Profiles
Slots Casino Poker Racing
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
RUNDLE HIGHLIGHTS JANUARY RACEHORSE SALE
Media Release
Wednesday, 23 November, 2011
For immediate release
January's Magic Millions National Racehorse Sale was boosted in Brisbane on Saturday when in form stayer Rundle continued his outstanding run for new connections.
Purchased from the Williams family's Hudson Conway draft at the National Racehorse Sale in June for $40,000, Rundle made it three city wins from his past four starts with his latest success.
The lightly raced son of Galileo will have one more run for new trainer Kelly Purdy before heading for a break.
"I'm lucky to get a nice horse like him so early in my training career," Purdy told AAP.
"He's been racing very well but he's even better on wet tracks."
"After he runs in two weeks I'll probably put him away and get him ready for the Brisbane Cup."
"Then if all goes to plan I'll take him away for the spring and hopefully get him into the Melbourne Cup."
"It's a dream but hopefully it will come true," she added.
Sent out the red hot favourite in Saturday's race at $1.40, Rundle cruised home two lengths clear of his nearest rival Racing Heart.
Since being purchased for $40,000 in June, Rundle has earned his new connections over $100,000 - and that's from just six starts.
Rundle joins a growing list of top value purchases from recent Magic Millions National Racehorse Sales - particularly from the Hudson Conway drafts.
Proven subsequent city winners including Hume, Module, Strumming and Hampden were all sold at the Gold Coast for excellent value prices.
The Williams family have indicated they will again be supporting this Racehorse Sale in January with quality gallopers.
Recent Ballina Cup winner Joe Blow and Ipswich Cup Day winner Glow Heart are other bargain buys to have emerged from recent sales.
North Queensland star Mazuka and this week's winner Reprobate are two more shining examples of Racehorse Sale success stories from the Gold Coast.
Entries for the 2012 National Racehorse Sale, to be held following session six of the Gold Coast Yearling Sale on January 17, close on December 9.
Wednesday, 23 November, 2011
For immediate release
January's Magic Millions National Racehorse Sale was boosted in Brisbane on Saturday when in form stayer Rundle continued his outstanding run for new connections.
Purchased from the Williams family's Hudson Conway draft at the National Racehorse Sale in June for $40,000, Rundle made it three city wins from his past four starts with his latest success.
The lightly raced son of Galileo will have one more run for new trainer Kelly Purdy before heading for a break.
"I'm lucky to get a nice horse like him so early in my training career," Purdy told AAP.
"He's been racing very well but he's even better on wet tracks."
"After he runs in two weeks I'll probably put him away and get him ready for the Brisbane Cup."
"Then if all goes to plan I'll take him away for the spring and hopefully get him into the Melbourne Cup."
"It's a dream but hopefully it will come true," she added.
Sent out the red hot favourite in Saturday's race at $1.40, Rundle cruised home two lengths clear of his nearest rival Racing Heart.
Since being purchased for $40,000 in June, Rundle has earned his new connections over $100,000 - and that's from just six starts.
Rundle joins a growing list of top value purchases from recent Magic Millions National Racehorse Sales - particularly from the Hudson Conway drafts.
Proven subsequent city winners including Hume, Module, Strumming and Hampden were all sold at the Gold Coast for excellent value prices.
The Williams family have indicated they will again be supporting this Racehorse Sale in January with quality gallopers.
Recent Ballina Cup winner Joe Blow and Ipswich Cup Day winner Glow Heart are other bargain buys to have emerged from recent sales.
North Queensland star Mazuka and this week's winner Reprobate are two more shining examples of Racehorse Sale success stories from the Gold Coast.
Entries for the 2012 National Racehorse Sale, to be held following session six of the Gold Coast Yearling Sale on January 17, close on December 9.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Casino in Adelaide, South Australia, refuses to pay punter $105,000 jackpot - 20th November 2011
Profiles
Sin City Cleopatra Rambo The Godfather Sinatra Adelaide South Australia Australia
World Directory Global Gaming Directory World Casino Directory
An Adelaide pensioner punter is embroiled in a bitter feud with the Adelaide Casino over a $105,000 jackpot she won playing the slots.
The casino has refused to pay 75-year-old Cecelia Cubillo the money because she won it after playing a $1 credit on a gaming machine that was not being used. After admitting she won the $105,731.75 jackpot using the $1 credit on the abandoned "Fort Knox" machine, casino security staff accused Ms Cubillo of being a thief, describing her actions in playing the abandoned credit as "theft by finding".
A week later, though, the casino gave her a $250 food and drink voucher as a goodwill gesture. Ms Cubillo, an Aboriginal elder who has two university degrees and worked for ATSIC in Canberra and Adelaide before she retired, has lodged a complaint with Liquor and Gambling Commissioner Paul White, who has launched an investigation.
A senior Government legal source leaked that the investigation has raised a legal question concerning the ownership of abandoned credits on gaming machines and the consequences of those credits being played.
As a result, Mr White has conducted a formal review of the case and has now requested a legal opinion from Crown Solicitor Greg Parker.
Ms Cubillo arrived in Adelaide in 1974 with her five girls after being evacuated from Darwin following Cyclone Tracy. Her mother, noted elder Hilda Jarman Muir, was one of the Stolen Generation who took their case to the High Court in 1995.
When contacted by the press Ms Cubillo said she went to the casino - which has recently won the Major Tourist Attraction category in the SA Tourism Awards - on May 6 last year after visiting friends.
She does not drink or smoke and said she enjoyed playing the pokies "every few weeks or so when I have a few spare dollars". "To me, it was just fun, an outlet," Ms Cubillo said. "I like the bright lights of the casino."
Ms Cubillo said on the May 6 visit she had only $7 with her. She played several machines before moving to the "Fort Knox" machine. She noticed there was a single $1 credit on the machine and to clear it, had played the credit.
"That is when all the lights and noises started on the machine and the jackpot came up," she said.
After speaking to an attendant, she was told a cheque would be arranged - but then the casino's gaming operations manager and security guard became involved.
Ms Cubillo admitted she had played a credit that was already on the machine. Surveillance videos showed a man had been playing the machine.
Ms Cubillo said she was shocked when a female security guard then accused her of being "a thief" and said she would not be paid the jackpot.
"She told me it was theft by finding and I started to get scared that the police would be called and take me away," she said.
"It was very intimidating and overwhelming. I was scared that they would come and arrest me.
"I didn't steal anything, I didn't do anything other than play the credit on the machine and they accused me of theft."
Ms Cubillo said after being confronted and interviewed by security staff and a manager, she had left feeling "bewildered, intimidated and overwhelmed".
She returned to the casino a week later, accompanied by her daughter, and met gaming machine operations manager Frank Edwards.
She was again told the jackpot would not be paid and was given a $250 voucher for food and drinks.
"If I was not entitled to anything, why did they give me the $250 voucher?," she said.
"I have not used it and I will never go back to the casino."
Ms Cubillo has engaged an advocate, who is pursuing the matter.
"My parents brought me up with solid values and taught me principles, values and beliefs," she said.
"I am not a thief. I have never had a parking ticket in my life."
"I have worked hard in life to get the best for my children and I am not a dishonest person. I have done nothing wrong at all."
In a statement to the Sunday Mail on Friday, Adelaide Casino general manager David Christian said the casino "operates in a highly regulated and controlled environment".
"The statutory scheme prohibits customers stealing credits left on gaming machines," he said.
"At all times, Adelaide Casino followed its legal requirement, to the letter, and was therefore required to deny Ms Cubillo the jackpot.
"The entire amount of this jackpot was reseeded into the jackpot pool and was then legitimately won by a customer a week later."
Punters, know the odds, know your game, and know your casino.
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
Sin City Cleopatra Rambo The Godfather Sinatra Adelaide South Australia Australia
World Directory Global Gaming Directory World Casino Directory
An Adelaide pensioner punter is embroiled in a bitter feud with the Adelaide Casino over a $105,000 jackpot she won playing the slots.
The casino has refused to pay 75-year-old Cecelia Cubillo the money because she won it after playing a $1 credit on a gaming machine that was not being used. After admitting she won the $105,731.75 jackpot using the $1 credit on the abandoned "Fort Knox" machine, casino security staff accused Ms Cubillo of being a thief, describing her actions in playing the abandoned credit as "theft by finding".
A week later, though, the casino gave her a $250 food and drink voucher as a goodwill gesture. Ms Cubillo, an Aboriginal elder who has two university degrees and worked for ATSIC in Canberra and Adelaide before she retired, has lodged a complaint with Liquor and Gambling Commissioner Paul White, who has launched an investigation.
A senior Government legal source leaked that the investigation has raised a legal question concerning the ownership of abandoned credits on gaming machines and the consequences of those credits being played.
As a result, Mr White has conducted a formal review of the case and has now requested a legal opinion from Crown Solicitor Greg Parker.
Ms Cubillo arrived in Adelaide in 1974 with her five girls after being evacuated from Darwin following Cyclone Tracy. Her mother, noted elder Hilda Jarman Muir, was one of the Stolen Generation who took their case to the High Court in 1995.
When contacted by the press Ms Cubillo said she went to the casino - which has recently won the Major Tourist Attraction category in the SA Tourism Awards - on May 6 last year after visiting friends.
She does not drink or smoke and said she enjoyed playing the pokies "every few weeks or so when I have a few spare dollars". "To me, it was just fun, an outlet," Ms Cubillo said. "I like the bright lights of the casino."
Ms Cubillo said on the May 6 visit she had only $7 with her. She played several machines before moving to the "Fort Knox" machine. She noticed there was a single $1 credit on the machine and to clear it, had played the credit.
"That is when all the lights and noises started on the machine and the jackpot came up," she said.
After speaking to an attendant, she was told a cheque would be arranged - but then the casino's gaming operations manager and security guard became involved.
Ms Cubillo admitted she had played a credit that was already on the machine. Surveillance videos showed a man had been playing the machine.
Ms Cubillo said she was shocked when a female security guard then accused her of being "a thief" and said she would not be paid the jackpot.
"She told me it was theft by finding and I started to get scared that the police would be called and take me away," she said.
"It was very intimidating and overwhelming. I was scared that they would come and arrest me.
"I didn't steal anything, I didn't do anything other than play the credit on the machine and they accused me of theft."
Ms Cubillo said after being confronted and interviewed by security staff and a manager, she had left feeling "bewildered, intimidated and overwhelmed".
She returned to the casino a week later, accompanied by her daughter, and met gaming machine operations manager Frank Edwards.
She was again told the jackpot would not be paid and was given a $250 voucher for food and drinks.
"If I was not entitled to anything, why did they give me the $250 voucher?," she said.
"I have not used it and I will never go back to the casino."
Ms Cubillo has engaged an advocate, who is pursuing the matter.
