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The first Estonian online casino has opened up to the public, just a month after the Baltic nation issued its first ever online gaming license. Land-based casino company the Olympic Entertainment Group - which was the recipient of that license - launched its first online casino, Olympic-Online.com, with the option of playing more than 150 games in English, Russian, and of course Estonian. The website is powered by Playtech software. Olympic is one of the major casino operators in east Europe, employing more than two thousand people in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Romania, Poland and Slovakia. Estonia only approved the legalization of online gambling in January, reversing a previous law that banned local servers from hosting gambling. Under those previous regulations, sites could only be located on offshore servers. While those same offshore sites are now being blocked after the introduction of the new provisions, there are reports that condition will be dropped in 2011.
Online casinos are more than just about winning. Anything that comes a player's way is welcome, of course. But as this "big winner" story reveals other roles online casinos serve. Progressive Jackpot First, to the news. A player known as SURFSIDESID on Slotland Casino has won a progressive jackpot of $134,385 when playing the Genie-themed "Magic" slot machine. The player said this is not his first win, and that he wins quite often, as a matter of fact. However, he added, "I've never won anything anywhere near this though, that's for sure!" It's been about two months since the Slotland jackpot was last hit. Players sense due jackpots, and this one was one such. While the jackpot at the Magic slot machine is climbing once again after being reset to $50,000, visit the Progressive Jackpots Service for the highest jackpots of this moment. Return Player Profile The jackpot winner is a regular player at Slotland, playing, and occasionally winning, for about three years. Like other casino players, the regular-player cum lucky-winner plays for fun and entertainment, on an on again off again basis. "I tend to play a lot for awhile, and then I give it a break for awhile," he said. Playing responsibly, a few spins a day, and remaining loyal to one or two online casinos and perhaps a handful of games, makes online gambling a healthy hobby or pastime, and does not rule out winning, either.
This year's Super Bowl was once again a big success from a sports book perspective, with $82.7 million bet at Nevada sports books, at a profit of $6.9 million for the bookmakers. The figure was slightly up on last year, in which $81.5 million was bet in Nevada. Meanwhile, although no official total exists, this is likely to be about 1% of total sports bets on the big game, with online sportsbooks grossing most of the action. The match turned out to be a dream for those smart enough to back the underdog - the New Orleans Saints overcame a 4-point difference in the betting odds to upset the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in the big game. Jay Kornegay, chief of the Las Vegas Hilton's sports book, was quoted in the Associated Press as saying the results could have been even better if not for the cold snap on the east coast that prevented some from making it to Vegas. But he said that the results also showed an improvement in the economy. "We thought the Super Bowl was a great measuring stick of the economy and we think the economy is just a little better than what it was last year," he said. The best year for Nevada bookmakers was 2005, when they took in $15.4 million after New England predictably beat the Philadelphia Eagles.
Software giant Playtech has made a big push into the European bingo market, first by acquiring UK bingo business Virtue Fusion on Monday and then by announcing its intention to supply bingo solutions to French and Italian bingo sites. Playtech chief executive Mor Weizer was quoted by website EGRmagazine as saying that his company would make for French monopoly Francaise Des Jeux if online bingo is legalized there this year. "Bingo will play a key role in regulated markets and I think that what happened in Italy will happen elsewhere. I get that sense from France. FDJ has indicated that it will supply bingo if and when it is allowed. When it does, Playtech will position itself," he was quoted as saying. Bingo was recently legalized in Italy. The acquisition of Virtue Fusion will have a big effect on many major bingo sites. Bet365, Crown Bingo, Ladbrokes, Mecca, Paddy Power, Sky, Virgin and William Hill are among the big names in the industry that have bingo sites tied to Virtue Fusion.
The battle over the future legal status of online poker in the United States has once again made it to the front pages, this time in a big feature article in the latest edition of Forbes business magazine. The feature, which was also published on the magazine's website, seeks to answer whether federal authorities are cracking down on online poker, and in particular the world's two biggest poker sites - PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker - as well as the site named for one of the game's biggest stars - Doyle's Room. The 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which effectively banned Internet gambling in the United States, is set to come into effect on June 1, 2010. The article quotes poker legend Doyle Brunson and PokerStars representatives as saying they don't fear the feds, because poker is legal in the US in any case. "I don't have a problem with the Justice Department, and I hope they don't have a problem with me," Brunson was quoted as saying. For its part, PokerStars said it has legal opinions from five separate American law firms saying that it is not in violation of US laws. Unfortunately Full Tilt did not respond to Forbes' requests for a comment on the piece. In the conclusion to the article, the author Nathan Vardi suggests a very plausible explanation for the federal authorities' lack of action so far. Quoting from a New Jersey-based adviser to online gambling firms, he suggests that prosecutors figure it is better to bluff than show their hand to a jury and risk losing. The explanation makes a lot of sense. And if it holds any truth, that will no doubt encourage sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker to keep doing what they are doing. Which is good news for American poker players. The feature article can be found on newsstands in the March 1 edition of Forbes magazine - the one with Osama Bin Laden on the front cover.
