World Poker Tour have announced a deal with Holland Casino that will see the global tour operator hosting Main Event and National Event series in Amsterdam through till 2019.

Poker players are about to become very happy indeed.

The World Poker Tour (WPT) has announced an exclusive four-year partnership with Holland Casino. Amsterdam will be the home to WPT Main Events from 2015 through to 2019.

The pair are not wasting anytime either.

Brian Kleinhenz is the winner of the 2015 Chicago Poker Classic Main Event, after beating the defending champion, Eddie Ochana, in heads-up action, to claim the first prize of $274,595 and a seat in the World Series of Poker Main Event.

Brian Kleinhenz has won the 2015 Chicago Poker Classic Main Event, but these fingers keep racing over the keys E.D.D.I.E O.C.H.A.N.A.

[Image Credit: PokerNews]

Ochana’s form in the Harrah’s Horseshoe Casino, and the Chicago Poker Classic, in particular, is something else. He finished 3/360 in the 2012 Main Event for a $108,268 score, he beat 745 entrants on his way to victory in the 2014 Main Event, and Kleinhenz stopped him from repeating that feat just days ago. You’re not supposed to remember the guy who finishes second. We’ll make an exception for Ochana.

Ricardo Manquant has won the first World Series of Poker International Circuit Main Event, after defeating Miroslav Alilovic, in heads-up action, on his way to the €122,330 first prize.

World Series of Poker (WSOP) Executive Director, Ty Stewart, promised to emphasis the word “World” in the World Series of Poker, and the ball has well and truly started rolling.

[Image Credit: PokerNews]

The WSOP Circuit (WSOPC) squeezed the word ‘International’ into its title, donned their fez and headed to Northern Africa to lay the foundations of what they hope will be a great success for the global promotion of their brand.

Australian online betting operator BetEasy has officially rebranded as CrownBet after hooking up with casino operator Crown Resorts in December.

BetEasy had a short shelf life, having been rebranded from Betezy last year. Matthew Tripp, who founded Sportsbet before selling out to Irish betting operator Paddy Power for $115m, acquired Betezy last March for $10m once his non-compete clause expired. BetEasy had its official launch in September but within weeks Crown came sniffing and the two parties eventually formed a joint venture, two-thirds of which is held by Crown, while Tripp remains CEO.

The CrownBet.com.au website is essentially the old BetEasy site with new branding and color scheme. In a statement accompanying the launch, Tripp said the new CrownBet operation would enjoy synergies with the Crown Signature Club rewards program. Online punters can earn reward points that can be redeemed at Crown’s land-based facilities.

Tripp had previously referred to BetEasy as “last Australian operator on the shelf” and Crown boss James Packer said CrownBet had been “built to operate as a world-class Australian-owned business that will compete strongly with the largely foreign-owned competitors in our wagering industry.” This marks the first extension of the Crown brand into the online betting sphere, although the company controlled the down under operations of betting exchange Betfair.

Online exchange betting outfit World Bet Exchange (WBX) has shut down, but not before identifying its murderer as Colonel Cameron in the conservatory with the online point of consumption tax (POCT).

WBX officially closed its doors on Monday (16) at 5pm GMT. While betting has been suspended, customers can continue to log on and withdraw their account balances. WBXMail will continue to function and the site’s Member Services Team will still be on hand to provide support between the hours of 9am-5pm GMT. All long-term markets will be “settled in the normal way, when results are known.”

In an email to WBX customers, CEO Malcolm Gray said that he was proud of his team and also “the fairness in which the exchange has operated.” Gray offered assurances that WBX would “continue to service its members and affiliates in the same spirit during the wind-down period.”

Gray said he’d “always taken a long view with WBX” but regulatory changes in the UK market had made the writing on the wall clear. “Unfortunately the business strategy is no longer viable due to the rising costs of regulatory compliance and levies in the United Kingdom, along with the increasingly prohibitive stance of various betting jurisdictions.”

Brayden ‘BRAYDEN93” Fritzhall outlasted over 50,000 players on his way to victory in the Sunday Million 9th Anniversary Special, and Russia’s Liliya ‘Liay5’ Novikova joins Team Online.

PokerStars have done it again.

Necks were on the line, the guillotine stayed hoisted well above their heads, and reputations remained in tact.

They were celebrating the ninth birthday of their special child: The Sunday Million, and in keeping with tradition they laid out a feast worth $9 million bucks.

Erstwhile sports betting tout Adam Meyer (pictured) has come up with a surefire two-pronged strategy to battle his federal extortion, fraud and weapons charges: I’m a secret government agent, and I’m batshit insane.

Meyer, who formally headed up the Real Money Sports prediction service, was arrested in December after a client claimed Meyer had threatened him with a gun if he didn’t give Meyer more money. Meyer reportedly extorted over $25m from the victim, since identified as Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin businessman Gary Sadoff, who owns the Badger Liquor Company.

