10/27/2011

James Packer Whacks Poker Machine Reforms - 27th October 2011

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James Packer, chairman of casino owner Crown, says proposed poker machine reforms will not tackle problem gambling.

Speaking at Crown’s annual general meeting in Melbourne this morning, Mr Packer said mandatory pre-commitments for high-intensity poker machines was not the right solution.

"We don’t have an issue with the federal government taking action against problem gambling, but it must be the right solution," he said.

"In my view, there is no evidence that introducing mandatory pre-commitment or introducing a one dollar maximum bet will be effective in tackling problem gambling, but it will hurt recreational players, and that will cost jobs and investment across the industry and cost the state government tax revenue used for essential community services.

"It’s not enough to identify the right problem, we need the right solution." Crown, which owns the Crown Casino in Melbourne and Burswood Casino in Perth, is concerned about problem gambling and always has been, Mr Packer said. "I believe no one in this country, or, in fact, in the world-wide casino industry, has done more to address problem gambling," he said.

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10/24/2011

The Darling At The Star Opens Friday, by Greg Tingle - 24th October 2011

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Well, we've all heard of Star City Casino, recently rebranded as The Star, but wait for it... introducing you to The Darling which opens its luxurious doors this Friday.

This presser is not about gambling at all, except for the fact that it's all part of The Star, owned by Echo Entertainment.

Echo Entertainment and James Packer's Crown Limited (aka Crown Casino) are locked in a casino war battle for VIP's and whales, with lear jets and "lucky money" all the rage for the privileged few.

Don't worry about new friend of the Star, movie star, Leonardo DiCaprio. He's got a whole floor at The Star for his famous mixing of business and pleasure.

Regular punters might not be in for a whole floor, but the suites are so sweet, you'll hardly noticed. You might feel like a movie star yourself after checking out the digs at the new hotel.

We're hear via the grapevine that Echo Entertainment has a promo for Australia’s media, gaming and travel press, so we will look forward to your kind offer then.

The Darling is set in the high spot of the market. Get this, you have the hotel and spa, swell views of Sydney Harbour, and you can choose from 171 rooms and suites. There's 5 penthouse suites located on the top floors and the view of the Harbour is to die for.

The Hotel also has 9 Stellar Suites, designed for comfort providing a ‘home away from home’ feel, 8 Adored Suites which exude a high end residential feel, 35 spacious Jewel Suites and 113 Darling Rooms. Yes, something for everyone, who can afford it.

The Darling wants full rooms, not low occupancy rates, hence their generosity with Australian news media, gaming and travel biz types. It's wonderful that The Star appreciate the fine job that Australian press has done for theme in their transforming of their once "ugly duckling" casino or "RSL on you know what casino jack", which wasn't exactly complimentary.

The Darling Hotel GM named the hotel "refined with subdued hues, yet the ambiance warm and inviting".

"Our guests will experience a one of a kind mix of an entertainment destination, a relaxed urban culture, a contemporary design, all overlooking the spectacular Sydney Skyline."

The gorgeous 16 room spa is a major drawing point The Darling and sports both oriental and European themes and beauty goodies.

The Hotel lobby shows off art by both Australian and international artists. We've also heard there's a billiard table that you should also try your luck on.

If you have time, check out the Japanese restaurant, Sokyo, as well as the well stocked bar, located near the lobby.

So impressed are Australian press by all that The Star offers, media agencies such as Media Man are lining up to do extra reviews. The right press is more important the advertising, so The Star and Echo Entertainment powers that be would do well to make sure the press stays on side, as soon the love affair and honeymoon period with media may be over.

From our estimation The Star is continuing to live up to the hype, and we're looking forward to spending much more time there... starting tomorrow, with the red carpet event which compliments Stevie Wonder's exclusive concert at The Lyric Theatre.







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10/23/2011

Pokerfest: PartyPoker’s inaugural online tournament festival starts Sunday

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Series runs until 6th November - quality from as little as $1 NOW!

Gibraltar – 21 October 2011 – The countdown is on for the arrival of PartyPoker.com’s inaugural online poker festival – Pokerfest. With 47 events in a range of game types, the festival starts THIS SUNDAY 23rd October – 6th November guaranteeing $3,000,000. Qualifiers starting from $1 are online now!

A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: "We kick off on Sunday with four no limit hold’em events with guarantees of $300k, $2k, $20k and $150k – these cater for players on all levels with the $2k requiring a points buy-in only. The no limit re-buy tournaments start Monday, with the Pot Limit Omaha dominating Tuesday – the fixed limit hold’em tournaments start on Thursday."

