“We are going to get a bigger slice of a bigger pie” said the stranger in a blue suit, attracting my interest. After all, the junket industry was shrinking and the regulators were making it harder to have a seat at the table. The sky is falling, right?

I explained that I was not in the gaming industry, and was in Macau to speak to investors. “And neither are we” he replied, and with that I was hooked.

My new friend wanted me to change the lives of 12 people – the children of some of their VIP, studying in Australian Universities. As he explained Macau is undergoing reinvention and they were looking at ways to enhance their offering for some of their clients.

The intergenerational Junket operator

This is a guest contribution by Boyd Peters. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

“We are going to get a bigger slice of a bigger pie” said the stranger in a blue suit, attracting my interest. After all, the junket industry was shrinking and the regulators were making it harder to have a seat at the table. The sky is falling, right?

I explained that I was not in the gaming industry, and was in Macau to speak to investors. “And neither are we” he replied, and with that I was hooked.

My new friend wanted me to change the lives of 12 people – the children of some of their VIP, studying in Australian Universities. As he explained Macau is undergoing reinvention and they were looking at ways to enhance their offering for some of their clients.

Delta Corp’s latest floating casino in Goa earns the ire of local politicians

India’s Delta Corp has received the okay to launch a new/old floating casino in the state of Goa

This week, Delta announced that Goa officials had authorized its wholly owned subsidiary Delta Pleasure Cruise Company to operate another floating casino. The license for the MV Royale Flotel – Deltin Caravela brings the total number of offshore casinos floating on Goa’s Mandowi River to five.

The news was slammed by opposition politicians, who pointed out that it was just three months ago that the government had granted the existing floating casinos only a one-year window in which to find somewhere else to call home.

But the government’s March announcement had also declared that it was reviewing the issue of the Caravela, which received its license in 2014 but never launched due to the uncertainty over the relocation issue, which has been hovering over the market since 2013 but delayed on multiple occasions.

Delta Corp’s latest floating casino in Goa earns the ire of local politicians

India’s Delta Corp has received the okay to launch a new/old floating casino in the state of Goa

This week, Delta announced that Goa officials had authorized its wholly owned subsidiary Delta Pleasure Cruise Company to operate another floating casino. The license for the MV Royale Flotel – Deltin Caravela brings the total number of offshore casinos floating on Goa’s Mandowi River to five.

The news was slammed by opposition politicians, who pointed out that it was just three months ago that the government had granted the existing floating casinos only a one-year window in which to find somewhere else to call home.

But the government’s March announcement had also declared that it was reviewing the issue of the Caravela, which received its license in 2014 but never launched due to the uncertainty over the relocation issue, which has been hovering over the market since 2013 but delayed on multiple occasions.

WSOP Review: Merciless Mercier; Selbst Sweat; Romanello Denied Triple Crown

In today’s World Series of Poker roundup we bring you news of a huge bracelet sweat between Jason Mercier and Vanessa Selbst, Roberto Romanello denied a Triple Crown, and much more.

Vanessa Selbst is in a world of hurt.

After Jason Mercier had become the 39th player in history to win four gold bracelets, after victory in the $10,000 2-7 Draw Lowball Championships on Monday, the PokerStars Team Pro revealed that he stood to win $1.8m from Selbst if he could win two more by the end of the summer.

Coming into the 47th Annual WSOP, the poker community were aware that Selbst had offered Dzmitry Urbanovich 200:1 odds that the Pole wouldn’t win three bracelets in his rookie year. But news of the Mercier bet didn’t emerge until more recently.

WSOP Review: Merciless Mercier; Selbst Sweat; Romanello Denied Triple Crown

In today’s World Series of Poker roundup we bring you news of a huge bracelet sweat between Jason Mercier and Vanessa Selbst, Roberto Romanello denied a Triple Crown, and much more.

Vanessa Selbst is in a world of hurt.

After Jason Mercier had become the 39th player in history to win four gold bracelets, after victory in the $10,000 2-7 Draw Lowball Championships on Monday, the PokerStars Team Pro revealed that he stood to win $1.8m from Selbst if he could win two more by the end of the summer.

Coming into the 47th Annual WSOP, the poker community were aware that Selbst had offered Dzmitry Urbanovich 200:1 odds that the Pole wouldn’t win three bracelets in his rookie year. But news of the Mercier bet didn’t emerge until more recently.

Celebrate Double Award Win

Gibraltar – June 14th 2016

Lottoland have received more recognition from the gaming industry after winning the award for Innovative start-up at the 2016 EGR Operator Marketing and Innovation Awards.

Lottoland Director of B2B Michael Bogie collected the award at the glitzy ceremony, which took place on Wednesday June 1st at The Pavilion in London.

This latest award comes hot on the heels of Lottoland winning Best Lottery App at the Gaming App Awards at another ceremony in the capital on Friday May 20th.

