Gambling Blog
Internet Businesses Ready to Cash in on Online Poker
January 6th, 2012
An announcement from the United States Department of Justice last week detailed that it suddenly reversed its long-term position that all forms of online gambling were illegal. This will make it legal to engage in all forms of online gambling except sports betting.
This creates a number of opportunities for stakeholders all over the world. In addition to driving profits for online casinos, many other Internet based businesses are ready to get their share of the pie. According to estimates from Goldman Sachs, the market for online gambling in the United States is projected to be worth about $12 billion. The market for online poker alone is worth about $5 billion.
Google, Facebook and Apple are just a few of the large corporations that may want to take advantage of the new online gambling laws. In turn, the role of the Internet giants will help online casinos drive more, targeted traffic to their sites.
Additionally, Facebook is likely to start offering online poker platforms to its users. The social networking giant has already launched a similar platform in the UK, which appears to have a lot of potential.
Back in 2007, the Justice Department cracked down on companies that were allowing advertisements to online gambling sites. Microsoft, Google and Yahoo! were forced to pay a total of $31.5 million in settlements. These firms subsequently stopped allowing ads for online gambling sites, which hurt the revenue for both advertisers and publishers. However, they are likely to start allowing ads to their U.S. users again now that the Justice Department has changed its stance.
The announcement from the Justice Department was welcomed by casinos, activists, players, affiliate marketers and everyone else in the industry. However, large technology companies are likely to play a major role in the future of Internet gambling as well. Collectively, these companies are expected to work together to make the industry profitable while serving players throughout the United States.
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Don Johnson Wins $15 Million Reducing Casino Revenue
November 30th, 2011
Don Johnson, the top blackjack player, who had made headlines by winning $15 million in Atlantic City, won $2 million more playing blackjack at Tropicana Casino and Resort this October.
According to Gambling Enforcement, New Jersey Division statistics, Don Johnson isn’t the only top blackjack winner around. The figures show that the revenue from table games at casinos went down by 17 percent while the revenue from slots plunged by 4 percent. In fact, the gambling industry in Atlantic City has reported revenue decline during the past 38 months. Johnson, referred to as “Beast of Blackjack,” is the reason for the loss of revenue at Tropicana.
Recently, Tropicana had promoted its high stakes blackjack tables because they helped boost the casino’s revenue, while simultaneously hurting it when players got lucky, as it happened this October. Tropicana CEO Tony Rodio said that the casino’s revenue has suffered terribly this month, although he added that this is not the case always.
Other casinos such as Golden Nugget Atlantic City, ACH, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, and Harrah’s Resort also reported a decline in table game revenue. The only Atlantic City Casino to report a revenue boost of 9 percent from both table games and slots games was Resorts Casino Hotel.
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Movement to Legalize Online Poker May Be Losing Momentum
October 19th, 2011
Members of the online poker community have been working towards legal online poker bills for years. They are finally gaining ground in the movement. However, a few complications may keep the community from gaining momentum.
The industry has gotten as far as it has because players and activist groups have worked together so closely. Their union has dissipated a bit, and it is unclear whether or not the movement will keep going as strongly as it has.
The American Gaming Association and the Poker Player’s Alliance have been instrumental in setting the stage for the legalization of online poker. The PPA is facing a few problems that threaten to break its alliance.
Many of the people who supported the PPA were executives at Full Tilt Poker. Those who are not being indicted have lost whatever influence they had. What is going to happen to the movement to regulate online poker if one of its biggest advocates loses commitment?
Many players have lost faith in the PPA after the fallout from the Full Tilt scandal. Other advocates are trying to distance themselves from the PPA as well. Rep. Barney Frank was a leading advocate for the PPA and a member of the House Financial Services Committee.
Frank received donations from the PPA and members of Full Tilt. He returned the contributions after the charges against Full Tilt members came up. Frank appears to want to sever any political ties to Full Tilt and the PPA. Without his support, the PPA will have a more difficult time getting their message across.
