For those of us who bow down before the altar of prop betting, there’s no better thrill than putting money down on entertainment props. It’s not quite like Super Bowl props in terms of stature, but for sheer entertainment purposes, no pun intended, betting on events like the Oscars is like trying to bet on Wrestlemania.

There are clear-cut favorites, and while they almost always win, there are still some notable exceptions when huge underdogs pull off an incredible upset. I see you, Brock Lesnar.

The template for this year’s Academy Awards fits that bill. For Best Picture, you have a clear favorite (Birman at 2/5 odds), a short underdog (Boyhood at 5/4), and a bunch of long shots with odds ranging from 20/1 to 50/1. The fun here isn’t so much about betting on Birdman or Boyhood, but putting small amounts on all of them with the hopes that something inexplicable happens and one of those long shots improbably wins the award. It’s a losing proposition for the most part, but if you bet, say, a dollar, on any of the long shots, you only stand to lose $5 if none of them cash in. Minimal risk, huge pay-off.

Same thing with the award for Best Actor. Right now, Eddie Redmayne remains the overwhelming favorite at 1/3 odds with Michael Keaton a little further down at 5/2. Outside of these two, the odds drop precipitously with Bradley Cooper at 12/1, Benedict Cumberbatch at 20/1, and Steve Carrell at 28/1.

The award for Best Actress is the most extreme example of this line-of-thinking. Everybody already has Julian Moore penciled in to win it, so much so that some sportsbooks are offering odds as low as 3/100. That’s the equivalent of, say, Real Madrid playing Elche in the Spanish La Liga. You have to feel bad for the other nominees, right?

They’ll show up at the awards knowing full well that they’re not winning it. Just look at their odds: Reese Witherspoon (14/1), Rosamund Pike (25/1), Felicity Jones (50/1), and Marion Cotillard (65/1).

The Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress Awards follow the same template, too. JK Simmons and Patricia Arquette are the overwhelming favorites with odds as low as 1/50 for the both of them.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has won a major court victory over the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

PAGCOR’s charter states that it must pay a 5% franchise tax on income derived from gaming operations – including the licensing of casinos – while corporate tax is payable on revenue derived from other PAGCOR services.

In 2011, the BIR issued a circular requiring PAGCOR to pay corporate tax on its gaming income after the Philippine government amended its National Internal Revenue Code. The amendment failed to specify that PAGCOR was among the state-owned agencies that were exempt from corporate tax and PAGCOR has been locked in a knife fight with the BIR ever since.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that the attempt to impose the corporate tax on PAGCOR “constitutes an overreach” and “grave abuse of discretion” on the part of the BIR. The Court said there was no need for Congress to grant PAGCOR a tax exemption because the exemption was explicitly stated in PAGCOR’s charter. The Court said that if Congress had truly intended to remove PAGCOR”s exemption it would have “expressly” done so because the “repeal of laws by implication is not favored.”

The friction between PAGCOR and the BIR has only ramped up since work began on the mega-resorts in Manila’s Entertainment City project. Before they started building, PAGCOR”s international casino licensees had agreed to pay the 5% franchise tax on gross gaming revenue plus 15% on VIP winnings and 25% on mass market gaming.

BIR claimed it had never been consulted on this arrangement and promptly slapped the 30% corporate tax on all licensees’ gaming income. Operators were rightfully pissed at this apparent bait-and-switch and PAGCOR attempted to cushion this blow by lowering casino license fees by 10%. PAGCOR said it would revert to the previous formula if/when the BIR’s reign of terror was “restrained, corrected, or withdrawn.”

LEGISLATOR WANTS TO REDUCE PAGCOR’S AUTHORITY

Lee Davy brings you another shot of poker news, including: Caesars and Amaya falling in love; the World Series of Poker serenading the Italians; Dusk till Dawn jumping into bed with partypoker, and much more.

It’s been a strange old week for the poker community.

Hearts have fluttered. Hearts have broken. Fortunately, for you, we haven’t missed a beat.

Last week, we told you that Pala Interactive CEO, Jim Ryan, believed that the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) had a good shot of passing. That belief strengthened this week, after Nolan Dalla posed the question: “Could American Online Poker be Holding the Losing Hand?”

“{Sheldon} Adelson’s organization, the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling, is steadily winning over the hearts and minds of our elected officials in Washington.” Dalla wrote before continuing, “They are outspending, out maneuvering, outthinking and outworking the opposition.”

We are a disjointed bunch. A whole lot of people, looking at other people, hoping and praying that they will do something to bring back online poker to the USA.

That approach doesn’t cut the mustard.

Atlantic City casino operator Trump Entertainment Resorts may have spied a light at the end of its bankruptcy tunnel after creditors reached a deal on a restructuring plan.

