Monthly Archives: January 2020

English Football League Cup semi-final preview

Manchester United and Manchester City face off at Old Trafford, while Leicester City welcome Aston Villa to the King Power Stadium as two derbies will decide the Carabao Cup Semi-Finals. Who’ll go into the second legs in three weeks’ time with a crucial advantage? We look at the reasons why there might be blue ribbons on the EFL Cup trophy at the end of February.

Manchester United vs. Manchester City – Tuesday January 7th , 8:00 pm GMT kick-off

When Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial both scored at The Etihad Stadium just a few weeks ago, not only did it derail Manchester City’s creaking title challenge, but it confirmed that The Red Devils had some life in them yet. Clearly, that life still burns in English football’s most successful domestic club, and while the EFL Cup may not be the title or the Champions League, a springboard of marked success this early in Solskjaer’s tenancy would put the Old Trafford club on the right course.

Success against Pep Guardiola’s Citizens will not be easy, of course, and first legs are often tense, tight affairs. That may not be the case on Tuesday evening at Old Trafford, purely for one of the two reasons these sides are so good to watch against each other. United play on the counter attack with devastating pace, drawing out their illustrious quarry before springing the trap and attacking at pace.

English Football League Cup semi-final preview

Manchester United and Manchester City face off at Old Trafford, while Leicester City welcome Aston Villa to the King Power Stadium as two derbies will decide the Carabao Cup Semi-Finals. Who’ll go into the second legs in three weeks’ time with a crucial advantage? We look at the reasons why there might be blue ribbons on the EFL Cup trophy at the end of February.

Manchester United vs. Manchester City – Tuesday January 7th , 8:00 pm GMT kick-off

When Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial both scored at The Etihad Stadium just a few weeks ago, not only did it derail Manchester City’s creaking title challenge, but it confirmed that The Red Devils had some life in them yet. Clearly, that life still burns in English football’s most successful domestic club, and while the EFL Cup may not be the title or the Champions League, a springboard of marked success this early in Solskjaer’s tenancy would put the Old Trafford club on the right course.

Success against Pep Guardiola’s Citizens will not be easy, of course, and first legs are often tense, tight affairs. That may not be the case on Tuesday evening at Old Trafford, purely for one of the two reasons these sides are so good to watch against each other. United play on the counter attack with devastating pace, drawing out their illustrious quarry before springing the trap and attacking at pace.

How to win Premier League Fantasy football this year

With Christmas and New Year in the books, you have returned to work refreshed, buoyed even by the banter with your workmates, a new sense of freedom and opportunity dominating your everyday thoughts. Then you remember Wally from Accounts, and catching his grin at your arrival, remember with horror that you forgot to do a thing with your Premier League football team.

The shame. The shock. The possible money on the line with Wally. Whoever your Wally is, if they have a lead on you, you’re going to need to make big changes as soon as you can. With a new Wild Card back in play, you need to know who to buy and why, let alone how much they’ll cost you. Let’s get down to it.

Goalkeepers 

Top pick: Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester)

Mississippi busts scammers who glued winning lottery ticket

Mississippi’s new state lottery isn’t yet a couple months old and already some hopeless scammers have been caught trying to game the system.

On Monday, the Mississippi Lottery Corp (MLC) announced that two local residents had been arrested after trying to pass off an altered scratch-ticket they claimed was a $100k winner. The pair reportedly showed up at the MLC’s head office in Flowood seeking to redeem their one ticket to paradise, but lottery officials immediately smelled a rat.

Local media quoted MLC spokesperson Meg Annison saying officials quickly concluded that the ticket had been altered by gluing on numbers indicating a $100k winner. Police were called, and Columbus residents Odis Latham and Russell Sparks were arrested shortly thereafter and charged with conspiracy to commit a felony and uttering a counterfeit instrument over $1k, leaving them looking at a potential 20-year prison sentence.

The MLC only began offering numeric draw games and scratch-off tickets in late-November, following the 2018 passage of legislation that finally cancelled Mississippi’s membership in the shrinking club of non-lottery US states. That club now has a mere five members: Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah.

Bloomberry loses bid to dismiss $296m GGAM award

Philippine casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp has lost its bid to dismiss a $296m penalty for early termination of a supplier contract.

On Monday, Bloomberry informed the Philippine Stock Exchange that the Singapore High Court had issued a decision on January 3 dismissing the company’s petition to vacate the partial award of the arbitration tribunal dated September 20, 2016. That dispute involved Bloomberry’s former relationship with a unit of US-based Global Gaming Asset Management (GGAM).

GGAM had been hired to help deliver a steady stream of VIP gamblers to Bloomberry’s Solaire Resort & Casino, the first integrated resort casino to open in Manila’s Entertainment City gaming zone. But Bloomberry terminated the deal in September 2013, just one year into a five-year pact, based on Bloomberry’s assertion that GGAM had failed to deliver on its promises.

GGAM promptly retaliated by seeking to dump its 8.7% stake in Bloomberry, a move the casino operator sued to prevent. Last September, the Singapore arbitration tribunal sided with GGAM and ordered Bloomberry to pay GGAM total compensation of US$296m, including payment to GGAM for repurchasing its Bloomberry shares.

