Casino Travel Media

PartyCasino News: Top Floor and Big Cash Hunt Casino Promotions

2012-01-02T23:57:00.001+11:00

PartyCasino.com

Profiles

PartyCasino.com Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Promotions

PartyCasino Promotions

Top Floor

Enter a penthouse full of cash

Starts: 00:00 ET, 10th January
Ends: 23:59 ET, 15th January

You’re about to hit the Top Floor of the casino where you can win more than $10,000 in cash bonuses – this exclusive area is only accessible to VIP players.

Opt in, collect points playing slots and jackpot slots over the next 6 days and you can win one of these prizes:

Points Prize
1,500 $125 cash bonus
3,000 $300 cash bonus
6,000 $600 cash bonus
10,000 $1,300 cash bonus
20,000 $3,500 cash bonus
50,000 $8,000 cash bonus

Earn your points fast for extra cash bonuses

You’ll also be awarded a $500 cash bonus when you’re one of the first 10 players to reach 6,000 points each day for the next 6 days.

Get ready to exploit this lucrative promotion and take advantage of your VIP status to line your pockets!

Get a huge prize in your sights in the Big Cash Hunt

Starts: 00:00 ET, 16th January
Ends: 23:59 ET, 27th January

Ready, aim, win!

We’re giving you the chance to bag a share of over $130,000 in the Big Cash Hunt. Play any of our slots and jackpot slots to go shooting up the leader board.

Double Points Spree

To get the most out of the Big Cash Hunt, play on our amazing Circus slot to earn double points!

How to dominate the Big Cash Hunt leader boards:

To snatch your share of the prizes, collect points playing Circus and our other slots and jackpot slots from January 16th to 27th.

Here’s what regular players will scoop from the Big Cash Hunt leader board:

Position Prize
1st - 5th $2,000 cash bonus
6th -10th $1,000 cash bonus
11th - 15th $500 cash bonus
16th - 20th $250 cash bonus
21st - 30th $100 cash bonus
31st - 45th $75 cash bonus
46th - 75th $50 cash bonus
76th - 150th $25 cash bonus
151st - 400th $10 cash bonus
401st – 1000th $5 cash bonus

Palladium VIP members have these prizes waiting for them:

Position Prize
1st - 5th $7,500 cash bonus
6th -10th $5,000 cash bonus
11th - 15th $2,500 cash bonus
16th - 20th $1,000 cash bonus
21st - 30th $500 cash bonus
31st - 50th $250 cash bonus
51st - 100th $100 cash bonus
101st - 250th $50 cash bonus

Website Network

Media Man Int

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Australian Casino News: Woman wins $100k after pokies fight; Woman run over by taxi at Burswood Casino

2012-01-02T22:06:00.000+11:00

PartyCasino.com website

PartyPoker.com

Profiles

Gaming Gambling Australian Casinos Australia Casinos Global Gaming Directory

Woman wins $100k after pokies fight...

An Adelaide woman is receiving a $100,000 Christmas present after the Adelaide Casino agreed to pay out a pokies win after an 18-month fight.

Cecilia Cubillo played a $1 credit that another person had left in the poker machine when she hit the jackpot.

But her excitement was cut short when the casino told her it would not be giving her the money.

The casino says it is against regulations set by the Office of the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner to pay out abandoned credits, but the casino says the Commissioner has now agreed to review those regulations.

The casino has apologised to Ms Cubillo for any stress and embarrassment and will now give her the money.

It has asked the Commissioner to clarify his position on the use of abandoned credit to avoid similar situations in the future.

Woman run over by taxi at Burswood Casino...

A woman has received serious head injuries after being run over by a taxi at Burswood Casino.

Police are investigating whether she was involved in a separate incident just prior to the crash at 4.30am on Sunday.

The taxi left the scene, however, has since been located by Police Major Crash investigators.

It is unknown if the driver was aware of the incident.

The woman remains in a critical condition in hospital.

Police are calling for anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.

Lotto tickets to be sold online...

Making lottery tickets available online will fuel gambling addiction, Independent Senator Nick Xenophon says.

SA Lotteries will begin selling tickets on the internet from the middle of 2012.

The arrangement is expected to provide $3 million a year in revenue and has been approved by the South Australian Government.

Credit card purchases of tickets will be limited to $1000 a week.

Senator Xenophon says that is an extraordinarily high cap and will only encourage problem gamblers.

"That's close to average weekly wages and to have it on credit is very problematic.

"If a publican gives you credit at a pokies venue that's a serious criminal offence. Using a credit card to get lotteries tickets really can fuel gambling addiction.

"You're not using your own money, you're using credit. At least if you buy lotto from a newsagent the newsagent can see the whites of your eyes and at least make some judgments... to determine whether they're dealing with a problem gambling.

"But there won't be any such controls with online sales."

Finance Minister Michael O'Brien says careful consideration was given to the decision.

"The SA Lotteries Board have indicated to me that they believe that the regime that is in place for online gambling actually offers higher protection for the potential problem gambler than is the case currently," he said.

"People spend whatever they wish either on the poker machines or on lottery tickets or on the horses, or whatever other form of gambling. Now whether they do that by cash or by cash via a credit card facility, they still spend the money. At least with this particular arrangement, there is a limit."

He says the decision brings the state into line with the rest of Australia.

Woolworths arm takes over pubs...

Grocery giant Woolworths is buying more heavily into the liquor market.

Its pub and bottle shop company ALH Group is taking out long-term leases on 31 pubs located across New South Wales.

Woolworths already operates 27 pubs in the state as the majority owner of ALH Group, which is also Australia's largest poker machine operator.

ALH spokesman David Curry says the buy up boosts the grocery giant's ownership of pokie machines to almost 13,000 nationwide.

He says it has invested in pubs with good trade potential as well as their gaming capabilities.

"There's about 680, it brings the total nationwide to just under 13,000 - proportionately, we don't have a significant percentage of electronic gaming machines - we've only got about 6 per cent of electronic gaming machines in the country," he said.

"Notwithstanding the pokie tax or what's been proposed by the Federal Government, we think the hotels we've actually signed long-term leases to can achieve good trading growth.

"We're looking at injecting further capital into the business and overlapping our management expertise in NSW across those hotels."

Profiles

Gaming Gambling Australian Casinos Australia Casinos Global Gaming Directory

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Casino To Be Built On Fiji's Denarau Island; American Multimillionaire Wins Development Contract, by Greg Tingle

2011-12-23T10:14:00.000+11:00

Profiles

Casinos Gaming Fiji New Zealand Property World Directory

An American multimillionaire has won the development contract to build a massive land based casino on Fiji's Denarau Island, one of the nations prime tourist destinations for New Zealanders.

Military ruler Voreqe Bainimarama has over-ruled long standing chiefly and church objections to announce that Larry Claunch, who describes himself as an investor, will get an exclusive license to build a casino on the island that will be home to at least 500 slot machines and 54 tables, and they home - lots of happy punters and entertainment lovers.

The well-to-do entrepreneur will also be permitted to construct a smaller casino in Suva.

The regime advertised internationally for expressions of interest earlier this year. New Zealand's well known casino group, SkyCity, was in the mix of those interested.

The license will be held by Claunch's One Hundred Sands Ltd, which will operate the casino with the Snoqualmie Tribe from Washington state and Seventh Generation LLC, a Native American company.

The impressive deal includes a US$290 million ($378 million) five star, 190-room resort on the manmade Denarau Island, which already has several hotels on it and timeshares.

Bainimarama said they would protect the rights and interests of Fijian people. A casino "provides a malleable fusion between the Western ideals of casino gaming with the strong cultural virtues of tribal and community life", he said.

He also pointed out that the casino would provide 800 jobs.

"Fiji does not wish to imitate Las Vegas in the Pacific. Fiji already has a unique brand, one defined by its uniquely pristine environment, tranquillity and world class hospitality."

Claunch advised the casino was "a union of both economic and cultural endeavours".

He also owns Nukudrau, a 19 hectare island in Savusavu Bay.

Claunch is confident he will be able to continue to ride his wave of success into Fiji, despite the casino industry hitting a number of ripples in recent years - a flow on effect from the global economic downturn. Just don't tell Claunch it won't work - he's a winner, and needless to say- his house always wins. Might see you in Fiji.

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Australian Sports Entertainment

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Bwin.Party anticipates Spain and Denmark licences - 14th December 2011

2011-12-15T21:38:00.000+11:00

PartyCasino.com website

Profiles

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyPoker.com PartyCasino.com Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment iGaming

The world’s largest listed online gambling operator, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, has released a pre-close trading update stating that its performance since the end of September has been ‘solid’ and ‘in-line with management’s expectations’.

Gibraltar-based Bwin.Party was born in late-March following the union of online betting and gaming provider Bwin Interactive Entertainment with PartyGaming and the operator revealed that it expects continuing clean earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the full year to be between 22 percent and 24 percent.

In addition, Bwin.Party declared that its integration ‘remains on-track’ and is expected to deliver around €40 million in annualised synergies next year before producing approximately €65 million in 2013 with the company already repurchasing 14 million shares at an average price of £1.26 each.

Bwin.Party also announced that the sale of its OnGame Network Limited business-to-business subsidiary is at an ‘advanced stage’ but is unlikely to be completed before the end of the year.
However, possibly the most interesting news from Bwin.Party was the revelation that it is anticipating approvals for its Spanish online sports, casino, poker and bingo products to be issued by authorities in the country as part of the ‘first wave of licences’ ahead of the market opening next year.

“The group’s licence applications for Spain were submitted on November 25 and it is expected that approvals for our sports, casino, poker and bingo products will be issued in the first wave of licences to be issued ahead of the market opening in 2012,” read a statement from Bwin.Party.

In Denmark, the firm revealed that it lodged licence applications on October 17 and also expects to be among the first group of operators to become authorised to offer online poker, casino and sports from the beginning of January.

“In Germany, the next meeting of the Minister Presidents is due to take place on December 15,” read the statement from Bwin.Party.

“Schleswig-Holstein, Germany’s most northern land, has stated its intention to press ahead with its law to regulate and license all forms of online gaming with a 20 percent tax on gross gaming revenue. Schleswig Holstein’s law has already been approved by the European Commission.

“While we hope that the other 15 Lander will revise their proposal, they may choose to press ahead with it in its current form, one that we believe fails to comply with European Union law or meet the requirements set out by the Court of Justice of the European Union. While we welcome the move to regulate the online gaming market in Germany, this must be in a consistent and coherent manner in line with European Union law that also enables licensed operators to compete effectively with black market operators. Any other approach, if sustained, will create a commercially unviable market and result in consumers being driven outside the regulated framework.

“In the United States, there remain a number of initiatives seeking to regulate Internet poker at both a Federal and a state level. Which route will reach the statute book first and when remains unclear but we remain optimistic that regulation will take a step forward in 2012. Either way, through our agreements with MGM and Boyd, the group is well-positioned to take advantage of any such opportunity.”

Bwin.Party gets ready for new markets - 14th December 2011...

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment expects to be in the mix of the first group of firms who are issued with a licence for the Spanish market ahead of it opening next year.

In its pre-close trading update yesterday, the group stated that its licence applications for Spain were submitted on November 25 and it is expected that approvals for its sports, casino, poker and bingo products will be issued ahead of the market opening in 2012.

Bwin.Party also expects to be among the first group of operators to become licensed to offer online poker, casino and sports in Denmark at the beginning of January after its licence applications were lodged on October 17.

In Germany, the next meeting of the Minister Presidents is due to take place tomorrow and Bwin.Party hopes that the other 15 German states will revise their proposal in a consistent and coherent manner in line with European Union law, which also enables licensed operators to compete effectively with black market operators.

The group remains optimistic that US regulation will take a step forward in 2012. Via its agreements with MGM and Boyd, Bwin.Party believes it is well positioned to pounce on any such opportunity that may present.

The sale process of Ongame's B2B business is at an advanced stage, but although it has attracted a number of interested parties, the sale is unlikely to be finalised before the end of the year.

Bwin.Party is likely to retain its world leading position for the foreseeable future.

Websites

PartyCasino.com

PartyCasino.com Marvel Slots

PartyPoker.com

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Invites Online Poker Players To Conquer the World at PartyPoker

2011-11-19T23:27:00.001+11:00

Win Up To $100,000 Playing Online Poker

Profiles

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyPoker.com PartyCasino.com

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment and its PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com gaming brands are used to delivering world class promotions and games, and this gaming season is no different.

The award winning PartyPoker.com invites you to 'Conquer The World'!

Dominate the World

This November and December sees the exciting World Domination promotion return to PartyPoker as players are invited to take over the world, one city at a time.

During this World Domination period, PartyPoker is going to award thousands of dollars’ worth of cash payouts and freeroll tournament seats, while also giving the players a chance to challenge for a massive $100,000 top prize!

Taking over the World

In order to achieve world domination and take down the cash prizes, all players must do is earn PartyPoints between Nov. 7 and Dec. 32.

Each time a player earns 10 PartyPoints they will be randomly awarded 1 of 72 different cities from around the world. They will now have dominated that city and are encouraged to keep earning PartyPoints and taking over more and more cities. Players are able to be awarded the same city more than once and some cities will be harder to capture than others.

Most cities will also award an instant prize but the biggest prizes are awarded to players if they manage to conquer entire countries and continents. The $100,000 is what all players should be aiming for and that is awarded to anybody who manages to accumulate all 72 unique cities.

Most cities will award an instant prize or at the very least a freeroll ticket, while each continent and country has a different prize value. For example, if you conquer all four cities in England, you will be awarded an instant prize of $1,500! In addition to this, if you then go on to claim each and every country in Europe, you will be awarded a massive $20,000 and be well on your way to winning the $100,000 that goes along with achieving world domination!

Players can get started right now and earn their first city for only 5 PartyPoints, so make sure you head over to PartyPoker and start taking over the world!

In order to snatch your free bankroll, all you have to do is sign up for a PartyPoker account and wait for your immediate free credit of $25. Once you receive the $25, head to the tables and earn 200 PartyPoints, whereby you will then be awarded an additional $25!

This means that you will have earned 20 countries in the World Domination promotion while also receiving your free bankroll! Play smart and play often. Good luck at the tables.

Online Gamers Check Out Casino Product...

An increasing amount of online poker players are also checking out online casino offerings from Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment. New casino players currently get up to $3000 sign up bonus, understood to be the highest bonus in the world for new players.

The most popular PartyCasino.com games of late include Heist, Circus, Rambo, Palladium Slot, The Godfather, Sinatra, Slotbox, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Mission: Impossible, The Terminator, Cleopatra, Sinatra, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spider-Man, Monopoly, Resident Evil, Melon Madness, Wheel Of Fortune and Mega Fortune Wheel.

The PartyCasino.com jackpot is currently approaching the $4 million mark. Players can also compete for The Big One and Marvel Hero Jackpot, playing the Marvel super hero themed online slot games.

PartyCasino's most recent game releases include Shaaark! SuperBet, Crocodopolis, Alice's Wonderland, Glamour Puss, Super Cubes, Heist, Palladium Slot and Circus Slot.

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Co-cEO Jim Ryan has gone on record advising PartyCasino will soon feature more Hollywood blockbuster themed slots. A few in the know journalists and media agents have been recently tipped off that an all time classic movie adaption will be showcased in the PartyCasino portfolio within 1 month. PartyCasino has the world's most impressive line up of Hollywood themed games, and more are just around the corner.

PartyCasino.com and PartyPoker.com customers can also benefit from rewards and bonuses via PartyPoints and the Palladium Lounge.

Media Man, Casino News Media and Global Gaming Directory do have a b2b relationship with Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, as they do with dozens of other companies in the gaming, igaming, media and entertainment industry.

Websites

PartyCasino.com

PartyPoker.com

Profiles

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyCasino PartyPoker PartyBingo Circus PartyCasino Marvel Slots The Big One Melon Madness Casino World Poker Tour PartyCasino Promotions

Casinos Of The World: Land Based And Online; Media Man And Casino News Media Awards, by Greg Tingle

2011-11-15T17:15:00.001+11:00

Sin City Cleopatra Rambo The Godfather Sinatra The Terminator Thor Saturday Night Fever Unicorn Legend Palladium Slot

World Directory Global Gaming Directory World Casino Directory

Punters, here's 10 of the world's top land based casinos for you to mark down in your travel plans.

Monte Carlo, Monaco: Perched above the Mediterranean and bounded by the French
and Italian coastlines on either side, Monaco provides a spectacular and luxurious setting for the wealthy and the wannabees. Home to the Monaco Grand Prix and the legendary Casino de Monte Carlo, this isn't the place for those on a tight budget. The magnificent Casino hosts the annual European Poker Tour and was also the scene of several James Bond Films, including the original "Casino Royale" and "Golden Eye".

Paradise Island, Bahamas: Located just off the shore of the city of Nassau, Paradise
Island is best known for its sprawling 'Vegas-by-the-sea' resort, Atlantis. The resort spans seven acres along a lagoon, where guests can soak up the Caribbean sun and choose from a variety of outdoor gaming areas. When in need of a break from the tables, guests can enjoy the private beach or one of the resorts 20 sunlit pools.

Melbourne, Australia: As Australia's sporting and entertainment capital, Melbourne
offers the perfect option for high rollers looking for a local break. Aussies need look no further than Crown Casino on the southern bank of the Yarra River, which is one of the largest casino complexes in the southern hemisphere. The main gambling floor stretches more than half a kilometre and the casino was the first to introduce the new game Rapid Roulette, which allows players to place bets on a personal electronic touch screen connected to a central roulette wheel.

Macau, China: Known as the 'Monte Carlo of the Orient,' and the gambling capital of Asia, Macau now rivals Monaco and Las Vegas as one of the premier gambling destinations in the world. With no less than 33 casinos, in addition to local horse and greyhound racing venues, Macau is perfect for the betting junkie. The Wynn Macau casino is a standout, highlighted by 24-carat gold 'Tree of Prosperity' at the entrance, extravagant water displays and Moon Jellyfish Aquarium at reception.

Baden-Baden, Germany: Situated on the western foothills of the Black Forest and on the banks of the Oos River, Baden-Baden is not your typical casino town. However, in addition to its hot springs and picturesque countryside, the town is also known for its 200-year-old 'Spielbank' casino - the oldest of its type in Germany. With French chateau-style salons rooms named after historical figures such as Madame Pompadour and Louis XV's mistress, the quirky casino provides visitors with a very unique gaming experience.

Las Vegas, United States: With over 1700 licensed casinos in operation, Las Vegas offers the ultimate package for travellers who fancy a flutter. A visit to the famous 'Strip' is a must for any player, whether they're looking for a spin on the roulette table or a game of blackjack - this city has it all. The iconic Caesar's Palace hotel and casino offers 129,000 square feet of casino space plus an endless smorgasbord of entertainment, shopping and fine dining options, including Cleopatra's barge, a floating lounge perfect for a relaxing drink after a jam-packed night on the casino floor.

Manila, The Philippines: With a favourable exchange rate, Manila provides great value for Aussies wanting to live the high-life overseas. The city offers a range of shopping and entertainment options, along with a world-class casino at the Hyatt Hotel. Spread across three levels, the sparkling casino offers the newest in gaming facilities for both hotel guests and visitors, and is just a short distance from Manila's tourist hub.

Sun City, South Africa: Known as 'Africa's Kingdom of Pleasure,' this luxury resort and casino complex, just two hours from Johannesburg, boasts two large casinos, two 18-hole golf courses and a wildlife reserve. At the extravagant yet picturesque Palace of the Lost City, guests are treated to stunning valley views from the guestrooms, along with exclusive access to the Grand Pool. The nearby Sun City Casino is the entertainment Mecca of the resort, featuring a myriad of gaming options as well as an indoor jungle of native foliage and water fountains.

Atlantic City, United States: Regarded as the US's 'Las Vegas of the East', Atlantic City in New Jersey is renowned for its gambling, shopping and fine dining. Towering above the banks of the Atlantic Ocean, the Trump Taj Mahal casino is an icon of the city, with an on-site shopping district and an abundance of restaurants and bars. The 157,000 square-foot casino is also hard to miss, with 3,500 slot machines and 200 table games. Unveiled in 1990 by a number of celebrities, including the late Michael Jackson, the casino is the second-largest in Atlantic City and well worth a visit.

Genting Highlands, Malaysia: Nestled on the Titiwangsa mountain range, just an hour's drive from Kuala Lumpur and 6,000 feet above sea level, the Resorts World Genting offers 360-degree views of the surrounding countryside. This spectacular resort has first-class accommodation, dining and entertainment, while avoiding the hustle and bustle of a capital city. The on-site casino, which covers 200,000 square feet, is Malaysia's sole gaming venue and is divided into separate themed areas, such as Hollywood and Monte Carlo, for the ultimate gambling experience.

Online Casinos:

PartyCasino.com : The world's leading online casino brand and part of Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment. Play for free or play for money at PartyCasino.com New players get up to $3000 sign up bonus via Media Man.

VirginCasino.com : Virgin Casino is part of Virgin Games. The parent company is Virgin Enterprises Limited, the creation of the world's most famous and celebrated entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson. Unfortunately the casino does not accept players from many countries due to what is known in legal circles as "grey areas". Most European players can play, but no Americans, Canadians, Australians or New Zealanders.

Captain Cooks Casino : Was once a very popular online casino with Australians and New Zealanders, however we understand these days they can only accept players from a few regions such as Europe, South Africa, Canada and South America.

PKR : Once only a 2D online poker room, they are now more 3D and offer online poker and a good range of online casino games, including classics, Marvel slots and table games.

Media Man's top online casino choice: PartyCasino.com PartyCasino is a multi-time Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month' winner and have also won awards from EGR. Earlier this year PartyGaming merged with Bwin to create the worlds leading igaming company, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment.

News

PartyCasino Gets New Games...

Aztec Gold, Atomic Fruit, Nag's To Riches and Fairies Forest. Check out the new games here.

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Global Gaming Directory

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Media Man Games

PartyCasino News: PartyCasino VIP Double Up; Palladium online slot; Promotions

2011-11-14T14:06:00.001+11:00

Profiles

PartyCasino Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyPoker.com Casino News Media Media Man

Palladium Slot Palladium Lounge Blackjack PartyCasino.com Slots

VIP Double Up

Starts: 00:00 ET, 21st November
Ends: 23:59 ET, 30th November

Prove you’re a big hitter and win up to $15,000 cash with VIP Double Up.

Earn points playing your favorite slots and jackpot slots, and work your way up the leaderboard to get your hands on your share of the riches.

Double the fun on the VIP Palladium slot

Accelerate your VIP Double Up progress with our exclusive VIP Palladium slot. You’ll earn double points every time you spin!

Have a look at the full list of prizes:

Rank Prize
1 $15,000 cash
2 $10,000 cash
3 $7,500 cash
4 $5,000 cash
5 $4,000 cash
6 $3,000 cash
7 $2,000 cash
8 $1,000 cash
9 $750 cash
10 $500 cash
11 to 15 $300 cash bonus
16 to 50 $150 cash bonus
51 to 100 $75 cash bonus

Find your Jack in the Box surprise...

Starts: 00:00 ET, 14th November
Ends: 23:59 ET, 17th November

We’ve packed our blackjack tables with thousands of cash gifts, bonuses and free points. Our rewards are hidden inside a surprise Jack in the Box. You won’t have to look hard to find it – the Jack in the Box will find you!

Just play any of our blackjack games as normal between 00:00 ET on 14th November and 23:59 ET on 17th November. If the Jack in the Box appears, act fast to claim your fabulous prize. Remember, the more you play blackjack, the better your chance of finding our account-boosting surprises.

Jack in the Box rewards will appear at random in the following games: Blackjack Multi-Hand Pro; Blackjack Single Deck; Blackjack Bonus Pairs; Blackjack High Limit; Blackjack Single Player; Multi-Player Blackjack; Multi-Hand Blackjack

Surprise gifts will only be offered on the download lobby.

PartyCasino.com is one of a number of Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment brands.

The most popular PartyCasino.com games of late include Heist, Circus, Rambo, Palladium Slot, The Godfather, Sinatra, Slotbox, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Mission: Impossible, The Terminator, Cleopatra, Sinatra, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spider-Man, Monopoly, Resident Evil, Melon Madness, Wheel Of Fortune and Mega Fortune Wheel.

The PartyCasino.com jackpot is currently approaching the $4 million mark. Players can also compete for The Big One and Marvel Hero Jackpot, playing the Marvel super hero themed online slot games.

PartyCasino's most recent game releases include War Of The Worlds, Atomic Fruit, Aztec Gold, Sin City, Robin Hood, Shaaark! SuperBet, Crocodopolis, Alice's Wonderland, Glamour Puss, Super Cubes, Heist, Palladium Slot and Circus Slot.

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Co CEO Jim Ryan has gone on record advising PartyCasino will soon feature more Hollywood blockbuster themed slots. A few in the know journalists and media agents have been recently tipped off that an all time classic movie adaption will be showcased in the PartyCasino portfolio within 1 month. PartyCasino has the world's most impressive line up of Hollywood themed games, and more are just around the corner.

PartyCasino.com and PartyPoker.com customers can also benefit from rewards and bonuses via PartyPoints and the Palladium Lounge. Be certain to check out the PartyCasino selection of promotions this month which are some of the best available in the industry today.

Media Man, Casino News Media and Global Gaming Directory do have a b2b relationship with Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, as they do with dozens of other companies in the gaming, igaming, media and entertainment industry.

Websites

PartyCasino.com

PartyPoker.com

Profiles

PartyGaming PartyCasino PartyPoker PartyBingo Circus PartyCasino Marvel Slots The Big One Melon Madness Casino World Poker Tour PartyCasino Promotions

Echo Entertainment: Entertainment name of the game at The Star casino, by Greg Tingle - 10th November 2011

2011-11-11T13:42:00.001+11:00

Profiles

World Casino Directory Global Gaming Directory Australian Casinos The Star Echo Entertainment Gaming Sydney Australia

Stop saying Star City Casino... owned and operated by Tabcorp Holdings. It's The Star, run by Echo Entertainment, and don't you forget it my friends.

Integrated entertainment complex and land based casino owner Echo Entertainment advised revenue was stronger in the first quarter of 2011-12 and earnings are expected to rocket in the second half.

If you missed it, Echo Entertainment demerged from betting and gaming outfit Tabcorp Holdings in June 2011, and today operates The Star in 'Sin City' Sydney, Jupiters Hotel and Casino at Surfers Paradise, The Treasury Casino (Brisbane) and Jupiters up in Townsville.

Chief exec Larry Mullin told the company's AGM that Echo's performance in the three months to September 30 had been in line with the firms expectations.

Revenues in the period were up by 15.2 per cent and up 14.4 per cent on a normalised basis, he said.

Full-year earnings would be hit in the first half from costs associated with opening the newly revamped The Star, Mr Mullin said.

Pre-opening costs are going to be in the region of $30 million, while operating expenses at The Star will initially be higher.

Strong earnings growth is expected in the second half, due to new products and expansions at The Star, Mr Mullin said.

Second-half earnings in Queensland are also forecast to accelerate, following the impact of floods in the previous corresponding period.

In the meantime Australia's most famous gaming billionaire James Packer, and his Crown Limited - Crown Casino empire are not going to roll over and die, with casino revaps of their own in Melbourne and Perth, with Burswood in Perth expected to be rebranded Crown.

Media agencies such as Media Man and Casino News Media are currently obtaining information from the public at large as to whether The Star and Crown Casino are more about gambling or entertainment, or both. Roy Morgan and the Australian Government are expected to be very interested in the findings.

Websites

The Star

Echo Entertainment

The Darling

Casino News Media

Media Man News

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Betting On United States, by Greg Tingle - 20th October 2011

2011-10-20T21:34:00.001+11:00

Profiles

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyCasino PartyPoker World Poker Tour Gibraltar Gaming

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.

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Australian Sports Entertainment

Casinos Of The World: Land Based And Online; Media Man And Casino News Media Awards, by Greg Tingle

2011-09-07T16:41:00.000+10:00

Sin City Cleopatra Rambo The Godfather Sinatra The Terminator Thor Saturday Night Fever Unicorn Legend Palladium Slot

World Directory Global Gaming Directory World Casino Directory

Media Man And Casino News Media Awards - August 2011

Media Man and Casino News Media have awarded their casino award winners and finalists for August 2011.

Land Based Australian Casino Of The Month: Crown Casino, 2nd The Star (formally Star City Casino), 3rd Burswood Casino, 4th The Reef Hotel Casino (Cairns)

Online Casino Of The Month: PartyCasino.com 2nd Virgin Casino 3rd Grand Reef Online Casino 4th Paddy Power Online Casino 5th PKR Casino

*Online casino awards are based on a combination of gameplay, trustworthiness, ethics, customer feedback, affiliate program offerings, word of mouth, customer experience and overall offerings

*Media Man and Casino News Media have been awarding the 'Casino Of The Month' accolade for the land based and online sector since 2009.

Punters, here's 10 of the world's top land based casinos for you to mark down in your travel plans.

Monte Carlo, Monaco: Perched above the Mediterranean and bounded by the French
and Italian coastlines on either side, Monaco provides a spectacular and luxurious setting for the wealthy and the wannabees. Home to the Monaco Grand Prix and the legendary Casino de Monte Carlo, this isn't the place for those on a tight
budget. The magnificent Casino hosts the annual European Poker Tour and was also the scene of several James Bond Films, including the original "Casino Royale" and "Golden Eye".

Paradise Island, Bahamas: Located just off the shore of the city of Nassau, Paradise
Island is best known for its sprawling 'Vegas-by-the-sea' resort, Atlantis. The resort spans seven acres along a lagoon, where guests can soak up the Caribbean sun and choose from a variety of outdoor gaming areas. When in need of a break from
the tables, guests can enjoy the private beach or one of the resorts 20 sunlit pools.

Melbourne, Australia: As Australia's sporting and entertainment capital, Melbourne
offers the perfect option for high rollers looking for a local break. Aussies need look no further than Crown Casino on the southern bank of the Yarra River, which is one of the largest casino complexes in the southern hemisphere. The main gambling
floor stretches more than half a kilometre and the casino was the first to introduce the new game Rapid Roulette, which allows players to place bets on a personal electronic touch screen connected to a central roulette wheel.