"My parents brought me up with solid values and taught me principles, values and beliefs," she said.
"I am not a thief. I have never had a parking ticket in my life."
"I have worked hard in life to get the best for my children and I am not a dishonest person. I have done nothing wrong at all."
In a statement to the Sunday Mail on Friday, Adelaide Casino general manager David Christian said the casino "operates in a highly regulated and controlled environment".
"The statutory scheme prohibits customers stealing credits left on gaming machines," he said.
"At all times, Adelaide Casino followed its legal requirement, to the letter, and was therefore required to deny Ms Cubillo the jackpot.
"The entire amount of this jackpot was reseeded into the jackpot pool and was then legitimately won by a customer a week later."
Punters, know the odds, know your game, and know your casino.
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
Friday, November 11, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
Guide to picking the Melbourne Cup winner - 31st October 2011
Profiles
Melbourne Cup Horse Racing Melbourne Gaming Global Gaming Directory
Americain's defence of the Melbourne Cup makes him the benchmark horse for tomorrow's running of the great race.
As the favourite and the topweight, the French stayer is a logical choice, but winning the cup two years in a row has always been a difficult task and how he stacks up against other historical aspects of the race also have be taken into account.
Only five horses have won the cup two or more times.
The great Makybe Diva won it three years in a row from 2003 to 2005 but the only other horses to win in successive years were the first ever winner Archer (1861-62), Rain Lover (1968-69) and Think Big (1974-75), while Peter Pan won in split years (1932 and 1934).
Americain will carry the prestigious number one as the topweight and since saddlecloths were first recorded in 1877, it has won 10 cups, second only to number four, (Drunken Sailor) and number 12 (Red Cadeaux) with 11 wins each.
Lucas Cranach has drawn gate 11, the same barrier Americain won from last year, and which has won a record eight cups since barriers were first allocated in 1924 and six since starting stalls as we know them, were first used in 1958.
The bogey barrier is 18 (Hawk Island) which is winless.
Liking a horse's name has been a popular way for many to make their cup selection and clearly horses starting with the initial "T" (The Verminator and Tullamore) have had the edge in the cup with 16 wins.
Four and five-year-olds share a record 43 cups each but the recent trend has been towards the more seasoned stayer.
While six-year-olds have only won 29 cups, six have been in the past 13 years while two of 10 seven-year-old winners figure in the same period.
Looking at the jockeys, and it is best to choose those with plain-bodied silks (56 wins) such as Jukebox Jury, Fox Hunt, Illo, Lost In the Moment, Modun, At First Sight and Shamrocker.
It is best to follow in-form horses as 20 of the 30 winners have won or placed at their last start.
Americain would be the 27th outright favourite to win the cup while seven equal favourites have won but horses at $9 and $11 have been the most successful with 12 and 14 wins respectively.
Horses at $5 and $17 (11 wins each) and $6 (10 wins) also have good records while there have been 16 winners at $31 or longer. *Prediction: *Illo from Fox Hunt, Tullamore, and Shamrocker.
Website Network
Media Man Int
Media Man
Media Man News
Melbourne Cup Horse Racing Melbourne Gaming Global Gaming Directory
Americain's defence of the Melbourne Cup makes him the benchmark horse for tomorrow's running of the great race.
As the favourite and the topweight, the French stayer is a logical choice, but winning the cup two years in a row has always been a difficult task and how he stacks up against other historical aspects of the race also have be taken into account.
Only five horses have won the cup two or more times.
The great Makybe Diva won it three years in a row from 2003 to 2005 but the only other horses to win in successive years were the first ever winner Archer (1861-62), Rain Lover (1968-69) and Think Big (1974-75), while Peter Pan won in split years (1932 and 1934).
Americain will carry the prestigious number one as the topweight and since saddlecloths were first recorded in 1877, it has won 10 cups, second only to number four, (Drunken Sailor) and number 12 (Red Cadeaux) with 11 wins each.
Lucas Cranach has drawn gate 11, the same barrier Americain won from last year, and which has won a record eight cups since barriers were first allocated in 1924 and six since starting stalls as we know them, were first used in 1958.
The bogey barrier is 18 (Hawk Island) which is winless.
Liking a horse's name has been a popular way for many to make their cup selection and clearly horses starting with the initial "T" (The Verminator and Tullamore) have had the edge in the cup with 16 wins.
Four and five-year-olds share a record 43 cups each but the recent trend has been towards the more seasoned stayer.
While six-year-olds have only won 29 cups, six have been in the past 13 years while two of 10 seven-year-old winners figure in the same period.
Looking at the jockeys, and it is best to choose those with plain-bodied silks (56 wins) such as Jukebox Jury, Fox Hunt, Illo, Lost In the Moment, Modun, At First Sight and Shamrocker.
It is best to follow in-form horses as 20 of the 30 winners have won or placed at their last start.
Americain would be the 27th outright favourite to win the cup while seven equal favourites have won but horses at $9 and $11 have been the most successful with 12 and 14 wins respectively.
Horses at $5 and $17 (11 wins each) and $6 (10 wins) also have good records while there have been 16 winners at $31 or longer. *Prediction: *Illo from Fox Hunt, Tullamore, and Shamrocker.
Website Network
Media Man Int
Media Man
Media Man News
Friday, October 28, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Melbourne Cup News: Sarah Jessica Parker Mate Kristin Davis Scratched From Cup Trip, by Greg Tingle - 25th October 2011
Profiles
Crown Limited Crown Casino Movies Hollywood Racing Melbourne Cup Melbourne Australia
Famous actress Sarah Jessica Parker of 'Sex and the City' fame will soon be in Melbourne to both promote her new film and also to take in Oaks Day as well as perhaps the Melbourne Cup.
We heard Sydney's eastern suburbs are near the top of Parkers' favourite Australian destination, however she is contractually obligated to attend Melbourne.
What's the racing - fashion - celeb news at the races?
Well, Charlotte York (SATC) aka Kristin Davis was originally tipped to be joining Sarah Jessica Parker for Oaks Day at Flemington as a guest of Crown Limited.
It's understood the 'Sex and the City' bombshell had Davis as the one to accompany her during her Melbourne stay, and to help promote her new film, 'I Don't Know How She Does It', and slotted into the Crown marquee in the Elms enclosure, but now we hear Davis is a scratching (to use a horsey term).
Davis has had a lot going on in her life as of late, included just adopting baby Gemma Rose
Parker is confirmed for the movie press conference at Crown Casino on Tuesday 1st November and will be doing the red carpet premiere at Crown following day.
Many a hotel - resort in Melbourne's CBD would love for Parker to be their guest. No prizes for guessing how is most likely in the running.
The flick be released nationally on November 3.
Websites
I Don't Know How She Does It
The Weinstein Company (TWC)
Sex And The City (HBO)
Crown Casino
Crown Limited
Melbourne Cup official website
Casino News Media
Website Network
Media Man Int
Media Man
Media Man News
Media Man Entertainment
Australian Sports Entertainment
Crown Limited Crown Casino Movies Hollywood Racing Melbourne Cup Melbourne Australia
Famous actress Sarah Jessica Parker of 'Sex and the City' fame will soon be in Melbourne to both promote her new film and also to take in Oaks Day as well as perhaps the Melbourne Cup.
We heard Sydney's eastern suburbs are near the top of Parkers' favourite Australian destination, however she is contractually obligated to attend Melbourne.
What's the racing - fashion - celeb news at the races?
Well, Charlotte York (SATC) aka Kristin Davis was originally tipped to be joining Sarah Jessica Parker for Oaks Day at Flemington as a guest of Crown Limited.
It's understood the 'Sex and the City' bombshell had Davis as the one to accompany her during her Melbourne stay, and to help promote her new film, 'I Don't Know How She Does It', and slotted into the Crown marquee in the Elms enclosure, but now we hear Davis is a scratching (to use a horsey term).
Davis has had a lot going on in her life as of late, included just adopting baby Gemma Rose
Parker is confirmed for the movie press conference at Crown Casino on Tuesday 1st November and will be doing the red carpet premiere at Crown following day.
Many a hotel - resort in Melbourne's CBD would love for Parker to be their guest. No prizes for guessing how is most likely in the running.
The flick be released nationally on November 3.
Websites
I Don't Know How She Does It
The Weinstein Company (TWC)
Sex And The City (HBO)
Crown Casino
Crown Limited
Melbourne Cup official website
Casino News Media
Website Network
Media Man Int
Media Man
Media Man News
Media Man Entertainment
Australian Sports Entertainment
Sarah Jessica Parker Heading To Melbourne Crown For Movie Premiere, by Greg Tingle - 25th October 2011
Profiles
Crown Limited Crown Casino Movies Hollywood Melbourne Australia
Famous actress Sarah Jessica Parker of 'Sex and the City' fame will soon be in Melbourne to both promote her new film and also to take in Oaks Day as well as the Melbourne Cup.
Don't get us wrong. She just loves Sydney (and its great weather and beaches), but its in Melbourne where she will get to mix business and pleasure.
The American beauty and talented producer will attend the traditional Ladies Day at Flemington in November when she heads to Melbourne for the first time to promote her flick, I Don't Know How She Does It.
We've also been told she's going to be a very guest at the Crown Casino Marquee, one of the most exclusive, as you might have guessed.
Crown Limited PR General Manager Ann Peacock advised they were delighted to welcome the New York fashion icon to Melbourne.
"It's a perfect match on this most traditional of race days," Ms Peacock said.
The new movie, 'I Don't Know How She Does It', also staring Greg Kinnear, Christina Hendricks from Mad Men and Pierce Brosnan, focuses on the life of Parker, a mum-of-two balancing work and family life.
The press conference is to be held on Tuesday 1st November At Crown's complex and the Australian premiere is on Wednesday 2nd November, also at Crown.
It's rumoured that Ms Parker will be staying at the exclusive Crown Towers, where other actors such as Tom Cruise and his actress wife Katie Holmes have also stayed when doing Melbourne. Crown have not confirmed her rumoured stay at this stage.
Crown Limited top dog, James Packer and his world class team continue to impress with their continues successes into the broad entertainment and lifestyle sector. If the entertainment business has elements of being a game, Mr Packer and team sure look like they are winning.
The film be released nationally on November 3.
Websites
I Don't Know How She Does It
The Weinstein Company (TWC)
Sex And The City (HBO)
Crown Casino
Crown Limited
Melbourne Cup official website
Casino News Media
Website Network
Media Man Int
Media Man
Media Man News
Media Man Entertainment
Casino News Media
Global Gaming Directory
Crown Limited Crown Casino Movies Hollywood Melbourne Australia
Famous actress Sarah Jessica Parker of 'Sex and the City' fame will soon be in Melbourne to both promote her new film and also to take in Oaks Day as well as the Melbourne Cup.
