South Korea plans to issue two more large-scale casino licenses in 2015 as part of a broader plan to boost the nation’s tourism industry. On Sunday, the Korea Herald reported that the ministries of Finance, Land and Tourism had come up with a plan they hope will attract KRW 8.5t (US $7.9b) in new investment.

Deputy minister of tourism Park Min-gwon said restrictions on building new integrated resorts with casinos “will be lifted so they can be built even inside free economic zones by both local and foreign investors.”

The government believes each of these new casinos will require at least KRW 1t ($925m) of new investment with development commencing as early as 2016. The government is also willing to provide KRW 1t of loans at low interest to enable the construction of 5k new hotel rooms by 2017. Last week, the government approved foreigner-only casinos on domestic cruise ships over 20k tons.

South Korea already has three large IR projects in the works. Two of these – the Paradise City joint venture of Paradise Group and Sega Sammy Holdings and the Caesars Entertainment/Lippo Group JV – have been earmarked for Yeongjongdo Island near the Incheon free economic zone. The Genting Singapore/Landing International Development JV plans to take root on Jeju island. Of these three, only Paradise City has so far put shovels in the ground.

Chow Tai Fook Enterprises has proposed its own $1b project in Incheon and Las Vegas Sands continues to make noise about building an “iconic” resort deep in the heart of the country’s capital Seoul. However, Sands has insisted that it won’t spend a penny until the country lifts its ban on locals entering casinos and on Sunday the government repeated its insistence that the new casinos will be accessible by foreign tourists only.

Further south, Vietnam’s government has taken another step toward authorizing a casino project on the island of Phu Quoc. In September, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung recognized the island as a second-tier urban area and the PM has now told the Ministry of Planning and the provincial People’s Committee to develop and submit the necessary casino regulations for his approval. Phu Quoc is located off the country’s southern coast, close to both Cambodia and Thailand.

THE AMERICAS

Caesars Entertainment finally bit the bullet and filed for bankruptcy despite a last minute intervention by angry junior creditors; Amaya Gaming said it was considering ditching its entire B2B business; New Jersey’s regulated online gambling market showed signs of life in December; Atlantic City revenue fell for the eighth straight year while Pennsylvania fell two years in a row; Penn National Gaming hired Betfred alum Chris Sheffield to steer its new online gambling course; California’s probe into alleged skimming at Casino M8trix worried online poker backers; New York’s gaming regulators reopened the tender for a Southern Tier casino; a Montreal police sergeant was accused of illegal bookmaking; New Jersey said daily fantasy sports was a greater threat to integrity than sports betting; Washington and Mississippi got new online gambling bills; the American Gaming Association welcomed increased federal scrutiny of Nevada sportsbooks while the sportsbooks lobbied for the right to offer Olympic wagers and CanAffco.com’s Gian Perroni discussed Break Out Gaming’s virtual currency plans.

EUROPE & AFRICA

PokerStars said its new sportsbook would launch before the end of Q1, allowed a glimpse at its data security practices and handed a Russian player $1m via Stars’ Spin & Go; the Czech Republic said it would impose a point of consumption tax on international online operators; South Africa’s gov’t said online gambling must remain a banned activity; Belgium banned operators from using live dealer studios based outside the country; GVC Holdings reported its sixth consecutive quarter of growth; Bwin.party shut down its social betting app while it negotiates a sale; Ladbrokes launched a new affiliate website and Laurent Malka told affiliates how to simplify traffic management; 13 operators expressed interest in a Cyprus casino license; Merkur Gaming appointed a new CEO; the UK’s point of consumption tax caused William Hill to scrap a race sponsorship and SBOBet’s Bill Mummery explained why the company walked away from the UK market.

ASIA

High-rollers’ share of Macau’s 2014 gaming revenue hit new lows and the David Group junket drastically downsized but good things are forecast for 2016 thanks to China’s growing mass market; Stanley Ho’s nephew was accused of running a major prostitution ring out of a Macau hotel; Melco Crown Entertainment unveiled its new Martin Scorsese commercials starring Leo Dicaprio and Robert De Niro; Thai police were accused of extorting money from a ring of South Korean online bookmakers; South Korea approved casino cruises; Koh Puis Investment Group pimped a new Cambodian casino project; Rafi Farber approved of Genting’s investments in the Philippines and Betcoin Tech’s Oron Barber and Ellon Arad discussed Bitcoin’s potential in Asia.