Celebrate Double Award Win

Gibraltar – June 14th 2016

Lottoland have received more recognition from the gaming industry after winning the award for Innovative start-up at the 2016 EGR Operator Marketing and Innovation Awards.

Lottoland Director of B2B Michael Bogie collected the award at the glitzy ceremony, which took place on Wednesday June 1st at The Pavilion in London.

This latest award comes hot on the heels of Lottoland winning Best Lottery App at the Gaming App Awards at another ceremony in the capital on Friday May 20th.

Why We Should Support Justin Bonomo And Report More Sexual Microaggressions

Lee Davy opines over Justin Bonomo’s recent tweet on his observations on sexual microaggressions at the World Series of Poker and believes he deserves our support.

Justin Bonomo has pink hair. It makes him stand out. It screams, ‘look at me.’ He speaks slowly; softly, intellectually, and is opinionated. Often, his opinions draw controversy. He has made mistakes and the poker community like nothing better than to vilify him for those mistakes.

[Image Credit: Jayne Furman]

During the first 45-minutes of his involvement in the 47th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) he witnessed and logged three incidents at his table he refers to in a Twitter post as: ‘Sexual Microaggressions.’

Why We Should Support Justin Bonomo And Report More Sexual Microaggressions

Lee Davy opines over Justin Bonomo’s recent tweet on his observations on sexual microaggressions at the World Series of Poker and believes he deserves our support.

Justin Bonomo has pink hair. It makes him stand out. It screams, ‘look at me.’ He speaks slowly; softly, intellectually, and is opinionated. Often, his opinions draw controversy. He has made mistakes and the poker community like nothing better than to vilify him for those mistakes.

[Image Credit: Jayne Furman]

During the first 45-minutes of his involvement in the 47th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) he witnessed and logged three incidents at his table he refers to in a Twitter post as: ‘Sexual Microaggressions.’

Euro 2016 Review: France Into Round of 16; Russia in Trouble

In today’s European Championships review we see France progress into the Round of 16 with a late show against plucky Albania, and Russia is in deep trouble after being turned over by Slovakia.

Host nations France become the first team to qualify for the knockout stages of the European Championships after a hard earned victory over the Albanians at the magnificent Stade Velodrome in Marseille.

Didier Deschamps side left it late against the Romanians in the opening game of the tournament, and they left it even later against the European minnows with goals coming in the 90th and 96th minute to break down Albania’s stubborn resistance.

The French manager showed the fans that he wasn’t afraid to make the big decisions after leaving Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann out of the starting eleven. The dynamism of Anthony Martial and Kingsley Coman preferred.

Imperus Signs Game Distribution Agreement With PokerStars

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Jun 15, 2016) – Imperus Technologies Corp. (“Imperus” or the “Company”) (TSX VENTURE:LAB) (ISX.F) (FRANKFURT WKN:A12B58), a leading developer and operator of social casino games, has reached an agreement to integrate a selection of the best Akamon slot games onto ‘Jackpot Poker by PokerStars’, a free-to-play mobile poker app by PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker brand.

This agreement is aligned with the co-branded and game distribution program strategy of Akamon, to which the company attributed 27% of its revenues during 2015, reaching a potential audience of more than 500 million users through its owned portal and those of its partners. Those partners are distributed in several sectors: 76% are gaming sites, 12% belong to the telecom sector such as Orange and its Latin American sister Starmedia or UOL in Brazil, and another 12% to other media.

The set of slot games to be initially provided by Akamon on Jackpot Poker are: ‘Fire Wheel 7s’, a classic slots game with a wheel bonus, which will be available both in the main slots lobby and as a side game; ‘Monte Carlo’, which combines an innovative reel layout and expanding wilds feature with a classy casino theme; and, ‘Salsa Nights’, mixing a special wilds feature with a rich free spins with an elegant Caribbean theme.

According to Vicenç Marti, President of Imperus: “The agreement not only illustrates the popularity of our slot game titles but also shows our enormous potential to the rest of the industry as a way to increase social gaming market share.”

Imperus Signs Game Distribution Agreement With PokerStars

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Jun 15, 2016) – Imperus Technologies Corp. (“Imperus” or the “Company”) (TSX VENTURE:LAB) (ISX.F) (FRANKFURT WKN:A12B58), a leading developer and operator of social casino games, has reached an agreement to integrate a selection of the best Akamon slot games onto ‘Jackpot Poker by PokerStars’, a free-to-play mobile poker app by PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker brand.

This agreement is aligned with the co-branded and game distribution program strategy of Akamon, to which the company attributed 27% of its revenues during 2015, reaching a potential audience of more than 500 million users through its owned portal and those of its partners. Those partners are distributed in several sectors: 76% are gaming sites, 12% belong to the telecom sector such as Orange and its Latin American sister Starmedia or UOL in Brazil, and another 12% to other media.

