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The European Commission has recently taken legal action over the sports betting restrictions made in Sweden, France, and Greece, and June 27th will se many of their decisions be finalized. The verdicts will be determined by the college of commissioners for these three member states, and according to Oliver Drewes, spokesman for the European Union's Executive arm, "for the moment... those are the decisions on the calendar". So far, the European Commission has formally requested that France and Sweden amend their laws which are not considered compatible with the EU law. This is the last stage of the EU infringement procedure before referral to the European Court of Justice. Meanwhile, many French Chief Executive Officers of Sports Betting Companies licensed in various EU countries, have been imposed or threatened with criminal sanctions. The French legislations have also impacted sponsorship agreements in football, and cycling race conditions. All France, Sweden, and Greece have imposed these new restrictions as a way of preventing foreign competition in the European gambling market. With many state owned gambling monopolies and lottery companies (such as OPAP), it has been especially difficult for foreign companies to do so, such as the insuperable challenges faced by betting companies William Hill and Stanley Leisure. The European Commission's attacks have been justified by their adhering to the ultimate goal of protecting the freedom of movement for goods and services. Many decisions will be made and finalized on this day, and will leave much of the European gambling market's future hanging in the balance.
While this summer promises to be hotter than past summers, this June certainly has been. Oh, you think we are talking about the weather? The rising temperatures and what not? Sure. That too. But what we really have in mind, now, as we report this from our air-conditioned offices to your air-conditioned computer rooms is one thing and one thing only, the bottom line and the big deal. We are talking about the sizzling hot prizes at online casinos that are all around us. Yes, kind of like the weather. The tech news this month have reached a peak with more and more discussion of the iPhone, which hit stores today, June 29. The most brilliant and hip invention in the cellular world has joined the online gambling world at some online casinos. The mobile phone, MP3 player, Web browser and media center all-in-one can be won as a special prize at special games at special gaming sites. Find these sites, join them and enter the games in which you too can win an iPhone. A quick look will reveal Bodog Casino giving out an iPhone. Grab it while its there or find another site where it is still available. In fact, sites are promising not one iPhone giveaway but as many as 15. Additionally, winners can receive gift cards for iTunes, the store from which one can load songs and albums onto the mobile device, as well as the usual account boosting deposits and freebees. Considering the prize at stake, this will certainly overshadow past summer specials such as free, all expenses paid for cruises and the such. The only better thing than winning a flight to the Caribbean, arriving at a luxury cruise boat and enjoying live bands and free drinks is doing it with a brand new, honestly earned, sweet iPhone, courtesy of your favorite site.
Sports betting has become much more than guessing what the final score will be, what team will walk away as the winner or who will be crowned champion. The change has correlated with the development of each sport. Take basketball for example, where the draft has become an industry in and of itself, with multi-million gambling by the teams in scouting, drafting and signing high school graduates or mere 19 year old freshmen out of college to huge contracts, rebuilding the teams around them and building expectations as high as the Greg Oden is tall. If the teams are gambling on all aspects of the sports, then what about us, gamblers of the world? The amazingly deep class of the NBA 2007 Draft has awoken many sports betting fans. Everybody knew Oden and Kevin Durant will go 1-2, but was it to be 2-1? Many around the world were willing to put their good money down guessing how the pick order will eventually turn out to be. Then there were the remaining lottery picks, with Al Horford expected to go 4-7, ending up with the number 3 pick by the Atlanta Hawks. Who was to be picked at number 5 by the Boston Celtics was practically impossible to forecast, as it depended on a trade that was as sure to happen as it was unknown with whom. The Celtics ended up picking Jeff green and trading him to the Seattle Supersonics, a team that was scarcely mentioned in pre-draft trade rumors involving the Celtics. You win some you lose some, the saying goes. With the above examples we can clearly say that some have lost (on the Horford bet) and some have won (Who are you? He who saw Ray Allen come to Boston stand up and show yourself!). But it is now time to move on. Not for the teams and the fresh class of rookies, of course. They are expected a tough season ahead of them and plenty of media inspection. They get paid for that. Us gamblers, on the other hand, make our side cash from betting on sports. So whats ahead for us? NFL betting is what. Betting lines for the 2007 NFL season have already opened. At this point in time, bets focus on who the Super Bowl XLII will be. The game, to be played only in the coming winter (early February 2008, in Arizona), is clearly a while away. But pre-season and off-season deals and training camps fuel the betting industry like nothing else. So who are the champs to be (on paper only)? Unsurprisingly, the 21st century dynasty the New England Patriots are front runners. Close behind them are the Indianapolis Colts and the San Diego Chargers, second and third respectively. Betting will be more evolved as the season nears. Big games, players statistics and even big plays will all be open for bets at your online casino. Do you homework and out your money where your heart is and let the best team win.