Macau, China: Known as the 'Monte Carlo of the Orient,' and the gambling capital of Asia, Macau now rivals Monaco and Las Vegas as one of the premier gambling destinations in the world. With no less than 33 casinos, in addition to local horse and greyhound racing venues, Macau is perfect for the betting junkie. The Wynn Macau
casino is a standout, highlighted by 24-carat gold 'Tree of Prosperity' at the entrance, extravagant water displays and Moon Jellyfish Aquarium at reception.

Baden-Baden, Germany: Situated on the western foothills of the Black Forest and on
the banks of the Oos River, Baden-Baden is not your typical casino town. However, in addition to its hot springs and picturesque countryside, the town is also known for its 200-year-old 'Spielbank' casino - the oldest of its type in Germany. With French chateau-style salons rooms named after historical figures such as Madame Pompadour and Louis XV's mistress, the quirky casino provides visitors with a very unique
gaming experience.

Las Vegas, United States: With over 1700 licensed casinos in operation, Las Vegas
offers the ultimate package for travellers who fancy a flutter. A visit to the famous 'Strip' is a must for any player, whether they're looking for a spin on the roulette table or a game of blackjack - this city has it all. The iconic Caesar's Palace
hotel and casino offers 129,000 square feet of casino space plus an endless smorgasbord of entertainment, shopping and fine dining options, including Cleopatra's barge, a floating lounge perfect for a relaxing drink after a jam-packed night on the
casino floor.

Manila, The Philippines: With a favourable exchange rate, Manila provides great value
for Aussies wanting to live the high-life overseas. The city offers a range of shopping and entertainment options, along with a world-class casino at the Hyatt Hotel. Spread across three levels, the sparkling casino offers the newest in gaming
facilities for both hotel guests and visitors, and is just a short distance from Manila's tourist hub.

Sun City, South Africa: Known as 'Africa's Kingdom of Pleasure,' this luxury resort
and casino complex, just two hours from Johannesburg, boasts two large casinos, two 18-hole golf courses and a wildlife reserve. At the extravagant yet picturesque Palace of the Lost City, guests are treated to stunning valley views from the guestrooms, along with exclusive access to the Grand Pool. The nearby Sun City Casino is the entertainment Mecca of the resort, featuring a myriad of gaming options as well as an indoor jungle of native foliage and water fountains.

Atlantic City, United States: Regarded as the US's 'Las Vegas of the East', Atlantic City in New Jersey is renowned for its gambling, shopping and fine dining. Towering above the banks of the Atlantic Ocean, the Trump Taj Mahal casino is an icon of the city, with an on-site shopping district and an abundance of restaurants and bars. The
157,000 square-foot casino is also hard to miss, with 3,500 slot machines and 200 table games. Unveiled in 1990 by a number of celebrities, including the late Michael Jackson, the casino is the second-largest in Atlantic City and well worth a visit.

Genting Highlands, Malaysia: Nestled on the Titiwangsa mountain range, just an hour's
drive from Kuala Lumpur and 6,000 feet above sea level, the Resorts World Genting offers 360-degree views of the surrounding countryside. This spectacular resort has first-class accommodation, dining and entertainment, while avoiding the hustle and bustle of a capital city. The on-site casino, which covers 200,000 square feet, is Malaysia's sole gaming venue and is divided into separate themed areas, such as Hollywood and Monte Carlo, for the ultimate gambling experience.

Online Casinos:

PartyCasino.com : The world's leading online casino brand and part of Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment. Play for free or play for money at PartyCasino.com New players get up to $3000 sign up bonus via Media Man.

VirginCasino.com : Virgin Casino is part of Virgin Games. The parent company is Virgin Enterprises Limited, the creation of the world's most famous and celebrated entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson. Unfortunately the casino does not accept players from many countries due to what is known in legal circles as "grey areas". Most European players can play, but no Americans, Canadians, Australians or New Zealanders.

Captain Cooks Casino : Was once a very popular online casino with Australians and New Zealanders, however we understand these days they can only accept players from a few regions such as Europe, South Africa, Canada and South America.

PKR : Once only a 2D online poker room, they are now more 3D and offer online poker and a good range of online casino games, including classics, Marvel slots and table games.

Media Man's top online casino choice: PartyCasino.com PartyCasino is a multi-time Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month' winner and have also won awards from EGR. Earlier this year PartyGaming merged with Bwin to create the worlds leading igaming company, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment.

News

Wagering firms take fee case to High Court...

A legal battle between two wagering firms and NSW racing authorities has begun in the High Court.

Betfair says a 1.5 per cent turnover fee levied by Racing NSW reduces competition and discriminates against interstate operators.

Counsel for Betfair, Neil Young QC, on Tuesday told the court the fee was not uniform but in fact was discriminatory.

He said Betfair participated in a national market.

Betfair argues the turnover fee will affect its ability to operate because the company is a low-margin operation that matches punters against each other.

The company then takes its commission from winning bets.

In March, both Betfair and Sportsbet were granted leave to appeal against a decision by the Federal Court that they tender the fee as legislated.

Both firms say paying the fee on gross profit is a fairer way to operate.

Overseas based firms such as Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, Paddy Power and PMU are watching the case closely.

Paddy Power Active Customers Already Exceeds All of 2010 Figures...

Ireland’s biggest online bookmaker, Paddy Power, is attributing mobile gaming to its massive surge in active customers. This year’s numbers already exceed that of the entire 2010.

Just over a third of its active customers made transactions via mobile devices. Online products are now contributing 81% of the group’s operating profit, according to the Financial Times of London.

Paddy Power CEO Patrick Kennedy told the Financial Times: "We invested in a very good product and backed it up with TV advertising and online marketing."

The online business generated €45.3m in operating profit, a rise of 25% compared to the same period in 2010. Its land-based shops continue to suffer, however.

Playtech Signs Gala Coral Contract, Acquires Mobile-Bet Company...

Playtech Ltd, the Internet gambling software maker and content developer which has a joint venture with William Hill Plc (WMH), said it signed a long-term contract with Gala Coral Group Ltd., and acquired Mobenga AB, a mobile-phone sports-betting company.

Playtech will pay as much as 15.8 million euros ($22.4 million) for Mobenga, the Isle of Man-based company said in a statement. Playtech also said second-quarter revenue rose 7 percent to 39.6 million euros over the same period a year earlier, led by online casino games.

Gala Coral, which has 2,000 betting shops in the U.K. and Italy, should become one of Playtech’s top three clients within a year after its software is transferred, in 2012, Playtech’s Chief Executive Officer Mor Weizer said in a telephone interview. Mobenga will help Playtech expand in mobile telephone gambling, which generates 30 percent of bets for some companies, he said.

“This is a very important win for us,” Weizer said. “We already have most of the established operators in the U.K., and Gala Coral we were after for a long time.”
Playtech gained 18.25 pence, or 5.4 percent, to 356.75 pence at 8:47 a.m. in London, after earlier rising as much as 6.3 percent. The shares have fallen 16 percent so far this year, giving the company a market value of 866.3 million pounds.

Stockholm-based Mobenga will give Playtech the ability to combine sports-betting, casino and poker games in one mobile- phone application, Weizer said.

Playtech generates more than 10 million pounds ($16.1 million) from its biggest client, Imperial E-Club Ltd., Weizer said.

‘Players’

Most of the company’s clients attract players through sports, though they make most of their money through games, so they’re always seeking to convert sports betters to game players, he said.

Second-quarter casino revenue gained 9 percent to 27.3 million euros, and bingo sales increased 32 percent to 3.6 million euros, the company said.

Poker sales dropped 32 percent to 5 million euros, the company said. The poker business declined even though the U.S. charged founders of online poker companies still accepting games in the country with money laundering in April.

Weizer said the companies still had cash to lure poker players. Poker numbers have been “picking up” since the end of June, when one of the companies stopped play, he said. Full Tilt Poker, then the world’s second-biggest poker site, lost its license from Alderney on June 29.

PartyCasino Gets New Games...

Aztec Gold, Atomic Fruit, Nag's To Riches and Fairies Forest. Check out the new games here.

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Global Gaming Directory

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Media Man Games

Casino News Media Website Network Updated

2011-09-05T12:43:00.002+10:00

Profiles

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyCasino.com PartyPoker.com Playtech Caesars Entertainment IGN World Poker Tour United States Casinos Gaming World Directory Brands Media Man

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Global Gaming Directory

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

2011-09-05T12:43:00.001+10:00

Profiles

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyCasino.com PartyPoker.com Playtech Caesars Entertainment IGN World Poker Tour United States Casinos Gaming World Directory Brands Media Man

The Co-Chief Executive of Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, Jim Ryan confirmed this past week that the group is close to finalizing a number of deals with US based gambling companies, in a bid to enter the US market when legislation passes in this sector on a federal level.

Ryan said that the recently merged Bwin and PartyGaming were negotiating with companies who reached across the country, and particularly those in states where the likelihood of online gambling reaching them in the near future was higher than other states.

Ryan said that Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment was "in contract negotiations with a partner from New Jersey." In addition, the group was lining up partners in California and Florida.

These states had the greatest potential to see online gambling legislation passed, he said.

Ryan stressed that the current negotiations were not for acquisitions, but for partnerships only.

Above Consensus Market Expectations...

The announcement by Ryan was made as Bwin.Party released its first half earnings, showing that they had fallen by more than a fifth. This was put down in part to increases in gaming taxes across Europe.

The group said, however, that its numbers were still above consensus market expectations, which boosted its share prices somewhat.

While European gambling regulation continued to be encouraging, there was still uncertainty coming from the German market, which makes up for 22% of Bwin.Party's revenues.

Analysts believe that it may be two to three years before Germany's stand on regulation becomes clear.

An analyst with Peel Hunt, Nick Batram said: "While the current trading may reflect a worst case German scenario, it is frustrating that the company does not quantify the potential impact from an effective shutout and what plan B might be."

Troubles facing Full Tilt Poker also worked to Bwin.Party's advantage as players sought new poker sites and migrated to its brands.

First half earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization fell 21% to €81.8 million.

Ryan said that the group's strategy was "to be a pan-European operator and it looks like we are the only organization that has the strategy and capability to do that."

REG - bwin.party digital - Dividend Declaration...

RNS Number : 2933N
bwin.party digital entertainment
31 August 2011

bwin.party digital entertainment plc

('bwin.party' or the 'Company')

Interim Dividend

The Board of bwin.party has today declared an interim dividend of 1.56 pence per ordinary share in respect of the six month period ended 30 June 2011. This dividend will be paid by the Company in accordance with the timetable set out below.

Shareholders and depositary interest holders may elect to receive the dividend payment in Euros by submitting currency elections to the Company's registrar (Capita Registrars) no later than 23 September 2011. Currency election forms are in the process of being dispatched to registered shareholders and the form will be available on the Company's website, www.bwin.party.com. Depositary interest holders wishing to receive the dividend in Euros may submit a currency election via CREST. The foreign exchange rate used for converting the pounds sterling dividend payment into Euros will be the rate quoted by the Company at or about 11.00 a.m. (BST) on 26 September 2011.

31 August 2011 Interim dividend declared

7 September 2011 Ex-dividend date

9 September 2011 Record date

23 September 2011 Deadline for receipt of currency elections

26 September 2011 Pounds sterling/Euros foreign exchange rate struck for Euro dividend currency elections

7 October 2011 Interim dividend paid

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Financial Heads Up...

Wednesday could be one for the gamblers with online gaming operators Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment and 888 Holdings both reporting.

888 has already revealed its revenue figure for the first half – it made $153.m, an improvement of 18.1% on a year earlier. Panmure Gordon thinks earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) will be up 52% from last year at $19.1m, giving earnings per share of 4.5 cents.

“With the strong start to Q3 and, despite the planned increased investment, we believe the risk to our forecasts is on the upside,” the broker added.

As for Bwin.Party, UBS thinks the company will report a drab set of figures, with first half revenues of €425m. Even that is better than Panmure Gordon is expecting; the latter is predicting revenue of €410m.

Bwin.Party And 888 Update - 31st August 2011...

888’s rival bwin.party digital saw its shares rally 15.3p to 125.3p, as investors warmed to its first set of results since it was created by the merger of PartyGaming and Austria’s bwin earlier this year.

The numbers revealed cost savings from the deal would be £8.9m more than expected and recent trading had been strong.

But it plunged to a half-year loss of £27m from profits of £53m after a £54.4m accounting charge.

The half-year dividend is 1.56p. Bwin.party said it was benefiting from the suspension of rival Full Tilt Poker’s license.

It hopes the US may one day reopen its doors. In the meantime, it is grappling with increased regulation in some European markets and the higher taxes this brings.

Bwin blames poker for drop in profits...

Online gaming firm Bwin.party revealed a drop in profits after it was dealt a blow from greater competition in poker markets.

The owner of PartyCasino, Foxy Bingo and PartyPoker said like-for-like revenues dropped three per cent to 398 million euros (£352.2 million) in the six months to June 30.

In its first set of results since the merger of Bwin and PartyGaming in March, the group said it came up against stronger comparatives with the previous year, which was boosted by the World Cup.

Revenues at its poker business declined 10 per cent to 104.9 million euros (£92.8 million) amid greater competition, including a campaign from rival 888 fronted by former Australian cricketer Shane Warne.

Underlying profits fell 21 per cent to 72.4 million euros (£64.1 million) after the group, which generates a quarter of its income in Germany, was hit by increased gaming duties as it launched in newly regulated markets.

Bwin said the number of new poker players signing up to its brands increased six per cent to 373,700 in the period, but active player days were down 11 per cent.

Revenues at its bingo arm were down eight per cent to 33 million euros (£29.2 million) amid intense competition in the UK, while sports betting revenues were down two per cent. But its casino and poker division saw revenues increase two per cent to 124.3 million euros.

*The writer has conducted b2 with Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Wynn Resorts May Purchase Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, by Greg Tingle - 20th August 2011

2011-08-21T01:05:00.001+10:00

Profiles

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyCasino.com PartyPoker.com Steve Wynn World Poker Tour United States Media Man

Earlier this year, PartyGaming and bwin merged to create Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, which is traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol BPTY. In an news article that appeared in The Independent last Tuesday, it was noted that since the two online gaming giants merged, the combined company’s share price has dipped by nearly half. While part of the drop might be due to a slowing economic environment worldwide and so no action might be needed, other entities felt that an infusion could be in the offing.

The Independent added that Wynn Resorts, headed up by Steve Wynn, has emerged as a possible investor in the newly formed gaming giant, which is focused on the European market and continues to feature two separate online poker rooms. Readers will recall just before Black Friday in the United States, PokerStars and Wynn Resorts announced that, once a gaming license was secured in the United States, the two companies would team up to launch Poker Stars Wynn.

Following Black Friday, in which the founders of PokerStars were indicted on charges that included money laundering and bank fraud, the deal with Wynn was called off as you would expect.

The news outlet cautioned, however, that investors might wait for the gaming environment in the United States to be sorted out first: "Not everyone agreed with the chatter, however, with one trader saying acquisitions in the sector were unlikely until there was further clarification over the potential regulation of online gambling in the U.S."

On Thursday, shares of Bwin.Party closed at 106.50 in London. Other rumored "aggressors," as the Independent calls prospective investors, include William Hill, which is also publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange. Shares of BPTY stood above 160 pence in April, but have since dipped.

One poster on the TwoPlusTwo forum, questioned whether the rumors of a Wynn takeover were plausible: "So the newly merged Bwin.Party will sell to Wynn before even taking advantage of all the millions of Euros they will make in the first two years by virtue of the their merger synergies?"

Despite the merger, PartyPoker.com remains the flagship site of its own network, while bwin makes its home on the Ongame Network alongside rooms such as Betfair.

Caesars Entertainment, one of the principal competitors of Wynn Resorts, has partnered with 888, also a publicly traded company in London. Prior to Black Friday, Full Tilt Poker teamed up with Fertitta Interactive, whose ownership group has strong ties to Station Casinos. Along with the PokerStars - Wynn deal, the latter fell by the wayside once the U.S. Department of Justice took action in April.

Other members of TwoPlusTwo continued to cast doubt on the validity of The Independent’s report. One player wrote, "Party has never had any interest in selling. This feels like an absolute recycle of the previous such rumor that they were going to be bought out by Harrah’s. Unsurprisingly, it turns out there was never such a thing on the table and the only connection was former Party CEO Mitch Garber moving to Caesars Interactive."

Rumors have also persisted that the Ongame Network could be sold outright. To that end, Sharecast.com noted in a recent article, "Bwin.Party, the world's largest online gaming group, already has its poker network, Ongame, on the auction block. The sale is expected to generate between 20M and 30M Euros ($28.5m to $42.7m), a modest figure reflecting the loss of players the network will incur through the sale."

But could a deal between Wynn and Bwin.Party be finalized before online poker is legalized in the United States? And will it matter? This week, the New York Post published an article stating that online poker legislation could be coming sooner rather than later. One source told the Post, "I think there is becoming a feeling in Congress that this is something that needs to be regulated and be done. I believe there is a possibility a bill will pass towards the end of the year."

Media Man will be following the story with weekly reports.

*The writer has conducted b2 with Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment and Betfair.

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Casino Travel Media: Modest growth expected for gaming - 13th August 2011

2011-08-13T23:46:00.000+10:00

Profiles

Gaming Gambling Crown Casino Crown Limited Tabcorp Holdings Echo Entertainment Star City Tatts Group Australia Media Man

Australian gambling companies are expected to report modest growth in earnings this reporting season as consumers rein in their discretionary spending and casino operators face tough competition from overseas.

"Gambling is part of discretionary expenditure, so I'm anticipating that gambling expenditure will be down," Morningstar gaming analyst Ross MacMillan said.

Earnings in the gambling sector may grow two or three per cent, but "It's going to be very subdued earnings growth if we see any at all," Mr MacMillan said.

The outlook for the current financial year was expected to be very cautious and limited in detail.

Mr MacMillan anticipated most companies would hold off providing guidance until their annual general meetings when they would have at least three months of performance under the belt.

The big issue for Tatts Group and Tabcorp would be the source of future growth, he said.

Tatts and Tabcorp hold a duopoly over poker machines in Victoria outside of the Crown casino in Melbourne. The Victorian poker machine licence expires in 2012.

Tabcorp was recently awarded a new wagering and betting licence in Victoria, winning it over Tatts. The wagering licence allows Tabcorp to offer wagering on thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing and other sporting events.

Lower gambling expenditure would affect revenues, so gambling companies would have to look at cutting costs, Mr MacMillan said.

He said Tatts would be looking to strip out as many costs as possible from the NSW lottery business it acquired in March 2010.

Tatts also would think carefully about the South Australian lottery business, which is likely to come up for sale in the next 18 months.

Mr MacMillan said the main issue affecting the Tabcorp results would be the recent demerger of its casino operations - now known as Echo Entertainment Group - which would make Tabcorp's accounts "messy".

An issue facing casino operators Crown and Echo was the size of the capital expenditure needed to revamp their casinos so they could compete with big new casino-resorts in Singapore and attract more VIP gamblers (high rollers) from China.

"This is a real issue: whether it (capital expenditure) will continue in the future," Mr MacMillan said.

Fat Prophets gaming analyst Greg Fraser said consumer spending had been weak and was likely to be reflected in gaming results at the "grind end" of the market.

Mr Fraser said he expected a reasonable result from Tatts Group.

Although a larger proportion of Tatts' earnings now came from lotteries, gaming operations were likely to attract attention because that's where uncertainty lay.

"Having missed out on the Victorian wagering licence, it'll be interesting to see what they (Tatts) say about their future now and what their plans might be," Mr Fraser said.

Tabcorp also needed to detail its plans for the new Victorian wagering licence and explain how the company would replace gaming machine earnings once they disappear in 2012, he said.

Among the casino operators, Crown's result was likely to be stronger than that of Echo Entertainment, largely because Crown had spent its money on refurbishments and re-organising its gaming floors sooner and, arguably, more effectively than Echo.

Much of the Star City refurbishment was aimed at non-gaming activities, so the casino's success over the next year should be measured by the increase in visitation numbers.

"In that sense, it's the outlook statement for Echo this time that is perhaps more important than this year's financial result," Mr Fraser said.

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Casino Travel Media: Caesars Entertainment wins approval for $500m Vegas project - 9th August 2011

2011-08-09T12:35:00.002+10:00

Profiles

Casinos World Casino Directory Caesars Entertainment Las Vegas United States Travel Property World Directory Media Man

Caesars Entertainment has won approval for a major new entertainment, retail and dining development – codenamed Project Ling – in Las Vegas.

Clark County commissioners offered its approval to the project – situated between the Imperial Palace and the Flamingo casinos – earlier, with Caesars now hoping to break ground later this month.

When completed – in 2013 - the $500 million complex will include the biggest Ferris wheel in the world.

At 550-foot, the wheel will be larger than the Singapore Flyer and the London Eye.

“This is more of an entertainment experience,” explained Caesars spokesman Gary Thompson, noting Project Ling will offer no central gaming area.

It is hoped the project will create 3,000 construction jobs and 1,500 permanent jobs.

Caesars Palace Las Vegas Gets World Class Entertainment...

Celine Dion
Celine has always been a pioneer when it comes to creating groundbreaking concert performances and this next adventure promises to be the best ever! Featuring 31 musicians, consisting of orchestra and band, Celine’s new show will include her biggest hits performed with a stunning visual presentation.

Jerry Seinfeld
Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner and entertainment icon Jerry Seinfeld is still a front-runner in the ratings. As a testament to its success in the television landscape, TV Guide's poll of the "Greatest Shows of All Time" listed "Seinfeld" as #1.

Rod Stewart
Legendary rock icon Rod Stewart returns to The Colosseum at Caesars Palace for the first 18 concerts of his two-year Las Vegas residency, kicking off on August 24, 2011. Rod Stewart: The Hits. will be a concert celebration featuring a set list of the rock and R&B favorites which have defined Stewart’s unparalleled five-decade-long career.

Luis Miguel
Latin music superstar Luis Miguel will return to The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in celebration of the 2011 Mexican Independence Day weekend September 15-18 at 9 p.m. The four night engagement is presented jointly by AEG Live and Caesars Palace.

Elton John's Million Dollar Piano
World-renowned singer, songwriter and performer, Elton John will return to The Colosseum at Caesars Palace with an all new show, “The Million Dollar Piano,” beginning September 28 for sixteen shows. Elton’s September return will mark the beginning of a three-year residency at The Colosseum and his second as a Caesars Palace headliner.

Shania Twain
Shania Twain, international superstar and the world’s best-selling female country artist of all time returns to the stage and vocal spotlight with a two-year residency at The Colosseum.

Matt Goss
Produced by Robin Antin, creator of The Pussycat Dolls, Goss' show will offer a dynamic blend of musical talent.

Spiegeltent At Caesars Palace

Absinthe
Absinthe is taking Las Vegas by storm, stripside at Caesars Palace. Described by The New York Times as “Cirque channeled through The Rocky Horror Show”, Absinthe is an intoxicating collision of circus, burlesque and vaudeville featuring curious creatures, heavenly bodies and outrageous comedy.

*Media Man public thank you to Caesars Palace management and media unit.

Websites

Caesars Palace Las Vegas

Caesars.com

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Australian Casino News

Australian Casinos

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Australian Gambling News; Asia Pacific Gaming Connection: James Packer...Crown Melco, by Greg Tingle - 8th August 2011

2011-08-08T09:01:00.000+10:00

Profiles

Casinos Australia Asia Pacific Macau Crown Limited Burswood Entertainment Complex James Packer Casino Legal Media Man

Perth's Burswood Casino Sued After Stolen Cash Gambled Away...

Burswood Casino is being sued for in the region of $600,000 stolen from a Perth engineering company by an accountant who used the money to help fund his gambling addiction.

In a Supreme Court writ lodged last week, Exceleng Corporation claims Burswood was "unjustly enriched" at its expense when accountant Anthony Bianco deposited stolen funds in a casino account from which he could withdraw gambling vouchers.

Bianco, who pleaded guilty to nearly 300 counts of stealing as a servant between 1998 and 2005, was sentenced to 3.5 years jail in 2007 and served at least 21 months for siphoning $925,000 from his Naval Base employer.

Lawyers for Exceleng, trading as Alltype Engineering Services, argue that Burswood facilitated Bianco's breach of trust.

"(Burswood) recklessly failed to make any reasonable inquiry as to the funds so transferred into (the casino's) account and their source, and should reasonably have been aware, given the quantum of such transfers, that inquiry as to the funds and their source was required," the writ states.

Alltype managing director Colin Heitman said Burswood had a case to answer, claiming it ignored an obligation to report big transactions for independent tracking.

"I think Burswood has an obligation to protect businesses and individuals against fraud and they don't do that," he said.

"I don't think they uphold their duty of care when it comes to protecting people against electronic fraud.

"It was an extraordinary amount of money.

"Fortunately we've survived and moved on."

Bianco, of Cannington, said yesterday: "That was like six years ago.

"I'm all finished, I'm finished with that."

In a 2007 Court of Appeal decision that increased Bianco's original 2.5 year term by a year, Bianco was described as an immature man in denial about his gambling addiction.

"His immaturity led him to identify achievement as related to being admired as a high roller and being well known in the casino context," the judgment said.

Burswood Casino declined to comment on the legal action.

Malaysian Gamblers Drown Fleeing...

Police say five men have drowned in northern Malaysia after leaping into a river to escape a gambling raid.

A police spokesman in Malaysia's northern Kedah state says the men were among 20 suspects who were playing dice games by a river on Saturday when police tried to detain them.

He says five men sought to escape by swimming to another village across the river, but a search team found their bodies over the next few hours. Most of them were in their 40s and 50s.

Betting and gambling in public without a licence is punishable by a six-month prison term and a fine.

Melco Crown To List In Hong Kong...

James Packer's Macau casino joint venture Melco Crown Entertainment plans to list its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to improve liquidity and raise equity to help fund a new $US2.5 billion ($2.38bn) casino resort development.

Melco Crown chief executive Lawrence Ho said the proposed dual listing -- the stock is already listed on Nasdaq -- would give Oriental investors a more direct access to the stock and put Melco on a par with other Macau casino operators that all have Hong Kong listings.

"We believe our proposed dual listing on the local bourse will not only put us on par with our competitors but will also provide our existing shareholders with much enhanced liquidity, while providing us with access to an additional source of capital," Mr Ho said in a statement.

It is widely believed Melco Crown wants to proceed with the issue before the end of the year.

The move is likely to include an equity raising rather than simply a compliance listing, although analysts expect the raising to be small given they expect neither joint venture partner will want to be diluted in the issue.

Packer's Crown owns a 33.5% stake in Melco. The equity will help fund the development of Macau Studio City, a $US2.5bn integrated gaming, retail and entertainment resort to be developed in Macau, although much of the project is expected to be debt-funded.

It will be Melco Crown's third casino in Macau, although the joint-venture partners must first negotiate with local authorities to ensure a casino is included in the project plans. The current government-approved plans do not contain any gaming elements.

Citi said a dual listing would allow Melco Crown to join key benchmark indices and improve liquidity.

Macau's gaming regulator has revealed that July gross gaming revenue was $US3bn, the second-best month this year.

However, Melco shares have fallen sharply. They opened at $US16 last Monday but closed at $US12.94 in Thursday trading on the Nasdaq, down 13.15% on the day. The shares rose 21% last month.

Readers...er, punters, please bet with your head, not over it, and have fun.

*the writer owns shares in Crown Limited

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Australian Casino News

Australian Casinos

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Casino News Media: What's The Craic? THE PKR World Poker Tour® Ireland Set For January 2012

2011-08-04T21:07:00.000+10:00

Profiles

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyPoker.com PartyCasino.com PKR.com World Poker Tour Poker Online Poker Ireland Casinos World Casino Directory

LOS ANGELES – 2nd August 2011 -- World Poker Tour ® is thrilled to announce a new date for its historic 10th season, as the main tour stops on the Emerald Isle for the very first time. The PKR.com WPT Ireland, featuring a €2,500 buy-in (10% withheld), will take place at the legendary City West Hotel in Dublin from Thursday 5th January – Sunday 8th January 2012.

WPT Ireland is the first event in a three-year deal inked between the World Poker Tour and leading next generation online poker room PKR.com, renowned for its thriving community and innovative 3D software.

As well as being a major tour stop that will award a $25,500 seat for the WPT World Championship, the PKR.com WPT Ireland will also incorporate the popular Irish Poker Championships, formerly held in Galway in early January. The €750 IPC Event will be part of a competitive series of side events to be announced shortly. Additionally, qualifiers coming through PKR.com will also win exclusive access to the PKR WPT Experience. Continuing on from their popular series of events during the WSOP in Las Vegas, players will now get to enjoy great parties and special events in Dublin around the WPT Main Event.

Adam Pliska, President of the World Poker Tour said: “We are excited to be join with our partner PKR.com to bring the World Poker Tour to Ireland for the very first time. The history and heritage of poker in the Emerald Isle make it a tremendous tour stop and the beautiful City West Hotel and all of its top-notch accommodations will make this a memorable event.”

Simon Prodger, Marketing Director of PKR said: “We are delighted to partner with the World Poker Tour to bring an event to Ireland for the very first time. Dublin will be a fantastic tour stop and we think the combination of high quality poker and the Irish spirit of fun will draw players from all over the world.”

Online qualifiers get underway on PKR.com later this month.

The most recent stop on the World Poker Tour, WPT Slovenia, presented by Goldbet.com, was won by Slovenia’s Miha Travnik, a 20-year old playing in his first major live tournament, who took down $144,399, including a $25,500 entry to the 2012 WPT World Championship at the Bellagio. Next month the highly anticipated Legends of Poker kicks off WPT Season X in the US on August 25 at the Bicycle Casino outside Los Angeles. Prior to shuffle up and deal, WPT will hold a press conference announcing a variety of new initiatives and developments for Season X, as well as award World Poker Tour Season IX Player of the Year Andy Frankenberger his POY trophy.

ABOUT WORLD POKER TOUR
World Poker Tour (WPT) is one of the most recognized names in internationally televised gaming and entertainment with brand presence in land-based tournaments, television, online and mobile. Leading innovation in the sport of poker since 2002, WPT ignited the global poker boom with the creation of a unique television show based on a series of high stakes poker tournaments. WPT has broadcast globally in over 150 countries and territories and is currently airing its all-new ninth season on FSN in the United States. Season 9 of WPT is sponsored by ClubWPT.com, a unique online membership site which offers inside access to the WPT as well as a sweepstakes-based poker club and is available in 35 states across the U.S. WPT participates in strategic brand license, partnership and sponsorship opportunities. WPT is a subsidiary of bwin.party digital entertainment plc. For more information, go to WorldPokerTour.com

ABOUR PKR (WWW.PKR.COM)
PKR is a revolutionary new concept in online poker that has changed the way the game is played. Featuring stunning real-time 3D graphics and a uniquely engaging and immersive gaming system, PKR brings an unparalleled and previously unseen level of realism to online poker. Developed by some of the brightest stars in the video games and poker industries, PKR continues to be the most innovative poker room in the world.

