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..

Three more gold bracelets have been awarded to players at the 41st World Series of Poker over the past twenty-four hours as the world's biggest poker spectacular closes in on the much-anticipated Main Event 57.

Michael Linn bested an entry field of 2,543 in event 49, the last of the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em contests this year, in Day 3 action. The field was reduced to 290 players by the end of Day 2, and just 23 started Day 3, with Linn holding the overnight chip lead.

Taylor Larkin shone on Day 3 of the competition, taking out much of the opposition and entering the nine man final table as chip leader, facing Michael Linn, Mikhai Manole, Benjamin Smith, along with Tyler Cornell, Erle Mankin, Justin Zaki, Alexander Kuzmin and Chadwick Grimes. The last five players all busted out within two levels as the action mounted.

Cheered on by uncle Barry Greenstein, Linn ultimately entered the heads up late Wednesday night against Larkin in a close-fought and exciting finale in which Larking almost managed to snatch the game despite having to fight back from two crippling losses.

Larkin's 2nd Placing was worth $378,905, whilst Linn claimed his first WSOP bracelet and the $609,493 main prize.

In event 50 - a $5,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha competition, Chance Kornuth (24) emerged triumphant from a tense final table when he dispatched Kevin Boudreau to the rail after a heads-up battle in which at one point, Boudreau threatening to call the clock if Kornuth didn't stop thinking and make a move. The tactic misfired when Boudreau was told that Kornuth was still within the limits, and it appeared to motivate the winner to take his challenger out.

31 players had earlier started the final day of action in the event, with Robert Mizrachi in the lead and some very competent players still in the running. By the time the final table was reached, most of them had been eliminated, although Mizrachi remained a threat.

With the elimination in third place of Danny Smith, Kornuth and Boudreau commenced the lengthy heads up, notable for its at times aggressive dialogue between the two players. Boudreau suffered a massive loss late in the clash and in the end it was Kornuth who claimed his second WSOP cash, his first bracelet and the main prize of $508,090.

Boudreau's runner-up prize was worth $313,792.

Event 51, the $3,000 buy-in Triple Chance No-Limit Hold'em competition entered Day 3 Thursday afternoon with just 12 players, all that was left of the original field of 965.

Jon Eaton held the chip lead, well ahead of his nearest rival Frank Rusnak. By midnight Thursday the winner was not one of the bigger stacks at the start of the day; Ryan Welch, who had begun play on Day 3 around fifth or sixth on the chip list, won his first bracelet and the $559,371 first prize.

When Guillaume Darcourt was sent packing in third place for $223,459 it set the scene for the two hour heads up between Welch and Jon Eaton, a clash that turned out to be more than a little exciting.

Although starting at a 1.5 to 1 disadvantage, Welch clawed his way back into the game as the two players went up and down in chips, vying for the top spot. Around halfway into the heads up Welch began to gain the ascendancy, but by the final hand the players were almost even again.

Welch then initiated a big river shove to force the rest of Eaton's stack into the pot just slightly covered. When he turned over the nuts he ran over to his delighted wife on the rail, leaving Eaton with the second placing consolation of $344,830.

Late Thursday night there were still 20 players slugging it out in event 52, the $25,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em Six Handed contest, after a day which started with 69 survivors from the original field of 191.

Alexander Gruibem started the day with the chip lead, pursued by Jason Sommerville and Sam Trickett - all ahead of a hungry pack intent on making the money bubble at position 18, with pros like Isaac Haxton, Daniel Negreanu, John Juanda, Frank Kassela, Vanessa Rousso, Sorel Mizzi, Barry Greenstein, Scott Seiver and Phil Galfond still in the running.

Late night Thursday level 19 had been reached and the money was in sight as 20 players battled to stay in at least as far as position 18, where the cash kicks in at $58,699 in this expensive tournament.

Holding the lead on 2 million was Bryn Kennedy, chased by Abe Mosseri on 1.47 million and Frank Kassela (1 million). Average chip stacks over the field were 716,250.

The action was still in progress late Thursday night after event 53 - the $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold'em Shootout went into Day 2 that afternoon with 63 players following a disqualification on which no information was made available. 548 players registered for the field originally.

The objective - to reduce the field to just 8 on a final table.

By late night Thursday all but one of the final table positions had been decided, with the list as follows: Michael Schneider, Jonathan Little, Terrence Chan, Sijbrand Maal, Ben Yu, Brendan Taylor, Joseph Mcgowan. Vying for the final place were Brian Tate on 200,000 and Feming Chan on 160,000. One of the two will go home while the other will advance to the final table

The last of the popular $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em events, number 54, predictably attracted a massive entry field which will be run off in two Day 1 heats initially.

Day 1a, which started Thursday afternoon saw 2,340 entrants taking their seats with almost every recognisable name in international poker among the field.

By late night Thursday the surviving 350 had reached level 9 when Day 1a was wrapped - a remarkable attrition rate of around a player every four minutes.

Leading the Day 1a field is Eelke Arjaans on 75,550, Alan Keating on 62,000 and Ron Schutsky on 62,000.

Big names who did not survive the day included Tom Dwan, Chris Ferguson, Matt Hawrilenko, Berry Johnston, Faraz Jaka, Dennis Phillips, Brandon Canto, Scott Montgomery, Allen Kessler and Dwyte Pilgrim.

On the positive side, those going into Day 2 will include: Liv Boeree, Tony Dunst, Nikolay Evdakov, Shannon Shorr, and Kara Scott.

Event 55, the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha competition also kicked off Thursday afternoon with a field of 346 entries, an impressive improvement on last year's 295.

In this event each player is allocated a start bank of 7,500 chips, in addition to three red add-on chips worth an additional 7,500 each.

These add-on chips can be optionally used at anytime during the first four levels. So a player may choose to cash them in immediately to start with a deep 30,000-chip start bank, or they can save them up and use them if they get stacked.

The 346 entries included Andy Black, Vitaly Lunkin, Tom Dwan, Shaun Deeb, Michael Mizrachi, Marco Traniello, Annette Obrestad, Eric Froehlich, David Benyamine, David Chiu, Andy Bloch and defending champ Matt Graham.

Also spotted in action were David Levi, David Bach, Gavin Smith, Sam Farha, Dan Heimiller, Erica Schoenberg, Men Nguyen, Nenad Medic, Amnon Filippi, Kathy Liebert, Mike Matusow, Michael Binger and Thor Hansen.

By late night Thursday the field was still going strong at level 6 and numbered 252, having shed 92 entrants.

Noah Boeken was in the lead on 120,000, with Men Nguyen his closest rival on 98,000 and Venessa Selbst on 92,000. Average chip stacks were at 41,190.