Team PartyPoker.com Pro Kara Scott looks ahead to Pokerfest. Tony G calls everyone out for what he calls a 'Meatfest'.

At least three events every day

Pokerfest will feature at least three events EVERY DAY covering a variety of buy-ins and game types. Below is just some highlights of what is on offer:

· Event #47 - $1,000,000 guaranteed main event - $640 buy-in (qualify from $1)
· Event #23 - $350,000 guaranteed - $215 buy-in (qualify from $2.50)
· Event #46 - $50,000 guaranteed - $33 buy-in
· Event #2 - $2,000 prizepool - 20 Points buy-in

Qualify from as little as $1

PartyPoker.com want everyone to be a part of Pokerfest so they have developed a number of fantastic qualifying routes so players can qualify for a fraction of the main buy-in. There is also a wide range of extra promotions and side events - click on the tabs on the site to check out the $100k leaderboards and get the scoop on how to qualify for a fraction of the buy-in. The grand finale of Pokerfest is the $1,000,000 guaranteed main event taking place at 13.30ET on Sunday 6th November.

Variety of buy-ins and game types

Pokerfest will feature three events every day covering a variety of buy-ins for the following game types:

· No Limit Hold ‘em
· No Limit Hold ‘em + Rebuy(s)
· No Limit Hold ‘em, 6 max table, deep stack Fixed Limit Hold ‘em
· Pot Limit Omaha
· Pot Limit Omaha + Rebuy(s)

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10/22/2011

Donald Trump Teams With Avenue’s Lasry in Online Gaming Venture; Casino And Poker Push - 20th October 2011

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Donald Trump has witnessed too much money side slipping him, and he's hoping that situation changes soon.

The real estate, gaming and entertainment giant, and founder of an Atlantic City casino company says the US should legalize internet gambling. The company that bears his name, Trump Entertainment Resorts, is moving forward with plans to establish an online betting venture... just as soon as it is legal to do so.

The company says it wants to get in on the ground floor of the internet gambling industry, and is close to selecting a joint venture partner to run an online gambling operation. The idea is to be well-placed and ready to go as soon as such activity is legalized in the United States.

"It should be approved here," Trump told news media. "An awful lot of money is leaving the U.S. that should and could stay in this country."

Trump Entertainment, which includes Donald Trump and daughter, Ivanka, and the Avenue Capital hedge fund, would own 10% of the new business venture.

Donald Trump advised the key to success in the online gambling market is having the best brand.

"We think we have the hottest brand there is, the Trump brand, my personal brand," he said. "We think it's going to do phenomenally well."

Donald Trump and New York hedge-fund manager Marc Lasry want a seat at the virtual poker table if online gambling is legalized in the U.S.

The real estate financier, Lasry’s Avenue Capital Group and casino operator Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. will form an Internet gaming joint venture should U.S. regulators permit such businesses to operate, according to an Oct. 14 regulatory filing. Trump Entertainment, which Avenue Capital took control of last year, would own 10% of the venture, the company said in its filing. It didn’t disclose the stakes to be held by Trump or Lasry’s $12 billion hedge fund.

The agreement coincides with a push to legalize online gambling by states including Iowa and New Jersey, where Trump Entertainment is based and holds casino licenses. The $6 billion that Americans wager each year through offshore sites is tempting state authorities who face budget deficits, as well as casino companies looking for new sources of growth.

"It’s just a matter of time," Ivanka Trump, Donald’s daughter, said in a telephone interview. "It would be a tremendous source of taxable revenue for states or the federal government and an enormous generator of jobs," said Ivanka, executive vice president of development and acquisitions for the Trump Organization, the New York-based parent company of Donald’s real estate operations.

2010 Bankruptcy

Todd Fogarty, a spokesman for Avenue Capital, declined to comment, as did Brian Cahill, a representative for Trump Entertainment. Lasry, 52, is chairman of the company, which operates the Trump Taj Mahal Resort and the Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino in its hometown of Atlantic City, New Jersey. It sold Trump Marina Hotel Casino earlier this year.

The agreement by Trump Entertainment, Donald Trump and Avenue Capital restricts all three parties from going after competing proposals through May, according to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Trump Entertainment, which emerged from bankruptcy in July 2010, said in the filing that the joint venture represented "the most advantageous way" to pursue online gaming "at minimal cost" to the company. "One or more other qualified parties" may also participate in the venture, according to the filing.

Ivanka Trump, 29, said that the joint venture is “positioning itself” to be the largest online gaming company if the industry is legalized in the U.S. She added that Trump Entertainment had the necessary licenses, while Lasry’s firm would provide the capital and her father would contribute his name to the venture.