The set of slot games to be initially provided by Akamon on Jackpot Poker are: ‘Fire Wheel 7s’, a classic slots game with a wheel bonus, which will be available both in the main slots lobby and as a side game; ‘Monte Carlo’, which combines an innovative reel layout and expanding wilds feature with a classy casino theme; and, ‘Salsa Nights’, mixing a special wilds feature with a rich free spins with an elegant Caribbean theme.

According to Vicenç Marti, President of Imperus: “The agreement not only illustrates the popularity of our slot game titles but also shows our enormous potential to the rest of the industry as a way to increase social gaming market share.”

The Parliamentary All Party Betting & Gaming Group’s Future of Gambling Seminar Series Culminates with Problem Gambling

London, England, June 2016– The Officers of the Parliamentary All Party Betting & Gaming Group are very impressed with the resounding success of their Future of Gambling seminar series and are certain that the last seminar, The Future Of Research, Education & Treatment Into Problem Gambling to be held on Tuesday 5th July 2016 will be equally well received with a topic that applies to the whole industry. The speakers will be Marc Etches, CEO, Responsible Gambling Trust, Lee Willows, CEO, YGAM (Young Gamblers Education Trust), Elaine Smethurst, Managing Director, Gordon Moody Association and Wanda Goldwag, Chair, Senet Group. Steve Donoughue, gambling consultant and Secretariat of the All Party Betting & Gaming Group said:

Problem gambling rates have remained pretty stable since they were first researched on a national level in 2007. This would appear to verify the belief that the problem is mostly centred with the individual, rather than the specific gambling devices or locations. That is not to say they don’t have an impact, just that if they were major factors we would have seen a far bigger increase over the last decade as the industry has grown. This is obviously not a cause for complacency and the industry has been involved in ever greater efforts to prevent problem gambling. We have also seen the evolution of the charitable sector as they increased their efforts in treatment and with the creation of YGAM, education is now being delivered. Quality research answering the big questions of how and why does seem to still be needed though.

For the first time the Parliamentary All Party Betting & Gaming Group is allowing the invited guests from the industry to attend its meetings and join with the Captains of their industry in the debating what the future of gambling in Britain is. If you wish to attend one of the seminars please contact the Secretariat of the APBGG, Steve Donoughue at sdonoughue@gamblingconsultant.co.uk. Lee Willows, CEO of YGAM, the Youth Gamblers Education Trust and key speaker stated:

The YGAM team and I looking forward to attending and contributing to the APG seminar; The Future of Research, Education & Treatment into Problem Gambling. As a newly established, UK-Registered Charity, YGAM has a single focus to minimise gambling-related harm among young people via PSHE education in schools, colleges, universities and local community groups. No other organisation in the UK delivers a fully accredited and PSHE Association quality-assured programme of this kind.

The Parliamentary All Party Betting & Gaming Group’s Future of Gambling Seminar Series Culminates with Problem Gambling

London, England, June 2016– The Officers of the Parliamentary All Party Betting & Gaming Group are very impressed with the resounding success of their Future of Gambling seminar series and are certain that the last seminar, The Future Of Research, Education & Treatment Into Problem Gambling to be held on Tuesday 5th July 2016 will be equally well received with a topic that applies to the whole industry. The speakers will be Marc Etches, CEO, Responsible Gambling Trust, Lee Willows, CEO, YGAM (Young Gamblers Education Trust), Elaine Smethurst, Managing Director, Gordon Moody Association and Wanda Goldwag, Chair, Senet Group. Steve Donoughue, gambling consultant and Secretariat of the All Party Betting & Gaming Group said:

Problem gambling rates have remained pretty stable since they were first researched on a national level in 2007. This would appear to verify the belief that the problem is mostly centred with the individual, rather than the specific gambling devices or locations. That is not to say they don’t have an impact, just that if they were major factors we would have seen a far bigger increase over the last decade as the industry has grown. This is obviously not a cause for complacency and the industry has been involved in ever greater efforts to prevent problem gambling. We have also seen the evolution of the charitable sector as they increased their efforts in treatment and with the creation of YGAM, education is now being delivered. Quality research answering the big questions of how and why does seem to still be needed though.

For the first time the Parliamentary All Party Betting & Gaming Group is allowing the invited guests from the industry to attend its meetings and join with the Captains of their industry in the debating what the future of gambling in Britain is. If you wish to attend one of the seminars please contact the Secretariat of the APBGG, Steve Donoughue at sdonoughue@gamblingconsultant.co.uk. Lee Willows, CEO of YGAM, the Youth Gamblers Education Trust and key speaker stated:

The YGAM team and I looking forward to attending and contributing to the APG seminar; The Future of Research, Education & Treatment into Problem Gambling. As a newly established, UK-Registered Charity, YGAM has a single focus to minimise gambling-related harm among young people via PSHE education in schools, colleges, universities and local community groups. No other organisation in the UK delivers a fully accredited and PSHE Association quality-assured programme of this kind.