Business & Financial
LockOPS Lock Poker Series Expected to be Reintroduced This Fall
The build up for LockOPS, the Lock Poker Series, was pretty significant with hundreds of searches coming info the Gambling911.com website for this event.
"This ranked as one of the most searched for tournament events, whether online or live, that we have ever seen here on the Gambling911.com website," reveals Payton O'Brien, Senior Editor of G911. "Simply amazing when one considers the limited time frame between the official announcement and its anticipated starting time."
Bwin.Party Enters California Online Poker Market
It may not be legal yet but on Monday May 7, 2012, Bwin.Party announced an official partnership with California tribe, the United Auburn Indian Community (UAIC) to offer online poker services in that state once legislation is passed.
Official Release: Cake in Process of Selling Selected Assets to Lock Poker
Curacao, Dutch Antilles, May 7th, 2012 – Cake Gaming N.V. has announced today it is in the process of selling selected assets to Lock Poker, enabling Lock to rebrand the existing Cake Network to Revolution Gaming. Cake will continue operations providing all of its current Network partners, sites and players the opportunity to be part of the Revolution Gaming Network.
Official Press Release From Lock Poker Regarding Cake Acquisition
As of June 1st a whole new world awaits the Lock Nation.
Lock is in the process of acquiring assets from Cake and will be re-branding the Cake Network to launch Revolution Gaming, driving technology, marketing, player rewards and implementing a richer tournament schedule. The LockPRO team will be at the foundation of these changes. They will come together and offer their recommendations on all levels, truly bringing the player into the boardroom.
Cake Gaming, Lock Poker Unveil Revolution Gaming Network as Part of Acquisition Deal
As first broken by Gambling911.com early Sunday, Lock Poker is acquiring the Cake Poker Network. The Cake Poker Room, as mentioned on Sunday, will continue to operate as a separate entity.
Kentucky Derby Wagering Hits All Time High
There was record wagering at this year’s Kentucky Derby, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Two Plus Two Poker Posting Forum Target Return Date May 12
At this rate it may be a full month that the popular Two Plus Two poker posting forum remains offline following a hacking compromise on April 26. The site issued at statement that a “conservative target date for coming back online will be May 12”.
On April 26th at approximately 11:20 AM pacific time, the Two Plus Two Forums were closed as a result of a hacker who has displayed the ability to access e-mail addresses and encrypted passwords. He also indicated the ability to decrypt passwords.
World Exclusive: Lock Poker Acquiring The Cake Network, Leaving Merge
Gambling911.com has learned exclusively from a very reliable source that Lock Poker, one of the largest rooms on the Internet, will be taking over the Cake Poker Network.
Lock, which is widely believed to be one of the top three largest rooms on the Merge Network, will be leaving that network to take control of Cake.
It was explained that as part of the deal, Cake and its current marquee brand, Intertops Poker, are believed to be continuing to operate as separate rooms and there are no plans to integrate them.
The Bernard Tapie Email Trying to Lure Full Tilt Poker Key Staff has Been Obtained
The buzz around the online poker industry this week was centered on an alleged email sent by former Full Tilt Poker suitor Bernard Tapie to key executives attempting to land them in starting a brand new online poker venture.
Betfair Wins German Online Gambling License
(Reuters) - The first licences to offer online gambling in Germany have been awarded, with British online betting firm Betfair benefiting from the state of Schleswig Holstein's liberalised gambling rules.
The northern state, whose centre-right coalition government voted in favour of relaxing its gambling laws in September, said on Thursday that it had awarded three licences valid to 2018 - one to Betfair for sports betting, one to Germany's Jaxx AG and one to the state lottery.
Mass Gambling Commission Hires Executive Once Accused of Sexual Assault of Young Boy
The state of Massachusetts is moving right along in its quest to expand legalized gambling, including on the Web. But a recent hire by the state Gambling Commission has certainly raised some eyebrows.
TwoPlusTwo.com Poker Posting Forum to be Down Another Week At Least
The hacking into the popular TwoPlusTwo.com poker posting forum seems far more serious than anyone had previously believed as the site announced this week its forum would be down for the foreseeable future.
Originally the site had expected to be up by the first week in May but now they are shooting for the second week of the month.
Update May 1st
Playtech Drops Plans for Acquisitions
(Reuters) - Gaming software group Playtech said first quarter revenues doubled, helped by strong growth at its casino business, and that plans to shift its listing to London's main market were progressing well.
However, the group added that it was dropping plans to buy some social gaming assets owned by founder and Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi, and would instead enter software license agreements.
Its plans for a deal with its top shareholder - Sagi still owns 48 percent of the company - were announced in April.
iPoker Revenues Down in 1st Quarter Despite Gaining Number 2 Spot
While the iPoker Network has overtaken PartyPoker as the second most trafficked online poker room in the world over the past month, its 1st quarter revenues fell slightly. iPoker is owned by Israeli-based Playtech.
The poker business made €5.3 million compared to to €5.7 during the same period last year.
Its online casino arm witnessed a 104 percent increase however.
IGT Poker Suffering the Blues in Wake of Purple Lounge Sudden Shutdown
The abrupt shutdown of the Purple Lounge online casino and poker room has left the IGT Poker Network in a quagmire.
IGT Poker (formerly Entraction Network) lost 8 percent of its traffic for the week, according to the traffic monitoring website of PokerScout.com.
Caesars Sees Deep 1st Quarter Losses
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Casino operator Caesars Entertainment Corp. said Tuesday that its first-quarter net loss widened as the company faced costs from a previously halted property development in Mississippi.
The net loss for the quarter ended March 31 widened to $280.6 million, or $2.24 per share, from a loss of $147.5 million, or $1.18 per share.