Expensive Proposition

"In terms of the Internet, brand is essential toward attracting players," Ivanka said. "The Trump brand would be the most powerful one in this space."

Setting up an Internet gaming site can be capital intensive, according to Richard “Skip” Bronson, chairman of U.S. Digital Gaming Inc., a Beverly Hills, California, company that has created a technology platform for Internet wagering. While the cost of creating a site is relatively low, online gaming companies must spend heavily to make themselves known and bring in bettors.

"The question is how will you get people to come to the site," Bronson said in a telephone interview. "It takes unique promotions and significant marketing spend."

Trump Entertainment Reorganization

The online gaming industry received a jolt in April, when the U.S. Justice Department indicted the founders of three Internet poker companies, alleging that they circumvented a 2006 federal law barring banks from processing payments to offshore gambling websites. The companies -- PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker -- ranked as the leading online poker sites doing business with U.S. customers, even though they were all based outside the country.

Following the indictments, Caesars Entertainment Corp. and MGM Resorts International, a pair of Las Vegas-based casino companies, funded an advocacy group called FairPlay USA. The group is pushing for the legalization of online poker and revisions to the 2006 law, known as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

At least a half dozen states have bills pending tied to the legalization of online gaming, Bronson said, and another six to 10 are studying the issue. He predicts that online gaming will follow the same pattern as state lotteries, which were first adopted in 1964 by New Hampshire and are now offered in 43 states.

‘Domino Effect’

"There will be a domino effect, the same way lotteries started in the 1960s," Bronson said. Under the 2006 federal law, Internet poker sites established in states that legalize online wagering could only accept bets placed within those states, Bronson added.

Lasry, a billionaire investor who specializes in distressed debt, was part of a bondholder group that won control of Trump Entertainment last year when a bankruptcy judge ruled that their bid for the casino company was better than a competing offer from Carl Icahn. The bondholders offered to reduce the company’s debt by $1.4 billion and invest another $225 million, while Icahn sought to convert some $480 million of bank debt into equity, leaving nothing for Lasry’s group.

Under the winning plan, Avenue Capital acquired about a 22 percent stake in Trump Entertainment by swapping the casino company’s beaten-down bonds for stock and purchasing additional shares through a rights offering. Trump, who joined Lasry and the other bondholders after originally submitting a competing proposal with billionaire Andy Beal, received a 10 percent stake in the company for the right to use his name.

Three’s A Charm

Trump, 65, entered the casino business in 1984 with the Trump Plaza, and in 1990 defaulted on $675 million in junk bonds from his Taj Mahal casino and declared bankruptcy. Following the bankruptcy reorganization, he took the company public in 1995 as Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc.

Trump Hotels & Casino filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2004. When the second bankruptcy proceeding was completed the following year, Trump stepped down as chief executive officer while retaining his role as chairman, and the company was renamed Trump Entertainment Resorts.

Just before the casino company made its third bankruptcy filing, in February 2009, Trump stepped down as chairman and Ivanka also left the board. At the time, he held a 24 percent stake in Trump Entertainment.

Lasry has hosted high-stakes poker games in which the take can be as high as $20,000, according to "Hedge Hunters," a 2007 book by Bloomberg News reporter Katherine Burton. He is one of several hedge-fund managers who are also poker buffs, including David Einhorn, head of Greenlight Capital Inc., Cliff Asness, chief of AQR Capital Management LLC and Kenneth Griffin, founder of Citadel LLC.

Just a few online gaming companies that are understood to be interested in coming to business terms with Trump include Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, Richard Branson's Virgin Games and PKR. Most experts see Bwin.Party as the best bet, as they don't have any outstanding issues with the US Department of Justice, and have been playing by the rules (law) for many years, while other gambling companies continue to go after U.S players.

Internet gambling is legal in many countries, with the U.S being a glaring exception.

Media Man is following up.

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10/21/2011

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment tipped to be dominant player; Buy rec, by Greg Tingle - 21st October 2011

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Medium to long term investment prospect, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment (LON:BPTY) could be the dominant player in online gaming across Europe, deriving the majority of its profits from regulated markets, states UBS analyst Simon Whittington.

In the meantime, the company is buying back shares, paying around 5% dividend yield, and driving double-digit EBITDA growth, underpinned by conservative synergies, he added.

UBS rates the firm a 'buy' with a 12 month target price of 185 pence (current price: 104.8 pence).

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Donald Trump says US should legalize Internet betting - 21st October 2011

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Donald Trump has witnessed lots of money side slipping him, and he's hoping that situation changes soon.