Notable exits included Max Pescatori, Florian Langmann, Chad Brown, David Williams, Kevin MacPhee and Mike Matusow,

Message board scuttlebutt and claims on the Cake Poker blog as the week ended suggest that the two-week-old, 115 hour endurance record for playing poker set by Phil 'Unabomber' Laak in Las Vegas may have been eclipsed. However, the claims are questionable, and it is unknown if very specific and demanding Guinness Book of Records requirements were met to set a new "official" world record.

In Laak's very public and carefully pre-researched record attempt at the Bellagio, he played for real money for 115 hours to set a new endurance benchmark, on which Guinness accreditation is awaited. The attempt was widely viewed on continuous internet video streaming from Laak's website, and was observed by many, judging by the amount of tweeting that went on at the time.

There was also extensive online media coverage throughout.

The latest attempt appears to have been rather less formal, being conducted in a private Kufstein, Austria hotel room with seven players around the table, allegedly playing for honour rather than cash.

The game was broadcast over the internet on an RFID-equipped table so that internet viewers could see the players' hole cards, but reception was reportedly intermittent at times.

The Cake Poker blog identifies the players as German film director and actor Max Krckl, Julia Doetsch, Erich Grnwald, Thomas Wagermeier, Rudolf Teichmann, Stephan Reischl, Nuran Karasu, and Jens Tlle. It reports that ultimately only three of those involved played continuously throughout the week, with the trio eventually claiming a new 135 hour record.

The claim has only recently been made, and it will be interesting to see what sort of confirmatory detail those involved produce during the coming days.

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.

Online gambling software provider Vegas Technology is maintaining its steady flow of new games, following up on the April releases of Butterflies, California Gold and Bigfoot with a fresh three-slot package.

The first game is a 5 reel, 20 pay-line video slot based on a widely known former revolutionary song from Mexico - La Cucaracha - and has a marked Latin theme featuring win-doubling Wild chilies, cacti, tequila worms, tacos and maracas. This is backed by a fixed jackpot of 5,000x the line bet and a 10-strong free spin bonus round in which winnings are tripled. The game also features some interactive fun through a second-screen bonus chili-picking round with some innovative twists.

There's a distinctly Dutch feel to the second slot, Hurdy Gurdy, which is redolent with lush pastures, fat dairy cows, cheese, tulips, clogs and windmills. These set the scene for the Hollanders, including the wild-ly flirtatious Hurdy the Milkmaid with her scatter milk pail and boy friend Jan. The 5 reel, 20 pay-line game offers bonuses, 15 free spins and an animated Pick and Win feature.

"Bring on the bling" seems to be the direction in which the third new release - Big Time - is headed. There's bling and rap galore in the theme of this video slot, with a wild Homie getting into animated action and graphics that showcase extravagant limos, stacks of cash, helicopters, cool babes, graffiti art and handcuffs. The Bounce Off Bonus is especially entertaining, with animations and interactive facilities that enable players to pimp their cars and a slew of free spins with generous multipliers. The fixed jackpot on the game is 10,000 coins.

With the World Series of Poker going into its 32nd day in Las Vegas, three more players claimed gold by winning their events. For Jesse Rockowitz it was the excitement of a first bracelet when he took down event 45, a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em contest with a main prize of $721,373 after a heads up with Raymond Coburn that ended at four in the morning.

Coburn, who gave a very good account of himself throughout the see-saw final confrontation thoroughly, deserved his runner-up prize of $446,274.

The two had battled through a field of almost 3,100 over three tough days of competitive poker before third placed Thiago Nishijima busted out for $315,828, setting the scene for the final confrontation.

Event 46 - the $5,000buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split 8 or Better competition also came to a conclusion after three days and the elimination of an entry field of 284 players, reduced to 130 and then 21 on the final day.

Despite formidable opposition from the likes of multiple bracelet holders like Erik Seidel, Perry Green, Dave Ulliott and Rob Hollink, it was Chris Bell who ended up in the heads up against Dan Shak, managing to prevail although the chip lead changed several times.

Bell's win was worth $327,040 and his first WSOP bracelet, whilst Shak's second placing delivered a take-home of $202,142.

Already a respected pro, Bell now adds to an impressive record that includes three WSOP final tables.

With two Day Ones necessary to handle a huge entry field of 3,128 players, event 47, the fifth of the $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em affairs, was fast and competitive with many international poker aces competing.

A total of 476 players made it through to Day 2, led by Sergey Chernykh with Tom Braband and Olivier Busquet among those in the top ten. Further back in the field was Jeff Madsen, four-time WSOP bracelet winner Mickey Appleman, and 2003 Main Event champ Chris Moneymaker. Scott Montgomery, who had take down an earlier $1000 event, was also trying for a second bracelet, and a chance to at least cash once the field was down to 324 players.

By late Monday night the field was down to 33 with Manuel Davidian bagging the most chips at 889,000 for the night, and average chip stacks at 284,363.

Event 48, the $2,500 Mixed Event, pulled in 453 players, but by he end of Day 1 action just 192 remained, and that was down to 20 by the end of Day 2. Despite a dynamic start, Vitaly Lunkin crashed out, along with Frank Kassela, who had also enjoyed a promising start.

Going into Day 3, which started about an hour late Monday afternoon, Nikolai Yakovenko led the field on 310,000, but there was still some impressive star-power in the field, including Mike Matusow, Dario Minieri, Bill Chen, Alexander Kravchenko, Jennifer Harman, Scott Seiver, Daniel Negreanu and Steve Sung. The plan was to play nine more levels of eight-game action.

All 20 starters on Day 3 were in the money, and set to earn at least $7,585 in prize money.

By the early hours of Tuesday morning after 14 hours of action poker it was all over.and none of the international names had taken the bracelet. Instead, it was a first bracelet for Sigurd Eskeland, ia 36-year-old former teacher from Oslo, Norway. He's previously cashed in two WSOP events, including the Main Event back in 2008.

Eskeland faced Steve Sung in the heads up, starting with over a million chips more and turning the advantage into a victory, but only after a real battle with his determined opponent. Eskeland won the day, however, to take home the bracelet and $260,000, leaving Sung to collect the runner-up prize of $160,952.

Event 49, the last of the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em events (barring a Shootout still to come) started 12 noon Monday with a field of 2,543 players, generating a prize pool of $3,433,050, with $609,493 of that earmarked for the winner.

Another star-studded field was registered, including: Phil Hellmuth, Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, Eric Baldwin, Chino Rheem and Vanessa Rousso - none of whom won through to the end of Day 1.

Aces who did manage to survive were Allen Kessler, Andy Bloch, Liv Boeree, David Pham and Roland De Wolfe.

