Monthly Archives: September 2018

US Supreme Court nominee questioned over private poker games

Brett Kavanaugh, the U.S. Supreme Court Justice nominee backed by President Donald Trump, has had to suffer through an in-depth grilling by Congress. While many of the questions are routine and boilerplate, one Senator brought up a few questions that went beyond the norm.

As part of a 14-page questionnaire, Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse asked, “Do you play in a regular or periodic poker game? If yes, please list the dates, participants, location/venue, and amounts won/lost.” He also asked about some baseball tickets that Kavanaugh had purchased, and about some repairs he had made to his home. Surprisingly, he didn’t ask him about the color of his briefs.

Whitehouse also asked, “Since 2000, have you participated in any form of gambling or game of chance or skill with monetary stakes, including but not limited to poker, dice, golf, sports betting, blackjack, and craps? If yes, please list the dates, participants, location/venue, and amounts won/lost,” adding, “Have you ever sought treatment for a gambling addiction?”

Kavanaugh answered all of the questions, providing a response that spanned 263 pages. For the majority of the senator’s questions, he provided a simple response of “no.” However, he decided to elaborate on a couple.

Bill legalizing foreigners-only casinos in Myanmar sails through lower house

The lower house of Myanmar’s Parliament has approved a bill that would legalize gambling for foreigners only, local outlet Eleven Media reported.

Parliamentarian Nay Myo Tun said of the bill’s passage, “The Public Affairs Management committee submitted the proposal to the Bill committee which forwarded it to the Parliament. It was discussed by 12 MPs at Parliament. They amended some phrases in the bill. This is not a casino law. The casino law has many sections.”

During session, one section was added to the bill previously submitted by the Public Affairs Management committee last August 21. The new section includes paragraphs that state that only the Internal Revenue Department under the Ministry of Planning and Finance can operate the state lottery, and that the Union government can allow for the setting up of casinos at designated areas, for foreigners only.

With approval by the lower house, the bill goes to the Parliament’s upper house, the House of Nationalities, for approval, before being submitted to the President.

iSport Genius marks USA expansion

Agreement with DraftKings, the first mobile sports-betting operator in New Jersey, sees iSport Genius deploy consumer-facing data platform

Melbourne, Australia, 14 September 2018: Sports data platform provider iSport Genius has signed a deal with DraftKings that will help support the global sports technology and entertainment company deploy data insights across their DraftKings Sportsbook platform.

This data will help educate customers on the teams and players to help them make a more informed bet.

iSport Genius’ interactive consumer-facing platform leverages trillions of pieces of data and via an intuitively designed interface, helps improve the overall experience for punters and sports fans alike.

ORYX Gaming expands content portfolio with Givme Games partnership

ORYX Gaming has agreed terms with Givme Games to implement a wide selection of online slots based on some of the most successful land-based games on the market. Games will be available via Oryx Games platform.

An exciting new player on the market, Givme Games are led by experienced professionals with years of experience in design, development and production of Casino style slot machines for industry leading global companies.

These new games added to the ORYX offering are lean, clean and mean classics with high volatility and playing mechanics players instantly recognize and love. Givme Games’ titles are designed for European and Asian players, but have also proven highly successful in other markets due to their universal superior gaming themes.

Dragon’s Gold, Egypt’s Treasure, Hot Hot 7 and Fruit King are just some of the titles to be included within the content partnership.

US-China trade war unlikely to affect Macau casinos

American-owned casinos in Macau will not be adversely affected by the ongoing trade spat between the US and China, according to an analyst.

CNBC reported CLSA Gaming and Conglomerates head Jonathan Galligan saying, “I think, ultimately, the Chinese will take a very rational view on Macau… Negatively putting pressure on certain operators is not how you’re going to achieve that ultimate goal.”

Galligan, speaking at a forum in Hong Kong, pointed out how the US companies have aided in transforming Macau’s economy after it became a special administrative region of China following 400 years of Portuguese rule. In 2001, the Macau government ended billionaire Stanley Ho’s casino monopoly, later handing out concessions for operating casinos to six firms, three of which are majority-owned by American companies: Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts and Wynn Resorts.

It has been speculated that China will get back at the US in some way, with the renewal of the concessions to be conducted from 2020 to 2022.

Can the hidden power of fairies help you win?

Introducing Stardust, the star of our new, medium volatility, 243 all ways pay, 5-reels slot. But how can a little fairy help you win big? They have surprising powers; here’s the story.

Once upon a time, hundreds of green fairies lived in a secret field, where they peacefully played amongst the grape vines that fed them, the willow trees they lived in and the insects they called their friends. The field was surrounded by a wall that they called the “Forbidden Wall,” as no fairy was supposed to ever go over it.

One day, a fairy named Stardust crossed over the wall while chasing butterflies. And she suddenly found herself lost in a dark forest.

There was a queen who controlled this dark world, a queen who would stop at nothing to keep her youthful looks forever. The queen knew that, since the green fairies’ hearts are so innocent and pure, eating its heart would ensure everlasting beauty. So the dark queen had planned to catch one of those fairies for many years, but, despite all her powers, she was unable to ever get over the Forbidden Wall.

Betzest launches Microgaming Games

Malta, September 14 2018, the new sportsbook and casino operator Betzest just launched the full suite of Microgaming online gaming content  into their portfolio.

Marius Filip, Founder &CEO  at Betzest, said: 

In a highly competitive sector we listened to requests of our players and we are very pleased to expand and bring established Microgaming games into Betzest.

With the fantastic quality of Microgaming games we will offer our players the very best content  and we are very enthusiastic to see how our casino players react to these fantastic games.

