The high stakes feud between Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk has seen 16 sessions of poker take place so far, and despite and early lead and a rally after half a dozen sessions, it is now looking extremely likely that Doug Polk will make it to the crucial halfway stage with a massive lead.

After the 16th session, according to Polk’s Twitter page, the 7,921st hand concluded with the man himself ahead by a massive $674,000. Negreanu, who famously deposited a million dollars onto the WSOP.com site to take part in the challenge is looking at a potential seven-figure rebuy situation if he drops much more behind his younger opponent.

In truth, Negreanu hasn’t played badly at all, even if he was first to admit that he butchered suited queen-ten in the latest session.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLWm_qQST-EVideo can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Not our Best Effort – Round 16 Big Hand Breakdowns (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLWm_qQST-E)

Russia’s bookmakers are sounding the alarm as their government proceeds with plans to scrap their industry groups and dramatically hike their financial contributions to local sports. 

On Tuesday, Russia’s Duma legislative body approved first reading of Bill No. 1055657-7, which aims to scrap the bookmakers’ two rival self-regulatory organizations (SRO) in favor of a Unified Gambling Regulator overseen by the Ministry of Finance. This new agency will ensure adherence to bookmakers’ new mandatory contributions to Russian sports bodies. 

Those contributions could now be set at 1% of the turnover generated by each respective sport, quite the hike from the current 5% of betting revenue. Each bookmaker was originally supposed to ante up a minimum of RUB30m (US$407k) per quarter, but will now pay a minimum RUB5b ($68k) per quarter to each individual league/federation on whose matches they accept bets. (There are currently over 100 registered sports federations in Russia.)

The changes have alarmed Russian bookies, with First SRO president Nikolai Oganezov telling Kommersant that the bill appears to have “a goal of destroying a well-functioning and only positively proven mechanism.” Oganezov repeated criticisms that the bill’s authors – United Russia deputies Igor Stankevich and Viktor Deryabkin – are “completely unfamiliar with the realities” of Russia’s betting market. 

Connecticut’s tribal gaming operators are shelving plans for a joint venture casino in East Windsor, which could help smooth the state’s path to legal sports betting. 

On Wednesday, the Hartford Courant reported that the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes – which respectively operate Connecticut’s only two casinos Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods – had ‘temporarily’ abandoned plans to build their Tribal Winds casino in the northern portion of the state. 

Tribal Winds was conceived nearly four years ago as a way to deter Connecticut gamblers from crossing the border into Massachusetts to visit MGM Resorts’ new MGM Springfield venue, which opened with great fanfare in September 2018. 

MGM, with the help of the federal government, immediately launched an obstructionist campaign to sandbag Tribal Winds’ development, while claiming that its objections were rooted in MGM’s desire to build a Connecticut casino in Bridgeport. The feds eventually dropped out of the fight in early 2019 amid mounting allegations of former DOI secretary Ryan Zinke’s collusion with MGM. 

US tribal casino operators set another gaming revenue record in 2019, with nearly every geographic region reporting annual growth. 

Figures released Tuesday by the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) show the country’s 245 federally recognized tribal gaming operators reported casino gaming revenue of $34.58b in fiscal 2019, up 2.5% from 2018’s $33.72b. There were 522 tribal-controlled casinos at the end of FY19, up from 501 at the end of FY18.

The Sacramento region – which encompasses 76 casinos in California and Northern Nevada – earned FY19’s revenue crown with just under $9.7b, up 4.3% from FY18. Runner-up Washington, DC – with 42 casinos across Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and New York – saw its FY19 revenue fall 2% to just under $7.4b. 

DC was the only region to post negative growth this year after improving 2.6% in 2018. Rapid City – by far the smallest of the NIGC’s eight regions – was the only negative earner in 2018 but its 42 casinos bucked that trend in FY19, rising 2.1% to $376.5m. 

Sweden’s online casino deposit limits have resulted in penalties against Unibet’s parent company and local horseracing operator ATG. 

On Wednesday, Sweden’s Spelinspektionen gambling regulatory body announced that Kindred Group subsidiary Spooniker Ltd and AB Trav och Galopp (ATG) had allowed customers to exceed the ‘temporary’ online casino weekly deposit limits of SEK5k (US$588) the government imposed in July. 

The regulator said the infractions had been going on for “weeks” after players figured out a workaround. Swedish online licensees require players to set personal deposit limits for sports betting and anyone who sets theirs above SEK5k is supposed to be restricted to betting on sports only. 

But players figured out that they could set a personal limit above SEK5k, then lower their limit after depositing sums exceeding SEK5k. The operators’ systems would then allow these players to spend the cash gambling on online slots and table games. 

In the highly competitive world of online gambling, how do you give customers what they want and need, and do it better than the competition? That was the topic of a World Gaming Executive Summit (WGES) panel hosted by our lead reporter, Becky Liggero Fontana, as she asked how an operator can gain an edge.