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Global Gaming Directory

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Media Man Games

Casino Travel Media: bwin.party digital entertainment Directorate Change

2011-07-28T15:19:00.000+10:00

Profiles

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyCasino.com PartyPoker.com PartyBingo.com World Poker Tour London Stock Exchange Media Man

News

News Casino News Poker News Gambling News Financial News

15 July 2011

bwin.party digital entertainment plc

("bwin.party" or the "Company")

Directorate Change

The Board of bwin.party announces the appointment of Geoff Baldwin as a non-executive director of the Company with immediate effect. Mr Baldwin replaces Rami Lerner who is stepping down from the Board today as a non-executive director.

Geoff Baldwin's appointment is made following a nomination under the terms of a relationship agreement entered into by amongst others, bwin.party, Emerald Bay Limited and Stinson Ridge Limited that was approved by shareholders on 28 January 2011.

Geoff Baldwin, aged 46, is an investment banking professional with more than 24 years of experience, including serving as a M&A generalist in New York for five years and a technology M&A specialist for the last 19 years, primarily in Silicon Valley, California. He is a founder of GCA Savvian, a global investment bank that is publicly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with dual headquarters in Tokyo and San Francisco. In the United States, GCA Savvian specialises in technology investment banking and is recognised as having a leading franchise in digital media, including social and mobile gaming, internet advertising and ecommerce. Mr Baldwin currently serves on the board of directors of GCA Savvian's listed parent company (GCA Savvian Group Corp.) and its European subsidiary, is a member of the firm's global executive committee and is head of the firm's M&A advisory practice in the United States. Prior to founding GCA Savvian, Mr Baldwin was a Managing Director in Morgan Stanley's mergers and acquisitions group.

Commenting on today's announcement, Simon Duffy, Chairman of bwin.party said:

"We are delighted to welcome Geoff to the Board. Given the pace of change in our marketplace and his wealth of experience of working with high technology and social media companies, Geoff will be well-placed to contribute to the next phase of our corporate development. I would like to thank Rami for his contribution to the Board over the last two years and wish him well for the future."

There are no other disclosures to be made under Listing Rule 9.6.13.

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Crown Casino News: Police to advise Vic govt on Crown Casino; Australian Gambling News - 24th July 2011

2011-07-25T07:32:00.000+10:00

Profiles

Media Man Crown Casino James Packer Tabcorp Holdings Asia Pacific Games Gambling911 Internet City Of Dreams Macau Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Australia

Asia Pacific gambling is on fire. Much of today's coverage involved Aussie gambling king James Packer from Crown Limited fame being none to impressed with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, and Packer is using the media as a war against the "anti business" and "business unfriendly" PM. In addition Crown is rumoured to be interested in Echo Entertainment owned Star City casino in Sydney, understood to be at risk of having a number of brothel's and other vice related enterprises close by to its city location. Up to Asia, Crown may sell it's stake in Crown Macau to help raise funds for the takeover of Star City... Media Man and James Packer dish it out in spades with today's ace update from down under...

Crown Casino Under Microscope...

The Victorian government has asked police to advise if greater regulation of Crown Casino is needed after a series of violent incidents involving security guards there.

It was reported on Sunday that two off-duty police officers are suing the casino, alleging brutality at the hands of guards, who they allege put them in headlocks and wrestled them to the ground.

It comes just weeks after 40-year-old Andrew Dunning died of a heart attack after guards held him to the ground for eight minutes.

Homicide squad detectives are investigating his death and have said surveillance video shows Mr Dunning did not provoke security staff.

The lawyer for the two off-duty officers told News Ltd that since Mr Dunning's death, her firm had launched investigations into 10 cases of alleged assault by Crown bouncers.

Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu said he would not comment on the latest assault claims as Victoria Police was drawing up a report on ways to improve security at the casino.

"Victoria Police has raised some issues with the government and we've invited them to come back to us with any suggestions in terms of additional action or regulation that needs to take place and we'll wait for them to come back to the government on that," Mr Baillieu told reporters.

"It's one of the biggest tourist drawcards in Australia, quite frankly, and we need to recognise it as such, and obviously a lot of people attend (and) from time to time, people attend there and get themselves into some sort of difficulty.

"We don't want to see that happen and we'll do whatever we can to avoid that and await Victoria Police's response."

Comment was being sought from Crown Casino.

Crown Casino Not Impressed With Taxi's...

Councils, the casino and a CBD police officer have delivered a poor assessment of Melbourne’s taxis to an industry inquiry.

In Crown’s submission to the Allan Fels chaired Victorian Taxi Industry Inquiry, the casino slammed drivers’ language skills, hygiene, Melbourne street knowledge and short fare refusal.

Crown’s submission, from deputy chief executive Greg Hawkins, said Melbourne’s taxi services fell short of interstate and international standards.

It highlighted safety concerns with cab ranks at night, with patrons experiencing antisocial behaviour.

This was also raised by Sen-Constable Dean Anderson, who has worked for ten years in the CBD.

He said less cabs were needed during the day, and more at night to pick up passengers when trains stop.

“The city is full of alcohol fuelled party goers trying to get home quickly, more taxis on the road… would alleviate some of the assaults that occur in the city on these busy nights,” he said.

Crown Limited May Sell Out Macau Casino Investment To Raise Cash For Echo Entertainment Star City Bid...

JP's Crown could fund a $3.6 billion move on casino rival Echo Entertainment next year by exiting its growing Macau venture, analysts say. Crown this week confirmed a 4.9% interest in Echo and Tabcorp Holdings by way of derivatives, which it acquired before Tabcorp's demerger of the casino group this month. Crown talked down its interested in Echo and Star City et al. Despite Crown saying it has no "current" intention of increasing its interest in either, Merrill Lynch analyst Nathan Gee said it could make a move next year on Echo after the relaunch of its Star City casino in Sydney. Echo is also upgrading its three land based casinos in Queensland in a $1.6bn expansion investment. Gee advised Crown acquired a stake in its Burswood casino in Perth in 2003 before its full takeover in 2004. "The Star relaunch in late 2011 will be a critical time for Echo management, so we think it makes sense for bidders to allow management to concentrate," he said. "We can't discount a Crown takeover of Echo, but we think a deal is unlikely until 2012. A combination of Crown and Echo could create about $600m of net present value synergy benefits." Crown is expected to be weighed down by its holding in Echo and yesterday ended down 1.15%at $8.57. Echo dropped 1.7% to $4.10. Takeover speculation has been rife around Echo Entertainment and Tabcorp since its demerger in a similar vein to beer firm Foster's, which this week attracted a $9.5bn offer from brewing giant SAB Miller after it demerged its wine unit. While some analysts have seriously questioned Crown moving on Echo, particularly given its mixed merger and acquisition record, Gee said Crown could pay up to $5.25 per share, or $3.6bn, for Echo and make the deal "valuation neutral". He said Crown could fund a bid without a large equity raising by selling its $2bn or so stake in its Macau venture, Melco Crown Entertainment (MPEL), plus up to $700m of debt. "We can't rule out Crown looking to divest MPEL, particularly if the Australian market continues to discount the value of Macau relative to the Melco Crown share price," Gee went on record with to the press. Crown currently holds a 33.4% stake in Melco Crown, which has signed a $US360m deal to secure the group's third casino resort in Macau. Citi yesterday initiated coverage of Echo at a buy and a $4.70 target price but said private equity was a more likely near-term buyer than Crown. "The numbers are challenging for Crown . . . private equity may have interest, as the casino cashflows facilitate high leverage, and the ultimate exit strategy is clear, through a sell-down of Star to Crown and Queensland casinos to Sky City," analyst Jenny Owen said. On Macquarie's numbers, predators would struggle to offer more than $5 a share for Echo. On Crown's Tabcorp holding, Gee said it could hold in the hope of Tatts making its mooted move on Tabcorp. A Media Man analyst said "The Star City casino opportunity could go either way. It's too early to tell but James Packer keeps downplaying interest in the opportunity for a buy out. Is he bluffing? Only time will tell, but expect to get a clearer picture in the next 6 to 12 months".

Aussie Gambling And Media King James Packer Not Impressed With PM Gillard...

Pokie machine reforms that considerably threaten earnings for casino owner James Packer have prompted Packer to label Prime Minister Julia Gillard as "anti-business", according to leading newspaper, the Australian Financial Review. Packer has expanded his casino holdings by taking a 4.9% stake in Tabcorp Holdings Ltd, which gives him a small stake in Echo Entertainment, which owns Star City casino in Sydney. Packer has engaged ex ALP national secretary Karl Bitar to raise the pressure of lobbying efforts against the government on gambling reforms, which have been led by Tasmanian Independent MP Andrew Wilkie. In recent weeks, many of Gillard's cabinet ministers have been reportedly meeting one-on-one with Packer to discuss the impact of the proposed reforms, according to the AFR. Packer appears to climb in popularity while Gillard's popularity is well... not. She's extremely unpopular in the polls and in the pubs, clubs and casinos!

Australian Economy Not Good; Packer Says Gillard Is Anti Business...

Casino and media magnate James Packer has publicly attacked prime minister Julia Gillard, claiming the corporate world believes her to be anti-business. In an interview with The Australian Financial Review, Packer was quoted" "I think the problem for the prime minister at the moment is that while she keeps saying she’s pro-business, there is a real perception in the corporate world that she’s not. This perception is a real problem which she needs to address soon.".

Star City Casino In Sin City Sydney Getting Surrounded By Brothels?...

The mean and sometimes seedy streets around 'Sin City Sydney's' Star City casino could be overrun by brothels, pawnbrokers and money-lending businesses if Sydney council's draft city plan is not urgently fixed, the government's casino regulator has warned. The Casino Liquor and Gaming Control Authority has written to the City of Sydney, asking it to amend its new draft city plan to continue a longstanding ban on money-lending businesses near the casino and to impose a new ban on brothels within 150 metres of the site. The letter puts the casino regulator in conflict with the Department of Planning, which refused the bans when council proposed them as part of the city plan. The risk of "illegal or undesirable activity" concentrating around Star City was identified as a problem in a series of reports before it opened in 1995. It resulted in a statutory ban on pawnshops and money-lending operations, and government working with council to actively discourage brothels opening nearby. In its submission on the draft city plan, the regulator told council "it is noted that pawnbrokers and money lending businesses will no longer be prohibited from operating in the Pyrmont area, nor have any reasons for the proposed lifting of this long-standing prohibition been articulated. In the circumstances, this proposed arrangement cannot be supported. "The letter from the acting chief executive, David Greenhouse, also said that the regulator and council had worked together many times to prevent brothels operating in the area. The best solution would be for council's draft plan to create a ban on brothels within 150 metres of the casino, Greenhouse wrote. However, the regulator appeared to be unaware the city had proposed the bans to the Department of Planning and been refused permission. A department spokesman said it did not support the proposed bans because they would have constituted a sub-zone, which is not permitted under the government's new standard template for local environment plans. However, the spokesman said the department "is not formally opposed to the general position on this issue put forward by the CLGCA and is keen to work with Council and the CLGCA on an alternative solution." Any ban would impact at least one legal brothel already operating near the casino in Pyrmont Street. It comes as a development application for a new 14-room brothel across the road from the casino in Union Square was withdrawn by the applicant following a community outcry in May. Elizabeth Elenius from the Pyrmont Action group said residents were alarmed about the consequences of standard zoning in the draft city plan, saying it would open the area to undesirable uses. "We don't know on what grounds council can knock back undesirable things like a brothel in Union Square, where we have our Anzac Day ceremonies and carol services, unless they did have [a ban on brothels close to the casino] in place," she said. Council planners are considering more than 1000 submissions on the draft LEP 2011, the document controlling development in central Sydney in the next decade.

Telstra-NBN Broadband Update; What Happens To Gaming?...

The federal government is today expected to unveil an $11 billion deal that will provide the National Broadband Network access to Telstra’s fixed-line network. The deal will involve the NBN renting Telstra’s underground network and taking over its fixed-line customers. The federal opposition has criticised the move, saying it will prove expensive and wipe out any competition to the NBN. What may happen to gaming on the Australian internet remains to be seen, but if PM Gillard is anti business as James Packer says, that's not a great sign of things to come.

Lucky Tasmanian Devils; Thanks James Packer...

Solid efforts to save the Tasmanian Devil have received a boost, with the first joeys arriving in an insurance population of the species at a Hunter Valley property. A year ago 50 devils were released in a free-range enclosure at a property owned by media mogul James Packer, as part of a plan to produce a thousand disease-free little devils by 2021. The Devil Ark program is run by the Australian Reptile Park and spokeswoman Liz Vella says the ambitious plan is paying off. "We have got several mums with babies," she said. "We can't really confirm numbers because the babies are so small. "We try not to interfere with them too much, until they are at a safe size. "So we won't really know numbers until spring time." The Reptile Park says the enormity of the fight to save the Tasmanian Devil population cannot be under-estimated, despite success with the local breeding program. Ms Vella says the situation in Tasmania is dire, with devils across more than 60 per cent of the state affected by a deadly facial tumour. "It's really been a rapid decrease in numbers," she said. "It's horrific the way that they go as well, so the best chance they've got is this insurance population to make sure the species doesn't die out. "So the more work and time that we can put into this program the better." Ms Vella says she could not have hoped for a better start to the program. "The devils arrived in January and they started breeding in February," she said. "We weren't sure if they had enough time to settle in prior to breeding and how they would go in these yards, it's all so new, so to have success in this first year is really amazing. "It just shows how the program is going to go."

Packer's Crown Cools On Echo Entertainment...

Casino operator Crown says it has no current plan to increase its 4.9% stake in Echo Entertainment, a casino owner seen as a ripe takeover target. Echo, the owner of Sydney's Star City casino and three casinos in Queensland, is seen as a potential fit for billionaire James Packer's Crown, but analysts said international casinos group or private equity firms may also have their eye the firm. Crown confirmed today it has a 4.9 per cent in both Echo and gaming firm Tabcorp, acquired before Tabcorp offloaded Echo and the casino assets earlier this month. "Crown has no current intention of increasing its interest in either company," the firm said in a statement today. The statement followed a report in the Australian Financial Review which said Packer had confirmed taking the stake in Tabcorp before the demerger, which automatically gave Crown an equivalent stake in Echo. Analysts are divided on whether a takeover is more likely to happen before or after Echo completes a $960 million renovation at Star City, designed to help it attract Asian high-rollers away from Crown's Melbourne casino. Tabcorp spun Echo off to shareholders after being hit by smoking bans, equine influenza, competition from new casinos in Singapore and Macau. The remaining Tabcorp is seen as ripe for a merger with rival Tatts , but not before the state of Victoria decides later in June whether to award Tabcorp a new wagering license from 2012. Crown shares are currently sitting on $8.570. Echo Entertainment is on $4.10.

Man Charged Over Legendary Lloyd Williams' Robbery...

A man has been charged over a burglary at a property owned by the high-profile business identity, Lloyd Williams. Police say thieves broke into Macedon Lodge, north of Melbourne, earlier this month and stole two vehicles and veterinary equipment, including an X-ray machine worth $40,000. A 21-year-old man from Coburg was arrested yesterday and charged. He will face the Broadmeadows Magistrates' Court next week. Detectives say they believe more people were involved and investigations are continuing. Williams is a prominent horse owner and former boss of Melbourne's Crown Casino, the Australian showcase casino of James Packer.

Constuction Worker Not Getting Ahead At Crown Casino; Banged In Head...

A Melbourne man is in a very serious condition in hospital after an a lift plummeted three storeys and struck him in the head. The 38-year-old was working on a construction site at Crown Casino at Southbank when the lift dropped on him at 8:30am (AEST). Paramedic Christine Edney states the punter suffered serious cuts to his neck and his jaw was fractured. "The man lost blood from injuries to his neck, face and parts of his head," she said. "Our priority was to control the bleeding." She says he was incredibly lucky that he did not sever any major arteries in his neck. "If he had been a few centimetres either way, he may not be with us today," she said.

Casino And Gaming Share Prices...

Symbol Company $AUD

CWN Crown Limited 9.15
EGP Echo Entertainment Group 4.07
RCT Reef Casino Trust 1.70
TAH Tabcorp Holdings Limited 3.28

PLS Paddy Power plc 34.73 EUR

Punters, er readers, stay glued to Media Man reports for more "can't miss" information on Australian pokies, gaming and casino wars.

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming. Media Man also publishes Media Man News

*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited

Website Network

Media Man International

Media Man News

Media Man

Media Man Australia

Media Man Canada

Media Man Games

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Casinos Of The World; Land Based And Online Casinos

2011-07-23T15:58:00.001+10:00

Sin City Cleopatra Rambo The Godfather Sinatra The Terminator Thor Saturday Night Fever Unicorn Legend Palladium Slot

Punters, here's 10 of the world's top land based casinos for you to mark down in your travel plans.

Monte Carlo, Monaco: Perched above the Mediterranean and bounded by the French
and Italian coastlines on either side, Monaco provides a spectacular and luxurious setting for the wealthy and the wannabees. Home to the Monaco Grand Prix and the legendary Casino de Monte Carlo, this isn't the place for those on a tight
budget. The magnificent Casino hosts the annual European Poker Tour and was also the scene of several James Bond Films, including the original "Casino Royale" and "Golden Eye".

Paradise Island, Bahamas: Located just off the shore of the city of Nassau, Paradise
Island is best known for its sprawling 'Vegas-by-the-sea' resort, Atlantis. The resort spans seven acres along a lagoon, where guests can soak up the Caribbean sun and choose from a variety of outdoor gaming areas. When in need of a break from
the tables, guests can enjoy the private beach or one of the resorts 20 sunlit pools.

Melbourne, Australia: As Australia's sporting and entertainment capital, Melbourne
offers the perfect option for high rollers looking for a local break. Aussies need look no further than Crown Casino on the southern bank of the Yarra River, which is one of the largest casino complexes in the southern hemisphere. The main gambling
floor stretches more than half a kilometre and the casino was the first to introduce the new game Rapid Roulette, which allows players to place bets on a personal electronic touch screen connected to a central roulette wheel.

Macau, China: Known as the 'Monte Carlo of the Orient,' and the gambling capital of Asia, Macau now rivals Monaco and Las Vegas as one of the premier gambling destinations in the world. With no less than 33 casinos, in addition to local horse and greyhound racing venues, Macau is perfect for the betting junkie. The Wynn Macau
casino is a standout, highlighted by 24-carat gold 'Tree of Prosperity' at the entrance, extravagant water displays and Moon Jellyfish Aquarium at reception.

Baden-Baden, Germany: Situated on the western foothills of the Black Forest and on
the banks of the Oos River, Baden-Baden is not your typical casino town. However, in addition to its hot springs and picturesque countryside, the town is also known for its 200-year-old 'Spielbank' casino - the oldest of its type in Germany. With French chateau-style salons rooms named after historical figures such as Madame Pompadour and Louis XV's mistress, the quirky casino provides visitors with a very unique
gaming experience.

Las Vegas, United States: With over 1700 licensed casinos in operation, Las Vegas
offers the ultimate package for travellers who fancy a flutter. A visit to the famous 'Strip' is a must for any player, whether they're looking for a spin on the roulette table or a game of blackjack - this city has it all. The iconic Caesar's Palace
hotel and casino offers 129,000 square feet of casino space plus an endless smorgasbord of entertainment, shopping and fine dining options, including Cleopatra's barge, a floating lounge perfect for a relaxing drink after a jam-packed night on the
casino floor.

Manila, The Philippines: With a favourable exchange rate, Manila provides great value
for Aussies wanting to live the high-life overseas. The city offers a range of shopping and entertainment options, along with a world-class casino at the Hyatt Hotel. Spread across three levels, the sparkling casino offers the newest in gaming
facilities for both hotel guests and visitors, and is just a short distance from Manila's tourist hub.

Sun City, South Africa: Known as 'Africa's Kingdom of Pleasure,' this luxury resort
and casino complex, just two hours from Johannesburg, boasts two large casinos, two 18-hole golf courses and a wildlife reserve. At the extravagant yet picturesque Palace of the Lost City, guests are treated to stunning valley views from the guestrooms, along with exclusive access to the Grand Pool. The nearby Sun City Casino is the entertainment Mecca of the resort, featuring a myriad of gaming options as well as an indoor jungle of native foliage and water fountains.

Atlantic City, United States: Regarded as the US's 'Las Vegas of the East', Atlantic City in New Jersey is renowned for its gambling, shopping and fine dining. Towering above the banks of the Atlantic Ocean, the Trump Taj Mahal casino is an icon of the city, with an on-site shopping district and an abundance of restaurants and bars. The
157,000 square-foot casino is also hard to miss, with 3,500 slot machines and 200 table games. Unveiled in 1990 by a number of celebrities, including the late Michael Jackson, the casino is the second-largest in Atlantic City and well worth a visit.

Genting Highlands, Malaysia: Nestled on the Titiwangsa mountain range, just an hour's
drive from Kuala Lumpur and 6,000 feet above sea level, the Resorts World Genting offers 360-degree views of the surrounding countryside. This spectacular resort has first-class accommodation, dining and entertainment, while avoiding the hustle and bustle of a capital city. The on-site casino, which covers 200,000 square feet, is Malaysia's sole gaming venue and is divided into separate themed areas, such as Hollywood and Monte Carlo, for the ultimate gambling experience.

Online Casinos:

PartyCasino.com : The world's leading online casino brand and part of Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment. Play for free or play for money at PartyCasino.com New players get up to $3000 sign up bonus via Media Man.

VirginCasino.com : Virgin Casino is part of Virgin Games. The parent company is Virgin Enterprises Limited, the creation of the world's most famous and celebrated entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson. Unfortunately the casino does not accept players from many countries due to what is known in legal circles as "grey areas". Most European players can play, but no Americans, Canadians, Australians or New Zealanders.

Captain Cooks Casino : Was once a very popular online casino with Australians and New Zealanders, however we understand these days they can only accept players from a few regions such as Europe, South Africa, Canada and South America.

PKR : Once only a 2D online poker room, they are now more 3D and offer online poker and a good range of online casino games, including classics, Marvel slots and table games.

Media Man's top online casino choice: PartyCasino.com PartyCasino is a multi-time Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month' winner and have also won awards from EGR. Earlier this year PartyGaming merged with Bwin to create the worlds leading igaming company, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment.

News

Playtech Signs Gala Coral Contract, Acquires Mobile-Bet Company...

Playtech Ltd, the Internet gambling software maker and content developer which has a joint venture with William Hill Plc (WMH), said it signed a long-term contract with Gala Coral Group Ltd., and acquired Mobenga AB, a mobile-phone sports-betting company.

Playtech will pay as much as 15.8 million euros ($22.4 million) for Mobenga, the Isle of Man-based company said in a statement. Playtech also said second-quarter revenue rose 7 percent to 39.6 million euros over the same period a year earlier, led by online casino games.

Gala Coral, which has 2,000 betting shops in the U.K. and Italy, should become one of Playtech’s top three clients within a year after its software is transferred, in 2012, Playtech’s Chief Executive Officer Mor Weizer said in a telephone interview. Mobenga will help Playtech expand in mobile telephone gambling, which generates 30 percent of bets for some companies, he said.

“This is a very important win for us,” Weizer said. “We already have most of the established operators in the U.K., and Gala Coral we were after for a long time.”
Playtech gained 18.25 pence, or 5.4 percent, to 356.75 pence at 8:47 a.m. in London, after earlier rising as much as 6.3 percent. The shares have fallen 16 percent so far this year, giving the company a market value of 866.3 million pounds.

Stockholm-based Mobenga will give Playtech the ability to combine sports-betting, casino and poker games in one mobile- phone application, Weizer said.

Playtech generates more than 10 million pounds ($16.1 million) from its biggest client, Imperial E-Club Ltd., Weizer said.

‘Players’

Most of the company’s clients attract players through sports, though they make most of their money through games, so they’re always seeking to convert sports betters to game players, he said.

Second-quarter casino revenue gained 9 percent to 27.3 million euros, and bingo sales increased 32 percent to 3.6 million euros, the company said.

Poker sales dropped 32 percent to 5 million euros, the company said. The poker business declined even though the U.S. charged founders of online poker companies still accepting games in the country with money laundering in April.

Weizer said the companies still had cash to lure poker players. Poker numbers have been “picking up” since the end of June, when one of the companies stopped play, he said. Full Tilt Poker, then the world’s second-biggest poker site, lost its license from Alderney on June 29.

PartyCasino Gets New Games...

Aztec Gold, Atomic Fruit, Nag's To Riches and Fairies Forest. Check out the new games here.

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Global Gaming Directory

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Media Man Games

Casino News Media Profiles Updated

2011-07-18T15:10:00.001+10:00

Profiles

PartyCasino.com

PartyPoker.com

PartyBingo.com

PartyGammon.com

PartyBets.com

Gamebookers.com

PartyGaming

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment

Virgin Casino

Virgin Games

Betfair

Captain Cooks Casino

PKR.com

Playtech

Microgaming

World Poker Tour

World Series of Poker

Casino

Poker

Slots

Marvel Slots

Bingo

Sports Betting

Media Man

Casino News Media

News

Casino News

Poker News

News

Website Network

Casino News Media

Media Man Int

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Poker News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Casino Travel Media Website Network Updated

2011-07-10T15:42:00.002+10:00

Website Network

Media Man International

Media Man News

Media Man

Media Man Australia

Media Man Canada

Media Man Games

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Australian Gambling News, by Greg Tingle - 10th July 2011

2011-07-10T15:42:00.001+10:00

Media Man Crown Casino James Packer Tabcorp Holdings Star City Games NRL Internet City Of Dreams Macau Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Australia

Australian gambling continues to be red hot. We've got political fun and games, casino developments, revamps, and more. Media Man with the latest and greatest from down under...

Violence At Crown Casino; Punters Death Sparks New Claim...

A Melbourne bloke says he was bashed by about eight Crown Casino security guards who chased him out of the casino and left him a crimson mask. The 40-year-old man's case is 1 of at least 5 being handled by Melbourne law firm Arnold Thomas and Becker involving Crown security staff. The punter alleges that after a verbal war of words with security guards late last year, he was chased out of the casino and bashed by the group of guards. He alleges he was then dragged further down the road, possibly to remove him from the view of cameras, where he was again assaulted. A report was made to police, but a spokeswoman said they were unable to comment on the progress of the investigation. Solicitor Michel Margalit said one case currently being handled by the firm involved a security guard who had been allegedly bashed by a patron. "Our firm has been involved in an alarming number of cases involving allegations of violence at Crown Casino," she said. "It is extremely concerning that these incidents appear to continue at one of Melbourne’s major entertainment venues." The revelations come after 40-year-old Anthony Dunning died in The Alfred hospital on Thursday following a dispute with Crown Casino bouncers on Sunday. Dunning was in the casino's Velvet Room about 10.30pm when he was pushed to the ground and pinned to the floor by up to 6 casino bouncers for 6 minutes. The cause of his death has not been determined. Detective Senior Sergeant Ron Iddles, of the homicide squad, said CCTV footage of the encounter shows a clearly intoxicated Dunning being escorted from the crowded casino. "From what I can see on the video footage, I don't think that he has done anything to provoke them [the guards, but] I can't hear what's being said," he said. "Maybe he said something which gave them some belief that he was going to do something, so it's critical to actually ascertain what was being said." He said the footage showed Mr Dunning was not struggling while he was held down, with his legs, arms and head pinned to the floor, for up to six minutes. While he was on the ground Mr Dunning fell unconscious and suffered a cardiac arrest. Crown Casino did not contact police about the incident, despite having what Senior Sergeant Iddles said was a "moral obligation" to do so. Mr Dunning's friend, Matthew, suffered a broken nose and fractured arm during the same scuffle with guards. Matthew alerted police at 10am on Monday, when Dunning was on life support. A post mortem is being carried out on Dunning’s body to determine the cause of death. Punters and guards are urged to respect one another to keep further incidents at a minimum. The recent casino bashings have been damaging for Australian casinos, namely Crown, but insiders say the casino will bounce back and that the investigation appears genuine.

Crown Casino Patron Suing MSS Security; Casino Gets More Bad Press...

A punter ho claims he was knocked for six by a bouncer aka guard at Crown casino is suing a security firm for damages. As police investigate the death of Crown patron Anthony Dunning this week, it can be revealed that Waqas Ali Khan, 23, is suing MSS Security over an unrelated incident. Khan claims he suffered facial injuries, a fractured jaw, and psychological injuries, including stress, anxiety and depression, according to court documents. Khan was out with friends when he ended up at the casino early on August 1 last year. "He goes out on a Saturday night to have a good time with his mates and he ends up in hospital," said his lawyer, Nowicki Carbone partner Nunzio Tartaglia. He said a security guard had been talking to one of Khan's friends because he believed he was taking a video on his phone, and Khan went to his friend's aid. "A lot of it he does not remember, because he was knocked out," Tartaglia said. "Friends told him he was punched. It was totally unprovoked, from our account." Tartaglia said Khan had had four months off work as a result, and was seeking damages. Khan has filed a writ in the County Court against MSS Security, which he alleges was contracted to provide security services at the venue. Another man told the Herald Sun yesterday that about a year ago, security staff at the casino had tackled him and a friend to the ground and started hitting them, after they'd been asked to leave for being too loud. The man, who wanted to be known only as Tom, claims they were put in thumb locks, mocked, and forced to sing Baa Baa Black Sheep. He alleged they were taken into a back area of the casino and thrown against walls.
"I was pretty scared, to be honest," said Tom, now 22. "It was like a movie. I couldn't believe they would take you out the back and beat you up." A criminal lawyer, who did not want to be named, said it was possible that if the security guards involved in the incident with Dunning were found to have caused his death, they could face manslaughter charges. He said reasonable force could be used for protection, but it could not be excessive. "It must be proportionate to the threat faced." Nowicki Carbone partner Tony Carbone said that a "minute of madness" could cost people dearly. Not only could those involved in violence face charges, but they could be sued; any judgment could hang over their heads for 15 years, and in some cases could lead to bankruptcy. MSS Security and Crown Casino are not commenting.