315 survivors will gather again for the Day 2 start Tuesday, all with a chance at the money, which starts on position 270.

Leading the field is Guiseppe Zarbo on 156,500, comfortably ahead of Andrew Gillis (120,500) and Roberto Stamerra (120,100). Average chip stacks are 36,328.

Event 50, the $5,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha attracted a field of 362 opponents in 2009, a field that was eclipsed this year with 460 entries, all geared up for a format of eight levels, with 20-minute breaks after the first two and before the last two and a 60-minute dinner break in the middle.

At stake is a prize pool of $2,162,000 which will see 45 player cashing and a minimum payday for them of $10,226. The victor in this event will collect a cool $508,090.

By the time play was completed Monday night over half the field had been eliminated, with famous players like Daniel Negreanu, Chad Brown, Vanessa Selbst, Marco Traniello and Erick Lindgren among the fallen.

207 players will be starting Day 2 Tuesday, including Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Jason Mercier, Lex Veldhuis, Phil Hellmuth, and Bertrand Grospellier, with Kevin Schaffel in the lead on 178,900. Day 2 just started

WSOP Tournament of Champions

By the end of Day 1, five of the 27 champs in this event had been eliminated, namely John Juanda, Greg Raymer, Barry Shulman, Sammy Farha and Phil Ivey. Erick Seidel held the lead at the end of Day 1.

Another four levels of play kicked off Monday afternoon, with play ending that night on level 8 with 17 players left and average chip stacks at 47,648. Mike Matusow stole the show on Day 2, building his stack to 85,500. He was chased by Huck Seed (73,000) and Johnny Chan (68,600).

Day 2 casualties included Doyle Brunson, Doyle Brunson, who was followed soon after by reigning Main Event Champion Joe Cada, Internet qualifier Andrew Barton, Mike Sexton and Dan Harrington.

Day 2 survivors will reconvene for Day 3 action on Saturday, July 3rd at 7 p.m. to play to a final table.

British players continue to do well in World Series of Poker, with Steve Jelinek claiming a fifth gold bracelet for the Brits in event 41 of the 41st WSOP.

Event 41 was a $1,500 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better competition entered Day 3 Thursday afternoon with15 players left from the initial entry field of 847, and by late that night after 12 hours of action only four players remained when level 29 started.

Leading the field was Jelinek on 2,500,000 and John Gottlieb on 1,511,500, and that's the way the heads up panned out after 12 hours of action.

In the early hours of Friday morning, and with very little difference in the two finalist's chip stacks, it was Jelinek that pulled it off to claim his first bracelet and the $245,871 first prize, leaving his opponent with a still-generous second placing reward of $151,884.

The other Brit bracelets this year belong to Praz Bansi, James Dempsey, Richard Ashby and Mike Ellis.

25 players returned to the felt for Day 3 of event 42, a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em contest that brought in a field of 2,521 at the start. By the beginning of Day 3 Friday afternoon only 25 players remained, led by James Schaaf.

When Niccolo Caramatti was eliminated in 4th place late Friday evening the action became a three handed tussle between Dean Hamrick, Thomas O'Neal and Ian Wiley, with Hamrick holding a comfortable 3 to 1 lead over nearest rival O'Neal as play reached level 29.

Late night Friday Vegas time only 5 players remained in Day 3 action from an original stellar field of 241 in event 43, the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship.

Day 3 play commenced Friday afternoon with 23 player left and New Jersey pro Cuong Do in the lead, closely pursued by Marco Johnson, Brian Townsend, Eugene Katchalov and Carlos Mortenson.

Level 26 late Friday saw the survivors positioned thus:

Eugene Katchalov 2,200,000
Richard Ashby 2,150,000
Matt Glantz 1,250,000
Marco Johnson 1,250,000
Ian Gordon 300,000

Final table eliminations included:

Carlos Mortensen in 6th place ($102,237)
Nick Schulman in 7th place ($78,654)
Marco Traniello in 8th place ($61,414)
Scott Fischman in 9th place ($48,638)

There were 507 entries on Day 1 of event 44, a $2,500 buy-in Mixed Hold'em (Limit/No Limit) contest, a field that had been reduced to only 70 players by day's end, with some big name bust outs that included Allen Cunningham, Antonio Esfandiari, Joe Sebok, Michael Mizrachi, Sorel Mizzi, David Benyamine and Tom Dwan.

Day 2 Friday night saw the field reach level 19 and a final table of:

Jarred Solomon 748,000
Gavin Smith 745,000
Danny Hannawa 542,000
Michael Michnik 527,000
Timothy Finne 331,000
Jamie Rosen 300,000
Daniel Idema 237,000
Dwyte Pilgrim 196,000
Michael Santoro 179,000

Notable departures along the way were Eli Elezra, Jim Collopy, Grant Hinkle and Shannon Shorr, Eric Froehlich, Jeff Shulman, Erica Schoenberg, Matt Matros, Alexandre Gomes, and Matt Stout.

The action will resume Saturday.

Event 45 - a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em competition saw the completion of Day 1 Friday night with 400 players still in contention at level 10 from a massive initial entry field of 3,097.

The original entry field contained names like James Akenhead, Dennis Phillips, Adam Junglen, David Singer, Peter Gelencser, Antonio Esfandiari, Scott Montgomery, John Juanda, Phil Gordon, Jared Hamby, Isaac Haxton, Jeff Madsen, Sorel Mizzi, Bertrand Grospellier and Shannon Elizabeth.

Leading the field when the chips were bagged for the night was Will Failla (156,000) and Hiren Patel (138,000), but with Chino Rheem, Dutch Boyd, John Phan, John Juanda, Johnathan Little, Victor Ramdin, Tom Schneider and Adam Junglen still very active, it would a bold prediction to say who will prevail in this exciting event.

Notable Day 1 eliminations included Phil Ivey, Eric Baldwin, David Williams, Dennis Phillips, James Akenhead, Joe Sebok, Chris Moorman, Phil Gordon, Bertrand Grospellier, Neil Channing, Sorel Mizzi, Faraz Jaka, Shaun Deeb, Hoyt Corkins, Tony Dunst, Scott Montgomery, Scott Seiver, Jason Mercier and Antonio Esfandiari.

The stars were out in force again for Friday's start of event 46 - the $5,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better competition which recorded 284 registrations, among them

John Kabbaj, John Cernuto, Roland de Wolfe, Sorel Mizzi, Vitaly Lunkin, Greg Raymer, Isaac Haxton, Barry Greenstein, Mike Matusow, Daniel Negreanu and Perry Friedman - the latter wearing an extravagant and colourful Egyptian pharaoh's headgear.

Late night Friday the Day 1 action was still in progress at level 8 with 171 players led Johannes Steindl on 47,000, with Toto Leonidas (41,000) and Mike Matusow (40,000) close behind.