In documents filed with federal prosecutors on Tuesday, first assistant US Attorney Greg Haanstad detailed how Meyer plans to employ the “public authority” defense. Basically, Meyer is claiming that his illegal actions were performed at the behest of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, with whom Meyer claims to have been cooperating.

According to the documents obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Meyer also claims to have been cooperating with illegal sports betting investigations launched by Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and a NCAA Division 1 football team. The feds have rejected Meyer’s claims and demanded that he disclose the names of witnesses he plans to call to testify in his defense.

Bloomberry Resorts, the operator behind Manila’s Solaire Resort & Casino, has purchased an island and casino operation in South Korea.

On Tuesday, Bloomberry said its Solaire Korea Co Ltd subsidiary had inked a deal to acquire up to a 92% stake in Golden & Luxury Co Ltd, which operates T.H.E. Hotel & Vegas Casino on South Korea’s Jeju island. The island is home to a number of small-scale casinos that are popular with Chinese tourists. Jeju is also the site of Genting Singapore’s in-development Resorts World Jeju integrated resort.

Bloomberry also inked a deal to buy the 21-hectare Silmi island, which is included in the Incheon Free Economic Zone (FEZ). Both deals still need to obtain official government approval. Bloomberry declined to comment on the acquisitions’ costs, saying only that the deals were “subject to performance of several conditions” and specifics would be revealed “once appropriate approvals have been obtained.”

Bloomberry chairman Enrique Razon issued a statement saying his company was “slightly shifting our focus to other destinations.” Razon said this shift would take a few years, but “it is good business to start prospecting, and Korea is a likely choice because of its positive investment climate.”

Advocates and opponents of New Jersey’s quest for legal sports betting squared off in the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday.

For those who’ve been in a state of suspended animation over the past few years, New Jersey has been doggedly trying to enact a legal sports betting environment but has been stymied at every turn by their opponents at the US Department of Justice, four pro sports leagues and the NCAA.

Having been told that their earlier attempts fell afoul of the federal PASPA sports betting prohibition, New Jersey took the advice of a DOJ attorney who argued that the state had the option of repealing its own anti-betting enforcement “in whole or in part.” The state ran with this ball, passing legislation that would permit – without explicitly authorizing or regulating – sports betting at Atlantic City casinos and state racetracks.

The state’s opponents insisted this was too clever by half, arguing that New Jersey’s options were limited to either an all-out ban or an anything goes, anarchic, bookies moving from the back-of-the-bar to kindergarten playgrounds scenario. In November, a federal judge sided with the state’s opponents, setting up Tuesday’s appeal to the Third Circuit court in Philadelphia.

Last week we sang the praises of Sweden, its stable environment, its low debt, its budget surpluses, and its low taxes, at least as far as Betsson is concerned. Today, a look at one of Betsson’s suppliers, Net Entertainment, also a Swedish company, but with business centers and revenues originating from some very precarious jurisdictions.

First, a quick update on the Eurozone for background. This place is getting crazier literally by the day. And when I say literally, I don’t mean figuratively literally. I mean literally literally, by the day, just nuts.

The sad news and a testament to how bad of a judge of character I can be, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, after claiming he would resign “the minute he senses that he is becoming a politician” has gone full politician. I mean full-on total politician, I see your Clinton “What the definition is ‘Is’ Is?” raise you a Weiner “My twitter account was hacked and I don’t tweet naked pictures of myself to women who are not my wife…twice,” and present to you this Royal Flush, “That video of me giving the finger to Germany, which is clearly absolutely of me, was doctored and I’ve never given the finger to anyone, ever.”

Not only has he never given the finger to Germany. He’s never given the finger to anyone. Ever.

Premier League Manchester United FC and bwin—the club’s online gaming and betting partner—have launched the first football club-based, real money casino app in the world titled “bwin Manchester United Casino.”

Fresh from Sunday’s 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, United stars Ashley Young, Juan Mata, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones attended the new bwin casino app launch in Manchester on Monday.

bwin Manchester United Casino has been developed by bwin, giving users a realistic 3D casino environment, set against the backdrop of Old Trafford. It features real-life images and voice-overs from the club’s footballers that welcome players to the casino lobby, guiding them through game-play. The app features games including blackjack, European and American roulette.

“Since Manchester United launched its relationship with bwin in 2012, we have been impressed by their commitment to setting the standard in their industry and providing dynamic and innovative user experiences, as is clearly demonstrated in the bwin Manchester United casino said, ” United’s Group Managing Director Richard Arnold. “The launch of the app is an important milestone in our partnership, and is yet another exciting platform to bring the club closer to its fans.”

The HTML5 game development program and marketplace Odobo has announced two new distribution deals with Gala Coral Interactive, bringing Gala Bingo and Gala Casino brands.