Eilers Research has released its Q4 social casino market share results, in which Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) continues to enjoy its reputation as top dog. CIE held 21.2% of the social casino market, up slightly from its Q3 share. IGT’s DoubleDown Casino maintained its runner-up spot with 10.5%, while former titans Zynga managed to hold on to third place with 8.4%.

Churchill Downs Inc earned fourth place with 6.6% thanks to its recent acquisition of Big Fish Games. Sony (Bash/GSN) placed fifth with 6.5%, followed by Scientific Games and Boyaa (tied with 4.7% each), Tencent (4.3%), Playstudios (2.6%) and Aristocrat (2.5%), while the nameless hordes of ‘other’ firms accounted for the remaining 28.2%.

DIWIP RELEASE BEST CASINO SLOTS, EXTEND IMPERUS ACQUISITION DEADLINE

Social casino studio Diwip has yet to carve out its own distinct slice of the revenue pie but it hopes its recently launched Best Casino Slots for iOS will help. Diwip is primarily known for Facebook games but is hoping to mimic Zynga’s pullback from irrelevancy by putting more of an emphasis on mobile, including its previous mobile titles Slots Club and Best Casino Bingo. Diwip says an Android version of Best Casino Slots is in the pipeline.

Meanwhile, the acquisition of Diwip by Canadian firm Imperus Technologies still hasn’t closed. The deadline for sealing the $100m deal was recently extended to Jan. 30 after the firms “mutually agreed” that more time was needed. However, should the two parties fail to consummate their fiscal love by the end of the month, Diwip will be entitled to a $1.5m breakup fee.

OPENWAGER AND WIN2DAY TEAM UP ON SPINTOPIA

San Francisco-headquartered developer OpenWager Inc. has teamed with Austrian online casino outfit win2day to launch Spintopia, a social casino app for Android, iOS and Facebook Canvas. The ‘magical theme park’ app features a variety of win2day’s top-performing slots titles, with more games to be added in the future.

The latest prognosis for Macau casinos is dire in the short term, much more healthy in the long run. Speaking at this week’s Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2015 press conference at Melco Crown Entertainment’s City of Dreams resort, CLSA analyst Aaron Fischer said he expects Macau’s Q1 gaming revenue will be “among the worst months on record.”

Fischer expects Q1 revenue to fall 29%, with February being particularly grim given comparisons with February 2014, which enjoyed a 40% revenue surge. Fischer expects a further 20% fall in Q2 before things start to pick up in H2 as new properties by Melco Crown and Galaxy Entertainment Group open up. That said, the damage will have already been done, leaving 2015’s annual take down around 9%.

However, Fischer says 2016 will be “a fantastic year” thanks to more new venues opening. Fischer believes 2016 will likely enjoy a 22% year-on-year revenue boost over 2015 but Fischer cautioned that anyone expecting a return to the “glory days” of 40-50% annual growth would be sorely disappointed.

While casino operators will cheer a return to growth, Fischer says the upcoming casino concession renewal process could bring an increase in gaming revenue tax. Macau already has the region’s highest tax rate at 39%, but this may swell to 43%. If there’s any consolation, the first of these concession renewals doesn’t come due until 2020.

Fischer doesn’t expect any problems with the six current concessionaires getting their licenses renewed. Fischer said he’s heard rumors that Macau might issue a seventh concession to Macau Legend, which currently operates under a “service agreement” with concessionaire SJM Holdings, but Fischer nonetheless expects Macau regulators to maintain the status quo.

Fischer also suggested that there was “no chance at all” for any of the new Asian gaming jurisdictions to rival Macau’s market dominance, with the possible exception of Japan. Fischer referred to Japan as the “holy grail of opportunity” for casino operators, although he probably didn’t intend to imply that Japan’s likelihood of passing casino legislation was on par with the Monty Python knights’ chances of ever finding that mythical chalice.

