After this week’s surprising vote in Mississippi’s House of Representatives, the state is finally getting its lottery. Governor Phil Bryant, who has publicly declared his strong support for the lottery legislation, is expected to sign the bill in the coming weeks. With legislature finally approving lottery in Mississippi, five states in the country remain without […]
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Doyle Brunson may be declared retired in his poker pro career according to his Wiki page, but he still is active in playing the game, and everyone who knows him is that one of his favorite venues to play at is inside the famous Bellagio's Bobby's poker room.
The 85-year-old 10-time WSOP bracelet winner, thanks to his recent poker session victories in said Bobby's Room, has now treated himself to a brand-new Cadillac Escalade (ranging from $75k to $100k), and he's thanking the poker players he d[...]
One of the largest and most influential casino operators in the United States is one step closer to gaining an even bigger share of the gambling market in the country. On Wednesday, Penn National Gaming announced it has secured an approval from the gambling regulator in Missouri in relation to the pending acquisition of Las-Vegas […]
The post Penn National Nears Closure of Pinnacle Takeover with Missouri Approval appeared first on CasinoGamesPro.com.
I just turned off the television set after listening to the coverage of the death of Sen. John McCain.
While McCain's political foes and friends heaped praise on the Arizona maverick who died of brain cancer just days before his 82nd birthday, they left out a significant fact about his life.
McCain the gamblerHe was addicted to dice and played high-stakes craps in casinos around the world, from the Caribbean to Foxwoods in Connecticut. He played in casinos in New Orleans, Atlantic City and Las Vegas and he played big.
His maternal grandfather Arch Wright was a bootlegger and gambler who made a fortune in oil after buying land in Oklahoma that produced oil for gold coins and liquor.
All the cable television networks:
Fox News, CNN and MSNBC -- told about McCain's paternal grandfather who was an Admiral in the U.S. Navy. But I never heard a word about Arch who was married to his mother who is still alive at 106.
McCain was a gambler who lived to take chances. That was one reason why he picked Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, to be his running mate when he ran for President in 2008.
He upset poker players......around the country, including Doyle Brunson, when he voted for legislation that would have criminalized Internet gambling on poker. The bill would have provided a fine and up to three months in prison for anyone who used a computer to bet on a poker hand.
Brunson, three times winner of the World Series of Poker, said, 'God help the Internet gambler business if McCain happens to win.' He ultimately admitted voting for McCain, saying, 'If I go to hell, it won't be because I voted for John McCain.'
Now I don't know if the late Senator was a saint or sinner. But I do know that on Sept. 27, 2008, the New York Times published a story in its Sunday edition exposing McCain's addiction to dice and his legislative support for Indian casinos across the country.
His help propelled Indian casinos......from a fledgling industry into a nationwide business that pumps more than $30 billion a year into tribal treasuries thanks to the more than 430 Indian casinos operating across the U.S.
The Times article told of McCain and a couple of staffers winning thousands of dollars in a room reserved for high stakes gamblers at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut. He was tossing black $100 chips around the table like they were dollar bills, according to observers. One of his fellow players was Scott Reed, a lobbyist who represents the casino owned by the Mashantucket Pequot, the tribe that built Foxwoods.
McCain was a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee at the time he was gambling.
No member of the U.S. Senate or Congress did more than McCain in promoting Indian gambling casinos in America. And the casinos rewarded his help by contributing millions of dollars to his election campaigns.
In May 2007 while he was running for President, he spent a weekend at a fund-raising event at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. His longtime friend J. Terrence Lanni, chief executive of the casino, hosted the fund-raiser which added $400,000 to McCain's bank account.
After the event, McCain attended a boxing match and then spent the rest of the evening at the dice tables.
McCain was a close friend of Arizona Rep. Morris Udall, a Democrat who defended Indian cases. Before his death in 1998, Udall asked McCain not to forget the Indians. Both men helped write the Indian Gaming Regulation Act of 1988 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled states had no legal right to control gambling on reservations.
He favored sports betting in states where gambling is legal and he went on record as supporting talks with the American public and Congressional hearings on the matter.
I am just wondering why none of American's television journalists bothered to bring up any of this information when they marked McCain's passing.
Do some gamblers beat the odds on a regular basis? The answer is of course they do.
Is it an easy process?Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't. It depends on which game you are playing, the makeup of the casino, and even the casino itself. But the good news is it can happen.
