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A South Carolina priest made headlines this week when he starred in a new poker competition on US television this week. Father Andrew Trapp, an assistant pastor at Garden City Beach's St. Michael Catholic Church, has so far won $25,000 in Fox TV's Million Dollar Challenge, which was set to air for the first time on Sunday night. Trapp, who reportedly also goes by the nickname "Father Rambo" for his paintball skills, says the funds will go toward helping build a new church for his congregation. He is competing against such celebrities as American football champion Jerome Bettis, NBA champion John Salley and four-time WSOP bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu for the $1 million prize, which will no doubt give a substantial boost to St Michael's rebuilding plans. Trapp said his participation in the tournament would be positive because "Even if I didn't win any money, it would be an opportunity for people across the country to see that there are still young men choosing to be priests, and that one can be joy-filled and have fun as one serves God." "The poker-playing priest" is also fast becoming a YouTube hit, with thousands having already viewed a clip about his participation in the tournament before it even went to air.
As the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup enter their final stages, there are still many spots up for grabs for the trip to South Africa, and a lot of betting options. In Europe, several big teams are on the verge of being eliminated from the competition. Portugal, currently sitting second in group one, are an unbackable 1/50 favorite at Bet365 to beat Malta and go through to a playoff against another second-placed team for a spot in the World Cup. The odds of a draw, which would give Sweden the chance to leapfrog their rivals into second place, are 9/1. A similar situation presents itself in group six, where Croatia will be relying on Ukraine to slip up against a minnow in order to finish in second place. Ukraine, a point ahead of their more highly regarded rivals in the standings, travel to Andorra, and are a staggering 1/33 to take home the points and a spot in the playoffs for the World Cup. Croatia is 1/4 to win at Kazakhstan in the event Ukraine does not win. In group three, Slovakia has a do-or-die battle with Poland to hold on to first place in the group and automatic qualification. The Slovaks have 19 points, two ahead of Slovenia, who beat them 2-0 in Bratislava on Saturday, while Poland is set to miss out on the World Cup for the first time since 1998. In South America, all eyes will be on the Uruguay-Argentina battle, where the Argentines need at least a draw to gain automatic qualification to the tournament and avoid a humiliating exit from a competition they have won twice. Betting pays off too! A surprise awaits you at Bet365 where your first deposit of $25-200 will be entitled to a 100% bonus.
This season sees a new squad member for Swansea City FC. He's got the shirt and a place in the team but the bets are on that he won't make it on to the pitch all season. A Once in a Lifetime Experience Ross Mitchell is joining the South Wales team, not due to his football skills, but because he won a competition set by 32Red Online Casino, Swansea's sponsor. 32Red made the dream come true for Ross, a lifelong Swansea fan. Their competition was to become an honorary squad member; appearing in the official squad photo, being listed in the squad in every program, taking part in various team activities and even having a team shirt, number 32, of course. Said Ross, "Most fans have dreamt of seeing their name in the matchday programme, and given my lack of footballing ability this is the only way I could have got to do it! The entire competition is a terrific idea and I hope others get a chance to experience what I have, thank you Swansea City, and thank you 32Red.com!" 32Red Plan Further Football Promotions Ross signed up at 32Red in order to participate in the competition but enjoyed his blackjack experience there too. He said, "I enjoy playing a bit of Blackjack and so the chance to become the number 32 for the Swans was just too tempting, so I went through the official site and registered at 32Red's online casino and got playing." The competition, which caught the imagination of Swansea fans, is by no means an isolated promotion. Mark Quayle, Head of Marketing for 32Red Online Casino, remarked: "This is just the first of many competitions we plan to run with Swansea to celebrate our partnership with this proud and progressive club.