Don't get us wrong. She just loves Sydney (and its great weather and beaches), but its in Melbourne where she will get to mix business and pleasure.
The American beauty and talented producer will attend the traditional Ladies Day at Flemington in November when she heads to Melbourne for the first time to promote her flick, I Don't Know How She Does It.
We've also been told she's going to be a very guest at the Crown Casino Marquee, one of the most exclusive, as you might have guessed.
Crown Limited PR General Manager Ann Peacock advised they were delighted to welcome the New York fashion icon to Melbourne.
"It's a perfect match on this most traditional of race days," Ms Peacock said.
The new movie, 'I Don't Know How She Does It', also staring Greg Kinnear, Christina Hendricks from Mad Men and Pierce Brosnan, focuses on the life of Parker, a mum-of-two balancing work and family life.
The press conference is to be held on Tuesday 1st November At Crown's complex and the Australian premiere is on Wednesday 2nd November, also at Crown.
It's rumoured that Ms Parker will be staying at the exclusive Crown Towers, where other actors such as Tom Cruise and his actress wife Katie Holmes have also stayed when doing Melbourne. Crown have not confirmed her rumoured stay at this stage.
Crown Limited top dog, James Packer and his world class team continue to impress with their continues successes into the broad entertainment and lifestyle sector. If the entertainment business has elements of being a game, Mr Packer and team sure look like they are winning.
The film be released nationally on November 3.
Websites
I Don't Know How She Does It
The Weinstein Company (TWC)
Sex And The City (HBO)
Crown Casino
Crown Limited
Melbourne Cup official website
Casino News Media
Website Network
Media Man Int
Media Man
Media Man News
Media Man Entertainment
Casino News Media
Global Gaming Directory
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Betting On United States, by Greg Tingle - 20th October 2011
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
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
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Melbourne Cup Movie Premiere In Melbourne - 9th October 2011
The film is based on jockey Damien Oliver winning the Melbourne Cup in 2002 on Media Puzzle, one week after the death of his brother Jason.
Curry jumps into Oliver's saddle for the most emotional period in the champion jockey's life in The Cup.
The Cup follows Oliver's decision to ride (and win), the 2002 Melbourne Cup just days after his brother Jason died in a track fall.
Speaking at the film's world premiere in Melbourne, Australia, Curry said he was a bundle of nerves sitting next to the racing legend during the first private screening.
"I was watching half me and half him, and for an actor for the first time you watch your film, it's very rare that you're not watching yourself the whole time," he said.
"We all shed a tear, it is a pretty emotional story. His feedback, his review is the only one that matters and it was really positive.
"It's about respecting the memory of Jason Oliver ... (Oliver) loved it and said Jason would've loved it."
Camberwell's Rivoli Cinema saw over 1000 people attend.
Oliver said it was a bizarre experience to watch a traumatic piece of his life unfold in film.
"It's kind of weird ... it couldn't be any more emotional than actually living through it, but every time I do see vision of it, it really brings it back home to me," he said.
The two-time Melbourne Cup champ said he and Curry developed a friendship as the result of the movie.
"He came around to our home to visit us, he came to the races with us, we took him to the barrier trials and we became good friends," Oliver said.
"He does a great job."
Oliver is not a big fan of his horse riding however.
"As a a jockey he makes a good actor," Oliver joked.
Curry concedes the horse riding had been a major challenge.
"Whenever I had to go on the set and ride a horse, it was a horrible day," he said.
In any event, if you like horse racing or even have a spot for quality Australian films, The Cup is for you.
Director: Simon Wincer
Writers: Simon Wincer (screenplay), Eric O'Keefe (screenplay)
Stars: Brendan Gleeson, Alice Parkinson and Daniel MacPherson
Websites
The Cup official website
Roadshow Films
Villiage Roadshow
Eva Rinaldi
Photography Flickr
Eva Rinaldi Photography
Melbourne Cup Movie Sydney Premiere, by Eva Rinaldi - 11th October 2011
The film is based on jockey Damien Oliver winning the Melbourne Cup in 2002. It was the ride that made him (and the horse of the day) Media Puzzle, famous around the globe. All of this and more happened just one week after the passing away of his brother Jason.
Curry plays Oliver in what what the most chaotic, yet also exciting, part of the jockey's life.
The Cup follows Oliver's decision to ride in the 2002 Melbourne Cup. It was just days after his brother Jason died in a track fall. Oliver knew he was making history at the time, but was unaware it was up there with 'Phar Lap' lore.
Oliver said it was a bizarre experience to watch a traumatic piece of his life unfold in film.
"It's kind of weird ... it couldn't be any more emotional than actually living through it, but every time I do see vision of it, it really brings it back home to me," he said.
The two-time Melbourne Cup champ said he and Curry developed a friendship as the result of the movie.
"He came around to our home to visit us, he came to the races with us, we took him to the barrier trials and we became good friends," Oliver said.
Something tells us that we will get to hear a lot more about the flick from Sydney based media identity (and fresh actor) Daniel MacPherson, in the coming weeks.
The Cup is of course for horse racing fans, but also those who enjoy a good Aussie yarn will also get a kick (hopefully not down there) from it. Back yourself a winner and see this film. 3.5 stars out of 5.
Director: Simon Wincer
Writers: Simon Wincer (screenplay), Eric O'Keefe (screenplay)
Staring: Brendan Gleeson, Alice Parkinson and Daniel MacPherson
Websites
The Cup official website
www.cupmovie.com.au
Roadshow Films
www.roadshowfilms.com.au
Village Roadshow
www.facebook.com/roadshowfilms
Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr
www.flickr.com/evarinaldiphotography
Eva Rinaldi Photography
www.evarinaldi.com
Curry plays Oliver in what what the most chaotic, yet also exciting, part of the jockey's life.
The Cup follows Oliver's decision to ride in the 2002 Melbourne Cup. It was just days after his brother Jason died in a track fall. Oliver knew he was making history at the time, but was unaware it was up there with 'Phar Lap' lore.
Oliver said it was a bizarre experience to watch a traumatic piece of his life unfold in film.
"It's kind of weird ... it couldn't be any more emotional than actually living through it, but every time I do see vision of it, it really brings it back home to me," he said.
The two-time Melbourne Cup champ said he and Curry developed a friendship as the result of the movie.
"He came around to our home to visit us, he came to the races with us, we took him to the barrier trials and we became good friends," Oliver said.
Something tells us that we will get to hear a lot more about the flick from Sydney based media identity (and fresh actor) Daniel MacPherson, in the coming weeks.
The Cup is of course for horse racing fans, but also those who enjoy a good Aussie yarn will also get a kick (hopefully not down there) from it. Back yourself a winner and see this film. 3.5 stars out of 5.
Director: Simon Wincer
Writers: Simon Wincer (screenplay), Eric O'Keefe (screenplay)
Staring: Brendan Gleeson, Alice Parkinson and Daniel MacPherson
Websites
The Cup official website
www.cupmovie.com.au
Roadshow Films
www.roadshowfilms.com.au
Village Roadshow
www.facebook.com/roadshowfilms
Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr
www.flickr.com/evarinaldiphotography
Eva Rinaldi Photography
www.evarinaldi.com
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Casino News Media: Australia, Asia Pacific, American; Sports Betting And More, by Greg Tingle
Profiles
Casinos Casino Games iGaming Politics Sports Sports Betting Australia World Directory Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Crown Casino Media Man
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
Sport bosses want veto on spot betting...
Australia's seven major sports want to be able to veto types of spot betting, with Federal Sports Minister Mark Arbib on board and urging his state counterparts to follow suit.
The state sports ministers will meet on the Gold Coast on Friday to consider a proposal which would greatly increase the criminal penalties for corruption in sport.
The NRL, AFL and Cricket Australia are among those to push for the power to ban spot betting, while they have also joined calls for 10-year jail sentences for gambling-related corruption.
Spot betting, where gamblers place wagers on sometimes relatively incidental elements of games such as no-balls in cricket or corner kicks in soccer, is considered the area of sports gambling most susceptible to corruption.
The problem was highlighted by the scandal involving three Pakistani cricketers on last year's tour of England.
Mr Arbib says it is vital there is a national approach to what is a growing problem in sport.
"There must be national consistent laws in relation to criminality; that is something I am urging all states to sign up to at the state sports ministers conference on Friday," he said.
"We must have in place integrity agreements between sports and the betting agencies."
Sports gambling in Australia, worth $2.8 billion in 2008, is a major growth industry, although there have been relatively few cases of corruption to date.
"Even the perception that something could be wrong is enough to undermine a sport's public credibility," Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland said.
The veto proposal was contained in an Anti-Corruption Working Paper endorsed on Wednesday by the Coalition of Major Professional and Participation Sports (COMPPS), which represents rugby (union and league), cricket, AFL, soccer, tennis and netball.
The paper, brought together by former International Cricket Council (ICC) chief Malcolm Speed, had three main proposals.
These included calls for severe penalties for the offence of "cheating in connection with sports wagering" and a requirement that betting providers hand over details of suspicious betting patterns.
The sports also want betting companies to pay a fee for using their "intellectual property rights".
"The recommendations detailed in the working party paper set out to preserve the integrity of Australian sport and stem from a desire from professional sports to stamp out betting related corruption," Sutherland said.
"They are individual and collective actions designed to minimise opportunities for corruption and arm sports governing bodies with the ability to deal with corruption effectively if and when it affects Australian sport."
Gambling is becoming increasingly linked with Australian sport as TV broadcasts exhort viewers to bet on events and odds are displayed on perimeter advertising.
Some of the bodies represented by COMPPS also generate revenue from gambling through sponsorship by betting companies.
"The answer that the sports give to that, and I think it's a good one, is that one of the key aspects is intelligence - to get an early warning," Speed said back in March.
"The best way of doing that is for the betting agencies and the sports to be on the same page so that if there are suspicious betting patterns, they can report that to the sports and the police.
"So it's good they have a close relationship. Whether it needs to be as close as it is, in terms of sponsorship, I think that's the issue they face."
International Gaming Awards 2012 Announced...
International Gaming Awards (IGA) seeks to reward excellence in all areas of the gaming industry. It covers both land casino operations and online gambling operations. IGA has held four successful awards ceremonies and has just announced the dates for the fifth consecutive one. The prestigious event will take place on January 23 2012 at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in London. The extravagant event will unite industry professionals from all around the world. The delegates use the awards ceremony to build their brands and also their networks within the industry.
