If their flesh was rotted away, once they’re dead you have your memory of them but you haven’t got them.

Stockholm-listed gaming operator Cherry AB became more profitable in the first half of 2018 on the back of aggressive marketing spending.

On Thursday, Cherry announced that its profit grew more than double to SEK180 million ($19.59 million) in the first six months of 2018 from SEK51 ($5.55 million) posted in the same period a year ago.

Figures released Thursday showed Cherry’s group revenue rising 33.14 percent to SEK 1.43 billion ($155.6 million) in H1 2018 from SEK1.08 billion ($117.52 million) in H1 2017. The Nordic operator’s profitability was reflected by the 103 percent increase of its EBITDA to SEK357 million ($38.85 million) year-on-year. Its EBITDA margin rose 25 percent in January-June 2018 period from 16 percent in H1 2017.

In order for Bitcoin BCH to achieve mass adoption, yes, continued development on the BCH chain is of upmost importance but so is the continued development of software to support the use of BCH in everyday life. For example, BCH wallets.

Take me, for example. It was relatively easy for me to figure out how to buy BCH, but then what? Where do you hold it safely? This is where things get a bit more complicated and for us everyday people its confusing – in fact, downright scary – when we encounter wallet complications.

Turns out my company has some amazing IT support and they were able to restore my wallet with no problem but in the meantime, the Founder of Electron Cash, Jonald Fyookball, had kindly offered to personally help me resolve my issue, a gesture that inspired me to write this piece.

I appreciated Fyookball’s offer greatly and I truly believe in the work he and his team are doing for the BCH community, including those who reside in developing countries. For these reasons, I wanted to have a chat with Fyookball to learn a bit more about his background, Electron Cash and how people like him can push the Bitcoin BCH ecosystem forward.

Everyone is probably familiar with the old saying, “There are two things you can’t avoid – death and taxes.” A poker winner, and convicted criminal, out of England may have thought the adage wasn’t going to apply to him, but he was wrong – very wrong.

25-year-old Adam Lulat had pleaded guilty to money laundering in 2015 and ultimately served 28 months in the slammer. He was ordered to make restitution of the £590,000 (US$749,120) he stole, but complained that he had no money or assets – he ended up paying only £1 (US$1.26).

Fast-forward almost three years and Lulat found himself a winner at a £1,110 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) Main Event this past March. He overcame 240 other players to taste victory and collected a trophy and a first-place prize of £68,930 (then the equivalent of about US$95,000). Coming off a streak of bad luck and a stint in lockup, he probably felt like he was on top of the world.

His exuberance only lasted about six months, however. After learning of his good fortune, a UK court ordered him to hand over all the money he had won to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), who has asserted that he still owes money to victims from other crimes that were committed in 2010 and 2011.

The microstate of Andorra’s recent decision to award its sole casino license to a small local company has led spurned bidders to mount a legal challenge of the tender.

In June, Andorra’s gaming regulator, Consell Regulador Andorrà del Joc (CRAJ), announced that local firm Jocs SA had won the competition to build a €15m, 4,000-square-meter casino in the capital Andorra la Vella. The venue is tipped to open in September 2020.

This decision baffled many of the big international casino operators who’d submitted bids, including Malaysian giant Genting, who’d vowed to spend nearly ten times the amount that Jocs (which translates as Games) had budgeted. Now, after a little digging, five of these jilted giants think they smell a rat.

The aggrieved operators — Genting, Barrière, Casinos Austria, Cirsa and Partouche — questioned how SIQ, the Slovenian company that helped the CRAJ evaluate the bid criteria, could have awarded Jocs full marks for having 10 years experience managing casino operations, in that Jocs has zero experience running casinos, only bingo halls.

A 61-story hotel could be coming to the New South Wales skyline in the near future. That is, if the Star Entertainment Group gets its way. It has petitioned the government for the rights to construct the building, which will be the home to a Ritz-Carlton Hotel, on a section of property that sits inside the boundaries of The Star Sydney casino and entertainment complex.

Star, along with its Hong Kong partner, Chow Tai Fook Group and Far East Consortium, Ltd., have announced that the $360.6-million project will offer 220 six-star hotel rooms and 200 private apartments. The tower will also include a rooftop terrace, two gyms, a spa and wellness center and a public restaurant. It would be located adjacent to the casino complex, which also holds the new Sydney International Convention Center, The Bays Precinct, Darling Harbour and the Sydney Fishmarket. However, the hotel petition did not mention whether or not any additions to the casino were being considered.

The Star Sydney is currently the second largest casino in Australia and is a frequent venue for Asian high-rollers. Star announced that it had partnered with the Hong Kong-based Chow Tai last March, suggesting that the partnership would help it to leverage the “expertise, networks, customer bases and loyalty programs” of both companies in order to drive additional VIP growth.

In addition to the hundreds of millions that it would spend on the hotel, Star has already committed itself to investing over $360 million in the existing installations, “including the comprehensive refurbishment of the Astral Tower and Residences, work on the arrivals area, and upgrading of internal spaces, including VIP facilities.”

Reports began circulating about a week ago that a Macau-based eSports operated was involved in a cryptocurrency scam that has taken 70 locals on a $2.5-million ride. The company, Grow uP eSports, was accused of facilitating meetings between the investors and a cryptocurrency mining equipment manufacturer, Genesis Hong Kong, Ltd., which ultimately has not abided by the investment agreements and has not reimbursed investors as promised. Now, Grow uP’s founder, Frederico Alexandre dos Santos Rosario, has spoken out, denying any involvement in the scam.