Casino tycoon Stanley Ho and his family, who run the Honk Kong-Shun Tak Holdings Ltd., will be purchasing $939 million worth of property in a Macau project, with Ho's private company the aid of billionaire Gordon Wu. According to Hopewell's official statement, Sun-Tak is planning to pay Wu's Hopewell Holdings Ltd. a massive $626 million for a 50 percent claim on the Nova Taipa Gardens/ Nova City project in Macau. Shun-Tak will also pay approximately $313 million to Ho's private company, "Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau", for an additional 25 percent, said the Shun-Tak spokesman Catherine Szeto. According to Midland Realty Ltd. (a Hong Kong based property agency), the average price per square foot of land sold in Macau averaged this year at about $202, which is an increase higher than 50 percent since 2002. Partly responsible for the strangely high land value prices, is the fact hat Macau is the only city in China in which casino's are legal. However, the soaring revenues and increase in tourism brought to Macau by the gambling facilities have significantly boosted the economy. The company will have no financial problems paying such expenses, as they are banking in on 82.2 percent increases in profit annually. Last year saw Shun-Tak earn $663.9 million, and $364.4 million in 2005. At approximately 12 cents per share, this is primarily due to company shareholders. Hong Kong based economists such as Enoch Fung, say that Macau's economy may rise up to 16.5 percent just this year. Group Executive Chairman, Stanley Ho, has stated that "the groups' well established presence and extensive service network in the Pearl River Delta region were strengthened in the past year by the buoyant economy of Macau, where the group has significant diversified investments. During the year, the group embarked on insightful initiatives that extended its core business in promising long-term directions, with new additions in air travel and retail ventures". This new purchase will ensure the Shun-Tak company well above 25 percent of the project, which is enough for full ownership.
Event #40 of the World Series of Poker - the $1,500 buy-in Mixed Hold'Em championship has been won by 31 year old Fred Goldberg. Winning first place has earned him not only a gold WSOP bracelet, but also $204, 935 in winnings. This event was the first open one at the WSOP this year, and did not include even one single gold bracelet winner. The game was played in rotation between Half Limit Hold'Em, and Half No-Limit Hold'Em, and player's were keen to mix up the event right from the beginning. Last year's WSOP saw Goldberg finish in 10th place in the main event, yet his performance raked in $1,154,527 in prize money. In 2007 many recognized his face as he returned to rectify his loss. In a recent interview with Arthur Crowson, Goldberg admitted that he has "been disappointed quite a bit... it's a monkey off my back to winthe bracelet will show that I'm right up there with them the top pros". Carlo Lopez was the first to be eliminated, during the opening round of No Limit play, yet walked away with $12,252 for only three days of play. Reza Sand's unlucky and #13 caused her to drop out next, after her suited King and Jack were too weak against Kevin Marcotte's suited Ace and five. Zand finished in 8th place and collected $16,899. The second day of rotated game play saw Michael Craig fail to overcome Christopher Neisert's Ace and King, and he left the table with $22,813 for a solid performance. The 6th elimination occurred nine hands later when Joe Brandenburg's eight/seven failed to improve Goldberg's flopped pair of fours. Brandenburg took home $30,418 for finishing in 6th place. It was in hand #61 that a three way battle between Kevin Marcotte, Scott Bohlman, and Rene Mourtisen. Marcotte was only just beaten, and walked away with $39,289 for a 5th place finish. However, Bohlman was soon defeated by Mourtisen when his suited King and ten were taken down by Mourtisen's all-in Ace and King. He left the game with winnings valued at $54,498. Neisert was the next to be eliminated, as Goldberg thrashed his pocket nines with suited Ace and Jack. Neisert's efforts earned him $82,804. The final table saw much fierce head to head competition, as both Goldberg and Mourtisen missed several opportunities to take the crown. Both players flopped a flush on hand #125, yet \\\\ Goldberg's was bigger. When Mouritsen failed to hit runner-runner or the straight flush, the title of WSOP Champion and gold bracelet went to Goldberg, earning him $204,935 for his achievement, with Mouritsen cashing in $125,895. Goldberg stated that "The final table played out fine. I lost on a big hand, I had ace-king suited against ace-10. I played smart though and didn't do anything silly. I just managed to get heads-up and things went from there". Goldberg plans on continuing playing Mixed Hold'Em tournaments, No-Limit being his "main game". He stated that "I'm going to enter one more event. I'm going out of town for a while but I'll be back for the Main Event".
