Tag Archives: the daily vice

Bringing Recreational Players into the Game of Poker

This is a guest contribution by Steven Miller President of Card Shark Media Inc. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

First of all, I’d like to express my thanks to Alex Dreyfus and his team for organizing the 1st annual American Poker Awards that were held last week in Los Angeles. This was truly a special event that promises to bring online and brick & mortar operators, media, poker communities and content providers, and professional and recreational players into a unified and vibrant global industry.

A recurring theme mentioned by both professional players and poker room managers was the critical importance of bringing new recreational players into the game. There was a discussion of interpretation of tournament rules that gives the benefit of the doubt to recreational players when found to be in technical violation of sometimes arcane rules. There was a discussion of the flattening of the WSOP Main Event payout structure to give as many as 300 more players the opportunity to cash in what probably will be remembered by many as a lifetime bucket list event.

And one, poker room executive, Mr. Adam Altwies of the Aria Resort and Casino, told a story about an interview with poker pro Shaun Deeb, who after playing in a WSOP event, described a hand he played using a gibberish-like vernacular that could only be understood by a tiny percentage of the world’s 150 million poker players. Mr. Altwies’ advice to Shaun was to tell his story in plain English!

This reminds me of a tweet written by another poker pro, Andy Frankenberger. Here’s how it went:

“@AMFrankenberger: Then UTG 3300, call, I call btw w 22, BB call. Flop 245 dd. UTG 10k, me 20K, BB 50k(puke), fold. I tank/shove/pray. Him A3. Riv 4!”

Huh?

Becky’s Affiliated: Jim Ryan on Pala Interactive and the state of US regulated real money gaming

Jim Ryan is a familiar face in the iGaming industry and also an influencer, having worked in the marketplace since 2001 in C-level positions. Ryan is currently serving as the CEO of Pala Interactive, a gaming technology provider with a focus on US regulated real money iGaming. Pala Interactive is the first tribal entity to receive a real money iGaming licence in the state of New Jersey and the company has big plans for California’s market once it opens up.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Ryan, one of my favorite executives in the iGaming space, to chat about Pala Interactive’s performance in New Jersey, his view on bad actor and tainted asset issues, how PokerStars’ imminent New Jersey license will impact his business, the state of regulation in California and the his opinion on the threat of Sheldon Adelson and RAWA.

Becky Liggero: Lets start with New Jersey. A lot of people are disappointed in the performance of the New Jersey market so far- from your perspective, how are things going with Pala Interactive since you’ve entered the market in New Jersey?

Jim Ryan: From our perspective its been all good. But we approached New Jersey, I think, with a very different viewpoint than others. If you take a look at the facts, we entered the market a year late. We entered the market without a known brand in the state of New Jersey, we’ve also entered that market without a database. In one respect, one could look at this as us being disadvantaged. In another respect, we actually see this as a great opportunity for us.

We went into New Jersey with three very specific objectives:

First, being a new enterprise, we wanted to expose ourselves to a regulatory process. So having the company, its management team and its product go through that process, being vetted, positioning us not only for New Jersey but for other regulated US markets as they open up, fit perfectly with our strategy, which by the way, is to operate in US regulated, real money gaming environments.

The second reason why we thought New Jersey was well placed for us was that we had built a brand new technology platform, probably the only platform out there that was built specifically to operate in the US regulated market. Actually we built much of the platform with the New Jersey regulations in hand. But its one thing to run that platform in a lab and it’s a whole other thing to expose it to the marketplace. And we’ve done that for the last three months and learned an awful lot of things about the good, the bad and the ugly with our platform and we’re actually this week about to do our first major release which is going to optimize the product significantly, from the player journey perspective, from a conversion perspective. We’re adding 28 new games to the platform this week which will take us well above 120 games, I think one of the largest in the marketplace.

SEO Tip of the Week: Onsite Trust Optimisation – New content with real content date markers

90 Digital CEO Nick Garner talks about another part of Trust Optimisation, and the most important is that you have a Fresh New Content on the site and have a Real Date Markers in this edition 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…

Following on from making sure your site is properly maintained, it makes sense that users will trust you more if they see a steady flow of new content on your website. Course there are some sites which will forever be static, but on the whole most sites should have fresh content to show that it is well maintained and keeping up with the times.

Since google has to rely on what it says on the page, date markers are really important.