A court in the Midwestern US state of Iowa last Wednesday reversed a conviction of a man accused of cheating at blackjack at a local casino, US media reported. Mitchell Smith was previously convicted for increasing his bet after seeing his cards at the Riverside Casino and Golf Resort in 2006. He was charged with intending to defraud without having made a wager and with claiming an amount of money higher than that actually won. However, the Iowa court that overturned the conviction said Smith didn't violate the first part because he made an actual bet. In his defense, Smith said his chips accurately reflected his winnings. Watch video trailers of blackjack online games. UIGEA Comment Also in Iowa, the head of the state lottery, Terry Rich, has said he believes US Congressman Barney Frank's efforts to overturn the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act will succeed. In a meeting with the Iowa Lottery Board, Rich said Iowa must keep its options open, saying: "Based upon what we are seeing, I think that the federal government may pass something. Obviously, our job as employees of the state...is to make sure that our elected officials know that if it does pass, what impact it might have for the state." South Carolina Meanwhile, in more good news for pro-gambling advocates, five South Carolina men also had their conviction for illegal gambling overturned last week. The five were arrested for illegal gambling in South Carolina after authorities caught them playing poker. Many forms of gambling are illegal in South Carolina, but the court in this case ruled that poker is a game of chance and not skill.
Progressive slots are an online phenomenon. They accumulate prizes that take your breath away and draw you to try your luck. Playing a progressive jackpot game, be it slots, blackjack, poker, roulette or any other variant, gives the punter that extra hunger to win. The sky high winnings make the stakes that much higher and add an extra dimension to any game. Before you play, make sure you know the two golden rules. What are they? 1. Chasing the Big Ones Each progressive jackpot slots machine has a meter displaying the level of the current jackpot. Once a jackpot has been won the meter is reset to a lower level and then gradually builds up. The meter displays the real time jackpot so to make sure that you play on a machine with a high jackpot, check out the meter display. For non slots progressive bets and payout information, check out the standard payout table for all you need to know about progressive wagers. To make things easy for you Online Casino Reports have a handy Money Train facility that displays jackpots from casinos around the world that are either building up at a high rate or are already showing a tantalizing figure. You can use our progressive jackpot tracker to find out where the biggest online progressive games are being played. At the time of writing, the biggest jackpot displayed is for more than an eye watering $2 million, with the second coming in at over a whopping $1 million. 2. Don't Miss Out! You may be playing on a slot machine with a massive jackpot and could well get the winning combination but if you don't press Max Bet and play on the highest stake the machine has to offer, then you are not eligible for the big prize. The same goes for non slots jackpots - if you don't place the specific progressive jackpot bet then you will only be eligible for the standard payout, not the jackpot. Progressive jackpots are fantastic fun and provide breathtaking games for punters. They add that extra zest that gets the heart pumping and soul yearning. Online or off, progressive jackpots give us all a thrill and for those lucky few, can literally prove to be a life-changing phenomenon.
Back in July, Denmark shared its legislative plans with the EU, looking to join the growing number of European countries who have dissolved existing gambling monopolies and embraced online and offline gambling regulation. The process, however, has not run smoothly. Legislation Lacks Compliance On October 6th the EU Commission issued a 'detailed opinion' against the Danish proposal. A 'detailed opinion' signals that the EC consider the draft law would, if implemented, create barriers to trade, services or establishment within the EU. The Danish draft law is thought to fall short of EC requirements in several places, including: failure to take into account securities and controls already offered by other EU jurisdictions; allowance of some continued monopolies; a marketing ban; restricting Danish licensed games to Danish residents only. According to Sigrid Ligné, Secretary General of EGBA (European Gaming and Betting Association), "We support the Danish government's intentions but emphasize the need to ensure that any new legal framework is compliant with the EC Treaty." Decision Time for the Danes The detailed opinion instigates a standstill period, within which Denmark cannot adopt the existing draft and needs to respond to the areas of concern raised by the EU. If the law is subsequently adopted without rectification then the Commission can launch infringement proceedings. In January 2008, following on from Germany adopting legislation without taking heed of a previous EU detailed opinion, legal proceedings were indeed launched by the Commission. All eyes are on Denmark to see if they will amend their draft legislation during this standstill period or drive it through and face the music. Visit Online Casino Reports Denamrk for more on the local online gambling market.