MINISTRY OF PUBLIC SECURITY IN TOWN TO TALK UNIONPAY TRANSFERS

The Czech Republic wants to impose a point of consumption tax on international online gambling operators serving Czech punters. The Ministry of Finance is done looking under the sofa cushions and car seats so it’s asking internationally licensed gambling operators to turn out their pockets — 20% of revenue to start, maybe 30% later. The government justified the move as a way to reclaim the annual CZK 1b (US $41.4m) in tax revenue it believes these operators need to be anteing up.

For once, government projections may have some basis in reality. A bottleneck of online firms use the same WorldPay payment processor, giving the government a pretty good idea of how much money the operators take in versus how much they pay out. Local media outlet Hospodářské Noviny quoted Deputy Finance Minister Ondřej Závodský saying the government might not be able to “block these illegal movements” but that didn’t mean they couldn’t “monitor them in detail.”

The Czechs are in the process of overhauling their gambling sector, as recommended/urged/ordered by European Commission watchdogs. The government hopes to enact a new gambling regime – covering everything from online gambling to slot machines to lotteries – by early 2016. The changes include significant tax rate increases, replacing the existing 20% rate across all gambling types with a new variable rate ranging as high as 40% on live slot machine revenue.

International operators aren’t currently eligible to obtain Czech gaming licenses because they lack a physical presence in the country. The new regime that would expunge this requirement is still a year away but the government figures, why wait? The operators have cash, the government has needs… Let’s party!

Martin Lyčka, general counsel for UK-listed online betting operator Betfair, told Hospodářské Noviny that if the government made good on its vow, it was “likely” that companies like Betfair might choose to cash their Czechs and walk away. That would leave the market mostly to a few Czech-licensed online firms, including Fortuna and Tipsport.

It’s not just online firms taking it on the chin. Shortly before Christmas, the Czech city of Brno approved a blanket ban on gaming machines to take effect in 2015. The ban, which garnered the support of two-thirds of the city council, followed a vote last January that banned gaming machines in 23 city districts. That cut the number of gaming machines in the city from over 4,000 to around 1,500 and now the rest need to go. Brno is the Republic’s second-largest city and the largest to banish gaming machines since an April 2013 Constitutional Court ruling gave municipalities that power.

The newly renovated casino at South Korea’s Hyatt Regency Jeju Hotel will have its official grand opening on Sunday (18). The hotel is run by Hong Kong-listed property developer Landing International Development Ltd while the casino is owned by Grand Express Korea Co. Ltd., the 50/50 joint venture of Landing and the Hong Kong subsidiary of Malaysian conglomerate Genting Bhd.

The casino, which will operate under the Genting Jeju brand, will feature 26 baccarat tables, one blackjack table, one Tai Sai table, one roulette table and 16 electronic gaming machines. Landing says the casino “opens a new phase of the Group’s presence and participation in the Korean casino industry.” In December, Landing paid $112m to acquire control of the Alpensia casino at the Holiday Inn Resort in Pyeongchang in Gangwon-do province.

The $117m renovation of the Hyatt property was announced in November, marking the second project Landing has embarked upon in the Jeju region with a Genting subsidiary. Landing and Genting Singapore are still awaiting the regulatory nod to proceed with their proposed $2.2b Resorts World Jeju integrated resort, although the partners are optimistic their shovels will break ground sometime in Q2.

SOUTH KOREA CRUISE SHIP CASINOS ARE GO

Meanwhile, South Korean politicians have approved legislation to permit domestic cruise ship operators to offer casino gambling on board their vessels. On Monday, the National Assembly approved a bill that will allow casinos on ships weighing more than 20k tons, bringing closure to an issue that has been languishing in the Assembly since July 2013. As with 16 of South Korea’s 17 casinos, cruise ship gaming will only be accessible by foreign tourists.

The New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) opposition party had been against the bill over fears of gambling expansion. The Korea Herald reported that the NPAD’s support was finally secured after the ruling Saenuri Party agreed to approve legislation authorizing damage payments to the families of the victims killed in last April’s Sewol ferry tragecy.

High-rolling gamblers accounted for just 60.5% of Macau casinos’ overall gaming revenue in 2014, down from 73% in 2013. Figures released on Friday by Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) showed VIP revenue of MOP 212.54b in 2014, down 11% from the previous year. Macau reported an overall revenue decline of 2.6% in 2014, the first annual decline since the special administrative region began releasing financial data in 2002.