This is a date marker:

Bet365 braces for start of Australian trial; younger Aussies giving up the gamble

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) lawsuit against online gambling operator Bet365 is set to begin this month.

Last August, the ACCC accused Bet365’s Aussie operations of making “misleading representations” in their bonus offers to punters. Specifically, the ACCC cited a free bet and deposit bonus of $200 that came with rollover requirements.

The ACCC says these requirements weren’t made sufficiently clear and thus the promotion violated consumer law. The ACCC is asking the Federal Court of Australia to award it declarations, injunctions, pecuniary penalties, corrective advertising, a compliance program and costs. (Partridge in a pear tree to be delivered next Christmas.)

The Australian Broadcasting Company quoted Bet365 senior counsel Cameron Moore saying the company wanted to nail down the specific nature of the allegations before trial commenced. The ACCC has previously acknowledged that the Northern Territory-licensed Bet365 amended its promotions after being contacted by the ACCC.

YOUNGER AUSSIES GIVING UP THE GAMBLE

Studies of the global gaming market usually place Australia at the top in per capita spending on gambling but new data suggests younger generations are choosing a different path than their elders.

Roy Morgan Research decided to study the gambling habits of Generation Z, which is defined as Aussies born between 1991 and 2005 (although the study only concerned itself with the 18+ members). The average Australian spent $13 per week on gambling, 9% of his or her weekly entertainment budget. But Generation Z spent just $4 on gambling, representing 3% of their budget.

The WSOP Breaking Records in Maryland

A World Series of Poker Circuit event at the Horseshoe Baltimore has smashed the record for a live tournament, in Maryland, after Jesse Mills defeated 2,403 entrants on his way to victory.

[Image Credit: PokerNews]

If you listen hard enough, your customers will tell you what they want.

The World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) is proving to be a very efficient conduit in that regard. It’s been a record-breaking year for the series, and it keeps getting better.

The Season 11 stop at the Horseshoe Baltimore in Maryland has smashed the record for a land-based live poker tournament, in the state, and they have only played through two of the 12 gold ring events that are going to be on show.

2,403 players ponied up the $365 buy-in, and in some cases even more, in Event #2 $365 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) Re-Entry. The players eagerness to fire off consecutive bullets created a total prize pool of $720,900 and $106,305 of that now rests in the piggy bank of Jesse Mills.

Talking to the WSOP, after the event, Mills said that his key to success was avoiding tougher players, and folding big hands when he wasn’t sure how to proceed.

Sweden yanks gambling apps; Finland won’t prosecute online gamblers

Sweden’s gaming regulator has succeeded in convincing Apple to remove several online gambling apps from the Swedish-facing App Store.

Apps linked to 888, Betfair, Bet365, Betsson, PokerStars, William Hill, Unibet and others were unceremoniously yanked from view late last month following a complaint filed by the Lotteriinspektionen (Swedish Gaming Board).

A Lotteriinspektionen spokesperson told eGaming Review the complaint wasn’t actually a complaint, but merely an “informative letter” that sought to “verify the terms and conditions” of Apple’s gambling policy. You know, like how Anna Sage didn’t really rat out John Dillinger, she just thought FBI agent Melvin Purvis would like the movie playing at the Biograph Theater that night.

Some of the affected operators are reportedly discussing the matter with Apple in the hope of persuading the tech giant that Sweden’s suspect gaming laws don’t justify the apps’ removal. Apple recently reinstated a number of gambling apps that had been pulled from the UK App Store following what was dubbed an “admin error.”

Sweden’s offending apps vanished just weeks after the government announced that the long awaited revamp of its online betting regime had been postponed until some unspecified future date. The European Union’s top court has ordered Sweden to justify the online betting monopoly of state-owned operator Svenska Spel but Sweden appears to be thinking the problem will go away if it just thinks happy thoughts and pours another shot of Absolut Denial.

FINLAND WON’T PROSECUTE PLAYERS WHO VISIT INTERNATIONAL SITES

Similar concerns of online gambling firms poaching from local monopolies are being voiced across the border in Finland. Finland’s four authorized operators – RAY (slots), Veikkaus (lotteries), Fintoto (horseracing) and PAF’s monopoly in the autonomous Aland islands – generate annual revenue of €1.7b. That dwarfs the estimated €130m spent with international online firms, but concerns are that this gap is shrinking.