The real estate, gaming and entertainment tsar, and founder of an Atlantic City casino company says the US should legalize internet gambling. The company that bears his name, Trump Entertainment Resorts, is moving forward with plans to establish an online betting venture... just as soon as it is legal to do so.

The company says it wants to get in on the ground floor of the internet gambling industry, and is close to selecting a joint venture partner to run an online gambling operation. The idea is to be well-placed and ready to go as soon as such activity is legalized in the United States.

"It should be approved here," Trump told news media. "An awful lot of money is leaving the U.S. that should and could stay in this country."

Trump Entertainment, which includes Donald Trump and daughter, Ivanka, and the Avenue Capital hedge fund, would own 10% of the new business venture.

Donald Trump advised the key to success in the online gambling market is having the best brand.

"We think we have the hottest brand there is, the Trump brand, my personal brand," he said. "We think it's going to do phenomenally well."

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Trump Entertainment said it has "determined that such a joint venture represents the most advantageous way for the company to participate in opportunities in online gaming at minimal cost to the company."

No cost estimates were given, and Robert Griffin, the company's CEO, declined to comment Thursday. But in March, after Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill passed by New Jersey lawmakers that would have allowed Internet betting solely within New Jersey's borders, Griffin said the money lost to offshore operators should benefit New Jersey.

The new law would seen New Jersey become the first state in the nation to allow Internet betting.

"Currently, millions of Americans engage in online gaming with illegal offshore operators, and do so with no oversight, no regulation or no consumer protections," Griffin said at the time. "It makes sense for the state of New Jersey to regulate this activity, enforce strict standards to ensure games are fair and safe, and in turn be able to collect tax revenue instead of having those dollars and the jobs they support leaving New Jersey and going illegally overseas."

Christie advised he vetoed the law fearing it was unconstitutional and could lead to an explosion of betting parlors throughout the state. By law, gambling in New Jersey is restricted to gaming hotspot Atlantic City.

But a New Jersey lawmaker is asserting that individual states in fact have the legal right to offer in-state Internet gambling within their own borders.

State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, D-Union, wrote in July to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder asserting that New Jersey and all other states can legally offer online betting within their borders.

Lesniak said he will introduce legislation in November to address the prime concerns expressed by Christie.

The filing said the company, Donald and Ivanka Trump, and Avenue Capital have signed an agreement authorizing the joint venture once it becomes legal, and that prohibits any of them from seeking other online gambling ventures through May 2012.

Atlantic City is in the midst of a nearly 5-year revenue slump brought on by increasing competition from casinos in neighboring states, and worsened by the continuing unsteady economy. It's also speculated that many AC businesses have not adapted well to the internet medium.

Just a few online gaming companies that are understood to be interested in coming to business terms with Trump include Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, Richard Branson's Virgin Games and PKR. Most experts see Bwin.Party as the best bet, as they don't have any outstanding issues with the US Department of Justice, and have been playing by the rules (law) for many years, while other gambling companies continue to go after U.S players.

Internet gambling is legal in many countries, with the U.S being a glaring exception.

Media Man is following up.

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10/20/2011

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Nears Finalizing US Deals, by Greg Tingle

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Jim Ryan, the co-chief executive of Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment is a very busy man.

In fact, he's invested three of the past five weeks in the United States pushing a presentation that advertised to investors the strengths of the world’s largest publicly-traded online gambling - gaming firm. Ryan’s presentation included a one-page chart that listed the top online poker brands in the U.S. market. The names of once fierce competitors PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, were crossed out in red. Is Party the only real game left in town? Time will tell.

“Where you see the red lines, those organizations have been indicted, so although one can’t predict the future, it’s unlikely you will see those brands back in the U.S.,” Ryan said during an interview. “The brand that has the most consumer awareness is in fact the PartyPoker brand.”

Ryan’s company happens to own both PartyPoker and the World Poker Tour, two of the top online poker brands that did not have their U.S. operations shut down by the U.S. Justice Department in April because they were not facilitating for-money online poker play in America—in the case of PartyPoker since 2006. They also own PartyCasino, a top online casino destination website. The fact that Ryan, who is based in Gibraltar, has recently been spending so much time in the U.S. demonstrates he is optimistic and hopeful for a U.S. comeback. “My focus is on the U.S.,” says Ryan, who is in the final stages of negotiating partnerships with two U.S. companies. “Even though there is no guarantee that online gaming will ever regulate in the U.S.”