Other politicians are following Frank’s example. Shelley Berkley, Joe Heck and Dean Heller are all members of Congress who have given their Full Tilt and PPA campaign contributions to charity. Senate majority leader Harry Reid has donated the money Full Tilt members contributed to him. Reid will retain the money Full Tilt donated.
The PPA needs support from members in Washington if it is going to get its message through both houses. The Full Tilt poker scandal doesn’t come at the best possible time. A draft of the online poker bill fell apart. These tensions show there may be some reluctance to proceed with regulating online poker.
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More fallout regarding Full Tilt
October 3rd, 2011
There is yet more fallout this week from the District Attorney’s accusation that Full Tilt Poker was nothing more than a “global Ponzi scheme”.
The Epic Poker League suspended poker professionals Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson after news broke that they both allegedly collected millions from Full Tilt’s money mismanagement. Lederer is the brother of Annie Duke, the commissioner of the newly formed Epic league.
It was also revealed that Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., who has vocally and consistently supposed the legalization of online poker, accepted $20,000 in campaign contributions from Full Tilt Poker.
The Boston Globe is also reporting that Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who has introduced several bills over the year that would legalize internet poker, accepted more than $18,000 in contributions.
A spokeswoman for Berkley’s senate campaign indicated that the money would not be kept, but it’s unclear where the money will go since Full Tilt is out of business in the U.S., and is facing severe government criminal charges.
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Full Tilt Accused of Being a Ponzi Scheme
September 30th, 2011
The Department of Justice amended its earlier complaint against Full Tilt Poker this week, charging that the company was running a “global Ponzi scheme” that defrauded millions of players out of millions of dollars.
“Full Tilt was not a legitimate poker company, but a global Ponzi scheme,” said Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney from the Southern District of New York in a memorandum issued this week. “Full Tilt insiders lined their own pockets with funds picked from the pockets of their most loyal customers while blithely lying to both players and the public alike about the safety and security of the money deposited.”
In indictments handed down on April 15, the government charged Full Tilt, PokerStars and Absolute Poker with money laundering and bank fraud changes. PokerStars immediately returned player funds and stopped accepting players from the U.S., while Full Tilt players in the U.S. couldn’t get their money returned to them.
According to the DOJ, the company had for some time funneled player money to several owners of the company and several of the company’s poker pros, including Howard Lederer and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, who allegedly collected $42 million and $25 million, respectively, in allocations from the company.
According to the complaint, the company owed approximately $390 million to players worldwide by the end of March, including $150 million owed to American players. Yet, the complaint alleges, the company had less than $60 million in its bank accounts.
Upon hearing the news, John Pappas, the executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, issued a statement urging Congress to pass legislation that will regulate and oversee online poker.
“These new government allegations underscore the sincere need for Congress to act immediately to pass legislation that appropriately regulates internet poker in the U.S. so players can be protected from the types of abuses alleged by the Department of Justice today,” Pappas said in the statement. “Today’s news does not change the mission of the PPA – to make player reimbursements and effective federal or state licensing of internet poker a priority.”
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Japan and Poker
March 30th, 2011
Poker players and online poker rooms are known for their generosity to those in need. And the situation in Japan has brought out that generous and philanthropic spirit again.
Zynga, which is gearing up for its first poker convention this weekend, announced this week that it raised $1 million in 36 hours through its Facebook poker game. Zynga is partnering with Save the Children and is asking players to donate money to Japan earthquake relief efforts by buying virtual goods on its game sites.
Some poker pros are also getting into the act. Many were literally stopped in their playing tracks last week when news of the earthquake hit the airwaves. Play at The Big Event in Los Angeles came to a stop as players turned their attention to the televisions to watch coverage of the devastation.
Ultimate Bet pro Maria Ho made a promise via her Twitter page that she would give away her weekly $300 buy-in to the $50,000 guaranteed tournament at UB.com to the first person who sent her a picture proving they made a $10 donation to the Red Cross.
Another poker player, Justin “BoostedJ” Smith, promised he would donate $1 for every retweet of his Red Cross text. The response to his original Twitter message was so great, his account was overloaded.
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Portugal Poker Tour
March 2nd, 2011
PokerStars announced this week a new live tour it’s calling the Portugal Poker Series. The series includes three events, which kick off April 14 to 17 at Casino Vilamoura.