Nominations have been invited for the various categories of awards and will close on October 18 2011. The nominees will be assessed by an expert panel of judges. The categories related to online gambling will be of greater interest. The iGaming Software Supplier category will look at features like originality, competitiveness and innovation in supplying software to online gaming operators. Playtech won the award in 2011. The Mobile Operator of the Year award will recognize simplicity of use, access, reliable technology and integration with other platforms. This is a new category introduced because of the high growth in the mobile sector. Support for responsible gambling is in the limelight and the IGA will felicitate the Socially Responsible Operator of the Year Online. The judges will look for efforts in implementing procedures and safeguards for customers, availability of problem gambling assistance by customer support and initiatives in campaigning for socially responsible gaming.
The Online Casino Operator of the Year award will be one of the most awaited for online casino players. The award will go to the online casino operator that has shown innovation and invention in the casino sector during 2011. The judges will also look at brand identity, marketing, payment processing, usability and games offered. Last year PartyGaming received the award in this category. Awards on similar lines will be given to the Online Bingo Operator of the Year, the Online Poker Operator of the Year and the Online Sportsbook Operator of the Year. Online slots are the heart of online gambling. The winner in the category Slots Operator of the Year (Online) will be a slots operator that has shown growth, offers an array of different slots games to players and has created a brand identity in this sector.
IGA has a tradition of charity as well. It uses the awards ceremonies to raise awareness and financial assistance towards its chosen charities. Proceeds from the 2012 event will support Care International and Children with Leukemia. In a special initiative this year IGA has tied up with the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) for aid to the Horn of Africa crisis.
Council wants more say on pokies...
The Bendigo council is calling for local government to be given a bigger say on poker machine developments.
The Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation has approved a bid for the Bendigo Stadium to install 30 additional machines, despite the council's opposition.
Bendigo Mayor Rod Fyffe says he is disappointed by the decision and says the council will consider an appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
"Local government should have a greater say in the fact that we represent the community, we speak on behalf of the community and certainly I think that our voice should be heard," he said.
Crown Casino resolves taxi dispute...
Crown Casino says it has resolved a complaint by taxi drivers who held a snap strike outside the Melbourne complex overnight.
About 100 drivers refused to take passengers leaving the casino after police issued a number of fines for parking in a no-standing zone.
The taxi drivers say they was not enough space to legally park while they waited for a fare.
Crown spokesman Gary O'Neill says the main taxi feeder at the complex will be fully operational from tonight.
"We will increase the resources of that taxi feeder rank but also ensure that all of the taxi drivers themselves know how the feeder system operates," he said.
"You know, you've got new generations of taxi drivers coming in all the time and maybe they don't fully understand how the feeder rank system works."
Wilkie accuses clubs of bullying Salvos...
Federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie has accused some sections of the poker machine industry of bullying the Salvation Army into opposing his gambling reforms.
On Thursday the Salvation Army's eastern territory of NSW, Queensland and the ACT said it wanted further trials of pre-commitment technologies before fully endorsing the mandatory pre-commitment legislation.
Mr Wilkie says he has been told some clubs are denying Salvation Army officers access to their venues for fundraising.
"Today Clubs Australia and Clubs NSW have truly plumbed new depths," he said.
"To be bullying the Salvation Army, threatening the Salvation Army, misrepresenting the views of the Salvation Army of all organisations, an iconic organisation in this country."
The Salvation Army says when the reforms were announced, some individual committee members at local clubs had told the charity it was no longer welcome to raise funds on their premises.
"Some people said, 'We don't agree and the Salvation Army shouldn't be coming here if it's not in support of the clubs,'" Salvation Army spokesman Major Paul Moulds said, adding there had been a couple of incidents in NSW clubs.
"It was like, 'If you're going to ruin our business, you're not welcome to come here'."
But Major Moulds says the charity's current position on the reforms is not because of pressure from Clubs NSW.
Great work
A Club Australia spokesman says community clubs have continued to support the Salvation Army's great work with donations and access to premises for fundraising, despite its stance on pokies reform.
He says NSW community clubs donated $503,000 to the Salvation Army in the past financial year.
Mr Wilkie has rejected Opposition claims the reforms do not have enough support to pass Parliament.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says a lack of support from regional independent MPs means the changes would not become law and should be abandoned.
However, Mr Wilkie says he believes the reforms do have enough support.
"I remain as confident as ever that these harm minimisation measures will be brought in; that in fact, the Parliament will by May next year pass into law the necessary legislation to force poker machine venues throughout the country to implement these poker machines reforms," he said.
Feeling the heat
The Government must introduce the gambling reforms next year under a deal with Mr Wilkie.
Mr Wilkie says he will walk away from supporting the Government if it does not make an effort to pass the laws.
He says he knows government MPs are feeling the heat over the reforms.
"Full marks to my parliamentary colleagues who are having to go out into their electorates and sell these reforms," he said.
"It is difficult, I understand that.
"It is clear that these reforms are unpopular in some parts of the community, and the industry is capitalising on that and it is making for some tough times for some government MPs in their electorates.
"But I am confident the Government would be aware that these reforms are overwhelmingly popular."
Media Man And Casino News Media Awards
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
*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.
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
Casinos Casino Games iGaming Politics Sports Sports Betting Australia World Directory Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Crown Casino Media Man
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
Sport bosses want veto on spot betting...
Australia's seven major sports want to be able to veto types of spot betting, with Federal Sports Minister Mark Arbib on board and urging his state counterparts to follow suit.
The state sports ministers will meet on the Gold Coast on Friday to consider a proposal which would greatly increase the criminal penalties for corruption in sport.
The NRL, AFL and Cricket Australia are among those to push for the power to ban spot betting, while they have also joined calls for 10-year jail sentences for gambling-related corruption.
Spot betting, where gamblers place wagers on sometimes relatively incidental elements of games such as no-balls in cricket or corner kicks in soccer, is considered the area of sports gambling most susceptible to corruption.
The problem was highlighted by the scandal involving three Pakistani cricketers on last year's tour of England.
Mr Arbib says it is vital there is a national approach to what is a growing problem in sport.
"There must be national consistent laws in relation to criminality; that is something I am urging all states to sign up to at the state sports ministers conference on Friday," he said.
"We must have in place integrity agreements between sports and the betting agencies."
Sports gambling in Australia, worth $2.8 billion in 2008, is a major growth industry, although there have been relatively few cases of corruption to date.
"Even the perception that something could be wrong is enough to undermine a sport's public credibility," Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland said.
The veto proposal was contained in an Anti-Corruption Working Paper endorsed on Wednesday by the Coalition of Major Professional and Participation Sports (COMPPS), which represents rugby (union and league), cricket, AFL, soccer, tennis and netball.
The paper, brought together by former International Cricket Council (ICC) chief Malcolm Speed, had three main proposals.
These included calls for severe penalties for the offence of "cheating in connection with sports wagering" and a requirement that betting providers hand over details of suspicious betting patterns.
The sports also want betting companies to pay a fee for using their "intellectual property rights".
"The recommendations detailed in the working party paper set out to preserve the integrity of Australian sport and stem from a desire from professional sports to stamp out betting related corruption," Sutherland said.
"They are individual and collective actions designed to minimise opportunities for corruption and arm sports governing bodies with the ability to deal with corruption effectively if and when it affects Australian sport."
Gambling is becoming increasingly linked with Australian sport as TV broadcasts exhort viewers to bet on events and odds are displayed on perimeter advertising.
Some of the bodies represented by COMPPS also generate revenue from gambling through sponsorship by betting companies.
"The answer that the sports give to that, and I think it's a good one, is that one of the key aspects is intelligence - to get an early warning," Speed said back in March.
"The best way of doing that is for the betting agencies and the sports to be on the same page so that if there are suspicious betting patterns, they can report that to the sports and the police.
"So it's good they have a close relationship. Whether it needs to be as close as it is, in terms of sponsorship, I think that's the issue they face."
International Gaming Awards 2012 Announced...
International Gaming Awards (IGA) seeks to reward excellence in all areas of the gaming industry. It covers both land casino operations and online gambling operations. IGA has held four successful awards ceremonies and has just announced the dates for the fifth consecutive one. The prestigious event will take place on January 23 2012 at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in London. The extravagant event will unite industry professionals from all around the world. The delegates use the awards ceremony to build their brands and also their networks within the industry.
Nominations have been invited for the various categories of awards and will close on October 18 2011. The nominees will be assessed by an expert panel of judges. The categories related to online gambling will be of greater interest. The iGaming Software Supplier category will look at features like originality, competitiveness and innovation in supplying software to online gaming operators. Playtech won the award in 2011. The Mobile Operator of the Year award will recognize simplicity of use, access, reliable technology and integration with other platforms. This is a new category introduced because of the high growth in the mobile sector. Support for responsible gambling is in the limelight and the IGA will felicitate the Socially Responsible Operator of the Year Online. The judges will look for efforts in implementing procedures and safeguards for customers, availability of problem gambling assistance by customer support and initiatives in campaigning for socially responsible gaming.
The Online Casino Operator of the Year award will be one of the most awaited for online casino players. The award will go to the online casino operator that has shown innovation and invention in the casino sector during 2011. The judges will also look at brand identity, marketing, payment processing, usability and games offered. Last year PartyGaming received the award in this category. Awards on similar lines will be given to the Online Bingo Operator of the Year, the Online Poker Operator of the Year and the Online Sportsbook Operator of the Year. Online slots are the heart of online gambling. The winner in the category Slots Operator of the Year (Online) will be a slots operator that has shown growth, offers an array of different slots games to players and has created a brand identity in this sector.
IGA has a tradition of charity as well. It uses the awards ceremonies to raise awareness and financial assistance towards its chosen charities. Proceeds from the 2012 event will support Care International and Children with Leukemia. In a special initiative this year IGA has tied up with the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) for aid to the Horn of Africa crisis.
Council wants more say on pokies...
The Bendigo council is calling for local government to be given a bigger say on poker machine developments.
The Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation has approved a bid for the Bendigo Stadium to install 30 additional machines, despite the council's opposition.
Bendigo Mayor Rod Fyffe says he is disappointed by the decision and says the council will consider an appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
"Local government should have a greater say in the fact that we represent the community, we speak on behalf of the community and certainly I think that our voice should be heard," he said.
Crown Casino resolves taxi dispute...
Crown Casino says it has resolved a complaint by taxi drivers who held a snap strike outside the Melbourne complex overnight.
About 100 drivers refused to take passengers leaving the casino after police issued a number of fines for parking in a no-standing zone.
The taxi drivers say they was not enough space to legally park while they waited for a fare.
Crown spokesman Gary O'Neill says the main taxi feeder at the complex will be fully operational from tonight.
"We will increase the resources of that taxi feeder rank but also ensure that all of the taxi drivers themselves know how the feeder system operates," he said.
"You know, you've got new generations of taxi drivers coming in all the time and maybe they don't fully understand how the feeder rank system works."
Wilkie accuses clubs of bullying Salvos...
Federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie has accused some sections of the poker machine industry of bullying the Salvation Army into opposing his gambling reforms.
