Monthly Archives: January 2020

Betfred USA Sports and Saratoga Casino Black Hawk Sign Agreement for Colorado Sports Betting Operations

Betfred, the world’s largest privately-owned retail bookmaker, and Saratoga Casino Black Hawk have signed an agreement to offer Sports Wagering throughout the state of Colorado.

Subject to regulatory approval, Betfred and Saratoga Casino will be opening a full sports book at the casinos Black Hawk, Colorado property, as well as offering mobile and internet betting for customers within the state of Colorado.

“We are delighted to partner with Saratoga Casino Black Hawk,” stated Mark Stebbings, Betfred Group Chief Operating Officer. “This is an exciting opportunity for both companies and we look forward to sharing our joint expertise to provide excellent service and value for sports bettors both on premise in Black Hawk and online to the people within the state of Colorado.”

Betfred has been established since 1967 and is one of the biggest sports betting brands in the United Kingdom with over 1500 retail outlets and a leading online platform. Betfred will also provide compliance, support, marketing and trading as part of the business partnership.

“We are excited to have Betfred as our sports wagering partner,” said Daniel Gerrity, President of Saratoga Casino Black Hawk. “With over 50 years of international experience in the industry, it’s a great opportunity to leverage their expertise along with the Saratoga brand to become the market leader in sports wagering in Colorado.”

Ukraine, Slovakia and Poland among the hot topics at Prague Gaming Summit 2020

Emerging Eastern and Central European jurisdictions in the spotlight at Prague Gaming Summit 2020.

There is no doubt that some Eastern and Central European jurisdictions are popular among gambling industry shareholders due to their population size and in some cases even the passion of the players in those particular countries.

At Prague Gaming Summit, you have the possibility to catch up on some very informative content about the recent changes in the regulation, taxis and compliance updates coming from Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, and Ukraine.

There is no doubt that the recent taxing changes from Czechia have been in the focus of many operators, but the future doesn’t look so bleak when they consider the growth and recognition of the industry.

Poker in Print: The Game Plan (2019) Matt Matros

Last week, we spoke with Matt Matros about his 2004 poker book The Making of a Poker Player. This week, we caught up with the three-time WSOP bracelet winner to discuss his hotly anticipated follow-up The Game Plan, which was published last year, a full 15 years after its predecessor. So what took Matros so long to return to the keyboard?

[Image credit: WSOP.com]

“I’d had to cut back on my playing schedule considerably as I became a father two and a half years ago,” he tells us, “My wife works full time, so I’ve spent a lot of my time being a parent and that makes travelling to poker tournaments a lot more difficult. Live poker – and multi-table tournaments were my main game. I had to figure out what I wanted my poker life to be again. I figured writing about the game might be a way back in.”

When it comes to the MTTs that Matros plays, he often meets players who need improvement but aren’t full professionals, and he saw a gap in the publishing market.

Oscar Odds 2020: Is this finally Quentin Tarantino’s year to win gold?

The 92nd Academy Awards are just a few weeks away, scheduled for February 9. With no one in particular set to host, the top achievements in film making are set to take home some little gold men or just be happy to be nominated. We’re taking a look at the top categories, odds care of Bodog, as well as one of their best special props available.

The top two favorites for Best Picture make a lot of sense. While Joker is nominated for the most awards, it lost out to 1917 at the Golden Globes. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood took home best comedy, and as opposed to the foreign press at the Globes, the Academy loves Hollywood naval gazing. Considering Quentin Tarantino promises his next movie will be his last, I’d bet on Hollywood to take home the gold, and him best director (+650) as well.

 

Odds To Win Best Picture

Who will win the Australian Open?

The forthcoming fortnight is sure to be an unprecedented success in terms of the number of eyes on Melbourne and the Australian Open. In tennis terms, it is one of the four Grand Slam events, but it isn’t only that, with the recent bushfires across the country and ATP Cup Finals. The Australian Open 2020 is a cause for excitement and hope in a country that has been burning for weeks now.

Who will win the Australian Open? We take a look at who might follow up the ATP Cup with a run at the title.

Djokovic the Favourite

Serbian player Novak Djokovic may be the world number two, but having beaten Rafael Nadal in the ATP Cup last week, he will be looking to win his 17th Grand Slam title in Melbourne. Having already won the Australian Open a joint-record seven times, a chance to grab his eighth title will be what drives him on.

EPL Gameweek #23 preview

This weekend’s Premier League fixtures are important for very different reasons across the board, with top of the table clashes and relegation dogfights aplenty. Who’ll grab the vital three points ahead of a full midweek schedule?

There are barnstorming games featuring teams at the bottom of the table taking on those nearer the European places, for starters. Watford host Spurs with both sides desperate for the points, and it’s a similar story at St. James’ Park where Newcastle host Chelsea in another survival-against-top-four battle.

Arsenal vs. Sheffield United (Saturday, 3:00 pm GMT)

There can be few fixtures that neatly encapsulate the season’s vagaries more than this one, at this time. The Gunners host a side who are, having been promoted from the Championship last season, are well clear of the North London side and at this moment look more dangerous to the European places.