A big part of it is meeting the player’s expectations, based on what led them to the landing page. “You want them to, once they hit your site, to get the same feeling they got when they were introduced to the trigger to come into you,” said Gil Rotem, Former Group Director of Gaming Strategy for Bet365. “So if you’re making it fun and funny and bubbly, then you want to hit a page that is like that.”

Consistency of experience matters a lot to that, he added. If you’re site emphasizes bonuses, then you need to do more than just offer a big welcome bonus. If the focus is on games, then those games, the best games should be prominent.

But many sites share the same offering of games. How can that be an edge at all? “The idea how to, with your own proprietary algorithms and your own proprietary analysis, how would you serve the right content to the right players at the right time,” he said. “You don’t want the players to look for it.”

Rush Street Interactive CEO and Founder, Greg Carlin has been busy over the last twelve months, with the company going through a transitional phase of growth. Carlin has been leading the crusade to bring synergy between online gaming and bricks and mortar casinos. He sat down with our very our Rebecca Liggero Fontana to share his insights on helping the land-based casino expand their reach in the online world.

Liggero Fontana was quick to ask about the exciting developments that have kept Rush Street Interactive in the news, and Carlin was happy to share the latest developments:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30yOP5ndEwk&feature=youtu.beVideo can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Greg Carlin expects big things when casinos shift online (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30yOP5ndEwk&feature=youtu.be)

“It’s an exciting time for Rush Street Interactive, we’re currently in the process of merging into a spec called DMY technology. We’re targeting a close in early December, making the transition from a private company to public company certainly has been an interesting process,” said Carlin.

The Shilin District Prosecutors office have revealed their indictments against 2 Japanese and 11 Taiwanese nationals following a July raid of office linked to Gamatron and Ganapati. The group are accused of running an illicit online gambling business.

The Japanese nationals include a man identified as Kinoshita and a woman known as Matsumura. They are accused of developing gambling apps and profiting from betting operations, along with the 11 Taiwanese. The indictment specifically cites the Japanese nationals as running three companies: Ganapati Taiwan Co., Ltd., Ganapati PLC and another technology company.

The charges cite 36 gambling apps were developed by the group, servicing 28 websites. All together, they made profits off of NT$1.4 billion ($48.9 million) in wagers. In their defense, Kinoshita and Matsumura have argued that they blacklisted Taiwanese, Japanese nationals, but prosecutors still allege they broke Taiwanese law.

This indictment further solidifies theories that Ganapati hasn’t been entirely honest about it’s operations. The July raid notably took place at a Gamatron office. Ganapati CEO Juliet Adelstein has refused to define the exact nature of the link between her company and Gamatron, but Taiwan’s indictment indicating the group worked for Ganapati seems to at least contradict the CEO’s statements.

Online casino sights need to stay on top of the hottest slot offerings to keep up with the competition. We’ve got the newest slots released in the past week, so you can check them out and decide if you want them on your site.

247Partners goes live with 5Gringos

Leading multi-brand affiliate program 247Partners has launched an enthralling online casino, 5Gringos.

Upon registration, users are welcomed by five lovable characters called gringos, who each bring a unique welcome bonus. The brand’s raft of innovative gamification features includes an achievements system which allows customers to collect gold and exchange it for bonuses, free spins and bullets.

Andrea Domingo, Chairwoman of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, took the time to provide some updates on the gambling industry of the country at the Asia Gaming Brief Pop-up on ‘Life after POGOs.’ She shared details with Sharon Singleton on the future of online gambling in the country, sharing her optimism for the upcoming year.

The first matter of business was to address what’s developing with what the media has termed PIGOs (Philippine Inshore Gaming Operators), but what Domingo prefers to call Liveshots. The new Liveshot framework will allow licensed brick and mortar operators to extend their operations online, and offer to local residents under strict conditions. Domingo offered some of them:

“For the casino based online gaming, like what we call the Liveshots, for example in Solaire, we are very, very strict that only VIP players in their player tracking system will be able to play. No minors or any banned personality will be able to play.”

She also noted that these VIP players will regularly encounter Know Your Customer (KYC) checks. Facial recognition would be required before every gaming session, and any funds won would have to be physically retrieved from the operator’s brick and mortar location.

Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International (IPI) and its CEO have been found in contempt for wilfully slow-rolling court-ordered payments to former employees. 

On Tuesday, Chief Judge Ramona Manglona of the US District Court for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) found both IPI and its CEO David Browne in contempt of court for failing to comply with previous court orders to pay $93k in attorneys’ fees in a timely manner. 

In August, Manglona ordered IPI to pay the $93k to seven construction workers who sued IPI for unfair labor practices during their work on the company’s Imperial Palace casino. The court deemed the fees warranted because of IPI’s “repeated failures” to produce case-related documents demanded by the court. 

As with its numerous other creditors, IPI pleaded poverty, so Manglona gave the company a month’s respite but ordered the company to make interim payments as money became available. To virtually no one’s surprise, IPI paid absolutely nothing toward these legal fees.

