Archive for September, 2010
The July numbers are in for Nevada gaming revenues and the news isn’t pretty. According to reports released this week, gaming revenues in Nevada fell almost 5 percent in July. This makes the fifth consecutive month that gaming revenues have declined in Nevada.
The strip fared slightly better because gaming revenues in July were almost equal to the gaming revenues reported in July 2009. It’s the non-strip casinos that seem to be suffering more.
According to the state Gaming Control Board, casinos statewide made a little more than $829 million from customers in July. This compares to the $872 million made from customers in July 2009.
Strip casinos actually saw a tiny increase in revenue, reporting an overall collection of $461.3 million, which is just $12,000 more than that reported in July 2009. As a whole, however, Nevada gaming revenues are down; the downtown casinos in Las Vegas are seeing one of the sharpest declines at 19 percent. Casinos in North Las Vegas reported an almost 24 percent decline.
Many construction and casino expansion projects in Las Vegas have been put on hold in recent months, but some developers believe that the declining revenues throughout Nevada are temporary and are continuing their expansion and development projects.
If you want to play online poker in a way that makes you feel like you’re really in the game, playing in real life at a felt table, you might want to check out Poker3.com, which boasts of true 3D with cinematic-quality avatars and real-life animations.
The 3D Texas Hold’em game offers the international Poker3 audience a real-life experience while playing online. The software was developed by BetSoftGaming, which is an industry leader in 3D gaming.
“We believe what Poker3 has achieved is unprecedented,” David Morgan, Poker3.com spokesperson, said in a press release. “We feel that this type of true to life 3D poker is the future of how the game will be played online. The user interface and game speed is carefully tailored to create a thrilling poker experience for professionals and new players alike.”
The software provides for a lavish playing experience that also ensures there are always tables available at a player’s preferred limits and blinds standards. There are a number of avatars players can choose from and they are added to regularly.
“Our exhaustive research and consultations with some of the world’s best poker players have provided a strong foundation for this visually stunning game,” said Morgan.
Any online player using a machine or device that supports Adobe Flash 10 can play 3D poker at Poker3.
Professional poker player Antonio ‘The Magician’ Esfandiari will co-host the British Poker Awards on Sept. 13.
The awards will also be hosted by Michael Caselli of Bluff Europe Magazine. The event will be held at London’s Kensington Close Hotel and is designed to honor the top players in variety of categories including best overall poker player, best tournament player, best online player, best UK card room and best cash player.
“Antonio is one of the game’s biggest personalities and I am so excited that he is the Master of Ceremonies at the first British Poker Awards,” Caselli said in a press release. “This awards night is a special event for the British poker scene, as we honor those who have made outstanding contributions to the game, but it’s also going to be a night where the poker playing public can come and meet their favorite players and watch the best players in the land receive their awards.”
Following the awards, those in attendance will be able to play in an optional £50 (about $75 American) No Limit Hold’em tournament.
Some of the nominees include Vicky Coren, Marty Wilson, Neil Channing, James Akenhead, Neil Channing, Tony Kendall and Tony Holden. Fans of the various nominees can vote for the winners at www.thebritishpokerfestival.com.
Customers of tribal casinos will be able to immediately being playing online poker, thanks to an agreement between Cake Gaming and Atlantic Internet Group. Tribal casinos in more than 30 US states will be supplied with the Cake Gaming software for immediate game play.
Once the gaming portals are active, ATIG will be providing the only online gaming network operating in more than one state at a time. Many believe that the new partnership will allow some of the ailing tribal casinos to see immediate and significant sales growth.
The CEO of ATIG, Donald L. Bailey, said a statement that the new partnership will help both the poker software company and the tribal casinos. He called it a “shot in the arm for tribes and states facing deficits nationwide.”
Currently, it’s unlawful to operate an online poker or online casinos platform in the United States. Americans who play online poker do so with online companies that operates offshore. Tribal casinos don’t have to abide by the same government law and many are looking into offering online gaming and poker playing as a way to boost revenue.
Football fans will enjoy the new promotion at Sportsbook.com. Called “The $15,000 Touchdown”, it’s sure to create fun Sundays for the football/poker fan.
The promotion runs throughout the month of September at Sportbook’s poker room. In essence, you get rewarded with VIP points each time you play at tournament tables or at any of the real money rings. Accumulate your points so you can get a down. Once you reach a down, you’ll get an instant cash payout and your point total will reset to zero. You’ll the move to the next level, or down.
When you complete all 10 downs, you will have earned more than $15,000.
According to Sportsbook.com, there are a limited number of prizes available at each level. The first people who reach specific levels will be the recipients of that level’s prize. The number of prizes reduces with each level of play.
Altogether, there are more than 5,000 cash prizes available worth a combined total of more than $700,000.
You won’t automatically be entered in this tournament. You have to click the “Activate $15,000 touchdown” button in your player administration portal to be eligible for the cash payouts.
