You Lucky Chance Casinos - Online Casinos for US Players

Poker Cards Over the past couple of years, the online gambling industry, which is comprised largely of online poker and online casino sites, has been concerned about how the rules of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act would affect business. It turns out that lawmakers may be hurting the online gaming industry more by legalizing additional casino options.

In the past, the only thing that has hindered a billion dollar online gambling industry in the US has been the perception that the government sees online gambling as illegal. Those worries grew even larger when the government created the UIGEA back in 2006. At the time, online gaming sites did not know exactly how the new law would affect business.

Fast forward to 2010, and there is a new concern for online casinos, and it comes in the form of land-based casino gambling. Many states around the US are expanding their gambling options, and for every casino that is built, more customers are stolen from online casinos.

"Let's face it, there are pros and cons to both land based and online casino gambling," said Gaming Analyst Noah Black. "But for people who are looking for a night out and social interaction, they will always turn to land-based casinos. There is no doubt that the breakdown of gambling prohibition across the US will have a significant impact on Internet gambling."

A case in point is the state of Pennsylvania. Up until this summer, Pennsylvania residents have had no local options to enjoy games such as blackjack, craps, and roulette. Lawmakers changed that, however, earlier this year when they legalized table games at state casinos. Now, gamblers in Pennsylvania no longer have to go online to enjoy their favorite games.

Some advantages do still exist for the online casinos. Gamblers have their families and jobs to worry about, so they do not always have the time to go to a land-based casino. The Internet provides a convenient way for them to enjoy some gambling entertainment without having to ever leave the house.

Online gambling is in the midst of its biggest boom ever in the US, and lawmakers have tried their best to stop the growth. Indirectly, many legislators on the state level may have helped the cause by turning to expanded casino gambling during the recession. The addition of casinos around the US may have accomplished something that the UIGEA never could, tearing Americans away from their computers and online gambling sites.

Kevin Harvick Daytona International Speedway is a legendary racetracks for NASCAR drivers and fans, and on Saturday night the track produced another great finish. The Coke Zero 400 was won by Kevin Harvick, sending some gamblers home happy.

NASCAR has become one of the more popular sports to gamble on at online sports books. The odds that are given to each driver can be upwards of ten to one, and although the amount of drivers are great, a winning ticket can produce big returns.

The Coke Zero 400 was one of those races that catered to the bettors. Kevin Harvick had already won once this year, and the second win came Saturday during the rain-delayed race at Daytona.

On Friday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. dusted off the old number three that his father famously made a household number. Earnhardt Jr., who has been struggling in recent years, brought his crew chief to tears when he won the Nationwide Series event at Daytona.

The Coke Zero race Saturday was slowed by a nineteen car collision that occurred with just twelve laps remaining. The race was delayed for twenty minutes while everything was cleaned up, and when the race resumed, Harvick seized control.

The win kept Harvick on top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings for at least another week. Jimmy Johnson, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, and Tony Stewart were just a few of the drivers who had their dreams of winning end in the massive collision.

A previous draft of a bill proposed by Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo to legalize casino gaming in the Bay State had included language that would make participating in an online gambling site a felony offense. Players arrested under the law could have faced a $25,000 fine or up to two years in state prison. After meetings with industry groups and members of the Poker Players Alliance, Speaker DeLeo amended the bill to remove the line criminalizing internet gambling.

The PPA, a group of online poker industry experts, professional poker players and recreational enthusiasts of the game, organized a mass e-mail campaign to twenty-five thousand Massachusetts members. The e-mail message asked them to contact their state representative to speak out against the online poker criminalization clause in the bill. Members responded by sending e-mails and making telephone calls to state lawmakers, expressing their outrage at the proposed measure.

PPA leaders voiced their approval of the new amendments. Executive Director John Pappas said that he was "proud" of the group's Massachusetts contingent for "[stepping] up to the plate and (making) their voices heard" and called the efforts "grassroots at its finest". Rich Muny, the director of the group's Kentucky chapter, said that the Massachusetts branch had been asked to "call of the dogs" after their successful campaign led to the desired changes.

Another amendment to the bill under consideration is that poker should be defined as a "game of skill" instead of a "game of chance." PPA leaders are also urging members to contact their legislators to support this measure, as it would protect poker from future prohibitions against casino gaming.

Thus far, only the State of Washington has labeled internet poker as a crime. Officials in Kentucky have sought to have the domain names of leading internet poker sites, such as PokerStars, Full Tilt and Ultimate Bet, seized under the state's law on illegal gambling devices.

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The big story from the 41st World Series of Poker as the tournament moves into its 27th day is that international star Phil Ivey, who did not seem to be creating fireworks in the many events he has entered, has fired up to win his eighth WSOP gold bracelet.

Continuing our daily reportage on the various events, Ayaz Mahood has emerged the victor in his endurance test of a heads up against Ernst Schmejkal in event 35, the $10,000 buy-in Heads-up No-Limit Hold'em World Championship.