On Thursday the Salvation Army's eastern territory of NSW, Queensland and the ACT said it wanted further trials of pre-commitment technologies before fully endorsing the mandatory pre-commitment legislation.
Mr Wilkie says he has been told some clubs are denying Salvation Army officers access to their venues for fundraising.
"Today Clubs Australia and Clubs NSW have truly plumbed new depths," he said.
"To be bullying the Salvation Army, threatening the Salvation Army, misrepresenting the views of the Salvation Army of all organisations, an iconic organisation in this country."
The Salvation Army says when the reforms were announced, some individual committee members at local clubs had told the charity it was no longer welcome to raise funds on their premises.
"Some people said, 'We don't agree and the Salvation Army shouldn't be coming here if it's not in support of the clubs,'" Salvation Army spokesman Major Paul Moulds said, adding there had been a couple of incidents in NSW clubs.
"It was like, 'If you're going to ruin our business, you're not welcome to come here'."
But Major Moulds says the charity's current position on the reforms is not because of pressure from Clubs NSW.
Great work
A Club Australia spokesman says community clubs have continued to support the Salvation Army's great work with donations and access to premises for fundraising, despite its stance on pokies reform.
He says NSW community clubs donated $503,000 to the Salvation Army in the past financial year.
Mr Wilkie has rejected Opposition claims the reforms do not have enough support to pass Parliament.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says a lack of support from regional independent MPs means the changes would not become law and should be abandoned.
However, Mr Wilkie says he believes the reforms do have enough support.
"I remain as confident as ever that these harm minimisation measures will be brought in; that in fact, the Parliament will by May next year pass into law the necessary legislation to force poker machine venues throughout the country to implement these poker machines reforms," he said.
Feeling the heat
The Government must introduce the gambling reforms next year under a deal with Mr Wilkie.
Mr Wilkie says he will walk away from supporting the Government if it does not make an effort to pass the laws.
He says he knows government MPs are feeling the heat over the reforms.
"Full marks to my parliamentary colleagues who are having to go out into their electorates and sell these reforms," he said.
"It is difficult, I understand that.
"It is clear that these reforms are unpopular in some parts of the community, and the industry is capitalising on that and it is making for some tough times for some government MPs in their electorates.
"But I am confident the Government would be aware that these reforms are overwhelmingly popular."
Media Man And Casino News Media Awards
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
*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.
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
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
Casinos Of The World: Land Based And Online; Media Man And Casino News Media Awards, by Greg Tingle
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
Thursday, September 01, 2011
Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Making Friends In United States: California, New Jersey, Florida, by Greg Tingle - 1st September 2011
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
Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month Award'...
PartyCasino.com has once again won the Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month' Award. Richard Branson's VirginCasino.com picked up 2nd place, while new entrant into the Asia Pacific Region, Grand Reef Online Casino picks up 3rd. Well done to all brands.
Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Continues To Make Friends In U.S Market; Talks Well Developed...
In a recent interview with eGaming Review, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Co-CEO, Jim Ryan, advised re his firm's goal to enter the lucrative US market: “We have made the decision to target strategic partners. At federal level, we are finalising agreements with a couple of parties positioned nicely to operate in that market. In California, we are well advanced with a particular party. The same in New Jersey, consistent with where we are at a federal level.”
California’s legislator announced it will not be pursuing the issue until the start of next year, quite possibly after federal legislation is enacted.
New Jersey State Senator Raymond Lesniak introduced new draft legislation earlier month. His previous proposal made it all the way to Governor Chris Christie’s desk before Christie announced he would not be signing off in the final minutes of a deadline. The Governor cited specifics in the bill that Lesniak believes the latest incarnation addresses.
Media Man is following up the situation.
Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Talk Of The Town...
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 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."
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.
FTSE 250 Movers: Bwin.party bid may be on the cards...
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment saw its share price head north as rumours persist that a US company has it in its sights.
Casinos operator Wynn Resorts is one name in the frame, with a take-out price of 170p per share being talked about.
Bwin.party, the world's largest online gaming group, already has its US 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 encur through the sale.
Irish mining company Kenmare Resources was rapidly heading back down following a rally of 7.5% on Monday on the back of a tip in the Daily Telegraph which declared Kenmare a "bargain share".
FTSE 250 - Risers
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 112.50p +6.43%
Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month Award'...
PartyCasino.com has once again won the Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month' Award. Richard Branson's VirginCasino.com picked up 2nd place, while new entrant into the Asia Pacific Region, Grand Reef Online Casino picks up 3rd. Well done to all brands.
Betfair Poaches Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Executive...
A talent war of sorts has broken out between Bwin.Party and Betfair, with Betfair scoring the most recent strike.
Betfair has by all accounts poached bwin.party’s central marketing director Matt Robinson to become the firm's emerging markets director, a new role created for the top notch gaming executive.
Robinson, who has been at PartyGaming, today known as bwin.party, for two years and was previously at 888 for six years launching the brand in the UK, will join the betting exchange in September reporting to chief commercial officer Niall Wass.
Media Man wishes him well, and holds both Bwin.Party and Betfair in high regard.
*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
Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyCasino.com PartyPoker.com Playtech Caesars Entertainment IGN World Poker Tour United States Casinos Gaming World Directory Brands Media Man
Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month Award'...
PartyCasino.com has once again won the Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month' Award. Richard Branson's VirginCasino.com picked up 2nd place, while new entrant into the Asia Pacific Region, Grand Reef Online Casino picks up 3rd. Well done to all brands.
Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Continues To Make Friends In U.S Market; Talks Well Developed...
In a recent interview with eGaming Review, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Co-CEO, Jim Ryan, advised re his firm's goal to enter the lucrative US market: “We have made the decision to target strategic partners. At federal level, we are finalising agreements with a couple of parties positioned nicely to operate in that market. In California, we are well advanced with a particular party. The same in New Jersey, consistent with where we are at a federal level.”
California’s legislator announced it will not be pursuing the issue until the start of next year, quite possibly after federal legislation is enacted.
New Jersey State Senator Raymond Lesniak introduced new draft legislation earlier month. His previous proposal made it all the way to Governor Chris Christie’s desk before Christie announced he would not be signing off in the final minutes of a deadline. The Governor cited specifics in the bill that Lesniak believes the latest incarnation addresses.
Media Man is following up the situation.
Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Talk Of The Town...
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 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."
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.
FTSE 250 Movers: Bwin.party bid may be on the cards...
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment saw its share price head north as rumours persist that a US company has it in its sights.
Casinos operator Wynn Resorts is one name in the frame, with a take-out price of 170p per share being talked about.
Bwin.party, the world's largest online gaming group, already has its US 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 encur through the sale.
Irish mining company Kenmare Resources was rapidly heading back down following a rally of 7.5% on Monday on the back of a tip in the Daily Telegraph which declared Kenmare a "bargain share".
FTSE 250 - Risers
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 112.50p +6.43%
Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month Award'...
PartyCasino.com has once again won the Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month' Award. Richard Branson's VirginCasino.com picked up 2nd place, while new entrant into the Asia Pacific Region, Grand Reef Online Casino picks up 3rd. Well done to all brands.
Betfair Poaches Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Executive...
A talent war of sorts has broken out between Bwin.Party and Betfair, with Betfair scoring the most recent strike.
Betfair has by all accounts poached bwin.party’s central marketing director Matt Robinson to become the firm's emerging markets director, a new role created for the top notch gaming executive.
Robinson, who has been at PartyGaming, today known as bwin.party, for two years and was previously at 888 for six years launching the brand in the UK, will join the betting exchange in September reporting to chief commercial officer Niall Wass.
Media Man wishes him well, and holds both Bwin.Party and Betfair in high regard.
*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
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Media Man Gaming, Casino And Entertainment News Report, by Greg Tingle - 27th August 2011
Profiles
Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyCasino.com PartyPoker.com Playtech IGT Wrestling Marvel Entertainment Movies World Poker Tour United States Australia Casinos Politics Gaming World Directory Brands Media Man
Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month Award'...
PartyCasino.com has once again won the Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month' Award. Richard Branson's VirginCasino.com picked up 2nd place, while new entrant into the Asia Pacific Region, Grand Reef Online Casino picks up 3rd. Well done to all brands.
Coonan offered position on Crown Limited board...
Former Liberal Party senator Helen Coonan has a new job offer, just days after resigning from Parliament.
Crown Casino has announced its intention to appoint the former communications minister to its board.
The gaming regulator has to sign off on the appointment, but Crown hopes to have her on the board before Christmas.
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon says he is saddened by the appointment.
"Helen Coonan's had a distinguished career and public life," she said.
"She's been a senior minister in the Howard government and to take a position on the board of a company, Crown Casino, where we know they peddle a product - poker machines, gambling - that causes so much misery to so many, is pretty sad."
Echo Entertainment $226m Casinos Profit...
Sin City Sydney's Star City casino redevelopment is on track, according owners Echo Entertainment.
Echo, which holds a portfolio of casinos including Star City and Jupiters on the Gold Coast, yesterday reported a maiden profit of $226 million after spinning off from gaming group Tabcorp in June.
While its profit result reflects a rise in casino earnings of 33 per cent, most of the money will flow through to Tabcorp shareholders as it was reaped before the demerger.
The company said revenue from its Queensland casinos, Jupiters and Treasury in Brisbane, rose despite the impact of deadly flooding from cyclone Yasi in February. Chief executive Larry Mullin said Echo was about to reap the benefits of its $870 million redevelopment of Star City.
The casino would be fully operational by the second quarter of the current financial year, he said.
Echo shares rose 1.8 per cent to close at $2.883. The company will not pay a dividend for the 12 months to the end of June.
Marvel Studios' Lackluster Inaugural Performance at the 2011 D23...
It’s important to note that the Marvel Universe, on the big screen, is a much more complicated place than it is on print
Prior to 2008, the movies based on many of Marvel’s marquee characters (household names like Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and X-Men) were produced via licensing agreements with a variety of studios – and as long as the studios continue to produce movies based on these characters, they maintain the licenses. That is to say that, though Marvel Entertainment still has a hand in the movies based on certain characters, they share the decision making (and profits) with companies like Sony Pictures (Spider-Man) and 20th Century Fox (X-Men). The end result of Marvel Studios becoming its own production entity has been overwhelmingly positive, as evidenced by the Disney Corporation’s interest in, and eventual acquisition of, Marvel Entertainment.
Marvel Studios’ underwhelming performance at the D23 Expo is pretty sad, especially with Disney’s resources behind them, they could have, and should have, done much, much better. Somebody dropped the ball. Either Marvel didn’t have enough to present, or Disney wouldn’t let them present what they had – and even if it was unintentional, either possibility is a bit of a snub to the fans who endured D23’s horrifyingly long lines in hopes of seeing Marvel deliver.
