Business & Financial
95-Year Old Vegas Icon Missing, Reportedly Held Captive
The wife of 95-year-old Las Vegas casino developer Kirk Kerkorian claims her husband is being held captive by his attorneys.
Kerkorian, who made $2.9 billion through the development of such Vegas landmarks as Caesar's Palace and the MGM Grand, has not been seen for nearly a year.
Lawsuits Challenge Legality of Fantasy Sports Contests: DraftDay.com Sued
The same attorney who filed suit against fantasy sports site FanDuel.com now has a suit against competitor Draftday.com.
US Online Casinos – Win Palace Accepts American Players
US online casinos for real money include WinPalace Casino, which is offering up to $1000 in FREE BONUS MONEY.
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Some of the advantages of playing at this US-friendly online casino include:
Supporting both downloadable software and the ability to place a wager without a download, credit cards accepted and a massive offering of Real Time Gambling (RTG) casino games.
International Stadiums Poker Tour Attendance Confirmation at 550 Players
PokerNews.com is reporting that 550 players have been confirmed for the highly anticipated first ever International Stadiums Poker Tour at Wembley Stadium.
The event, with an initial kickoff online to determine live qualifiers, will take place May 31 thru June 1.
From PokerNews.com:
Full Tilt Poker Engineers Help Launch Jawfish Games in US
Some of the engineers behind Full Tilt Poker have worked to create a new Seattle-based platform of online gaming called Jawfish Games.
Offerings will include multi-player real time poker tournaments.
The company has a ton of cash behind it thanks to a $3.65 million infusion from angel investors.
Jawfish Games is also partnering with Amazon to offer word games.
Bitcoin Economy Now Worth $1 Billion
The Bitcoin economy is now worth a whopping $1 billion and, despite a few near death experiences, continues to grow.
This past weekend, some 1000 people attended the Bitcoin 2013 event in San Jose, California.
Caesars to Debut Online Poker Site in Nevada by End of Summer
(Reuters) - Caesars Entertainment Group said it plans to go live this summer with an online poker site in Nevada, the only U.S. state so far to offer legal Internet gambling, and will promote the nascent service to thousands of poker players at its World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournament in Las Vegas starting May 29.
Caesars is among several gaming companies preparing to go live with online sites in the United States which could eventually generate billions of dollars in revenue for the casino industry and local governments.
Revel Casino in Atlantic City Exits Bankruptcy
CAMDEN, N.J. (Associated Press) — Revel will be getting a new start soon — with new owners.
A bankruptcy court judge on Monday approved the Atlantic City casino's Chapter 11 reorganization plan that wipes out most of its debt and provides new money for it to operate.
Judge Judith Wizmur gave the OK to Revel's plan to grant an 82 percent ownership stake to lenders in return for canceling $1.2 billion worth of debt.
Red Bull Announces Exclusive Partnership With International Stadiums Poker Tour
It was announced on Tuesday that energy drink Red Bull will act as the official beverage choice at the first ever International Stadiums Poker Tour (ISPT).
Free Sports Betting for Prizes Could be Introduced in New Jersey
For the time being, New Jersey will not be permitted to offer sports betting for real money, however, the Monmouth Racetrack is looking into a free sports betting platform for the upcoming Football season.
Bwin.Party Revenues Fall to Lowest in Three Years
Bwin.Party quarterly revenues have fallen to their lowest in three years.
Chief executive Norbert Teufelberger said revenues were unlikely to start improving until the second half of the year, but was confident the group would hit targets outlined in March.
“We guided the market that we expected revenues will decline this year by up to 10 per cent versus 2012,” he said. “Despite the first quarter revenue performance, we remain comfortable with our guidance,” he added.
Nevada Gaming Control Board Continues to Probe Colbert, Cantor Gaming
Following last October’s indictment of former Cantor Gaming Sportsbook head Mike Colbert and 24 others, the Nevada gaming Control Board continues to conduct an investigation of its own.
PokerStars Eliminates Bumhunting, Ratholing
The world’s largest real money online poker room, PokerStars, announced this week it will no longer permit the practice known as bumhunting.
The new practice is aimed at protecting players.
So what exactly is bumhunting?
This is where regular players set up online poker tables and effectively lie in wait for novices.
Cantor Gaming Using Algorithms in Creating Sports Betting Lines
Great article appearing on Wired.com on how Cantor Gaming has begun to use algorithms in determining game lines for its sports betting operations.
Cantor Gaming runs a number of sportsbooks in Las Vegas, including at the M Resort.
UltimatePoker Peaks at Near 350 Players Over Weekend
The 24-hour peak traffic for UltimatePoker.com was coming in at 350 over this weekend, decent numbers considering they only take customers from the US state of Nevada.
UltimatePoker.com became the first legal US-based online poker site to allow play for real money last month.
Bitcoin Online Poker Room Infiniti Poker Launch Pushed Back to August
Infiniti Poker has delayed its launch another few months after originally targeting an early spring debut. The room will allow US players via the digital currency Bitcoin.