Land Based Casino Robin Hood Blackjack Ace To Give Back In Australia...

Meet the modern day Robin Hood. He spends a lot of his time on the gambling floors of casinos, taking his winnings and donating them to the needy.

Not much is known about the secretive American but we know this...He plays blackjack under the pseudonym Robin Hood 702, and he is excellent at it. A high-stakes player, he wins thousands of dollars at a time.

He gambles in disguise, donning beards, glasses and hats. And he will visit down under next month to "steal" from our land based casinos and give away his winnings. He has asked Australians to visit his website and nominate a person or family in need of help - such as victims of natural disasters, illness or financial hardship.

"I will then pick a family or individual and fly them to the casino for the weekend, all expenses paid, and while they're enjoying the betterments of life I will be down at the casino playing blackjack for them," Hood advised.

He's given away $1 million plus to date. When he loses, the people Hood has chosen to help still get 50% of their bills paid, even if it means digging into his own savings.

He helped one American family wipe away more than $35,000 in debt, which they had accumulated from medical expenses while their three-year-old daughter battled brain cancer. He gave another woman more than $20,000 to care for her elderly parents.

He has also been known to wander around food courts pretending to be homeless, asking people for a bite of their sandwich and giving hundreds of dollars to those who say yes.

Hood's snack for winning big began when he was introduced to blackjack at 16. "First time I played, I won $122," he said. "I thought I broke the bank. Boy, was I wrong."

He practised his game by watching and learning but he does not like to play online.

He speaks of gambling with the likes of the late, great Kerry Packer..."he was a big gambler" - and being inspired by the late media mogul's generosity. But his mother, whom he cared for before she died, is his biggest motivation. "I watched my mother as a child help other people and do kind things and I just want to do the same."

Though he is much discussed on internet gambling websites and forums, he shies away from talking about his personal life with his Maid Marian (who calls herself Lady Greice) and does not show off his wealth.

"I try to keep the focus more on the gift, and not on the person giving it.
I also want to inspire other Robin Hoods, perhaps doctors and lawyers or business executives, who may consider giving to people in need. I would like to see an army of Robin Hoods."

Readers wishing to nominate themselves or someone they know to Robin Hood 702 can do so at www.robinhood702.com Good luck and be merry.

Star City At Sin City To Reach For The Stars, Dolphins And Whales...

Sydney's Star City is to relaunch in September with a brand new look and new name - The Star.

September 15 is set to be the day of the huge happening.

Looking to establish itself as Sydney's must-see tourist destination, owner Echo Entertainment Group has built an entertainment precinct which insiders say rivals that of Melbourne's Crown Casino complex and Perth's Burswood Dome.

"Until now, Star City did not realise its fullest potential as much beyond a casino," The Star's managing director Sid Vaikunta told the press "Our entire goal here is to, just like a star, create multiple reasons for people to be here. The casino is one amenity amongst several. In the past, the casino has been one amenity of one.

"For us, creating multiple reasons to be here, multiple reasons to come back, that is the fundamental shift from where it has been to where we are going."

Echo Entertainment, which de-merged from Tabcorp last month, has spent $860 million to bring The Star up to scratch with the aim of countering the highly competitive gaming market booming in Macau and Singapore.

In May, gambling and media king James Packer, who has controlling interests in Melbourne and Macau's Crown complexes and Perth's Burswood Casino, controversially said Australia's tourism industry was tired and under siege from more competitive Asian countries.

World Economic Forum figures show Australia's ranking in travel and tourism competitiveness dropped from fourth place in 2008 to an unlucky 13th.

"The market Australia should be aiming for is the affluent and rising middle-class Asian market," Packer said. "That is who Australia needs to be aiming for, because we are too far from Europe and too far from America."

Star City in Sydney faced the double problem of having to wrestle with the gaming growth in Asia as well as the strong offerings of Crown and Burswood.

Crown and Burswood will "complement" The Star and hopefully bring more tourists to Australia as a whole, Vaikunta said.

"This country deserves more than one casino that is talked about and no doubt, The Star should be that to Sydney," he said.

The new development will include restaurants from some of the world's top chefs, among them David Chang, Adriano Zumbo and Stefano Manfredi, as well as a raft of entertainment outlets and retail from everyday fashion to high-end stores.

Echo Entertainment will continue to use its 2000-seat Lyric Theatre, hosting Hairspray The Musical, and is planning a much bigger, world class, entertainment centre with a 4000-seat capacity. A five-star hotel will open later this year, adding 171 rooms to the apartment-style and tower hotel offerings already containing 479 rooms.

Architects have "flipped" the building, meaning Pirrama Rd will provide the main entrance to the complex instead of the previously used Pyrmont St.

"In the past we have been introverted and non-inclusive in our architecture but now we're opening up to the harbour and the city of Sydney," Vaikunta said.

While trying to entice more foreign visitors, Vaikunta said it was also vital Sydneysiders embrace the new precinct. For Echo this also meant coming up with a new name.

"What became clear to us is that Star City is in a beautiful city already, the city of Sydney. We are not a city within a city. So it became a very easy job of just eliminating the word city completely," Vaikunta said.

"First and foremost, The Star has to become a destination for Sydney.

"It has to become a place that Sydney is proud of, a place that becomes a part of the landscape of Sydney. If we are able to deliver, it will become a star within the city."

It'll bring new life to entertainment.

Sporting a new 4000-seat theatre in the planning to open next year, The Star aims to establish itself as Australia's top live entertainment venue.

Its owner, Echo Entertainment Group, has set its goal to attract top international performers like Prince and Elton John for several week residencies as well as big-budget stage productions.

"Sydney is hungry for an events centre that is close, that can accommodate 4000 people with high-end bars, not a bad seat in the house, the best acoustics, and to have it all here," The Star's managing director Sid Vaikunta said.

Illustrating the calibre of artists The Star is targeting, Sir Elton will play two nights at the Lyric Theatre in November as part of extended re-launch celebrations.

And multiple Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey will headline the Sam Mendes-directed play Richard III in the Lyric Theatre for 11 performances from December 1.

Complementing the current facilities, a ton of new and exciting offerings are planned for the precinct.

As well as world-class restaurants with top chefs, the new entertainment centre is planned to house major events such as televised award ceremonies (such as the ARIAs) as well as extended runs of shows for big-name artists and performance troupes like Cirque du Soleil.

"Until the events centre and our entertainment centre is built, we don't really get to throw the kind of events we want to throw," Vaikunta said. "We can explore a production or a review show once the event centre is in place.

"But the potential to have a headline artist, much like Celine Dion did in Las Vegas, or Prince or Elton John, for a headline artist to come here to a city like Sydney, which they love, to have hotel suites and penthouses that they can stay in to do three - or four-week shows is an absolute winning formula."

Las Vegas casinos are famous for having high-profile entertainers as resident artists, performing runs that can go for years. For instance, Celine Dion performed for five years from 2002 at Caesars Palace, Barry Manilow played the Las Vegan Hilton for five years until December 2009, while Prince is performing every Friday and Saturday at The Rio.

"We'd be more likely to bring out big stars for, say, a 12-week run over summer than permanently," Mr Vaikunta said.

CHEFS AND RESTAURANTS...

David Chang - Legendary NY chef will open Momofuku

Teage Ezard - Melbourne favourite will open a contemporary Australian grill

Stefano Manfredi - The famous Italian will treat diners to modern Milanese cuisine

Chase Kojima - To run a contemporary Japanese restaurant in the new five-star hotel

Flying Fish and Chips - Sydney restaurant Flying Fish will operate a fish and chip outlet

Golden Century - An offshoot of the Chinatown institution will open

Adriano Zumbo - MasterChef’s dessert superstar will open a patisserie showcasing his famous treats

SHOPPING...

More than 20 retail stores, featuring leading luxury brands will be found at The Star

The 5500m2 space, also featuring dining outlets, will connect the hotel, refurbished casino and other entertainment venues

PARTIES...

Cherry - A new stylish cocktail bar with views of Sydney Harbour

Rock Lily - A live music bar has opened already, staging Good Charlotte

Lyric Theatre - Currently hosting Hairspray The Musical, seats 2000 people

Concert venue - A 4000-seat entertainment centre to open late 2012

International artists - Elton John and Kevin Spacey begin an influx of OS stars

Halo Bar - showing sport 24/7 on 50 LED big-screen TV

GAMBLING...

300 gaming tables

High rollers flown in via private jet...a Bombardier Global Express XRS

VIP gaming - New luxury area is under construction on level 17

New five-star hotel - 171 rooms including four high-roller suites with butlers

Other - ask the friendly staff and management

Australian Soft Rockers Air Supply To Perform In Michigan, USA...

Island Resort and Casino - Mark it down. July 22 and 23, Australian soft rockers Air Supply will perform at the casino in Harris in the U.P. Tickets are $25.
Tickets are at www.islandresortandcasino.com

Pullman Cairns First Hotel In Australia To Introduce Optimum Service Standards To Boost Chinese Inbound Market - 15th June...

The Pullman Reef Hotel Casino in Cairns has been announced as the first hotel to be accredited to Accor’s new Optimum Service Standards for Chinese Visitation, paving the way for the hotel to attract greater numbers of Chinese visitors to North Queensland.

The formal accreditation follows this week’s announcement in Cairns by Federal Tourism Minister, Martin Ferguson, of a new 10-year strategic plan aimed at boosting China’s inbound tourism to Australia. He extolled the tourism industry to more actively cater for the Chinese market, which is the fastest growing inbound market for Australia, and already worth over $3 billion a year to the economy.

Earlier this year, Accor - Australia’s largest hotel group with 150 hotels under brands such as Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel and Mercure – announced that it would implement an Optimum Services Standards program for hotels in its group that aimed to attract large-scale visitation from the Chinese and Indian markets. It involved hotels implementing a wide range of services to cater for the specific needs of these two growth markets, and only hotels that met (and maintained) these standards would be accredited to pitch for this business.

Recognising the potential of Chinese inbound for the Cairns and Tropical North Queensland markets, the Pullman has led the way with adopting services to meet the needs of the emerging China market. These include translation of in-room collateral and the Welcome Kit to Mandarin, Mandarin speaking staff available to handle guest queries, all reception staff trained to give basic greetings in Mandarin, Chinese breakfast and mini-bar items, green tea and comfort items such as slippers.

In addition, the Pullman has implemented training for all staff on Chinese cultural practices, so that they can better understand the specific needs and requirements of Chinese travelers.

Commenting on the accreditation, Pullman General Manager, Adrian Williams, said that he was very pleased that his hotel was playing a pioneering role in the national push for more Chinese inbound tourists.

“The growth in Chinese inbound isn’t new, but the pace of the growth highlights the need for the industry to really look at what is being provided for Chinese travelers and to enhance the offer, because this market represents a significant future for our tourism industry,” said Mr Williams.

“Many of the measures under the Optimum Service Standards program are fairly straightforward, but it sends a strong signal to Chinese operators that Australia is not only welcoming their clients, but going out of their way to ensure they feel as comfortable as possible when they are here.

“Cairns and far North Queensland have so much potential for this market. The Great Barrier Reef is the primary draw-card, but Cairns has many other attractions - natural and man-made - that our ideal for Chinese tourists. The climate is appealing, our infrastructure is well developed, there is good shopping and entertainment, high quality restaurants, and our prices are very competitive.

“It was very encouraging that Tourism Minister Ferguson chose Cairns to launch the new China strategy here in Cairns, so it is now up to us operators to translate the strategy into action on the ground.

“The Optimum Service Standards will hopefully lead other North Queensland operators to follow suit and really look at the specific needs of Chinese travelers.”

Pullman Reef Casino Cairns is the largest hotel, tourism and entertainment complex in Far North Queensland, offering 5-star accommodation, the award-winning Tamarind restaurant, the Cairns Wildlife Dome (where visitors can view Australian wildlife icons such as kangaroos, koalas and crocodiles), a range of cafes, bars and shopping, and the Reef Casino.

Casino Slashes Number Of Planned Pokies...

The operators of the Alice Springs casino have reduced the number of extra gaming machines it had planned to install. Earlier this year, Lasseter's Casino started work on a $35 million project that it said would include 100 more poker machines. Shortly after, the Northern Territory Licensing Commission said it had not approved any increase in gaming machine numbers. It said it would take community concerns into account when deciding. Local social welfare groups raised concerns the increase would adversely affect the relatively high proportion of low-income local residents in the central Australian town. The casino released a statement saying the increase is now 30 machines. It said the decision had been made after "community liaising". The extra machines are scheduled to be installed by the end of next year. The casino expansion project is scheduled due to be finished by early 2013.

Former Online Casino A To Head Up Anti Cyber Crime Unit In Australia...

The was the need to create a "hunter" to combat cyber crime in Australia, an expert with a background in online casino design has warned.

Recently appointed Asia-Pacific director of the Global Institute for Cybersecurity + Research, Australian cyber security expert Craig Wright advised there was a lack of fundamental skills in security training.

"Things like .NET have become very sexy. But from a security point of view, assembly language coding has far more relevance," Dr Wright said.

The GICSR is an international non-profit organisation seeking to advance a comprehensive range of cyber security initiatives, cyber innovations and research. It is funded by a range of organisations including the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security in the US.

"When you are reverse engineering malware, you need to have knowledge right down to the base level first, and there is little being done about it anymore," Dr Wright said.

"We are not going into the depth that is necessary to fight, combat and find where the cyber crime initiates."

Dr Wright, an adjunct lecturer at Charles Sturt University, said there should be a focus on creating security specialists with a deeper knowledge base.

"So when a piece of malware or some other code comes out they can understand it at a fundamental level, they can start reverse engineering it, they can pull it apart and see how it was created," he said.

Dr Wright, who designed the architecture for the world's first online casino, Lasseter's Online (no longer online), in the Northern Territory, will focus on establishing a regional centre of excellence in cyber security for the GICSR.

In the past, Dr Wright has also designed and managed the implementation of a number of the systems that protect the Australian Stock Exchange.

The centre of excellence will involve the region's leading research organisations and universities and will initially focus on establishing doctoral research projects in cyber security priority areas such as cyber extortion, identity theft and money laundering.

"The attacks are becoming more and more sophisticated and we are not banding together to actually fight it yet," he said.

Dr Wright said the GICSR would look to establish similar relationships with regional intelligence agencies, governments and security vendors to those that it has in place with the groups in the United States.

The focus of the relationships would be to assist government, industry and security vendors to be much more aligned to cyber threats.

"Until we start approaching this collaboratively and thinking internationally, we are going to have huge problems and they are just going to get worse."

Casino News Media Website Portal Relaunched; International And Australian Content...

The ultra popular casino and gambling news website portal www.casinonewsmedia.com has been relaunched. The blog is updated daily and it also sports numerous news stories tipped off to friends in the business including at the world famous Gambling911.com and Poker News Daily websites. Multimedia can also be found at it's YouTube and don't forget the profiles section where 100s of personalities and brands are showcased. There's even some interviews with the likes of Bwin.Party's Jim Ryan, Virgin's Richard Branson and some Media Man management, of course! Last but not least, don't forget to check out the promotions and advertising sections, but the blog is a must!

Punters, er readers, stay glued to Media Man reports for more "can't miss" information on Australian pokies, gaming and casino wars.

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming. Media Man also publishes Media Man News

*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited

Website Network

Media Man International

Media Man News

Media Man

Media Man Australia

Media Man Canada

Media Man Games

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Virgin Casino Promotions: Virgin Gets New Slot Games; Media Man Virgin News Updated, by Greg Tingle

2011-07-09T00:23:00.001+10:00

Profiles

Casinos Casino Reviews Virgin Casino Virgin Games Virgin Slots Fairies Forest Hot Ink Queen of Hearts Wild Wolf V*Points Virtually Vegas Richard Branson Virgin Enterprises Limited Global Gaming Directory World Casino Directory Media Man

*Sorry no U.S, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand players. See Global Gaming Directory.

Virgin Casino Releases Fairies Forest Slot Game And New Promotion

To start off the new month, leading British online gambling brand Virgin Casino has launched a great new fantasy style video slot game entitled Fairies Forest, and a highly generous promotion to accompany it.

As its names suggests, Fairies Forest slots boasts a host of magical fairies in an enchanted forest across 5 reels and 25 paylines, which means players have lots of opportunities to trigger the game's many features.

Five Parrots can deliver a huge 5000 coin payout. These include the Parrot symbol, which when five appear on activated paylines, deliver a whopping 5000 coin payout, as well as the Magic Potion symbol, which can offer 1000 coins when five of them appear.

Virgin Casino slots also have an expanding wild symbol, so be looking for the Fairy herself, who only appears on reels 2, 3 and 4, but when she does, packs a punch. The Fairy leaps out and expands across the other reels.

Jumping out of the symbol and expanding across the other reels, turning them into an enchanted forest as she goes, while racking up winnings at the same time. The forest symbol is the slot games' high-paying scatter.

It's another quality game designed and developed by NextGen Gaming. Fairies Forest is tipped to become a player favourite, which is why Virgin Casino is running its Fairies Forest promotion until Sunday July 3, where players can earn bonuses of up to £650.

All first time depositors can enjoy a bonus of up to £100

The more a player bets, the more bonus money they will earn. For instance, players that wager £500 on the game will earn £10, all the way up to players willing to wager £25,000 to earn £650.

In addition, all first time depositors at Virgin Casino automatically qualify to receive a generous 100% matching bonus of up to £100 free.

Great Virgin Casino Promotion...

Online casino players tend to go for pirate themed slots and promotions, and this one is a winner.

This week Virgin Casino is offering its players both. Virgin Casino says, "Jackpots Ahoy! Come on board our latest Slot Game, Chest of Plenty, coming this Wednesday, and grab a share of the pirate treasure - up to £650 Cash!"

The promotion format is not new to players at Virgin Casino. They will have to wager between £500 and £25,000 on the new pirate themed slot game Chest of Plenty and other selected slots during the promotional period. Those who meet one of the target amounts will snatch the corresponding cash award. There are 10 different tiers set by Virgin Casino in this pirate themed promotion. To win the highest cash award of £650 casino players will have to bet £25,000. Players who are not high rollers, fear not, as there are lower targets also. In the first tier, for betting £500 players will be entitled to a bonus of £10. The promotion has started on July 4 and will conclude on July 10. All bonus credits will be paid into qualifying accounts on July 11.

The list of the relevant slot games has been displayed at the promotions page of Virgin Casino. When the Chest of Plenty slot game goes live players can commence betting on it. Till then they can choose from the other games. Many of these games are associated with the theme of riches. One of these games is Double Diamond from WagerWorks. This is a classic three reel slot game but has been popular for years. When the Double Diamond symbol matches any other symbol on the payline it doubles any corresponding award. Two Double Diamond symbols on the payline multiply the standard payout award four times. Three Double Diamond symbols on the payline fetch the top jackpot award.

Check out Da Vinci Diamonds, another quality slot from WagerWorks, now known as IGT. Check out the paintings by the master artist. The other symbols on the reels are priceless diamonds. The awesome feature of this slot game is Tumbling Reels. Symbols fall from the top of the screen instead of spinning upon reels. Winning symbol combinations disappear and new symbols tumble down to replace the vanished symbols. Casino players can win frequently on a single play of the game.

Other games include Cleo, Star Trek, Wolf Run, 100,000 Pyramid, Wipeout, Crocodopolis and The War of the Worlds. All these slot games are from IGT.

Virgin Casino is licensed by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission.

Virgin Games is part of Virgin Enterprises Limited. Just one company by the business master, Sir Richard Branson.

Websites

VirginCasino.com

VirginGames.com

Website Network

Media Man Int

Casino News Media

Media Man Games

Media Man Casino

Media Man Entertainment

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment To Sell Ongame; Bwin.Party Gets New Games And Promotions, by Greg Tingle - 1st July 2011

2011-07-03T09:09:00.000+10:00

Profiles

Sin City PartyCasino.com Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Hollywood Slots Comics
PartyPoker.com

PartyCasino, PartyPoker And Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment News

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment To Sell Ongame

The world’s largest listed online gambling operator, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, has begun the formal process of selling its Ongame Network Limited business-to-business subsidiary with completion expected before the end of the year.
Gibraltar-based Bwin.Party was born in late-March following the union of online betting and gaming provider Bwin Interactive Entertainment with PartyGaming and declared that the sale of Ongame was part of the ongoing integration process.
“One area of our stated strategy was to recycle surplus assets,” read a statement from Bwin.Party.

“As part of this process, and having taken some initial soundings from interested parties, we have commenced a formal process to sell Ongame’s business-to-business operation that is one of the world's leading online poker networks with a state-of-the-art technology platform.

“Since the completion of the merger that took place on March 31, we continue to make progress on implementing the plans that we had prepared prior to completion. As a result, we remain on-track to deliver the full €55 million of annualised synergies by 2013 as previously announced.”

Bwin.Party also revealed in a pre-close trading update that its business was trading in-line with management expectations ‘although sports margins have been lower than expected due to a favourable run of events for customers in May’.

“The improvement in new player sign-ups in poker following action taken by the US authorities against certain of the group's online poker competitors on April 15 has not had a material impact on poker revenues as new players represent just a small proportion of the overall player base and these companies have so far continued to command significant market share in non-US markets,” read the statement from Bwin.Party.

“Casino continues to perform well while bingo has been slightly softer than expected in the period.”

Finally, Bwin.Party stated that its board of directors has adopted a ‘progressive dividend policy’ that is set to start with a payment of €30 million for the year to the end of December while its share buy-back programme, which will remain in place for one year, currently has access to €75 million from existing cash resources.

Frank Miller's Sin City Comes To The World's Largest Online Casino

Casino News Media: Frank Miller's Sin City Comes To The World's Largest Online Casino

Profiles

Sin City PartyCasino.com Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Hollywood Slots Comics

Gibraltar - 17th June 2011 - Following up on last week’s release of Frank Miller’s Sin City: The Hard Goodbye at Digital DarkHorse comes more exciting news around this legendary title. Sin City has now entered the online gaming world, with a new game at PartyCasino.com This new five-reel, fifty-line slot features art and story from the widely acclaimed series by comics legend Frank Miller.

When Sin City originally appeared in Dark Horse Presents: Fifth Anniversary Special in April 1991, it was clear that the face of the comics medium had changed forever. Since that time, Miller’s groundbreaking comics noir has found its way into the public consciousness with toys, games, and even a feature-length motion picture. Frank Miller’s Sin City remains one of the most stylized works in the history of the medium, drawing heavily from film noir, including its use of shadow and stark backgrounds. The black-and-white comic was perfectly suited to the original format of Dark Horse’s flagship anthology, with occasional spot usage of primary colors added to later volumes and editions.

"Frank Miller’s Sin City is a very different slot to any other we have launched in recent times. The striking artwork and mature content mean this isn’t a game for the faint hearted," said a spokesman for PartyCasino.com

There are five featured games, which win the player free spins and multipliers: “Straight to Hell,” “The Hard Goodbye,” “He Never Screams,” “Deadly Little Miho,” and “Just Get Warmed Up.” The games feature the series’ main characters: Hartigan, Nancy, Miho, Marv, Kevin, the Yellow B*stard, and Dwight. The game includes mature content and scenes of violence, nudity, and depravation.

PartyCasino.com has the most frequent game launches in the industry and offers over 160 games, including over 100 slots. PartyCasino.com pays out easily over $10 million EVERY DAY to players. “The Big One” is structured as a five-tiered pool. The highest tier—Colossal Cash—seeds at $1.5 million, the biggest online jackpot seed in the industry, and currently stands at over $1.6 million.

About Dark Horse Comics

Since 1986, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator-friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent like Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Gerard Way, and comics legend Will Eisner, Dark Horse has developed such successful characters as the Mask, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Additionally, its highly successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Emily the Strange, Tim Burton, Trigun, Serenity, and Domo. Today Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic-book publisher in the US and is recognized as one of the world’s leading publishers of licensed comics material.

SIN CITY, FRANK MILLER’S SIN CITY and all characters therein and all depictions thereof are trademarks of Frank Miller, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ©2011 Frank Miller, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Profiles

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyCasino.com PartyPoker.com PartyBets.com PartyBingo.com Gamebookers.com Movies Sin City

In the meantime PartyCasino.com continues to roll out new games and initiatives.

The most popular PartyCasino.com games of late include Sin City, Unicorn Legend, Heist, Circus, Rambo, Palladium Slot, The Godfather, Sinatra, Slotbox, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Mission: Impossible, The Terminator, Cleopatra, Sinatra, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spider-Man, Monopoly, Resident Evil, Melon Madness, Wheel Of Fortune and Mega Fortune Wheel.

The PartyCasino.com jackpot is currently approaching the $4 million mark. Players can also compete for The Big One and Marvel Hero Jackpot, playing the Marvel super hero themed online slot games.

PartyCasino's most recent game releases include Sin City, The Sting, Unicorn Legend, Shaaark! SuperBet, Crocodopolis, Alice's Wonderland, Glamour Puss, Super Cubes, Heist, Palladium Slot and Circus Slot.

PartyGaming CEO Jim Ryan has gone on record advising PartyCasino will soon feature more Hollywood blockbuster themed slots. A few in the know journalists and media agents have been recently tipped off that an all time classic movie adaption will be showcased in the PartyCasino portfolio within 1 month. PartyCasino has the world's most impressive line up of Hollywood themed games, and more are just around the corner.

Media Man, Casino News Media and Global Gaming Directory do have a b2b relationship with Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, as they do with dozens of other companies in the gaming, igaming, media and entertainment industry.

The Big Fat Win

Collect your cut of more than $100,000
Starts: 00:00 ET, 6th July
Ends: 23:59 ET, 18th July

Sin City is now open for business and to welcome you to our most jaw-dropping slot game ever we’ve put together a cache of prizes worth more than $100,000.

With leaderboard cash prizes and double points for the taking, all you have to do is spin Sin City or any of our slots and jackpot slots to stake your claim for a share of this formidable haul of prizes.

Get paid in The Big Fat Win

Muscle in on your share of The Big Fat Win by opting in from 6th July and earning points when you play Sin City or any of our slots and jackpot slots during the promotional period. Palladium VIP members will be fighting it out for more than $60,000, while non-VIP players have over $40,000 to play for.

Remember, the higher you rise up the leaderboard, the bigger your reward.

Double points when you spin Sin City

Don’t forget, every time you play Sin City during the promotional period we’ll give you double the amount of points you would normally earn. Now there’s absolutely no reason for you to stay away from Sin City…

Make a name for yourself in Sin City

Lose yourself in Sin City and discover a slot game we’re certain will blow you away.

Based on the infamous graphic novel series, this unique slot is packed with dark humour, shocking visuals and, most importantly, free spins, multipliers features and five unforgettable bonus games. Wreak enough havoc in Sin City and you can win 1,000 times your line bet in the normal game and up to 8,000 times your line bet in the free spins feature.

Pay Sin City a visit today and see if you can make a killing.

Websites

PartyCasino.com

PartyPoker.com

There's Never Been A Better Time to Play at PartyPoker

GIBRALTAR - June 29, 2011 - There's never been a better time to play at leading online poker room PartyPoker.com New offers introduced TODAY include:

• $100,000 freeroll Make a deposit using bonus code 200JULY and you'll get automatic entry into a huge $100K Depositors freeroll on Sunday 7th August.

• 100% reload bonus Top up your account and get 100% extra up to $200. Just deposit using bonus code 200JULY. The 200JULY reload bonus is available until 23:59 on 7th August 2011.

• Summer Million freerolls Enter daily Summer Million freerolls and play for a Summer Million ticket and a $1,000 prize pool every day for free.

• Keep your VIP status Have you been a VIP at another site? Just email proof to vip@palladiumlounge.com and earn 1,000 points within 15 days and we'll upgrade your account to VIP status.

See PartyPoker.com for more information.

Cleaning up at the tables? Fancy a bigger project or just a bit of fun? Your chance to achieve total 'World Domination' gets underway at PartyPoker.com from the 8th July 2011. Conquer 72 cities by earning PartyPoints and pick up freerolls, cash prizes and a potential top prize of $100,000 on the way!

A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: "The premise is simple – divide and conquer! Rome wasn't built in a day but it could be won in an hour! Turn your PartyPoints into cities - the empire building continues until the 31st August or until all cities are conquered. There are 72 cities to conquer and freeroll seats, cash payouts and a top prize of $100,000. Just earn 10 PartyPoints to be randomly awarded a city from 72 available."

"Many of the cities have cash prizes and freeroll seats attached The big money comes in when you can complete all the cities in an entire continent, for example, getting all of Asia wins you $5,000 and Europe will bag you $20,000. Finally, a player who gets every single country has world domination – worth a cool $100,000."

As an incentive to get started, PartyPoker.com give you your first city for just 5 points. Tony G writes from his secret underground bunker at PartyPoker.com

Players can earn up to 100 cities a day throughout the World Domination promotion. Reveal the ones collected by logging in to your Party Account, checking the interactive map and start to accumulate a fortune.

For more information see: PartyPoker.com

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Confirms Ongame Poker Network Deal Possibilities

The Ongame poker network is "likely" to be sold, bwin.party has confirmed that a formal process to sell the B2B network is on the way.

The announcement was made earlier today ahead of today’s Annual General Meeting, the first held by the giant since the merger between Bwin and PartyGaming was completed last March.

The statement read "One area of our stated strategy was to recycle surplus assets,"..."We expect that any sale will be completed by the end of the year."

No licensee on the network has yet responded to bwin.party’s announcement, although Betfair’s outgoing CEO David Yu passed opinion on Ongame just yesterday.

Bwin.Party’s AGM statement contains details of a planned share buyback, which will see the company follow the examples of Playtech and Betfair in making such a move, plus news of a progressive dividend policy containing a €30m dividend payout for the year ending 31 December 2011.

As we go to press trading is described as “Broadly in-line with management's expectations,” however analyst James Hollins, of Evolution Securities, advised in a memo earlier today that “The stock remains a Neutral ahead of potentially disruptive German legislation near-term.”

Meanwhile Simon French, of Panmure Gordon, reiterated his firm’s ‘buy’ recommendation, explaining “[We] expect the shares to respond well to the dividend and share buyback news.”

German sports betting proposals in April had seen the share price of bwin.party dive 16% in a day, and a decision on the country’s State Gambling Treaty is expected in October.