Were it not for respectable showings in H1 2014, the VIP decline would have been much worse. Figures for the fourth quarter show VIP revenue down 29%, mirroring December’s record-setting 30.4% overall revenue decline. Macau’s seven-months-and-counting revenue slide is primarily the result of VIPs giving Macau a wide berth so as not to get caught in the headlights of China’s crackdown on corruption.

On the plus side, Macau’s mass-market sector (including slots) saw its revenue rise 13.7% in 2014, despite a 16.2% revenue decline in Q4. Slots revenue all on its own nudged up a mere 0.4% to MOP 14.4b in 2014, just 4% of the overall revenue pie.

The number of gaming tables in action in Q4 was 5,711, down 39 units from Q4 2013. The ranks of active slots fell by 88 to 13,018 machines.

Revenue from ‘live multi-game’ tables – which seat dozens of mass-market gamblers and utilize live dealers and electronic bet settlement – earned MOP 2.26b in 2014, which seems a pittance but represents a 51.7% gain over 2013’s total.

Macau’s greyhound and horseracing revenue experienced a downturn in 2014, falling 18.5% and 16% respectively. The 2014 FIFA World Cup helped boost Macau Slot‘s football sports lottery sales up over 29% to MOP 598m while basketball sales fell 8% to MOP 138m despite a nearly 15% rise in betting turnover.

Regional casino operator Penn National Gaming has decided to get into the online gambling business. The company, which operates 26 facilities in 16 US states and one Canadian province, has appointed Chris Sheffield (pictured) to the newly created position of Senior Vice President Managing Director I-Gaming.

Sheffield, a former managing director of digital at UK bookies Betfred, will help Penn prepare for “the launch of online gaming initiatives across its portfolio.” Sheffield joined Betfred in March 2011 following a seven-year stint as CEO of Million-2-1 Limited, a mobile gaming outfit Sheffield founded and which was acquired by gaming device maker International Game Technology in June 2008.

Sheffield will report directly to Penn CEO Timothy Wilmott, who praised Sheffield’s “technical background, extensive executive and operational management experience and broad knowledge of the online and mobile gaming world.” Wilmott put no timeline on when Penn’s online efforts might appear, saying only that the company would make its move into the digital realm “over the coming years.”

Of the 16 US states in which Penn operates, only two – Nevada and New Jersey – currently allow some form of regulated online gambling. Of the other states in which Penn has a presence, Pennsylvania and Illinois have done the most flirting with the notion of instituting some kind of regulated online gambling regime, but neither state has yet to move a bill past the informational hearing stage.

Penn is set to release its annual revenue report card on Jan. 29. In its Q3 results, the company reported revenue of $645.9m and adjusted earnings of $65.7m for the three months ending Sept. 30.

The American Gaming Association (AGA) says it welcomes plans by the US Treasury Department’s financial watchdog to more closely monitor transactions at Nevada sportsbooks. Shortly before Christmas, Reuters reported that the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) would require sportsbooks to report transactions that raised certain ‘red flags.’

In a Dec. 24 letter to AGA CEO Geoff Freeman, FinCEN Policy Division Associate Director Jamel El-Hindi made it clear that that the focus was on so-called ‘messenger’ bets, in which a bettor places a wager with a sportsbook on behalf of a third party. El-Hindi claimed such bets were “facilitating criminal activity and posing a money laundering risk to the US financial system.”

El-Hindi said FinCEN believed casinos were “under the impression that unless specifically directed to do so, a casino never has to ask a patron whether he or she is betting on his or her own behalf or on behalf of another party.” FinCEN had reached out to the AGA ‘to correct any such misperception.”

In response, Freeman released a statement saying the AGA “welcomes continued guidance from FinCEN to guard against attempts to use casinos for money laundering and illicit financing.” Freeman said AGA casinos “routinely look for suspicious bets at sports books,” with the possible exception of all those times that they didn’t.

MONTREAL COP PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO BOOKMAKING

On Friday, Montreal police Sgt. André Thibodeau appeared in court to address the 11 charges he’s facing as a result of Thursday’s takedown of a Mafia-linked illegal sports betting operation. Thibodeau, a 25-year veteran of the force who has been suspended without pay, pled not guilty to charges of bookmaking, breach of trust, obstruction of justice, gangsterism and knowingly making people commit (directly or indirectly) a criminal offence.