Trump Entertainment filed for bankruptcy last September, shutting down the Trump Plaza casino that same month. The Trump Taj Mahal remains open only because principal creditor Carl Icahn floated the company a $20m emergency loan in December.

On Thursday, a panel representing Trump Entertainment’s unsecured creditors reached a deal that attorney Karen Giannelli said “allows us to support the [restructuring] plan.” Under the previous plan, Icahn would receive equity in the restructured company while unsecured creditors would have split $1m between them, representing a recovery rate of less than 1%. Bloomberg News reported that the new plan boosts the unsecured creditors’ payout to $3.5m.

While the creditors committee has signed off on the plan, the individual creditors are under no obligation to accept. The plan also doesn’t prevent casino workers union Unite Here Local 54 from continuing its appeal of the court order stripping Taj Mahal’s unionized employees of their existing benefits and health care plan.

JUDGE KILLS REVEL SALE, CASINO CAN KEEP STRAUB’S $10M DEPOSIT

Meanwhile, the long sorry saga of the Revel Hotel and Casino took yet another downturn on Thursday as a bankruptcy court gave the property permission to put itself back on the market. Revel now hopes to find another sucker willing to pick up AC’s white elephant on the cheap but there are no firm offers on the table and Revel will be forced to liquidate if no buyer materializes within the next five months.

Launched in April 2012, the $2.4b Revel declared bankruptcy for the second time last June. The property was sold at auction to Brookfield Asset Management for $110m, but the company walked away from the deal a month later after failing to reach a deal with the dedicated power company that supplies Revel with juice. Florida developer Glenn Straub then snapped up Revel for $95.4m but Straub couldn’t make nice with Revel’s tenants and the deal’s timeline expired.

Manchester United have launched ‘Manchester United Social Poker’ in collaboration with their official global social casino games partner, KamaGames.

Manchester United, the world’s most widely recognized football club, has entered the social casino industry by launching Manchester United Social Poker.

It’s a bold move for a club trying desperately to find the pulse that seems to have deadened since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson.

In the summer of 2013 I was invited to attend The Road to Old Trafford. A £250 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) event that featured the likes of former Man Utd player Darren Fletcher, and our very own Sam Trickett.

Trickett would go on to win the £10,000 first prize and donate it to Rio Ferdinand’s charity; Darren Fletcher would go on to sign for WBA, and I would leave slightly bemused as to why bwin.party had not entered into an agreement to launch Manchester United Social Poker instead of KamaGames?

It’s all about money, honey.

Premier League football clubs seem to have an ‘Official’ everything. Official toilet paper provider, official tampon provider, and now an official global social casino games partner.

New Jersey sports betting advocates have learned the names of the three judges who will decide the fate of their state’s latest betting legislation.

A three-judge panel of the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia has scheduled a March 17 hearing for oral arguments in New Jersey’s latest appeal of the latest injunction barring the state from allowing sports betting at Atlantic City casinos and state racetracks.

The three judges picked to hear the state’s appeal are: Maryanne Trump Barry (pictured left), the sister of Donald Trump, famed entrepreneur and Hair Club For Muskrats hall of fame inductee; Majorie Rendell (pictured right), the wife of former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell; and Julio Fuentes (center), who was among the three judges who rejected the state’s previous appeal in 2013.

The trio does not feature Judge Thomas Vanaskie, who authored the dissenting opinion in that 2013 decision. Vanaskie was the lone judicial voice to suggest New Jersey’s advocates were right in their view that the 1992 federal PASPA sports betting prohibition was unconstitutional because it “conscripts the states as foot soldiers to implement a congressional policy choice.”

Fuentes, meanwhile, was the judge who said the state was free to decide the “exact contours” of its sports betting prohibitions. It was this language that helped New Jersey craft its latest legislation, which doesn’t explicitly authorize or regulate sports betting, but merely allows its casino and racing licensees to add sports betting to their gambling menu.

The pro and college sports leagues opposing New Jersey’s plan have argued that Fuentes wasn’t giving a green light to a partial repeal of PASPA, but was only suggesting that states had the right to decide how punitive to make their own penalties for violating the total prohibition. US District Judge Michael Shipp sided with the leagues in his November 2014 ruling.

As for Trump Barry and Rendell, they each have ties to gambling via their sibling and significant other, respectively. Donald Trump used to run casinos in Atlantic City while Ed Rendell was publicly advocating for sports betting in his home state way back in 2012, although that was one year after he’d left the governor’s mansion. Before donning her judge’s robes, Marjorie Rendell did a stint with Duane Morris LLP, a law firm with a significant gaming practice.

The Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) anti-online gambling legislation introduced this month by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) will get a hearing on Capitol Hill on March 5.

News of the hearing was broken by Michelle Minton, a member of the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute, which was one of a dozen prominent conservative organizations that voiced opposition to RAWA last November. Citing anonymous sources, Minton said the Sheldon Adelson-backed RAWA had a date with the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations.