The list of recent casualties gives an indication of the star power in the field, including Humberto Brenes, Pat Pezzin, Phil Gordon, Scott Clements, David Williams, MIke Sexton, Kevin MacPhee, Chau Giang, Joe Hachem.and Perry Friedman, who left his exotic headdress behind!

Californian state Senator Rod Wright has confirmed the hearing date for his SB 1485 proposal as June 29, 2010. The proposal seeks to legalise and tax intrastate online poker in the cash-strapped state, and will be considered in an afternoon sitting of the California Senate Governmental Organization Committee, which Senator Wright chairs.

However, the Desert Sun newspaper reports that the Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations (TASIN) is against the proposal and has communicated its objections to the Committee.

TASIN is an inter-governmental association of 11 federally recognised Indian tribes. Its members include the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and the Morongo and Augustine bands of Mission Indians.

Among the tribal casino interests opposing the bill is the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, which has previously tried to arrange an exclusive intrastate online poker legalisation for itself and Californian card rooms with which it is associated.

Morongo spokesman Patrick Dorinson told the Desert Sun they could not support the bill because it would not prevent offshore companies from bidding for up to three five-year licenses to run online poker sites for state residents.

"We've always supported the concept of intrastate poker in California because of consumer protections, revenue to the state and the fact it would bring the game out of the shadows," said Dorinson. "But we cannot support the bill in its present form."

"It would take money out of the state. We said this should be a game for Californians, run by Californians," he added.

The TASIN letter argued that SB 1485 would irrevocably alter the gaming landscape in California and undermine the basis upon which state and tribal government compacts, including financial commitments, have been made.

Online gambling companies using the .net advertising strategy will be heartened by a New Zealand court's ruling that such advertising is not an inducement to gamble, and that live poker tournaments are a form of competition and therefore not illegal in a gambling sense.

Dot net advertising involves promoting websites that do not in themselves provide gambling, although they may promote the brands of operators.

The case before Justice David J Harvey was brought by the New Zealand government's Department of Internal Affairs, which complained that a company titled TVWorks, the owner of television stations TV3 and C4, had carried .net play-for-free advertising for Pokerstars, a major provider of gambling services, reports Poker News this week.

The government alleged that this promoted the activities of an overseas gambling operator or induced New Zealanders to gamble on offshore sites.

The court's findings were that:

The Pokerstars.net website is not promotion of a gambling operator, promotion of gambling overseas, or likely to induce New Zealanders to gamble overseas.

The Pokerstars.net website is not a gambling website nor is it synonymous with Pokerstars.com.

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour is not "gambling" as defined by the legislation because it is a competition, with an entry fee, which has prize money at the end of it (as opposed to the payment of consideration, based on the outcome of the game).

Dismissing the prosecution's argument on .net advertising in the case, Justice Harvey noted:

"Firstly, the nature of the material in the advertisements made it clear that what was being advertised was free websites that do not involve gambling.

"Secondly, the .com website is not mentioned at any time. Unless the user knew of the existence of the .com website, no association could be made between PokerStars and that particular website.

"A third reason for rejecting the suggestion that .net and .com sites involve a distinction without a difference lies in the very internet itself... the navigational realties of the internet mean that there is a very significant difference between web addresses of any nature, be they .net .com and .org even although they may be associated with a similar domain name."

Poker News reports that in reaching his conclusion Justice Harvey relied heavily upon the expert industry evidence presented by Damon Rasheed of PokerNews and iBus Media Consultancy and Professor Roger Marshall, who provided expert evidence on the advertisements themselves.

Damon Rasheed said upon hearing the Court's decision: "Justice Harvey's ruling was a common sense result for the industry that will have widespread implications especially for those jurisdictions with similar legislation, such as Australia and the US, were the distinction between .net advertising and gambling has yet to be the subject of legal challenge".

A Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia contractor has filed a High Court claim against a private limited company and a newspaper, alleging that they induced him to gamble. Chuah Yan Keng (43) claims that the newspaper published an advertisement last year on services provided by another defendant company and/or three unidentified online gambling websites, reports The Star newspaper.

The advertisement was published at the request of the company, which is the wholesale agent for the websites.

The plaintiff claims he paid RM150,000 into the company's nominated bank account and obtained an access code. He later placed bets through the online gambling websites, and was fortunate enough to win RM261,286.35, but the company refused to pay him.

He subsequently discovered that the company was not licensed to offer online gambling, a serious offence in a country with such strong anti-gambling measures.

The action is based on idea that the defendants have a statutory duty under the Consumer Protection Act 1999 not to make a false or misleading representation, and that the publisher of the newspaper failed to make all reasonable inquiries to ascertain if the company was also providing illegal online gambling services.

The plaintiff is seeking RM150,000 in special damages, RM261,286.35 in aggravated and or exemplary damages, costs, interest and further relief deemed fit by the court.

Going into Day 30 of the 41st World Series of Poker, the latest bracelet winners are Dean Hamrick, who bubbled last year's main event final table, and Ian Gordon, who started low but staged a remarkable comeback in his event.

Starting the day against 24 other survivors, Hamrick won event 42, the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em competition after a long 15 hour final day of poker that included a three hour rollercoaster of a heads up against Thomas O'Neal.

It was the culmination of a three day battle through a field that originally numbered 2,521, many of them well respected names in the game.

The young player from Michigan's reward was his first bracelet and a substantial first prize of $604,222, boosting his career earnings above $1.5 million whilst his very worthy opponent's second place was worth $375,627.

Ian Gordon was not especially high on the winner-radar when the final day of event 43 - the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship started with 23 survivors from an initial entry field of 241.

British player Richard Ashby was among the favourites, having a good stack and already claiming one bracelet this series, and by the time Eugene Katachalov was busted out in 3rd place for a $248,341 take-home it was Ashby who faced Gordon in the heads up.

The two contestants showed good sportsmanship in toasting each other with glasses of champagne before getting down to business, and the grand finale was surprisingly just one hand long.

Gordon emerged with the bracelet and $611,666 main prize, with Ashby having the consolation of a $378,027 runner-up's check.

The final table of event 44, a $2,500 Mixed Hold'em contest, was reached in only two days despite a star-studded entry field of 507 players. Jarred Solomon and Gavin Smith led the remaining survivors into Day 3 action, and this is how the eliminations occurred:

Mike Santoro in 9th place ($21,304)
Dwyte Pilgrim in 8th place ($27,438)
Daniel Idema in 7th place ($35,601)
Jarred Solomon in 6th place ($46,562)
Jamie Rosen in 5th place ($61,441)
Michael Michnik in 4th place ($81,871)
Timothy Finne in 3rd place ($110,324)

Finne's departure set the scene for a lengthy heads up between Gavin Smith and Danny Hannawa in which the pair battled for two hours through the alternating limit and no-limit rounds before Smith prevailed to collect his first bracelet and $268,238, leaving Hannawa with a second-placing payday of $166,005.