Disney Pixar not only brought in trailers and footage from works in progress and upcoming releases (Brave, Planes, and Monsters University), they brought in writers and directors of two projects that have recently been given the green light, but didn’t have titles, and won’t even begin production until sometime circa 2013.
Since late 2004 – when, in order to produce movies based on their characters independently, Marvel entered into a non-recourse deal with Merrill Lynch Commercial Finance Corp. to produce ten movies with Paramount as distributor – and as recently as last year, Marvel has said that they intended to develop films based on lesser-known characters such as Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and even more obscure characters like Shang Chi: Master of Kung-Fu and Guardians of the Galaxy. This spring, Marvel Studios’ President of Production, Kevin Feige, told D23 Magazine by way of IGN that the roster of films for the immediate future was heavy on Avengers-related titles [Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man sequels; plus possible Ant-Man, Black Widow and Nick Fury/S.H.I.E.L.D. projects] and even provided basic ideas of what the second Captain America and Thor movies would be like.
Perhaps a better, more tangible example is the Ant-Man film: for a couple years now [Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World writer/director] Edgar Wright, and Joe Cornish [Wright’s frequent collaborator, and director of this summer’s cult smash Attack the Block] have been attached to the project. Though the project hasn’t been fast-tracked, it’s got an IMDb page, and a proposed release year (2014). Wright is still listed as director; and Wright and Cornish are still listed as writers. The only speculation surrounding the project is whether or not Wright’s favorite leading man, and collaborator, actor Simon Pegg (Star Trek), will still play the titular tiny titan. Even without an official release date and leading man, let alone a date to begin production, there was plenty to talk about – especially for an audience that may or may not know anything about Marvel, let alone their movies.
Bottom line: Marvel and Disney - the powers that be can and must do better than this. It's a critical time in the industry and Marvel Entertainment needs to pull out all the stops to remain at the very top of the industry. Too many more stuff ups like D23, and the empire may take a great fall, one that even Marvel icon and living legend Stan Lee could not imagine.
For everyone's sake, we hope that Marvel Entertainment and other brains at Disney will soon excite us and restore the faith.
Martin Scorsese, William Monahan Teaming for 'The Gambler' at Paramount (The Hollywood Reporter)...
The duo are developing a remake of the 1974 movie starring James Caan as an English professor with a gambling addiction. They want Leo DiCaprio to star.
Paramount is going all-in on The Gambler, a remake of the 1974 James Caan addiction drama.
The studio has set Martin Scorsese to direct and William Monahan to write. Irwin Winkler, who produced the original, will again act as producer of the new film. They are interested in having Leonardo DiCaprio star, but no deal is in place for the actor.
The 1974 movie, an adaptation of the short novel The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, detailed a New York English professor who inspires his students but suffers from a secret gambling addiction. The affliction causes him to extort money from his mother and convince one of his students to shave points in a basketball game.
Caan received a Golden Globe nomination for best actor for his performance in the original. Lauren Hutton and Paul Sorvino co-starred for director Karel Reisz. (The project is not related to the series of Gambler TV movies that starred Kenny Rogers in the 1980s and 90s.)
The gritty New York setting of the original seems a perfect match for Scorsese, who teamed with Monahan on 2006 best picture Oscar winner The Departed.
The director has been especially active lately. He has his first family film, Hugo, slated for a Thanksgiving release, and he’s preparing to direct Silence, an adaptation of the Shusaku Endo novel. He’s also attached to The Wolf of Wall Street, an adaptation of the Jordan Belfort memoir that has attached DiCaprio, with whom Scorsese collaborated on Shutter Island.
Scorsese is repped by WME and Rick Yorn. Monahan is repped by WME and Anonymous.
Paramount declined to comment. (Credit: The Hollywood Reporter)
Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment's bwin.fr and SAjOO.fr to Merge - 29th July 2011...
Given the challenging regulatory and fiscal regime that currently prevails in France and in order to drive greater value for both parties, bwin.party and Amaury Group have decided to merge their bwin France and SAjOO online gaming businesses.
While the terms of the merger are not being disclosed, the combination will deliver real financial benefits in a number of areas including marketing and shared resources and as a result, the combined entity will be much better placed to deliver attractive financial returns.
Both Amaury and bwin France share a common objective of delivering an exciting and competitive online offer, and have been working together since 2008. With an estimated 9% share of the French online betting market, SAjOO.fr has already surpassed the goals set at its launch back in 2010.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Norbert Teufelberger, Co-CEO of bwin.party, said:
“Combining the resources of SAjOO and bwin France makes perfect sense and will only enhance our already strong position in the French market. With the prospect of a more commercial regulatory framework in 2012, we look forward to building a market leading enterprise with our long-standing partner.”
Philippe Carli, Amaury Group’s Chief Executive Officer, said:
“This merger creates a new force in the French market, one that we expect will prosper over the months and years to come. We remain optimistic that the current review of the existing regulatory framework being conducted by the French Government will result in significant improvements to the legal and regulatory framework. In this context, Amaury group is strengthening its involvement with bwin France, one of the sector’s leading operators.”
Scratchie case loss a picture of pain...
Lotto lovers have been warned the odds might be even more stacked against them than they thought after a Sydney couple were ordered to hand back their $100,000 scratchie ticket winnings.
A lawyer for the couple says they are considering whether to take the matter further.
The Federal Court of Appeal ruled yesterday in favour of New South Wales Lotteries after the couple had won an earlier case over what looked like a winning ticket.
Elizabeth Kuzmanovski bought the Pictionary-themed ticket for her husband as a birthday present in July 2007.
Bale Kuzmanovski was elated when he scratched to reveal an image of a swimmer alongside the word "bathe".
NSW Lotteries refused to pay out, arguing the picture and word did not match.
But it was not on that basis that the appeal was won.
The appeals court accepted the lottery body's argument that a code on the bottom of the scratchie determined whether it was a winning ticket, not the pictures.
Mr Kuzmanovski's lawyer, Peter Ives, says they are considering a further appeal.
"Bill is extremely disappointed at what happened. He feels cheated. He has a feeling that he could never buy another Lotto ticket, knowing that he'll never know if he's won or not, even if it looks like he has won," Mr Ives said.
Christopher Zinn from Choice says the case shows consumers are vulnerable to fine print.
"What I take away from it is you can read the back of a ticket, you can read the back of a scratchie, but if there's going to be a dispute they can often pull various small print rabbits out of a hat, which are actually going to jinx any chance you might have of getting your hands on the money," Mr Zinn said.
"There are so many terms and conditions applying to the simplest things now, they're not always on the back of airline tickets or scratchie tickets or anything else.
"So it seems to be saying that you know you have to avail yourself of the maximum amount of information, certainly if you're going to take a challenge onto them."
IGT Wins Again with Sex And The City Big Diamonds!™...
The sequel to record-breaking Sex And The City™slot debuts
LAS VEGAS, Aug. 17, 2011 - It's a blockbuster summer for International Game Technology with the debut of Sex And The City Big Diamonds!™ Reel MultiPLAY Slots, the sequel to the award-winning Sex And The City™ slot machine.
This new slot game is appearing in casinos worldwide where it is sure to be equally as fantastic as the original.
"The original Sex And The City™ Slots remain one of the most popular games on casino floors throughout the world," said Tom Mikulich, IGT senior vice president of MegaJackpots. "And if early reviews are any indication, we expect the new Sex And The City Big Diamonds!™ title to be just as popular with players. The combination of unique game play and interactive bonuses will entertain fans of the original game and new players alike."
Players will experience even more glitz and glamour on the casino floor as Sex And The City Big Diamonds!™ joins the award-winning, player-favorite original, Sex And The City™ Slots. And not only have players fallen in love with the smash-hit Sex And The City™ slot theme, it's also a favorite with the casino industry. According to the Roth Fantini Quarterly Slot Survey of January 2011, the original Sex And The City™ title, introduced in 2009, continues its lead as the top performing premium leased game in North America.
"It's hard to imagine a tougher act to follow than the original Sex And The City(TM) slot game, but with Sex And The City Big Diamonds!(TM), IGT clearly has another big winner," said Robert Allen, corporate vice president of Casino Operations at Pinnacle Entertainment.
Adorned with a diamond-lit cabinet, the Sex And The City Big Diamonds!™ game is the perfect sequel. Along with its sophisticated presentation, Sex And The City Big Diamonds!™ Reel MultiPLAY interface comes with all new bonus content and features five progressive pick bonus levels, one for each of the five characters of the hit series.
Mr. Big is back and his winning charm is bigger than ever. He steals players' hearts with a random wilds diamond shower feature in the base game.
Carrie's bonus is called The Right to Shoes, and in this version, players will experience a marvelous new twist using the "accept or reject" bonus feature. Charlotte's bonus is the Glamorous Gifts bonus, which awards the player a virtual wheel spin. In Miranda's Retail Therapy bonus, players touch the screen to spin the wheel to award shopping bags filled with credits, multipliers and maybe an additional spin. And in Samantha's Glimmer Ring bonus, players can populate gems in the top box display while a diamond ring moves back and forth, highlighting the potential for big wins.
Sex And The City Big Diamonds!™ will be available throughout the U.S. Visit www.megajackpots.com/wheretoplay/bigdiamonds to find out where you can play the game now.
About IGT
International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) is a global leader in the design, development and manufacture of gaming machines and systems products, as well as online and mobile gaming solutions for regulated markets. More information about IGT is available at www.IGT.com or follow IGT on Twitter at @IGTNews or Facebook at www.facebook.com/IGT
Official HBO Licensed Product. © 2011 Home Box Office, Inc. All Rights Reserved. HBO and related trademarks are the property of Home Box Office, Inc.
Ric Flair: Boozing Has Not Damaged My Heart...
Wrestling icon Ric Flair is furious over an article which claims the Nature Boy is suffering from a serious medical condition caused by years of hardcore boozing ... because Ric claims it's not true and now he's threatening to sue.
The unflattering article -- which paints Flair as a troubled, irresponsible mess of a person -- ran on an ESPN affiliated website called Grantland.com ... and the report is mostly based on court documents.
But Flair is particularly pissed about the reporter's claim that he suffers from Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy -- a disease caused by years of alcohol abuse which often leads to heart failure.
A rep for Flair whose real name is Richard Fliehr - tells TMZ, "While the information gleaned from courthouse records may be credible, Mr. Fliehr is currently evaluating his legal options with respect to falsehoods in the story, specifically the untrue statement that he suffers from alcoholic cardiomyopathy."
The rep adds, "Our client understands that these allegations are part of the territory when you are not only famous, but a living legend."
Hulk Hogan And Friends Tours American Casinos And Arenas; Gamble Paying Off...