Chaffetz is one of nine Republicans on the 17-member Subcommittee and the Republican party’s belief that online gambling is the nexus of all evil is well documented. Another member of the Subcommittee, Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), once claimed there was “a correlation between drug dealers and gambling sites.”

At last month’s confirmation hearing for Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who is reportedly close to introducing a Senate version of RAWA, spent most of his allotted time quizzing Lynch over whether she believed Islamic extremists were utilizing online gambling as a means of funding their terrorist activities.

Speaking of Graham, Adelson has signed on as co-chair of a March 3 luncheon benefitting Graham’s Security Through Strength presidential exploratory committee. A Graham aide told McClatchy News that the involvement of Adelson, a significant GOP campaign financier, need not be construed as an endorsement of Graham’s presidential ambitions.

Meanwhile, presidential ambitions may have prompted another pol to step down as co-chair of Adelson’s Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling (CSIG). Former New York governor George Pataki’s name no longer appears on the CSIG website, which may reflect Pataki’s desire to rid himself of divisive associations before throwing his hat into the 2016 presidential derby. Pataki’s CSIG tenure was marked by embarrassing media appearances, including a CNBC interview in which he insisted (without evidence) that “transnational” criminal gangs were getting fat off online gambling.

A professional rugby player from Dublin, Ireland, has been ordered to pay a man €10,000 in compensation after flooring him during a poker game in April 2012.

I am currently in Dublin.

I was invited to play in a poker event.

After learning of the fate of 57-year old Michael Frisby, I might have to buy myself a gum shield.

Frisby suffered three broken bones, in his face, after being floored by a punch from former professional rugby player Neilus Keogh, 27, after a poker hand that went awry in April 2012.

The Irish Times reported that the pair were playing in a nine-handed poker game, in Dublin’s The Sporting Emporium, when Keogh lost a pot, stood up and floored the man twice his age. He topped things off with a chair shot whilst the Frisby was floored.

Keogh, who was playing for Nottingham at the time, did not have his contract renewed due to the ‘adverse publicity’ of the case. The Times reported that Keogh currently plays amateur rugby for London Irish and works as a building construction worker earning £350 per week.

Montreal, QC. February 18th, 2015 – Betboro, aCuracao-based sportsbook and live betting operator, has announced a new partnership with iGaming affiliate software and digital marketing firm, Income Access. The agreement will see Betboro integrate with Income Access’ affiliate marketing software to provide their advertising partners with a robust set of reporting and marketing tools.

Operated by parent company Webmedia Development N.V., which is authorized and regulated by Curacao E-Gaming, Betboro launched in 2013. The operator is primarily focused on betting and live betting with over 30 types of bets available for each event. There are also plans to add a selection of casino products in the near future.

Betboro’s sportsbook and live betting products are powered by software provider Swissbet, which recently became a Certified Partner of Betradar. The upcoming catalogue of casino offerings will also be powered by Swissbet as well as Microgaming.

Partnering with Income Access, winner of the last two eGR B2B Awards for Best Affiliate Software, Betboro and their partners will have access to a solution that offers comprehensive campaign management and a host of features to facilitate analysis of ROI. Other software features will allow for streamlined affiliate communications and payment calculations.

“We’re very happy to have signed with Income Access and are looking forward to launching our exciting new affiliate offering,” said Danijel Savic, CTO of Webmedia Development N.V. “We have big plans that will provide our marketing partners with an opportunity to earn revenue while promoting a great product.”

Exciting affiliate incentives will be announced soon to complement generous player promotions already available through Betboro, including a welcome bonus of up to 100 Euros. Betboro also offers their players quality service through a wide-range of payment options and easily accessible live chat support.

“Betboro is a growing brand and we’re thrilled to have them join our roster of clients,” said Nicky Senyard, founder and CEO of Income Access. “We look forward to working with them more closely and playing a role in their continued success.”

Australian casino operator Crown Resorts enjoyed good growth at its domestic casinos in its fiscal H1, which helped offset the dramatic downturn in the Macau casino market.

For the six months ending Dec. 31, Crown’s earnings fell 15.5% while net profit after tax fell 31.4% to A$262.4m (US $205m). That’s before $61.3m in significant items, including costs associated with the aborted Crown Sri Lanka project. Including those numbers, profit fell a whopping 47.2% to $201.8m.

However, Aussie casino operators prefer to report ‘normalized’ numbers, which smooth out the wild variance in the VIP gambling market and other occasional hiccups. Employing those normalized rose-tinted glasses, revenue rose 17.2% to $1.7b, earnings rose 14.8% to $450.2m while profits rose 2.3% to $322.4m. There, that’s better, isn’t it?