The UK gambling regulator has suspended a charity lottery operator’s license while National Lottery operator Camelot is taking heat over its 16-year-old customers. 

On Tuesday, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) announced that it had suspended with immediate effect the operating license of charity lottery firm Capen Ltd, which trades online under four domains: lotteryforkids.com, thelittlelottery.com, thesportslotto.com and zaffo.com. 

The UKGC offered little in the way of explanation for the suspension, saying only that it had instigated a review of Capen under section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005, which authorizes the UKGC to act if a licensee conducts operations not covered under the scope of its license or if the regulator suspects the licensee is “unsuitable” to conduct operations.

CAMELOT’S WATFORD WOES

China’s online gambling antagonism has contributed to the country’s cyber-watchdog dropping the ban-hammer on over 100 mobile apps for creating ‘content chaos.’

On Tuesday, the State Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) announced that it had ordered the removal of 105 mobile applications that certain busybodies complained were “spreading obscene, pornographic, violent, bloody and other illegal information, and providing illegal services such as fraud, gambling, and prostitution.” 

The purge was reportedly part of a “special rectification of mobile application information content chaos” that the cyber-prudes initiated on November 5. This anti-chaos drive is reportedly only just the beginning of the CAC’s drive to ensure a “clear cyberspace.” 

Among the most recognizable apps to be hitting the bricks belonged to travel site TripAdvisor, although the precise reason behind its inclusion remains unclear. The company has yet to comment publicly on the report, but it’s possible that the app committed the cardinal sin of referring to Hong Kong or Taiwan as a separate country.

Day 2 of the WSOP Hybrid Main Event was an epic one. Both in terms of the sheer time it took to whittle 179 surviving players from the three Day 1 flights to just nine finalists and in respect of the drama that played out.  

The GGPoker WSOP Main Event has been an exciting tournament, although whether it is judged to be as big as the ‘Main Event’ that was won back in the summer when Stoyan Madanzhiev banked $3.9 million for the win compared to the $1.5 million the winner of this event will receive is questionable, and not just to the Bulgarian himself.  

After a mammoth 10 hours at the felt, the dust settled to leave Brazilian player Brunno Botteon at the top of the chipcounts with 10,317,743 chips, more than double the stack of six of the players who made the final nine. Botteon was followed in the counts by online poker player and Portuguese youngster Manuel Ruivo (6,213,759) and the more experienced Damian Salas (5,653,528). 

Botteon will go into the showdown on December 15th as the man to beat, however and will be an entertaining chip leader if his recent play is anything to go by. Just three weeks ago, Botteon won a comical pot against Dan Bilzerian online, which is worth revisiting if only for the reveal and accompanying laugh.   

The latest book in our Poker in Print series is one of the earliest books that has been labelled as being definitive in its description of the game. Al Alvarez’ The Biggest Game in Town was written about the 1981 WSOP Main Event and was published two years later.  

Over 35 years on, the book still resonates in the poker world. But is it a timeless classic or has its time, like the style of poker in 1983, had its time?  

Far from being a poker diary, autobiography, biography or strategy guide, the book is the work of an acclaimed critic and poet in Alvarez, who would live a long and prosperous career writing on many subjects, of which poker was one of his favourites.  

The world of High Stakes Poker in Las Vegas wasn’t nearly as accessible in 1983, just 13 years after the inaugural WSOP Main Event saw Johnny Moss voted into the winner’s circle as the best player by his peers.  

Daniel Negreanu has long been known as the most instantly recognisable face of live poker. Also known as ‘Kid Poker’, the Canadian has won over $42 million in live tournaments alone over the last 23 years.  

Who is the man behind ‘Kid Poker’, however? Is ‘DNegs’ a persona or a genuine personality, and how did Negreanu rise to become one of the greats of the game? Let’s dive into the story of how Danie Negreanu became a Poker Idol.  

The Kid in the Front Row 

The poker career of Daniel Negreanu arguably before he ever sat behind hole cards. Born in Toronto in 1974 to Annie and Constantin Negreanu, who emigrated from Romania, Negreanu was ambitious as a kid. He wanted to be rich and dreamed of moving to the West Coast of America. He had no idea how accurate that earliest visualisation of success would be.  

South Africa’s national lottery operator/regulator is reeling after its offices were raided by law enforcement agencies probing allegations of rampant fraud involving lottery bigwigs.

On Tuesday, the Pretoria offices of South Africa’s National Lottery Commission (NLC) were raided by members of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), the government’s top body for investigating serious financial malpractice in the administration of the state.

Local media reported that SIU agents – along with members of the Hawks serious crime investigation force – came bearing warrants from a Pretoria magistrate allowing them to seize documents, laptops and other NLC records. 

The agents also paid a visit to document storage company Metrofile, marching out with still more evidence, while sources claim the warrant also covers the home residences of some NLC officials and their relatives.