A new portable high density data center has been released for purchase by eNation Corporation. Designed to accommodate high performance computing infrastructures such as well-trafficked online gaming organizations, eNation's data center will facilitate mobile online communications in limited space and accessibility. As eNation calls it, it will be a "data center in a box". Two different data centers have been produced, each designed to incorporate all the aspects of a full time operating online casino or devoted internet gaming website. Conduction of business on a 24/7 schedule basis requires particular attention, and the consideration of various needs such as emergency back up recovery and overflow, state of the art security, optimal connection speed (highly important for online gamblers) and 100% up time. The smaller of the two data centers produced is a 160 square feet eight rack data center, contained to a 20 foot box. What would usually occupy 800 square feet will deliver enough power to support up to 200 kilowatts of equipment mounted on seven different racks, and infrastructure on an eighth. The data centers are also able to operate cooling and heat diffusion functions for rack mounted equipment, by using internal configuration. The larger of the two data centers is designed to accommodate extremely demanding hosting infrastructures, by means of 20 high density racks. The size has been dramatically reduced from an originally required 2000 square feet of empty space. eNation, otherwise known as the "Global Electronic Nation", are highly reputable experts in the data management field of the online gambling industry. Their newly released high density data centers are able to power even a network of online casinos. eNation are also respected for their company building skills for many online gaming operations and websites, from early licensing phases to e-payment processing and customer acquisition. Their new "data center in a box" is expected to become the most esteemed performance computing station, and its unprecedented portability will take online gambling sites and industry members to new and exciting heights.
Last week the much talked about, hyped and rumored iPhone was launched. While experts' expectations had about 200,000 units sold over the first weekend on the market, some were even more courageous and expected 350,000 units sold. Well, reality was much greater than those numbers, with 700,000 new iPhones hitting the markets on the first weekend alone. What does this have to do with your gambling? Well, for one, it can serve as a metaphor (like everything else). Often when you expect to win something at the online casino game you play, you hope for 25 dollars, maybe a century bill at most. Then you are hit with a 500 dollar jackpot or even higher much higher and are blasted away. This is what the market went through this past week. But more than that. The online gambling industry has joined the iPhone hype proper, realizing before everyone else that the coveted handheld phone is the ultimate prize. Since gambling is about prizes, companies did the simple math (i.e. 1+1=2) and gave out iPhones to its lucky winners in specially designed games. Bodog Online Casino, for example, offered its players to try their hand at Let 'Em Ride and win free iPhones on a daily basis. A total of 15 iPhones! Additional winnings include iTunes gifts and the like in the sums of 25 or 50 dollars, given out even more readily, thus completing the package of casino fun and fun prizes. Its fun, and on top of the market trends, as it ought to be. So what are you waiting for?
Sitting on the train in the evening on the way back home from work, there is little that can distract a working man or woman from the book in lap or music playing in the ears. But 9 out of 10 commuters, tired as may be, will lean over a little closer to the seats in front of them or across the aisle if the people there were to mention a million dollars. With online casino games jackpots reaching such sums and surpassing them too the industry is drawing everybodys attention. A poker tournament in Sydney, a growing environment for poker games, now found all across the citys pubs, is about to launch a game in which the prize pool will exceed a million dollars. The $1.1 million game will involve 220 players and draw 8000 others to the Luna Park where it will be played. Hundreds of competitors is a large number for a single tournaments, as is in this case. But it makes for only a fraction of the poker club members in Sydney, Australia and the entire world. The poker world is growing in large strides, with 400,000 Australians joining in a period that stretches from 18 months ago. With the member totals, so do the jackpot totals grow and the entire industry steps up a notch, or two. It is in everybodys interest to keep the game under control, regulated, fun and safe. Not only for you, the player, who must double check the site you join and assure you are in legit territory, so do the biggest tournament operators ask the governments help in regulating the market. Indeed, the government accepted the invitation and has been running, in Australia as well as elsewhere in the world, to review the market in response to the growing popularity of poker tournaments," as an Australian regulator said last week. With poker changing and growing, new games and higher prizes at stake, and until final, rigid and set regulations are introduced, we recommend you check around before joining in and thus earn a fair and square chance to win and win big.
