Pictures of Casinos

Manolis T. from beautiful Greece send us these 2 pictures he took on his latest trip. I thought pictures were not allowed to be taken inside the casino, but that doesn`t seem to bother him!

Thanks a lot of sending these to us! You are a true hero!

Celebrity Texas Hold 'Em Tournament

CelebPoker.com announced today the start of their first celebrity Texas Hold 'Em tournament that will take place between July 30 and 31st at the Palm Beach Casino located in Mayfair, London.

There is a number of celebrities making appearances, mostly from sports and movies. The Grand Prize Pool is set at $120,000.

Celeb Poker also gave out plans for another event in September that will take place at the Star City Stanley Casino Grand Prix event in Birmingham.

Casinos in Russia - Out of control?

Since the Casino law in Russia changed by the end 2002, there are 28 brand new casinos, and the total number of slots has dramatically increased to 70,000. A lot of Russian Casinos also offer arm-wrestling and cock fighting inside their establishements.

This out of control explosion for Gambling in Russia has many people in the goverment concerned. The minister for development of sports and culture is allowed to issue gambling licenses with no authority in decisions from city governments.

Lawmakers in the country`s parliament have proposed a revised law that would limit to each region inside Moscow up to 4 casinos, plus a max of 8 casinos in the center of the Russian Capital.

Random Las Vegas photos

My close friend Patrick is staying right now in Las Vegas, and he forwarded to me these three pictures. Many more coming soon!
Have a good one Patrick, say hi to Rachel for me!

Gambling in Canada going strong

Gambling in Canada is regulated by the government. A latest survey shows that there are around 87,000 gambling machines, 60 land based casinos and over 30,000 lottery ticket kiosks making big money for this $13-billion industry. And now profits related to Gambling give the government a whopping $6.3 billion each year, a number that comes close to profit from taxes on gas and liquor.

Canadian Gambling had an impressive rise in the 1990s, but it seems that it is still going strong. The Canadian Government still generates a lot of income from table games, lottery tickets and of course slot machines that can be litteraly found everywhere, from clubs to convenient stores.

WSOP to reach $100 millions!

It seems that the World Series of Poker is slowly but steady becoming The No1 event for poker fans from all over the world. Organizers announced today that the prize pool for the tournament will reach $100 million. This number is double from the one a year ago, which was also a record.

Despite only the first 19 events have passed, there are over 13,500 people already registered to participate, and the total prize money is over $23.5 million so far.

Empire Poker takes a hit

EmpirePoker.com shares took a 15% dive after the latest negative news regarding the Party Poker IPO that will occur on June 30. The US Justice Department made a statement that more or less says that it is illegal and subject to prosecution.

Empire Poker, uses the exact same software and makes most of its money from a white label website. The company`s share went almost 8% up for their 1st day in the stock market.

Noam Lanir, the chief executive for Empire said that "The placing and flotation on the alternative Investment Market market of the London Stock Exchange will enable us to consolidate and build on our rapid growth,".

Empire presents itself as a marketing company, that has white label and affiliate sites using the Party Poker platform.

Erik Seidel Wins the World Series of Poker Bracelet

Erik Seidel is the top prize winner No-Limit Hold 'em event for the 2005 World Series of Poker. He won $611,795 as well as the World Series of Poker bracelet in the tournament.

Seidel is a member of the Full Tilt Poker, a group of the world's top professional poker players. This is the 2nd victory for Full Tilt Poker, and all 10 WSOP events have broken all records for biggest number of participants.

FullTiltPoker.com brings together 26 of the best poker players in the world, and anyone can compete against them and improve their game. These players spends time on tables and chat to help new amateur players to play better poker.

US Government watches PartyPoker closely

PartyGaming PLC, one of the biggest internet poker companies and home of PartyPoker.com is going public by the end of this month. However, the United States Justice Department has announced that this move is subject to prosecution under US law.

Party Poker and its activities are seen as illegal by a lot of Americans and the United States Goverment, but the firm says that online poker sites are excluded from the gambling legislation.

The whole deal is estimated to go up to $8 billion, but the finalized share price is expected to be announced on June 27. The company estimates the share price to be between 111 and 127 pence per share.

Photo: Mystic Lake Casino

A nice picture of the Mystic Lake Casino sent to my e-mail by Soula V.

Keep them coming, but don`t forget to keep the camera steady ;)))

PokerPages Player Statistics

Gaming portal PokerPages.com announced today the launch of their newest tool, the PokerPages Player Statistics database. The new tool tracks and displays stats for individual players from around the world, as well as stats by game played.

The tool appears on a perfect timing, while the World Series of Poker event is still running. You can track participating players fast, and study the interesting results. Everybody now can see who is the current number one player for their favorite game, who is top money winner and more.

InterCasino is voted Top Online Casino

One of the first Internet Casinos, InterCasino.com was awarded 'Top Online Casino 2005', from magazine Casino Player.