Income from operations fell 65 percent $138 million, mainly due to the $172 million charge related to the halted Biloxi, Miss., project That was partly offset by a gain of $45.8 million from paying down debt early.
Leaked Email Shows Bernard Tapie Wanted to Hire Away All Key Full Tilt Poker Staff
An email leaked to the website PokerFuse.com on Tuesday showed that one time Full Tilt Poker suitor Bernard Tapie had hoped to lure away key employees of that shuttered organization in order to start his own online poker site “Game Cubed”.
Last week Group Bernard Tapie withdrew its bid to acquire Full Tilt Poker upon learning that the company’s closest rival, PokerStars, had entered into a deal reportedly worth $750m. A deal with the US Justice Department would ensure that $330m of that money go to repay Full Tilt account holders, according to some media reports.
World Series of Poker Australia Coming Down Under in 2013
The World Series of Poker announced five bracelet events to take place at the Crown Casino in Australia beginning in 2013.
The WSOP Asia-Pacific will run from April 4th through the 15th.
The Crown Melbourne has played host to the Aussie Millions since 1998.
MSN Money: Online Gambling Could Take Zynga to the Next Level
This week it was revealed that Zynga’s monthly active user base had expanded to 292 million, up 24 percent from this time last year, while revenues climbed 32 percent year over year to $321 million.
But the real future of Zynga could be tied into the legality of online gambling.
Manchester City vs. Manchester United Paddy Power Player Heart Attacks Bet Tweet in ‘Poor Taste’
The UK’s third biggest bookmaker, Paddy Power, has apologized Tuesday for retweeting a Twitter user who asked if they could place a wager on the OVER/UNDER number of player heart attacks during Monday’s Manchester City v Manchester United game.
“Can you place bets on player heart attacks at football matches?” the tweet asked.
BetFred Founder Fred Done on Short List for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year award
The colorful founder of UK online gambling firm BetFred.com, Fred Done, is appearing on the short list of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year.
26 individuals from 23 Northern UK companies will be competing for the coveted award in Manchester on June 26.
The awards recognize those who have built and lead successful businesses.
PokerStars Seven Times the Traffic of Nearest Competitor
PokerStars, the largest of the real money online poker rooms, has traffic this week that is more than seven times that of its nearest competitor, the iPoker Network.
Purple Lounge Online Poker, Casino Abrupt Weekend Closure Follows Salacious Florida Arrest
No word yet on the reasons behind the abrupt closure of UK-based Purple Lounge, an online poker room and casino operated by Media Corporation (not to be confused with the Rupert Murdock publishing empire). Customers were not provided with any prior warning as to the shutdown. Players had experienced slow payouts in recent months despite Purple Lounge’s operation within a mostly Web poker-friendly environment. Purple Lounge had not accepted business from US players.
Two Plus Two Poker Posting Forum Expected to be Down Two to Four More Days
The popular poker posting forum Two Plus Two became a victim of a serious security breach this past Thursday, forcing a temporary shutdown of the message board.
A statement read as follows:
On April 26th at approximately 11:20 AM pacific time, the Two Plus Two Forums were closed as a result of a hacker who has displayed the ability to access e-mail addresses and encrypted passwords. He also indicated the ability to decrypt passwords.
Classic Find: Disgraced Poker Pro Howard Lederer on Business Ethics (Video)
Credit a poster from the CardChat Poker Forum with finding this rare jewel: Poker pro Howard Lederer on “Business Ethics”.
Considering what we know today, this is pretty sad watching.
Lederer is accused by the US Justice Department of running an elaborate ponzi scheme as a stakeholder in Full Tilt Poker.
TwoPlusTwo.com Poker Forum Outage: ‘I Feel Like a Junkie Who Needs a Quick Fix’
We’re going on nearly 24 hours Friday morning without the powerful TwoPlusTwo.com poker forum accessible following a hacking incident. The outage is beginning to take its toll.
Most every online poker player with an ounce of skill knows about TwoPlusTwo.com.
“It sucks!” said Joe, an avid TwoPlusTwo.com reader for over five years. “I am being forced to get my poker news from Gambling911.com.”
Las Vegas Sands Revenues More Than Double Thanks to Macau
Casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp's first-quarter profit more than doubled, beating Wall Street estimates, helped by increased revenue from Asia. Revenue for Sands China Ltd jumped 25 percent to $1.45 billion.
Las Vegas Sands Corp is overseen by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, the man behind GOP Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich’s super PAC.
The deep-pocketed chairman Sheldon said he doesn’t believe the gaming operator’s prospects in Macau and Singapore will flatten out.
“The word plateau, in terms of Asia, is not in our vocabulary,” Adelson said.
Zynga First Quarter Performance Tops Estimates
(RTTNews.com) - Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) Thursday reported a swing to loss in the first quarter as it continued to incur hefty stock-based compensation expenses. Nonetheless, the online social games developer posted a 32 percent jump in quarterly revenue on strong bookings growth.
Excluding items, the company recorded a profit for the quarter. Both earnings and revenue for the quarter topped Street estimates.
Roberto Luongo May Have to Endorse British Columbia Lottery Corp. From Tampa Bay
The British Columbia Lottery Corp. is staying mum about the prospects of its spokesperson, the Vancouver Canucks Robero Luongo, being traded to another team. Rumors are Luongo could end up in either Toronto or Tampa Bay.
TwoPlusTwo.com Poker Posting Forum Hacked: Passwords Were at Risk
The uber posting forum for the poker playing community, TwoPlusTwo.com, was hacked into early this afternoon at just before 2:30 pm EST. TwoPlusTwo.com had to shut the forum down after realizing the hacker in question had the ability to obtain account passwords.