Infiniti Poker released the following statement this weekend:
Is This the Beginning of the End of MCC 7995 for Online Gambling in Regulated States
The new Ultimate Poker, Station Casino’s online poker property, is now accepting Mastercard transactions, making them the first licensed poker room in the United States to do so.
Judge Rules That Atlantic Club Casino Can Seek New Buyer
(Associated Press) - After paying an $11 million advance to a struggling Atlantic City casino it intended to buy, the parent company of the world's largest online poker website was left with nothing for its troubles Friday when a judge ruled the casino had the right to scrap the deal.
Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten said The Atlantic Club Casino Hotel could terminate the contract it signed with The Rational Group, the British parent company of PokerStars, when the company failed to get New Jersey's preliminary approval by April 26 to own a casino.
iGaming Super Show Amsterdam 2013 Lands GCB’s AG Burnett as Speaker
iGaming Business have announced that AG Burnett, Chairman of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board (GCB), will be speaking at the iGaming Executive Conference. This C-level, invite only event is one of the seven concurrently-held conferences that take place on June 12th as part of the iGaming Super Show, which is being held in Amsterdam on the 11th – 14th June 2013.
Paul Leggett, Phil Hellmuth Absolved From Wrongdoing in UB.com Poker Scandal
On the surface, it would appear that both former UB.com COO Paul Leggett and poker pro Phil Hellmuth have been absolved from any wrongdoing in a much publicized UB.com online poker insider cheating scandal.
Lock Poker Accelerates Payouts
Following an exclusive Gambling911.com interview with Lock Poker CEO Jennifer Larson this week, Lock Poker has begun to accelerate payouts to customers after a prolonged period of what it deemed to be “processing delays”.
Skrill payouts for those residing outside the US began coming in even for the maximum amount of $10,000. There were even reports of Skrill payouts being received within one week of the initial requests.
Partouche Online Poker Parts Ways, Closing Shop
France online poker venture, Partouche, is shutting down.
The company announced plans to cease existence effective next month (June 2013).
Partouche cited France’s stringent tax code, combined with a limited player pool, as reason for its failure.
Atlantic City Revel Casino Gets Reprieve
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (Associated Press) — Revel was given a second chance Wednesday from New Jersey casino regulators, and now it’s seeking the same thing from customers.
In winning a reprieve, the bankrupt casino acknowledged several big mistakes, including preventing its guests from smoking; not paying enough attention to slots players; and booking too many hip acts at the expense of other forms of entertainment.
Macau New Resort Casino Approved
HONG KONG (Associated Press) - Macau casino operator SJM Holdings has received official approval to build a new resort in the world's biggest gambling center.
SJM said its contract for land in the Cotai district was published Wednesday in the official government gazette. The company is racing to catch up with rivals like Wynn Resorts and MGM.
The new projects are centered on the Cotai Strip, a patch of former swampland intended to be Asia's version of the Las Vegas Strip.
DOJ Freezes Accounts Between Bitcoin Exchange and Dwolla: Maryland Center Stage
The US Department of Justice on Tuesday froze accounts belonging to one of Bitcoin’s most prominent exchanges, Mt. Gox.
Iovation Investigated by Nevada Officials: Company Linked to Poker Cheating Scandal
Nevada State Gaming Control Board Chairman A.G. Burnett has stated in an email that regulators are looking into identification verification firm Iovation and its relationship to licensed online poker company UltimatePoker.
Iovation had ties to an insider cheating scandal at UB.com, a now defunct online poker site.
Minted Poker Moves to Fledgling Plutos Poker Network
Everleaf Poker Network’s flagship room, Minted Poker, has jumped ship to the newly started Plutos Poker Network.
Minted has offered a 100 rakeback deal to long time Minted Poker players who have been unable to play as a result of Everleaf’s reported insolvency. The company claims that Everleaf owes it a substantial amount of money.
Verdict Reached in Las Vegas Sands Case
LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) — A Las Vegas jury has reached a verdict in a Hong Kong businessman's breach-of-contract lawsuit against the Las Vegas Sands, potentially bringing nine years of litigation to an end.
Richard Suen sued the casino giant run by multibillionaire Sheldon Adelson for $328 million in 2004. He says the company owed him for his help securing a lucrative gambling license in the Chinese territory of Macau, the only place in that country where casino gambling is legal.
Paul Leggett Hiring by Amaya Under Review by Nevada Gaming Commission
Former UB.com COO Paul Leggett has been tagged as the next head of gambling firm Amaya but the Nevada Gaming Commission might not be too happy.
UB.com closed shop following a 2011 indictment by the US Government owing millions of dollars to players.
The website LegalPokerSites.com begged the question, with so many other folks from the online gambling sector unemployed, why bring on Paul Leggett?
Atlantic Club Claims it Knew Nothing About PokerStars Running Afoul of US Law
Responding to a lawsuit filed by PokerStars, Atlantic City casino The Atlantic Club insists it knew nothing about PokerStars legal problems in the United States despite extensive mainstream press surrounding the matter.