Yesterday things turned around following the suspension of Full Tilt Poker’s licences in Alderney - the share price ended the day at 148.2p, an increase of more than 10% day-on-day.

Bwin.Party In Line With Management's Expectations

bwin.party digital entertainment's trading performance since the beginning of April has been broadly in line with management's expectations.

But is says sports margins have been lower than expected due to a favourable run of events for customers in May.

The improvement in new player sign-ups in poker, following action taken by the US authorities against certain of the group's online poker competitors on 15 April, has not had a material impact on poker revenue as new players represent just a small proportion of the overall player base and these companies have so far continued to command significant market share in non-US markets.

Casino continues to perform well while bingo has been slightly softer than expected in the period.

At 8:47am: (LON:BPTY) share price was +0.5p at 148.7p.

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Big On Security

The online gaming business PartyGaming has also long since been protecting its players with strong authentication. After all, there is a lot of money at stake – money that the dark forces may want to siphon away. PartyPoker, PartyCasino, PartyBingo and PartyGammon customers register by downloading the PartyGaming customer software. After registration, they can obtain an authenticator called PartySecure from the online store. This is again a Digipass Go 6 that has been completely adapted to the branding of PartyGaming. Here again, a Vacman Controller Server takes over the authentication. “The solution is highly scalable,” stressed a PartyGaming spokesperson. “It can grow with us and effortlessly cope with the growing number of online-players on our platform.”

bwin.party digital - AGM Statement - 30th June 2011

AGM Statement

Pre-close Trading update and Distribution Policy

Highlights

Ø Current trading broadly in-line with management's expectations

Ø Board has adopted a progressive dividend policy commencing with a dividend of €30m for the year ended 31 December 2011

Ø Share buy-back programme of up to €75m from existing cash resources

Ø Integration on-track to deliver €55m of annualised synergies by 2013

Ø Ongame B2B network to be sold

At the Company's AGM to be held in Gibraltar later today, the Board of bwin.party will be issuing the following statement to shareholders.

Trading and Regulation update

The Group's trading performance since the beginning of April 2011 has been broadly in-line with management's expectations, although sports margins have been lower than expected due to a favourable run of events for customers in May. The improvement in new player sign-ups in poker, following action taken by the US authorities against certain of the Group's online poker competitors on 15 April 2011, has not had a material impact on poker revenue as new players represent just a small proportion of the overall player base and these companies have so far continued to command significant market share in non-US markets. Casino (Paris: FR0000125585 - news) continues to perform well while bingo has been slightly softer than expected in the period.

The pace of regulatory change shows no signs of slowing down as governments around the world embrace the market reality that online gaming is an increasingly popular form of entertainment for adults. Recent developments include in Italy, where cash game poker and casino games are expected to become licensed next month, and in Spain where the proposed regulatory framework is expected to include all products. In Germany, Schleswig-Holstein's proposal to regulate and license all forms of online gaming has been approved by the European Commission and this legislation is now being considered by the State Parliament. An alternative proposal, as put forward by the other 15 Länder, has yet to receive approval from the European Commission.

In the United States there have been a number of fresh efforts to regulate internet poker at both a federal and state level, driven by US consumers' desire to continue to play games online following the enforcement action taken by the Department of Justice in April 2011 and also by widespread support for regulation by the land-based industry. The Group is encouraged by these efforts.

Integration update

Since the completion of the merger that took place on 31 March 2011, we continue to make progress on implementing the plans that we had prepared prior to completion. As a result, we remain on-track to deliver the full €55 million of annualised synergies by 2013 as previously announced.

Sale of Ongame B2B

One area of our stated strategy was to recycle surplus assets. As part of this process and having taken some initial soundings from interested parties, we have commenced a formal process to sell Ongame's Business-to-Business operation that is one of the world's leading online poker networks with a state-of-the-art technology platform. We expect that any sale will be completed by the end of the year.

Distribution Policy

Following the announcement on 15 April 2011, the Board has undertaken a comprehensive review of its capital and distribution policy. This review considered the investment needs of the business over the next few years given the expected changes to the Group's operating environment, together with the Group's significant net cash position, strong cashflow characteristics and long-term earnings potential.

Taking these factors into account, the Board is pleased to announce that it will:

Ø Commence a dividend at the half year results to be announced on 31 August 2011; and

Ø Implement a share buyback programme, subject to market conditions and shareholder approval at today's AGM, of up to €75m. This programme will remain in place for one year and all shares purchased under the programme will be cancelled.

In relation to the dividend the Directors have adopted a progressive dividend policy whilst maintaining an appropriate level of dividend cover, as measured against the Group's free cashflow. This policy reflects the strong cashflow characteristics and long-term earnings potential of the Group whilst retaining sufficient resources to fund ongoing operating requirements and continued investment for long-term growth.

For the year ended 31 December 2011, the Directors intend to pay out €15m as an interim dividend payable in October 2011 and €15m as a final dividend payable in May 2012. Thereafter, the Directors intend to target a payout ratio of no less than 30% of normalised annual free cashflow with the interim dividend representing approximately half of the total annual dividend.

Poll Results

The full results of the poll votes regarding the 16 resolutions to be put to the meeting, of which two resolutions (15 and 16) are special resolutions, will be announced later today.

Profiles

PartyGaming PartyCasino PartyPoker PartyBingo Circus PartyCasino Marvel Slots The Big One Melon Madness Casino World Poker Tour PartyCasino Promotions
Sin City

PartyCasino, PartyPoker And Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment News

2011-07-01T03:59:00.001+10:00

Profiles

Sin City PartyCasino.com Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Hollywood Slots Comics
PartyPoker.com

Frank Miller's Sin City Comes To The World's Largest Online Casino

Casino News Media: Frank Miller's Sin City Comes To The World's Largest Online Casino

Profiles

Sin City PartyCasino.com Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Hollywood Slots Comics

Gibraltar - 17th June 2011 - Following up on last week’s release of Frank Miller’s Sin City: The Hard Goodbye at Digital DarkHorse comes more exciting news around this legendary title. Sin City has now entered the online gaming world, with a new game at PartyCasino.com This new five-reel, fifty-line slot features art and story from the widely acclaimed series by comics legend Frank Miller.

When Sin City originally appeared in Dark Horse Presents: Fifth Anniversary Special in April 1991, it was clear that the face of the comics medium had changed forever. Since that time, Miller’s groundbreaking comics noir has found its way into the public consciousness with toys, games, and even a feature-length motion picture. Frank Miller’s Sin City remains one of the most stylized works in the history of the medium, drawing heavily from film noir, including its use of shadow and stark backgrounds. The black-and-white comic was perfectly suited to the original format of Dark Horse’s flagship anthology, with occasional spot usage of primary colors added to later volumes and editions.

"Frank Miller’s Sin City is a very different slot to any other we have launched in recent times. The striking artwork and mature content mean this isn’t a game for the faint hearted," said a spokesman for PartyCasino.com

There are five featured games, which win the player free spins and multipliers: “Straight to Hell,” “The Hard Goodbye,” “He Never Screams,” “Deadly Little Miho,” and “Just Get Warmed Up.” The games feature the series’ main characters: Hartigan, Nancy, Miho, Marv, Kevin, the Yellow B*stard, and Dwight. The game includes mature content and scenes of violence, nudity, and depravation.

PartyCasino.com has the most frequent game launches in the industry and offers over 160 games, including over 100 slots. PartyCasino.com pays out easily over $10 million EVERY DAY to players. “The Big One” is structured as a five-tiered pool. The highest tier—Colossal Cash—seeds at $1.5 million, the biggest online jackpot seed in the industry, and currently stands at over $1.6 million.

About Dark Horse Comics

Since 1986, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator-friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent like Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Gerard Way, and comics legend Will Eisner, Dark Horse has developed such successful characters as the Mask, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Additionally, its highly successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Emily the Strange, Tim Burton, Trigun, Serenity, and Domo. Today Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic-book publisher in the US and is recognized as one of the world’s leading publishers of licensed comics material.

SIN CITY, FRANK MILLER’S SIN CITY and all characters therein and all depictions thereof are trademarks of Frank Miller, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ©2011 Frank Miller, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Profiles

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyCasino.com PartyPoker.com PartyBets.com PartyBingo.com Gamebookers.com Movies Sin City

In the meantime PartyCasino.com continues to roll out new games and initiatives.

The most popular PartyCasino.com games of late include Sin City, Unicorn Legend, Heist, Circus, Rambo, Palladium Slot, The Godfather, Sinatra, Slotbox, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Mission: Impossible, The Terminator, Cleopatra, Sinatra, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spider-Man, Monopoly, Resident Evil, Melon Madness, Wheel Of Fortune and Mega Fortune Wheel.

The PartyCasino.com jackpot is currently approaching the $4 million mark. Players can also compete for The Big One and Marvel Hero Jackpot, playing the Marvel super hero themed online slot games.

PartyCasino's most recent game releases include Sin City, The Sting, Unicorn Legend, Shaaark! SuperBet, Crocodopolis, Alice's Wonderland, Glamour Puss, Super Cubes, Heist, Palladium Slot and Circus Slot.

PartyGaming CEO Jim Ryan has gone on record advising PartyCasino will soon feature more Hollywood blockbuster themed slots. A few in the know journalists and media agents have been recently tipped off that an all time classic movie adaption will be showcased in the PartyCasino portfolio within 1 month. PartyCasino has the world's most impressive line up of Hollywood themed games, and more are just around the corner.

Media Man, Casino News Media and Global Gaming Directory do have a b2b relationship with Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, as they do with dozens of other companies in the gaming, igaming, media and entertainment industry.

Websites

PartyCasino.com

PartyPoker.com

There's Never Been A Better Time to Play at PartyPoker

GIBRALTAR - June 29, 2011 - There's never been a better time to play at leading online poker room PartyPoker.com New offers introduced TODAY include:

• $100,000 freeroll Make a deposit using bonus code 200JULY and you'll get automatic entry into a huge $100K Depositors freeroll on Sunday 7th August.

• 100% reload bonus Top up your account and get 100% extra up to $200. Just deposit using bonus code 200JULY. The 200JULY reload bonus is available until 23:59 on 7th August 2011.

• Summer Million freerolls Enter daily Summer Million freerolls and play for a Summer Million ticket and a $1,000 prize pool every day for free.

• Keep your VIP status Have you been a VIP at another site? Just email proof to vip@palladiumlounge.com and earn 1,000 points within 15 days and we'll upgrade your account to VIP status.

See PartyPoker.com for more information.

Cleaning up at the tables? Fancy a bigger project or just a bit of fun? Your chance to achieve total 'World Domination' gets underway at PartyPoker.com from the 8th July 2011. Conquer 72 cities by earning PartyPoints and pick up freerolls, cash prizes and a potential top prize of $100,000 on the way!

A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: "The premise is simple – divide and conquer! Rome wasn't built in a day but it could be won in an hour! Turn your PartyPoints into cities - the empire building continues until the 31st August or until all cities are conquered. There are 72 cities to conquer and freeroll seats, cash payouts and a top prize of $100,000. Just earn 10 PartyPoints to be randomly awarded a city from 72 available."

"Many of the cities have cash prizes and freeroll seats attached The big money comes in when you can complete all the cities in an entire continent, for example, getting all of Asia wins you $5,000 and Europe will bag you $20,000. Finally, a player who gets every single country has world domination – worth a cool $100,000."

As an incentive to get started, PartyPoker.com give you your first city for just 5 points. Tony G writes from his secret underground bunker at PartyPoker.com

Players can earn up to 100 cities a day throughout the World Domination promotion. Reveal the ones collected by logging in to your Party Account, checking the interactive map and start to accumulate a fortune.

For more information see: PartyPoker.com

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Confirms Ongame Poker Network Deal Possibilities

The Ongame poker network is "likely" to be sold, bwin.party has confirmed that a formal process to sell the B2B network is on the way.

The announcement was made earlier today ahead of today’s Annual General Meeting, the first held by the giant since the merger between Bwin and PartyGaming was completed last March.

The statement read "One area of our stated strategy was to recycle surplus assets,"..."We expect that any sale will be completed by the end of the year."

No licensee on the network has yet responded to bwin.party’s announcement, although Betfair’s outgoing CEO David Yu passed opinion on Ongame just yesterday.

Bwin.Party’s AGM statement contains details of a planned share buyback, which will see the company follow the examples of Playtech and Betfair in making such a move, plus news of a progressive dividend policy containing a €30m dividend payout for the year ending 31 December 2011.

As we go to press trading is described as “Broadly in-line with management's expectations,” however analyst James Hollins, of Evolution Securities, advised in a memo earlier today that “The stock remains a Neutral ahead of potentially disruptive German legislation near-term.”

Meanwhile Simon French, of Panmure Gordon, reiterated his firm’s ‘buy’ recommendation, explaining “[We] expect the shares to respond well to the dividend and share buyback news.”

German sports betting proposals in April had seen the share price of bwin.party dive 16% in a day, and a decision on the country’s State Gambling Treaty is expected in October.

Yesterday things turned around following the suspension of Full Tilt Poker’s licences in Alderney - the share price ended the day at 148.2p, an increase of more than 10% day-on-day.

Bwin.Party In Line With Management's Expectations

bwin.party digital entertainment's trading performance since the beginning of April has been broadly in line with management's expectations.

But is says sports margins have been lower than expected due to a favourable run of events for customers in May.

The improvement in new player sign-ups in poker, following action taken by the US authorities against certain of the group's online poker competitors on 15 April, has not had a material impact on poker revenue as new players represent just a small proportion of the overall player base and these companies have so far continued to command significant market share in non-US markets.

Casino continues to perform well while bingo has been slightly softer than expected in the period.

At 8:47am: (LON:BPTY) share price was +0.5p at 148.7p.

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Big On Security

The online gaming business PartyGaming has also long since been protecting its players with strong authentication. After all, there is a lot of money at stake – money that the dark forces may want to siphon away. PartyPoker, PartyCasino, PartyBingo and PartyGammon customers register by downloading the PartyGaming customer software. After registration, they can obtain an authenticator called PartySecure from the online store. This is again a Digipass Go 6 that has been completely adapted to the branding of PartyGaming. Here again, a Vacman Controller Server takes over the authentication. “The solution is highly scalable,” stressed a PartyGaming spokesperson. “It can grow with us and effortlessly cope with the growing number of online-players on our platform.”

Profiles

PartyGaming PartyCasino PartyPoker PartyBingo Circus PartyCasino Marvel Slots The Big One Melon Madness Casino World Poker Tour PartyCasino Promotions
Sin City

Australian And Asia Pacific Gaming And Gambling News, by Greg Tingle - 28th June 2011

2011-06-29T09:47:00.000+10:00

Profiles

Media Man Crown Casino James Packer Tabcorp Holdings Asia Pacific Games Gambling911 Internet City Of Dreams Macau Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Australia

Asia Pacific gambling is red hot, with Australia appearing to be the eye of the hurricane.... Media Man investigates...

Deutsche Bank Confirms Damage Of Wilkie Reforms On Clubs And Hotels...

An independent analysis of Andrew Wilkie’s mandatory pre-commitment technology for poker machines by Deutsche Bank confirms industry predictions of a financial wipe-out for clubs and pubs.

The report predicts gaming revenue will be reduced by between 30-40%, which translates to an annual loss of income of between $4.9 and $6.5 billion.

Further, the Deutsche Bank report predicts the installation cost of Andrew Wilkie’s licence to punt technology on the nation’s 200,000 poker machines and linking them to a national database at up to $5 billion.

Last night the ABC program Media Watch suggested industry predictions of 40% were inaccurate and that no one knows what the revenue implications will be.

Executive Director of ClubsAustralia Anthony Ball said the Deutsche Bank analysis of mandatory pre-commitment confirms industry warnings that the as yet untested technology will reduce club revenue by 40%.

“The Productivity Commission recommended to the Federal Government that this technology should be trialled, and with good reason.

“It’s a measure of the Federal Government’s desperation to avoid the wrath of Andrew Wilkie that they instead of trialling mandatory pre-commitment, they are defending it. The Government is now ignoring predictions from Deutsche Bank as well as the gambling industry and gambling researchers that this technology will cost billions of dollars.

“Possibly even more alarming, some of Australia’s leading gambling academics have indicated mandatory pre-commitment will not achieve a reduction in the rate of problem gambling.

“Clubs and hotels employ more than 180,000 people directly. Tens of thousands more are employed through sectors such as food, cleaning, security and tourism that won’t have a job if local clubs and pubs no longer exist.

“It’s one thing for the Government and now the ABC’s Media Watch to question the industry’s predictions of the financial impact of mandatory pre-commitment. Today we have an independent, internationally recognised financial institution confirming that the Wilkie deal will cost the industry up to $6.5 billion each year and another $5 billion just to set up.

“The anti-gambling lobby regularly claims that poker machines damage the community. The Productivity Commission looked at this issue and calculated that after considering the impact of problem gambling, poker machines deliver a net benefit to the community of between $768 million and $5.5 billion a year,” he said.

Media Man Firm Ramping Up Movie And TV Publicity Tied To Gaming Tie Ins...

A Media Man spokesperson has advised their plans to expand their coverage and website portfolio covering the global movie and television sector, with a focus on companies which produce both video and games. A Media Man spokesperson said "In the coming months our readership can expect much more coverage on Marvel Entertainment, DC Comics, Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios. This is in line with our preference to cover companies which produce movies, television shows, as well as offer branded games. Will will also be expanding our converge on the Australian and international land based casino sector, as well as gaming manufactures such as IGT, Aristocrat and other gaming related firms like FremantleMedia and NextGen Gaming. This will also compliment our upcoming investment offers and media and publicity offerings". The prime two website portals acting as a central point on the campaigns will be www.mediamanint.com and www.mediamannews.com

Online Gaming And Entertainment Company 2UP Enters Agreement To Buy Online Pokies/Slots...

Listed online gaming and entertainment company 2UP Gaming PLC (2GM:GR) has entered into an agreement to purchase an online pokies/slots affiliate business that is part of a global USD$6.7 billion industry.

London, UK, June 26, 2011 - The agreement, subject to due-diligence, is for the WebPokies.com and OnlinePokies.com.au domains that provide links to internet gaming services for a worldwide audience.

2UP managing director Peter Bentley says the purchase is an excellent strategic fit for the company providing immediate cash flow.

“A report released earlier this year noted online poker and casino operations account for almost half of the USD$13.49 billion international internet gambling market,” Mr Bentley says.

"Entering the affiliate business forms part of 2UP's long-term plans to become a major international online gaming and entertainment company.

"This purchase is for a long-established business with solid earnings, however we believe the revenues can be significantly increased through 2UP's distribution network in Asia, India and around the world."

Affiliate sites act as portals to enable visitors to locate and access online slot machines or pokies by redirecting them to casinos who pay for either traffic or a sale of their product. Many online casinos have affiliate programs driving traffic to their chosen domain.

OnlinePokies.com.au commenced in 2006 and acquired WebPokies.com in 2010. Both domains have demonstrated cumulative growth in players, revenues and earnings.

Mr Bentley says online gaming is currently experiencing exponential growth with signs for the sector to increase dramatically over the next few years.

"The growth of online gaming is particularly relevant in Europe, where governments are seeking to capture tax revenues by regulating the market," Mr Bentley says.

"A recent report by KPMG states cash-strapped governments around the world may consider relaxing current online gaming rules and restrictions in order to provide a much needed boost to tax revenues.

"If promoted properly, affiliate businesses can be extremely profitable, especially if they have standout URL's such as these."

2UP, with offices in the UK and Australia, listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in early May and has already seen a solid growth in its share price.

It recently finalised a partnership deal with one of Asia's largest pool betting companies ToteDaddy.

The deal will see 2UP's range of popular gaming and wagering products made available to ToteDaddy's substantial global membership base providing 2UP with immediate high-traffic exposure to the Asian online gaming market.

The company has an online gaming license granted until 2025 to capitalise on its market positioning.

The first game to be released from 2UP is its live streaming and animated versions of the classic Australian coin-tossing game.

This will be underpinned by other unique and established gaming and wagering options to be released as part of its growth plans.

Betfair Faces CEO Gamble...

Unexpected executive departures are usually followed by negative share reaction. True to form, the announcement by Betfair that CEO David Yu is to step down whacked its shares with almost 3% wiped off the online betting exchange’s share price in trading today.

But that’s small change compared to the near 600 pence pence (44%) the share price has lost since its initial public offering in October 2010.

Back then Mr. Yu promised growth predicated on cross-selling gambling products, going mobile, venturing overseas and putting Betfair’s proprietary technology to new use like the much-hyped LMAX financial markets trading platform.

Unfortunately, high rolling customers on one of Betfair’s potential cross-selling products, poker, failed to rejoin the company after it migrated to a new online system. Then regulatory restrictions severely crimped hopes for overseas expansion and LMAX has proved a very damp squib indeed.

Betfair cites Mr. Yu’s tenure (six years as CEO and another four before that as chief technology officer) as a key reason for his decision to depart once a successor is found, but the timing seems more strategically opportune.

“Given the share price performance since float and increasing market concerns over strategy and leadership, this is not unexpected and is likely to be taken as a positive, “ Evolution Securities analyst James Hollins said bluntly in a note to clients Monday.

It’s not all Mr. Yu’s fault though. He has no control over the regulatory environment, most notably in Germany, which has proposed severely draconian gambling laws that would see large swathes of online gaming and betting priced out of the market.

But given the hard sell at the IPO about the stellar opportunities for Betfair’s proprietary technology, both the poker migration fiasco and LMAX, still mired in start-up mode, are self-inflicted wounds.

Investec analyst Paul Leyland thinks former CTO Mr. Yu was the wrong choice for CEO in the first place, “especially given the failure to make [player to player] poker work, the (likely) waste of resources that has been LMAX, and the expansion of the cost-base without adequately factoring in regulatory risk.”

And he doesn’t think a gambling veteran would be the ideal choice for a successor, rather a “proven PLC executive with clear leadership skills who can display a willingness both to listen (internally and externally) and to delegate.”

CFO Stephen Morana is reported to be a front-runner.

Now that the company is no longer (over) valued as a high-growth tech stock, whoever takes the helm can hopefully “reinvigorate, refocus and re-market a business that has endured a difficult start to life as a listed company,” Peel Hunt’s Nick Batram says.

Analyst says James Packer may be looking to sell stake in Melco Crown...

One of Melco Crown’s two major shareholders, Australian-based Crown Limited may be looking to sell out its stake in the gaming operator, Merrill Lynch analyst Nathan Gee advised.

The prime goal would be for James Packer’s Crown to use the money to fund a move on Echo Entertainment, one its major casino rivals in Australia, Mr Gee said, quoted by The Australian.

“We can’t rule out Crown looking to divest Melco Crown, particularly if the Australian market continues to discount the value of Macau relative to the Melco Crown share price,” Mr Gee said.

Crown is already a minority stakeholder at Echo Entertainment and has recently said it has no “current” intention of increasing its interest in the company.

“We can’t discount a Crown takeover of Echo, but we think a deal is unlikely until 2012,” Mr Gee said.

Crown holds a 33.4% stake in Melco Crown.

Problem gambler 'offered $80,000 credit'...

Federal Liberal MP Alan Tudge is pursuing amendments to Northern Territory laws after one of his constituents advised he ran up an $80,000 debt gambling on credit with betting agency Sportsbet.

Mr Tudge — the MP for Aston in Melbourne's outer east — told Federal Parliament that in May, the problem gambler was offered $80,000 in credit by Sportsbet.

He said the Wantirna punter had lost the entire amount in less than a week, and when he could not pay it back, was taken to court by Sportsbet. He now faces a bankruptcy notice and the potential loss of his home.

The gambler's mother, Barbara, told the ABC Jon Faine program Tuesday that her son Henry (not his real name), who suffers from depression and obsessive compulsive disorder, was initially offered free bets of $5000, then $10,000 in credit by Sportsbet.

"When Henry was first approached by the individual staff ... Henry was at a loss – (he) thought 'How could they know me?' And he never used free bets before and he never knew Sportsbet, so he turned it down.

"And the individual staff approached him again and ... say 'I have set account for you'.

"In this case Henry was vulnerable and inexperienced, he did not know what it would mean to him. But eventually the disasters came just like an earthquake ...

"Since this occurred to us my son and me were under very heavy pressure financially and mentally ..."

Mr Tudge does not claim that Sportsbet has done anything illegal, and admits that legally, Henry is in the wrong. However, he says the provision of credit for gambling must not be allowed.

“Sportsbet was only able to provide credit to (his constituent) due to regulations in the NT which are more lenient than in other jurisdictions in Australia.

“All jurisdictions except the NT and ACT expressly prohibit extending credit to these customers or only allow it in exceptional circumstances. In Victoria, where Henry lives, it is prohibited.

“Sportsbet is headquartered in Melbourne but licensed in the NT. By being licensed there, it is covered by the Northern Territory laws, despite its online presence being Australia-wide,” Mr Tudge said.

Mr Tudge names the Territory provisions a "loophole" and has written to Territory Chief Minister Paul Henderson asking for changes to his laws. If that doesn't work, he will look to initiate federal legislation.

"There's a number of actions we can potentially take as well and certainly I will be discussing it with the parliamentary committee which is just starting to look into internet gambling as well.

Mr Tudge will discuss the matter with independent and Greens senators next week.
"I don't think it should be allowed at all in terms of online gambling companies being allowed to provide credit to their customers. I think it is a significant moral hazard for them to be able to do so."

The MP has asked Sportsbet to "show compassion" towards Henry.

To their credit, Sportsbet's Responsible Gambling Code of Conduct permits people to set betting limits and to suspend or exclude themselves from placing a bet with the company.

Is gambling a problem for you? Counselling services which may assist you are Problem Gambling Victoria 1800 858 858 http://www.problemgambling.vic.gov.au
Amity Community Services (NT) call 1800 629 683, G-line (NSW) call 1800 633 635.

Please bet with your head, not over it, and have fun.

New study reveals changing nature of gambling behaviour in Victoria...

From the Minister for Gaming

The latest findings from the Victorian Gambling Study reveal that gambling habits and behaviours are not static, according to Minister for Gaming Michael O'Brien.

The study is the first longitudinal study in the world to estimate the rate of new problem gambling cases in a general population in a 12 month period, following the same group of Victorian adults over three years to explore their health, wellbeing and gambling behaviours.

"The study will add to our understanding of gambling behaviours and will enable us to develop more effective prevention, early intervention and treatment programs," Mr O'Brien said.

The Victorian Gambling Study - A Longitudinal Study of Gambling and Public Health, Wave Two Findings found that almost six per cent of participants who gamble increased their risk category, moving to the low, moderate or problem gambling categories. Meanwhile, 4.3 per cent moved away from those risk categories to a lower-risk status.

However, 88 per cent of non-problem gamblers remained non-problem gamblers, while 72.5 per cent of problem gamblers did not change category.

"This is a clear indication that, while the study shows not all problem gamblers remain problem gamblers, for some, problem gambling might be a longer-term feature of their life," Mr O'Brien said.

"The Victorian Coalition Government recently committed $150 million over four years to establish the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation to reduce problem gambling, encourage responsible gambling and ensure that much more is done to tackle the serious social problems caused by problem gambling.

"Research adds to our understanding of gambling, in particular problem gambling, and allows us to make informed decisions about gambling policy and legislation.

"Problem gambling is a significant and multifaceted social problem and preventing problem gambling, and treating those who need support, requires a coherent and integrated approach supported by good evidence," Mr O'Brien said.

To learn more about the Victorian Gambling Study, visit www.gamblingstudy.com.au

A well-orchestrated campaign: ABC 'Media Watch'

Transcript
http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s3254914.htm

Video
http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/video

Barnett confirms stadium for Burswood...

Perth’s new multi-purpose stadium would be built on the Burswood Peninsula and is scheduled for completion in 2018, Premier Colin Barnett has said.

The new Perth Stadium will have the third-biggest capacity in Australia and will be the second largest AFL home stadium.

It will have a capacity of 60,000 seats with provision for future expansion to 70,000 seats in the style of Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium, with similar views, amenities and comfort.

The Premier's announcement followed an exclusive report in The West Australian today that Cabinet had approved the plan yesterday.

Mr Barnett today said that the Burswood Peninsula was unconstrained by surrounding development and Government-owned, "which will allow us to achieve the vision of a world-class stadium precinct".

“The new stadium will be the centrepiece of an emerging eastside precinct at the gateway to Perth and is within walking distance of a range of potential transport options including footbridges, ferries, and trains," he said in a statement.

“We want people going to the stadium for an event to catch public transport. The new Perth Stadium will deliver a high quality, state-of-the-art facility all West Australians can be proud of.

“To help us achieve this, there will be an international design competition to attract the best ideas."

The 2011-12 State Budget allocated a total of $13 million over two years for planning of the new stadium.

The final cost will be determined after the design process has been completed. However, the current indicative cost for the stadium is approximately $700 million, excluding costs associated with upgrades to transport infrastructure.

The design will not include an underground carpark.

The Premier said geotechnical problems will be solved by anchoring the stadium to 30m-deep pylons driven into bedrock.

Lighting will be in Eagles and Dockers colours, depending on who is playing on the big night.

The stadium will be linked to East Perth by a footbridge.

A four-platform train station will be built so that every train line can come directly into the stadium.

Sport and Recreation Minister Terry Waldron said a steering committee would be established to oversee the project and will be co-chaired by the executive director of the Office of Strategic Projects Richard Mann and director general of the Department of Sport and Recreation Ron Alexander.

The press has been reporting that the plan was endorsed after ministers were convinced the Burswood site was stable and the arena was affordable.

No geotechnical testing has been done at the site near the Graham Farmer Freeway.

The Government is yet to pinpoint how much it will cost to upgrade transport links to the Burswood Peninsula, with a ferry terminal, a pedestrian footbridge and a bigger train station at Belmont Park racecourse likely to add hundreds of millions of dollars to the final bill.

It is understood the Government is keen for gambling and media tycoon James Packer to contribute to the transport upgrades because the billionaire's Burswood Casino complex will benefit greatly from the improvements.

The prediction that the stadium can be built for well under $1 billion will raise eyebrows, given that in 2006 a task force charged with investigating the best stadium site put the cost of building an arena at Burswood at $685 million, assuming construction started in 2008 and finished in March 2013.

A 5-year construction timeline, starting within 2 years, would elevate that price to more than $900 million, once construction inflation is factored in.