Australian Open 2020 betting preview

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

There have been some devastating brushfires in Australia over the past few weeks and they are ongoing, but the first tennis Grand Slam event of the year will go on as scheduled. The Australian Open on the hardcourts of Melbourne begins on Monday (Sunday night in U.S.A.), and tournament organizers do have plans to move matches indoors if conditions dictate. Melbourne Park has eight indoor courts and three stadiums with retractable roofs.

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal is the +400 second-favorite Down Under on the precipice of potential history. The Spaniard has 19 total Grand Slam titles and one more would tie Roger Federer for the men’s record. However, 12 of Nadal’s titles have been won on the clay courts of the French Open and just one in Australia. That was back in 2009 when Nadal beat Federer in five sets. Nadal has made four finals since then, including last year when he was thumped in straight sets by Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic (+120 favorite) has won a record seven Australian Open titles and is the only player in the Open era to win three in a row; the Serb did so from 2011-13. After winning title No. 6 in 2016, Djokovic failed to reach the quarterfinals the next two years before winning again last year over Nadal.

Addamo beats Katz to win A$50,000 Aussie Millions Challenge

The latest Super High Roller took place at the Crown Casino in Melbourne as the Aussie Millions ANTON Championship ring went to Michael Addamo, who beat Poker Central’s Cary Katz heads-up.

With a massive AUS$1,073,790 top prize, Addamo’s result propels him up the charts for cashes this year, with a massive seven-figure win under his belt already. It also marked the first time that Addamo had won an Aussie Millions event, having previously reached four final table appearances without sealing the deal.

With 82 players taking part, it was Michael Soyza who would be the last player not to cash, with other luminaries such as previous 2020 Aussie Millions event winner Jorryt van Hoof, Dan Smith, Stephen Chidwick, George Wolff, Kahle Burns, Matthias Eibinger, Mikita Badziakouski and Elio Fox also failing to cash. Kristen Bicknell from Canada made the first profit of the event, finishing 10th for A$119,130 and once everyone was at the final table Erik Seidel busted Yong Wang in 9th place for A$159,080. Seidel had put himself back into contention, but no sooner had he done that was his tournament over. Cary Katz took out Seidel and was threatening to take over, grabbing the chip lead, but Sam Greenwood had other ideas.

Greenwood went on a double elimination burst when he busted both the German high roller Rainer Kempe and the similarly highly-respected player Timothy Adams in the same hand.  Adams had pocket jacks, while Kempe had king-queen, but Greenwood sent them both to the rail as he found a set on the turn, then held to reduce the field still further. When Addamo busted Ben Lamb, just four players remained as some serious dust had to settle.

Australian Open 2020 betting preview

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

There have been some devastating brushfires in Australia over the past few weeks and they are ongoing, but the first tennis Grand Slam event of the year will go on as scheduled. The Australian Open on the hardcourts of Melbourne begins on Monday (Sunday night in U.S.A.), and tournament organizers do have plans to move matches indoors if conditions dictate. Melbourne Park has eight indoor courts and three stadiums with retractable roofs.

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal is the +400 second-favorite Down Under on the precipice of potential history. The Spaniard has 19 total Grand Slam titles and one more would tie Roger Federer for the men’s record. However, 12 of Nadal’s titles have been won on the clay courts of the French Open and just one in Australia. That was back in 2009 when Nadal beat Federer in five sets. Nadal has made four finals since then, including last year when he was thumped in straight sets by Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic (+120 favorite) has won a record seven Australian Open titles and is the only player in the Open era to win three in a row; the Serb did so from 2011-13. After winning title No. 6 in 2016, Djokovic failed to reach the quarterfinals the next two years before winning again last year over Nadal.

Super Bowl LIV Odds: Opening odds favor Chiefs over Niners

The NFL season has finally reached its climactic ending, with the San Francisco 49ers set to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV. Just hours after the last game saw it’s final whistle, we now have odds on which team will take home the Lombardi Trophy on February 2, care of Bodog.

Opening Odds for Super Bowl LIV

The bookies over at Bodog have the Kansas City Chiefs as slight favorites to start, with a -120 Money Line for the full game, and -1.5(-105) on the spread. The San Franciso 49ers don’t lag far behind, at EVEN on the Money Line for the full game and +1.5 (-115) on the spread. The over/under for the game starts at 54.0 (-110)

First half odds don’t differ much from there. The Chiefs come in at -0.5 (EVEN) for the spread, while the 49ers are at +0.5 (-120). Over/under has been set at 26.0 (-110).

First two fan votes open for Global Poker Awards 2020

With more interest than ever before, the first two Global Poker Award ‘fan votes’ have been opened up to the public, with the 2019 Poker Personality of the Year and the Hand of the Year categories up for grabs.

Here’s how the Global Poker Index hierarchy made the announcement, as they took to Twitter to spread the word.

This year’s Global Poker Awards ceremony is huge, with added categories meaning that the expanded new edition of the glitzy night where poker gives back to those at the top table is bigger than ever before.