It took almost three years and numerous trips to bankruptcy court, but finally, Revel was on the receiving end of some good news. The former Atlantic City casino reached a settlement with the city that will reduce its property tax assessment for 2015 from $625 million to $225 million. Likewise, its quarterly tax payments, which are due this weekend, have been reduced from almost $10 million to just under $2 million while its municipal tax rate for the year could drop from under $40 million to $7.5 million.

Chris Filiciello, a spokesman for Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian, defended the settlement from critics angered by the way AC’s casinos have successfully appealed their tax payments, depriving local municipalities of badly needed revenue.

To quell the growing concern, state lawmakers are laying out a plan that would allow casinos to make payments in lieu of taxes for 15 years in exchange for dropping plans to file tax appeals. This proposal would give casinos cost certainty in advance while also ensuring the city a guaranteed revenue stream.

According to Filiceillo, if the senate approves the alternative payment plan, Revel’s tax settlement would become a moot point after the first quarter payment of $2 million is received.

CREDIT AGENCIES TAKE AC TO THE WOODSHED

Meanwhile, AC’s financial struggles led two credit ratings agencies to lower their ratings for the city. Moody’s Investors Service was the first to take action, cutting its rating six notches deeper into junk territory. A few days later, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services took a similar step, cutting its rating four notches to junk at ‘BB’.

The two rating agencies are particularly concerned by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie taking the unprecedented step of appointing an emergency management team for the city and ordering it to consider the possibility of debt restructuring through bankruptcy.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) has found itself indirectly involved in another controversy after documents signed by city officials in Baguio City allowing the opening of an electronic bingo parlor were found to be erroneous.

The documents, which were “endorsed” by Mayor Mauricio Domogan, indicated that the city did not object to the opening of the bingo parlor last year. But the documents have now been deemed a “misrepresentation of the city government’s position.”

Vice Mayor Edison Bilog revealed earlier this week that the resolution, dated March 25, 2014, was actually fake and contained forged signatures from Bilog himself.

According to a separate document, Domogan wrote to PAGCOR chair Cristino Naguiat Jr on April 14, 2014, endorsing the company’s application to operate e-bingo in Baguio. Such a document is required to be submitted to PAGCOR, although gaming applicants could also attach forms of certificates of no objections from communities in the event actual certifications can’t be produced. Domogan was reportedly misled into believing that the resolution was legitimate.

Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda claimed the resolution, which carried a note that read “duly received by the council,” was never actually approved by the city council. Tabanda pointed out that the date the resolution supposedly passed couldn’t have happened because that was a Tuesday and the city council holds its regular sessions on Mondays.

Fellow councilor Richard Cariño backed up his colleague’s statements, saying the proposed resolution to bring an e-bingo parlor to Baguio never got off the ground.

While not explicitly calling out the operator, Vice Mayor Bilog did say that the operator of this parlor, a Laguna-based company, was tasked to come up with the certificate that has since been questioned by the city council.

Casino operators’ hopes for building large-scale integrated resorts in Sri Lanka bit the dust on Thursday as the country’s newly elected government officially put the kibosh on three pending projects. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament that the new administration had “decided to ban such approval for casinos,” fulfilling a campaign promise by new president Maithripala Sirisena.

The previous government had offered operators like Crown Resorts significant tax concessions to help attract large-scale development but the plans were strongly opposed by other political parties and the nation’s influential Buddhist leaders. Sri Lanka has around five small casinos that operate in a legal grey area and the previous government had planned to dodge the issue of authorizing new casino licenses by allowing these operators to transfer their licenses via partnerships with large developers.

In addition to Crown’s $400m project in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, property developer John Keells Holdings and local politician/businessman Dhammika Perera had proposed similar projects, although none of these had yet to begin construction. The government insists all three operators can build resorts if they so choose, but casinos cannot be a part of the entertainment options.

Sri Lanka is also casting a fresh eye on its existing small-scale casinos. Cabinet spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said all current casino licenses will be reviewed because government officials “want to see the legal basis of those operations.” A new one-time casino tax of Rs 1b (US $7.5m) will be demanded of all current license holders. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said the tax must be paid by April 15 or the whip would come down.