Mahmood, who is a Texas resident, won nine consecutive heads-up matches over four tough days and against some of the world's best to take home his first bracelet and $625,682.

The two played a best of three format, with the first clash an epic heads up between Mahmood and Schmejkal that lasted for almost six-and-a-half hours - the third-longest in WSOP records. The second and decider was a lot faster as Mahmood used a significant chip advantage to despatch his opponent, obviating the need for a third match.

The two finalists survived an original stellar 256-player field that included formidable players like Tom Dwan, Andrew Lichtenberger, Issac Baron, Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Howard Lederer, Andy Bloch, Phil Ivey, Jonathan Little, Terrence Chan, Sorel Mizzi, Scott Clements, David Williams, Phil Gordon and Bertrand Grospellier.

Venessa Rousso looked like a surefire winner at one point, leading the final eight contestants, but it was not to be, and it was Mahmood who stood up from the table at 5am Tuesday to claim the victory.

Tuesday evening saw Day 3 action completed at level 23 in event 36 - the $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em competition, with the tenth spot elimination of Daniel Carbonari setting up the final table of nine, led by Sebastien Roy on 1,867,000; Timothy Beeman on 1,788,000 and Daniel Fuhs on 1,251,000.

38 survivors from an entry field of 3,102 returned to the tables Tuesday afternoon, chasing chip leaders John Clancy (774,000) and Josh Goldstein. The action was fast and furious, and the final table nine were reached in under five hours, with great players like Svetlana Gromenkova. John Clancy, Peter Traply and Josh Goldstein all falling by the wayside.

This week's winner attracting the most publicity was victorious in event 37 - the $3,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E., where Phil Ivey finally managed to nail down his eighth WSOP bracelet against truly top quality opposition.

The final table was like a who's who of top players, featuring Jeffrey Lisandro, John Juanda, Bill Chen, Kenneth Aldridge, Chad Brown, David Baker, Albert Hahn and Ryan Hughes; between them holding 18 WSOP gold bracelets and over $14 million in WSOP and circuit winnings.

Ivey ended a tough day by overcoming heads up opponent Bill Chen to claim fourth spot with Erik Seidel on the highly respected list of players who have won the most bracelets at the World Series.

Ivey was among the experienced and talented 25 surviving players who sat down on the third day of the H.O.R.S.E. competition. It appeared to be the stud games that gave him the best opportunities, and Ivey certainly despatched at least five of the final table players as the game progressed, and dominated the heads up to win the bracelet and $329,840.

26 players reported for a third day of excitement Tuesday afternoon in event 38, a $10,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Hold'em World Championship contest, with Peter Jetten leading a field that started Day 1 numbering 268 hopefuls.

Surviving along with Jetten were experts like Marco Traniello, Noah Boeken, Sandra Naujoks, Amnon Fillipi and Amit Makhija, although like Jetten none would still be standing by late evening Tuesday.

4 players were left at that stage with chip counts as follows:

Valdemar Kwaysser 3,730,000
Konstantin Bucherl 1,915,000
James Calderaro 1,650,000
Matt Marafioti 700,000

In the run-up to the final four, the eliminations occurred like this:

Dani Stern Eliminated in 5th Place ($161,934)
Tom Marchese Eliminated in 6th Place ($123,264)
Peter Jetten Eliminated in 7th Place ($94,394)
Blair Rodman Eliminated in 8th Place ($72,754)
Alexander Kuzmin Eliminated in 9th Place ($56,404)

In event 39, a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em Shootout, a field of almost 1,400 players was down to 140 as Day 2 started Tuesday afternoon Vegas time.

Ten hours later the field was down to just 16, with the most recent three survivors advancing to the final including Michael Pesek, Annette Obrestad and Justin Scott.

Vladimir Schemelev on 260,000 currently leads the last 24 players left alive in event 40 - the $2,500 buy-in Seven-Card Razz competition, which attracted a field of 365 and late Tuesday night was well into Day 2.

The successful Russian player was being chased by Maxwell Troy (235,000) and Frank Kassela (208,000), with the most recent eliminations including previous main event champion Joe Hachem, Hasan Habib and Allen Bari.

160 players started Day 2 action Tuesday afternoon, with only 24 still in late night action as InfoPowa went to press.

Last year, event 41 - the $1,500 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better contest attracted 762 entrants, and official figures this week indicate that the event this year has improved on that at 847.

Among them are poker luminaries like Ari Engel, Scott Seiver, Barny Boatman, Barry Shulman, Erick Lindgren, Erica Shoenberg, David Williams, Andy Black, Kevin McPhee, Kathy Liebert, Justin Young, Jonathan Little, Bill Chen, Shannon Shorr, Perry Friedman, Lee Childs and Neil Channing.

Day 1 action started Tuesday afternoon and by late into the night had been completed, with 171 players left, headed by Mike Chappus on 133,400, Barry Greenstein (83,000) and Spencer Lawrence (79,500).