Josh Turner Triumphs at WSOPC St Louis

Josh Turner has defeated Javier Zarco, in heads-up action, to take the first prize of $136,945 in a bumper field at the World Series of Poker Circuit $1,675 Main Event at the Lumiere Place Casino and Hotel in St Louis.

Josh Turner has gone wire-to-wire in the $1,675 World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event at Lumiere Place Casino and Hotel in St Louis, Missouri.

[Image Credit: Bluff.com]

He dominated the first day of action, finishing with 400,500 chips – almost half as many as the player in second place. When he finished Day 2 he was the man heading to the final table as the chip leader, and he finished the last day with every single chip in the competition.

It’s been an outstanding year for the local lad from St. Louis. This victory was his 11th cash of the season, his seventh final table, and his second gold ring. However, despite all the accolades, this marked his first deep run in a WSOPC Main Event, and the $136,945 is the largest score of his career.

415 entrants created a total prize pool of $622,500. It was a fairly inexperienced final table with only Jesse Watson having any significant form of note, after winning a ring earlier in the season when he beat 187 players in a six-handed No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) event for $15,428.

It’s not often that you see a Spaniard involved in the WSOPC, but Javier Zarco was a serious contender in this one. According to WSOP reports he pushed Turner all the way, and could easily have walked away from St. Louis wearing the gold ring.

Kristy Arnett: Zen and the Art of Surviving a Tough First Year in Professional Poker

Kristy Arnett: Zen and the Art of Surviving a Tough First Year in Professional Poker Video

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Webis to shut Betinternet fixed-odds division, focus on WatchandWager

AIM-listed online gambling operator Webis Holdings has announced it will shut its Betinternet fixed-odds sports betting product effective 10am GMT on Thursday (5).

On Tuesday, Webis announced it had decided to shutter Betinternet after regulatory changes in certain Asian markets made business untenable. Webis said it had attempted to flog Betinternet to rival firms but received no firm offers, sealing Betinternet’s fate.

Last summer, Webis had reported that Betinternet was struggling with “external challenges,” including action by the government in Singapore that forced Webis to “curtail” Betinternet’s operations in the city-state. That door was permanently shut after Singapore’s new Remote Gambling Act took effect on Feb. 2.

Betinternet had been an internet fixture for 15 years but the “ongoing development of jurisdictional protectionism for fixed-odds operations by either prohibition or onerous regulatory and levy requirements means that Betinternet.com has little chance of maintaining further profitability as operational expenses increase.”

Betinternet customers have been told to withdraw their balances within 90 days of the closure date after which the balances will be “set to zero.” However, unresolved sports bets will be settled as the results come in, and players will have 90 days from the date of those results to withdraw their winnings.

Webis now intends to focus on its San Francisco-based WatchandWager advance deposit wagering operation. In FY 2014, WatchandWager turnover rose 24% to $124.5m, two-thirds of which came from its Cal Expo racetrack in California. Turnover in Asia and Europe was up 9% and 237% respectively after the company inked deals with the Hong Kong Jockey Club and the Swedish Horse Racing Totalisator Board.

Las Vegas Sands wins trademark infringement suit against First Cagayan

A US federal judge is considering imposing sanctions on casino operator Las Vegas Sands for redacting data from documents related to the wrongful termination suit of former Sands China president Steve Jacobs.

The Jacobs v. Sands legal fight has been going on since 2010 and has expanded to include numerous defamation suits related to the two parties’ public sniping. On Tuesday, US District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez heard arguments from both sides as to what punishment Sands should receive for redacting personal information from around 7,900 documents related to the case.

Sands had originally claimed the documents sought by Jacobs couldn’t be removed from Macau due to the special administrative region’s Personal Data Protection Act. Sands was later found to have already exported the same data to its attorneys in Las Vegas, a revelation that prompted Gonzalez to fine Sands $25k. Sands was also ordered to turn over the documents to Jacobs’ attorneys, which is when the redactions came to light.

On Tuesday, Sands attorneys argued that they had no choice but to redact the personal info lest they upset Macau authorities. Jacobs’ attorney Todd Bice noted that the redaction process had cost Sands China around $2.4m, which he claimed demonstrated the futility of assessing purely monetary sanctions. Given Las Vegas Sands’ resources, Bice said the company’s intention was to “spend us all into the grave.” Gonzalez said she would issue a ruling early next week.