For years Ryan and his staff at PartyGaming, which merged with Bwin earlier this year, had to sit on the sidelines, watching how much money PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker were snatching. It was a difficult thing to watch for the top brass and workers at PartyGaming, which was the biggest online gambling company in the world thanks to its domination of the U.S. online poker market until Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006. PartyGaming exited the U.S. market and saw its stock price take a massive hit, while PokerStars and Full Tilt kept their U.S. facing .com websites on air. Party competitors enjoyed somewhat of an unfair advantage, with the rouges using the U.S. market to expand globally at PartyGaming’s expense. “We were beyond the point of frustration,” says Ryan.

Next PartyGaming struck a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, paying $105 million and admitting its U.S. operations had for years violated U.S. law. Meanwhile, PokerStars and Full Tilt continued to operate in the U.S. and claimed that their U.S. operations did not violate U.S. law, pointing to legal opinions the companies had received from top American legal eagles. To many, it appeared like PartyGaming had given a lucrative business away. Even at the company’s headquarters there were doubts until April 2011, when federal prosecutors in Manhattan closed down the U.S. operations of PokerStars and Full Tilt, naming them illegal gambling businesses, and indicted some of their key execs. "I think Party has been vindicated now in getting out when they did and in dealing with the Department of Justice," says Behnam Dayanim, a partner at Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider, who negotiated PartyGaming’s agreement with federal prosecutors in downtown Manhattan.

With all that said, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment is not exactly holding a management party quite yet. It's so close, yet so far, from reclaiming online poker’s crown. Operating in highly-regulated and taxed European markets while competing against well-run companies like PokerStars is not for the faint-hearted. Bwin.Party’s stock, which trades on the prestigious London Stock Exchange, has dipped by 50% in 2011. Big corporate mergers can be problematic, but the outfit has also suffered a setback in Germany, where the nation’s top civil court recently decided to uphold an online gambling ban, and been dissed by higher gaming duties across Europe. When the company attempted to take advantage of the April U.S. shutdown of PokerStars and Full Tilt, Bwin.Party found that while some new European players were attracted to its poker brands, revenues remained flat-ish. It wasn’t until Full Tilt’s European regulator suspended Full Tilt’s license in late June that Bwin.Party’s increased advertising and promotional expenditures started to pay dividends. PartyPoker is now the second-biggest online poker room in the world, according to PokerScout, averaging 4,150 cash players during any given time. PokerStars has 22,800.

Ryan, who joined PartyGaming as CEO in 2008, has been waiting for this moment for what seems like forever. He long ago took Bwin’s Norbert Teufelberger to a McDonald’s in La Linea, Spain, and chatted to him at length about the pros of combining Bwin’s strong online sportsbook business with PartyGaming’s poker brands, resulting in the merger that was first announced in 2010. Ryan also fine-tuned his company’s business-to-business capabilities over the last few years with an eye toward finding a U.S. partner with whom he can re-conquer America. "We had to be realistic about where we sat in the food chain," says Ryan. "We figured if the U.S. regulated it would be unlikely that we would secure a license directly, that the laws of the land would be written to allow existing land operators and equipment manufacturers in the U.S. to secure the licenses." Ryan is optimistic about current efforts in Washington, driven by the American Gaming Association and powerful casino companies like Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts, to potentially get some sort of online gambling legislation through a divided Congress. Ryan notes he is also preparing for the possibility that online poker gets regulated first on a state-by-state basis.

"We have to be ready for both federal or state," he says. "It feels good to have American taxpaying companies finally driving this.".

If an offshore operator is to succeed in American, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment looks like the firm to place bets with.

Bwin.Party has identified Australia and New Zealand as places to further expand their business, even sponsoring high profile poker players such as Tony G and Stewart Scott (a former Crown Casino 'Aussie Millions' champion.) PartyPoker is one of a number of rumoured brands set to take over the sponsorship spot at James Packer's Crown Casino that FTP once enjoyed. Party look to have as much chance as anyone, probably more so.

In the meantime, poker and casino game players in regions such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Italy, South America, South Africa and beyond can continue to enjoy their gaming.

Poker playing celebs such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Tobey McGuire are understood to be open to sponsorship approaches from Bwin.Party.

Governments of the world - you're throw of the dice.

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10/19/2011

Crown Casino Caught Out By Fake VIP Gambling Whale - 19th October 2011

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It took a "high-value" casino whale type gambler snatched by Crown Casino about five minutes to create the paperwork that duped the venue into advancing him $125,000 that he hoped would recoup what he had lost at its tables.

Jung Hwan Choi dropped $200,000 there last year and yesterday a Melbourne court heard how his "inherently simplistic" scam beat the house.

The County Court was told that Choi was flown to Melbourne from Sydney in November last year in a visit organised by a casino marketing executive.

Prosecutor Amanda Ring advised Choi accessed his bank account at an internet cafe to transfer from his mother's account $1 and then copied the screen shot of the receipt's transaction and his balance.

