According to some, the government of Penang is not doing a good enough job of blocking online gambling activity. A group in the Malaysian state said that the state government is not paying enough attention to cyber cafes that operate online gambling games. , In Malaysia, land-based gambling is allowed for non-Muslims, but all online gambling is banned for both citizens and visitors. Throughout the year, the Malaysian government has conducted several raids to crack down on illegal online gambling activity. According to some opponents, though, the state of Penang is not doing enough. A group called Pertiga (Pertubuhan Islam [ Read More ]
If you have an extra $150,000 (or more) burning a hole in your pocket and you’re a poker fan you just might check out an upcoming auction from deigner STAHL which will sell a high-end luxury poker chip set to the highest bidder. The poker chips are valued at $150,000 and come with the sort of luxury you’d expect, with the “Meteorite” chip set including diamond-encrusted chips filled with fragments from an actual meteorite. Each chip is encased in 18-karat white gold and studded with diamonds, Burmese rubies, and Sri Lankan sapphires, with the case they come in fashioned from Swedish calf skin [ Read More ]
The popular Beach Life progressive slots jackpot has not only reached a record high but it is now past the $5 million mark as well, offering players the chance to become a millionaire five times over with just one spin of the virtual reels. Slots fans at Europa Casino have been trying for months to take down the jackpot but so far it has proven elusive, with the progressive jackpot swelling to record proportions over the last 200 days since it was last hit. The previous record payout for Beach Life was two years ago when a $4,248,572 jackpot was [ Read More ]
Groupe Bernard Tapie has reached a deal with the US Department of Justice that could result in the sale of online poker site Full Tilt and a potential refund of money owed to former customers. The deal would see Full Tilt forfeit its assets to the US government, which would in turn sell them to Groupe Bernard Tapie for $80 million. The US government would then be responsible for refunding the estimated $150 million owed by Full Tilt to former US customers, with Groupe Bernard Tapie refunding money owed to international players. While the US Department of Justice has signed [ Read More ]
Despite worries of tightening credit in China gambling revenues in Macau continue to soar, with a new record set in October for total gambling revenue taken in. October eclipsed the previous record set in August, with about $3.36 billion in gambling revenues generated in October in Macau (which is on pace to do roughly five times what the Las Vegas Strip will pull in for 2011). Revenues were up 42% over the same period in 2010, with one of China’ “golden week” holidays helping boost numbers for October. Macau offers the only legal opportunity for many Chinese residents to gamble, [ Read More ]
The Beach Life progressive slots jackpot has passed the $4.5 million mark and is now in record territory and closing in on a $5 million jackpot. Slots fans at Europa Casino have been taking aim at Beach Life for months but to no avail, with the progessive jackpot growing into one of the largest online. The previous record payout for Beach Life was two years ago when one lucky players hit a $4,248,572 jackpot but the average jackpot win on the popular slots game is $1.8 million, so it’s now long overdue for a hit. Mega Moolah at All Slots Casino [ Read More ]
A new Main Event champion has been crowned, with German Pius Heinz winning the 2011 WSOP Main Event and taking home more than $8.7 million in cash and the unofficial world championship of the poker world. Heinz defeated Martin Staszko of the Czech Republic after a long heads-up battle that saw the young German overcome a 4-1 chip disadvantage at one point to finally prevail and take down the victory. Staszko collected $5,430,928 for his runner-up finish, with American Ben Lamb finishing third for $4,019,635. The 2011 Main Event drew nearly 7,000 entrants at the Rio in Las Vegas during July, with [ Read More ]
An interesting debate has crept into the issue of regulating online gambling in the United States. Previously most of the opposition to federal online gambling regulation has been from those morally opposed to gambling. There has also been opposition from owners of tribal casinos and, for a time, from the brick and mortar casinos in Las Vegas (though they have changed their position). Now there is a debate about whether federal regulation would help or hurt the states. Martin O’Malley, the governor of Maryland, sent a letter to the House of Representatives saying that federal online gambling would hurt his [ Read More ]
The Nevada Gaming Control Board continues to debate and examine possible regulations for offering online poker to state residents, looking to be well-positioned to offer online gambling if US laws change to allow it. The debated proposals are in response to Governor Brian Sandoval granting the Nevada Gaming Commission the authority to adopt regulations for Internet poker. The regulations currently include require operators of online games to hold a certain amount of money in cash reserves to cover player deposits as well as security policies in place to prevent underage gambling. With the general framework in place the current discussions [ Read More ]
888 has just released its third quarter earnings which show poker revenues up a whopping 120% over the same period in 2010, with online poker revenues jumping from $8 million to $18 million. 888 has been better known for its popular 888 casino site but the company has seen strong growth in its poker product since the release of its newest Poker 6 platform. Poker revenues for the first 6 months of the year are up a more modest 22%, with some of the gains also coming at the expense of Full Tilt as the woes of that company caused [ Read More ]