ADAM MEYER’S ‘VICTIM A’ UNVEILED

California Assemblyman Mike Gatto has offered a few amendments to his AB 9 online poker legislation. Gatto has proposed making it a felony to offer online poker to California residents without a state-issued license and suggested the scrapping of a requirement for in-person account registrations at state casinos and card clubs.

This latter requirement, originally intended to offer smaller establishments the opportunity to participate in the state’s regulated online poker market and also as a way of ensuring no underage individuals could open accounts, was widely criticized from the start as both unwieldy and unnecessary.

Gatto told CaliforniaOnlinePoker.com that he’d decided to make in-person registration “an option rather than a requirement.” Gatto said the change came following discussions with security experts and the poker community. Gatto acknowledged that technology currently in operation in states like New Jersey had proven more than capable of verifying the identity of registrants.

ALLEGED CORRUPTION IN CASINO M8TRIX PROBE WORRIES POKER PROPONENTS

Meanwhile, the ongoing probe into alleged profit skimming at the Casino M8trix card club may make California’s passage of online poker legislation even more of an uphill climb. Last spring, the Bureau of Gambling Control (BGC) accused M8trix owners Eric Swallow and Peter and Jeanine Lunardi of cooking the books to make it appear that the San Jose gaming joint wasn’t making any money, depriving the state of tax revenue while diverting tens of millions of dollars into the owners’ pockets.

In December, state Attorney General Kamala Harris formally accused Bob Lytle – the former head of the BGC who subsequently took a job as M8trix’s compliance officer – of receiving confidential information on the BGC’s M8trix investigation from a BGC agent. (Harris didn’t identify the agent but tribal gaming writer Dave Palermo identified him as James Parker.) Prior to leaving the BGC, Lytle also allegedly pressured agents to scale back investigations into M8trix.

Harris claimed Lytle’s receipt of this confidential info had “potentially compromised the effectiveness and undermined the integrity” of the BGC’s investigation. Harris wants to fine Lytle and revoke his ability to serve as a key employee and partner in two Sacramento card clubs, the Tavern at Stones Gambling Hall and Saloon at Stones Gambling Hall. Lytle told Gambling Compliance that he’s looking forward to a hearing on the matter in order to prove that he “didn’t do anything wrong.”

South Africa‘s government has poured a great big bucket of ice water on a member of the opposition’s plan to promote the legalization of online gambling.

Earlier this week, Democratic Alliance shadow minister for trade and industry Geordin Hill-Lewis announced plans to reintroduce the Remote Gambling Bill he debuted last year. Hill-Lewis said he hoped the bill – which would expand the scope of legal online gambling beyond sports betting – would force the government “to engage properly around this argument.”

Well, sod that nonsense, says the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). On Friday, the DTI issued a statement saying it wanted to make it “publicly clear that there is no intention on the part of the government to propose the legislation of online gambling.”

The DTI insists that online gambling was “not desirable” due to “a number of social ills associated with gambling, especially online gambling.” The DTI believes “no amount of control will adequately curb the harm that may be caused” by online casino and poker games and thus “it must remain a banned activity.”

The DTI underscored its position by reminding everyone that offering anything online other than sports betting was against the law and “law enforcement agencies will act on this illegal activity with immediate effect.” The penalties for any operator offering illegal services or anyone “participating as individuals” include fines of up to R10m (US $865k) and prison sentences of up to 10 years. The DTI even offered a hotline number for finking on suspected illegal gambling.

South Africa has been flirting with the idea of an expanded online gambling market for years now but analysts at PricewaterhouseCoopers sounded an extremely pessimistic note in November on the prospects of the government acting anytime soon. Seems about right.

The Koh Puis Investment Group has set its sights on building an exclusive resort and casino project in Cambodia. According to multiple reports, the company is already lining up investors for the project and is targeting the Morakot Island off the coast of Sihanoukville, Cambodia as the location of the resort.

Plans call for the company to develop one six-star resort, two five-star hotels, a four-star casino hotel, a VIP casino, a marina yacht and Beach Club, and a slew of entertainment facilities, including bars, restaurants, a spa and fitness center, and a marina village, among other things.