Michael Shackleford is a young man who is known as the Wizard of Odds. He was given the nickname because of his ability to overcome the odds at various casino games.
Michael is a winner.
He earns a good living analyzing casino games. A resident of Las Vegas, NV., he is employed as an adjunct professor of casino mathematics at the University of Nevada.
He admits to launching his gambling career at age 11. He has been a consistent winner at blackjack, video poker and sports betting for the past 20 years.
Shackleford avoids losing by staying away from mindless games like slot machines and keno. The more complex a game of chance is, the easier it is to overcome the odds, he says. That is why he enjoys video poker.
Blackjack or 21 can be beaten if a player uses the basic strategy to shift the odds to his favor. The strategy has been developed over the years by such blackjack experts as Edward O. Thorp.
Here is the strategy in capsule form If you have eight or under, take a hit regardless of what the dealer shows. If you have a nine and the dealer shows three, four, five or six, go down for double. If the dealer is showing two or seven, hit. If you have 10 and the dealer a card between two and nine, double down. If the dealer has a 10 or ace, hit. If you have 11 and the dealer is showing two through 10, double down. If the dealer has an ace, hit. If you have `1, hit when the dealer shows two, three or seven. Stand if the dealer shows four, five or six. If you have 13 through 16 and the dealer has seven or higher, hit. If the dealer has two through six, stand. And always stand if you have 17 through 21. Bill Zender.......is known as the ultimate gambler insider. He is a former dealer, professional card counter and casino floor manager. He says a good card counter can gain a 1.5 percent advantage over blackjack.
To beat the odds, Zender advises players to watch for sloppy dealers who have a habit of exposing their hole card.
He also likes roulette and notes that roulette wheels can become worn and biased so that certain numbers are repeated. Quite a few years ago a player named Joseph Jagger found such a wheel at the famed Monte Carlo Casino and won more than $400,000, equivalent to $7.8 million today.
Zender recommended against playing slot machines. If you must play the slots, he says, stay away from the penny slots since they give the casino a 15 to 20 percent advantage over the players. Instead play the $5 or higher slots and play them for the maximum.
Stay away from keno. Some casinos have a built-in advantage of up to 35 percent. He points out that nobody has ever hit 20 out of 20 spots in the history of keno because the odds against it happening are one in 3.5 quintillion.
Video poker gives the House a slim 0.46 advantage to expert players. Most players are not that skillful, so study up on the odds before you play.
Two college buddies at the University of Chicago took a break from their classes and rode their motorcycles to Las Vegas to try to win at roulette. Albert 'Al' Hibbs was a math student and Roy Wolford was studying to be a physician.
They began taking notes on the winning numbers on roulette wheels and discovered biases in a couple of machines. They played those machines and won enough money to buy a boat which they used to sail around the world.
Hibbsbecame famous by teaming up with one of his professors to write a textbook, 'Quantum Mechanics and Path Integrals.' After graduation, he joined NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he become the mission announcer -- the 'Voice of JPL.' He played a major role in the launch of Explorer 1, the first American satellite to orbit the earth six weeks after Russia launched Sputnik.
You can beat the odds. It takes work and practice, but it can happen. Good luck. Let the games begin.
It looks like poker in Ukraine could potentially be able to flourish once again right after the country's Ministry of Youth and Sport decided to re-classify the game as a sport, thus exempting it from the country's anti-gambling laws.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Youth and Sport published document 3780. Written in Ukrainian language, the translation says that "II.119 sport poker" is now included on the country's Register of Recognized Sports.
Ministers switch back and forth on [...] 
The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska hopes their new casino in Iowa to be open and fully operational in October. The gaming facility, which is now under construction at Carter Lake, would be named Prairie Flower Casino, the tribe announced Monday. The casino project has a couple of phases, but the first one will include a […]
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Despite lawmakers’ long-lasting efforts to bring Mississippi residents a lottery and boost state budget with $80 million in annual revenue, Mississippi still remains one of the six states without a lottery. In a surprising vote Monday night, the House of Representatives rejected Gov. Phil Bryant’s proposal for a state lottery. Monday was the third day […]
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Vince Van Patten, an announcer for the World Poker Tour, who co-wrote and starred in an upcoming poker film.