The event will continue at Figueira de Foz from June 10 to 13 and Espinho from Oct. 13 to 16. Each of the three events features 700 70 No Limit Hold’em events, with a cap at 400 players.
The idea behind the series is to bring big-game tournament action to Portugal with Main Event prize pools that might exceed $200,000.
“Finally, PokerStars brings to Portugal a poker tour with an excellent game structure and attractive prize pool that will make many international players want to visit the country,” said Team PokerStars Portugal Pro Nuno Coelho.
Marta Salvado, spokesperson for Global Poker Tours Ltd., agreed, saying, “This tour will provide the players with the opportunity to experience a top-class tour in Portugal with an accessible buy-in and a fantastic leader board with added value to players. I’m sure we’ll see exciting action from the moment the cards are in the air.”
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PokerStars 5th Anniversary Sunday Millions
February 28th, 2011
PokerStars the largest online poker gambling site is celebrating the 5th anniversary of its weekly Sunday Millions tournament with an unprecedented prize pool.
On Sunday March 6 the usual weekly tournament will offer much more than ever before. On that Sunday, PokerStars will offer a $5 million guaranteed prize pool, including $1 million guaranteed in first-place prize money and a Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 for the grand prize winner.
Sunday Million requires a buy-in of $215, but PokerStars is also offering satellite qualifier tournaments for only $1. At 2:30 p.m. ET on March 6, the site will award a guaranteed 1,000 seats in a special $11 Turbo super satellite, with feeder satellites into it that can be entered for as little as $1.
To play in the Sunday Million 5th anniversary tournament, here’s what you need to know: You can buy-in directly for $215 or you can win your seat via the hundreds of satellites that are running now and start at only $1 or 100 frequent player points. You can also buy a ticket in the VIP store for 13,500 FPPs.
There is no cash equivalent prize for the Lamborghini. If the winner does not want the Lamborghini, it will be offered to the second-place finisher.
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Poker Pros Join Cake Poker Network
February 27th, 2011
The Cake Poker network launched a Poker Pros Network over the weekend.
According to Chuck Kidd, the CEO Of the new network, it’s the brainchild of several individuals who wanted to combine the play of top non-online players and online poker pros.
“We are proud to team with Cake Poker Network, a proven world-class organization, to bring this unique PPN experience to the poker world,” Kidd said in a press release.
T.J. Cloutier, a six-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, is one of the site’s new pros; Cloutier is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.
Barbara Enright and Marsha Waggoner, who are also members of the Hall of Fame, are also involved in the PPN along with pros like Chris Reslock, Charlie Marchese, Michael Schuerpf, Jennifer Elise Cox, and Josh Brikis.
The addition of the PPN replaces Doyles Room, which left recently to join another poker network. This is also after Sportsbook.com Poker and PlayersOnly left a couple months earlier.
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EPT heading to Madrid
February 25th, 2011
The grand final of the European Poker Tour is moving from Monte Carlo to Madrid, Spain, this year. The Casino Gran Madrid will host the season 7 EPT grand final, which runs from May 7 to May 12.
PokerStars backs the EPT and announced this week that the final would be moved to Spain in order to provide a new view.
Said EPT CEO John Duthie in a press release this week, “We wanted somewhere new, dynamic and inspiring, and knew that Madrid would tick all the boxes for the traveling poker player, regardless of age or desires. The same familiar team will be running the event and the schedule will, I am sure, provide something for everyone.”
A €10,600 buy-in will kick off the Grand final and the tournament schedule also includes a €25,000 High Roller event. PokerStars is estimating that Madrid’s economy could benefit by as much as €10 million by hosting the EPT Grand Final.
Carlos Galbeno, Madrid’s mayor, is excited about the huge tournament moving to Madrid.
“The fact that the Casino Gran Madrid Torrelodones has been chosen to host the Grand Final of the 7th season of the European Poker Tour is great news for the Madrid community,” said Galbeno in a press release.
Currently, the EPT is operating out of Copenhagen, Denmark.
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