Senaratne also revealed that plans are underway to restrict casino gambling to a specific area of Sri Lanka. The previous government had designated its own gaming zone in the D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha area of Colombo but Senaratne said the exact location of this new gaming zone had yet to be determined.

The online gambling operator, who had no previous connection to the sport before announcing in October that they would be sponsoring the two-mile championship race, have added the Lincoln, Chester Cup, Yorkshire Cup and Great Voltigeur to their portfolio.

Betway, replacing William Hill who supported the Doncaster highlight for several years in the 1990s and from 2006, is supporting the traditional Flat season curtain-raiser, the Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster on March 28th

The firm is then sponsoring two high profile races at York, the Group 2 Yorkshire Cup at York’s Dante Festival on May 13th to 15th and the Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes on August 19th during the Welcome to Yorkshire, Ebor Festival.

The company has already boarded on a number of other National Hunt racing sponsorships in recent weeks. Saturday’s Welsh Champion Hurdle and the supporting card at Ffos Las will be backed by Betway. The first race officially run under the Betway banner will be the 12.55pm Betway Novices’ Hurdle, a race subsequent Betway Champion Chase winner Sprinter Sacre took in 2011 when it was first run.

Betway is also sponsoring Chepstow’s Winter Beer Festival Raceday on 21st February and their Irish Raceday on 7th March. In addition they have taken a race on Newbury’s popular Greatwood Charity Raceday on 28th February.

In 2015, Betway-sponsored races will total to over £1million, in prize money, with a commitment to more as further opportunities arise.

“Betway wanted to continue investing heavily in UK racing after taking over the Champion Chase and are thrilled to be visiting some of the country’s finest courses over the season for a number of the calendar’s most historic contests.” said Betway Spokesman Alan Alger.

Another Aussie Millions update that recaps on Davor Derek’s victory in the Mixed-Max event, and another sterling performance by Ole Schemion, as he leads the final eight players in the $100,000 Challenge.

One of the things that makes the Aussie Millions such a wonderful event is the world’s greatest players are all attracted to the allure of a $10,600 Main Event, $100,000 Challenge and $250,000 LK Boutique Challenge.

Two of these three events are currently in full effect. The Main Event attracted 648 players and as we move into the third day of action Brian Rast is performing well at the head of the final 58-players.

The $100,000 Challenge has reached the final table and once again it’s that German battering ram, Ole Schemion, who is leading the way. This guy is something else. The conqueror of Phil Ivey (KQs>AJo) holds 1.8m chips, with Jason Mo and Erik Seidel the only other two players sitting behind chips stacks towering over a million.

Day 1 saw 63 entrants leap through the gate and Mo was the chip leader when all was said and done. David Steicke bought in nice and fresh on Day 2, and the likes of Fabian Quoss, Richard Yong, Sorel Mizzi, Bryn Kenney, Brian Rast and Doug Polk all fired a second bullet – only Yong will turn that investment into a profit.

The field size ended up reading 70-entrants, six down on 2014’s number. The final eight players are all guaranteed $310,000, and the winner will bank $1.8m.

Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs announced on Wednesday that websites that provide, facilitate, advertise or promote remote gambling service effective Feb 2.

The Remote Gambling Act (RGA) has been passed in Parliament October 7 last year Singapore’s government and law makers concern that online and mobile gambling facilitates crime such as money laundering and creates social problems through problem gambling.

The objectives of regulating remote gambling are to maintain law and order and to minimize the potential harm of remote gambling, especially to young persons and other vulnerable persons, Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.

Under the new law, companies that organize, manage or supervise remote gambling services and make them available to Singapore consumers could face fines of up to SIN$500,000 ($400,000) for undertaking those activities without authorization to do so.

There are exemptions to the rule. Operators can obtain certificates allowing them to provide remote gambling services to consumers in Singapore where this is considered to be “in the public interest”. Factors such as where operators are based and the subsequent ease with which any conditions of certificates of exemption can be enforced is one of a number of factors Singapore’s government could consider when carrying out the ‘public interest’ test.

Where remote gambling services are exempted, operators will only be able to accept bets on sports events and to run lotteries, although the scope of activities permitted under the exemption could be extended by the Singapore government.

