Category Archives: Gambling

PokerStars to Party in Southern Europe with €15 Million Carnaval Series

PokerStars is looking to reassert its dominance in the Southern European poker market a month after Winamax made waves with a record-setting series.

PokerStars is aiming to reassert its dominance in the Southern European poker market with a €15 million Carnaval series. (Image: Ecotrans)

Liquidity sharing pacts between France, Spain, and Portugal have made Southern Europe a lucrative market in recent years. PokerStars has been the dominant force since connecting the three regions in 2018.

However, Winamax applied some pressure to its local rival when it hosted a €20 million MTT series in January. In response, PokerStars has hit back with a multi-million-Euro event of its own.

Sazka optimistic on chances of taking over the UK National Lottery

The U.K. National Lottery is up for grabs. Currently, Camelot U.K. Lotteries Ltd. runs the show, and has since 1994. However, its license expires in 2023, and it’s time for the U.K. Gambling Commission (UKGC) to determine if someone else should be given the reins. It launched an application period last August, ready to see who would be the best fit to receive a new ten-year concession. Among those vying for the rights is Czechoslovakia-based Sazka Group, and the company is optimistic about its chances.

According to Justin King, who serves as an advisor to the company in its efforts to be awarded the National Lottery license, Sazka is in a great position to win. It already operates lotteries in Austria, Czech Republic, Greece and Italy and adding the U.K. to its portfolio would support its authority on the subject of lotteries. King is one of three advisors working with the company, alongside London 2012 Olympics deputy chairman Sir Keith Mills and lastminute.com founder Brent Hoberman.

King explained to The Mail this weekend that Sazka expects to be able to integrate its knowledge and experience in lottery management to facilitate more growth of the National Lottery. The company believes it can attract more local players to independent stores, which would help the latter regain some of the ground they’ve lost to other gambling services. He explained to The Mail, “The lottery was billed as one of the saving graces of the independent corner shop – it would be a footfall driver, a reason for regular visits, which perhaps those corner shops have lost.”

Sazka will first need to avoid any fallout related to possible ties to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The Mail points out that Apollo Global Management, which has also had its eye on several gaming-based companies, is helping fund Sazka’s bid for the National Lottery. The company is run by Leon Black, who reportedly had ties to Epstein, who reportedly killed himself in prison in 2019. Black is stepping down as Apollo’s CEO this summer as a result of the connection to Epstein.

Tony G Challenges Phil Hellmuth as Pros Line Up to Take Down the Poker Brat

Tony G wants a piece of Phil Hellmuth. Just four weeks after ending his political career, G is back in the game and taking aim at one of his old sparring partners.

Tony G is the latest player to call out Phil Hellmuth as heads-up fever takes hold. (Image: YouTube/WPT)

With everyone taking potshots at Hellmuth right now, including Daniel Negreanu, the loudmouth Lithuanian wants to dance.

Tony’s tweet comes at a time when high-profile heads-up battles are becoming the norm. However, for a match between two of the game’s best talkers to happen, it has to take place on TV.

Poker Players Discuss Bitcoin’s Rise, Potential for Sustained Growth

Many poker players are heavily invested in more than just their poker games. Take Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies, for example. Doug Polk, among others, made some bold takes recently on Twitter in regards to Bitcoin, which is now hovering around $50,000.

What does the future hold for Bitcoin? (Image: Forbes)

Polk, who previously ran a crypto YouTube channel, is in it for the long-haul. He believes Bitcoin is the way of the future and considers the investment profitable long-term. He certainly isn’t the only one in the poker community. Mike McDonald, Haralabos Voulgaris, and Chris Moneymaker are among those who are all-in on the cryptocurrency.

Thats also not to say I think you should sell now… I think you shouldnt. This ride could get way crazier. But what is important to take away is that when the upswing ends there could be a sharp drop, dont let that trick you into thinking its the same as the last crash.

CardsChat Presents: Big Winners of the Week

Everybody loves big tournaments and big prize pools. But exciting poker takes place at all levels, all around the world, live and online. Here’s a smattering of big victories, hand selected by our CardsChat News team, for the week ending Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021:

(Image: GGPoker)

Justin Bonomo

$10K Super MILLION$