Last year InterCasino went home with the award for 'Fastest Payouts for an Online Casino', but this title is even more prestigious. Ryan Hartley, the Online Casino's manager said that the combined efforts of all employees for the last year, make InterCasino better than ever.

"These are some amazing news, I would like give a big thank you to everybody for the hard work, and of course to thank the readers themselves for voting for us.

888.com now available for Mas users

Popular online casino 888.com announced today that their casino software will now be available for Mac users. There are a lot of Macintosh users out there who until now where not able to play at the online casino.

There is also a brand new section on the 888.com website specifically for the Mac users to browse the different sections, check the game previews and of course download the casino software on their computers.

The website features a gambling school for players that are not familiar with each game's rules, full of information and strategies. 888.com also offers an Initial Bonus up to $200 free to get started.

Mike Herea, the Casino's Promotional Manager said that there might be some additional good news for Macintosh users in the near future.

Casino de Montreal Ad

Here is an advertisement for the Casino De Montreal that can actually be found in the streets of the city. Nice eh?

Online Poker goes to the Grand Prix

InterPoker.com, one of the biggest Online Poker Rooms, announced today a deal that will allow them to broadcast TV commercials for their Poker and Casino websites during the Montreal Grand Prix that takes place this Sunday June 12th in Montreal.

This is a result of the growing popularity for Internet Poker in Canada. Canadian Poker is becoming so popular that according to Michael Caselli, editor of Bluff Magazine (a Canadian publication for poker players), Poker "is even becoming as popular as the Grand Prix itself"

InterPoker has been advertising themselves on your TV for quite some time. They created the reality show ‘Caribbean Poker Classic’, where players battle against each other for $1 million in a poker tournament that takes place in the island of St. Maarten.

Search Engines loose first battle

Yahoo, Google, Ask Jeeves and 10 other big search engines lost today the first battle in a lawsuit filed by two online casino players. The lawsuit is about the advertisements that appear on Internet search results, and specifically the ads that promote online casinos.

The 2 gamblers are saying that they lost a vast amount of money by playing in online casino websites that they found using these search engines.

And according to Judge Richard Kramer in San Francisco, the case can go on to the next step which is gathering evidence.

Casino Lights

Some wonderful new pictures by Crissy M.
I love this kind of casino lights pictures, reminds me of Vegas

GSA summit for Casino Games future.

The Gaming Standards Association is organizing a summit for industry professionals from 45 companies, to discuss the latest news and changes regarding the future of downloadable casino games.

The association is planning to make a proposal of their Downloadable Games BOB Standards, and they want to present this proposal at this year's Global Gaming Expo that is taking place in Las Vegas this September.

Last weeek a law was proposed by the goverment that allows Wireless Casino Gambling inside Nevada casinos. So the interest of the Gaming Standards Association is for this huge revolution in the way casino games are being played in Las Vegas casinos.

Online Bingo growing fast

It is estimated that by the end of next year more than 250,000 players will joining an online bingo website, while spending over $1 million per day.

Gala Bingo, Virgin and Yahoo.com have announced they will soon be offering bingo games online, fighting the battle for the biggest bingo company.

ThinkBingo.com, is one of the biggest bingo players out there. They introduced a system that allows members to play next to each other just like in a real bingo hall. Think Bingo was launched last August and its players are already winning over £35,000 in prizes every day.

"There are more bingo players in this world than poker players. And everyone knows how to play bingo, its very easy." says Dylan Schlosberg from the company.

World Series of Poker begins!

The World Series of Poker event has begun! It takes place at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas from June 2 2005 until July 15 2005.

All events start at 12 noon and finals tables next day start at 2p.m.