It appears from statements made by the Australian federal government's Community Minister, Jenny Macklin, that the federal government will not support any moves to liberalise online gambling laws in the country.

Speaking on SBS television Tuesday after the release of an extensive and much anticipated Productivity Commission report on gambling, which recommended that regulation was preferable to prohibition, the minister unequivocally said the recommendation would not be supported

Minister Jacklin also said the government would look at 'pre commitment' technology to tackle problem gambling at (land) slot machines, or 'pokies'. The phrase 'pre-commitment' refers to responsible gambling practices whereby operators allow players to set their own limits prior to gambling, a precaution which is said to contribute to combating problem gambling.

The Productivity Commission's recommendation on land gambling 'pokies' are that the maximum bet on a gaming machine would be cut to A$1 and that a maximum A$20 (down from the current A$10,000) input could be implemented by using new technology.

Macklin said there may be no need for other regulatory measures - there was however 'important work to be done to develop pre-commitment.' "The community wants us to address this issue (of problem gambling)", she said.

Macklin said the federal Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, would try to establish a select committee to act on the recommendations, involving the Australian Securities and Investments Commission councils, three Commonwealth government bodies who regulate financial services Downunder.

"We will discuss these issues with states and territories...there are various rules about caps on machines, so we have to discuss that with them," the minister said.

There appeared to be little indication that federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy was softening his position on internet gambling, either.

Conroy is already embroiled in a controversial internet censorship issue, and this week said Australia would examine the possibility of a more effective regime examining the impact of gambling over the internet and mobile phones.

The Productivity Commission estimates there were between 80,000 and 160,000 Australian adults suffering severe problems from gambling. There are additionally 230,000 to 350,000 people at moderate risk, experiencing lower levels of harm, who could advance to problem gambling, which costs the nation A$4.7 billion a year and should be tackled in a similar way to binge drinking, the Commission recommends.

In addition to the wider ramifications of addictive gambling, the report singled out "pokies" or (land-based) electronic poker machines commonly found in hotels, as an area of policy interest.

The Commission estimated that about 600,000 Australians - or 4% of the population - play the games at least once a week. About 15% of those players, or 100,000 people, are considered "problem gamblers", the report said. They account for about 40% of total spending on the machines.

"The risks of problem gambling are low for people who only play lotteries and scratchies, but rise steeply with the frequency of gambling on table games, wagering and, especially, gaming machines," the report concluded.

The report noted that Australians spent over A$19 billion a year on gambling in 2008-09, for an average cost of about A$1500 per gambler, the report said.

The $10,000 buy-in main event preliminary heats at the 41st World Series of Poker in Las Vegas continued to steadily whittle down the Day 1 entry fields Friday afternoon as the first of the Day 2 heats started out. 2,412 survivors from Days 1a and 1c were headed in the chip counts by Corwin Cole (228,000) as cards hit the air in the next stage of event 57, the main event No-Limit Hold'em Championship competition.

Still in the field were double Main Event champion Johnny Chan; the $50,000 Players' Champion, Michael Mizrachi and top caliber players like Barny Boatman, Sammy Farha, Carter Phillips, and Hoyt Corkins.

Multiple WSOP bracelet holder Jesper Hougaard, and internet high stakes cash game specialists Patrik Antonius and Cole South were also on the table lists.

By the time play reached 4 levels over a thousand of the entrants had been eliminated, including Dennis Phillips, Matt Glantz, Lee Markholt, Greg Mueller, Brock Parker, James Akenhead, Marcel Luske, Rob Hollink and David Bach.

Other high profile casualties included Carlos Mortensen, Berry Johnston, Tom McEvoy and Bobby Baldwin, along with 2010 bracelet winners Dutch Boyd and Daniel Alaei.

At level 8 tournament officials called for the chips to be bagged as Day 2a was concluded, with 1,359 players ready to go through to Day 3 and Boulos Estafanous in the lead on 344,100, closely pursued by Randy Dorfman on 337,000.

With Day 2b up next, competition for the winner's prize of $8,944,138 is still wide open.

The UK media is speculating that a clash between bookmaking firms and the horseracing industry may be imminent over falling income from the levy paid by bookies to support the British horseracing industry.

The industry is concerned at last year's 20% decline to £91.6 million in the levy paid by bookies, which is based on a percentage of the money made from off-course betting. Adding to their worries are estimates that the 2010 levy is expected to drop to £76.5 million, a fall of a further 17%.

Horseracing authorities claim that the decline is caused by bookmakers "exploiting loopholes in the regulations," saying that one tactic has been to move online betting businesses offshore.

The levy is racing's principle funding stream and contributes to stable lad and jockey salaries as well as towards training and veterinary research and education. It flows primarily through prize money awarded for each race.

This Wednesday will see a board meeting at which horseracing authorities will decide on the new fee, which they want to structure so as to deliver a yield of between £130 million and £150 million. It is also expected that they will call on the UK government to close the loopholes such as those presented by UK companies moving their internet betting structures offshore..