There have been many new faces at the 2007 WSOP, and a heap of new talent. This years tournament has seen some of the most thrilling poker games been played out, and some of the youngest competitors going the distance to take home the gold. Since event #52 there have been some big wins, and the action is not about to slow down. Event #52 - The $1,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em tournament saw student Michael Graves take home no less than $742,121 and a coveted gold bracelet, in only 4 hours. Game play was fast paced and intense with over 1040 entrants, many of which young students, all vying for a stake in the $3,226,609 prize pool. Graves, ages 23, began playing poker at age 20 whilst studying medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern. Prior to competing in the WSOP, he had only ever participated in 2 other tournaments, with winnings totaling no more than $4,621. Graves had taken a 2 million chip lead over Theo Trans 2.5 million. He was almost knocked out to Trans 5-6 when his 5-4 lost an all-in-on-the-flop. Yet one hand later Graves had drawn a pair of fives and taken the lead. Trans straight draw and 2 over cards just didn't cut it, and he was forced to walk away in second place to 23 year old Graves, with $387,193 in winnings. Graves said in an interview shortly after that game that he started online in sit-and-go tournaments. Well, I started earlier playing Limit Hold'Em - I ran good and cashed in one of those PartyPoker.com $200 tournaments for about $1,000 or $2,000I learned how to play a bit better. Well, Graves, all that internet play has paid off the will be no need to worry about how to pay off those student loans anymore. Ram Vaswani, winner of event #53, has been playing poker successfully since the age of 12, and has since accumulated a range of titles, including the 1999 Dutch Master Classics, 2002 French Championship, and the 2003 Midland Masters No Limit Hold 'Em event. It was a long time coming, but Vaswani can finally wear that new gold bracelet. "I'm feeling great", he said, "I'm glad to get it out of the way". The final table played out well for Vaswani, as he explained: "I had a great start, actually. I seemed to win every hand I was in and I got a lot of chips together, which I needed because sort of midway through I had about two hours without getting any hands, and I went right down. When there were four players left I was actually the short-stack. But then things started to happen again and I never seemed to lose a pot right at the end!" Vaswani finally defeated Englishman Andy Ward at the $1,500 Limit Hold 'Em Shootout, to take home a hefty $217,438 in cash. The champion plans on partying and relaxing by the pool before continuing with his next poker tournament. Erik Seidel on the other hand, was no new face at the WSOP scene. With a whopping 7 gold bracelets already in his pocket, this 8th treasure only added to the excitement he receives from poker playing. As Seidel stated after winning the match, "It's wonderful, it really is. It's so special because it's so hard to win now because the fields are so much tougher; you're fighting against all these young guys. And the fields are so big. So a lot of the time it seems so difficult to win one and to have everything go your way and win it feels great". Conquering the $5,000 No Limit 2-7 lowball with re-buys, Seidel has gone home with an additional $538,835. Adding this amount to his previous winnings totaling at over $1.6 million, perhaps Seidel, aged 48, can retire early. Online poker has evidently given these kids a leg up in the tournament, as many have explained. Not only that, but it has become increasingly popular among the youth today, and a global sensation. With more and more people entering the tournaments, we can only expect a higher level of fiercer and truly professional poker playing.
The worlds most trusted internet gambling authority, e-Commerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA), has just released their latest survey results, which claim that up to 40 percent of players use independent online message boards. Conducted in Englands Nottingham Trent University, the study was commissioned by the independent standards authority, and included over 11,000 participants. Well over 40 percent of respondents admitted to using independent internet message boards and chat rooms to confirm all online gambling related issues, including gambling odds, responsible gaming, and good deals and bonuses. Partakers also acknowledged their use of message boards for a range of other issues; everything from political and legal situations, to business news and gaming preferences. Today, message boards offer more than just informational services. Many leading message boards are now offering genuine mediation services for players with disputes that have proven impossible to settle. This of course accompanies the extensive range of day to day topics, which have both internet surfers and online gamblers signing up in the thousands. Currently one of the most popular forums is the age old Casinomeister.com, which boasts a database of several thousand members and has been in service since the birth of the online gambling industry. This board not only provides the regular service of forum writing, but also distributes regular newsletters and web casting services. Only last June an extra 373 new topics were added, which incorporated over 5000 posts, according to Bryan Bailey, webmaster. Another interesting aspect revealed by this new study, was that online casino staff and investors also regularly visit message boards, as an attempt to stay up to date with consumer demand and industry developments. They claim that the information they find, as well as the harvested perceptions, are highly valuable to them. eCOGRA is a highly respected and relied on independent service, ensuring that online gambling standards and the general experience remain of the highest grade. With ongoing research such as this, the online gambler is offered a safe place to turn to for trustworthy advice and professional guidance.
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