Maintaining that normalized facade, Crown’s domestic casinos saw revenue rise 16.1%. Main gaming floor revenue rose 3.5%, non-gaming revenue rose 2.4% while VIP gambling turnover rose a hefty 61.4% to $37.1b.

Crown Melbourne reported normalized earnings up 26.1% to $351.2m thanks to an 86.4% rise in VIP revenue. VIP turnover set new records in November and December as high-rollers looked for somewhere other than Macau to test their luck. Crown Perth’s earnings rose 7.7% to $127m as main floor revenue rose 3.7% and VIP rose 1.2%.

In a demonstration of how illusory ‘normalized’ numbers can be, Crown Aspinall’s normalized earnings rose 17.8% to $20.7m although actual earnings were negative $3.5m. Frankly, we wouldn’t be surprised to learn there’s someone out there who believes Seattle won the Normalized Super Bowl.

In Macau, Crown’s one-third stake in the Melco Crown Enterainment joint venture dragged even normalized profits down 21.5% to $110.4m.

Grisly details have emerged in the Mehmet Hassan case, as three people face charges of murder and imprisonment, after killing the gambler at his home in London.

When 56 year old Mehmet Hassan met 25 year old Leonie Granger, he must have thought his luck was in.

Luck was important to Hassan. He made his money gambling. His two favorite London haunts were the Palm Beach Casino and The Playboy. Two places from that rather expensive purple strip you find in a game of Monopoly.

On Sunday, 23 March 2014 his luck ran out after three people stopped his heart from beating due to their lust for money.

Leonie Granger, who rather ironically was employed as a care assistant, her boyfriend Kyrron Jackson and his friend Nicholas Chandler, both 28, are currently facing trial at The Old Bailey, charged with murder and false imprisonment.

The jury heard how Granger first met Hassan in February 2014 at the Palm Beach casino. They met again on the 15 March 2014. Prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC said: “The truth, sadly, is that Miss Granger was not interested in Mehmet Hassan for anything other than his money. And that is how Mehmet Hassan came to be tied up and kicked to death in his own flat.”

On Sunday, 23 March 2014, they met again at the Palm Beach before taking a cab to Hassan’s flat in Islington. 30-minutes later Hassan booked a cab that took Granger to an address in Lewisham. Giving evidence, the taxi driver told the jury, that he overheard Granger talking on her mobile phone: “Swear down! I don’t believe it. Don’t tell me the money’s not there! I saw it. Look in the drawer. Look under cabinet.”

LatestCasinoBonuses.com has reached its third consecutive milestone within the last three months as the site’s free play version of Playtech’s Gladiator slot  has been played 2 million times!

Players are drawn to the Free Games section of LCB, especially Gladiator having launched it for a whopping two million play sessions. The Slot was initially released in 2008 and has become wildly popular due to the theme based on the DreamWorks blockbuster hit film, Gladiator. LCB members come to the site to try the latest online casino games including American members that are unable to access Playtech games for real money.

In December 2014, LCB had reached its 3,000th free game followed by another milestone in January 2015 of 70,000 registered active forum community members since the site’s launch in 2006. February rolled around and brought about a new record LCB.

LCB offers a wide range of free games from many providers including some of the top names in the industry such as NetEnt, NextGen, Mirogaming, WMS and of course Playtech, to name a few. Aside from Gladiator’s theme there are a few other factors that make it such a favorite. The betting range allows players to wager as low as$0.02 per spin and as high as $6,250. Not all players have the opportunity to play the maximum bet unless they are quite the high roller so free play is a way to experience the excitement. Slot players are also attracted the maximum payout of $1,250,000, which would be an amazing win on a 50-line Slot Game.

There are two bonus games including the Gladiator and Colosseum Bonuses. Three Gladiator masks trigger the Gladiator Bonus. The mask symbol is wild on reels two, three and four substituting all symbols except for the Colosseum Scatter. The Colosseum Bonus is triggered with three Scatter symbols appear on the reel. Players are presented with a series of columns featuring stones, which reveal winnings including credits, multipliers and even free spins.

Although it has been 7 years since the release of the Gladiator Slot, online gamblers continue to be drawn to the power and strength behind the mask. Playtech brought the movie to life on the reels and resulted in another record for a gladiator in the online casino affiliate industry, LCB.

Darryll Fish has won the first major title of his career, after defeating Diosdado Icawat, in heads-up action, to take the first prize of $173,189 in the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event in West Palm Beach.

A fish has won the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) Main Event at West Palm Beach.

28-year old Darryll Fish overcame a final table that contained two four-time WSOPC gold ring winners, to win his first major title since he started racking up results eight years ago.

“I’m not in the game for the titles.” Fish told the WSOP after his win. “I play for my love for the game and the ability to earn a living doing it is something that I’m really fortunate to be able to do.”

The money also helps.

Without it, the grinding ceases.

Let’s take a look at the green.