The location was largely unknown as recently as the past decade. Access was difficult back then and the only people who frequented the area were backpackers enjoying adventures off the beaten path. But with a new international airport within the vicinity, the island has become a popular attraction among locals and tourists, making it an intriguing site to develop a world-class integrated resort and casino.

An investment report by Ptolemy Capital hinted at the enormous potential of the site, calling an untapped goldmine that’s ripe for development. “The secret is out and the past five years land prices have trebled and quadrupled as the international airport now makes the location easy to reach and double digit growth on the tourist numbers every year,” the report said.

The Koh Puis investment group has so far spent $126 million on the project, including building a 985-meter bridge from Koh Puis to the mainland. In addition, it has also obtained in-principle approval from the government for the casino, a construction permit, and an assessment of environment and social impacts.

The firm has also inked deals with both the Ritz Carlton and Renaissance to operate the island hotels.

Over in Saipan, Alter City Group has taken significant steps forwards with its plan to build an integrated resort and casino in Tinian. According to the Marianas Variety, the Macau-based investor has lined up three Chinese construction firms, including China Construction Group, to discuss construction details of the proposed resort and casino at Puntan Diablo.

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Many iGaming industry workers are planning to hit London for the combined iGaming conferences ICE and the London Affiliate Conference (LAC), which is why we decided to ask our readers, “Which Conferences will you be attending?”

47% voted, “ICE” 6% said, “LAC” and 47% said, “Both.”

The 9th London Affiliate Conference will be held from January 31st to February 3rd at Olympia National, London at Hammersmith Road.

Optimal Payments Plc. announces that its NETBANX iGaming payment solution is now fully integrated and operational on Ontario States’ newly launch PlayOLG, following the announcement of a five-year agreement between OLG and Optimal Payments on April 22.

PlayOLG offers online interactive lottery, casino and poker games for Ontario residents.

“We are as committed as OLG to provide responsible and sustainable online gaming,” said Danny Chazonoff, COO of Optimal Payments. “Offering regulated services in this sector is highly complex and we shared our expertise and experience with OLG. This helps the company achieve its goal of responsible play while supporting community and charitable programs.”

Optimal Payments provides OLG the ability to deliver an enhanced customer experience while maximizing conversions, which PlayOLG.ca needed as it faced several issues since its launch on January 8, leaving its customers frustrated.

The website received complaints regarding the difficult registration process, requiring customers to put all their information as it exactly appears on their government identification documents.

PlayOLG.ca received further criticism as several functions of its customer support were not working, including live chat and email support.

Some of its customers even used social media channels to report issues such as games’ loading times and glitches in geolocation access services, not allowing some customers to register with the gambling portal.

Kevin Schulz has defeated Diego Ventura, in heads-up action, to take the first prize of $1,491,580 in the $10,000 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event in the Bahamas.

[mage Credit: Pokerstars & Neil Stoddart]

816 entrants entered, 119 made the money, but when all was said and done it was a battle between two online grinders, from two very different American continents, who would take the lion share of the cash in the final of the $10,000 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event.

Last year, the final table was a 16-hour slugfest – this year it was a six-hour knockout punch. When the final bell rang it was the American Kevin Schulz with his hand held high, but his runner-up Diego Ventura had plenty of reasons to smile.

“I’m pretty happy. I had some pretty good reads on everybody, but you never know what’s going to happen. I love skydiving but this is maybe one of the most intense things I’ve done in my life! I don’t have any plans in mind for the money right now … I’ll take some time to think about it all – and try to make sure I don’t blow it because that seems to happen a lot!” Schulz told PokerStars after his win.

Predictably, it was Schulz’s biggest win of his career. The 26-year old was amongst a score of online grinders who fled to Mexico, in the wake of Black Friday, and his PCA victory tops his fourth place finish in a World Series of Poker$5k No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) event, where he earned $267,792 back in 2012.

When the final day started five out of the eight players were American, two were from South America, and then you had the bog standard presence of a German. Chance Kornuth had the chip lead, and he was one of the most experienced players at the final table – with two previous scores in excess of half a million bucks – but he would finish in third for a not too shabby looking $641,140.

Ilkin Garibli wins the $25,000 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure High Roller after beating Joe Kuether, in heads-up action, to take down the $1,105,050 first prize.