Media Development Authority (MDA) also clarifies that the RGA passed does not cover games which do not allow players to receive money, or convert in-game credits to money or real merchandise.

FanDuel and DraftKings may have the lion’s share of the daily fantasy sports market, but upstart Rivalry Games is prepared to offer something it claims neither FanDuel nor DraftKings currently has in their menu.

The maker of Rivalry Fantasy Sports has announced that its mobile app will be the first to offer Super Bowl fantasy football. The app is available on iOS and Android devices, thus creating an avenue where fantasy football players can compete for points or cash during Super Bowl XLIX.

“Millions of Americans watch the Super Bowl, but normally, only a small percentage of viewers really care about the outcome,” Rivalry Games co-founder and CEO Justin Bauer said in a statement.

According to the company, Rivalry Fantasy Sports allows players to select six-man teams during the game. Players can either play for free or sign up and join cash games ranging from $1 to $100. All of Rivalry Fantasy Sports’ Super Bowl XLIX tournaments will carry a cap of around 10 to 100 players, ensuring participants a bigger chance of winning the tournament.

“Whether you play for pride or cash, Rivalry Fantasy Sports will make the Super Bowl way more exciting than usual,” Bauer added. “Pick your fantasy team, root for your players and hopefully earn some cash.”

Speaking of DraftKings, the daily fantasy sports site has signed up another NFL team to its roster of professional sports team partnerships. After securing the signatures of the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos, DraftKings has added the Pittsburgh Steelers to its list of NFL partners.

“Fantasy sports are an increasingly important part of the fan experience for Steelers fans,” the Steelers’ Director of Corporate Partnerships and Sales Ryan Huzjak said in a statement.

Is it just me or has the lead-up to this year’s Super Bowl been just one endless loop of discussions surrounding DeflateGate? It’s weird because the media seems to have just zeroed in on this one issue and left every other narrative out in the cold. You would think that somebody would’ve gone against the grain and talked about something else, right?

Well, that’s what I’m going to do, or at least try to because the stink of DeflateGate is still prevalent so I still have the dedicate some space talking about it.

But other than that, Super Bowl XLIX is actually teeming with juicy plots and subplots, some of which I’m going to highlight only because, more than anything else, I just want to move past talking about deflated balls.

DeflateGate

For better or for worse, the saga surrounding those deflated balls from the AFC Championship game has dominated the headlines leading up to the Super Bowl. It’s a good thing because even without talking about the actual game itself, Super Bowl XLIX has remained relevant. That’s an easier feat to do these days, but it still doesn’t take away from the fact that everybody seems to be so fixated on DeflateGate that little attention is being paid on what actually matters more. You know, like the game itself.

The New England Head Coach Connection

If you peel off the ad naseum talk surrounding DeflateGate, you’ll realize that there are a number of narratives surrounding the game that can be dissected even more. This one is one of my favorites because not a lot of people are giving it the attention it deserves. Did you know that since Robert Kraft became the owner of the New England Patriots in the mid 90’s, he’s only hired two head coaches. We all know who one of them is, but not a lot of people remember that the other one was actually Pete Carroll, the same guy coaching the Seattle Seahawks and is one win away from winning his second straight Super Bowl.

New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement awards Mario Galea with a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of his contribution to the state’s interactive gambling regime.

Mario Galea, founder and principal consultant of Random Consulting, an independent firm dedicated to adding value to a wide range of companies the gambling industry, has received a unique accolade  in appreciation of his “outstanding performance and lasting contribution to New Jersey’s Internet gaming initiative” and his “dedication to the Division of Gaming Enforcement.”

From Left to Right: Eric Weiss (Head of Technical Division, NJ DGE), Mario Galea (Random Consulting) and David L. Rebuck (Director, NJ DGE)

In 2013 Random Consulting was selected after an international call by the Division of Gaming Enforcement to advise and assist in the roll-out of online gambling in the state of New Jersey and David Rebuck, Director of the DGE has said “New Jersey could not have implemented i-gaming without Mario’s assistance.”

Galea himself acknowledged that “after the legislation came into force, New Jersey set an aggressive launch target of November 2013.   This meant that Random Consulting had less than six months to ensure that all aspects of the regulations were in place and every licensed operator went through a rigorous testing procedure that included a number of new challenges such as the introduction of geo-location, real-time KYC and massively expanded responsible gaming measures.”