With the images stored on a USB device, Ms Ring said he then imported them onto a PowerPoint program from which he changed his bank balance from $12.87 to $284,000.

Choi also altered the $1 transfer receipt to reflect a transfer of $100,000 from his account to Crown.

Arriving cashless at the casino on November 14, he was greeted by an executive host who sighted Choi's account balance and the transfer receipt and was advanced $100,000.

After gambling "heavily and unsuccessfully" that night, Ms Ring said Choi the next day was advanced $25,000 in gaming chips.

Arrested in February, Choi told police he had been "desperate" and had lost $200,000 at Crown over several months and "I wanted it back".

Defence barrister Geoffrey Steward said Crown's reaction to that "windfall" had been to ring him and invite him to dinner.

Mr Steward said Choi, 38, dined with a casino marketing executive and was gifted a $600 Louis Vuitton wallet.

"The cynical may say, 'Thank you for losing $200,000, you are welcome any time'," Mr Steward said of Choi's VIP status, which included plane trips, accommodation, limousines, food and beverages.

"You feel like a king, but he was more of a pauper than a king," he said.

Mr Steward told Judge Wendy Wilmoth that Crown did not deserve to lose its money, but to his client it was ''like a monolithic piranha dangling carrots'' of seduction, love and luxuries that were "incapable of resisting".

Choi, a married father of two, described himself as a now-reformed "gamblerholic" who had lost more than $2 million at casinos.

He pleaded guilty to two charges of obtaining a financial advantage by deception and one of making a false document.

Judge Wilmoth sentenced Choi to two years and three months jail, the term suspended for three years, with an order he pay compensation of $125,000.

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10/17/2011

WSOP Europe: Michael Mizrachi, Philippe Boucher Capture Bracelets As Championship Event Enters Day 1B - 16th October 2011

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As the €10,000 Championship Event of the 2011 World Series of Poker Europe enters its second Day One on Sunday, poker pros Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and Philippe Boucher captured the final two preliminary bracelets awarded on Saturday.

In the €10,000 Split Format No Limit Hold’em event, Mizrachi came back yesterday as a member of the Final Four who would determine the title. In his semi-final match against Roger Hairabedian, Michael slowly worked the heads up match to what was a startling conclusion. On the final hand of their matchup, Hairabedian flopped a set of fives on a J-8-5 board, but Mizrachi was able to best that by turning a straight with his 7-6 when a four found the turn. Once the board didn’t pair on the river, Michael Mizrachi was on to the final.

In the other semi-final match, Shawn Buchanan and Noah Schwartz battled it out for the right to face “The Grinder.” Buchanan methodically worked his way into a comfortable lead against Schwartz before getting him to commit his final chips with a mediocre offering. After a minimum raise from Shawn, Noah decided to make a three-bet stand for his last chips with only an A-5 off suit. Buchanan quickly called, tabling his pocket Kings, and once the board ran dry (albeit with a bit of a flush sweat), Shawn Buchanan was the winner of the match.

As predicted here yesterday, the Mizrachi/Buchanan battle was a fierce one, although Michael came to the felt with a 2:1 chip lead over Shawn. “The Grinder,” true to his name, was able to gradually add on to his lead over the two hours of play; nothing that Buchanan attempted seemed to work as his chip stack slowly slipped southward. The end of the tournament was particularly brutal for Buchanan as, holding an A-J against Mizrachi’s A-10, a ten came on the flop to flip the lead to Mizrachi. Turn and river deuces sealed the deal for the 2010 $50K Poker Players’ Champion, giving him his second bracelet in as many years.

1. Michael Mizrachi (United States), €336,008
2. Shawn Buchanan (Canada), €207,624
3. Roger Hairabedian (France), €112,092
4. Noah Schwartz (United States), €112,092

The final table of the €1500 Six Handed Pot Limit Omaha tournament seemed to be more of a sprint than a marathon, highly unlike major championship final tables. Chile’s Nicolas Fierro came to the final table with the chip lead, but it was a one man wrecking ball by the name of Philippe Boucher who stole the show.

After taking almost an hour and a half before the first player, Jack Ellwood, was eliminated by Boucher, the Canadian pro would then storm his way through the remainder of the field. He would go on to knock off the entire table on his run to the title, only pausing slightly during heads up play against Michel Dattani. On the final hand, Dattani would commit his final chips holding an A-A-J-7 against the A-Q-10-9 of Boucher. After the board ran 6-6-8-J-Q to give him the winning straight, Philippe Boucher would pick up his first WSOP bracelet in just under four hours.

