Monthly Archives: January 2021

Tempers Flare as Negreanu Tanks on Day 33, Polk Disapproves and then Dominates

Daniel Negreanu opened Wednesday’s session by tanking often, which angered Doug Polk, who stepped away from the table briefly to force Negreanu to speed up the action. He then returned to the virtual felt and proceeded to demolish his opponent yet again.

Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk are no longer buddies, again. (Image: YouTube)

It appears the days of these two fierce rivals despising each other are back. After two months of cordial behavior between them, the bitterness has returned.

On Day 32, Polk changed up his style of play and began limping buttons pre-flop. He did so because he is attempting to lower variance to preserve his massive lead down the stretch of this 25,000-hand heads-up no-limit hold’em challenge.

Las Vegas Sands ‘learning, observing, talking’ about online gambling future

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands lost its founder earlier this month and lost another $376m in the final quarter of 2020.

Figures released Wednesday show Sands generated revenue of $1.15b in the three months ending December 31, a decline of 67.3% from Q4 2019. On the plus side, the sum represented nearly twice the $586m Sands reported in Q3 2020. Adjusted earnings of $141m were an improvement over Q3’s $203m earnings loss, but Sands still booked a net loss of $376m in Q4 (half the sum lost in Q3).   

For the annus horribilis as a whole, revenue was down nearly three-quarters to $3.6b, while Sands booked a net loss of $2.14b versus a net profit of $3.3b in 2019. 

The Sands China operations in Macau saw Q4 revenue slide 70% to $675m. Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands (MBS) resort fared better, with Q4 revenue down ‘only’ 60% to $345m, while the Las Vegas casinos tumbled 68.4% to $150m. 

Hawaii considers several gambling bills to save the budget

Hawaii, pressured by the effects of Covid-19, may finally be willing to consider legalized gambling. Several bills have now been proposed to help shore up the budget, using gambling to bring in new tax revenues.

House Speaker Scott Saiki has proposed House Bill 359, which would permit the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) to operate one casino resort. Funds generated would help native Hawaiians move back to ancestral lands, which with budget deficits expected, won’t be coming from anywhere else.

State Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole proposed a similar bill for the upper house, but doesn’t seem convinced it’s a good idea yet. “We should have a discussion whether the casino plan is good, viable policy for the state to consider,” he said. “Given this budget situation, it’s not likely that the department will be likely to expect funding to accomplish that. … My priority is on addressing the wait list.”

The wait list he speaks of currently numbers at 28,000 native Hawaiians. Through the DHHL, they would be returned to their native lands to return to fishing, farming, or simply to have a home.

Nagasaki demands traffic help in IR bid proposals

There’s a new requirement for the potential casino operator of a Nagasaki prefecture integrated resort (IR) bid. Whoever gets the deal will have to agree to a JPY 14.7 billion ($141 million) contribution towards traffic infrastructure.

Although Nagasaki is a long ways away from choosing its IR partner, the city council of Sasebo agreed to the requirement at a January 26 meeting, Inside Asia Gaming reports. Applications opened to operators for an IR bid on January 7, and an operator is expected to be selected in August.

Whichever operator is lucky enough to win the bid has a lot of expectations put on them. Nagasaki expects them to not only pay for infrastructure, but to also fund problem gambling initiatives, MICE and surrounding area developments. IF everything goes to the current plan, construction of the new IR would begin in 2023.

Although Japan’s stated goal is to boost tourist arrivals to 60 million by the end of the decade, Covid-19 has all timelines looking rather questionable. Cities like Osaka were hoping to get their bids in by now, but instead are in a holding pattern, as the national IR process waits for the pandemic to blow over.

Entain foundation US partners with EPIC Risk Management to launch player education initiative with colleges across US

Program to reach more than 40 colleges including Mid-American Conference, Fordham University and Monmouth University.

January 27, 2021 – The Entain Foundation U.S. and EPIC Risk Management today announced the launch of a player education initiative with colleges around the nation to deliver a series of gaming awareness educational sessions. The Entain Foundation U.S. is funded by Entain plc, the global sports betting and gaming entertainment operator which jointly owns and provides the technology to BetMGM in the United States.