Gala Bingo, which focuses primarily on online bingo, offers features such as Gala TV bingo room while Gala Casino offers over 300 titles ranging from branded slots to poker and blackjack and the recently launched Macau product range.

The distribution deal between Odobo and Coral gives both brands access to 50 gaming titles. Developers also benefit from exposure for every title they produce via the Odobo Developer Program.

Founder and CEO of Odobo Ashley Lang said that Gala Coral Interactive’s brands are a great addition to the network of Odobo casino and bingo partners, as both brands are recognized in the UK with a significant land-based and online presence that instills trust with the consumer.

China has approved a plan by its Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) to set up a “super” anti-graft bureau that will investigate officials suspected of corruption.

SPP General Cao Jianming told China Daily that the new bureau will be staffed by several dozen experienced senior prosecutors, who will be appointed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. The bureau will also be combined with three existing bodies—the Anti-Corruption and Anti-Bribery Bureau, the Prevention of Duty-Related Crimes Department and the Investigation of Dereliction of Duty and Power Abuse Department—and will be established at vice-ministerial level, higher than a regular bureau.

A large database and an improved filing system will be built and are expected to be set in several months.

According to Deputy Head of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Zhao Hongzhu, more than half of government offices and public institutions are still to be visited by disciplinary investigators.

90 Digital CEO Nick Garner talks about another important part of Trust Optimisation which is making sure that you don’t deceive users in this episode of CalvinAyre.com’s SEO Tip of the Week.

Short intro to Trust Optimization.

Along with on site optimization and link acquisition, there seems to be a third element to ranking well on Google, it’s called Trust Optimization. Trust Optimization is based on the information we have got from anecdotal evidence on click through rates and rankings along with explicit guidelines from Google stating what they are looking for in a trusted website.  On with the post…

One of the consistent themes in trust optimisation is making sure you give users what they expect from Google search results. Deceptive page design is an important part of losing trust.

Ezugi, the innovative live dealer gaming system provider, today announced that it has entered an agreement with Racing Card Derby® to provide their Knockout Baccarat side-bets game.

Knockout Baccarat which is extremely popular in the Asia-Pacific region, offers additional bets for baccarat players to increase their potential winnings, by betting on the winning totals. Under the terms of the agreement the games will be available on laptop, tablets and mobile to Ezugi’s international customers.

Anthony Brown, CEO of Racing Card Derby® commented, “The success of baccarat is quite clear with the highest casino revenue of any table game. The added bets are extremely popular with land-based casinos and the alliance with Ezugi will allow players access online to a full range of new betting options, while playing their regular baccarat game. Knockout Baccarat side-bets adds to the player excitement, increases the casino turn over and ultimately makes for a more engaging baccarat game. We look forward to the launch of these options on the Ezugi live-feed platform.”

Mathias Larsson , Business Development Director at Ezugi, said, “There are no other Live Casino solution providers that can match our development agility to launch revenue enhancing live gaming products for our customers. Knockout Baccarat has proven to increase Baccarat revenues for land-based casinos, so we are excited to be able to deliver the game to online operators as well. Our games portfolio offers the best of both worlds; global popularity and regional appeal which is a rarity in the sector.”

ADRIANO MORAES DEFEATS RIKU SHIBUYA TO RETAIN ONE FLYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN MAIN EVENT OF

ONE: AGE OF CHAMPIONS

PLUS: PETER DAVIS VICTORIOUS OVER  RAJINDER SINGH MEENA

ALSO: ANN OSMAN CEMENTS STATUS AS TOP FEMALE PROSPECT BY DEFEATING WALAA ABBAS

Lee Davy shares his view on the Ivey League in the wake of a new discount offered by the brand in a bid to attract more custom.

‘Phil Ivey Wants You!’

The e-mail greeting me when I woke this morning.

“Does he want me to write for him?”

Sihanoukville, Cambodia, March 17, 2015 – APT Asian Poker Series Cambodia 2015 is now set to take place from October 20th to 28th 2015 at the Queenco Hotel & Casino in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

Making the announcement this weekend at the launch party of the new Poker@QueenCo, Queenco Hotel and Casino’s General Manager Aharon Aagini said that he was delighted that a vacant spot in the very congested 2015 APT calendar had been secured.

“Our first APT event last year was a success and we were very disappointed that the planned May event needed to be cancelled through reasons beyond our control. I am delighted therefore that APT Cambodia will now be here in October,” said Aagini.

Mr. AJ Brock, the owner and operator of Poker@QueenCo plans to continue the relationship with the Asian Poker Tour and to bringing a world-class poker experience back to Cambodia. He remarked, “I was introduced to the Cambodia poker scene a little over a year ago. In that year, I was very pleased to see APT having such success. I am very excited to take over Poker@QueenCo and hope to see poker in the region flourish. I was very disappointed when we had to cancel the May APT event, but now October can’t come soon enough. Sihanoukville is a perfect destination for an APT event and this year will be better than ever!”