Early morning Sunday there were still 35 players struggling for supremacy in event 45, the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em competition, an event which attracted 3,097 registrations.

Going into Day 2 Saturday afternoon barely 400 players remained, led by Will Failla, but with players of quality still in the field, including Chino Rheem, Dutch Boyd, Theo Tran, John Phan, John Juanda, Jonathan Little, Victor Ramdin, and Adam Junglen.

Early morning Sunday when the Day 2 chips were bagged it was UK player Sam Trickett in the lead on 922,000, closely pursued by Larry Wilder on 916,000.

Day 2 of event 46, the $5,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split contest came to a close without reaching a final table in the early hours of Sunday morning with 21 players still standing from an original entry field of 310, which had been reduced to 130 in Day 1 action.

Colin Burton held the chip lead as Day 2 action commenced, but there was some serious competitors still in the game that included James Dempsey, Mike Matusow, Barry Greenstein, Alexander Kravchenko, Vladimir Shchemelev, Dan Heimiller, Phil Hellmuth, Erick Lindgren, Howard Lederer and Kathy Liebert.

Chips were bagged at level 18 with 21 players remaining and Sergey Altbrechin in the lead on 486,000, chased by Dave 'Devilfish' Ulliot on 415,000. Further back in the field but still very much in contention were Erik Seidel, Rob Hollink, Allen Kessler, Andy Black and Dan Heimiller.

Event 47, another of the popular $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em competitions started off Day 1a Saturday afternoon with 1,759 players and completed the day down to 310 hopefuls, who will combine Monday with the survivors of Day 1b.

Justin Brickner has a comfortable lead on 86,000, ahead of Antonio Esfandiari on 35,000, Chau Giang, Michael Mizrachi, Tom Dwan, Jerry Yang, Chris Ferguson, Billy Baxter, Dennis Phillips and Bernard Lee all failed to survive the day.

Among the survivors going into Day 2 Monday will be Antonio Esfandiari, Matt Glantz and Scott Montgomery.

Also starting Saturday afternoon was event 48, a $2,500 buy-in Mixed competition in which 453 players entered.

By late Saturday night, when the chips were bagged after 8 hours of play, there were 192 players at level 8 with Jared Jaffe just ahead of Justin Smith in chip counts.

It could be another long road to a final table with a field that still contains experienced and talented players like Daniel Negreanu, Mike Matusow, Jennifer Harman, Alex Kravchenko, Michael Mizrachi, Bill Chen, Justin Bonomo, Chris Ferguson and Andrew Robl.

Players return to the felt late Sunday afternoon Vegas time.

Robert Green England had the US exactly where they wanted them late in the first half of the teams' World Cup opener in South Africa on Saturday. Then, Robert Green completed a fumble that would have made an NFL running back cringe at the sight.

Clint Dempsey took a desperation shot directly at Green, but instead of securing the ball, Green lost control, and the ball trickled into his own net. It was the tying goal in a game that would see no more scoring.

Gamblers have three choices when it comes to betting soccer games. In this instance, Green's gaffe was the difference in millions of dollars exchanging hands between gamblers and sports books around the world.

Those who bet on the US lost regardless of the goal-tending mistake. For those, however, that bet on England or bet on a draw, that goal was the difference between winning and losing their bets.

England bettors lost their bets because of the goal, turning a possible 1-0 win into a 1-1 loss. The third options bettors have, is to play the draw. Gamblers who played the draw won their bets when the game ended in a tie.

Already in the 2010 World Cup, several matches have ended in ties. The draw results are a product of teams not wanting to gamble in their first game. Coming away with a tie is considered acceptable, but losing the first match could place a team in a dangerous hole early in the tournament.

Online gambling software provider Rival Gaming has released its latest i-slot, branded 'The Best of Luck.' The 5 reel, 20 pay-line game has, as the title suggests, a theme based on good fortune with traditional symbols of good luck like horseshoes, rabbit's feet, wishbones and lucky pennies adorning the reels.

The betting range starts as low as a penny, and offers a maximum jackpot of 10,000 coins.

Rival has introduced an innovative feature to this slot in that the Free Spins not only contain multipliers to increase winning combinations but additionally offer a triggering option that will allow punters to enter one of 6 bonus rounds once inside the Free Spins.

Fortunate players who win the same bonus round 3 times during a set of free spins are awarded an additional 3 free spins, whilst 4 or 5 triggering icons increases the multiplier and number of free spins. A Wild symbol has been included to assist players in building winning combinations.

With the World Series of Poker going into its 32nd day in Las Vegas, three more players claimed gold by winning their events. For Jesse Rockowitz it was the excitement of a first bracelet when he took down event 45, a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em contest with a main prize of $721,373 after a heads up with Raymond Coburn that ended at four in the morning.

Coburn, who gave a very good account of himself throughout the see-saw final confrontation thoroughly, deserved his runner-up prize of $446,274.

The two had battled through a field of almost 3,100 over three tough days of competitive poker before third placed Thiago Nishijima busted out for $315,828, setting the scene for the final confrontation.

Event 46 - the $5,000buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split 8 or Better competition also came to a conclusion after three days and the elimination of an entry field of 284 players, reduced to 130 and then 21 on the final day.

Despite formidable opposition from the likes of multiple bracelet holders like Erik Seidel, Perry Green, Dave Ulliott and Rob Hollink, it was Chris Bell who ended up in the heads up against Dan Shak, managing to prevail although the chip lead changed several times.

Bell's win was worth $327,040 and his first WSOP bracelet, whilst Shak's second placing delivered a take-home of $202,142.

Already a respected pro, Bell now adds to an impressive record that includes three WSOP final tables.

With two Day Ones necessary to handle a huge entry field of 3,128 players, event 47, the fifth of the $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em affairs, was fast and competitive with many international poker aces competing.

A total of 476 players made it through to Day 2, led by Sergey Chernykh with Tom Braband and Olivier Busquet among those in the top ten. Further back in the field was Jeff Madsen, four-time WSOP bracelet winner Mickey Appleman, and 2003 Main Event champ Chris Moneymaker. Scott Montgomery, who had take down an earlier $1000 event, was also trying for a second bracelet, and a chance to at least cash once the field was down to 324 players.

By late Monday night the field was down to 33 with Manuel Davidian bagging the most chips at 889,000 for the night, and average chip stacks at 284,363.