1. Philippe Boucher (Canada), €124,584
2. Michel Dattani (Portugal), €76,982
3. Nicolas Fierro (Chile), €53,426
4. Alexander Dovzhenko (Ukraine), €37,529
5. Jared Solomon (South Africa), €26,676
6. Jack Ellwood (United Kingdom), €19,181

While these two final tables wrapped up action, the first Day One of the €10,000 Championship Event was in play. 310 players eventually wound their way to the tables in the battle for the next WSOP Europe Main Event championship, guaranteeing that this will be the biggest Championship Event in the history of the WSOP Europe. Last year’s total number of players was “only” 346 and the record field for the tournament was in 2007 and 2008, when the tournament drew 362 players.

At the end of Day 1A, 173 players remained, with Jamie Rosen holding the chip lead with 162,700 in chips. Notable names in the Top Ten include the U. K.’s Chris Moorman and Erik Friberg, but there are threats looming down the leaderboard. Two time World Champion Johnny Chan is just off the leaderboard in eleventh place with 108,350 in chips, while Ramzi Jelassi, 2011 WSOP November Niner Ben Lamb, Carlos Mortensen, Will “The Thrill” Failla, Chad Brown and Arnaud Mattern are just some of the names in the Top 25.

Day 1B is currently in play, with 165 players stepping up for the action on Sunday. Some of the players who have made early moves during Day 1B include 2010 WSOP November Niner Filippo Candio, Robert Mizrachi, Tommy Vedes, Shannon Shorr, Bryan Devonshire, Sandra Naujoks, Mike “Timex” McDonald and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier. Defending World Champion Jonathan Duhamel, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Jean-Robert Bellande and Sorel Mizzi are all below their starting stacks, with “The Grinder” and Steve Billirakis two of this year’s WSOP Europe bracelet winners already eliminated from the tournament.

Final numbers for the Championship Event aren’t in yet, so the prize pool hasn’t been determined or the first place prize. However it plays out, the 2011 World Series of Poker Europe has been a record breaking schedule with its final stories yet to play out. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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10/16/2011

Underground Gambling TV Show With Vin Diesel; ‘Raising Blind’ To Clean Up Ratings, by Greg Tingle

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Raising Blind, a show on the world of underground gambling, is set to hit the airwaves, and massive ratings and mainstream media attention is expected.

FX will develop a potential series set in the world of underground gambling. The pilot will be penned by Ben Younger and Jay Longino, based on a story by Josh Marchette, Longino and Younger.

John Dahl, who covered underground gambling in Rounders, will direct the pilot show. Vin Diesel and his One Race Films is the production firm behind this. Executive David Ortiz is a key part of the projects success.

Diesel and Younger first tag teamed on the feature Boiler Room. Younger, Dahl, Longino and Marchette will be the executive producers. Diesel and Younger are represented by agency CAA and Brillstein, Dahl by UTA, and Longino by Roar and WME. Yes, a few agencies getting a piece of the pie.

This is the virgin small-screen producing credit for Diesel, a producer on Fast Five and the next round of The Fast And The Furious films, and the next slot of the Pitch Black series.

If you're into underground gambling, don't change your dial.

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10/14/2011

Brock Lesnar targets WWE: The Undertaker and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, by Greg Tingle - 14th October 2011

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UFC and former WWE man monster, Brock Lesnar, is ready to rock, roll and rumble, this time back into the gaming industry.

The former heavyweight champion (UFC and WWE), along with his manager / agent, Paul Heyman, are also interested in suitable business opportunities, and Australian based media agency, Media Man, took the initiative to test the waters in Asia Pacific via some online media exposure and tactics.

As far as we know, the only time Lesnar has ever actually set foot on Australian soil to date was back in 2002 as part of the WWE 'Global Warming Tour', after taking Hulk Hogan's spot on the card, Lesnar having injured Hogan's back (so the storyline went). Hogan didn't make the 2002 Australian tour, but finally got down under in November 2009 with his 'Hulk-A-Mania' tour, but that's another story brother... and sisters.

The Minnesota monster, who left the world of pro wrestling to brawl as a pro mixed martial artist, rocketed to pinnacle of the heavyweight roster in the Ultimate Fighting Championships and realised his dream of becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion after only four career matches.

The title reign ended in Lesnar's third title defence, when he was stopped dead in his tracks inside the first round by Mexican American Cain Velasquez.

As Lesnar told the media: "On any given day anyone can beat anyone. It happened to me too".

He's currently on the comeback trail to the UFC following a illness, yet Lesnar has told the press in a number of US interviews that he may be tempted back to the WWE... yes, the pro wrestling circus. Well, we don't really think its a circus, but some detractors do.

