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The Pittsburgh Steelers remain around a seven-point favorite to defeat the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII Sunday, but there are plenty of factors one might want to take into account before placing that bet. Form Pittsburgh was among the best teams all year, cruising to an NFL equal-second best 12-4 regular season record and the AFC North title and backing that up with easy wins over San Diego and Baltimore in the playoffs. Arizona, on the other hand, scraped into a wildcard spot with a 9-7 record, but defied the bookmakers three times in wins over Atlanta, Carolina and Philadelphia. The Cards must defy the odds one more time to lift that trophy. Betting history One thing punters like to look to is betting history. Last year's huge Super Bowl upset, in which the 12-point underdog New York Giants stunned the unbeaten New England Patriots 17-14, would give hope to those out there who fancy the underdog. However, history shows that in only 11 of the 42 Super Bowls has the underdog won, at an average of once approximately every four years. Big game history The Pittsburgh Steelers are going for a record sixth Super Bowl win (they are currently tied for top place with Dallas and San Francisco) from a total of seven Super Bowls. They began all their previous six as steady favorites, including their loss to Dallas in 1996, the only time they have lost in the big game so far. The Cardinals have never been to the big dance, with their last NFL championship coming in pre-Super Bowl days in 1947, when the club was still based in Chicago. Weather Possibly the only thing going for Arizona is the weather. The warm climate of Tampa, Florida should suit the West coasters more than their Pennsylvanian opponents.
The rules for playing online slots are pretty standardized in the online gaming industry. It's generally a simple matter of choosing your preferred online casino. All the top casinos offer a wide range of online slots, with new games added all the time. Playing online slots Of all the online casino games to play, online slots are among the easiest. Once registering with an online casino and depositing some money, you're good to go. It's generally a matter of employing a ‘spin to win' strategy. Crank up your computer's volume, load up the game and wait for your favorite slots game to come to life. Next you'll be faced with a series of payout lines, betting options and a spin button. Simply select and bet your preferred number of credits and clear the way for your winnings. Of course if you're playing free online slots games there is no money changing hands. Gaming tips The longer you play and the more you bet (gambling responsibly of course), the greater your odds of winning will be over time. Note that progressive slots are best as they keep increasing your winnings with additional deposits you make per game. Also look for ‘bonus multiplier machines.' After approximately every 30 spins, you will get a statistical average of the machine's ability to pay out. If this looks good, then you're doing well. Beating the odds The more reels and paylines on the slots games, the greater your odds of beating the mathematical programmers that developed the software for these games. The rules of online slots games work with the law of averages. The more plays, the more pays. By betting your max number of coins and spinning the most number of times, with multiple paylines, you are sure to land yourself a big payout more often than playing only occasionally. Of course a good deal of commonsense is involved too. Are you the type of player to hit the jackpot and walk away, or are you aiming a little higher with every win?
With a month to go until the film industry's prestigious annual Oscar awards are handed out, Heath Ledger and Slumdog Millionaire are odds-on favorites to take out the titles for Best Supporting Actor and Best Picture. Ledger, an unbackable favorite at UK and Las Vegas bookmakers, would become only the second actor to win an Oscar posthumously, following Peter Finch in 1976 for his performance in Network. The Aussie's portrayal of The Joker in Dark Knight has already won him the 2009 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, and has him 1.04 with Ladbrokes to take out the same award at the Oscars. Slumdog Millionaire is slightly less of a certainty to take Best Picture, listed at 1.25 with Ladbrokes. Set and filmed in India, Slumdog tells the story of a young man from the slums of Mumbai who appears on the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". The film has grossed well over $50 million in U.S. box office earnings after just over two months in the cinemas. Hot on Slumdog's tail is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, at 5.50. Milk is a little further back at 10.00, while Frost/Nixon and The Reader would be surprise winners at 21.00 and 26.00 respectively. Mickey Rourke, 2.00 and Sean Penn, 2.10 will battle it out for Best Actor. Rourke has been nominated for his role in The Wrestler and Penn for his role in Milk. Kate Winslet is 1.83 to win Best Actress for the lead role in The Reader, Meryl Streep is 2.75 for her performance in Doubt, while Anne Hathaway is also in with a chance at 6.00 for her work in Rachel Getting Married. The 81 st Annual Academy Awards will take place on February 22 nd , with the star of X-Men and Australia, Hugh Jackman, as host.
Famed Tour de France champion and international celebrity - Lance Armstrong - will be sponsoring a major drive in support of raising cancer awareness. The charity slots tournament with a $3,500 prize to be shared among 20 lucky players marks a philanthropic drive initiated by online casinos. Livestrong From February 1-21, 2009 the Livestrong Foundation will be running the charity slots tournament. Winners will be invited to the semi-finals and finals of the tournament and the culmination of it all is the sharing of the big $3,500 prize. Winnings Right from the first leg to the third leg of the competition, players take aim at the big prize. The first leg, stage one is free. The top 100 players from each stage receive $10 to progress into the semi-final. The Livestrong charity slots competition offers multiple chances for winning your share of the prize. First place receives a check for $450 and second place receives a check for $50. It's the final that everyone will have their eyes on. That takes place on February 21st. At this point, Stage 21, there is a $15 buy-in with a $2 continue play option. Participating casinos River Belle and Jackpot City casinos are among a group of online casinos offering players the chance to compete. There are 21 tournaments running for 21 days and entry is absolutely free. So play, donate and win all at once, with Lance Armstrong's cancer charity drive.