Event 48, the $2,500 Mixed Event, pulled in 453 players, but by he end of Day 1 action just 192 remained, and that was down to 20 by the end of Day 2. Despite a dynamic start, Vitaly Lunkin crashed out, along with Frank Kassela, who had also enjoyed a promising start.

Going into Day 3, which started about an hour late Monday afternoon, Nikolai Yakovenko led the field on 310,000, but there was still some impressive star-power in the field, including Mike Matusow, Dario Minieri, Bill Chen, Alexander Kravchenko, Jennifer Harman, Scott Seiver, Daniel Negreanu and Steve Sung. The plan was to play nine more levels of eight-game action.

All 20 starters on Day 3 were in the money, and set to earn at least $7,585 in prize money.

By the early hours of Tuesday morning after 14 hours of action poker it was all over.and none of the international names had taken the bracelet. Instead, it was a first bracelet for Sigurd Eskeland, ia 36-year-old former teacher from Oslo, Norway. He's previously cashed in two WSOP events, including the Main Event back in 2008.

Eskeland faced Steve Sung in the heads up, starting with over a million chips more and turning the advantage into a victory, but only after a real battle with his determined opponent. Eskeland won the day, however, to take home the bracelet and $260,000, leaving Sung to collect the runner-up prize of $160,952.

Event 49, the last of the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em events (barring a Shootout still to come) started 12 noon Monday with a field of 2,543 players, generating a prize pool of $3,433,050, with $609,493 of that earmarked for the winner.

Another star-studded field was registered, including: Phil Hellmuth, Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, Eric Baldwin, Chino Rheem and Vanessa Rousso - none of whom won through to the end of Day 1.

Aces who did manage to survive were Allen Kessler, Andy Bloch, Liv Boeree, David Pham and Roland De Wolfe.

315 survivors will gather again for the Day 2 start Tuesday, all with a chance at the money, which starts on position 270.

Leading the field is Guiseppe Zarbo on 156,500, comfortably ahead of Andrew Gillis (120,500) and Roberto Stamerra (120,100). Average chip stacks are 36,328.

Event 50, the $5,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha attracted a field of 362 opponents in 2009, a field that was eclipsed this year with 460 entries, all geared up for a format of eight levels, with 20-minute breaks after the first two and before the last two and a 60-minute dinner break in the middle.

At stake is a prize pool of $2,162,000 which will see 45 player cashing and a minimum payday for them of $10,226. The victor in this event will collect a cool $508,090.

By the time play was completed Monday night over half the field had been eliminated, with famous players like Daniel Negreanu, Chad Brown, Vanessa Selbst, Marco Traniello and Erick Lindgren among the fallen.

207 players will be starting Day 2 Tuesday, including Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Jason Mercier, Lex Veldhuis, Phil Hellmuth, and Bertrand Grospellier, with Kevin Schaffel in the lead on 178,900. Day 2 just started

WSOP Tournament of Champions

By the end of Day 1, five of the 27 champs in this event had been eliminated, namely John Juanda, Greg Raymer, Barry Shulman, Sammy Farha and Phil Ivey. Erick Seidel held the lead at the end of Day 1.

Another four levels of play kicked off Monday afternoon, with play ending that night on level 8 with 17 players left and average chip stacks at 47,648. Mike Matusow stole the show on Day 2, building his stack to 85,500. He was chased by Huck Seed (73,000) and Johnny Chan (68,600).

Day 2 casualties included Doyle Brunson, Doyle Brunson, who was followed soon after by reigning Main Event Champion Joe Cada, Internet qualifier Andrew Barton, Mike Sexton and Dan Harrington.

Day 2 survivors will reconvene for Day 3 action on Saturday, July 3rd at 7 p.m. to play to a final table.

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).

Message board scuttlebutt and claims on the Cake Poker blog as the week ended suggest that the two-week-old, 115 hour endurance record for playing poker set by Phil 'Unabomber' Laak in Las Vegas may have been eclipsed. However, the claims are questionable, and it is unknown if very specific and demanding Guinness Book of Records requirements were met to set a new "official" world record.

In Laak's very public and carefully pre-researched record attempt at the Bellagio, he played for real money for 115 hours to set a new endurance benchmark, on which Guinness accreditation is awaited. The attempt was widely viewed on continuous internet video streaming from Laak's website, and was observed by many, judging by the amount of tweeting that went on at the time.

There was also extensive online media coverage throughout.

The latest attempt appears to have been rather less formal, being conducted in a private Kufstein, Austria hotel room with seven players around the table, allegedly playing for honour rather than cash.

The game was broadcast over the internet on an RFID-equipped table so that internet viewers could see the players' hole cards, but reception was reportedly intermittent at times.

The Cake Poker blog identifies the players as German film director and actor Max Krckl, Julia Doetsch, Erich Grnwald, Thomas Wagermeier, Rudolf Teichmann, Stephan Reischl, Nuran Karasu, and Jens Tlle. It reports that ultimately only three of those involved played continuously throughout the week, with the trio eventually claiming a new 135 hour record.

The claim has only recently been made, and it will be interesting to see what sort of confirmatory detail those involved produce during the coming days.

Building on the momentum of the past year, the Poker Players Alliance announced this week that it will drop a fundraising "money bomb" on July 1st in order to raise additional funds leading up to a crucial vote this summer on legislation to license and regulate online poker.

A money bomb is when an organisation asks all of its members and supporters to make a financial donation - of any amount - to the group on one specific day. The PPA hopes to raise $25,000 from its over one million members throughout the United States.

"We would not be where we are today without the support and dedication of the poker community. Yet, there is much more to be done to assure that every American has the right to enjoy a game of poker from their computer, in a casino or at their kitchen table," said Alfonse D'Amato, chairman of the PPA.

"This unique fundraising effort is another way for our members and all players to demonstrate to lawmakers the broad support for online poker, while at the same time helping PPA continues its advocacy efforts."

As a reminder to donate on July 1st, players can visit the website to download the event to their calendars. Even if individuals are not members of the PPA, they are able to donate for this drive and will not be required to become a member.

The world's largest online poker provider, Pokerstars, may be prepared to tangle with the confused US legal system, but when it comes to French players the operator is playing it strictly by the book.

Judging by website notifications and comment this week on well-informed poker message boards like 2plus2, Pokerstars has now excluded French players from its main site, directing them instead to a dedicated Pokerstars.fr French site which is licensed with regulator ARJEL.

The decision has not found general favour among players, mainly because by confining their activity to action between French players, it reduces player liquidity. The new French system is similar to that deployed by Italian regulators, where operators can only provide their services to Italian players on an Italian dedicated site.

Pokerstars' action keeps it within the requirements of France's newly liberalised gambling laws.

