Gambling Blog

Florida’s Isle Casino & Racing at Pompano Park opened its new poker room on Friday, which completed the renovation of the hotel into a first-class destination no matter your needs.

Located on the second floor of the Pompano Beach property, the new 34-table poker room will replace another, which used to be adjacent.

The room is part of a wider refit of the hotel which includes new bars and restaurants and a 650 seat, stadium-style space facing the harness racing track.

The Isle’s new poker area was unveiled at noon on Friday May 25th,  about  which Doug Shipley, the facility’s general manager and corporate vice president of casino operations, said: “The Isle is now a complete gaming and dining destination.

“Guests can play the slots, dine at one of our four world-class restaurants, play poker in the state’s finest poker room, or watch and wager on Florida’s only live harness racing from a state-of-the-art facility.”

The all-round experience is no doubt a challenge against the all-you-can-ask for experience you can achieve in Las Vegas, although can there be such a thing as Vegas-by-the-sea? Only time will tell!
 

In an event where those lucky in cards meet those lucky in love (well, certainly lust…) EverestPoker.com is offering its Swedish players the chance to rock out and party with Motley Crue.

Tomorrow (May 30th), lucky Swedes playing at Everest will be able to join a freeroll in which, rather than cash, the winner will be the proud recipient of not just tickets to watch Motley Crue at a sold-out stadium show in Stockholm, but also VIP passes to a secret warm-up party and aftershow party!

Motley Crue has to be one of the most hard-rocking bands in the world, more so when you consider that bassist Nikki Sixx has died - twice - and will still be there to party with Everest winners.

The move by Everest gives some real credibility to websites trying to retain gamers by offering alternatives to cash for winning poker games and sets a precedent for high-stake prizes.

Ultimately such high-profile prizes across hip-hop, rock, pop and film could more than make up numbers lost by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which devastated the industry after banning US residents from gambling cash online.
 

Everyone’s heard of the great Kentucky Derby, and indeed many readers may have been for a flutter once or twice but now, thanks to a hint from the Derby’s CEO, there is talk of poker being added to the brand.

According to the Kentucky Courier-Journal Churchill Downs Racetrack CEO, Bob Evans, told attendees at Greater Louisville’s business lunch that the racing market has become stagnant, and that new avenues for creating wealth should be investigated.

This rubbishing of the industry’s potential means there’s a high chance Mr Evans is talking about jumping on the online gaming bandwagon.

It is impossible to think that the online sector of the famous Kentucky Derby would overtake the races itself in the fame stakes, but certainly a strong online base would provide plenty of cash to keep the track afloat and looking good even when visitor numbers aren’t at their peak.

And, considering horseracing may not be exempt from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act for long, the possibility of seeing a full casino on the Churchill Downs website could soon become a reality.

A new breed of online gaming could be coming your way soon, as Tournament.com  has revealed  its is in talks with major game developers to produce a website which can facilitate gamers hooking up online to play against one another for money.

Currently in a Beta trial, Tournament.com should eventually feature a nominal fee paid by each player, with cash prizes available for those who achieve highest scores.

But it is not simply arcade-style games currently available which gamers will be playing.

From next month players will be able to make use of their skills on Counter-Strike and Half-Life tournaments in order to win big  money .

Thinking big, managing director Marcus Pearcey told SPOnG: “We think that there should be an opportunity for the best gamers, should they wish, to even make a living out of playing professionally, with sponsorship deals and so on – just like, for example, professional snooker players do.

“Why is there a difference? In this way we hope to change the way gaming is perceived.”

Making history for the second time, IntertopsPoker.com has announced the largest first deposit match-up ever offered online.

Players wishing to start gaming could do worse than begin with Intertops right now, with the site claiming: “For every $25 Rake you generate, you will receive 5 points, and for every single point $1 will be credited to your poker account from your Bonus Account.

“This process continues until your complete bonus has been credited!”

It means that the match-up rate is at a staggering $500, and the website will match your deposit up to a value of $10,000.

“We want our customers to enjoy a great poker experience on our site, but we also are striving to provide the best value around.