After the movie Molly's Game that was released last year, poker fans have a new movie coming their way very soon and its main cast is the World Poker Tour's Vince Van Patten. According to IMDb.com, "Walk to Vegas" is based on a true story about Hollywood big shots who will bet on anything.
The film was written by Van Patten himself and Steve Alper. It was directed by Eric Balfour who ha[...] 
Massachusetts’ first integrated casino resort, MGM Springfield, opened with a bang on Friday, gathering thousands of visitors during the weekend. While many people swarmed in for the entertainment, provided by the rich concert schedule, hundreds were heading for the gaming floor where the 2,550 slot machines and 120 gaming tables were just the beginning. Friday […]
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Isn't it interesting how the facts of life catch up with all of us?
My brother had a friend named Nick who was a retired steelworker. Nick was married to the sister of my brother's wife. He had $500,000 in the bank and his favorite hobbies were going to the casino, playing the slots, and talking to my brother.
Nick was intrigued by my lifestyle. He couldn't understand how I could divide my time between writing and visiting casinos to play poker and write stories about what I had done. He told my brother Legs I was living on the edge.
On the surface, Nick was a happy man. He had plenty of money in his bank account, he was married to an attractive woman, he lived in a nice house, and he could live his life pretty much as he pleased.
Then tragedy struck...... his only son died in an accident at the place where he worked. Nick was devastated.
Life lost all meaning for him. One day he walked onto a bridge spanning the river that flowed near where he lived. He removed his jacket, placed it on the railing, and leaped into the river.
I know a few gamblers who, like me, live on the edge. It is part of their lifestyle and they are willing to take the risks that go with it.
I liked Nick. He had a good mind, was a good conversationalist, asked a lot of questions, and was a good listener. But he couldn't cope with the personal tragedy of losing his son. He was living on the edge.
There are recreational gamblers who do it for excitement and entertainment. They can afford their losses and enjoy their wins.
There are also professional gamblers who do it for a living. Their lifestyles and bankrolls depend on how well they play and how lucky they are on the draw. They live from day to day and if they have a losing session, they shrug it off. They are living on the edge and accept its rewards as well as its limitations.
Nick was right. I do live on the edge and to be frank, it has never bothered me.
Gamblers are Some of the Most IntriguingThey have stories to tell -- humorous stories, tales that can break your heart, and stories of winning against the odds. They are my kind of people.
My brother Legs thinks Nick was a winner. He bases this on the fact that Nick left behind a big bank account and a nice house when he decided to take his life.
Excuse me. I think my brother is wrong. Nick was a loser. He lived on the edge and fell off.
SoftSwiss and Bgaming, two respectable companies that have combined their brands to offer both catalogs of white-label software and cryptocurrency products, are entering a new phase of unity by signing a partnership with Jackpot.de.
The rapidly growing brand decided to include its games on Germany’s popular social casino platform after a successful showcasing at this year’s iGB Live! In Amsterdam.
A Multiple ContractApart from signing a supply deal with Jackpot.de whose platform is centered around gameplay for virtual chips, Bgaming has also pinned multiple agreements with other websites relative to the brand, includng MyJackpot.com, VeraVegas.com and Merkur24.com.
An important component of each site is its internal credit system that can be augmented via social activities and real money acquisitions. More importantly, the website’s social status has even launched a promotional campaign on public television, becoming a major source of success in Germany. In addition, other countries where the Jackpot brand is among top-performing domains, have also initiated a similar project.
iGaming Sphere ExpansionSince the merging, Bgaming has invested a lot of energy into making integrations with potential industry partners. The team is on constant lookout, finding new and innovative ways to incorporate its catalog of vibrant casino games and widen the iGaming sphere.
A lot of highly rated gaming platforms such as 7Bit Casino, Oshi, BetChan and mBit now feature supplier’s fantastic releases, including Aztec Magic Deluxe, Platinum Lightning Deluxe and Fire Lightning. The library is perhaps small in size, but the provider has promised a new product line until the end of 2018.
In summary, the brand’s offerings will launch alongside other top-ranking software releases from BetSoft and Pragmatic Play, guaranteeing countless hours of entertainment on Jackpot.de.
Source:
“Games from Bgaming go social on Jackpot.de”, softswiss.com, August 24, 2018.