French visitors to the main Pokerstars site were served with a pop-up notification advising them of the decision and informing them that their account balances were safe and immediately available for withdrawal, or they could transfer to the Pokerstars.fr site.

"We will be running free tournaments on PokerStars.fr this weekend to win seats to live French Poker Series events." PokerStars revealed, adding that the move, was "mandated by law".

It is perhaps too early to assess the impact of the French players' exit on the main Pokerstars site, but it is known that during the last Pokerstars Spring Championship of Online Poker series there were well over 27,000 French entries, or 6% of the total entries during the tournament. French players took home $1.62 million in prizes in the series.

Pokerstars is not the first to exclude French players, and follows Sportingbet, William Hill and Betfair in taking this decision.

Online gambling companies using the .net advertising strategy will be heartened by a New Zealand court's ruling that such advertising is not an inducement to gamble, and that live poker tournaments are a form of competition and therefore not illegal in a gambling sense.

Dot net advertising involves promoting websites that do not in themselves provide gambling, although they may promote the brands of operators.

The case before Justice David J Harvey was brought by the New Zealand government's Department of Internal Affairs, which complained that a company titled TVWorks, the owner of television stations TV3 and C4, had carried .net play-for-free advertising for Pokerstars, a major provider of gambling services, reports Poker News this week.

The government alleged that this promoted the activities of an overseas gambling operator or induced New Zealanders to gamble on offshore sites.

The court's findings were that:

The Pokerstars.net website is not promotion of a gambling operator, promotion of gambling overseas, or likely to induce New Zealanders to gamble overseas.

The Pokerstars.net website is not a gambling website nor is it synonymous with Pokerstars.com.

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour is not "gambling" as defined by the legislation because it is a competition, with an entry fee, which has prize money at the end of it (as opposed to the payment of consideration, based on the outcome of the game).

Dismissing the prosecution's argument on .net advertising in the case, Justice Harvey noted:

"Firstly, the nature of the material in the advertisements made it clear that what was being advertised was free websites that do not involve gambling.

"Secondly, the .com website is not mentioned at any time. Unless the user knew of the existence of the .com website, no association could be made between PokerStars and that particular website.

"A third reason for rejecting the suggestion that .net and .com sites involve a distinction without a difference lies in the very internet itself... the navigational realties of the internet mean that there is a very significant difference between web addresses of any nature, be they .net .com and .org even although they may be associated with a similar domain name."

Poker News reports that in reaching his conclusion Justice Harvey relied heavily upon the expert industry evidence presented by Damon Rasheed of PokerNews and iBus Media Consultancy and Professor Roger Marshall, who provided expert evidence on the advertisements themselves.

Damon Rasheed said upon hearing the Court's decision: "Justice Harvey's ruling was a common sense result for the industry that will have widespread implications especially for those jurisdictions with similar legislation, such as Australia and the US, were the distinction between .net advertising and gambling has yet to be the subject of legal challenge".

In Malaysia, which is struggling to contain the high demand for gambling services by its citizens in spite of extensive police action, the Information, Communication and Culture Minister has opined that the best way to counter illegal gambling is to set up a structure to license and control it.

The Business Times reports that Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim has proposed the formation of a government commission to monitor and control licensed gambling in the country.

He said the commission could help the government regulate and reduce illegal gambling activities where bets reported to be worth RM10 billion a year are being made on illegal sites.

"If the gaming licence can be implemented correctly according to certain rules, we will be able to curb illegal gambling," the minister told a visiting delegation from the Indonesian Journalists Association in Kuala Lumpur Wednesday.

He said allowing sports betting was not something new compared to horse racing and lotteries.

"It should be regulated... it should not be the subject of discrimination. We need to be objective and identify the social rights of non-Muslims (to gamble) in the country," he said.

In recent times the subject of licensed gambling has come into sharp focus following discussions on the possibility, with anti-gambling groups and mainly Muslim religious bodies opposing the idea.

The Chinese government has continued its heightened assault on internet gambling with the announcement that more websites have been blocked on government orders. The Ministry of Public Security informed the Beijing Times newspaper that over the past week alone it has blocked 1,461 overseas websites offering online gambling.

"Rampant illegal gambling still lingers in many areas of the country, especially since the opening of the 2010 World Cup, adding to the public's concerns," a Public Security spokesman said.

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).

Almost every online casino offers some type of welcome bonus to new players. The money gives players something to wager with right away. It usually comes in the form of a match bonus, where a certain percentage of the player’s deposit it matched by the casino.

Captain Cooks Casino has an interesting take on the welcome bonus, though. In their unique no-deposit welcome bonus, players are given $500 and 60 minutes to make as much money as they can. No deposit is necessary. It’s as simple as that.

Here’s how it works. As soon as you sign up for a real-money account at Captain Cooks and click the “play now” button associated with the $500 welcome bonus, a timer starts counting down from 60 minutes. You are given $500 to wager with and during that hour, you try to make as much money as you can. Any money you make you get to keep. Any money you lose doesn’t matter, because it comes from the free $500, rather than your own money. This promotion is separate from normal pay, so you don’t get to carry over any of the unused $500.

There are, as always, a couple stipulations. First, you must wager at least 20 times during the 60 minute period in order to keep your winnings. That shouldn’t be a problem. The other one is that before your winnings from this promotion can be transferred to your real-money account and withdrawn, you need to purchase at least $50 in your real-money account.

This unique welcome bonus combines your favorite games with the excitement of a timed tournament. It’s kind of like those game shows where players run through the supermarket, filling their carts with stuff that they will get to keep at the end, once the time runs out.

To take part in the $500 welcome bonus, visit Captain Cooks Casino.

Tonio Fenech, Malta's minister of finance has explained why the island government has been creating EU waves by opposing a common definition of "online gambling", which has caused delays and some disruption of attempts to agree on what constitutes internet gambling throughout the trade bloc.

The Times of Malta reports that Fenech was pressed by Labour MP Alfred Sant on Malta's stand, and replied that government saw "ulterior motives" in the proposed definition. Fenech said that government had viewed it as an attempt by some member states to protect their gaming monopolies, but that Malta had seen through the 'ulterior motives'.

Fenech said some other EU countries wanted to retain state monopolies on legal gambling and had concocted definitions to this end.

The European Court of Justice had recently allowed some national restrictions because of money laundering and other illegal activities, but Malta's laws already took care of this, he added.

Asked whether Malta's objection to the definition could be an obstruction to legal gambling, Fenech said the two issues were unrelated.

The Isle of Man-based online gambling software provider Microgaming inked a deal this week with a major Central and Eastern European gambling and entertainment group, Fortuna Entertainment Group N.V., to which it will supply a full online casino system.

