Seven fun-filled nights cruising around the Caribbean, stopping at exotic ports-of-call and enjoying the salty air. Throw in a little poker, and you have the inaugural RunGood Poker Series Global Championship. The three-day tournament took place on Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas cruise ship and saw 159 players vie for a chance at the top prize. In the end, the victory was handed to Oklahoma’s Shawn Sparks following several long hours of final table action that saw two complete levels before the first elimination was found.

Trying to whittle down the field, Lauren Bunch doubled twice at the final table. Cash Carpenter doubled his stack once, but wasn’t able to keep the momentum going and was sent to the rail in seventh place. His pocket tens were no match for the pocket aces held by John Heckenkamp, and he was relegated to the deck chairs with $3,608. Soon after, Sparks picked up a massive pot when he took out two opponents, Eric Bunch and Shane Fuller in one hand. The trio were in all in when Sparks squeezed out a Queen on the river to send his opponents packing. At this point, Sparks held a comfortable lead among the remaining four players.

Bunch’s two double-ups helped her get this far, but she wouldn’t advance any further. She was eliminated in fourth place, leaving only Bunch, Tim Krisher and Heckenkamp at the felt. All three were almost even in chips and they decided to chop the pot. With a slight chip lead, Sparks was given first place and $21,417. As the tying runner-ups, Heckenkamp and Krisher each pocketed $20,416.

Sparks has now made it to the money in two tournaments this year. Prior to the RunGood victory, he placed first in a $365 NLHE ring event at the March WSOP Circuit in Tulsa, taking home $13,284 and a WSOP circuit ring. Sparks also picked up 160.53 points for the Player of the Year race from his RunGood win, but still has a long way to go to be a contender. He only has a total of 248 points and is ranked 22,111 in the race.

The Pyrenees mountains of Spain are known for its gaves—mountain torrents that form waterfalls—which are only surpassed in Europe by those seen in Scandinavia. They’re also known for being a natural, 211-mile border between France and Spain. Soon, the majestic skyline could be the backdrop of a casino, as Andorra is accepting bids to offer the area’s first casino license. Genting is hoping to be the winner, and is among 13 bidders vying for the license.

Through its UK unit, Genting has placed a hefty bid, matched by Cirsa out of Catalan. Both are offering $164.6 million, or €140 million. To enter its bid, Genting teamed up with Andorran businessman Marc Giebels van Bekestein, British investor David Gray and Arc Resorts President Mark Vlassopulos. If approved, 70% of the venture will be held by Genting.

Genting has proposed an integrated resort (IR) project for Andorra that would create 400 permanent jobs and 600 temporary construction jobs. The project would offer two floors of private rooms and suites, a spa and a “gastronomy market.”

Genting currently owns 43 licenses in the UK. It operates the Resorts World Birmingham, worth approximately $201.5 million. The Andorra casino resort would be the company’s first on continental Europe.

The European gaming investment scene right now looks even more uncertain than Werner Heisenberg himself. Are investors safer in the United Kingdom with Brexit itself continuing to be uncertain, or in the Eurozone, which could crack up at any time now that Italy’s debt issues are cropping up in the news again? The danger of sudden taxation is ever present, or draconian regulations smashing an entire sector overnight with £2 maximum bets at fixed-odds betting terminals can materialize unexpectedly. And then the Supreme Court of the United States can just as swiftly give States permission to regulate their own sportsbook policy, pushing UK stocks back up again from their precipitous FOBT fall.

Who knows what happens next week. Will Brexit be cancelled again? Mainstream media is now harping in the fact that Northern Ireland isn’t so keen on Brexit anymore. Is the media pushing for another referrendum on the referrendum? Also, Theresa May’s government may or may not fall due to a piece of Brexit legislation that fellow party members believe will fail, which could force elections. Will those elections be considered a de facto second referrendum and then what if the pro European Union side wins and doesn’t want to go through with Brexit? Does anybody know what’s going on at all anymore?

I don’t think anybody knows what’s going on, least of all businesses, which is why it was not surprising at all to hear that Bet365 is opening up offices in Malta in addition to its headquarters in Gibraltar. But when the Times of Malta reported that the company was picking up and moving 1,000 Gibraltar employees to Malta in preparation for Brexit, Bet365 had a little bit of a conniption and called the Times report “wholly innaccurate”. They’re staying in Gibraltar. They’re just setting up shop in Malta, too. But they’re not moving 1,000 people. They just like the view from Malta, is all.

One could argue that Bet365 really is planning to pick up and leave Gibraltar but they just don’t want to let the market know yet so they’re screaming denial, but I think that’s a stretch. More likely they are simply hedging their bets, as any good gambler should, because they have no idea what’s going to happen where or when. If Brexit does happen (I can’t believe we’re still talking about “if”, really) then they want to have a foot in both doors, not knowing which one will close in their faces. If it doesn’t happen, there’s no harm in having an extra office in Malta. Considering uncertainties piled atop uncertainties here, it makes sense for many companies to position themselves in both jurisdictions, which can only help navigate whatever regime will be concocted after something finally happens, if anything ever does and these politicians stop blabbering at each other and let us all move on with our lives already.

Lee Davy catches up with the World Poker Tour Champion, Julian Thomas, during the Triton Poker Series in Montenegro to talk about his role in the German squad, his progression in the game, and why Dominik Nitsche thinks he’s the next big thing. 

Julian Thomas: the next German SHR crusher in waiting Audio

The Stars Group has inked a deal with International Entertainment Corp that will see the casino and entertainment company operate PokerStars’ live events and poker rooms across Asia. 

When The City of Dreams (COD) and PokerStars parted ways recently, I assumed PokerStars made the call in the wake of the Chinese Ministry of Culture proposing to pull the plug on online poker (social or otherwise) in the People’s Republic on June 1.

Since the US debacle, PokerStars has been keen not to blemish their sheen further, and it made sense to keep their powder dry until they learned more about the Ministry of Culture’s intentions. That was until Lawrence Ho shared his hunch with the world. The Melco Resorts & Entertainment owner told the press that CODs live poker venture with Stars was never profitable, and they got the boot so they could use the tablespace for more profitable table games.

In the wake of the Stars split, the higher-ups in the Isle of Man always indicated their desire to remain a driving force in the region, and today, their murky plans become somewhat more transparent.

The Stockholm-listed online gambling company Mr Green prepares for its entry into esports, hooking up with Gamingzone Entertainment, and esports betting startup Luckbox hires another former PokerStars chief.

While Miss Scarlet was in the library, whacking Professor Plum over the head with a candlestick, Mr Green was in the kitchen cooking up a deal with Gamingzone Entertainment.

Mr Green, the Stockholm-listed online gambling company that counts Mr Green Casino and Redbet Casino amongst its assets, is entering the esports business, after announcing a partnership with Gamingzone Entertainment.

The two Swedish based companies plan to create a brand spanking new esports community. There is no word of a name. There is no word of much of anything. All we know is the pair plan to launch an online community in the Fall of this year.