Since 1998 Galea has held different roles spanning across the gambling industry from system development, management, operations, including setting up gaming policy and regulatory policy.  All this experience was put to test in the rollout for New Jersey. “Working with the team at the DGE was challenging and satisfying on equal measure.  I spent 18 months in New Jersey, and I couldn’t be more proud of what we all, as a team, achieved.  There’s a long road ahead, but New Jersey was the first US state to go live with interactive gambling and I’m fully sure that it’ll be a force to be reckoned with for a very long time- New Jersey is now the gold standard for online gaming.”

Prior to his time at the DGE, Galea was the CEO of the Maltese Lottery and Gaming Authority for five years which, during his tenure, saw the Island become the world’s central hub of online gambling with a total to date of 200 operators licensed.

Simon Eaton announces new affiliate program, READYtoPARTNER, for innovative sportsbook READYtoBET.  READYtoPARTNER offers those who want to get into the action associated with online sportsbooks the opportunity to run their own affiliate website.

Panama City, Panama, January 28, 2015- Simon Eaton has announced the launch of READYtoPARTNER, a new affiliate program for READYtoBET. Eaton, who serves as the manager of READYtoPARTNER, has more than 15 years of Internet marketing experience with the majority of his time being spent in the competitive industries of online gambling, forex, and binary options.

In making the announcement, Mr. Eaton observed, “READYtoPARTNER provides those in the sports betting affiliate industry an exciting commercial opportunity by allowing them to connect online sports bettors with READYtoBET, which is one of the newest and most innovative online sportsbooks. READYtoBET launched in July 2014, and since that time has earned the respect of sports bettors, as well as those in the online sportsbook industry.”

Managers and entrepreneurs with years of success in the online sports betting arena developed READYtoBET. The Internet sportsbook accepts players from every part of the world except the U.S. The website, which includes a sportsbook, casino, live casino, virtual sports, and games, can be accessed via your computer or mobile device and is available in three languages, English, Spanish, and German. Along with sports betting lines for upcoming events, READYtoBET also provides players the chance to wager on live events.

“The fact that READYtoBET is such an active and interesting sportsbook,” noted Mr. Eaton, “makes the READYtoPARTNER affiliate program a potentially lucrative venture for owners. As a sportsbook, READYtoBET is especially attractive to those sports bettors with diverse interests. At any given time, READYtoBET lists over 400 soccer matches, plus hundreds of other betting opportunities, including ice hockey, basketball, baseball, and football from leagues around the globe.”

READYtoBET provides players with highly competitive odds, a wide range of props, and all of the basic bets that players love, including totals, moneylines, and point spreads.  Three-way wagers, parlays, and teasers are ready and waiting. The variety of wagers that a bettor can make on one game is huge. Half time and quarter bets, highest scoring quarter, odd/even, and team totals may all be played. Plus, READYtoBET is dedicated to providing quality products, a rich betting schedule, and a healthy and safe gaming environment.

Mr. Eaton’s sportsbook and betting experience includes serving as the head of operations, manager of affiliates, owner and senior affiliate and marketing manager for an array of Internet sports betting concerns. With a general goal of ensuring that operators in the gaming sector enjoy success, he has worked for bet365, Leisure and Gaming PLC, Nine.com, VIP.com, BetOnline, and SportsBetting.com.  He’s extremely excited about the wonderful sports betting products that are part of the READYtoBET brand and the great commercial opportunity available to affiliates who utilize READYtoPARTNER.

With all the excitement of the conferences coming up in London, sometimes its easy overlook the sessions available that could benefit you and your business.

The upcoming London Affiliate Conference includes a huge expo floor full of booths with open bars, giveaways, games and all sorts of clever marketing ploys, but it also features a variety of sessions addressing the common issues facing iGaming affiliates and operators today.

With three simultaneously running tracks each day, the task of picking out the best sessions to attend can be daunting.  A good piece of advice is to study the sessions on tap in advance, highlight the ones you like and slot them into your schedule if time permits.

