Gambling News
Businessman Harry Kakavas Loses $1.5 Billion at Casino
Gold Coast businessman Harry Kakavas has squandered away $1.5 billion at the Crown Casino in Australia and now he is attempting to retrieve a portion of those funds back via the courts.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports:
2013 World Poker Tour Barcelona Day 1a, WSOP APAC Updates
The 2013 World Poker Tour Barcelona kicked off Saturday with Sergio Fernandez the Day 1a chip leader late in the evening
143-players entered Day 1B, creating a total field size of 249-players. 89 players made it through the day giving Day Two field of 148-players when the 2013 WPT Barcelona kicks off at 14:00 (CET).
As for the 2013 WSOP Asia Pacific Event #1 Day 1c, 419 entries were recorded following a total of the unlucky 666 participating over the previous two days.
World Series of Poker Champ Greg Merson May See Fallout From Macau Comments
2012 World Series of Poker champion Greg Merson appears to have gotten himself in some hot water after disclosing a few tightly held secrets about Macau high stakes poker games.
Antoine Saout Leads Day 1B of 2013 World Series of Poker Asia Pacific
Event #1 of the 2013 World Series of Poker Asia Pacific had Antoine Saout as the chip leader after Day 1B. Players who previously busted by re-enter for Day 1C.
A field of 337 players showed up for the $1,100 No-Limit Hold'em Accumulator in Melbourne, Australia Friday with 329 participating the day before.
Four other events will follow this “accumulator” event with each rewarding a WSOP bracelet.
Chip leader Saout is one of the most successful players on the circuit today, having garnered just shy of $4 million in career earnings.
Bill to Ban Online Gambling in Kansas Fails
A measure that would have banned online poker in the state of Kansas failed to pass in the Senate on Friday.
House Bill 2055 sought to amend current law concerning racetrack gaming facilities and the Expanded Lottery Act.
That same bill also looked to define “Internet or online gambling” and classify as a class B nonperson misdemeanour.
Online Poker Phenom Viktor Blom Wins $1.7 Million in Under 6 Hours
Online poker sensation Viktor Blom (AKA Isildur1) continued his hot streak this week, beating player Ben “Bttech86” Tollerene for a mere $1.7 million.
The most impressive part in all of this is that Blom made that money in just under 6 hours at the virtual felts of Full Tilt Poker.
Isildur1 had been down more than a million dollars at one point during the Wednesday night session.
Tollerene isn’t the only one suffering a headache this week.
Brazilian Footballer Ronaldo Signs With PokerStars
Retired Brazil football legend Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima (referred to mostly as “Ronaldo”) has joined Team PokerStars, it was revealed on Friday. His signing is part of PokerStars aggressive expansion within the Brazil poker market.
Popularly dubbed "the phenomenon", he is considered by experts and fans as one of the greatest football players of all time.
Americas Cardroom Offering $200k Guaranteed Online Poker Qualifiers
Sunday marks Americas Cardroom's largest Sunday tournament this month, but it's this Friday and Saturday when the US-friendly cardroom could see its biggest table traffic yet. The online poker site today confirmed that it has added a number of last-minute direct-entry qualifiers to its schedule, each one guaranteeing two seats in Sunday's big $200,000 tournament.
Bitcoin Hacked: Leads to Buying Frenzy and 20 Percent Knocked Off Price
Virtual currency Bitcoin’s most popular exchange, Tokyo-based Mt.Gox was hacked Thursday, resulting in a massive buying frenzy.
20 percent was knocked off its price overnight Thursday as a result of the hacking. That, however, is just a drop in the bucket of the 360 percent rise in Bitcoin’s price over the past month.
Dan Kelly Leads After Day 1a of 2013 World Series of Poker Asia Pacific
A field of 329 players registered to take part in Day 1a of the 2013 World Series of Poker Asia Pacific taking place in Melbourne, Australia.
Dan Kelly led the pack after the first day while 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event champ Jonathan Duhamel had the 5th largest chip count.
iPoker the Latest Online Poker Network to Roll Out Anonymous Tables
iPoker, the world’s third largest online poker network, has announced it will begin featuring anonymous tables as early as next week.
Florida Bans Internet Cafes in Wake of Gambling Scandal
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Associated Press) — Florida legislators voted overwhelmingly Thursday to ban storefront gaming operations, a quick response to a scandal that led to dozens of arrests and the lieutenant governor's resignation.
The bill is now headed to the desk of Gov. Rick Scott, who said he will sign it. The operations, commonly called "Internet cafes," would allow customers to play sweepstakes games that simulated slot machines.
Gambling Addict Steals Baby’s iPhone: Caught on Camera
How bad a problem is gambling addiction? Just ask 72-year-old gambling addict Kenneth Fletcher of Liverpool, England.
Jay Tan Re-Signs With Bodog Poker
Female poker player Jay Tan has renegotiated her contract to continue on as a Team Bodog poker pro for the remainder of 2013.
While a money earner online, the Australian player’s first real live tournament success came this past January with a 7th place finish at the Aussie Millions Main Event that resulted in a $157,745 cash.
Internet Gambling in New Mexico a Complicated Matter, Frowned Upon by Some
Internet gambling will be discussed by legislators in the US state of New Mexico this summer but the situation there is somewhat complicated.
Tribal Casinos Prepare for US Online Gambling: Pechanga Conference Planned
As Gambling911.com reported earlier in the week, some Tribal casinos are looking to combine their resources as a means of gaining entry into the lucrative US online gambling market.