Leaders in tech, government and business are gathering in Bali for XBlockchain summit

Leaders in tech, government and business are gathering in Bali for XBlockchain summit held in parallel to the 2018 annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group

BALI, Indonesia, September 14th – Leaders in blockchain technology are only three weeks away from assembling in Nusa Dua, Bali for Asia’s pre-eminent summit on blockchain technology promising to change traditional industries and forge new ones, in the same week as the annual meetings of IMF and World Bank also this year in Bali.

This summit is being organized jointly by the Indonesian Blockchain Association (ABI) and XBlockchain. It will cover similar themes, such as international wealth transfers and financial inclusion to the IMF-WBG but it will be devoted to exploring real-world instances of the application of blockchain, which has been heralded with so much potential.

The XBlockchain Summit 2018 which takes place on October 9-10, the same week and place as this year’s IMF-WBG annual meetings, will host debates with global leaders from the United Nations, IBM, Deloitte, Stellar, Pundi X, and leading blockchain representatives and experts from various Asian industries, countries and government.

Wazdan teams up with Relax Gaming for partner event

Thursday, September 13, 2018, Malta – Award-winning slots maker Wazdan has teamed up with Relax Gaming for a partner event being held in Malta on September 19th at The Chophouse in Sliema, Malta. The event, organised by Relax Gaming and supported by Wazdan, will see the slots company bring in their giant iPad which many operators will have seen in London, Macao and Amsterdam, to give a sneak preview of their upcoming blockbuster release Los Muertos™.

Some of the operators attending the event include major tier 1 partners like Unibet, GiG, Betsson, Leo Vegas, Mr. Green, Bet365, William Hill, Sky Bet and Jackpotjoy, as well as Wazdan partners also on the Relax platform such as BetConstruct, Iforium, Bethard, Videoslots and EveryMatrix, amongst others.

Wazdan develops high-performance, innovative casino products which are delivered anywhere anytime to PCs, smartphones and tablets. All of Wazdan’s latest generation slots are backed by the company’s ground-breaking technology platform, the Unique Wazdan Features, that include the world’s first Volatility Levels™, Energy Saving Mode, Double Screen Mode and Unique Gamble Feature.

During the evening operators will have the opportunity to learn about the quality of gaming experience the passionate slots brand now offers through Los Muertos™, which contains all of Wazdan’s most recent technology innovations and is an ideal showcase for operators. Los Muertos™ is a game that celebrates the unique Mexican holiday Day of the Dead . Special features including Giant and Big symbols, Wilds, Bonus slot games, Free Spins together with stunning graphics presented on the reels of Los Muertos™ make this one of the most compelling slots releases of the year.

NFL week 2 betting lines and trends roundup

It’s a big NFL week for every club that lost in Week 1 – and not all of them won or lost considering the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns played to a very rare opening-week tie – because history has shown that 0-2 teams rarely make the postseason.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

It can happen, though, as the New Orleans Saints proved last year. The Saints were the biggest favorites of Week 1 at -9.5 but were shocked at home by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48-40. New Orleans is the second-biggest favorite of Week 2 at -9 against the visiting Browns. Cleveland has lost its past 21 road games by an average of nearly 12.8 points. However, the Saints have now failed to cover their past five at home in September.

The biggest favorite of Week 2 and a team likely to be used in many Survivor Pools is the Los Angeles Rams at -13.5 against the visiting Arizona Cardinals. Always a bit dangerous backing teams on a short week as the Rams will be after winning in Oakland on Monday night. However, the Cardinals were offensively inept last Sunday in a 24-6 home loss to the Washington Redskins. Arizona has won eight of its past nine following a loss.

Hedge fund provider increases Caesars stake to try to sway policy

HG Vora Capital Management, LLC, a hedge fund based out of New York, has increased its stake in Caesars Entertainment Corp. It now owns 4.9% of the company, which it will use to try and convince the casino operator to consider options, such as divestitures or a complete sale of the company.

Reuters reports that unidentified sources first brought the move to the media outlet’s attention. Caesars, which owns casinos of its own name and the Harrah’s and Horseshoe brands, exited from bankruptcy last year after accumulating $25 billion in debt. That debt stemmed from a leveraged buyout that took place in 2008 and which was led by two private equity firms, TPH Global and Apollo Global Management, LLC. They are still the company’s two largest minority shareholders.

Following the announcement by Reuters, Caesars shares increased by 4.4% in afterhours trading.

HG Vora manages around $4 billion in assets. It has achieved a regular 14% annualized return since it was first launched in 2009. It has invested in several casino-related operations, including Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc., Penn National Gaming, Inc. – both of which merged last year – and also in LaSalle Hotel Properties. As LaSalle’s third-largest shareholder, it pushed for the sale of the company to the Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, which took place earlier this year.

Poker King Cup Macau about ready to get underway

The Venetian Macau is making preparations to host one of the most popular high-stakes poker tournament series. The Poker King Cup (PKC) will be held at the Venetian from September 20 through September 28, and will offer ten high-stakes events.

Among the events will be the PKC High Roller, featuring a HKD80,000 (US$10,193) buy-in. The tournament will run September 20-21. Additionally, a Super High Roller tournament with a HKD200,000 (US$25,483) is on tap, scheduled for September 24-25.

The PKC Main Event will launch on September 21 and is expected to finalize on September 25. The HKD16,500 (US$2,102) event is always a favorite and there are two satellite tournaments in the mix with a buy-in of HKD2,000 (US$254.84) to give almost every poker player a chance to win a seat.

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