MORE ASIAN INFRINGERS TOLD TO PAY UP

Meanwhile, Sands has won another intellectual property infringement judgment against Asian online gambling sites, although collecting on that judgment will be a more difficult endeavor.

In March 2014, Sands sued First Cagayan Leisure & Resort Corporation, Wann Yichen, Qing Wan Leng and the unknown registrants of 54 online gambling websites, most of which boasted generic numbered domains linked by a directory site. Sands accused the sites of making liberal and unauthorized use of the Sands name, logo and other intellectual property.

Wynn v. Chanos slander suit dismissed with prejudice; Wynn gets Girls Gone Wild cash

Wynn Resorts casino magnate Steve Wynn’s defamation lawsuit against hedge fund manager Jim Chanos has been dismissed with prejudice.

Wynn filed suit in September following comments Chanos made at a panel discussion at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism last April. Chanos, who manages the Kynikos Associates fund, told attendees that he’d reduced his holdings in Macau-based casino firms – including Wynn Macau – over fears that Macau’s junket industry left such companies open to potential violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

In December, US District Judge William Orrick dismissed Wynn’s suit, saying Chanos’ comments couldn’t be construed as suggesting Wynn had violated the FCPA. Wynn subsequently revised his lawsuit but Orrick wasn’t swayed, issuing a judgment on Tuesday saying anyone “need look no further than the transcript” of the event” to conclude that Chanos’ comments “do not amount to a statement of fact, but rather an opinion that is not actionable.” Adding insult to injury, Orrick ordered Wynn to pay Chanos’ court costs.

In a more positive development, Wynn will see a little more scratch from his pursuit of gambling debts owed by Joe Francis, the former ‘brains’ behind the Girls Gone Wild (GGW) soft-core porn company.

GGW filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2013 to protect its assets from court judgments giving Wynn permission to take the assets as partial repayment of Francis’ unpaid casino markers. Wynn was also awarded hefty judgments after winning defamation suits against Francis.

Last April, the GGW brand was sold for $1.8m to a Liquidity Capital-led investment group. On Monday, a bankruptcy court ruled that the proceeds of this sale will be divvied up between GGW creditors, including Steve.

Meanwhile, Francis and his girlfriend Abbey Wilson have an April 2 hearing in a federal court to determine if they should go to jail for failing to turn over two luxury cars belonging to the GGW estate. Francis has claimed that a Mexican strip club owner took the vehicles as compensation for several GGW promotions that never materialized.

Scientific Games expands in Canadian market; launches online Rainbow Riches Bingo

Gaming and lottery technology supplier Scientific Games Corp. announced its partnership with the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC), expanding its position in Canadian market.

Under the deal, Scientific Games will provide ALC with its Sciplay iLottery and AEGIS NGS lottery gaming systems as well as operational monitoring and maintenance support starting in mid-2017.

“We are delighted to continue innovating with Scientific Games to bring entertaining lottery games to Atlantic Canadian players through technology that both serves us today and leads us into the future,” said Brent Scrimshaw, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic Lottery Corporation. “Our conversion to the AEGIS NGS and Sciplay systems will provide ALC with the opportunity to securely and responsibly grow through traditional retail channels, and now mobile, internet and emerging channels.”

ALC operates on behalf of the Canadian government in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Labrador and Prince Edward Island. The five-year contract, which can be extended up to 15 years, will see Scientific Games’ gaming technology presence to 70% of provinces and all three Canadian territories— Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon.

Scientific Games has provided iLottery and internet-based loyalty solutions to 20 World Lottery Association members since 2001 while Sciplay system is being implemented in Arkansas, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, and most recently, North Dakota.

“ALC will be well-positioned to become an industry leader in multi-channel player engagement and promotions that can successfully grow their business,” Senior Vice President, North American Lottery Systems for Scientific Games Pat McHugh.

The implementation is expected to begin this month, with the conversion to the new system in 2016.

Tropicana revenue gains; Borgata eyeing expansion; AC to host Arena Football

The Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City has posted an impressive 24% improvement in net revenue in 2014.

According to the company’s annual reports to investors, net revenue in 2014 reached $303.08 million, a steady improvement from the $244.7 million it earned in 2013, largely tributed to an increase in gambling revenue amounting to $55.2 million.