The excitement of poker has now been injected into French airwaves. The Poker Channel which happens to be Europe's largest television gaming network is now being screened on Neufbox TV. The agreement between both parties merges the game of poker with the ever-popular TV service from SFR. Where to enjoy it? Channel 199 is the place where fans of the great game can relax. Indeed the Poker Channel is available to 18 million television homes - with a good number of them in France. But there is so much more to enjoy with the Poker Channel. The 100% exclusive world premier of the Poker Heaven European Cash Game Season 2 kicked off. This is a high-stakes tournament where a minimum chip stack of €10,000 is required by Europe's finest poker players. Who is involved? Many of the industry's top players from 10 different countries will be represented. Two Frenchmen will be playing too - Francois Balmigere and Bruno Fioussi. Balmigere won $350,000 in 25th place at the 2009 WSOP and Bruno Fitoussi is currently ranked 3rd from the top in France in earnings. When it all happens? The seven episodes of the European Cash Game 2 will be screened on The Poker Channel on Fridays.
France's betting authorities are just months from launching a long-awaited race between private online gambling companies for the country's horse racing, sport and poker markets. It's no surprise that domestic and international gambling competitors are already poised on the starting line. In fact, some of them appear to have jumped the gun. France's gamblers have waited years for a better variety of gambling options, payouts and bonuses. So much so that private gaming companies have been prematurely promoting themselves in an attempt to snap up a piece of this ready and willing market. One such competitor, ZEturf, recently published a promotional "press release" in the major French daily, "Metro." The move triggered a stark warning from France's budget minister, Eric Woerth, who said private online gambling companies must wait until the designated date (the beginning of 2010) before they begin operations. Those who don't will risk compromising their gambling licenses. Good News for Players Although players have a few months to wait before reaping the benefits of this market expansion, those benefits will be significant. Competition for customers is already fierce, meaning that gambling companies will have to be creative in offering the best deals. One drawback is that only sport and poker betting will be moving into the private online arena - lotteries and slot machines will remain under state control. Still, France has taken a massive step forward. Not so long ago, heads of online gaming companies were being arrested for violating the country's betting regulations. In Eric Woerth's own words, as quoted in March 2009 by FT.com, there is "no use denying the reality of online gambling and the expectations of French people." We agree wholeheartedly. We hope that France's online casino slot market will eventually follow in the footsteps of sport and poker.
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France has inched a few steps closer to relaxing restrictions on online gambling. On Oct. 12, 2009, the French National Assembly voted for a bill that will allow private gambling companies to compete with state-owned betting firms for a slice of France's online gambling market. As Good As It Sounds? Appearances can be deceptive, and it seems that launching the more liberal gambling rules may not be so straightforward. 302 assembly members voted to allow private sector gaming, while 206 were against the proposed changes. Despite the bill passing by a solid 96 votes, the vast majority of this support came from just two political parties - most of the remaining parties went the other way. This has triggered concerns that the bill may now face a frosty reception in the Senate, which has yet to debate the new law. Gambling Industry Underwhelmed Even before the bill reaches the Senate, representatives of the private sector gambling industry were quick to pour cold water on the idea that the French authorities have embraced private online gambling. The Remote Gambling Association said the French online market would be "wholly unattractive and in most cases completely unenviable" to private gambling companies, due to regulations and taxes imposed on them by the new gambling legislation. The European Gambling and Betting Association backed up the RGA's position. EGBA Secretary General, Sigrid Line, warned that a French online gambling market with reasonable conditions for private companies was "a long way off." The pessimism of the gambling associations may not have completely rubbed off on private gaming companies themselves, several of whom are keen to be first in line to reach French online gamblers. The French government recently reprimanded several online betting companies accused of advertising their services in France before the new law was formally implemented.
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