According to Inside Asian Gaming, Rosario penned a letter to the media outlet this past Tuesday in response to what he calls “baseless and calumnious allegations” related to the scam. He said that he has been the victim of a number of defamatory comments and accusations thrown at him by the Hong Kong eSports community and Genesis’ majority shareholder Dennis Lau, and intends on filing a defamation lawsuit against Lau.

Rosario’s mother, Rita Botelho Dos Santos, has already filed complaints against Genesis and its partner, Forger Tech, as well as against Lau and Hong Kit Lau, another majority shareholder in Genesis. Those complaints come after Genesis and Forger held seminars hosted by Grow uP in Macau last January that, as has come to light, were apparently nothing more than an opportunity to perpetrate fraud.

142 participation agreements were signed by 70 residents in Macau to invest in the purchase of crypto mining equipment. According to the agreement, “significant returns” would be paid out, but to date only around $815,000 of the more than $20 million has been returned. Out of a total of seven funding rounds held, only the first three have seen capital returned to the investors.

The $1,700 NLHE WSOP Circuit Main Event at Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina has wrapped up, and Adam Ross now has over 295,000 reasons to be happy. The Georgia resident outlasted 1,056 players to win the first circuit main event of the season and excitedly announced that he will use his winnings to pay off the mortgage on his home.

Ross, who only had around $70,000 in live winnings prior to the tournament, didn’t find an easy road to victory. He had to overcome several established veterans, including Ryan Phan who recently finished in eleventh place at the WSOP Main Event, pocketing $725,000 in the process. WSOP bracelet winner Maurice Hawkins, who has had to overcome racial slurs and lawsuits this year, was also present, but could only get as high as 43rd.

108 players would receive a piece of the prize pool, but only 21 were still in contention for the final table on Day 3. Phan was able to maintain a sizable chip stack and Ross was ready to give him a run for his money. Pocket 9s against the A-K of 15th-place finisher Irene Carey helped him boost his stack and virtually guaranteed Ross a spot at the final table.

With just nine players left at the felt, Ross found a bonus prize. After a little pre-flop back-and-forth, Justin Adams shoved with almost 3 million in chips and Ross was only too happy to respond with his pocket rockets. Adams, holding A-K, didn’t find any help and was the first final-table player to be eliminated, taking home $29,181.

The Pennsylvania Lottery has added virtual sports to its product mix, while gaming regulators say actual sports betting won’t arrive in the state until October at the earliest.

On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Lottery announced the launch of two Xpress Sports games: Xpress Football and Xpress Car Racing. Players can watch the animated action play out on big-screen monitors at over 1,500 Lottery retail outlets. New games run every five minutes and players can win up to $250 from a $1 stake.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced last October that the Lottery would be adding virtual sports betting, a move that caught some observers by surprise. The product is being supplied by Inspired Gaming in conjunction with Scientific Games, which powers the Lottery’s platform.

Virtual betting is all the rage in Europe, particularly in Italy, where it generates about one-third the revenue of actual betting. Inspired launched online virtual betting in New Jersey last November, and it remains to be seen whether Pennsylvania’s new iLottery site will incorporate the new product.

That certainly didn’t take long. This past weekend, Melco employees protested outside the Macau City of Dreams casino over wages and bonuses. The organizers of the protest, the New Macau Gaming Staff Rights Association (NMGSRA) threatened to take their issues to the government if Melco didn’t respond, and has now held onto that promise.

This past Tuesday, the NMGSRA said that it would be delivering a petition to Macau’s Chief Executive, Fernando Chui Sai On, as it attempts to find resolution over discrepancies in pay and working conditions. The labor group is pushing for Melco to contribute to the city’s employee fund scheme based on the employees’ complete salaries, and not just on their base pay. They also want the casino operator to improve “occupational health and safety.”

Melco issued a response to the protests, saying, “We have had meetings with Macau Federation of Trade Unions (FAOM) and Macau Gaming Enterprises Staff’s Association (MGESA), and have been in discussion with these associations regarding the additional bonus, contribution to the provident fund and offer of seats at gaming tables.” The last remark is an apparent reference to some dealers being forced to stand while working.

The company further stated, “Melco responded positively during a meeting with Lee Chong Cheng, vice president of the FAOM and Choi Kam Fu, secretary-general of the MGESA, on August 10.”

The new government in Barbados plans to hit the local gambling industry with a hefty back-tax demand, saying the cozy relationship with the previous administration is now history.

On Tuesday, Barbados Today quoted Finance Minister Ryan Straughn telling the House of Assembly that the previous Democratic Labour Party (DLP) government had “strangely” declined to collect taxes from the nation’s gambling operators “but we are going to deal with it.”

The DLP was removed from office this May after two five-year terms, during which time Straughn says a memo was issued that exempted gaming operators from their tax obligations. Staughn said he could find no legal justification for this memo, a situation he said “completely boggles my mind.”

The new Barbados Labour Party (BLP) government, which won all 30 seats in the House of Assembly in the May election, estimates that the gaming sector evaded BBD138m (US$69m) in taxes over the 10-year span, and the BLP would “work out a plan for them to repay those taxes.”