Hulk and Friends, the live show that has been touring the country with stops at casinos, fairgrounds, arenas and other venues, announced that fans will have the chance to meet their favorite wrestlers in a unique and up-close setting on Saturday, October 8, 2011 at 7:30 P.M. at the famous AG Hall, now known as the Agri-Plex within the Allentown Fairgrounds, in Allentown PA.
"I'm really looking forward to meeting all my fans in the Allentown area on October 8th" Hulk Hogan said. "We are having a great time doing this show. Meeting the fans, telling jokes, and brother, everybody's laughing more than we have in years" he continued. Not only will all the fan favorites be there but Hulk Hogan promises to bring some very special guests along with him. "You never know who is going to show up at a Hulk and Friends Show" he added.
Tickets will be going on sale August 5th through Ticketmaster. A limited number of ringside seats (which include a VIP Meet and Greet) are also available. For those interested in sponsorship opportunities, please go to the official website www.hulkandfriends.com
Coke's game plan...
Coca Cola is turning to gaming technology and ideas to market itself.
Coke is soon to roll out new marketing strategies using gaming for several key products, including Fanta, which is targeted at a teenage market.
David Elsworth, Coke's vice-president for creative excellence, said gaming offered untold opportunities for marketing a brand
''Gaming is as ancient as storytelling but it was never able to be used in marketing on a mass scale because we didn't have the tools to do that before.''
Mr Elsworth said gaming in marketing was not about using the games, but using the rules and approach of games to create a different relationship between consumers and the brand.
''Gaming is about getting people to move from passive receivers of a message to active collaborators … interacting and participating.''
Mr Elsworth said gaming offered a richer level of engagement with consumers. He said gaming was no longer the domain of ''pimply teenagers in their bedrooms playing Xbox'', but a massive industry worth more than the film and music industries put together.
Pokie kings have slots to be happy about - 26th August 2011
Poker machine maker Ainsworth Game Technology pipped its cross-town rival, Aristocrat Leisure, yesterday with its second profit upgrade this year.
After a 17 per cent share price jump on Wednesday, Ainsworth yesterday announced an unaudited $23.1 million net profit for the financial year ending June 30, compared with a $2.7 million loss for the previous year.
More details will be available next Wednesday when the audited results are released.
Excluding the benefit of tax losses, Ainsworth's net profit was $14.6 million. In May the company upgraded its earnings forecast to a range of $11 million to $13 million.
''This positive financial performance reflected further strong domestic and international demand for the company's range of products in the last two months of the financial year and a more favourable currency position as at the reporting date,'' Ainsworth said.
Aristocrat reported that its profit forecast for the year ending December 31 this year remains intact, although this relies on the Australian dollar remaining at parity with its US counterpart for the current half year.
The strong dollar and high interest costs - the latter a result of Aristocrat taking on debt to settle its long-running dispute over its convertible bonds last year - dragged down its results for the six months to June 30.
The company reported a net profit after tax of $24.9 million down from $49.3 million for the previous half year while revenues dropped to $312.7 million from $340.5 million.
The company declared a 2.5¢ unfranked dividend payable on September 30 and also announced a dividend reinvestment plan.
As with its smaller rival, Aristocrat reported strong results from the Australian market as well as promising signs from the US despite forecasts that this market will continue to shrink this year.
The company's chief executive, Jamie Odell, described the result as an important milestone in its five-year turnaround strategy with the company delivering on guidance of a 10 to 20 per cent improvement on last year's $55.2 million profit as well as demonstrating improved underlying performance in its core business.
Media Man Website Network Attracting Close To 6 Million Hits Per Month...
The well known Media Man website network, the online arm of Media Man, is attracting close to 6 million hits per month. The company was established in 2001 and coverage over a dozen different business sectors. Some of the Media Man website portals are listed in the Hitwise Australia top ten (entertainment - personalities category). Media Man is currently focused on the celebrity, film and television, technology, gaming and community sector. They plan to further ramp up their Casino News Media, Property News Media and Wrestling News Media brands.
*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
Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyCasino.com PartyPoker.com Playtech IGT Wrestling Marvel Entertainment Movies World Poker Tour United States Australia Casinos Politics Gaming World Directory Brands Media Man
Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month Award'...
PartyCasino.com has once again won the Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month' Award. Richard Branson's VirginCasino.com picked up 2nd place, while new entrant into the Asia Pacific Region, Grand Reef Online Casino picks up 3rd. Well done to all brands.
Coonan offered position on Crown Limited board...
Former Liberal Party senator Helen Coonan has a new job offer, just days after resigning from Parliament.
Crown Casino has announced its intention to appoint the former communications minister to its board.
The gaming regulator has to sign off on the appointment, but Crown hopes to have her on the board before Christmas.
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon says he is saddened by the appointment.
"Helen Coonan's had a distinguished career and public life," she said.
"She's been a senior minister in the Howard government and to take a position on the board of a company, Crown Casino, where we know they peddle a product - poker machines, gambling - that causes so much misery to so many, is pretty sad."
Echo Entertainment $226m Casinos Profit...
Sin City Sydney's Star City casino redevelopment is on track, according owners Echo Entertainment.
Echo, which holds a portfolio of casinos including Star City and Jupiters on the Gold Coast, yesterday reported a maiden profit of $226 million after spinning off from gaming group Tabcorp in June.
While its profit result reflects a rise in casino earnings of 33 per cent, most of the money will flow through to Tabcorp shareholders as it was reaped before the demerger.
The company said revenue from its Queensland casinos, Jupiters and Treasury in Brisbane, rose despite the impact of deadly flooding from cyclone Yasi in February. Chief executive Larry Mullin said Echo was about to reap the benefits of its $870 million redevelopment of Star City.
The casino would be fully operational by the second quarter of the current financial year, he said.
Echo shares rose 1.8 per cent to close at $2.883. The company will not pay a dividend for the 12 months to the end of June.
Marvel Studios' Lackluster Inaugural Performance at the 2011 D23...
It’s important to note that the Marvel Universe, on the big screen, is a much more complicated place than it is on print
Prior to 2008, the movies based on many of Marvel’s marquee characters (household names like Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and X-Men) were produced via licensing agreements with a variety of studios – and as long as the studios continue to produce movies based on these characters, they maintain the licenses. That is to say that, though Marvel Entertainment still has a hand in the movies based on certain characters, they share the decision making (and profits) with companies like Sony Pictures (Spider-Man) and 20th Century Fox (X-Men). The end result of Marvel Studios becoming its own production entity has been overwhelmingly positive, as evidenced by the Disney Corporation’s interest in, and eventual acquisition of, Marvel Entertainment.
Marvel Studios’ underwhelming performance at the D23 Expo is pretty sad, especially with Disney’s resources behind them, they could have, and should have, done much, much better. Somebody dropped the ball. Either Marvel didn’t have enough to present, or Disney wouldn’t let them present what they had – and even if it was unintentional, either possibility is a bit of a snub to the fans who endured D23’s horrifyingly long lines in hopes of seeing Marvel deliver.
Disney Pixar not only brought in trailers and footage from works in progress and upcoming releases (Brave, Planes, and Monsters University), they brought in writers and directors of two projects that have recently been given the green light, but didn’t have titles, and won’t even begin production until sometime circa 2013.
Since late 2004 – when, in order to produce movies based on their characters independently, Marvel entered into a non-recourse deal with Merrill Lynch Commercial Finance Corp. to produce ten movies with Paramount as distributor – and as recently as last year, Marvel has said that they intended to develop films based on lesser-known characters such as Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and even more obscure characters like Shang Chi: Master of Kung-Fu and Guardians of the Galaxy. This spring, Marvel Studios’ President of Production, Kevin Feige, told D23 Magazine by way of IGN that the roster of films for the immediate future was heavy on Avengers-related titles [Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man sequels; plus possible Ant-Man, Black Widow and Nick Fury/S.H.I.E.L.D. projects] and even provided basic ideas of what the second Captain America and Thor movies would be like.
Perhaps a better, more tangible example is the Ant-Man film: for a couple years now [Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World writer/director] Edgar Wright, and Joe Cornish [Wright’s frequent collaborator, and director of this summer’s cult smash Attack the Block] have been attached to the project. Though the project hasn’t been fast-tracked, it’s got an IMDb page, and a proposed release year (2014). Wright is still listed as director; and Wright and Cornish are still listed as writers. The only speculation surrounding the project is whether or not Wright’s favorite leading man, and collaborator, actor Simon Pegg (Star Trek), will still play the titular tiny titan. Even without an official release date and leading man, let alone a date to begin production, there was plenty to talk about – especially for an audience that may or may not know anything about Marvel, let alone their movies.
Bottom line: Marvel and Disney - the powers that be can and must do better than this. It's a critical time in the industry and Marvel Entertainment needs to pull out all the stops to remain at the very top of the industry. Too many more stuff ups like D23, and the empire may take a great fall, one that even Marvel icon and living legend Stan Lee could not imagine.
For everyone's sake, we hope that Marvel Entertainment and other brains at Disney will soon excite us and restore the faith.
Martin Scorsese, William Monahan Teaming for 'The Gambler' at Paramount (The Hollywood Reporter)...
The duo are developing a remake of the 1974 movie starring James Caan as an English professor with a gambling addiction. They want Leo DiCaprio to star.
Paramount is going all-in on The Gambler, a remake of the 1974 James Caan addiction drama.
The studio has set Martin Scorsese to direct and William Monahan to write. Irwin Winkler, who produced the original, will again act as producer of the new film. They are interested in having Leonardo DiCaprio star, but no deal is in place for the actor.
The 1974 movie, an adaptation of the short novel The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, detailed a New York English professor who inspires his students but suffers from a secret gambling addiction. The affliction causes him to extort money from his mother and convince one of his students to shave points in a basketball game.
Caan received a Golden Globe nomination for best actor for his performance in the original. Lauren Hutton and Paul Sorvino co-starred for director Karel Reisz. (The project is not related to the series of Gambler TV movies that starred Kenny Rogers in the 1980s and 90s.)
The gritty New York setting of the original seems a perfect match for Scorsese, who teamed with Monahan on 2006 best picture Oscar winner The Departed.
The director has been especially active lately. He has his first family film, Hugo, slated for a Thanksgiving release, and he’s preparing to direct Silence, an adaptation of the Shusaku Endo novel. He’s also attached to The Wolf of Wall Street, an adaptation of the Jordan Belfort memoir that has attached DiCaprio, with whom Scorsese collaborated on Shutter Island.
Scorsese is repped by WME and Rick Yorn. Monahan is repped by WME and Anonymous.
Paramount declined to comment. (Credit: The Hollywood Reporter)
Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment's bwin.fr and SAjOO.fr to Merge - 29th July 2011...
Given the challenging regulatory and fiscal regime that currently prevails in France and in order to drive greater value for both parties, bwin.party and Amaury Group have decided to merge their bwin France and SAjOO online gaming businesses.