It appears that both land based and now even cruise ship based casinos are starting to feel the biting sting of the online gambling industry. Cruise ships are currently allowed to open up their casinos for US based players as long as the boat is at least three miles offshore, which is considered as international waters by law. Some companies offer "cruises to nowhere" to capitalize on just that law and will troll around for hours strictly for gambling purposes. While this type of entertainment was popular for awhile, the ever reaching and thorough hand of the internet has convinced more and more people to stay at home while still getting their playing fix from the comforts of their own computer. Now, cruise corporations are trying to figure out creative ways to get passengers back on board. Florida is considering allowing ships to open up while still in port, much like the river boats of years past, which also may attract nostalgia-lovers and customers looking for a new experience. However, the downside to this is the expensive boarding fees and possible wait times at the dock before boarding. So nostalgia or getting away for a mini-vacation may not be enough motivation to pull customers back in. So what's next for the multi-billion dollar cruise ship gambling business? As technology continues to advance, only time will tell. Ships ahoy!
Leading in the competitive industry of mobile gaming, Spin3 has just announced their compatibility with the ever popular Smartphone's such as the iPhone, Android G1 and Blackberry models. As a division of Spiral Solutions Ltd, Spin3 gaming offers real and play for fun casino games, flash casino, guerrilla marketing services and has aligned itself with the mega player of platforms, Micrograming. Boasting an already impressive portfolio of 15 games for Blackberry users, Spin3 has also recently launched blackjack, roulette, Tomb Raiders and Major Millions slot games which will work on the iPhone and Android G1. Head of Spin3, Matti Zinder, said, "The emergence of the Smartphone has forever changed the face of the mobile industry; Spin3 has been at the forefront of the mobile gambling industry since the very beginning and we are still leading the industry." Not only are we able to support multiple languages and currencies, Spin3 is committed to continue supporting new Smartphone handsets as they enter the market. We are optimistic that the mobile casino industry will soon make the move to mass market adoption." Spin3 will demo its games at the Micrograming stand at the International Gaming Expo (IGE) 2009 in London from the 27-29 of January. Also, they will be at the Mobile World Congress Fair in Barcelona from the 16-19 of February.
It seems that the United States government is mighty quick to point out how unregulated internet gambling is harmful and highly addictive, which is the main motivating factor which brought forth the UIGEA bill that was put into action in 2006. However, like all laws and acts of government, there are exceptions to the rules originally stated. Such as keeping state lottery systems and horse racing legal - both of which are gambling activities, but here's the rub; they make the state government money which in turn makes the US government money. Now why would the government ban that? Keeping this in mind, a Pinella County man from Florida named David Sarnowski was recently arrested for stealing $1.6 million spread over four years from the law firm he worked at to fund his horse racing bets online, to which he was ahem...addicted to! So what does this prove exactly? Perhaps that whilst the government is busy pushing so hard for regulations that their rules make legal, they should take a look at themselves and ideologies since obviously people are just as at risk from addictions to lotto and horseracing as poker and slots. This writer thinks that some people in both sides of the camp, pro-UIGEA or not, will surly grab onto this lawsuit and say "I told you so!" Hmm....thought provoking indeed.
Online casino players are set to enjoy an innovative approach to playing their favourite casino games. Live dealer gaming by software developer, Microgaming is set to revolutionize the way players interact with their preferred online casinos. Players can now watch as cards are dealt on live tables from their computer screen. You'll know if you've hit your number in roulette, or struck it big on Baccarat in real time. Innovation The innovation comes from years of experience and extensive training programs by croupiers, pit-bosses and casino managers in the bricks and mortar world of gambling. Now with the advent of modern technology, aided by Microgaming software - the online gambling world is being transformed for the better. Cards are all scanned and shuffled, by manually and electronically. Games are all recorded and there is 24-hour technical support available. Players simply watch as dealers run the cards over the scanner and it pops up on screen, on the tables. Live dealer casinos Players worldwide can enjoy Microgaming' Live Dealer gambling. River Belle and Lucky Nugget online casinos offer live Baccarat games. Live Blackjack, Live Roulette, Live Baccarat can also be found at Ladbrokes' online casino outfit.
EGamingOnline, better known as EGO, have set up one of the largest booths at CAP Euro London 2009. There one could see the logos of the online casinos EGO markets, as well as two new online casino logos to be launched over the coming 2-3 weeks. We sat down with Michael Golembo, who told us about the new casinos and EGO's tradition of exhibiting at CAP events.
The Virgin Games booth at CAP Euro London 2009 was colorful, not only for the red Virgin logo, but thanks also to posters announcing the coming launch of two new games. virgin Casino will feature Dungeons and Dragons and Battleship on its casino in a matter of weeks, perhaps as few as two, said Head of Affiliated Pierrick Leveque. Leveque told us also about Virgin Games' Award it received in London and about the online gambling market.
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