The joint initiative will be focused on education and awareness and the need to keep betting safe as sports betting and gaming continues to expand across more states, with New York most recently expressing interest. More than 40 colleges in the U.S. will initially take part in the nationwide educational initiative, including the Mid-American Conference, Fordham University in New York City and Monmouth University in New Jersey. 

Entain Foundation U.S. and EPIC plan to work together to add new colleges to the program throughout 2021. Those colleges already participating include the University of Akron, Eastern Illinois University, Harvard University, Northern Illinois University, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), University of Ohio, University of Oregon, Seton Hall University and the University of Utah. 

Capcom denounces loot boxes in 2020 report

Video game developers have each reacted in their own ways to governments and regulators cracking down on loot boxes. Capcom, the storied developer of games like Street Fighter and Resident Evil, has declared that they have no further interest in the lucrative money-making mechanic.

In their 2020 Annual report, Capcom has declared their intent to minimize, if not eliminate entirely, loot boxes from their games. “In the Japanese game market, discussions have been taking place for several years on the problem of gacha, or lottery-style game mechanics, primarily in mobile games. Overseas, gacha-like “loot boxes” have been banned in some countries,” they wrote.

Years of discussion weren’t enough to stop Capcom from previously offering loot boxes. The 2020 release of Resident Evil Resistance has gacha, as did the 2019 release of Devil May Cry 5. The growing opposition of several countries is a much more likely factor.

In May 2019, fellow Japanese developer Nintendo announced they would no longer support loot box filled games for customers in Belgium, where loot boxes have been regulated. Electronic Arts (EA) is rumored to be working on a similar geofencing on loot box options for FIFA, as they have been labeled one of the more aggressive pushes of loot box gaming.

Luke Reeves wins Super MILLION$ title for $408,406

The latest Super MILLION$ title went to Irish player Luke Reeves as he overcame a stacked final table packed with talent to win the top prize of $408,406.

With Melker Larsson going into play as the chip leader, much of the betting action actually ended up going on Ole Schemion and Daniel Dvoress, but after a rollercoaster ride across the best part of four hours, it was the Irishman Reeves who closed it out for the Super MILLION$ win.

Early Exits

The first player to leave the final table was no major surprise in terms of chipcounts going into the action as short-stacked American player Connor Drinan (who once lost all-in pre-flop with aces against aces in the million-dollar entry Big One for One Drop) busted first.

Roberto Romanello wins the latest WPT High Roller

Roberto Romanello recently left partypoker after a very successful period as an ambassador. Soon after, however, he decided to enter the WPT Montreal High Roller on partypoker online for $5,000, but what led to that decision, what does he think of his time at partypoker and how did the Bet Clever owner and director get on?

We spoke to Romanello to find out, kicking off with his time wearing the orange diamond as a partypoker Team Pro and ambassador.

“Although my partypoker contract come to an end, it’s been an amazing time playing with the partypoker badge on,” says Romanello, that trademark glint in his eye ever-present. “They’ve been brilliant in every way and I only have good things to say about the company and all the people at party.”

Looking at the WPT Montreal High Roller, Fish and Chip restauranteur Romanello was licking his lips at the potential to win big money, and he knew it would be a tough field. Far from this putting him off, this only encouraged Romanello to play.

Chattha, Schulze and Shak all reach WPT Montreal Main Event Final Table

After 888 entries provided a seven-figure prizepool, the WPT Montreal Main Event has reached the final table and there are some outstanding players still in the hunt for the massive $447,859 top prize.

With the player who busts in ninth place only guaranteed a return of $37,024, the competition is going to be extremely fierce at the start. It’s Dan Shak who leads the way, bagging up just under 30 million chips, and with the big blind at 350,000, Shak will be armed with 85 big blinds.

Shak may have the lead, but he’ll be closely pursued by some of the best in the game. Germany have four players in the final nine, and Andrei Kriazhev (28.6 million) will be the player with most hope of putting those chips to the best use in the final, although Lebanese player Rayan Chamas (29.1 million) has even more with which to attack.

Two British players follow the top three in the chipcounts, with Jack Hardcastle in 4th place heading into the action wit 25.4 million and Chaz Chattha, who has previously enjoyed a lot of success in World Poker Tour event, 5th with 19.4 million chips.