Tropicana’s operating profits posted small gains, amounting to $12.4 million in 2014 compared to $11.19 million in 2013. The property tax refund from Atlantic City with $31.7 million helped the Tropicana, giving owner Carl Icahn some measure of relief after five casinos in Atlantic City shuttered their windows last year. One of them, the Trump Taj Mahal, is expected to be added to Icahn’s portfolio, at least depending on the outcome of bankruptcy court proceedings currently underway for the property.

Meanwhile, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa—another one of Atlantic City’s casinos that are still standing—has announced plans to expand its business, including the development of an outdoor entertainment venue to host concerts and festivals and a new, state-of-the-art nightclub.

Plans for this expansion have now been set into motion after the casino operator received preliminary determination of eligibility from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) to use around $14 million of its “current and future funds on deposit with the CRDA generated from its Investment Alternative Tax payments.”

Part of this investment will go in the development and construction of the Borgata Festival Park and the new nightclub.

“We are thrilled with the opportunity to enhance and grow our already tremendous entertainment offerings through funding by the CRDA and a wonderful partnership with Live Nation,” Borgata President and CEO Tom Ballance said in a statement. “Upon our entry into the market in 2003, Borgata set the bar for entertainment and nightlife in Atlantic City, so it is only appropriate that we raise it yet again with the addition of these two substantial projects.”

Net Ent appoints Jenny Rosberg to Board of Directors; online casino games go live on Full Tilt

Swedish online gambling technology provider Net Entertainment (Net Ent) appointed NASDAQ Senior Vice President Jenny Rosberg to the board of company directors.

The Nomination Committee proposed Rosbergs’ election as well as expanding the number of its existing board members to eight directors, re-nominating Vigo Carlund, Fredrik Erbing, Mikael Gottschlich, Peter Hamberg, Michael Knutsson, Pontus Lindwall and Maria Redin.

”Jenny Rosberg has more than 25 years of operational experience from senior management and board positions in the financial services and technology sector. With her international perspective and valuable experience from capital markets and transaction-intense industries she will bring great competence to the Board. I look forward to working together with Jenny to continue to strengthen NetEnt´s position as a leading provider of digital entertainment”, says Vigo Carlund, Chairman of the Board at NetEnt.

Rosberg is the founder of ROPA Management Ltd. Prior to founding ROPA, she held top executive positions with NASDAQ for almost eight years.

Net Ent casino games go live on Full Tilt

A selection of Net Ent’s game portfolio has gone live with online operator Full Tilt brand, following an agreement between the two companies in April 2014.

Full Tilt has completed the integration process and has made a selection of Net Ent’s online casino games available to its customers.

Springfield mayor signs casino ethics ordinance; Wynn buys extra land for Mass. casino project

The city of Springfield in Massachusetts has finalized a new set of casino ethics rules that will impose a ban on elected officials and top city administrators from receiving any benefits from MGM Resorts International’s casino for a period of three years after leaving office.

The new ordinance, signed by Mayor Dominic Sarno after recently being unanimously approved by the City Council, specifically laid out that the mayor and councilors of the city are also barred from holding any direct or indirect interest in the MGM casino nor can they be employed by the same casino for the aforementioned period of time after they have left their respective offices. Likewise, city department heads and their top aides also face a similar ban, except that theirs only lasts for two years after leaving their respective city jobs.

In addition, the city of Springfield has also established a Casino Liaison Office in accordance with the 2011 Expanded Gaming Act. Part of the office’s duties include coordinating correspondence between employees of MGM Resorts International and numerous city offices, specifically in times of immediate concern, including issues that will likely arise during the construction of the $800 million integrated resort and casino.

The Casino Liaison Office will only hold office through the grand opening of the resort, which is expected to take place in the third quarter of 2017. The office of Mayor Sarno has already tabbed Springfield’s Chief Development Officer Kevin Kennedy to oversee the office. Kennedy will be flanked by James M. Hannifin and retired director of the Department of Public Works Al Chalk and attorney

“Due to the size and complexity of this multi-million dollar project, it is imperative that the City provide a direct point of contact as we move forward with the realization of this tremendous economic development project for the City of Springfield,” Sarno said in a statement. “Both Al and Jim have direct knowledge of the development process and will be instrumental in making sure that when issues arise they can be dealt with directly and in a timely manner to ensure this project stays on track.”