The task force, headed by former under-treasurer John Langoulant, noted that a stadium at Burswood would "greatly enhance the national and international reputation of the City of Perth".

But the report warned the venue would present transport problems because access was restricted to Victoria Park Drive and the nearby train station was at capacity.

It also flagged engineering headaches because the peninsula used to be a rubbish tip.

It is understood the Government is using soil testing by companies which built the casino and nearby apartment towers as evidence the site is suitable.

The task force put the total cost of the Burswood option, including transport needs, at $1.147 billion. Increasing construction costs since the report suggest the bill will be close to $1.5 billion, assuming work begins within two years.

Premier Colin Barnett has championed Burswood as the best location for the stadium. The tennis centre site is several hundred metres east of the area considered by the Langoulant task force.

The sports, events, construction, tourism and gambling industry is watching this one closely.

Casino And Gaming Share Prices...

Code Company Name Exchange Currency Price

CWN Crown Limited ASX AUD 8.620
EGP Echo Entertainment Group ASX AUD 4.02
RCT Reef Casino Trust ASX AUD 1.65
TAH Tabcorp Holdings Limited ASX AUD 3.17
DHCC Diamondhead Casino Corp. OTC USD 0.540
CGAM Concorde Gaming Corp. PINK USD 0.0001
EMH SPORTWETTEN.DE AG ETR EUR 0.589
ESO Estoril Sol SGPS SA ELI EUE 3.63

Punters, er readers, stay glued to Media Man reports for more "can't miss" information on Australian and Asia Pacific pokies, gaming and casino wars.

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming. Media Man also publishes Media Man News

*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited

Website Network

Media Man International

Media Man News

Media Man

Media Man Australia

Media Man Canada

Media Man Games

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Spider-Man Tobey Maguire Star Caught In Web Of Gambling Ring; Leonardo DiCaprio Rounders Up, by Greg Tingle - 23rd June 2011

2011-06-23T12:36:00.001+10:00

Profiles

The Amazing Spider-Man Spider-Man Marvel Entertainment Marvel Comics Marvel Studios Movies Media Man Poker Casinos Casino Movies

Profiles

The Amazing Spider-Man Spider-Man Marvel Entertainment Marvel Comics Marvel Studios Movies Media Man Poker Casinos Casino Movies

Spider-Man star... Mr Spider-Man himself, Tobey Maguire, is one of a dozen or Hollywood stars being sued in connection with an illegal gambling ring that allegedly ran multi-million dollar underground poker games.

And you wonder why Hollywood so embraced the popular poker themed game 'Rounders'.

According to the suit, Maguire took more than $US300,000 worth of illegal funds embezzled from hedge fund investor Bradley Ruderman, who is currently in jail for a ponzi scheme.

The underground games, allegedly led by Ruderman, CEO of Ruderman Capital Partners, were unlicenced and thus illegal under California law.

According to the investigation, Ruderman lost $US25 million of investor money in the games, which were held bi-weekly in luxurious suites at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Viper Room and Four Seasons Hotel.

With Ruderman's company now in bankruptcy, trustees are attempting to seize some of Maguire's winnings to pay off creditors.

Nick Cassavetes, who directed The Notebook, and Welcome Back, Kotter star Gabe Kaplan are among the names facing hefty lawsuits for their participation in the high stakes Texas Hold'em games, according to leaks and a range of online and traditional media outlets.

Other stars who allegedly took part in the gatherings, which had a buy-in of $US100,000, included 'Catch Me If You Can' megastar Leonardo DiCaprio, Good Will Hunting actor Ben Affleck and Bourne star Matt Damon. Damon was also in the poker themed movie 'Rounders'.

Tens of millions of dollars is understood to have changed hands in the illegal games.

Marvel Entertainment does not offer marvel themed poker games but does offer Marvel Entertainment themed online slot games, available in website portals such as Media Man Int and via online gaming brands such as Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment and Richard Branson's Virgin Casino. PartyCasino.com, the online casino leading brand by Bwin.Party is understood to be in negotiation with both the United States, Canadian and Australian governments regarding b2 gaming. Party came to a settlement with the United States Department Of Justice two years ago to the tune of approximately $100 million, and are looking to expand gaming in the U.S beyond their World Poker Tour brand.

Who are you betting on? Spider-Man or the 'Catch Me If You Can' man? Maybe you would prefer not to say and just place a silent bet!

Tobey Maguire sued over illegal poker winnings...

Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire and other celebrities have been caught in a web of lawsuits seeking to reclaim more than $US4 million ($3.8 million) won during unlicensed poker matches at upscale Beverly Hills hotels, court records show.

The lawsuits were filed by a bankruptcy trustee attempting to recoup money for investors who were duped in a Ponzi scheme.

The legal actions claim the clandestine Texas Hold 'em matches were played between 2006 and 2009, with some of the money taken in the Ponzi scheme used to pay off debts incurred by its architect, Bradley Ruderman.

Maguire is being sued for $US311,000 plus interest that the lawsuit says was won from Ruderman. In all, 22 people have been individually sued to try to recoup money.

Among them was Nick Cassavettes, director of The Notebook. The trustee is attempting to recover nearly $US73,000 plus interest from the actor-director.

Maguire's attorney, Robert Barta, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment but was expected to file a response to the suit later this week.

Cassavettes's agent Jeff Berg also did not immediately respond to a phone message.
Also being sued is billionaire businessman Alec Gores, who along with his brother attempted to buy Miramax Films last year.

Gores is being sued for $US445,500. Phone message left for Frank Stefanik, a spokesman at The Gores Group, and his attorney, Patricia Glaser, were not immediately returned.

Ruderman was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison earlier this year after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud, two counts of investment adviser fraud and willful failure to file taxes.

Bankruptcy trustee Howard Ehrenberg filed the lawsuits in late March, attempting to recoup money on behalf of people who invested in what the legal action called a Ponzi scheme organised by Ruderman.

The suits contend the defendants have no right to keep money won from Ruderman, since the games did not have the appropriate government licenses.

Tournaments were held in luxury hotels in Beverly Hills and organised by a woman identified as Molly Bloom, who is being sued for nearly $US475,000 paid to her by Ruderman, the lawsuits said.

The claims were first reported Wednesday by RadarOnline and Star Magazine. (Credit: AP)

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Playtech making its return to US gambling - 21st June 2011

2011-06-22T07:49:00.000+10:00

Profiles

Playtech Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Gaming iGaming Media Man

Playtech earlier today became the virgin British firm in the online gambling - gaming sector to return to the United States, five years after President George Bush outlawed the industry.

The strategic move also comes weeks after "Black Friday" when the federal authorities indicted three of the world's largest online poker sites, PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker, on charges of money laundering, bank fraud and violating anti-gambling statutes. Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, the world's leading igaming firm, is not facing the same dramas, having come to terms with the United States Department Of Justice a few years ago to the tune of over a $100 million.

Playtech and its joint-venture partner Scientific Games have signed an agreement with the California Online Poker Association. Copa represents 31 card clubs and 29 native tribal governments who own rights to gambling proceeds in the state. Playtech will supply COPA with the technology to launch "free-to-play" online poker sites ahead of widely expected legislation allowing state-by-state online gambling.

With two bills before the Senate, Playtech said the timing of when it would go live depended on the change in regulation but could become a "very substantial revenue source". It's estimated that two million Californians gamble illegally on offshore online poker websites.

Insiders noted that competitor online UK gambling company Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment - formally PartyGaming, paid $105 million (£65 million) to settle with the US authorities. Playtech was never targeted by the US authorities.

Playtech is also understood to be eyeing off a number of other countries including Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Casino News Media: Frank Miller's Sin City Comes To The World's Largest Online Casino

2011-06-18T01:28:00.001+10:00

Casino News Media: Frank Miller's Sin City Comes To The World's Largest Online Casino

Profiles

Sin City PartyCasino.com Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Hollywood Slots Comics

Gibraltar - 17th June 2011 - Following up on last week’s release of Frank Miller’s Sin City: The Hard Goodbye at Digital DarkHorse comes more exciting news around this legendary title. Sin City has now entered the online gaming world, with a new game at PartyCasino.com This new five-reel, fifty-line slot features art and story from the widely acclaimed series by comics legend Frank Miller.

When Sin City originally appeared in Dark Horse Presents: Fifth Anniversary Special in April 1991, it was clear that the face of the comics medium had changed forever. Since that time, Miller’s groundbreaking comics noir has found its way into the public consciousness with toys, games, and even a feature-length motion picture. Frank Miller’s Sin City remains one of the most stylized works in the history of the medium, drawing heavily from film noir, including its use of shadow and stark backgrounds. The black-and-white comic was perfectly suited to the original format of Dark Horse’s flagship anthology, with occasional spot usage of primary colors added to later volumes and editions.

"Frank Miller’s Sin City is a very different slot to any other we have launched in recent times. The striking artwork and mature content mean this isn’t a game for the faint hearted," said a spokesman for PartyCasino.com

There are five featured games, which win the player free spins and multipliers: “Straight to Hell,” “The Hard Goodbye,” “He Never Screams,” “Deadly Little Miho,” and “Just Get Warmed Up.” The games feature the series’ main characters: Hartigan, Nancy, Miho, Marv, Kevin, the Yellow B*stard, and Dwight. The game includes mature content and scenes of violence, nudity, and depravation.

PartyCasino.com has the most frequent game launches in the industry and offers over 160 games, including over 100 slots. PartyCasino.com pays out easily over $10 million EVERY DAY to players. “The Big One” is structured as a five-tiered pool. The highest tier—Colossal Cash—seeds at $1.5 million, the biggest online jackpot seed in the industry, and currently stands at over $1.6 million.

About Dark Horse Comics

Since 1986, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator-friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent like Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Gerard Way, and comics legend Will Eisner, Dark Horse has developed such successful characters as the Mask, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Additionally, its highly successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Emily the Strange, Tim Burton, Trigun, Serenity, and Domo. Today Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic-book publisher in the US and is recognized as one of the world’s leading publishers of licensed comics material.

SIN CITY, FRANK MILLER’S SIN CITY and all characters therein and all depictions thereof are trademarks of Frank Miller, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ©2011 Frank Miller, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Profiles

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyCasino.com PartyPoker.com PartyBets.com PartyBingo.com Gamebookers.com Movies Sin City

In the meantime PartyCasino.com continues to roll out new games and initiatives.

The most popular PartyCasino.com games of late include Sin City, Unicorn Legend, Heist, Circus, Rambo, Palladium Slot, The Godfather, Sinatra, Slotbox, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Mission: Impossible, The Terminator, Cleopatra, Sinatra, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spider-Man, Monopoly, Resident Evil, Melon Madness, Wheel Of Fortune and Mega Fortune Wheel.

The PartyCasino.com jackpot is currently approaching the $4 million mark. Players can also compete for The Big One and Marvel Hero Jackpot, playing the Marvel super hero themed online slot games.

PartyCasino's most recent game releases include Sin City, The Sting, Unicorn Legend, Shaaark! SuperBet, Crocodopolis, Alice's Wonderland, Glamour Puss, Super Cubes, Heist, Palladium Slot and Circus Slot.

PartyGaming CEO Jim Ryan has gone on record advising PartyCasino will soon feature more Hollywood blockbuster themed slots. A few in the know journalists and media agents have been recently tipped off that an all time classic movie adaption will be showcased in the PartyCasino portfolio within 1 month. PartyCasino has the world's most impressive line up of Hollywood themed games, and more are just around the corner.

Media Man, Casino News Media and Global Gaming Directory do have a b2b relationship with Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, as they do with dozens of other companies in the gaming, igaming, media and entertainment industry.

Websites

PartyCasino.com

PartyPoker.com

Profiles

PartyGaming PartyCasino PartyPoker PartyBingo Circus PartyCasino Marvel Slots The Big One Melon Madness Casino World Poker Tour PartyCasino Promotions
Sin City

Casino Travel Media Website Updated

2011-06-15T19:17:00.000+10:00

Website

Casino Travel Media

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Sports Sponsorship Deal, by Greg Tingle

2011-06-15T19:16:00.000+10:00

Profiles

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyCasino.com PartyPoker.com PartyBets.com PartyBingo.com Gamebookers.com Sports Olympic Games

bwin.party the parent company of brands such as PartyCasino.com, PartyPoker.com and World Poker Tour has reached agreement to extend its sponsorship deal with the basketball regulatory body FIBA until 2014. The deal, which will include live streaming in 30 different countries, incorporates Olympic qualifying and the 2014 FIBA World Championships, among other events.

The rights include EuroBasket 2011, the 2012 Olympic qualifying tournaments, EuroBasket 2013 and the 2014 FIBA World Championships, an event that will be held for both men and women.

Co-CEO of bwin.party digital entertainment, Norbert Teufelberger, commented: "The promotion of sports has always been an essential component of the bwin sports brand philosophy. Basketball, along with football and motorcycle racing, is one of the three pillars of our sport sponsorship strategy."

The FIBA secretary general and International Olympic Committee member, Patrick Baumann, added: “We are very happy to announce that bwin.party will continue to be a global partner of FIBA until 2014."

In the meantime PartyCasino.com continues to roll out new games and initiatives.

The most popular PartyCasino.com games of late include Unicorn Legend, Heist, Circus, Rambo, Palladium Slot, The Godfather, Sinatra, Slotbox, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Mission: Impossible, The Terminator, Cleopatra, Sinatra, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spider-Man, Monopoly, Resident Evil, Melon Madness, Wheel Of Fortune and Mega Fortune Wheel.

The PartyCasino.com jackpot is currently approaching the $4 million mark. Players can also compete for The Big One and Marvel Hero Jackpot, playing the Marvel super hero themed online slot games.

PartyCasino's most recent game releases include The Sting, Unicorn Legend, Shaaark! SuperBet, Crocodopolis, Alice's Wonderland, Glamour Puss, Super Cubes, Heist, Palladium Slot and Circus Slot.

PartyGaming CEO Jim Ryan has gone on record advising PartyCasino will soon feature more Hollywood blockbuster themed slots. A few in the know journalists and media agents have been recently tipped off that an all time classic movie adaption will be showcased in the PartyCasino portfolio within 1 month. PartyCasino has the world's most impressive line up of Hollywood themed games, and more are just around the corner.

PartyCasino.com and PartyPoker.com customers can also benefit from rewards and bonuses via PartyPoints and the Palladium Lounge. Be certain to check out the PartyCasino exclusive "Cash Machine" that is being championed as one of the greatest online casino promos ever.

Media Man, Casino News Media and Global Gaming Directory do have a b2b relationship with Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, as they do with dozens of other companies in the gaming, igaming, media and entertainment industry.

Websites

PartyCasino.com

PartyPoker.com

Profiles

PartyGaming PartyCasino PartyPoker PartyBingo Circus PartyCasino Marvel Slots The Big One Melon Madness Casino World Poker Tour PartyCasino Promotions

Games Of The Month: Cleopatra, Sinatra Slot, Monopoly, The Sting, The Terminator, The Godfather and Rambo

2011-05-30T12:26:00.001+10:00

Profiles

PartyCasino.com Games bwin.party digital entertainment

Media Man is delighted to name the slot games of the month: Sinatra Slot, Cleopatra, Monopoly, The Sting, The Terminator, The Godfather and Rambo.

In the coming months we look forward to more rumoured Hollywood and entertainment industry themed games including the Hulk Hogan slot, Andre The Giant, and other games coming from Marvel Entertainment and Paramount Pictures.

PartyCasino.com new players get up to $3000 sign up bonus.

bwin.party digital entertainment, the parent company of PartyCasino, is the world's biggest and most successful online gaming company. They also offer games of skill and table games such as poker, blackjack and roulette, as well as offering a 'Live Dealer' option and world class jackpots.

They have won a number of awards and commendation including Media Man 'Online Casino of The Month' and EGR 'Slots Operator Of The Year' and 'Socially Responsible Operator Of The Year'.

Profiles

Sinatra Slot

Cleopatra

Monopoly

The Sting

The Terminator

The Godfather

Rambo

Websites

PartyCasino.com

PartyCasino.com Marvel Slots

Profiles

Marvel Slots

Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Comics

Marvel Studios

Stan Lee

Jim Ryan

bwin.party digital entertainment

PartyCasino.com

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Marvel Slots Online

Marvel Heroes Casino

Super Heroes Casino

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Australian Gambling And Casino News; Crown Casino - James Packer Special, by Greg Tingle - 27th May 2011

2011-05-27T17:30:00.001+10:00

Australia is once again home to some of the world's hottest gambling and casino news today, with James Packer and his Crown Casino in the centre of the action. Media Man and Gambling911 pound the pavement with the news you need to know...

Bitar's New Crown Casino Gig Is Wrong: Bob Brown...

Australian Greens leader Bob Brown says the appointment of a former Labor strategist to a job lobbying for the gambling industry is "worrying". Former ALP national secretary Karl Bitar has taken up a gig with Melbourne's Crown Casino. The appointment comes as the Gillard Labor government works on a new policy to limit the amount of money players can put through poker machines, to prevent problem gambling. Senator Brown said it was an example of the "spectre of undue influence" raising its head. "The appointment by Crown Casino is very worrying, it's very troubling, because he's been a major mover and shaker in politics in Australia," he told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday. "You can't tell me or anybody else that that's not going to open doors for Crown Casino that other people don't have open to them and can't go through." Senator Brown said there should at least be a cooling off period for such appointments. "It is wrong and we should certainly see much stronger regulations and rules about ex-politicians and senior political insiders being able to move to use the knowledge they've had from being on the political inside not only to their own advantage but to the advantage of sectional interests." Anti-gambling campaigner Tim Costello says Bitar's appointment by Crown is not a shock. "Crown has everything to lose from pokies reform, so it's no surprise they employed Karl Bitar," he said. Costello also attacked Crown's involvement in Victoria's Responsible Gambling Awareness Week. The casino made its contribution to the week on Wednesday at an event in which former aerobics champion Sue Stanley compared an addiction to exercise with gambling. Stanley said she needed help when she was addicted to exercise and gamblers should do likewise. The casino's chaplain Father James Grant then said Crown was doing a good job with problem gambling. No Crown officials would take questions from the media at the event. "It's a joke," Costello said. "Crown and its involvement in Responsible Gambling Awareness Week is quite frankly like putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank." Victorian Liberal premier Ted Baillieu said he could work with Mr Bitar. "To some extent I'm surprised that somebody in that position in the ALP would undertake that position but that's a matter for them," he told the press.

Punter Spent Phoney Cash On Sex And Poker At Crown Casino...

A Melbourne fella spent more than $10,000 of counterfeit Canadian currency on prostitutes and poker machines after exchanging the money for Australian dollars at Crown Casino, a court has heard. Cosimo Candido, 34, of Sunshine, was arrested this week by Australian Federal Police after he exchanged counterfeit money he claims he was minding in a shoe box for a friend who had asked him to look after it. Up to seven passports from various jurisdictions were also found in the shoe box in the name of a man who police confirmed is dead. Candido claimed he did not known the money was counterfeit, Melbourne Magistrates Court heard. He is alleged to have told police he was with a prostitute in St Kilda on April 30, got bored, then decided to take the cash to the casino to exchange it. He advised he approached a cashier with $1000 of the currency "to see if it would work" and received $885 in return. He went to another cashier and exchanged $3000 counterfeit Canadian dollars and received $2657 before he was handed $4645 by a third cashier. All transactions were captured on CCTV cameras. Crown staff later contacted police after suspecting the cash was fake. Candido was charged with uttering counterfeit money under the Crimes Currency Act 1981. The Commonwealth offence carries a maximum penalty of 12 years' jail. The court heard that Candido told police his friend who asked him to mind the items had the cash and passports because he was trying to receive the dead man's assets. The police informant, who asked not to be named because of ongoing investigations, said Candido told investigators he had spent the money he received after the exchanges on hookers, hotels and at the pokies. Magistrate Charlie Rozencwajg granted Candido bail to re-appear at the same court on July 13. Crime does not pay... not usually.

James Packer VS Or With Andrew Wilkie; Wilkie's Big Day At Packer's Crown Casino; Win - Win?...

He's the face of Australian gambling haters, but he had a wonder through James Packer's Crown Casino in Melbourne just the other day, but for good reason. What a lovely way to spend a Sunday. The 'Tasmanian Devil' (satire) independent MP had a tour of gambling house in March with James Packer. The gambling king and the political face of gambling dislike took a walk around the place before making way to a conference room with staff to discuss issues of mutual interest we hear. Packer is very interested in Wilkie's plans to slow cash flow of the poker machine industry by imposing a mandatory national system requiring punters to set a limit on their losses. Pokies have been the talk of the town for weeks. State and territory ministers won't shut up about the 'one armed bandits' and Wilkie props. Packer's Crown Limited just appointed Labor's ex national secretary Karl Bitar to boost Crown's lobbying effort against the reforms. There's was a rumour that one or two threats were made in the meeting. What constitutes a threat anyway? Crown rejects that idea. "Mr Packer did not threaten Mr Wilkie in any way, shape or form," a Crown spokesman said yesterday. "The meeting with Mr Wilkie on 20 March at Crown was both civil and constructive. Mr Packer would be disappointed if anyone is claiming anything other than that." Clubs and pubs are pro active with an full on public campaign against the Wilkie proposal; the casino king apparently signalled in the boardroom he was prepared to contribute funds and add his politically influential voice to the objections. Given his interest in the outcome, the agro around the political class and the posture of the pubs and clubs, it would be surprising if he did otherwise. Packer has also made his objections known to other parliamentary crossbenchers, calling on MP's Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott. Wilkie has refused to discuss the meeting. "The content of the discussion was confidential," he said, adding "unless James Packer wants to reveal it, in which case I have no objection". Fun, games and politics continue to mix it up down under, but we haven't heard the last of Packer VS Wilkie, or whatever the relationship is punters.

Friends, good punting, know your limits and bet with your head, not over it.

Punters, er readers, stay glued to Media Man reports via Gambling911 for more "can't miss" information on Australian pokies, gaming and casino wars.

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming. Media Man also publishes Media Man News

Website Network

Media Man International

Media Man News

Media Man

Media Man Australia

Media Man Canada

Media Man Games

Media Man Brand

Media Man Network

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Casinos To Host Pro Wrestling Talk By Hulk Hogan And Friends, by Greg Tingle - 22nd May 2011

2011-05-22T14:40:00.001+10:00

Famous pro wrestlers including Hulk Hogan are going to share true and previously kayfabe stories from the road at popular American and Canadian casinos. Oneida Casino in Green Bay, Wisconsin has signed up, with Boulevard Casino in BC said to keen, with many more expected to follow. Media Man and Gambling911 continue to probe the curious tie-ins between land based and online casinos with the pro wrestling sector, with Hulk Hogan now challenging Ric Flair as wrestling king of the gambling sector...

There's a curious relationship between pro wrestling, land based and online casinos, and to be frank, we like it. Let's face it, they're all in the entertainment business right, looking for their cut of the entertainment dollar. As if you didn't know, just being in business these days is a gamble.

Back in the old days... circa 1950, pro wrestling used to be sometimes held in smoke filled arena's, some doubling as above board casinos, some being underground gambling dens littered with vice... and all things nice and naughty. Ah, those were the days hey kids.

Pro wrestling living legend, Hulk Hogan, has proved himself in the ring many times over the past 3 decades, but now he's showing himself to be quite a study of the gambling and casino industry. Already featured in The Hulk-A-Mania Experience slot game and Hulk Hogan online slot, out within months we hear, he's about ready to spill his guts kayfabe style at select land based casinos throughout the United States and just maybe Canada and BC also. Not only that, many of Hogan's old wrestling mates will also join in the talkfest, which is bound to have wrestling fans on the edge of their seats.

Don't worry about Hogan mate Ric "The Nature Boy" Flair, who won't be appearing. Flair still has his deals with the Carolina's Education Lottery, and he still feels very Woooooo! about it.

A Media Man insider said "When Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair did their shoot angle at Star City Casino in Sydney, Australia a few years ago that drew strong heat, blood and major headlines. They incorporated some kayfabe, inside talk into the script. Hogan is old school and knows just about all the secrets of pro wrestling since the 70's. His talkfests to be held at American and perhaps Canadian and BC land based casinos should be something special...as long as you like pro wrestling, or at least find it interesting".

It's understood that Hogan and some of his wrestling buddies don't mind a punt, but it's not known if they will play the casinos games before or after the talks at this stage. Wrestling and casino trivia buffs will be interested to know that the old WWE bought a the Debbie Reynold's land casino casino in Las Vegas circa 1999, but never went ahead with development plans, opting to sell it for a tidy profit. The casino was later redeveloped and is today known as the Clarion Hotel and Casino.

The current wrestling talk fests are expected to net Hogan, mates, the casinos and the promoters thousands of dollars, with Hulk set to get the biggest payday of all we understand, which is fair enough.

Hogan nemesis and sometimes friends Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka and Kevin 'Diesel' aka 'Vinnie Vegas' Nash are understood to be aware of the wrestling talk tour but are not appearing due to prior contractual arrangements. Nash has some online casino games listed in his official website. The Hulk's online casino game is set to be released before the end of this year in a deal with Endemol UK. bwin.party digital entertainment is understood to be looking for a b2b deal with Endemol.

'Hogan and Friends' are set to tear the house down, as much as a talkfest is capable of.

The shows have previously been postponed, but at this stage 3rd time looks to be a charm. Insiders hope Hogan’s back is ok and won't stop him appearing. The nostalgia tour is set to arrive next week at Oneida Casino in Ashwaubenon.

Hogan will be sharing the mic with Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, The Nasty Boys, Koko B. Ware and Hacksaw Jim Duggan about their days on the old school wrestling circuit, both WWE - World Wrestling Federation and other promotions. Stories may including things like real life fights at bars, drug use, crazy nights with women ala "ring rats", real life heat, the time Duggan got busted with his supposed enemy The Iron Sheik for some green stuff, the real life Hogan - Randy Savage (RIP) feud, near meets with death, Andre The Giant stories, and god knows what else. Even if your more a casino player and not so much a wrestling fan, it still sounds like loads of fun.

It's rumoured that both Sydney's Star City casino and Melbourne's Crown Casino are interested in the wrestling talk concept, but to bring out Hogan and friends for this would be cost prohibitive at this stage, opting to stick to their loyalties to Vince McMahon's WWE, set to tour Australia from July 1.

Kudos to you Hulk, you're quite the wrestling legend, and there's no doubting your success as a gambling and gaming entrepreneur either.

Friends, good punting, know your limits and bet with your head, not over it. Ladies and gentlemen, kids of all ages... your winner - the fans!

Punters, er readers, stay glued to Media Man reports via Gambling911 for more "can't miss" information on Australian pokies, gaming and casino wars.

Hulk Hogan & Friends Tour

Oneida Casino, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Ashwaubenon - 26th May, doors open at 5pm.
http://www.oneidabingoandcasino.net

Boulevard Casino, Coquitlam BC - tentative, not confirmed - To Be Advised

Media Man Profiles

Hulk Hogan
http://www.mediamanint.com/profiles/hogan.html

Ric Flair
http://www.mediamanint.com/profiles/flair.html

Kevin Nash
http://www.mediamanint.com/profiles/nash.html

Wrestling
http://www.mediamanint.com/profiles/wrestling.html

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming. Media Man also publishes Media Man News and Wrestling News Media

Website Network

Media Man International

Media Man News

Media Man

Media Man Australia

Media Man Canada

Media Man Games

Media Man Brand

Media Man Network

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Australian Sports Betting Worries Sport Bosses, by Greg Tingle - 20th May 2011

2011-05-20T13:42:00.000+10:00

The sports betting sector continues to be red hot political and legal potato in Australia, and it has many a sports boss worried, as well as administrators of Australia's Olympic body, with Aussie Olympic athletes being red the riot act. Media Man and Gambling911 get you up to speed with the latest in the Australian sports betting industry, which is already having international consequences...

Aussie Sports Bosses Worried About Sports Betting...

Think you know all there is about the politics and proposed laws re sports betting in Australia? Think again.

The money men - the top brass behind the elite sports codes in Australia just yesterday expressed their unease at the full on advertising delivered by enthusiastic promoter types in the betting agencies.

The money stream for the sporting codes has been a financial shot in the arm for pro sports, but many now question at what cost.

Most advertising budgets in Australia have slowed over the last few years, but not sorts betting, a close cousin to gambling.

Live betting - exotic betting - are the forms of sports betting which have the majority of sports code bosses very worried, and we all know there's been a few scandals with the "exotics", and we're not talking about casino babes or sports babes folks.

The prestigious Tattersall's CEO's Sports Luncheon was held yesterday with reps from the AFL, NRL, ARU, FFA and Cricket Australia going on record that they felt somewhat uneasy with the tactics being employed by gambling firms, despite the big bucks they made from the association with sports betting.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say some of that more aggressive 'bet now' advertising is concerning us," NRL boss David Gallop said. "We would prefer to see that in a less aggressive mode. But it's difficult when the media outlets are going to take that advertising anyway, so the sports need to be in control of it."

After demonstrating initial caution, the Australian Football League has embraced the gambling universe, even permitting teams to accept gambling organisations as jersey, sports and internet sports sponsors, as plugging live odds on the AFL website during matches and showing live match odds on the scoreboard during games as part of an agreement with Betfair.

AFL chief exec Andrew Demetriou said it was issue beyond sport. "If it's in your face at the football, it can be really off-putting," he said. "But let's not delude ourselves; don't just concentrate this on the sports. The newspapers are littered with advertising about sports betting. Let's look at issues across the board, not just in sport. We're genuinely trying to do the right thing. Once sports betting became deregulated … everyone became exposed to it, not just kids at the football."

Australian Rugby Union top dog John O'Neill stated the massive money being thrown around by gambling firms had inevitably bought them a slice of power.

"We certainly do express a view if it's in your face, it's over the top. But that's the level of influence [they now have]," he said. "There is a source of revenue there." Assurances that all professional sporting events are not tampered with by bookmakers - or that players, coaches or officials are not betting on outcomes - has added another layer to the complex relationship between sports and agencies.

Cricket Australia exec James Sutherland advised all sports had to retain their integrity to survive.

"The critical issue for us is that the success of sport is built on the connection between the fan and the sport. They need to know this is a real contest, this is the real thing," he said. "If there is any question or taint around that then the integrity and value of the sport is significantly downgraded. That's something we're very conscious of. We can't have corruption in our game."

Federal Sports Minister Mark Arbib has expressed his support for tougher match-fixing laws, and is due to meet his state counterparts next month.

