Liquidator Appointed for Purple Lounge Online Poker Room, Casino
The parent company of shuttered online poker and casino site Purple Lounge has appointed a liquidator, the UK firm of Chartered Accountants, Baker Tilly Restructuring and Recovery LLP. A creditors meeting will be held July 23.
Facebook Introduces New Game ‘Hotel Casino’
There has been much discussion this week over Facebook apps like Zynga’s Farmville and Texas Hold’em Poker offering real money play down the road. Add Hotel Casino to that list as it seems custom made for such a platform.
Hotel Casino is Facebook’s newest game, described as “allowing players to manage their own hotel casino, and play each other at their favorite casino games for simulated bets and rewards”.
MGM Resorts Asks Mass. Casino Panel to Reconsider 2-step Bidding Process
BOSTON — (Associated Press) - MGM Resorts has asked the state's new gambling commission to reconsider its proposal to prequalify potential bidders for casino licenses in Massachusetts.
The Las Vegas company said in a letter released by the panel on Tuesday that the two-step process would unnecessarily slow the bidding process and waste time and resources.
DOJ Asks for Leniency for Absolute Poker Executive
The US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York have requested a reduced sentenced for an executive of Absolute Poker who they say has been fully cooperative following charges of money laundering and bank fraud in April 2011.
Brent Beckley’s sentencing has been postponed on a number of occasions already. Beckley acted as an executive for both Absolute Poker and UB.com.
Howard Lederer, PokerStars File For Motion to Dismiss in Online Poker Complaint
The US Government contends the man most associated with disgraced Full Tilt Poker, Howard Lederer, had been involved in an elaborate ponzi scheme. Last week, US authorities arrested Full Tilt CEO Raymond Bitar, who was indicted for money laundering and bank fraud last year. They slapped a superseding indictment upon Bitar immediately following his arrest, charging he too was involved in a ponzi scheme to defraud customers.
Revel Ranks 8th of 12 Atlantic City Casinos 3rd Month in a Row
By Wayne Parry on July 10, 2012
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Three 8s is a lousy poker hand, and it's an equally inauspicious way to launch a casino.
Yet that's exactly what Revel has to show for itself after three months of operation, ranking 8th out of Atlantic City's 12 casinos in terms of gambling revenue in each of those months.
New Jersey's newest casino took in $14.9 million in June, up $1 million since May, when it took in $13.9 million. In April, its first month of operation, it won $13.4 million.
Gambling Company News and Tweets – July 10, 2012 (3 pm EST)
Here is all the latest Twitter chatter related to the gambling sector – poker, sports betting, financials, entertainment, politics and more. Be sure to follow Gambling911.com on TWITTER here to get all the latest updated gambling news as it happens.
Top Current Company News: Bwin Euro 2012 results, Betable.com, Zynga
So Just Who Are The 5 Supporting Ray Bitar: Poker Boss Backers Should be Exposed
It came to light Monday night that Full Tilt Poker disgraced CEO Raymond Bitar was released after posting $2 million in cash and property to secure his $2.5 million bond. This included a warehouse owned by the one-time Internet poker kingpin.
None of this was entirely surprising. Immediately following his arrest at New York’s JFK Airport last week, a judge had indicated Bitar would be allowed out on bail.
Full Tilt Poker CEO Ray Bitar Released From Prison
The disgraced CEO of shuttered online poker company Full Tilt Poker has been released from prison after surrendering to law enforcement in the US last week.
Raymond Bitar was freed on $2.5 million bond only after agreeing to post $2 million in property to ensure he returns to U.S. District Court in Manhattan when prompted to do so.
Betable Wants to Revolutionize Online Gambling Industry, Bring Real Money to Social Gaming
Betable introduced the world's first real-money gaming platform and announced its private beta developer program on Monday with Founder and CEO Christopher Griffin slated to appear on a panel Tuesday (July 10) at VentureBeat's GamesBeat 2012 titled "Social Casino Games" at 2:30 p.m. PST. (read more on the Betable blog here)
Federal Online Poker Measure Could be Voted on This Month
It’s not dead yet, so says Texas Republican Congressman Joe Barton. A measure to legalize online poker federally in the US could be voted on this month (July 2012).
“We’ve got the votes in the House if it comes up for a vote,” Barton said.
Macau Gambling Junkets Risk Losing Their Game
Farah Master, Reuters
MACAU (Reuters) - The shadowy companies that bring China's millionaires to the gambling tables of Macau are facing their toughest time since the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers, and some of the smaller players may soon drop out of the game for good.
Ghost Wager Will Pay £101,840 With Roger Federer Wimbledon Win
A wager made nine years ago by a man who has since passed away is set to pay out £101,840 should Roger Federer win the Men’s Wimbledon Final on Sunday.
Nick Newlife bet £1,520 in 2003 that Federer would win seven or more finals. At the time, the UK’s largest bookmaker William Hill was offering odds of 66/1 with the potential payout today totaling £101,840.
Macau's Melco in $1B Philippine Casino Project
HONG KONG (AP) — Macau gambling company Melco Crown Entertainment is teaming up with the Philippines' richest man to develop a $1 billion casino resort in Manila in a sign of the industry's plans for rapid expansion in Asia.
Melco said late Thursday that it would develop the project with three companies controlled by Philippine tycoon Henry Sy. Melco is jointly controlled by Lawrence Ho, who is the son of Macau casino king Stanley Ho, and James Packer, the son of late Australian media magnate Kerry Packer.
5050 Poker Players to Just Get 15 Percent Back, If That
Following the abrupt closure of 5050Poker last month, the shuttered online poker company has revealed that affected customers will only be entitled to 15 percent of their funds back, and they’ll be lucky to even get that.