While the terms of the merger are not being disclosed, the combination will deliver real financial benefits in a number of areas including marketing and shared resources and as a result, the combined entity will be much better placed to deliver attractive financial returns.
Both Amaury and bwin France share a common objective of delivering an exciting and competitive online offer, and have been working together since 2008. With an estimated 9% share of the French online betting market, SAjOO.fr has already surpassed the goals set at its launch back in 2010.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Norbert Teufelberger, Co-CEO of bwin.party, said:
“Combining the resources of SAjOO and bwin France makes perfect sense and will only enhance our already strong position in the French market. With the prospect of a more commercial regulatory framework in 2012, we look forward to building a market leading enterprise with our long-standing partner.”
Philippe Carli, Amaury Group’s Chief Executive Officer, said:
“This merger creates a new force in the French market, one that we expect will prosper over the months and years to come. We remain optimistic that the current review of the existing regulatory framework being conducted by the French Government will result in significant improvements to the legal and regulatory framework. In this context, Amaury group is strengthening its involvement with bwin France, one of the sector’s leading operators.”
Scratchie case loss a picture of pain...
Lotto lovers have been warned the odds might be even more stacked against them than they thought after a Sydney couple were ordered to hand back their $100,000 scratchie ticket winnings.
A lawyer for the couple says they are considering whether to take the matter further.
The Federal Court of Appeal ruled yesterday in favour of New South Wales Lotteries after the couple had won an earlier case over what looked like a winning ticket.
Elizabeth Kuzmanovski bought the Pictionary-themed ticket for her husband as a birthday present in July 2007.
Bale Kuzmanovski was elated when he scratched to reveal an image of a swimmer alongside the word "bathe".
NSW Lotteries refused to pay out, arguing the picture and word did not match.
But it was not on that basis that the appeal was won.
The appeals court accepted the lottery body's argument that a code on the bottom of the scratchie determined whether it was a winning ticket, not the pictures.
Mr Kuzmanovski's lawyer, Peter Ives, says they are considering a further appeal.
"Bill is extremely disappointed at what happened. He feels cheated. He has a feeling that he could never buy another Lotto ticket, knowing that he'll never know if he's won or not, even if it looks like he has won," Mr Ives said.
Christopher Zinn from Choice says the case shows consumers are vulnerable to fine print.
"What I take away from it is you can read the back of a ticket, you can read the back of a scratchie, but if there's going to be a dispute they can often pull various small print rabbits out of a hat, which are actually going to jinx any chance you might have of getting your hands on the money," Mr Zinn said.
"There are so many terms and conditions applying to the simplest things now, they're not always on the back of airline tickets or scratchie tickets or anything else.
"So it seems to be saying that you know you have to avail yourself of the maximum amount of information, certainly if you're going to take a challenge onto them."
IGT Wins Again with Sex And The City Big Diamonds!™...
The sequel to record-breaking Sex And The City™slot debuts
LAS VEGAS, Aug. 17, 2011 - It's a blockbuster summer for International Game Technology with the debut of Sex And The City Big Diamonds!™ Reel MultiPLAY Slots, the sequel to the award-winning Sex And The City™ slot machine.
This new slot game is appearing in casinos worldwide where it is sure to be equally as fantastic as the original.
"The original Sex And The City™ Slots remain one of the most popular games on casino floors throughout the world," said Tom Mikulich, IGT senior vice president of MegaJackpots. "And if early reviews are any indication, we expect the new Sex And The City Big Diamonds!™ title to be just as popular with players. The combination of unique game play and interactive bonuses will entertain fans of the original game and new players alike."
Players will experience even more glitz and glamour on the casino floor as Sex And The City Big Diamonds!™ joins the award-winning, player-favorite original, Sex And The City™ Slots. And not only have players fallen in love with the smash-hit Sex And The City™ slot theme, it's also a favorite with the casino industry. According to the Roth Fantini Quarterly Slot Survey of January 2011, the original Sex And The City™ title, introduced in 2009, continues its lead as the top performing premium leased game in North America.
"It's hard to imagine a tougher act to follow than the original Sex And The City(TM) slot game, but with Sex And The City Big Diamonds!(TM), IGT clearly has another big winner," said Robert Allen, corporate vice president of Casino Operations at Pinnacle Entertainment.
Adorned with a diamond-lit cabinet, the Sex And The City Big Diamonds!™ game is the perfect sequel. Along with its sophisticated presentation, Sex And The City Big Diamonds!™ Reel MultiPLAY interface comes with all new bonus content and features five progressive pick bonus levels, one for each of the five characters of the hit series.
Mr. Big is back and his winning charm is bigger than ever. He steals players' hearts with a random wilds diamond shower feature in the base game.
Carrie's bonus is called The Right to Shoes, and in this version, players will experience a marvelous new twist using the "accept or reject" bonus feature. Charlotte's bonus is the Glamorous Gifts bonus, which awards the player a virtual wheel spin. In Miranda's Retail Therapy bonus, players touch the screen to spin the wheel to award shopping bags filled with credits, multipliers and maybe an additional spin. And in Samantha's Glimmer Ring bonus, players can populate gems in the top box display while a diamond ring moves back and forth, highlighting the potential for big wins.
Sex And The City Big Diamonds!™ will be available throughout the U.S. Visit www.megajackpots.com/wheretoplay/bigdiamonds to find out where you can play the game now.
About IGT
International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) is a global leader in the design, development and manufacture of gaming machines and systems products, as well as online and mobile gaming solutions for regulated markets. More information about IGT is available at www.IGT.com or follow IGT on Twitter at @IGTNews or Facebook at www.facebook.com/IGT
Official HBO Licensed Product. © 2011 Home Box Office, Inc. All Rights Reserved. HBO and related trademarks are the property of Home Box Office, Inc.
Ric Flair: Boozing Has Not Damaged My Heart...
Wrestling icon Ric Flair is furious over an article which claims the Nature Boy is suffering from a serious medical condition caused by years of hardcore boozing ... because Ric claims it's not true and now he's threatening to sue.
The unflattering article -- which paints Flair as a troubled, irresponsible mess of a person -- ran on an ESPN affiliated website called Grantland.com ... and the report is mostly based on court documents.
But Flair is particularly pissed about the reporter's claim that he suffers from Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy -- a disease caused by years of alcohol abuse which often leads to heart failure.
A rep for Flair whose real name is Richard Fliehr - tells TMZ, "While the information gleaned from courthouse records may be credible, Mr. Fliehr is currently evaluating his legal options with respect to falsehoods in the story, specifically the untrue statement that he suffers from alcoholic cardiomyopathy."
The rep adds, "Our client understands that these allegations are part of the territory when you are not only famous, but a living legend."
Hulk Hogan And Friends Tours American Casinos And Arenas; Gamble Paying Off...
Hulk and Friends, the live show that has been touring the country with stops at casinos, fairgrounds, arenas and other venues, announced that fans will have the chance to meet their favorite wrestlers in a unique and up-close setting on Saturday, October 8, 2011 at 7:30 P.M. at the famous AG Hall, now known as the Agri-Plex within the Allentown Fairgrounds, in Allentown PA.
"I'm really looking forward to meeting all my fans in the Allentown area on October 8th" Hulk Hogan said. "We are having a great time doing this show. Meeting the fans, telling jokes, and brother, everybody's laughing more than we have in years" he continued. Not only will all the fan favorites be there but Hulk Hogan promises to bring some very special guests along with him. "You never know who is going to show up at a Hulk and Friends Show" he added.
Tickets will be going on sale August 5th through Ticketmaster. A limited number of ringside seats (which include a VIP Meet and Greet) are also available. For those interested in sponsorship opportunities, please go to the official website www.hulkandfriends.com
Coke's game plan...
Coca Cola is turning to gaming technology and ideas to market itself.
Coke is soon to roll out new marketing strategies using gaming for several key products, including Fanta, which is targeted at a teenage market.
David Elsworth, Coke's vice-president for creative excellence, said gaming offered untold opportunities for marketing a brand
''Gaming is as ancient as storytelling but it was never able to be used in marketing on a mass scale because we didn't have the tools to do that before.''
Mr Elsworth said gaming in marketing was not about using the games, but using the rules and approach of games to create a different relationship between consumers and the brand.
''Gaming is about getting people to move from passive receivers of a message to active collaborators … interacting and participating.''
Mr Elsworth said gaming offered a richer level of engagement with consumers. He said gaming was no longer the domain of ''pimply teenagers in their bedrooms playing Xbox'', but a massive industry worth more than the film and music industries put together.
Pokie kings have slots to be happy about - 26th August 2011
Poker machine maker Ainsworth Game Technology pipped its cross-town rival, Aristocrat Leisure, yesterday with its second profit upgrade this year.
After a 17 per cent share price jump on Wednesday, Ainsworth yesterday announced an unaudited $23.1 million net profit for the financial year ending June 30, compared with a $2.7 million loss for the previous year.
More details will be available next Wednesday when the audited results are released.
Excluding the benefit of tax losses, Ainsworth's net profit was $14.6 million. In May the company upgraded its earnings forecast to a range of $11 million to $13 million.
''This positive financial performance reflected further strong domestic and international demand for the company's range of products in the last two months of the financial year and a more favourable currency position as at the reporting date,'' Ainsworth said.
Aristocrat reported that its profit forecast for the year ending December 31 this year remains intact, although this relies on the Australian dollar remaining at parity with its US counterpart for the current half year.
The strong dollar and high interest costs - the latter a result of Aristocrat taking on debt to settle its long-running dispute over its convertible bonds last year - dragged down its results for the six months to June 30.
The company reported a net profit after tax of $24.9 million down from $49.3 million for the previous half year while revenues dropped to $312.7 million from $340.5 million.
The company declared a 2.5¢ unfranked dividend payable on September 30 and also announced a dividend reinvestment plan.
As with its smaller rival, Aristocrat reported strong results from the Australian market as well as promising signs from the US despite forecasts that this market will continue to shrink this year.
The company's chief executive, Jamie Odell, described the result as an important milestone in its five-year turnaround strategy with the company delivering on guidance of a 10 to 20 per cent improvement on last year's $55.2 million profit as well as demonstrating improved underlying performance in its core business.
Media Man Website Network Attracting Close To 6 Million Hits Per Month...
The well known Media Man website network, the online arm of Media Man, is attracting close to 6 million hits per month. The company was established in 2001 and coverage over a dozen different business sectors. Some of the Media Man website portals are listed in the Hitwise Australia top ten (entertainment - personalities category). Media Man is currently focused on the celebrity, film and television, technology, gaming and community sector. They plan to further ramp up their Casino News Media, Property News Media and Wrestling News Media brands.
*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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)