Just when all the confusion will come to an end is anyone's bet.

Gambling continues to be one of the world's most successful industries and most popular pastimes, and Aussie gamblers - sports betters are some of the most popular in the world.

With the Aussie news media and internet push on it seems unlikely that sports betting offline or online are going to decline in popularity any time soon. All gambling sub sectors are generally on the increase with the public, and now it just seems that all regulations across the board need to get up to speed with the reality of internet sports betting. You can bet legal eagles will continue to be busy and media reports will continue to be pumped out, keeping punters, politicians and all other interested parties abreast of the latest news. What else is left to say than good punting, and bet with your head, not over it.

Australian Olympic Committee Says Illegal Sports Betting Biggest Risk...

Aussie Olympic athletes set to head off the Olympic Games in London next year will be required to obey new laws designed to stop illegal betting.

The Australian Olympic Committee annual general meeting was held yesterday.

Plenty of top brass was present including AOC president John Coates and the Federal Minister for Sport Mark Arbib. They are so worried they rate illegal betting as big a risk as doping in the 1980s and 1990s.

Coates wants a national sports betting authority independent of any sport and their official bodies and handed federal powers and resources.

In a curious tactic, the AOC's 2012 team membership agreement has also been tweaked to limit the prospect of a selected Aussie athlete betting on themselves or anyone else during the Games in London.

Coates is happy to punish offenders by "naming and shaming" them. Arbib said he supported a prop for jail sentences of up to a decade for anyone found guilty.

The illegal betting industry, Arbib said, is worth roughly $140 billion a year, and has now spread like wildfire globally. He thinks that the battle to combat illegal betting will need the co operation of governments, sporting federations and legal betting agencies if it is to be won.

Coates said that athletes who still did not fully comprehend what was at stake would certainly do so by the time they had put on their green and gold team colours and were on a flight to London. He advised athletes will all be fully briefed before the Games, and the changed clauses in their agreements will be outlined. "In our team membership agreements, we have always had clauses in there that prohibited involvement by our team members in betting on Olympic Games, on other athletes or themselves," Coates said after the meeting. "We are just making [it] more specific."

"We have added the references to prohibition to illegal and irregular gambling betting to our ethical behaviour by-laws … that will be in place, the athletes will be briefed on it. It will be made very clear to them that we will not tolerate any betting during the Olympic Games."

Coates also advised that punishment for an infraction would not only come from the AOC.
Senator Arbib didn't shy away from outlining how strong a stand he plans on taking.

"The NSW Law Reform Commission have talked about penalties for up to 10 years for match fixing. That is something I support," he said.

"This is a very serious crime and there are large sums of money involved internationally.
''We need to send a strong message to those people who are involved in match fixing [and] those people involved in illegal gambling that government will act.

"We will act together with the sports and the betting agencies and we are going to take the toughest stance possible."

Coates went thought a 7-point mandate for the national sports betting authority. He's hopeful that Prime Minister Julia Gillard will endorse it and see it become a reality.

Investigate cheating and fraudulent conduct with necessary powers to phone tap, subpoena and seize information and exemption from privacy legislation.

Undertake effective national liaison and information sharing with the Australian Federal Police, Australia Tax Office and other federal agencies, and the State and Territory police.

Undertake effective international liaison and information sharing with other governments, international sports bodies and agencies.

Establish a comprehensive code of conduct for all sporting bodies.

Establish guidelines for minimum and consistent penalties across sports at all levels and the means to ensure they are applied.

Record the names of offending athletes, officials, clubs and third parties of ill-repute on a public register, and undertake education of coaches and officials.

Folks, with list or will it come to pass and become written in law? Tipsters advise we may know in the coming weeks, and no, we are not taking bets on it before you ask, but feel free to check out other gaming and betting promotions right here.

Punters, er readers, stay glued to Media Man reports via Gambling911 for more "can't miss" information on Australian sports betting, pokies, gaming and casino wars.

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming. Media Man also publishes Media Man News

Website Network

Media Man International

Media Man News

Media Man

Media Man Australia

Media Man Canada

Media Man Games

Media Man Brand

Media Man Network

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Global Gaming Directory

The Venetian and The Palazzo Las Vegas Kick Off New Alliance With IHG

2011-05-05T16:07:00.001+10:00

The Venetian and The Palazzo Las Vegas Kick Off New Alliance With IHG in Unexpected and Extraordinary Ways and Welcomes "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" to Celebrate

Ellen DeGeneres Welcomes Guests and Serves as "Celebrity Concierge" For The Day

ATLANTA, May 4, 2011 - The Ellen DeGeneres Show today helps IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) and Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) celebrate the launch of The Venetian and The Palazzo as the first-ever InterContinental Alliance Resorts. To commemorate this fitting partnership and encourage consumers to start taking advantage of the extraordinary benefits of the alliance, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres welcomed the 'first' InterContinental Alliance Resort guests by serving as celebrity concierge for the day.

The humorous segment airs on The "Ellen DeGeneres Show" Wednesday, May 4th, and will show viewers just how easy it is to start earning and burning IHG's Priority Club points at The Venetian and The Palazzo and global hotel destinations beyond the Las Vegas Strip. As "Celebrity Concierge," DeGeneres welcomed four lucky bachelorettes to check into the newly formed InterContinental Alliance Resorts, and showed them the access and benefits they receive at The Venetian and The Palazzo just by simply being a member of Priority Club Rewards, IHG's guest loyalty program. Ellen gives the bachelorettes the VIP treatment with drinks and dancing by the pool, a relaxing gondola ride and even hit the slot machines. Guests in Vegas were not the only ones to be part of the action; Ellen also surprised the entire studio audience of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" with a complimentary two-night stay at either The Venetian or The Palazzo.

As InterContinental Alliance Resorts, The Venetian and The Palazzo are now affiliated with the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts global portfolio. They will maintain their brand identity, yet are established as InterContinental Alliance Resorts on property and via various marketing channels, including www.intercontinental.com, where guests can book a suite at The Venetian or The Palazzo, just like they would any other InterContinental Hotel or Resort. The resorts, both of which have earned the AAA Five Diamond rating and a four-star rating from Forbes, are the perfect fit for the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts brand and provide the "in the know" experience that InterContinental guests have come to expect.

"Our guests earn a significant amount of Priority Club points when they're staying at our hotels for business travel," said Eric Pearson, chief marketing officer, the Americas, IHG. Overwhelmingly, they want to redeem those points for a fun and relaxing vacation, and now with InterContinental Alliance Resorts we can offer two-award winning flagship resorts in one of the world's most dynamic destinations."

This new alliance brings together two world-class leaders in the global hospitality industry. It also offers extraordinary benefits to both guests at The Venetian and The Palazzo and to members of IHG's Priority Club Rewards program, the world's largest hotel loyalty program with 56 million members.

"Our guests will now be able to earn points and redeem them for stays at any of IHG's various hotels worldwide, just as Priority Club Rewards and Ambassador Members will be able to use their own points for stays at both of our world-class resort properties. In addition, Venetian and Palazzo guests can also earn Priority Club points on top of our Grazie loyalty program points," said Rom Hendler, chief marketing officer, Las Vegas Sands Corp. "IHG customers will be able to experience the same Five Diamond Award winning service that Venetian and Palazzo visitors have always received. This is an exciting opportunity for all!"

To celebrate this new alliance, from now through the end of the year, consumers also have the opportunity to win an unexpected and extraordinary experience through a unique sweepstakes called "Unexpected. Extraordinary. Yours for the taking!" Each consumer who enters the online sweepstakes at www.ihg.com/lasvegas will be entered into a drawing for their chance to win an extraordinary giveaway each month.

Each monthly prize will include a two-night getaway in the Penthouse Suite at either The Venetian or The Palazzo, airfare to Las Vegas and VIP treatment, plus another extraordinary prize valued between $5,000 and $10,000 to experience in Las Vegas. The prizes will vary each month and include, but are not limited to, the chance to party like a celebrity at Tao and Lavo; private luxury box for four at Lagasse's Stadium(SM) during baseball's Fall Classic; and a culinary experience, featuring some of the award-winning restaurants on-site, including Postrio, CUT, Morels, Pinot Brasserie and Valentino. A full list of prizes can be found at www.ihg.com/lasvegas along with the rules for the sweepstakes which is being carried out by IHG.

About IHG:

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms. IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns, through various subsidiaries, over 4,400 hotels and more than 640,000 guest rooms in 100 countries and territories around the world. The Group owns a portfolio of well recognized and respected hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites® and also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty program, Priority Club® Rewards with 56 million members worldwide.

IHG has almost 1,300 hotels in its development pipeline, which is expected to create 160,000 jobs worldwide over the next few years.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

IHG offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at www.ihg.com and information for the Priority Club Rewards program at www.priorityclub.com. For our latest news visit www.ihg.com/media, Twitter www.twitter.com/ihgplc or YouTube www.youtube.com/ihgplc.

About Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) is the leading global developer of destination properties (integrated resorts) that feature premium accommodations, world-class gaming and entertainment, convention and exhibition facilities, celebrity chef restaurants, and many other amenities.

The Venetian and The Palazzo, Five-Diamond luxury resorts on the Las Vegas Strip, are among the company's properties in the United States. In Singapore, the iconic Marina Say Sands is the most recent addition to the company's portfolio.

Through its majority-owned subsidiary Sands China Ltd, the company also owns a collection of properties in Macau, including The Venetian Macao, Four Seasons Hotel Macao and the Four Seasons-branded serviced-apartments at its Cotai Strip development, as well as the Sands Macao on the Macau peninsula.

SOURCE InterContinental Hotels Group

Media Man Int Profiles

Casinos

Hotels

World Casino Directory

Global Gaming Directory

The Venetian

New York

Las Vegas

Property

Media Man

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man Brand

Media Man Network

Media Man News

Casino Travel Media

Casino News Media

Crown Casino Braces For TV Week Logies; Katy Perry On Despite Lawsuit, by Greg Tingle - 29th April 2011

2011-04-29T14:14:00.001+10:00

Australia's night of nights - the TV Week Logie Awards are to hit James Packer's Crown Casino - The Palladium to be exact, and security is to be on high alert as Katy Perry is to perform despite a lawsuit against ACP Magazines for story she says is not true. And, security and Crown Casino powers that be have banned mobile devices in response to last years Twitter-Gate, where one writer was fired for inappropriate Tweets. Will plastic handcuffs be required and will any footballer players or guests run a muck? Media Man and Gambling911 with the calm before the storm that is forecast to hit the TV Week Logies at James Packer's most famous casino...

Crown Casino Expects Huge TV Week Logies Night; Show Must Go On Despite Katy Perry Lawsuit...

James Packer, Australian gambling and media king loves this event - certainly the positives it brings his world famous Crown Casino in Melbourne - home of the original real life and TV Underbelly (in with a slight chance of a Logie we hear).

On the 1st of May Australia and the world will know who the Logies winners will be, and there's going to be plenty of news and gossip stemming from the prestigious event also.

'The Teenage Dream'... call her what you will (but we are not sure on the Russell Brand statue these days before you ask us), has her scheduled performance confirmed at the Logies On Sunday evening. Not even her lawsuit against ACP Magazines...publishers of TV Week is going to slow down this runaway train.

Perry who arrived in about 56 hours ago in Melbourne for her down under tour, has fired off a lawsuit to ACP's women's gossip mag NW claiming it falsely reported that Perry married for six months to Russell Brand (star of Arthur and all round bloody funny chap)... has been having an affair with record producer Benny Blanco. It's implied it was more than a fling.

Her writ, lodged in the Victoria Supreme Court against ACP Magazines, said: "By reason of the publication of the article, the plaintiff (Perry) has been gravely injured in her reputation and feelings (and) has suffered distress, embarrassment and humiliation."

The suit, lodged on Wednesday, has put a shadow over the Logies Awards since ACP - the main partner of the event - is reportedly remunerating Perry in the region of $300,000 to perform on the big night.

The publishing firm may even have to more if Perry's suit is successful. Her label EMI Music yesterday confirmed the pop singer was still due to perform.

ACP spokesman Peter Holder said: "ACP or Nine Entertainment Co have not been served with any court documents as yet and have no comment to make."

It's understood NW executive editor Corrine Barraclough flew to Melbourne yesterday to consult with lawyers.

FOXTEL Stars To Invade Logies; Tipped To Win Big...

FOXTEL TO SHOWCASE ITS BIGGEST EVER LINEUP OF STARS AT THE 2011 TV WEEK LOGIE AWARDS

FOXTEL stars will light up the stage and red carpet at the 2011 TV Week Logie Awards, to be held at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne this weekend. The cast of the much-anticipated Tim Winton’s cloudstreet (showcase) will be in attendance, including Stephen Curry – also presenting an award on the night – Todd Lasance, Essie Davis, Geoff Morrell and Huge Johnstone-Burt. cloudstreet will premiere on Sunday, May 22. Justine Clarke, Silver Logie nominated actress and star of Tangle (showcase) will also attend TV’s night-of-nights, as she prepares to commence production on the third season of the hit drama series in Melbourne. Host and Executive Producer of Australia’s Next Top Model (FOX8), Sarah Murdoch, will present an award at the ceremony and will be joined on the red carpet by Australia’s Next Top Model judge, Charlotte Dawson, as production commences on Series 7 of FOXTEL’s most-watched series. Gorgeous model Tahnee Atkinson, winner of Series 5 of Australia’s Next Top Model returns to the Logies stage for the second year in a row to present the winners with their Awards. Megan Gale, the new host of Project Runway Australia (Arena), will grace the red carpet in a custom-made gown by Project Runway mentor and red carpet divo Alex Perry. The fashion reality series recently wrapped production in Melbourne and will premiere on FOXTEL’s Arena channel in July. Megan will also take the stage to present an award on the night. Nominated for Most Outstanding Sports Coverage, FOXTEL’s own Matt Shirvington, Tiffany Cherry and James Bracey will represent the team from FOXTEL’s coverage of the XIX Delhi Commonwealth Games and will be joined by superstar athletes Geoff Huegill and Liesel Jones. In 2011, one of the most tumultuous years in political history, SKY NEWS has received a nomination for its coverage of Election 2010 in the Most Outstanding News Coverage category – and representing Australia’s News Channel will be Political Editor, David Speers, Senior Political Reporter, Kieran Gilbert and Political Reporter Ashleigh Gillon. One of the biggest ratings hits of 2010, Grand Designs Australia (The LifeStyle Channel), has received a nomination in the viewer voted Most Popular Lifestyle category. Host Peter Maddison will attend the 52nd annual Awards, alongside LifeStyle stable mate Sarah Wilson. For the second year in a row, the hosts of Nickelodeon’s Camp Orange: Castle Mountain, Luke Joseph Ryan and Wyatt Nixon-Lloyd will rock the red carpet in celebration of their nomination for Most Outstanding Children’s Program. Three of the most photographed and beautiful woman on Australian TV – host of Cricket Superstar (FOX8) Lee Furlong, host of Dating in the Dark (FOX8) Laura Dundovic and MTV’s Erin McNaught – will add some glamour to the red carpet. From the new Movie Extra series Small Time Gangster, lead star Steve Le Marquand and Sacha Horler are also on the guest list this Sunday night. Rounding out the guest list are the stars of FOX8’s hot new reality series WAG Nation, who are leaving their ball-playing men at home for a night of glitz and glamour. Shoe designer Terry Biviano, fiancée of NRL Sydney Roosters player Anthony Minichiello; event planner Lynette Bolton, wife of AFL Sydney Swans player Jude Bolton; fashion boutique owner Jackie Spong, fiancée of AFL Carlton Blues player Jarrad Waite; promotions manager Jana Peterson, long-term girlfriend of NRL Cronulla Sharks player John Williams; and flight attendant Chantelle Raleigh, girlfriend of NBL Gold Coast Blaze player Adam Gibson will all attend the Logies.

TV Week 2011 Logie Awards...

And the nominations are:

TV WEEK GOLD LOGIE – Most Popular Personality on Television
Adam Hills (Spicks And Specks, ABC1)
Asher Keddie (Offspring, Network Ten)
Chrissie Swan (The Circle, Network Ten)
Jessica Marais (Packed To The Rafters, Channel Seven)
Karl Stefanovic (Today, Nine Network)
Rebecca Gibney (Packed To The Rafters, Channel Seven)

TV WEEK SILVER LOGIE -- Most Popular Actor
Callan Mulvey (Rush, Network Ten)
Don Hany (Offspring, Network Ten / Tangle, Foxtel [Showcase])
Erik Thomson (Packed To The Rafters, Channel Seven)
Hugh Sheridan (Packed To The Rafters, Channel Seven)
Michael Caton (Packed To The Rafters, Channel Seven)

TV WEEK SILVER LOGIE -- Most Popular Actress
Asher Keddie (Offspring, Network Ten)
Jessica Marais (Packed To The Rafters, Channel Seven)
Margot Robbie (Neighbours, Network Ten)
Rebecca Gibney (Packed To The Rafters, Channel Seven)
Zoe Ventoura (Packed To The Rafters, Channel Seven)

TV WEEK SILVER LOGIE -- Most Popular Presenter
Adam Hills (Spicks And Specks, ABC1)
Chrissie Swan (The Circle, Network Ten)
Hamish Blake (Hamish & Andy 'Specials', Network Ten)
Karl Stefanovic (Today, Nine Network)
Shaun Micallef (Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation, Network Ten)

MOST POPULAR NEW MALE TALENT
Charles Cottier (Home And Away, Channel Seven)
Eddie Perfect (Offspring, Network Ten)
Firass Dirani (Underbelly: The Golden Mile, Nine Network)
Manu Feildel (My Kitchen Rules, Channel Seven)
Ryan Corr (Packed To The Rafters, Channel Seven)

MOST POPULAR NEW FEMALE TALENT
Chrissie Swan (The Circle, Network Ten)
Emma Booth (Underbelly: The Golden Mile, Nine Network)
Hannah Marshall (Packed To The Rafters, Channel Seven)
Julie Goodwin (Home Cooked! With Julie Goodwin, Nine Network)
Poh Ling Yeow (Poh's Kitchen, ABC1)

MOST POPULAR DRAMA SERIES
Home And Away (Channel Seven)
Neighbours (Network Ten)
Offspring (Network Ten)
Packed To The Rafters (Channel Seven)
Rush (Network Ten)
Underbelly: The Golden Mile (Nine Network)

MOST POPULAR LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM
Good News Week (Network Ten)
Hey Hey It's Saturday (Nine Network)
Sunrise (Channel Seven)
Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation (Network Ten)
The Circle (Network Ten)

MOST POPULAR LIFESTYLE PROGRAM
Better Homes And Gardens (Channel Seven)
Domestic Blitz (Nine Network)
Getaway (Nine Network)
Grand Designs Australia (Foxtel [The Lifestyle Channel])
Ready Steady Cook (Network Ten)

MOST POPULAR SPORTS PROGRAM
Before The Game (Network Ten)
The Footy Show (AFL) (Nine Network)
The Footy Show (NRL) (Nine Network)
The Matty Johns Show (Channel Seven)
Wide World Of Sports (Nine Network)

MOST POPULAR REALITY PROGRAM
Dancing With The Stars (Channel Seven)
MasterChef Australia (Network Ten)
The Biggest Loser Australia (Network Ten)
The Farmer Wants A Wife (Nine Network)
The X Factor (Channel Seven)

MOST POPULAR FACTUAL PROGRAM
Bondi Rescue (Network Ten)
Bondi Vet (Network Ten)
RPA (Nine Network)
Undercover Boss Australia (Network Ten)
Who Do You Think You Are? (SBS)

Most Outstanding Nominees

TV WEEK SILVER LOGIE -- Most Outstanding Drama Series, Miniseries or Telemovie
Hawke (Network Ten)
Packed To The Rafters (Channel Seven)
Rake (ABC1)
Rush (Network Ten)
Sisters Of War (ABC1)
Underbelly: The Golden Mile (Nine Network)

TV WEEK SILVER LOGIE -- Most Outstanding Actor
Erik Thomson (Packed To The Rafters, Channel Seven)
Hugh Sheridan (Packed To The Rafters, Channel Seven)
Jason Gann (Wilfred, SBS)
Richard Roxburgh (Hawke, Network Ten)
Richard Roxburgh (Rake, ABC1)

TV WEEK SILVER LOGIE -- Most Outstanding Actress
Asher Keddie (Offspring, Network Ten)
Catherine McClements (Rush, Network Ten)
Claire van der Boom (Sisters Of War, ABC1)
Justine Clarke (Tangle, Foxtel [Showcase])
Kat Stewart (Offspring, Network Ten)

GRAHAM KENNEDY AWARD FOR MOST OUTSTANDING NEW TALENT
Emma Booth (Underbelly: The Golden Mile, Nine Network)
Firass Dirani (Underbelly: The Golden Mile, Nine Network)
Richard Davies (Offspring, Network Ten)
Ryan Corr (Packed To The Rafters, Channel Seven)
Sarah Snook (Sisters Of War, ABC1)

MOST OUTSTANDING NEWS COVERAGE
"Afghanistan Rocket Attack" (Ten News)
"Election 2010" (Sky News)
"Laurie Oakes Election Leaks" (Nine News)
"New Zealand Mine Disaster" (Seven News)
"Pakistan Floods" (ABC News)

MOST OUTSTANDING PUBLIC AFFAIRS REPORT
"Brothers In Arms" (Sunday Night, Channel Seven)
"Hey Dad..! Scandal" (A Current Affair, Nine Network)
"Iraq's Deadly Legacy" (Dateline, SBS)
"Smugglers' Paradise" (Four Corners, ABC1)
"The Condemned" (Dateline, SBS)

MOST OUTSTANDING LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM
Hamish & Andy's Caravan of Courage: Great Britain & Ireland (Network Ten)
Luke Nguyen's Vietnam (SBS)
Spicks And Specks (ABC1)
Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation (Network Ten)
Yes We Canberra! (ABC1)

MOST OUTSTANDING SPORTS COVERAGE
2010 AFL Grand Final (Channel Seven)
2010 Melbourne Cup (Channel Seven)
Rugby League - 2010 State Of Origin - Game One (Nine Network)
The Ashes 2010 First Test - Day One at the Gabba (Nine Network)
XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi (Foxtel)

MOST OUTSTANDING CHILDREN'S PROGRAM
Camp Orange: Castle Mountain (Foxtel [Nickelodeon])
Dance Academy (ABC3)
Dead Gorgeous (ABC3)
Hi-5 (Nine Network)
Prank Patrol (ABC3)

MOST OUTSTANDING FACTUAL PROGRAM
Bondi Rescue (Network Ten)
Miracle in the Storm (ABC1)
RPA (Nine Network)
Such Is Life: The Troubled Times Of Ben Cousins (Channel Seven)
Trishna & Krishna: The Quest For Separate Lives (Channel Seven)

Shane Bourne To Host Logie Awards...

TV actor Shane Bourne will host the 2011 Logie Awards. In a statement announcing who would be the host, TV Week said Bourne "promises to deliver what he does best" at the 53rd Annual Logie Awards on May 1 at Melbourne's Crown Entertainment Complex. "I am genuinely thrilled to be involved in TV's night of nights," Bourne said. "It's an honour to be following in the footsteps of such television luminaries as Bert Newton et al - and the timing couldn't be better. "I've always enjoyed myself immensely at the Logies, and since the chances of a nomination coming my way this year look pretty slim, I figure it's not a bad way of making sure I score an invitation." Bourne currently stars in the Seven Network drama series City Homicide, but is also known for his comedic roles. Most recently, he hosted the popular show Thank God You're Here and was a regular on Hey Hey It's Saturday for many years. Thank God You're Here won a Silver Logie for most outstanding comedy in 2007. Bourne was also nominated for the most outstanding actor Logie in 2003 for his leading role in medical drama MDA. This year's Logie nominees will be revealed on April 3. Critics are at the read to praise or pan Bourne. Will Twitter-Gate strike again at Crown Casino. Don't blink!

Crown Casino Gorilla's Will Have Plastic Handcuffs; Last Resort To To Use On Patrons Or Special Guests...

We've confirmed that Crown Casino security will have plastic handcuffs (and other measures) at the ready for patrons or special guests who get out of hand. We are not certain if someone attempting a Tweet on a mobile device falls into that category, but punters, don't tell us we didn't warn you. Spin or tap your thingo to win or lose. Enjoy the Logies and don't do anything we wouldn't do. Good luck to all.

Punters, er readers, stay glued to Media Man reports via Gambling911 for more "can't miss" information on Australian pokies, gaming and casino wars.

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming. Media Man also publishes Media Man News

*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited

Website Network

Media Man International

Media Man News

Media Man

Media Man Australia

Media Man Canada

Media Man Games

Media Man Brand

Media Man Network

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Casino Travel Media Website Network Updated

2011-04-23T11:54:00.003+10:00

Website Network

Media Man International

Media Man News

Media Man

Media Man Australia

Media Man Canada

Media Man Games

Media Man Brand

Media Man Network

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Australia To Crack Down On Internet Betting, by Greg Tingle - 23rd April 2011

2011-04-23T11:54:00.001+10:00

Australian internet gamers - gamblers, and was as many sectors of the media are going to welcome the news that greater consumer protection measures are coming up in the near future. More regulation may also be in order as a result of information Australian Daniel Tzvetkoff has been passing to the FBI and other authorities in relation to gaming and the financial services sector. Media Man and Gambling911 continues to deliver news you need to know...

Aussie Internet Gamblers To Get More Protection...

Australian gamblers who lose money, rather that make a quid, playing internet poker or online casino games like slots, would be able to void unsuccessful credit card wagers under legislation to be tabled in Parliament next month. It's part of the plan to crack down on illegal internet betting. Independent senator Nick Xenophon will also put forward proposals re advertising controls on companies with gaming products and their affiliated websites. It's understood laws prohibit gambling houses from allowing Aussies to play poker and casino games for money across the web, however no company has been prosecuted for breaching these regulations. Roughly $1 billion is bet by Aussies over these websites annually.

"With voided credit card bets, I have to say there's something appealing to me about online casinos losing their shirts rather than the punters," Xenophon said. "It would certainly make online casinos think twice about accepting Australian cards." The Australian government is in a wrestling match to introduce pokies reform under which the maximum individual bet would be reduced from $10 to $1. That change is part of a deal the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, struck with the independent MP Andrew Wilkie to help snatch his support after the election last year. Some dramas hit betting sites became worldwide news last weekend after America's Federal Bureau of Investigation laid charges against the major players in the global online poker industry - PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker - alleging bank fraud, money laundering and breaches of US gambling laws. It boosted the popularity of some gambling brands not in trouble such as bwin.party digital entertainment and PKR. The FBI also sought to recover more than $US3 billion ($2.8 billion) as the proceeds of crime. Although the "Big Three' being probed by the FBI cannot advertise in Australia, some use affiliated websites...like "play for fun" (not money)...sponsorship of sports teams also happen such as with NRL clubs Cronulla and the Sydney Roosters, and then already one brand has a stadium named after them. Brands offering prohibited poker and casino betting can also operate from within Australia. It's understand a company called GP Information Services, which has an office in 'Sin City' Sydney, is a subsidiary of PokerStars, running a 200-strong office in downtown Chatswood, just 15 minutes from the heart of Sydney's CBD. Firms that breach the law can be fined up to $1.1 million a day, but none has been prosecuted, but a spokesman for the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy advised "a number of instances … have been referred to the AFP".

Daniel Tzvetkoff Gets Witness Protection For Gaming Information...

Ex Australian internet whiz kid Daniel Tzvetkoff is likely to have entered the FBI's witness protection program and could be put up in a jail facility on the US east coast, a former FBI special agent believes. Tzvetkoff's last known location was a prison in New York where US government prosecutors fought at bail hearings to keep him but, on August 23 last year, he was moved under a veil of secrecy. It is believed the 28-year-old Gold Coast entrepreneur, once worth about $82 million, has become a star witness for the FBI and prosecutors. Last week, the FBI charged 11 people - including the founders of the giant PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker internet poker companies - with bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling offences. "He's in a lock-up somewhere," said James Wedick, a decorated former FBI special agent who worked with the crime-fighting agency for 34 years and specialised in handling confidential informants and co-operating witnesses. Tzvetkoff was arrested a year ago in Vegas and faces 75 years in US federal prison for allegedly creating a scheme to illegally process more than $US500 million in transactions between US gamblers and internet gaming websites. Wedick said if Tzvetkoff had agreed to become a government witness, it would not guarantee his release from custody.
"There's no way they'd let him walk out," he told the press after examining details of the cases. It was also unlikely Tzvetkoff would be held in a safe house. Jails had special wings or floors for prisoners in the witness protection program and these were separate from the general prison population, he said. "If he's gone into the witness protection program, he is merely in one of the protection wings of the prison," Wedick said. The FBI and prosecutors from the US Attorney's Southern District of New York office have declined to comment on Tzvetkoff's whereabouts.
Court proceedings in Tzvetkoff's case are held behind closed doors and filings sealed from the public. "You are going to have to call the US Attorney's office on this," said a FBI spokesman, declining to comment on the Tzvetkoff case. A call to the US Attorney's office came with the same info. "It's our policy to not comment on ongoing cases and investigations," the spokeswoman said. A couple of years back, Tzvetkoff was pushed as one of Australia's smartest and most successful young businessmen after creating Brisbane-based internet payment processing company Intabill. Tzvetkoff drove Lamborghinis, Ferraris, showed off his wealth, and now its come back to haunt him. Other companies with some links to the gaming industry are understood to be doing house keeping and getting more legal advise to make sure their business won't suffer a similar fate to Tzvetkoff's.

A Media Man spokesperson said "We will continue to cover the gaming sector, just as we cover a dozen industry vertical markets. Online property, celebrity and entertainment news, travel, politics and overall expansion of website portals remains a focus point for us. We're not a casino, but we will certainly continue to cover the casino, online casino and poker sector. We've been offering alternative news and online media for a decade, and we are not about to stop covering it just because some questionable gambling websites based in the US closed down. We will also continue to rank a online casino and online poker website of the month also. It's pretty much business as usual across our international network".

Punters, er readers, stay glued to Media Man reports via Gambling911 for more "can't miss" information on Australian pokies and gaming wars.

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming.