Primorsky Krai is one of the rapidly developing regions in the Asia-Pacific region and Russia is willing to explore the opportunities foreign investors could offer. The latest news came after a Korean casino developer and operator K-International Inc. recently made known its desire to work on a new entertainment resort in the area which could […]
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An important aspect of growing a successful business in the gambling industry is achieved through strengthening the company’s leadership. On that account, BtoBet has made the next step towards bolstering the group’s structure by appoiting Jean-Baptiste Cerna as its Head of Gaming.
After entering the Peruvian market, the major sportsbook and iGaming provider is using all the necessary opportunities to keep up with the fast-paced and ever-changing industry. By appointing a huge expert such as Cerna, who possesses enormous knowledge of various gaming scenarios, the company will ensure a leading position in the industry, and, according to Jean-Baptiste, his new role will be based on a threefold principle:
“My first responsibility is to bring a direct business point of view in different aspects of our Gaming Platform. Having a clear vision of the needs from both the operator’s side and ultimately the players themselves, I have to translate those requirements in evolutions and functionalities to make our platform a ‘must to play on’.”
Guidelines For Best Player ExperienceThe expert added that his new mission as head of gaming at BtoBet also includes the improvement of clients’ operations, as well as to establish strategy that would ensure maximum player experience on all gaming platforms. In addition to his statement, the group’s chairman, Alessandro Fried, said that adding Cerna to the team will help transforming the company’s strategic growth, which is crucial for further evolution on the market and the overall improvement of products.
Perhaps the greatest asset of BtoBet is its talented and well-trained development team, who manages to completely personalize sports betting opportunities and iGaming offerings, both for mobile and retail. The company’s technical branches are located all over Europe, but its main teams are stationed in Macedonia, Serbia, Italy and so on.
Source:
“BtoBet Bolsters Its Structure With New Head Of Gaming”, George Miller, europeangaming.eu, August 22, 2018.
The Borgata may have been successful in winning their court dispute against poker pro Phil Ivey over the baccarat winnings he earned by using a technique called edge sorting at the casino, but another obstacle reared its head up, and this time it is when exactly the poker pro will be able to pay that money.
According to Card Player magazine, court documents reveal that the Borgata legal team is now asking a federal court to deny a motion from Ivey's attorneys that would delay the judgment and a[...] 
Management board of Mybet Holding announced this past Tuesday that the company is preparing to file for insolvency, soon after the demise of talks with a key strategic investor...
...The agreement with the said unnamed investor was not reached after the signing of a non-exclusive term sheet last month. The company owes €4 million in sports betting.
Bleak EndingMybet's official statement says that the background for the insolvency proceedings is the "failure of discussions with potential investors." Another big contributing factor is the Frankfurt Tax Office’s refusal of application that was filed by Personal Exchange International, Mybet's company based in Malta, that was supposed to "suspend enforcement regarding outstanding betting taxes."
"Today, the discussions with a strategic investor reported… on July 13 regarding the possible sale of the online business of Mybet Holding was closed. These talks failed due to conditions set by the investors which could not be fulfilled,” reads the statement.
The Curtain FallsAfter the talks with the investors have stalled, Mybet's share price has been in sharp decline. The talks were unsuccessful because of different opinions on the implementation of strategic and operational collaboration in the online sector.
The company's customers, however, will not feel the negative impact of this insolvency proceedings, due to the company's operations under MGA license requirements.
“While insolvency procedures are under way, existing customers should not be affected as Mybet operates under the Malta Gaming Authority license requirements which protect customers in numerous ways. The service continues to be available for customers until further notice. So currently there should be no effect.”
Things were going quite well last year, when Mybet did a complete revamp of their sports and casino offerings and Evolution Gaming helped them enrich their live table games collection.
Source:
"Mybet preparing to file for insolvency", sigma.com.mt, August 22, 2018.
Playing by the rules is essential in the gaming field and for those who fail to abide by them, penalties are being issued. Such is the case involving one of the leading sports betting provider CG Technology and the Nevada Gaming Commission which mulls over charging the provider a considerable penalty amounting to some $250,000 […]
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The week-long high roller tournament series expands to seven events. This is the second edition of the annual high-stakes tournament series, to be aired by the PokerGO Studio and the venue would be at the ARIA Resort & Casino.
According to the Poker Masters' website, "The Poker Masters revolutionizes the high roller landscape with a week of tournament poker at the highest stakes. The series pits the best players in the world against one another in a series of events, each with 7-figure pr[...] 