Online Gambling Affiliates in the US: Preparation, Adapting Will be Key
There is an excellent report by John Mehaffey of LegalPokerSites.com on the legal landscape of online gambling in the US and how current affiliates with 10 plus years of experience may or may not be able to gain access. This, we at Gambling911.com believe, is a must read, especially in the wake of
Atlantic City Profits Down 27 Percent in 2012
(Associated Press) - Atlantic City's casinos saw their profit fall by more than 27 percent last year, even as revenue from non-gambling sources inched upward.
The city's casinos collectively posted $360 million in gross operating profits in 2012. They were hurt by having to close for up to a week for Superstorm Sandy.
Zynga Shares Up Nearly 15 Percent on Real Money Web Gambling News
News of Zynga beginning to offer real money online gambling in the United Kingdom sent its stock price rising 15 percent Wednesday. The company also intends to offer real money gambling in some regulated European countries over the next couple of months and the US by year’s end.
Zynga Will Expand Real Money Online Poker Into Europe: Shares Surging
With the announcement that Zynga, the word’s largest social gaming market, will offer real money gambling in the United Kingdom, shares rose 5.5 percent to $3.24 in after-hours trade Tuesday. By late morning Wednesday, shares were up 12.4 percent to $3.45 with an earlier high of $3.49.
Fantasy Poker Manager Partners With World Series of Poker
Fantasy Sports and gambling have merged, as we have seen with Atlantic City casinos announcing last month they will begin to take action on Fantasy Sports.
Now what about poker?
Some say that is a sport!
The answer came Wednesday with an announcement that Fantasy Poker Manager, owned by Zokay Entertainment, has now partnered with the World Series of Poker to become the official Fantasy Poker site of the WSOP.
45-event EPT Berlin is set to be Germany’s richest ever poker festival
BERLIN, GERMANY –The European Poker Tour (EPT) Season 9 Berlin festival is expected to boast a prize pool in excess of €10 million, smashing the €6.2 million paid out at last year’s Berlin events.
Tom Christopher Wins 2013 DeepStacks Poker Tour Patriot Poker Classic
Tom Christopher was announced as the winner of the 2013 DeepStacks Poker Tour Patriot Poker Classic Main Event Tuesday and will take home $54,392. Joe Starratt finished 2nd with $38,117.
The event took place at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Casino and featured a field of 167 entries with a guaranteed prize pool of $218,687.
Christopher, a Las Vegas-based poker player, has had 34 cashes to 4 wins to date on the live poker circuit. Despite those impressive numbers, his total earnings prior to Tuesday were just $119,658.
PokerView.com Shuts Down
Merge Network online poker skin PokerView.com is the latest to close its doors as the network continues to consolidate.
PokerView.com had allowed players to see one another online via webcam.
The following message appeared on the PokerView.com website effective April 1, 2013:
Dear PokerView Customer,
Antonio Esfandiari Made Official Brand Ambassador of Fertitta Backed Ultimate Poker
Ultimate Poker, an online poker room under development by Station Casinos and UFC founders Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, has announced Antonio Esfandiari as its new brand ambassador.
Esfandiari became the biggest poker money earner of all time following his $18 million win last year in the $1 million buy-in “Big One for One Drop.”
Zynga Shares Surge on News of ZyngaPlusPoker Will Offer Real Money Play in UK
Zynga, the world’s largest social gaming company, announced Tuesday it will begin offering real money online gambling in the UK through its new website ZyngaPlusPoker.
Shares of Zynga, which closed 2.9% lower, rebounded 8% to $3.33 in after-hours trading following the news.
"We look forward to launching our social versions of real money games for players on Facebook and mobile in the UK throughout 2013," says Barry Cottle, chief revenue officer of Zynga, posted shortly after the announcement.
Americas Cardroom Doubles SnG Race Prize Pool to $10k this April
San Jose, Costa Rica –Two seems to be the magic number for online poker tournament players this April. Americas Cardroom today announced that this month's SnG Race prize pool will feature 2x what was on the table in March, all while the entire site gears up for the big $200,000 Guarantee this Sunday at 7:00pm ET.
March Proves Lucky Again for Pennsylvania Slots: 2nd Highest Revenue Ever
March 2013 resulted in the second highest revenue ever for Pennsylvania slots. The most revenue ever occurred in March 2012.
“It’s probably because you do have the beginning of the upturn in weather normally that probably allows people to feel more safe in traveling,” said Doug Harbach, Spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control said.
Pennsylvania’s 11 casinos witnessed a 1.6 percent decline in revenue compared to March 2012 where the total earned was $229.
Churchill Downs to Buy Maine’s Oxford Casino
OXFORD, Maine (Associated Press) — Less than a year after it opened, Maine's Oxford Casino is being sold for about $160 million to Churchill Downs Inc., the Kentucky-based gambling company announced Friday.
The deal awaits approval by the Maine Gambling Control Board and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2013.
Macau Gambling Revenue Up 25.4 Percent in March Over Same Period Last Year
Macau gambling revenue was up 25.4 percent in March compared to the same period last year.
Government data indicated that the world’s largest gambling destination experienced a rise to $3.92 billion.
Full year gambling revenue hit $38 billion last year.
Business from both mass-market and VIP, or high-stake gamblers, has been strong, RBC Capital Markets analyst John Kempf wrote in a March 25 note.
Casino companies like Galaxy Entertainment and Sands China Ltd. have been expanding and adding rooms.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