Website Network

Media Man International

Media Man News

Media Man

Media Man Australia

Media Man Canada

Media Man Games

Media Man Brand

Media Man Network

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Kiwi Christchurch Casino Quake Staff Fail Redundancy, by Greg Tingle - 9th April 2011

2011-04-09T13:10:00.001+10:00

New Zealand land based casino news is the order of the day. Christchurch Casino workers have failed in their attempt to snatch a larger redundancy payout. Media Man and Gambling911 check out the employment and legal scene in New Zealand...

Financial and emotional aftershocks are still be felt by the casino sector after a series of earthquakes that rocked the Asia Pacific - Japan and New Zealand region.

Christchurch Casino workers are feeling disappointed and even depressed after having failed attempt to get a bigger redundancy payday.

In excess of 500 formally happy and motivated casino employees were offered redundancy at the central Christchurch casino last weekend, which was badly damaged in the February 22 quake and has stayed closed ever since the act of mother nature.

Anyone who wants to stay at the casino will be paid their holiday pay as either a weekly amount or in a "lump sum". Simply put, they will remain as employees of the land based casino on leave without pay until the the gambling den opens again.

The SFWU (Service and Food Workers' Union), which reps for 100 plus casino workers, has a meeting with the casino's managers on Thursday.

SFWU strategic industry boss Len 'Razor' (MM tag) Richards said workers were sombre but firm in their desire about securing a more attractive redundancy package.

The union power that be were also asking for continued pay for employees that choose to stay on until the casino opens again.

However, he advised management was not prepared to increase the amount of redundancy pay for staff, but did agree to request for a government wage subsidy.

Due to a private insurance deal and policy in place, the land based casino has not relied upon the $1.5 million government subsidy available for quake-affected businesses.

Richards stated that the union has contacted earthquake recovery minister Gerry Brownlee to request assistance to help pay workers who remain employed.

SkyCity, half owner of the famous Christchurch Casino, has projected a $130 million plus profit this year. It's not known how much financially the quake cost Christchurch Casino or SkyCity.

Christchurch Casino top sheep er top dog...chief executive Brett 'Ask Him' (MM satire) Anderson said about 70% of employees have indicated they will stay with the company rather than take the offered redundancy.

He said a number of employees are also being offered jobs offshore.

Anderson elaborated "I'm getting phone calls from Australia looking for our people and likewise all over New Zealand, and a few of them have spread their wings. More than a few have gone over to the Gold Coast. It's a lot warmer, it's a lot more stable, you can swim in the sea, the pay rates are better."

Anderson said he still does not know when the casino will reopen.

Employees have a deadline until Monday to decide whether they will take the redundancy package or stay on. Yep, it's the money or the box.

Workers who have not contacted the company by showdown at 5pm on Monday will be deemed to have left their jobs and will be paid out a four-weeks-notice payment, along with their annual leave entitlements. Casino workers, did you get that. D Day is approaching.

A Media Man spokesperson said "In the current global economy anyone with a decent job should be grateful, especially in the casino or gaming sector. Well done to Christchurch Casino management for doing their utmost to assist in their difficult times. Employers will always want to ask for more... its in the nature. Land based casinos generally remain popular around the world so good staff will always be in demand."

Media Man and Gambling911 wish all parties well with their dealings, and hopefully some win - win - wins will still be possible.

Punters, er readers, stay glued to Media Man reports via Gambling911 for more "can't miss" information on Australian, New Zealand and global casino news, wars, and general land based and online casino news.

Media Man Profiles

New Zealand

Australian Casinos

Casinos

So, whether you prefer land based casinos or online, please take precautions. As always, know the odds, bet with your head, not over it, and have fun. Good luck.

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming.

Website Network

Media Man International

Media Man

Media Man Australia

Media Man Canada

Media Man Games

Media Man Brand

Media Man Network

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Casino News Media - Media Man: Broker snap: bwin.party has potential post merger

2011-04-07T03:14:00.000+10:00

Press Release

5th April 2011

Broker snap: bwin.party has potential post merger

Panmure Gordon ups its target price for PartyGaming following its merger with bwin, saying that the newly-formed bwin.party Digital Entertainment has the potential to deliver above-average earnings growth, underpinned by €55m of merger synergies.

“Recent regulatory developments have been overwhelmingly positive for eGaming operators, in our view and we think eGaming stocks are well placed for a period of sustained outperformance,” said the broker.

Panmure estimates that bwin.party will be almost twice the size of its closest peers in 2012, and its scale benefits give it a significant advantage in the French and Italian poker markets, where the broker thinks it will be among the top three poker liquidity providers.

The broker keeps its ‘buy’ rating, but increases the target price from 275p to 288p.

Press Release

1st April 2011

Beyond the Deal Selected to Support Merger Integration of PartyGaming and bwin

Beating stiff competition, Beyond the Deal LLP has been chosen to support the integration of PartyGaming and bwin, following their announced transformational merger inJuly 2010 to form bwin.party digital entertainment plc (Ticker: BPTY). The deal, completed today, makes bwin.party, the world's largest listed online gaming company.

Conducted across key bwin and PartyGaming locations across Europe, and working with senior executives and management in the merged entity, Beyond the Deal's work is focused on supporting integration planning, internal communications and cultural alignment.

Kathy Swindley, Group HR Director for bwin.party digital entertainment, said:

"We have chosen to work with Beyond the Deal due to its skills and understanding of the complex challenges that arise from merging different international cultures."

Carlos Keener, Managing Partner, Beyond the Deal LLP, stated:

"Our appointment by bwin.party continues to highlight our ability to support the largest multi-national deals in a way that is responsive, flexible, and makes the best use of clients' own capabilities and experience in merger integration. We look forward to working with many other companies as M&A activity resumes in the coming months."

Notes to Editors

1. Established by Carlos Keener in 2001, Beyond the Deal (http://www.beyondthedeal.com) is an advisory and resources firm specialising in post merger integration, based in the UK & US.

2. The company focuses on acquisition and integration strategy, business model design, integration planning and management, and other post-acquisition areas such as business process change, organisational design, HR, IT, branding, culture, communications, and risk management.

3. Beyond the Deal's Cultural Snapshot Survey helps businesses address the need for cultural assessment alongside more commonplace pre-deal processes, and certainly as part of acquisition target assessment and integration planning. The survey considers both organisational and national culture, links it to post-deal business models and integration planning, and provides practical ways forward for cultural alignment post-deal.

News

PartyPoker Unleashes Card Rush Instant Win Promotion - 5th April 2011

PartyPoker, the world’s third largest online poker room, is offering up 1.8 million prize cards as part of its Card Rush Instant Win promotion in April. The promotion will run through April 30th or until the prize cards are given away and offers numerous chances to earn extra cash by playing on the site this month.

You can obtain a Card Rush card simply by playing in a real money game on PartyPoker and earning points. The first card will cost five points and subsequent cards will cost 15 points. Players may obtain up to 50 cards per day, but the promotion will end when all 1.8 million are assigned.

Each card will instantly give players a monetary prize between $1 and $5,000, a points prize up to 25,000, or entry into a freeroll. The freerolls will run on the following days:

Card Rush $2,000 Freeroll – May 5th at 1:00pm ET
Card Rush $15,000 Freeroll – May 5th at 2:30pm ET
Card Rush $3,000 Freeroll – May 6th at 1:00pm ET
Card Rush $10,000 Freeroll – May 6th at 2:30pm ET
Card Rush $5,000 Freeroll – May 7th at 1:00pm ET
Card Rush $7,000 Freeroll – May 7th at 2:30pm ET
Card Rush $20,000 Freeroll – May 8th at 1:00pm ET

Players can also earn cash in the Card Rush Race, a leaderboard that will pay the top 200 point-earners a minimum of $100. Points will be awarded as part of the Card Rush promotion ranging from one to 20 points per card. The more points a player earns, the more money they’ll receive. Here’s a look at the payouts:

1st place – $9,000
2nd place – $7,000
3rd place – $5,250
4th place – $4,000
5th place – $3,500
6th place – $3,000
7th place – $2,500
8th place – $2,000
9th place – $1,500
10th place – $1,000
11th-18th places – $800
19th-30th places – $700
31st-45th places – $600
46th-60th places – $500
61st-75th places – $400
76th-100th places – $300
101st-125th places – $200
126th-150th places – $150
151st-200th places – $50

In addition, every 20th spot from 220 to 2,000 will earn a Hot Spot prize of $50.

PartyPoker is also running daily qualifiers to the 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas. Qualifiers are running now until June 19th, with satellites available for as little as $2. Each $14,000 package includes the $10,000 Main Event buy-in, travel and eight days’ hotel accommodations, and $2,000 spending money.

There are also special qualifiers exclusively for first-time depositors. Every month, new players can enter an exclusive freeroll to win one of 10 seats, each worth $750, in the WSOP weekly satellite.

PartyGaming, which owns and operates PartyPoker, recently merged with bwin to form the largest gambling group in the world. With the merger, Party Gaming hopes to even the playing field in the online poker arena as it positions itself to re-enter the U.S. market.

The new company also hopes the merge will expand the PartyPoker brand in Europe. bwin previously resided on the Ongame Network, but now combines its client base with PartyPoker to create the third largest online poker room in the world. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

Media Man, Casino News Media and Global Gaming Directory do have a b2b relationship with PartyGaming, as they do with dozens of other companies in the gaming, igaming, media and entertainment industry.

Websites

PartyCasino.com

PartyPoker.com

Profiles

PartyGaming PartyCasino PartyPoker PartyBingo Circus PartyCasino Marvel Slots The Big One Melon Madness Casino World Poker Tour PartyCasino Promotions

Jupiters Hotel and Casino Most Dangerous, by Greg Tingle - 6th April 2011

2011-04-06T12:51:00.000+10:00

Australian land based casino and pubs, clubs and hotels have a bit of a reputation as not exactly totally safe places to hang out. Some of the dangers of land based casinos in Australia were touched on in the Productivity Report into gaming, but new findings further back this up with the Gold's Coast's Jupiters getting the most heat. Media Man and Gambling911 bring in the bodyguards with bullet proof vests, baton sticks and plastic handcuffs at the ready with this special report...

Australia's Jupiters Hotel and Casino, Gold Coast (formally known as Conrad Hotel and Casino, Gold Coast) is still considered by many to be the world's most dangerous occurring to numerous gaming and media analysts, choosing to remain anonymous.

This news follows the a trail of minor and major crime happenings at the land based casino, most of which have not been reported in the mainstream media, where as James Packer's Crown Casino and Burswood Casino incidents are almost always covered in the Australian press.

Some commentators say Monte Carlo may be home to the world's most dangerous casino, with a couple of casinos on the U.S Las Vegas Strip giving them a run for their money. High profile incidents like a celebrity committing a crime at a casino, like the O.J Simpson matter in Vegas and Van der Sloot might raise the profile of a casino, but it doesn't mean that they are the most dangerous, as there are a number of criteria to judge... bashings and assaults, deaths and injuries, theft, guns and / or knives and so it goes on.

iGaming insiders sometimes joked that Grand Prive, Lucky Ace, Platinum Partners were the most dangerous online casino brands! A few years ago Casino Tropez was an online casino hangout for a players who went on to commit murder, but that shouldn't mean that that casino was dangerous - just not good luck for the player or casino on that matter. Last January a drug dealer was busted just weeks after competing in the 'Aussie Millions' Poker Championship at Crown Casino. More about these cases in the Media Man online casino reviews and of course Gambling911 has an extensive Gambling News and Casino Crime section on their website portal.

Dangerous Aussie Casinos Snapshot...

Gambling 911 Star City Casino Gunman news
http://www.gambling911.com/gambling-news/australian-new-zealand-gambling-news-july-28-2010-072810.html

'Casino Model Holly Graham revelled'
http://www.mediamanint.com/articles/casino_model.html

Jupiters Hotel and Casino on the Gold Coast - Broadbeach to be precise, remains the most dangerous casino in Queensland, and one of the world's most dangerous casinos occurring to numerous sources to afraid to provide names. Jupiter's recorded more than double the number of assaults as the Treasury Casino in Queensland's biggest city, Brisbane, over the past few years.

Queensland Police numbers released under a Right To Information application have disclosed more than 1 offence was committed on average per day at the casino in 2009 including serious assaults, rape, extortion, stalking, fraud, car stealing, theft and a huge number of liquor and drunkenness offences. Get that, 1 offence per day folks! 2010 numbers were similar, with just a slight decrease in major incidents.

Some 30 assaults were listed in the charges, including 18 incidents considered grievous or serious, in comparison to a total of "only" 13 assaults in Conrad Treasury Casino in Brisbane, 4 assaults in The Reef Hotel and Casino in Cairns, and just 2 in Jupiters Townsville Hotel and Casino.

Among the more than 350 charges were 35 odd offences against the person, 92 offences against property and 230 other charges including drugs, drunkenness and good order, or minor, offences.

Full details on the the deaths, guns and knives cases are not in the public domain.

The local Mermaid Beach Member For Parliament Ray Stevens (Media Man tag "The Crippler") advised the casino was by a country mile the biggest 24-hour venue in the state so it was not surprising there were a ton of incidents.

"It also shows an attitude of zero tolerance," he said, balancing the scales.

"I suppose the concerning thing is (assaults) were double the number for the Brisbane Treasury."

Tabcorp Holdings Ltd, owner of Jupiters (formally Conrad) advised 15,000 people a day visited the Gold Coast based casino which was about 5.5 million a year compared to about 3 million who visited the Brisbane casino owned by the gaming giant. Tabcorp remains the major competitor to Crown Limited in the Australian gaming sector.

The casino advised press it operated on a "0 tolerance" approach towards illegal and undesirable behaviour and had one of the best surveillance systems available in the world. Surveillance involves more than just the famed "Eye In The Sky" and casino bouncers aka "gorillas in suits".

"Combined with highly trained staff and constant vigilance means that detection rates of illegal and undesirable behaviours are very high," said the PR release.

All incidents were reported to police and to the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation.

The presser said casino safety and security officers often responded to incidents outside the venues, providing emergency assistance, first-aid and contacting police.

"It is important to note that in 2009 over 8.5 million people visited the southeast Queensland casinos," it noted.

"Therefore, the total number of incidents reported to the Queensland Police during that time represents just .02% of the total number of visitors."

Gold Coast police superintendent Jim Keogh, told News Limited it was difficult to compare the figures between the two cities.

"The Gold Coast (casino) would be busier than Brisbane. They are worlds apart. Brisbane seems to cater for a different demographic."

A Media Man spokesperson said "What type of demographic is attracted to Conrad Jupiters is open to interpretation. I've been there myself, thankfully with no incidents. The numbers don't lie, but Jupiter's do bring in a lot of punters and tourists, so there's going to be incidents from time to time. Still, one case per days still seems high. Not as high we understand at Star City in Casino or Crown Casino in Melbourne. At least the Tabcorp powers that be are aware of the situation and are taking action, rather than closing their eyes and ears to the matter. I guess the Aussie casino wars continue to evolved, this time with security and crime being a sub sector of the wars. We commend the take no prisoners and zero tolerance mantra and policy".

Punters, er readers, stay glued to Media Man reports via Gambling911 for more "can't miss" information on Australian and global casino wars, land based and online.

Media Man Profiles

Australian Casinos
http://www.mediamanint.com/profiles/australian_casinos.html

Jupiter's Hotel and Casino

Star City Casino

The Reef Hotel and Casino

Australia

Casino Reviews

New Zealand

Monte Carlo

Pink Panther

Online casinos, perhaps recognizing the sometimes crime link with land based casinos, going back to 'The Mob' in Vegas and Chicago have a number of game titles with dangerous titles such as The Godfather, Hitman, Heist, Mafia Millions, Predator, High Noon and Resident Evil? Just good Hollywood fun or something perhaps more sinister? In the meantime Aussies continue to call for an Underbelly and Kerry Packer themed slot game, but have to settle for Pink Panther within weeks and Andre The Giant likely before year end. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers. PartyGaming, Virgin Casino and Captain Cooks remain some of the world's must trusted, ethical and popular online casinos, with Party leading the charge down under followed by Captain Cook.

So, whether you prefer land based casinos or online, please take precautions. As always, know the odds, bet with your head, not over it, and have fun. Good luck.

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming.

*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited

Website Network

Media Man International

Media Man

Media Man Australia

Media Man Canada

Media Man Games

Media Man Brand

Media Man Network

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Casino Travel Media Website Network Updated

2011-04-04T18:05:00.000+10:00

Website Network

Media Man International

Media Man

Media Man Australia

Media Man Canada

Media Man Games

Media Man Brand

Media Man Network

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Australian Casino News

Casino News Australia

Global Gaming Directory

Australian And NZ Land Based Casino Gossip, by Greg Tingle - 4th April 2011

2011-04-04T18:04:00.000+10:00

G'day punters, casino and gambling millionaires and billionaires, sports nuts, politicians, legal eagles, one and all. We've got lots of Aussie casino and poker news and gossip for you today, but a few big developments from our friends down in Kiwi land - New Zealand. Media Man and Gambling911 voyage across the Pacific Ocean and across into the Tasman with this special report...

Melbourne Press Club Does Crown Casino...

The Melbourne Press Club did Crown casino and interesting goss is coming in. Julia Gillard impersonator Amanda Bishop got em talking with a line on Crown Casino and media commentators Andrew Bolt's head...the venue reminded her of nothing so much as the inside of Andrew Bolt’s head. Bolt being a soft target, since he's currently in court fighting for his good name. The joke got mixed reactions. Crown media and events hotshot Anne Peacock is understood to be concerned about Crown's image with the Press Club connection. Master of ceremonies Peter Mitchell gave Peacock special thanks in his address to the crowd. There was no on the record response from Crown Casino powers that be. It's understood that its hard to censor a Press Club speech. or news media in general.

Aussie Politics: Bob Katter Pokies Support May Assist Labor Party...

Independent MP Bob Katter says he won't support national slot machine reforms demanded by fellow crossbencher Andrew Wilkie, who gave Julia Gillard a bit of life support as she tries to hold together her minority government. But he has called for “some pullback” from Wilkie on the slot machine pre-commitment scheme. Wilkie keeps saying the anti-gambling measure is non-negotiable, warning all he will withdraw his support for the Labor party if reforms are not implemented. The Gillard government suffered quite a setback on Friday when independent MP Tony Windsor said he would not back Wilkie's proposed slots reform. This may further destabilize the Labor party. Katter said he "strongly supported" the reform push with "I am four square behind where they will want to go, but I'll have a bit of an argument with them about how to get there. We have to go at this very, very carefully, I'm seeking discussions with Nick (Xenophon) and Andrew but I'm very supportive of the idea of tackling problem gamblers. There needs to be a bit of compromise. It's fine for them to make an ambit claim." Katter advised that a number of clubs in his electorate of Kennedy had closed recently, and that he wouldn't want to see more go the same way. "But we shouldn't keep them open if people are spending their kids' money in them," he said. Under the agreement reached with MP Wilkie, Labor still has until May to strike a deal with state governments on a reform package designed to reduce problem gambling. If it falls flat on its face in getting a deal the states, the government has agreed to enact federal legislation to put in place limits on pokies including a mandatory pre-commitment scheme that will force gamblers to carry smartcards that enforce bet limits before spinning to win. Withdrawal limits on ATMs near poker machines will also be limited to $250. With the support of the Greens, Wilkie and Katter, Labor appears to have locked a potential 75 of 76 necessary votes, leaving the fate of any federal legislation up to of crossbenchers Rob Oakeshott and Tony Crook. Yep, the soap opera that is Australian politics and gambling continues.

James Packer Casino King May Sell Consolidated Media Holdings...

James Packer still may sell his $790 million stake in pay-television investment company Consolidated Media Holdings. Packer has 49.9% of ConsMedia which owns a quarter of Foxtel and half of Fox Sports... has put the word out he will sell if someone is prepared to pay a reasonable price. There is speculation on what developments will happen in Australian media, but internet and gaming continues to ramp up. Packer remains high on pay-TV and there's the $2 billion merger talks between Foxtel and regional counterpart Austar. Some say his is unclear about the medium-term view for the pay-TV industry, one which has copped weak subscriber growth over the past couple of years. The media seem to love it when Packer gets in a verbal fight with another media personality however. How can we forget Packer VS Seven exec David Leckie stoush in October 2009 at the 70th birthday of ex Nine boss Sam Chisholm was reminiscent of his late father, Kerry. JP generally likes to keep the peace its understood. We also recall Last month, when Ten Network Holdings stole senior Seven exec James Warburton to be its new boss. Packer, who owns 9% of Ten, did not want to damage his close relationship with Seven executive chairman Kerry Stokes. Stokes owns 24.4% of ConsMedia. Packer is believed to not want to cause further strain on his relationship with acting Ten chief executive Lachlan Murdoch. Both these relationships somehow survived the Warburton appointment. Flogging ConsMedia is a way to avoid drams with media personalities. Insiders speculate a ConsMedia sale won't happen in a hurry. It was not so long ago that he was at war with Stokes in the C7 case. It was less than six months ago that he favoured media rub enough to buy into Ten. There are also only three potential buyers: Foxtel's other shareholders, Telstra and News Limited as well as Channel Seven. Stokes is in the midst of selling Seven Media Group to West Australian Newspapers while News Limited's parent, Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, is consumed with the much bigger challenge of buying the 61% of BSkyB it does not already own. News and Seven are understood to not be that keen on ConsMedia.

Aussie Grant Levy Wins ANZPT Perth Event...

Sydney’s Grant Levy took down the PokerStars ANZPT Perth championship this past weekend. He snatched he ANZPT trophy and the $131,500 prize. Levy also became the second player in history with able to get the APPT and ANZPT titles. 220 players entered the AUD$2,500 buy-in main event at Perth's Burswood Casino. A prize of $506,000 was put together, and the top 24 finalists were guaranteed $4,550. The field dissolved to a final table featuring only Aussies except for Ireland’s Patrick Kearns. After more than 3 hours Levy made won. Corr took $83,500 as runner-up. The next stop for the ANZPT is in Sydney, Australia April 13-17.

Results:

1. Grant Levy: $131,500
2. John Corr: $83,500
3. Tim Marsters: $47,000
4. Aaron Lim: $38,000
5. Patrick Kearns: $31,600
6. Han Luu: $26,600
7. Peter Parsons: $21,500
8. Ted Nguyen: $16,450

Poker Cup In Perth Does Good Work For Charity...

Sport, fashion, music and pop culture mixed it up at the the Poker Cup held at Burswood Casino last week. Ex Wildcats star Nik Lackovic put together the cool event, which is an spring off from the Australia and New Zealand Poker Tour. Lackovic said he was keen to create something which gave back to the Strike a Chord for Cancer Foundation, run by local music promoter John Zaccaria and his wife, Noeleen. "I have known John since we were 10," Lackovic told the press "He is a cancer survivor so I wanted to put on a charity event which would raise some money and create some awareness for his foundation." A regular big-time poker player, Lackovic said he had a nice win at the Aussie Millions in January where he won more than $80,000. He also said he had given his fiancee Nicole McKendry some poker tips for her first time. Also playing at the event were Tony Sage, Ryan Crowley, Josh Catalano, Steve Nelkovski, Sal Fazzino, Tony Barlow, Lydia and Zhenya Tsvetnenko. Well done to all.

New Zealand's Christchurch Casino Staff To Accept Redundancy Or Take Unpaid Leave...

Christchurch Casino's management is doing its best for its workers, Prime Minister John Key said today on the eve of a deadline where employees have to decide if they will accept redundancy or take unpaid leave. The Service and Food Workers Union (SFWU), which represents the workers, has called a meeting on Friday morning and is urging members not to make decisions before then. About 520 full-time and part-time workers have been offered redundancy with 4 weeks pay, or they can take unpaid leave until the casino opens again. Christchurch Casino chief executive Brett Anderson said the company had little choice after the post-quake closure of its business and an uncertain timeframe for reopening. "The key for us was giving people the choice," he said. "There is a lot of uncertainty. We are uncertain ourselves. This is not something we wanted to do." Key said the casino hoped to reopen. "I think actually SkyCity are doing a very good job here, they've paid their workers for six weeks," he told Breakfast on TV One. "They are saying if you leave at any time and you take your annual leave and you eventually decide to leave, we will still give you four weeks redundancy. "I think in defence of SkyCity they are doing everything they can." Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said yesterday the casino might be able to reopen elsewhere. "I think one of the issues that we've got to discuss with the casino is whether or not they can reopen with their licence in another location if it's possible," he said. However, Key said that could be costly for the casino and ideally it would be able to reopen at its existing site. Casino licences were geographically specific, but Brownlee said the Earthquake Recovery Bill could give the flexibility for the premises to move. Anderson said his priority was to reopen the casino on its existing site, and to "get our people back in there", but he did not know when that would happen. The Victoria St building, which has a yellow sticker, sustained minor damage. However, it is within the cordon and close to unstable buildings. Anderson said it would take only three to four weeks to repair the casino damage once the cordon was lifted. SFWU tourism and hospitality industry leader Len Richards was advising workers not to accept the redundancy package because it was no more than the four-week notice period they were eligible for anyway. Workers should be receiving 18 weeks redundancy, which was in line with the redundancy provisions at SkyCity Casino in Auckland. "The loss of jobs that has already occurred, plus the inevitable further job losses to come, will create huge social costs," Richards said. The union was seeking an urgent meeting with casino management. However, Anderson said he had yet to receive a union request. He said the union was forgetting staff had already been paid for the past six weeks, at a cost of $410,000 a week. The casino had not been eligible for the Government subsidy because of its ownership structure, Anderson said. It was owned by SkyCity Casinos and Skyline Enterprises. Christchurch Casino employees could express an interest in working at other casinos in New Zealand and Australia. However, the casino would not pay relocation costs. Anderson said three Christchurch staff already had jobs in Dunedin and two were working in Queenstown. SkyCity in Auckland, which had more than 100 jobs available, would give Christchurch staff priority, he said. Casino employee Kelly Hamlin, who has worked in security at the casino for seven years, said he was unsure what to do. "It's just a blow to all the staff. In a way I think we were expecting a wee bit more than what we have been given." Hamlin said he knew the company was in a difficult position but he would have liked to see the casino keep staff. The union is meeting workers at the Hornby Working Men's Club on Friday. We wish our Kiwi friends well on their earthquake recovery.

Readers... er, punters, how did you like our report? Tell us in the forum.

If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. Gaming is just one of a dozen sectors covered

Online Casinos, Online Poker and Sports Betting...

Ok readers, we hear you... you also want to know some of the best places to play online (that accept Aussies) if your in or around the Asia Pacific - Australia (including Tassie) and New Zealand, so here it is...

PartyCasino.com (Many of the world's best slot games. Aussies and Kiwi's welcome).

Captain Cooks Casino

Betfair (sports betting only)

PKR.com (poker, slots including Marvel slot games and sports betting)

PartyPoker.com (online poker at one of the world's most respected poker rooms and gaming brands)

Profiles

Australian Casinos

World Casino Directory

Global Gaming Directory

Casino Travel

Casinos

Australia

Media Man and Gambling911 remind our readers to keep the following in mind:

Take the time to research and learn games before placing down money

Media Man, Casino News Media and Gambling911 are website portals. Not casinos as such, however are recognised as world leading websites that cover the sector and act as central points to games, news, reviews and more.

If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. Gaming is just one of a dozen sectors covered

Website Network

Media Man International

Media Man

Media Man Australia

Media Man Canada

Media Man Games

Media Man Brand

Media Man Network

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Australian Casino News

Casino News Australia

Global Gaming Directory

PartyGaming Plc, now known as bwin.party digital entertainment plc ('bwin.party' or the 'Company')

2011-03-31T20:47:00.000+11:00

Completion of the Merger

The process of merging PartyGaming Plc and bwin Interactive Entertainment AG ('bwin') has been completed today. The Company has formally re-registered its name as 'bwin.party digital entertainment plc'.

The Company's ordinary shares of 0.015 pence each ("Shares") have today been de-listed and re-admitted to the premium segment of the official list and commenced dealing on the London Stock Exchange's main market. A total of 439,209,325 new Shares have today been issued in the form of dematerialised depositary interests and credited in CREST for onward transfer to the relevant securities accounts of former bwin shareholders no later than 1 April 2011. As a result of this issue of new Shares, the Company now has 852,271,026 Shares in issue.

The new London Stock Exchange 'ticker' for the Shares is 'BPTY'. The ISIN number for the Shares remains G1000A0MV757, whilst the SEDOL number has changed to B53TNH6. The London Stock Exchange will show the Company's new name of 'bwin.party digital entertainment plc' on its trading system from 1 April 2011.

As a result of the merger completing, the following appointments to the Company's board of directors have taken effect from today:

Simon Duffy, Non-Executive Chairman of the Board
Norbert Teufelberger, Co-Chief Executive Officer
Joachim Baca, Chief Operating Officer
Per Afrell, Independent Non-Executive Director
Manfred Bodner, Non-Executive Director
Helmut Kern, Independent Non-Executive Director
Georg Riedl, Non-Executive Director

Biographies for each of these directors are set out in the Company's prospectus and circular published on 23 December 2010 and available on bwin.party's website, www.bwinparty.com. There are no disclosures to be made under Listing Rule 9.6.13 in respect of any of the new directors other than those set out in the Company's prospectus and circular to shareholders published on 23 December 2010.

Commenting on the completion of the merger, Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger, the Co-CEOs, said:

"We are delighted that our merger is now complete so that we can start with the integration of our businesses and capturing the synergies we have already identified. As we make the transition from unregulated to regulated markets we have an excellent opportunity to capitalise on our market-leading positions in sports betting, poker, casino and games as well as bingo."

Simon Duffy, the newly appointed Chairman of the Board, commented:

"Congratulations to bwin.party's directors and employees on managing the merger through to completion. This is a landmark day for the online gaming sector and bwin.party is now in a position to leverage its combined resources to take maximum advantage of regulating markets and the exciting opportunities in the real money gaming and digital entertainment sectors."

Media Man, Casino News Media and Global Gaming Directory do have a b2b relationship with PartyGaming, as they do with dozens of other companies in the gaming, igaming, media and entertainment industry.

Websites

PartyCasino.com

PartyPoker.com

World Poker Tour Casino

Profiles

PartyGaming PartyCasino PartyPoker PartyBingo Circus PartyCasino Marvel Slots The Big One Melon Madness Casino World Poker Tour PartyCasino Promotions

Website Network

Media Man International

Media Man

Media Man Australia

Media Man Canada

Media Man Games

Media Man Brand

Media Man Network

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Global Gaming Directory