If you don’t have time to read through the LAC session schedule but would like to attend one or two, here’s a quick list of some quality sessions you should consider attending.

1)How to earn 4 to 6 figures monthly promoting FX & Binary Options with no starting capital 

Tiz Corta is one of the biggest affiliates around and he’s not afraid to share his tips and tricks with the masses.  This session of Corta’s will cover opportunities for affiliates in the Forex and Binary markets, how to pick the best affiliate programs and offers to promote, how to generate high converting traffic and how to increase revenues by branching out beyond Forex and Binary.

Corta shared with CalvinAyre.com, “We will reveal the simple 3 steps anyone can follow to generate 4 to 6 figures monthly as a Forex and Binary Options affiliate, and the best part is…none of these require any starting capital!”

COLOSSUS BETS, home of the £10,000,000 Colossus and the world’s biggest football and sports jackpots, is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement with ONEworks™ for the distribution of Colossus Bets’ pools betting products. The agreement will see ONEworks™ integrating Colossus Bets pools into its platform and making those pools available to ONEworks™ licensees.

Bernard Marantelli, founder and CEO of Colossus Bets said: “We are delighted to begin collaborating with ONEworks™, a market-leading sportsbook platform provider whose clients include some of the largest sportsbook operators in the world. This deal will significantly increase access and liquidity to our lottery-sized sports betting jackpots with our patented Fractional Cash-In feature, and takes us a step nearer to our goal of providing the first global £100,000,000 sports pool.”

ONEworks commented: “Adding Colossus Bets with the world’s biggest pools and a ground-breaking Fractional Cash-In feature to our platform is consistent with its ethos of continuing to innovate and providing our customers the best products available. Football betting, in which Colossus Bets specialises, continues to be a sports betting juggernaut and we see great potential in making Colossus Bets pools available to our B2B clients and in turn their retail customers.

About Colossus Bets

Colossus Bets was founded by Bernard Marantelli, a professional gambler who after winning significant sums from multi-leg bets around the world, decided jackpot pools were not run optimally. After failing to convince incumbent operators to improve their product offering to generate bigger pools, he set up Colossus Bets to provide lottery-sized jackpot pools on a weekly basis. The company’s B2C offering was launched in August 2013 and since then Colossus Bets has signed 16 B2B agreements for the distribution of its pools to the end players of its operator partners. Operators who have already gone live to offer Colossus Bets pools to their own end players include Betfair, Betdaq and BoyleSports, with a series of others scheduled to go live in 2015.

For more information, please see www.colossusbets.com

Contact: Bernard Marantelli (CEO and Founder)

BEN ASKREN AND LUIS SANTOS SET TO BATTLE FOR ONE FC WELTERWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AT ONE FC: VALOR OF CHAMPIONS IN MANILA

ONE FC: AGE OF CHAMPIONS TICKETS AVAILABLE AT AIRASIAREDTIX.COM

28 January 2015 – Singapore: Asia’s largest mixed martial arts organization with a 90% market share, ONE Fighting Championship™ (ONE FC), has announced its return to Kuala Lumpur with another blockbuster event. ONE FC: AGE OF CHAMPIONS is set to take place on 13 March at the iconic Stadium Putra. The main event will feature a ONE FC Flyweight World Championship bout wherein incumbent champion Adriano Moraes will be defending his title against Japanese stalwart Asuka ‘Riku Shibuya’ Mikami. Malaysian mixed martial arts superstars Peter Davis and Ann Osman are also expected to be featured on the card.

ONE FC will also return to Manila, Philippines for ONE FC: VALOR OF CHAMPIONS on 24 April and to Singapore on 22 May for ONE FC: WARRIOR’S QUEST. ONE FC: VALOR OF CHAMPIONS will be held at the state-of-the-art MOA Arena while ONE FC: WARRIOR’S QUEST will be held at the 12,000-seater Singapore Indoor Stadium. Originally scheduled to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 14 February, ONE FC: ODYSSEY OF CHAMPIONS will be moved to a later date.

Ben Askren will defend his ONE FC Welterweight World Championship for the first time at ONE FC: VALOR OF CHAMPIONS. Standing opposite him in the ONE FC cage will be Brazilian MMA veteran Luis Santos, who made quick work of Bakhtiyar Abbasov in his ONE FC debut.