Quizzed if he would return to the WWE for one more match, Lesnar told ESPN, "I think under the right circumstances I will."

"I think if Vince McMahon and I were able to sit down at the same dinner table and break some bread that we could come up with some kind of game plan...I think a lot of things have to fall in the right places for something like that to happen."

Lesnar's ties with the WWE media and marketing machine have been re-established with the news that he will feature in their upcoming video game, WWE 12, and he has also featured in a viral video to help promote the launch of the game.

The ex WWE champ has hinted that he'd very much like to take on The Undertaker (Mark William Calaway), who has never lost at the showcase event WrestleMania.

"There's a guy that's been on a winning streak for a long time that somebody needs to step up to the plate and finish the winning streak," Lesnar told IGN.

Shawn Michaels, Big Show, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Ric Flair and a host other others have all tried and failed. Yes, we know that pro wrestling has predetermined winners, but suspend disbelief with us if you will.

And he had some special words for one of the most popular WWE stars of all time, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

"There's another side of me that says if there was a chance for me to come back to fight a guy, it would be the guy that I was supposed to fight that chicken-sh**ted out on me and didn't show up, and that would be 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin."

"At the end of the day, my life, my character and my profession - I take them very seriously. At the end of the day, if it doesn't help me or my family out, and it doesn't make sense for me to do, then I don't do it. Everything would have to fall in the right place, but would I consider it? Absolutely."

Lesnar is due to return to mixed martial arts action and face off against former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion and K-1 Grand Prix kickboxing champion, Alistair Overeem, in a heavyweight superfight at UFC 141. The match will headline the event at the famous American entertainment and gaming venue, the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in 'Sin City' Las Vegas on December 30th. Lesner will be looking for his jackpot Christmas present - the big win.

We can also confirm that Lesnar in interested in other gaming and branding opportunities, perhaps following the lead of fellow monsters Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Kevin Nash and the late, great, Andre The Giant. He is also understood to be keen to further explore online gaming opportunities. The Wrestling News Media network is following up for more details. Don't change your dial.

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10/10/2011

MGM Resorts Online Game to Attract New Customers - 5th October 2011

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MGM Resorts International is moving into social gaming in an effort to attract more gamblers to its casinos, said MGM Chief Executive Jim Murren at casino industry conference last Wednesday.

The firm fully expects to soon announce a new social media game, he said, that would be along the lines of Zynga Inc.'s popular online game FarmVille. It would allow players to pretend to be casino moguls, he said.

The game-playing industry and gambling industries, he said, "are on a collision course."

Murren was speaking at the keynote address Wednesday at a conference entitled the Global Gaming Expo.

Murren didn't provide more details about the plans. Among hospitality companies, Marriott International Inc. has created an online game that allows players to manage a virtual hotel restaurant. Marriott's game is designed to be an employee recruiting tool rather than for acquiring customers.

Murren indicated MGM's game would be for trying to grab new customers.

"The demographics of (online) gamers are really right in the strike zone of the gaming industry," Murren said, pointing to the connection between non-gambling gamers and gamblers.

MGM is also among several large casino companies pushing hard for Internet gambling to become legal in the U.S.

MGM generates most of its revenue from casinos on the Las Vegas Strip and also owns around half of a casino in the robust gambling enclave of Macau. The company's stock price has lost nearly half its value since July on concerns of the U.S. economy and, more recently, concerns about a slowdown in growth in China. The company is still carrying a massive amount of debt.

Murren has consistently been among the most upbeat among gambling operators regarding the future of Las Vegas, even in depths of the recession of a couple years ago. He said he sees a wide gulf between what he thinks the company's stock price is and actual financial results and outlook.

"I turned my Bloomberg off about three weeks ago," Murren quipped.

After a deep downturn, both MGM and Las Vegas as a whole have shown signs of sustained but slow improvement in gambling revenue this year. Still, some observers are concerned by continued bad economic signs.

"We have exceeded our forecast and that of the street the last two quarters and had a nice third quarter as well," he said. "The market is valuing us about where we were three years ago in the teeth of recession and it just doesn't connect with me because we don't see anything inside our business that would suggest that that is accurate."

The company is optimistic about growth in Macau, he said, and has developed designs and plans for a new casino there. MGM and other casinos are awaiting government approval for their new projects.

His comments about Macau echoed those of Michael Leven, president of competitor Las Vegas Sands, who on Saturday said at a conference in Las Vegas that the company doesn't see negative signals there despite investor concerns.

MGM is also working on developing around 20 non-casino projects throughout China, Murren said.

Media Man is following up.

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