Meanwhile, casino license holder Wynn Resorts has added another 1.75 acres to its planned casino site after purchasing the land adjacent to its 33-acre Wynn Everett site from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for $6 million.

The completed transaction for the extra slice of land now allows Wynn to move forward with the development of the property, so says Wynn Everett President Robert DeSalvio. The site preparation and remediation is expected to begin later in the year as pre-construction soil boring continues on the site.

Content Marketing Tip of the Week: Paid Content Seeding

theMediaFlow Managing Director Nichola Stott gives an overview on Paid Content Seeding in this edition of CalvinAyre.com’s Content Marketing Tip of the Week.

If you’re struggling to gain traction with a new content strategy, using social media to seed your content pieces is a great way to get the ball rolling, increase your readership and also grow your social communities whilst you’re at it.

There’s an awful lot to learn about specific social platforms that permit sponsored content in order to get the best results but as an introduction here’s a couple of my best tips for Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook – use psychographic targeting. Select your target audience details and refine by thinking a) what kind of person would enjoy this content and b) what interests would this person have? Are they a Breaking Bad fan? What sports do they like? Target the typical interests of the typical person you want to reach for the best chance of success.

Twitter – use the option to target followers of accounts like you (or the Twitter feed you would most like to be). Kind of a similar principle as above and works on the sort of Amazon “those who bought “X” also bought…” suggestions. Targetting likeminded accounts in this way should increase your chance for both engagement and followers.

Melco Crown to delist from HKSE on July 3; Genting HK buys Crystal Cruises

Macau casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. is expected to withdraw its listing from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) on July 3, 2015, the company said in a filing to the HKSE.

The operator filed an application stating its voluntary withdrawal from the exchange in January 2015. Melco Crown shareholders will convene in a general meeting on March 25, where it will vote on the proposed delisting. If that ends up according to plan, the company will then seek approval from the exchange’s listing committee for the delisting.

The decision to delist from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was brought about by what Melco Crown describes as a lack of “appropriate opportunities to raise additional equity in Hong Kong” and the limited volume of trading its shares has had on that exchange.

The company added that maintaining the listing in the HKSE “requires additional ongoing regulatory compliance obligations and such requirements involve significant additional costs and administrative burden.” The company plans to focus on retaining the primary listing of American depository shares (ADSs) on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange.

If everything goes according to plan, Melco Crown shares in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will have its last trading day on June 29. Once it has delisted from the exchange, existing Melco Crown shareholders will have the option of either keeping the Hong Kong-issued shares or convert them into ADSs, with the company covering the costs of the proceedings.

Meanwhile, Genting Hong Kong has bolstered its presence in the high-end cruise market after purchasing Crystal Cruises from Japan’s Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha in a deal worth $550 million. The deal, which is scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2015, will be financed with existing cash and bank loans.

“Crystal Cruises offers the epitome of luxury cruising and the service standard that all other cruise lines aspire to,” Genting Hong Kong Chairman, Chief Executive and acting President Lim Kok Thay said in a statement.

Interview with John Pappas of Poker Players Alliance

Becky Liggero talks John Pappas of Poker Players Alliance as he shares what he learned at the G2E iGaming Congress and gave an update on federal online poker legislation.

Becky Liggero: I am here with John Pappas, executive director of Poker Players Alliance (PPA).This is the day of iGaming Congress. So, John, tell what have you observed today so far in the Congress. What have you learned?

John Pappas: Well it’s always great to be here as a kind of a representative of the player community. I think it is important that we have a presence here and have a voice here to interact with the companies in iGaming space and this is really the biggest gathering of iGaming companies. One of the biggest gathering of the iGaming companies in the United States. So it is important that we’re here. the panels have been excellent talking about everything from importance of knowing your customer and the trials and tribulations that players have to be able to deposit money to the site and all that goes into it is something i thought was very valuable to listen to and follow up to those people that run the panel. A lot of what happens here, happens outside of the panel, in the hallways here in the discussions that you have and how often is it that i gotta sit and talk with New Jersey regulators and California regulators alongside with heads of poker room for bwin and or for Partypoker or for PokerStars. So this is a great place for us to be. to be able to have the perspective of the players.