Tickets for ONE FC: AGE OF CHAMPIONS, presented by Tune Talk, are on sale from 19 January at www.AirAsiaRedTix.com. Ticket categories begin with the full Red Carpet and cageside experience for VVIPs at RM388 followed by VIP RM278, Gold RM168, Silver RM108 and Bronze RM58. Early bird promotions for Gold, Silver and Bronze categories are available until 31 January. Prices include ticketing fee.

CEO of ONE Fighting Championship™, Victor Cui, stated, “We are kicking off 2015 with three spectacular events lined up to start the year. ONE FC: AGE OF CHAMPIONS will see the return of ONE FC Welterweight World Champion Ben Askren as he takes on one of the toughest challenge of his career against Luis Santos. Ben Askren is the absolute best in the world and we are excited to see him up against the highly skilled Luis Santos. We are also ecstatic at the chance to be back in Manila on 24 April and in Singapore on 22 May to treat fans to world-class mixed martial arts action!”

Lee Davy continues his confessions series with a trip down memory lane as he recalls his association with the magazine Poker Pro Europe.

All anybody ever wants is a chance.

But it’s not always that easy.

Getting in front of the right people is as important, if not more so, than the work you actually put into developing whatever skill you are trying to sell.

Luck is also a factor.

There is also a timing issue that is very important. In the book SmartCuts by Shane Snow, the author talks about a phenomenon known as Catching the Wave. You have to be in the right spot, at the right time, and although that involves a high degree of skill and intuitiveness, there is also a whole lot of luck.

The reason I am able to sit down at my kitchen table and write this, and be paid for it, rather than head into the Steelworks and try to operate 20-trains per day with only 10-locomotives, is because I got my chance, and I made sure that I caught the right wave.

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands (LVS) defied the skeptics by posting strong earnings growth in both Q4 and FY 2014. For the three months ending Dec. 31, revenue rose 6.6% to $3.42b, operating income rose 15.4% to $1.02b and net income rose 24.9% to $721.3m. For the year as a whole, revenue rose 5.9% to $14.58b, operating income rose 20.3% to $4.1b while net income rose 23.2% to $2.84b.

As ever, Sands China was the primary engine of LVS’ growth, with full year revenue up 6.8% to $9.57b, adjusted earnings up 12.4% to $3.26b and net income rising 15.4% to $2.55b. The gains came despite Macau’s record downturn, which helped push Q4 revenue down 16.2% to $2.12b and profit down 18.3% to $535.3m.

The Venetian Macao saw Q4 revenue fall 23.4% to $880.3m, Sands Cotai Central fell 10.8% to $705m, Sands Macao fell 18% to $268m while the Four Seasons Hotel Macao bucked the trend by rising 2.4% to $243.8m.

Macau’s dearth of VIP gamblers was evident in rolling chip volume, which was down nearly 40% at the Venetian, -52.3% at Sands Cotai Central, -36.3% at the Four Seasons and -43% at Sands Macao.

Mass market table drop was down at the Venetian (-7.1%), the Four Seasons (-10.2%) and Sands Macao (-14.2%) but mass market betting rose 10.6% at Sands Cotai Central. Slots numbers were up in the low single-digits at Sands Cotai Central and the Venetian, while rising 10.3% at Sands Macao and falling 42.7% at the Four Seasons.

At Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, revenue rose 27.1% to $838.6m and occupancy rates rose 1.4 points to 98.3%, prompting LVS chairman Sheldon Adelson to paraphrase Mark Twain by saying rumors of Singapore’s demise as an integrated resort destination had been greatly exaggerated. Gaming revenue at MBS increased by one-third thanks to VIP win rate nearly doubling year-on-year to 3.58%, which helped offset a 26.8% fall in VIP gambling turnover and a 3.3% decline in mass table drop.

Stateside, LVS’ two properties in Las Vegas reported revenue down 6% to $362.6m, driven by a 14.1% decline in gaming revenue as Chinese high-rollers stuck closer to home. Room occupancy in Vegas fell 7.7 points to just 81.1%. In Pennsylvania, Sands Bethlehem revenue rose 7.7% to $133.6m.