Poker is all about taking those chances when they come. Ilkin Garibli has just done that in spectacular fashion by winning the $25,000 High Roller event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA). It was his first-ever live tournament score.

Garibli, a cash game player by trade, was on holiday when the PCA came to town. A few friends convinced him to throw his hat in the ring. He’ll be upgrading it now. The 26-year old from Azerbaijan topped the largest ever PCA $25k event, and the seventh largest $25k in poker’s history. 269 entrants (69 of them re-entries), once again showing the poker planners that the re-entry format is a popular concept.

The final day started with 11 souls: Dominik Nitsche, Bryn Kenney and Lee Markholt a sample of the talent to hit the rail before the final table was created. What a final table it was.

The Ukrainian Oleksii Khoroshenin – a former European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event champion – moved to fifth place in the Ukraine all-time money list after his third place finish, but it was the Americans that made most of the money.

The former PCA Super High Roller champion Scott Seiver had an impressive festival: making final table appearances in both high rollers for a combined score of $600k+; not a bad start to 2015 as he tries to make it three consecutive years with $4m+ annual hauls.

Seiver wasn’t the only one enjoying himself in the Bahamian heat. Nicholas Petrangelo added a sixth place finish to his $5k side-event victory, just a few days ago, and walks away from the PCA with over $400,000 in earnings.

Best Bitcoin Casino levels up its commitment to fostering a fruitful and dynamic online gambling environment ruled by Bitcoin and altcoins. It highlights its role in the market and emphasizes what it can offer to the stakeholders with the aim to promote cryptocurrency gambling as well as speed up Bitcoin adoption on a global scale.

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The Australian Poker Hall of Fame has announced their nominations for the 2015 induction ceremony, and the general public get in on the action for the very first time.

The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) has ended, and the players with enough money, and motivation, will now be heading to Australia for the second major tournament of 2015: The Aussie Millions.

The 2015 Aussie Millions will be a hotbed of action, but it’s also the time to honor the players, ambassadors and integral parts of the poker furniture that have made Australian and New Zealand poker what it is today. I am, of course, talking about the Australian Poker Hall of Fame (HOF).

The concept began in 2009-2010. Being the big bang it was decided to pad it out a bit: Joe Hachem, Jeff Lisandro, Billy Argyros, Gary Benson, Lee Nelson, Mel Judah, Tony Guoga, Maurie Pears and Marsha Waggoner the original nine.

Leo Boxell and Danny McDonagh would follow in 2010-2011; Jason Gray and David Gorr likewise in 2011-2012, and Graeme Putt slowed things down as the sole entry in 2013-2014.

So who’s likely to end up in the HOF in 2015?

The smart money seems to be on Grant Levy. 2014-2015 is the first year that the committee has sought the opinion of the general public, and the initial feedback points to Levy as being the strongest candidate.

According to a poll of four investment houses conducted by Business Daily, gaming revenues in Macau will likely decline 16.5% in January.

The estimates in the decrease of revenue by all four investment houses-HSBC, Daiwa, Wells Fargo and Stern Agee- range from 13% to 20%. The forecasted decline still has a considerable margin of error but if the market predictions are correct, Macau casinos will have their best month since September.

Wells Fargo, which gave an 18% forecast, said in a note to clients this week that daily gaming revenue during the second week of January was MOP743 million, 22% behind January’s first week (MOP950 million) and 1% down from December’s daily average.

Macau casino revenue fell 2.6% to 351 billion patacas ($44 billion) in 2014, after a record a 30.4% drop to 23.3 billion in December, the seventh straight month of decline. Last year is also the first annual decline since the special administrative region began releasing financial figures in 2002.

Sterne Agee says gaming revenue totaled MOP8.7 billion in the first 11 days of January, a drop of 13% from a year ago. Macau gaming operators recovered some ground in the stock market on January 13, with shares improving around 1.5% (except Melco Crown, which lost 1.2%).

This week saw the arrest of more than 100 people in Macau related to a prostitution ring, including Alan Ho, nephew of casino tycoon Stanley and other executives and will have to remain in prison while waiting for his trial, said Macau’s prosecution office.

Alan Ho and other senior executives of Hotel Lisboa (pictured) were arrested over the weekend for allegedly running a prostitution ring at the property.The police estimate those involved made more than MOP400 million (US$50 million) over the past two years.