Becky Liggero: We know that regulations here in America for online gambling is obviously a big topic. What do you think is what were going to see in 2015 for new states jumping on board.

John Pappas: a few states that jumped out to everybody and that’s Pennsylvania and California are the two that are on the tip of my tongue, take New York will be on the shortlist as well as Illinois. You know it’s a struggle. It’s a long, slow process here in the US. And quite frankly, what I’ve always seen is it usually takes few legislative sessions for something like this. So in California, we’ve had multiple legislative sessions plus we have tribal issue that’s overhanging everything. In Pennsylvania, we had some bills introduce last year, some hearings and discussions. I think we’ve passed critical hurtle allowed one legislative to go by and now i think in 2015, we’re gonna see more bills to be introduced, more hearings and i believe there will be some votes in Pennsylvania on legislation. Which way they go right now is hard for me to say. I’m leaning to Pennsylvania state to legalize internet poker and internet gaming broadly.

Becky Liggero: I remember in the past we’re always pushing for Federal online poker. Can you give us an update on what’s happening on a federal perspective.

John Pappas: Federal bill is something i think everybody in the conference would support because of the harmonizing of multiple states. the idea of 50 different states, 50 different regulatory regimes is still very problematic for the industry, very problematic for the players but that’s what we have because we have congress that’s unlikely to pass a bill that’s licensing and regulating internet gaming nationwide. Given that, we still have a congress that could do something very bad.We’re standing here at Sands Expo and the owner of this casino is also one of the biggest opponent of online gambling. He’s been spending a lot of money in the upcoming election to ensure that he gets people in congress to support his issues. Maybe some all sort of things but internet gaming being one of them.That’s a real threat. I would put it probably below 20% right now that i’ts going to happen. That’s too high of a risk for us to just kind of sitting back and hope that it does not happen. We’re gonna be very engaged over next several months to make sure on a Federal level they do no harm. I don’t think they can do any good for us and at the minimum they can do any harm.

The Secret Blackjack Ball: A Night at the World’s Most Exclusive Gambling Club

This is a guest contribution by Michael Craig, an author, journalist, and lawyer. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

Food, Drinks, Geniuses, Fake Names, Gossip, Introductions, Reunions, a Hall of Fame Induction, an Undisclosed Location, Competition, and – of Course – Gambling

One night a year, the best blackjack players in the world convene for the Secret Blackjack Ball. Gambler, author, and consultant Max Rubin has been organizing the invitation-only gathering since 1997. Like millions of lovers of blackjack, casinos, and secret meetings, I regretfully missed out on the 2014 Blackjack Ball. It took place at an undisclosed location in late January, leaving the rest of us to piece together what happened from tidbits leaking online, my brief correspondence with Mr. Rubin, and discrete comments from some past and current attendees.

Invitation to the Ball

Nineteen years ago, Max Rubin started the Blackjack Ball in his home. “It was a way,” he explained, “for players from different blackjack teams and solo players to get together and a place to hang out.” Part of the Ball’s unique charm from the beginning was that many of its members had never met.

By 2004, the Blackjack Ball became too big for Max’s home. Attendance at the Blackjack Ball is by invitation only, and the current secret location seats only 112 (including guests). There are literally hundreds of bona fide professional gamblers vying as plus-ones or campaigning Max to get on the list. “It’s fun being a very popular guy one night a year but I still haven’t figured out how to say ‘No’ to a lot of really nice folks without sounding like an arrogant a-hole.”

Max has a special place in the Blackjack world: legendarily generous host, organizer and secret-keeper, and supposedly the only attendee of the Ball who has “crossed over” to work for the casino industry. (I’ve been told that other attendees have consulted for casinos in some capacity.) Mr. Rubin consults with Barona Casino in San Diego, which, in addition to offering some excellent blackjack rules, has a wall commemorating members of the Blackjack Hall of Fame.

The Grinder Launches Last Longer Betting Site Blast Longer

Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi is the face of a new last longer betting site called Blast Longer, a desktop and mobile app that allows players to create last longer bets whilst playing in online tournaments.

Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi is probably one of the greatest networkers in the poker industry.

Seriously, this man sits down at a poker table wearing more patches than an inner tube that sleeps on a bed of nails. The Grinder is that good I wouldn’t put it past him to get the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling to put him into the World