There is little need to introduce William Hill. Few, select businesses can claim a history that dates back 76 years, like the British gambling business William Hill which was established in 1934 as a betting shop, then a chain of 2,100 betting shops, later an online sportsbook, and today - a complete online gaming empire. William Hill Bingo belongs to the network of online gaming sites. We bring you the highlights. As seen in the video, the display and layout are superb. Far from being overcrowded with information, the personal information and account balance appear on the top of the screen, your bingo cards on the right half of the screen, and the chat interface on the left. Numbers are called clearly, as the video shows, but can also be muted. Chat is moderated well and is kept lively and fun. Not to mention prizes that come along with participating. Play Away There is no software to download when playing bingo at William Hill. Games are played in your browser window. Cross Platform Account An account with William Hill Casino, Poker or Sportsbook can be used to log in to William Hill Bingo without registration. You will still be eligible for the Bingo bonus, however, as is any new player to Will Hill bingo, regardless of activity on other sites. It is well worth it, as you can read next. Bingo Bonus New players at William Hill Bingo can earn a £25 bingo bonus. All you need to do is spend £10 on any bingo tickets or strips in your first 48 hours of play. Simple math: spend £10, and earn £25. Bingo Games The bingo game, of course, is 90 ball bingo. Players win prizes for making a line, two lines or a full house. Bingo tickets are 5p to 50p. Prizes reach £500. Get a full house in 38 balls or less and win the Cash Rocket progressive jackpot. Do so in 33 balls or less and win the Money Mountain progressive jackpot. These prizes regularly reach thousands and even tens of thousands of pounds.
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The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics are into their second week, and there are still plenty more medals to be won on the mountains, skating rinks and at the online sports books. Short track speed skating is one of the closest equivalents the Winter Games have to the Summer Olympics discipline of speed skating, and the team pursuits are the equivalents of the relays. The men's 5000m, which will be completed on Saturday, a day before the opening ceremony, is shaping up as a tight affair. South Korea, buoyed by Lee Jung-su's gold medal in the 1000m race, are an 11/20 Ladbrokes favorite in a contest pitting Asia's two best teams and North America's two best teams on the same rink. Hosts Canada, 7/4, are second favorites, followed by the USA, 7/1, and China 12/1. The same four countries are represented in the women's 3000m final, which will be held two days earlier on Thursday. However, the order of favoritism is different: China are hot 3/10 favorites, followed by South Korea, 9/5, Canada 10/1, and the USA, 12/1. Paddy Power is, as usual, offering the most unusual betting options, including one on how close Ghana's "Snow Leopard" Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong will come to winning the giant slalom. Unfortunately for Acheampong, he seems most likely to finish more than 60 seconds from the gold, at odds of 4/7. Finally, most eyes remain on the flagship men's ice hockey tournament. Canada remain on track to take the gold, with William Hill offering evens. Russia, 9/4, Sweden, 6/1, and the United States, 8/1, remain the only realistic chances of threatening the hometown favorites.
Hollywood's a-list has continued its love affair with the world of poker in charity tournaments and celebrity events held over the weekend. Seinfeld star Jason Alexander and fellow Curb Your Enthusiasm cameo-actor Christian Slater participated in the PokerStars.Net NAPT Venetian Charity Tournament in Las Vegas with Team PokerStars Pros, which raised more than $42,000 for a Nevada food bank. The tourney helped kick off the inaugural North American Poker Tour Main Event, which began Saturday at the Las Vegas Venetian with a field of 872 players. Over in Los Angeles the following day, actress Desperate Housewife Teri Hatcher and Entourage's Jerry Ferrara (who plays "Turtle" in the hit series) were seen participating in the World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitations event. Organizers are making the most of the celebrity presence - the tournament was narrowed down to the final six contestants on Sunday, but they will have to wait until March 3 to return to play the televised final table, with the chance to win $100,000 for first place. ESPN, the world's biggest sports network, announced it would broadcast 16 hours of the NAPT which will help the fledgling tour in its aim to rival the all-conquering WPT.
Harrahs Entertainment can go ahead and buy the Las Vegas Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, after gambling regulators in the state of Nevada approved the plan. After it goes ahead with the move, Harrah's will convert into equity $306 million of Planet Hollywood's debt, assume around another $554 million in loans and invest a further $30 million into the new property. Harrah's said in an announcement Thursday that the Nevada Gaming Commission approved the move providing it fulfils all the conditions. The go ahead from the Nevada regulators follows earlier reports reported here. The deal means Harrah's now has eight properties on the east side of Las Vegas' main strip. The 2,500 room hotel is situation next door to another Harrah's property, Paris Las Vegas. Harrah's, the world's largest provider of branded casino entertainment, announced in late January that it was taking over the management of the property. It had been eyeing Planet Hollywood since September, when the previous owners, Sheraton Operation Corp., defaulted on an $860 million loan.
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