“Most players who try our software stay with us and never look back - and now we have simply added 10,000 more reasons to join us,” said Michl Posch of IntertopsPoker.com.

The company rose to fame at the beginning - nay the start - of the internet gambling boom when it facilitated the first ever online bet.
 

If you’ve ever thought of bingo as a bit of an old grannies’ game then it’s time to think again.

BingoPalace.co.uk has recently announced the winner of their 25p progressive slot machine, zulu22, has walked away with over £16,000.

The win represents the largest giveaway seen by the site, and certainly pales into significance any notion of ‘granny giveaways’ often thought up when bingo is mentioned.

“I was excited, at the same time very scared that it was all a big mistake,” said zulu22.

“Just at the same time, my husband arrived home. I screamed for him to come to me, to look at the screen to verify that it was surely right - it was. I was shaking, and couldn’t decide whether I was laughing or crying. It was a moment of pure disbelief!”

Earlier in the year the UK gaming watchdog GamCare ruled bingo to have the fewest incidences of gambling addiction, once again signalling that it is a game to get your teeth in to, if you haven’t already!

A factory worker from the United States who has never travelled more than 30 miles from his home has just scooped an $8 million jackpot on an online casino.

Amazingly, the player was trying his luck for the first time when he struck the jackpot which breaks all previous records for the biggest online giveaway.

The long-time-local now has to leave the country for the first time - something he is sure to become used to - when he travels to London to collect his prize from InterCasino.com.

Peter Marcus, spokesman for InterCasino, said: “This is great news.

“We are looking forward to welcoming the winner and celebrating with him and his family next week when he is given his prize.”

The winner made his fortunes on the site’s Millionaire’s Club Slot, which has had its rolling jackpot reset to just over $2 million.

Poker websites offering services to US customers are reaping their reward, as the trend for US players to continue gambling online increases.

The prohibition effect of players visiting international poker websites that still flout the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act 2006 (UIGEA) means some poker sites are reaching visitor numbers like never before.

It is a grey area of course, unlike the classic prohibition Al Capone was involved in, but the numbers of US gamblers playing online may be an indication of the failure of the UIGEA, and support its repeal.

In an attempt to stop this taking place the US has already tried to stamp out online gaming sites in Antigua, which openly offer gambling for money for US citizens.

However, the World Trade Organisation ruled that this was unacceptable, and that the US has no jurisdiction over foreign websites.

Which is great news for PokerStars.com and FullTiltPoker, which - if you’re reading this from the States - may well be worth a look!

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has seized the assets of a Canadian e-wallet, Citadel Commerce has announced.
 

Issuing a statement to the press, Citadel revealed that around $9.25 million has been frozen by the US authorities, although it does not specify whether the companies it served were taking bets from US customers - now illegal.
 

What is clear is that Citadel was active after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was introduced.
 

The DOJ has come under fire from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in the past when it tried to ban an online gambling site in Antigua from taking US bets.
 

In the ruling, the WTO announced that the US had no jurisdiction outside US borders, and permitted the Antiguan website to continue.
 

This is the same defence NETeller, another foreign e-wallet with assets frozen by the US, is hoping to employ.
 

Criticism was made of the US government for acting hypocritically by allowing gambling on US soil in certain states but not allowing members of the free trading world to offer gambling to US citizens from abroad.

The World Series of Poker (WSOP)’s Main Event will be preceded this year by a charity poker game at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. 

Entitled Ante up for Africa, the $5,000 buy-in tournament will be attended by a host of A-list celebs including Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt, Jason Alexander, Jennifer Tilley, Hank Azaria, George Clooney and Matt Damon, to name a few. 

Organised by Hollywood legend Don Cheadle and poker pro Annie Duke, the tournament will be open to anybody, meaning if you want to rub shoulders with - or simply annihilate - the cream of Hollywood then dig around behind those couches for as much loose change as you can find… 

In a statement to the press Jeffrey Pollack, WSOP commissioner, said: “We’re honoured to host this event and hope that entrants - particularly those fortunate enough to win money - will make donations to help ease the human suffering that defines the crisis in Darfur.” 

Those wishing to register for the event are encouraged to visit http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/anteup/anteup.pdf.