For players new to Sportsbook, this might be a good time to make that first deposit. First deposits at Sportsbook are eligible for a 100% matching bonus worth up to $650. All new players are also entered into a $500 freeroll.
Perhaps in an effort to drum up more support and interest in his bill that will legalize online casinos and online poker, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) visited the Tonight Show with Jay Leno Thursday to talk gambling.
The bill, HR 2267, called the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act, is currently still working its way through committees before it gets to the house floor. The bill is intended to overturn the statutes of the UIGEA, or the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act, which became effective June 1.
Frank told Leno that the government – even in these lean times – is missing the financial boat by making illegal all online gaming and online poker playing. The government and U.S. citizens would benefit greatly from online gaming taxation, Frank said.
Frank said he’s also concerned in general with the government dictating what people can do in the privacy of their own homes.
“We now make it illegal for adults to gamble on the internet,” Frank said. “If you have some guy who wants to play poker on the internet, we say it’s illegal … We could make billions of dollars a year by making it legal and taxing it.”
The nominees for the Poker Hall of Fame 2010 have been announced; the induction ceremony will take place during November play of the final table of this year’s World Series of Poker.
Fans voted for the nominees at WSOP.com over the past two months and the top 10 individuals who received the most votes are the potential inductees. Now the voting process moves away from fans and toward poker experts.
The 10 nominees include: Phil Ivey, Tom McEvoy, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, Chris Ferguson, Jennifer Harman-Traniello, Linda Johnson, Barry Greenstein, Scotty Nguyen and Dan Harrington.
The Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council will select the final list of candidates eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame. The final nominees will be voted on by the 16 living members of the Hall of Fame and a media panel made up of 17 people.
The final voters will consider criteria such as how well the player has played against other top competition, how often the player has been in high-stakes games, and how well the player has played consistently, and how that play has stood the test of time. If the nominee is a non-player, the panel will consider how well the nominee has contributed to the overall success of the game of poker.
A Dutch committee has determined that online poker should be legal in Holland but that other online gaming should be illegal.
The six-member committee was established about a year ago to review the country’s online gaming policy and issued a report this week suggesting that while online poker was good, other forms of online gaming should be outlawed.
The committee said that because online poker is such a popular activity, it would be hard to restrict online poker to a state-owned entity and suggested that Dutch citizens continue to be allowed to play at online casinos that accept Dutch residents. It suggested that the country issue licenses to a number of different operators.
Sports betting and the lottery are currently allowed under existing laws, but the committee argued that online gaming like sports betting, bingo and online casinos should be illegal.
The decision was roundly criticized by the Remote Gambling Association, which said that while the regulation of online poker is a good thing, the exclusion of other online gaming is troubling. The RGA is a trade association that represents a number of online gaming operators based in Europe, including Bet365, Betfair, 888 and Ladbrokes.
Not every poker player feels comfortable getting himself into the World Poker Tour or the World Series of Poker. For those players who feel more like amateurs, there is a new tournament that might fill the bill.
The World Poker Tour Amateur Poker League recently partnered with the Tropicana Las Vegas to hold the inaugural World Poker Tour Amateur Championship from April 20 to April 23, 2011. The tournament will offer more than $160,000 in cash and prizes.
The Tropicana Casino, which is currently undergoing a $165-million transformation, and the Amateur Poker League are poised to create a partnership that both companies hope will benefit poker players. The tournament will offer play to players who have qualified from a variety of leagues and venues from around the world, similar to the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker. This tournament, however, will be specifically for the amateur player.
The president of the Tropicana is excited about the new partnership.
“It’s an exceptional combination of best-in-class brands and Tropicana is honored to be considered home to the thousands of WPTAPL members,” said Tom McCartney, president and COO of Tropicana Las Vegas in a press release.
For more information about the amateur championship, visit www.wptapl.com.
Players who collect blackjack chips will want to head to the Agua Caliente Casino Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage. The new Blackjack felts and chips feature designs highlighting entertainers like Sheryl Crow, Huey Lewis, Billy Idol and others.
The casino commissioned the $5 chips and felts from Gaming Partners International. The Paulson brand chips are made of 13 different components and are thermo-compressed; they are generally called “clay chips”. The inlays are customized with the various entertainer photos.
The chips feature the faces of entertainers who are booked at The Show, the resort’s concert venue. Because there are a limited number of chips produced, they might prove to be highly valuable to collectors.
“We wanted to bring more excitement to the casino floor and showcase the fantastic talent we have booked in The Show,” said Michael Dickson, director of table games at the Agua Caliente in a press release. “How great is it that our guests can now say they’ve played with Billy Idol and Sheryl Crow?”
Dickson said that players were also excited about the chips. He expects them to be a hot commodity.
Visit www.hotwatercasino.com for more information about Agua Caliente gaming.