Below is the schedule

Date Event # Tournament (click for structure) Buy-In
June 2, Thursday 1 Casino Employee No-limit Hold'em $500
June 3, Friday 2 No-limit Hold'em $1,500
June 4, Saturday 3 Pot-limit Hold'em $1,500
June 5, Sunday 4 Limit Hold'em $1,500
June 6, Monday 5 Omaha Hi-low Split $1,500
June 7, Tuesday 6 Short Handed (6/table) No-limit Hold'em $2,500
June 8, Wednesday 7 No-limit Hold'em w/rebuys $1,000
June 9, Thursday 8 Seven Card Stud $1,500
June 10, Friday 9 No-limit Hold'em $2,000
June 11, Saturday 10 Limit Hold'em $2,000
June 12, Sunday 11 Pot-limit Hold'em $2,000
June 13, Monday 12 Pot-limit Omaha w/re-buys $2,000
June 14, Tuesday 13 No-limit Hold'em $5,000
June 15, Wednesday 14 Seven Card Stud Hi-low Split $1,000
June 16, Thursday 15 Limit Hold'em Shootout $1,500
June 17, Friday 16 No-limit Hold'em Shootout $1,500
June 18, Saturday 17 Limit Hold'em $2,500
June 19, Sunday 18 Seven Card Stud Hi-low Split, 2p.m. start $2,000
June 19, Sunday 19 Pot Limit Omaha $1,500
June 20, Mon. 20 Pot-limit Hold'em $5,000
June 21, Tuesday 21 Omaha Hi-low Split $2,500
June 22, Wednesday 22 No-limit Hold'em $1,500
June 23, Thursday 23 Seven Card Stud $5,000
June 24, Friday 24 No-Limit Hold'em $2,500
June 25, Saturday 25 Pot-limit Hold'em $2,500
June 26, Sunday 26 Ladies Event No-limit Hold'em, 11a.m. start, 1 day event $1,000
June 26, Sunday 27 Pot-limit Omaha w/re-buys, 2p.m. start $5,000
June 27, Monday 28 Limit Hold'em $5,000
June 28, Tuesday 29 No-limit Hold'em $2,000
June 29, Wednesday 30 Seven Card Razz 1 day event, 2p.m. start $1,500
June 29, Wednesday 31 No-limit Hold'em-Short handed 6/table $5,000
June 30, Thursday 32 Omaha hi-low split $5,000
July 1, Friday 33 No-limit Hold'em $3,000
July 2, Saturday 34 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em, 1day event $1,000
July 2, Saturday 35 Pot-limit Omaha, 2p.m. start $10,000
July 3, Sunday 36 Limit Holdem $3,000
July 4, Monday 37 No-limit Hold'em w/re-buys $1,000
July 5, Tuesday 38 Super satellite day (10a.m./3p.m./8p.m.) $1,000
July 5, Tuesday 39 No-limit 2 to 7 Draw Lowball w/re-buys $5,000
July 6, Wednesday 40 Super satellite day (9a.m./2p.m./9p.m.)
July 6, Wednesday 41 Media/Celebrity Charity Event at 6p.m. (one day event)

No-limit Texas Hold’em World Championship Event


Date Event # Tournament Buy-In
July 7, Thursday 42 Day 1A, The first 1,000 - 2,200 play down to 500-650 $10,000
July 8, Friday Day 1B, The second 1,000 - 2,200 play down to 500-650
July 9, Saturday Day 1C, The third 1,000 - 2,200 play down to 500-650
July 10, Sunday Day 2, Start with 1,500-1,950 play down to 500-1,000
July 11, Monday Day 3B, Start with 500-1,000 play down to 200-400
July 11, Monday 43 No-limit Hold'em, 1 day event $1,500
July 12, Tuesday Day 4, Start with 200 - 400 play down to 100-150
July 12, Tuesday 44 No-limit Hold'em, 1 day event $1,000
July 13, Wednesday Day 5, Start with 100-150 play down to 27
July 13, Wednesday 45 No-limit Hold'em, 1 day event $1,000
July 14, Thursday Day 6, Start with 27 play down 9 @Binions Horseshoe
July 15, Friday Day 7, Final table @Binions Horseshoe

New York New York

3 wonderful pictures from Janice. You can see the famous New York New York casino in Las Vegas.
I went there last year and had a blast, my wife won over $4000 that night playing BlackJack!

Minh Nguyen on PokerHost.com

Minh Nguyen is a professional poker player with two WSOP bracelets, many finals appearances. He wants to win a third championship at World Series of Poker this year, this time with PokerHost.

Last year Minh Nguyen finished 24th at the WSOP Main Event and had 7 cash outs in just one WSOP season!

He has been playing poker now for over 14 years, started during his 4 years army service playing a seven card stud variation called "follow the deuce".

Wynn Las Vegas announces profits

Las Vegas most expensive hotel and casino, announced their gambling revenue of $64.3 million US in its first 34 days of operation. Wynn Las Vegas results are exceeding a lot of people's expectations.

This news will help Wynn Resorts Ltd.'s stock, which fell down after the resort's grand opening. This happened because one gambling analyst downgraded the Casino and another expressed concern about the gaming market for Vegas in general.


Related posts:
http://www.online-casino-blog.com/2005/05/wynn-casino-photos.html
http://www.online-casino-blog.com/2005/04/new-las-vegas-casino-is-ready.html
http://www.online-casino-blog.com/2005/04/wynn-casino-las-vegas-opens-its-doors.html

Wireless Gaming Devices in Vegas?

The Nevada authorities have approved a new bill that allows the use of handhelds and wireless gaming devices while inside casinos.

So now someone can go to a restaurant for dinner, rest by the pool, or even dance in a club while placing bets on slot machines and video poker games.

The whole deal has to go to the Nevada Gaming Commission while companies making the devices continue to fight for who will be the first to actually offer this kind of technology. And if everything works out, these devices will start to pop up on casinos very soon.