This is a guest contribution by Stephen Padveen, a Senior Partner with t2Marketing International. . You can connect with t2Marketing International at one of their upcoming appearances. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you

There are billions of user accounts across the social sphere, and it can sometimes be difficult to determine what niche among these user clusters you should be targeting with your social messages. Virtually every one of them holds value for some vertical or another, but which one or ones matter to you?

When developing a social media player archetype that you can be targeting with your casino’s message, there are a number of criteria that should be considered. Several of the twenty criteria listed below might seem trivial, but all of them are important items that can be targeted on social channels and should be included in your checklist when building out a new target demographic profile for your social messaging.

Age

Obviously, your messaging will vary based on the age of your targeted market. Moreover, considering the legal issues surrounding the world of gaming, age is going to be an important distinction at the outset.

Location

Two more events to catch up on as Nam Le defeats He Chang to win the Tournament of Champions event, and the Norwegian Mikal Blomlie defeats Sammy Lucisano to take the honors in the No-Limit Hold’em/Pot Limit Omaha Rotation event.

When the Champions League was first introduced into the football calendar I thought it was a dumb title for the competition. It’s turned out to be the most prestigious club competition in the world, but it hardly a tournament comprised entirely of champions now is it?

I guess this is my problem with the Aussie Millions Event #13: $1,150 Tournament of Champions, in as much as the eventual champion, wasn’t a champion before he became a champion.

[Image Courtesy of Pokerasiapacific & Kenneth Lim]

Still with me?

Nam Le and He Chang, two players who have never won an Aussie Millions gold ring, were the final two players from a field of 115 players. Only the former Aussie Millions Main Event winners were given the opportunity to participate for free – hence the name. But I don’t like it. The fact that a Tournament of Champions winner is not a former champion takes some of the sugar coating dust off for me.

The pair agreed an ICM chop no sooner had Takaya Yamashita been eliminated in third place. The heads-up play then continued for a further 60-minutes before the final hand played out as follows.

The former Asia Pacific Poker Tour Manila champion, Van Marcus, and young online hot shot, James Obst, have both been recognized for their contribution to Australian poker by the Australian Poker Hall of Fame.

With over $1.3m in live tournament earnings, and a mattress stuffed with money earned in high stakes online and live Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) games, nobody is going to argue about Van Marcus’s inclusion into the Australian Poker Hall of Fame.

He is a former Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Main Event champion, and he has also come mighty close to bagging a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet, on three occasions, after finishing third in PLO events back in 2007 & 2009, and a fifth in 2009.

Van Marcus was placed on a short list that contained luminaries such as Grant Levy, Joe Cabret, Michael Guttman, Tino Lechich and David Steicke. He was the only player inducted, and the announcement was made prior to the start of Day 2 of the Aussie Millions Main Event. Australian Poker Hall of Fame chairman, Joe Hachem, did the honors.

With the 2015 ceremony completed, that now means the Australian Poker Hall of Fame consists of 15-players. It’s the second consecutive year that a single person has been inducted after Graeme Putt became the first solitary induction back in 2013-2014.

James Obst Handed Recognition Award

It’s good to see the Australian Poker Hall of Fame recognizing talent of the future, alongside patting the best of the past on the back.

For the first time in the past 46-years, the World Series of Poker Main Event, will guarantee that 1,000 people will get paid, as they bow down to public pressure and drop the guaranteed $10m first prize.

PokerStars introduced rake changes. The customers vented their frustration. PokerStars changed their minds. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) introduce a $10m Guarantee for the $10,000 Main Event. The customers vented their frustration. The WSOP changed their minds.

There are two lessons to be learned here. The first is that our poker tours are listening to feedback, and acting upon that feedback; that’s great news. The second lesson to be learned is more of an inquiry.

Why aren’t the opinions of the customers being considered before the changes take place?

A question that involves an article on its own methinks.

Leading with the headline that 1,000 players are going to be guaranteed a min-cash, in the most prestigious poker tournament in the world, is a great headline. I would say that it’s a headline that would attract more players to the Main Event.

There was no need to have a $10m headline. Nobody in their right mind is going to get more excited for a $10m first prize, when they know they are 99% certain to receive $8m if they win.