A statement from the company read:
Gambling Company News and Tweets – July 5, 2012 (Overnight/Morning Edition)
Here is all the latest Twitter chatter related to the gambling sector – poker, sports betting, financials, entertainment, politics and more. Be sure to follow Gambling911.com on TWITTER here to get all the latest updated gambling news as it happens.
Top Current Company News: Zynga, Betfair
Congressman John Tierney Vows to Stay in Race Following Gambling Allegations
Massachusetts Congressman John Tierney has said he will stay in the race to hold his House seat despite allegations he knew of an “illegal” offshore wagering site that employed his wife Patrice.
Tierney’s wife served as an accountant for her brothers betting company based out of Antigua.
Convicted Gambling NBA Ref Now Working for Convicted PA Sports Handicapper
As part of his probation, gambling ref Tim Donaghy is prohibited from associating with known felons. But that’s exactly what Donaghy was caught doing and now the disgraced ref claims he just didn’t know.
It seems he is not the only one.
Visa Restrictions on Gambling Blamed for Macau Slow Down in Growth
After years of accelerated growth, the world’s biggest gambling destination, Macau, witnessed an abrupt slowdown in May. Part of the blame is now being placed in Visa.
A presser put out by the Paragon Report made the claim:
Ray Bitar Remains Detained After US Magistrate Agrees to $2.5 Mil Bond
The disgraced former CEO of now shuttered Full Tilt Poker, Ray Bitar, remained behind bars on Tuesday after voluntarily turning himself in on Monday. US law enforcement agents arrested Bitar at New York’s JFK Airport.
Bitar engaged in what prosecutors described as a “ponzi scheme” though many familiar with the case believe Bitar’s activity was more akin to plain out-and-out theft and does not quite meet the definition of a ponzi scheme.
Darren Rovell Out at CNBC, Returning to ESPN
Darren Rovell, who has regularly covered the sports and online gambling sector for CNBC during a 6-year stint, will be returning back to his roots at ESPN.
Rovell’s last day at CNBC was Tuesday (July 3) with a final airing on Thursday.
PaddyPower.com Taken Down
The UK’s third biggest bookmaker and one of the world’s most popular online poker sites was taken down a good 5 hours Tuesday afternoon. The site was back up by late Tuesday evening.
Paddy was suffering from an outage duringthe mid-afternoon period right up through the evening hours. Betting on the later portion of the Wimbledon tennis tournament was interrupted as a result of the outage.
PaddyPower tweeted throughout this period:
Gambling Company News and Tweets – July 3, 2012 (11 am EST)
Here is all the latest Twitter chatter related to the gambling sector – poker, sports betting, financials, entertainment, politics and more. Be sure to follow Gambling911.com on TWITTER here to get all the latest updated gambling news as it happens.
Top Current Company News:
New Jersey Sports Betting Proposal Released a Week Ahead of Time
New Jersey is looking to legalize sports betting with the support of Governor Chris Christie. Proposed sports betting rules were released one week in advance and appear below.
VOLUME 44, ISSUE 13
ISSUE DATE: JULY 2, 2012
RULE PROPOSALS
LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY
US Prosecutors Still Allege Full Tilt Poker, Ray Bitar Engaged in Ponzi Scheme
An additional indictment was filed against Raymond Bitar, CEO of now defunct Full Tilt Poker, on Monday July 2, 2012 after he voluntarily turned himself in to US authorities.
Bitar has remained at large since April 15, 2011 following charges of money laundering and bank fraud in connection with running what was once the world's second largest online poker room.
Full Tilt Poker Founder Ray Bitar Arrested by Feds
Raymond Bitar, Executive of now defunct Full Tilt Poker, has been arrested by federal authorities in the US after turning himself in.
Bitar and about a dozen other men were charged in April 15, 2011 with money laundering and bank fraud in connection with running Full Tilt Poker, at the time the second largest Internet poker venue.
Gambling Granny Allegedly Stole Grandson’s College Funds
The New York Daily News on Monday reported that Edna Sue Pate allegedly stole more that $97,000 from a trust fund set up for grandson Christian Smith over a three year period.
The 73-year-old granny lost $93,000 at a casino during that time.
"Stealing your grandson's money? That's about as bad as you can get, short of physical assault," the boy’s father told ABC News.
Euro 2012 Boosts Betfair Revenues
By Keith Weir
LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) - The Euro 2012 soccer tournament helped online gambling exchange Betfair to report strong trading on Friday, with the development of mobile apps seen as a driver of future revenue growth.
The online bet-matching company, set up 12 years ago, reported a 15 percent rise in underlying profits (EBITDA) from its core businesses to 92 million pounds ($142.66 million) in the year to April 30. Betfair shares rose 2.8 percent to 755.5p by 0825 GMT.
Macau Gambling Growth Misses Expectations
(Reuters) - Macau's gambling revenue growth rebounded last month from May, though the increase was slower than expected, signaling muted spending in the world's largest gambling destination.
Revenue rose 12.2 percent from a year earlier to 23.3 billion patacas ($2.92 billion) in June, faster than May's 7.3 percent gain, government data showed on Monday. Analysts had expected a 15 percent increase.
William Hill Goes to War With Betfair Over Horse Racing Levy
William Hill, England’s biggest bookmaker, wants to force Betfair customers into contributing to a horse racing levy. Betfair prides itself on being the largest betting exchange. Because there is no middleman (a bookmaker) as part of the betting exchange business model, customers of Betfair have thus far been exempt from paying money towards horse racing.
William Hill will plead its case in court over the coming week.