NBA Championship Odds: L.A. teams atop futures

Many assume that one of the two Los Angeles teams will win the Western Conference, and it may well be that the Lakers or Clippers do just that. LeBron James’ Lakers are the +275 favorites to win the NBA title come June, while Kawhi Leonard’s Clippers are the +300 second-favorites. It would certainly be must-see TV if the Lakers and Clippers faced off in the Western Conference Finals.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Let’s not forget about the Denver Nuggets, however. They are +1500. First off, injuries can happen. The Lakers’ Anthony Davis is very injury-prone, which could torpedo their title chances. Leonard and teammate Paul George also have been known to get hurt. Second, Denver probably has the deepest team in the West other than the Clippers. The Nuggets have one of the best players in the league in Nikola Jokic. He was first-team All-NBA last season at center, not the more-hyped Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers.

There’s also talk that Denver could be the leading candidate to trade for Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love, a double-double machine. Neither the Lakers nor Clippers have cap space/assets to land Love, who is almost a sure thing to be dealt by the February 6 deadline. Love would fit the Nuggets perfectly as a stretch-four who could also play center when Jokic is getting a breather. Denver could trade the expiring contract of Paul Millsap (an expiring deal would appeal to the Cavs) and throw in a promising young player, of which the Nuggets have a few. A Big 3 of Jokic, Love and Jamal Murray would be a threat to win it all.

Florida may have caught a break in the sports gambling fight

In 2018, Florida voters took to the polls and took control over gaming expansion in the state. Amendment 3 gave residents the final decision on any measure that would involve new gambling opportunities and, since then, progress has been extremely slow. Part of the reason for the lack of serious progress is the control the state’s major tribe, the Seminole, has over the industry, but this isn’t the only reason. The requirement that voters decide gambling’s fate is also contributing to slow movement. However, this may not be the case for much longer, at least for sports gambling.

According to a report by Daniel Wallach on Forbes, the state may not have to seek public approval to launch sports gambling operations. Amendment 3 is worded in such a way that it covers all forms of “casino gambling.” Conspicuously absent from the bill’s language, though, is the mention of sports gambling. The phrase is also absent in Florida’s constitution. This means that lawmakers might be able to push forward with a sports gambling bill without asking for voters’ permission.

Asserts Wallach, the “language in Amendment 3 requiring that the alleged game be the type of game ‘typically found in casinos’ as of the date of the adoption of the amendment, which was November 6, 2018. Evaluation the casino landscape of that date, it became quite clear to me that sports betting was not ‘typically found in casinos’ as of that date for one incontrovertible reason: it was available in only 6 out of 30 states where casino gambling was allowed.”

Wallach points out that the Florida Supreme Court has already found, on at least one occasion (Zingale v. Powell, 885 So.2d 277, 282-83 (Fla. 2004), that the “explicit language” of the Constitution is what determines how the Constitution should be interpreted – not any implied language.

Top Russian online sportsbook Fonbet registers .ru poker domain

Russian online sports betting operator Fonbet has registered an online poker domain, offering hopes that Russia may finally lift its longstanding ban on the activity.

On Sunday, Russian sports betting affiliate Bookmaker-Ratings reported that Fonbet had registered two new domains – ruspoker.ru and fontoto.ru – in December. Neither domain appears to be active yet, and there’s good reason for that, at least, when it comes to the former domain.

Russia’s 19 online sports betting licensees are currently barred from offering any other form of online gambling – slots, casino table games and poker – under the gambling rules that Russian legislators approved in 2009. Those rules restricted offline casino gambling to several far-flung regional districts and limited online gambling to sports and race wagering only.

Russia’s few licensed casinos are allowed to offer live tournament poker at their venues. Several western operators – including GVC Holdings’ PartyPoker brand and The Stars Group’s flagship online poker brand PokerStars – have staged live poker events at Sochi casinos in the designated gaming zone of Krasnaya Polyana.

F.A. Cup 3rd Round sees derby drama and minnows prevail

A weekend of thrills, 1-0’s and goalkeeper spills saw the Premier League leaders progress, while other top flight teams were eliminated. There was no place in the 4th Round for Aston Villa, Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion or Crystal Palace, all beaten across the first two days of action.

Other teams made it through with flying colours. Fulham, Sheffield Wednesday and Derby were all Championship teams who bridged the gap to take out Premier League opposition. AFC Fylde were only beaten 2-1 by the Premier League’s Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

Elsewhere two minnows made it to a replay before a young Merseyside team won the derby in style.

Rochdale 1-1 Newcastle United

PokerStars Ambassador Jason Somerville turns sports bettor

After revolutionising poker on Twitch, PokerStars ambassador and long-time Twitch king Jason Somerville has decided that his ability to ‘Run It Up’ is over.

[Image credit: Pokerstars]

Somerville’s decision to leave PokerStars can’t be labelled a big surprise, purely for the number of recent players he follows in the footsteps of in walking away from the poker brand.

In the last 10 weeks alone, Daniel Negreanu, Liv Boeree and Igor Kurganov have said goodbye to the Red Spade, and Somerville branching out from PokerStars won’t have shocked many observers. It is, however, a surprise announcement, purely because Somerville sees himself moving in very different spheres in the near future.