FEG is licensed in Malta through subsidiary Fortunawin Gaming Ltd and will brand the new enterprise FortunaWin.

The agreement will give FortunaWin access to Microgaming's quality suite of internet casino software and games, providing online players with the latest gaming experience.

Jaroslav Kulenda, head of casino at FortunaWin said: "We are committed to offering our players the very best in online casino entertainment, and Microgaming is the obvious partner in helping us achieve this goal. We are delighted to be entering into this new partnership and look forward to offering our players access to Microgaming's extensive library of cutting edge games."

Fortuna Entertainment Group is a Dutch company reputed to be the largest odds betting provider in Central and Eastern Europe, and its operations include sports betting, live betting, lotteries, a casino and a special kind of lottery called 'Top Goals'.

In addition to its land activities, the group offers its products through the internet, telephone and text messaging, and the originally Dutch company has grown into a multinational group which currently operates in the Polish, Slovakian, Croatian and Hungarian markets.

Roger Raatgever, CEO, Microgaming said this week: "We are extremely pleased to welcome yet another exciting new addition to Microgaming's ever expanding network of online casino operators. Microgaming currently powers the world's busiest and most profitable online casinos, and we will be working closely with FortunaWin to ensure its players enjoy the best possible casino experience."

Video-sharing Youtube owner Google is allowing licensed UK gambling and betting companies to run display campaigns on YouTube in Britain for the first time, with Ladbrokes the first to sign up, reports New Media Age.

Gambling firms will be allowed to air age-restricted campaigns, including pre-roll, on the YouTube home page, on video pages and within brand channels, although the content will only be displayed once a viewer has verified he or she is over 18.

YouTube account holders with a given age of over 18 will also be served the ads.

Ladbrokes is the first UK gambling brand to use the new Youtube facility, airing a click-to-play campaign through the TBG Digital agency.

The move continues Google's relaxation of previously restricted forms of advertising in the UK; in late 2008 restrictions on paid search gambling terms on gambling were lifted.

Google industry leader James Cashmore told NMA the company is confident ads will only reach over-18s, and that the industry and regulators will be happy with the restrictions in place.

"We've been in discussions with brands and agencies about this for more than two years," he said.

Cashmore said while Google has been talking to GamCare, it hadn't yet told the gambling support group about the extension of ads on YouTube.

All ads with run through the newly re-branded Google Display Network, which replaces the Google Content Network.

Cashmore said the name change reflected how display is central to the Google ad offering. "Display makes up a significant proportion of the Content Network, so it made sense to change," he said.

French Canadian Miguel Proulx and Northern California pro Matt Keikoan are the latest proud bracelet holders as the 2010 World Series of Poker rolls on, delivering a stream of big money and star-power fuelled excitement at the Rio in Las Vegas.

Proulx took down a marathon event 28 $2,500 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha tussle, besting a starting field of 596 hopefuls and a final Day 3 survivor list of 12.

Proulx accounted for most of the action as the final table was formed and then whittled down to the heads up, in which he faced L.J. Klein at a chip disadvantage, doubling up into a more competitive position and ultimately beating him with a nut flush.

Along with the $315,311 main prize, Proulx picked up his first WSPOP bracelet, leaving LJ Klein with the runner-up prize of $195,147.

Northern California pro Matt Keikoan won his second WSOP bracelet (the first was in 2008 in a $2,000 NLHE competition) after three tough days in event 29, the prestigious $10,000 buy-in Limit Hold'Em World Championship.

He did so against many of the top names in the game who had created a star-heavy entry field of 171 players for the event. Terrence Chan, Matt Hawrilenko and Greg Mueller provide good examples of the quality of the field.

On the final day, 13 survivors started out on a 15 hour endurance test that ended in just two men facing off.

The 5 hour heads up in the early hours of the morning pitched Keikoan against Daniel Idema and was characterised by talented and disciplined play by both contestants, but in the end the day and the bracelet was Keikoan's, along with a first prize paycheck of $425,969, bringing his career earnings to well over $3.2 million.

Plucky Idema collected a second placing check for $263,244 from the cashier.

Day 3 of event 30, the $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em contest was still in progress late evening Friday Vegas time when InfoPowa went to press.

The massive entry field of 2,394 that started three days back had been reduced to a mere 5 players, with chip counts as follows:

Christopher Gonzales 4,380,000
David Wilkinson 2,200,000
Billy Griner 1,600,000
Mike Ellis 1,250,000
Martin Jacobson 980,000

Earlier, the final table eliminations were Jeff Cohen in 9th Place ($42,790), Chris Kastler in 8th Place ($55,814), Jason Hallee eliminated in the number 7 spot ($73,719) and William Kakon busted out in 6th Place ($98,605).

Surviving players in event 31, the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. competition, have had a couple of early morning endurance tests as the field of 827 was brought down to only 7 players late evening Vegas time on Day 3.

Day 2 ended at 3am with 24 players still in contention, many of them highly respected - and feared - experts in the game. Chip leader Konstantin Puchkov made a successful last minute run up to the top as Day 2 ended, and remained in the top three chip counts as Day 3 ground into late evening action with 7 players left and a good chance of another very long night.

At that stage, Dustin Leary held a convincing lead of over a million chips, with closest rival Puchkov on 636,000 and Al Barbieri in third on 591,000.

Friday was also Day 3 for players in event 32, the $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em Six Handed event, where 116 survivors from an original field of 568 started in the afternoon, with the money bubble set at 54th spot and a total prize pool of $2,669,600.

The event proved to be a magnet for top players, and Day 3's start saw Christian Harder (in the chip lead), Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott, Phil Ivey, Isaac Haxton and Jennifer Harman all taking their seats, representing a serious challenge for the $667,433 winner's share of the prize pool.

Tournament officials informed players that if the field was not reduced to six players by ten levels, the competition will be retired and continue for an additional day.

By 10.40pm Vegas time Friday night there were still 31 players in action, led by Paul Sheng on 980,000, with nearest challenger Sanghyon Cheong on 570,000 and Bruno Lainais on 510,000.

482 players registered for event 33, a $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em Omaha contest, with last year's winner Rami Boukai back to defend his title but unfortunately suffering elimination on Day 1. He was in good company - Daniel Negreanu, Eli Elezra, Dan Heimiller, Max Pescatori and Alexander Kostritsyn all made their exits before the day was over.

Friday afternoon saw 126 survivors back for Day 2 action, with Justin Smith holding the most chips, well ahead of the opposition, which included players of calibre like Victor Ramdin, Andy Black and Jeff Lisandro.

By late evening Friday 41 players remained in the event, led by Josh Tieman on 325,000, well ahead of nearest opponent Chris Reslock (173,400).

The entry field for the $1,000 buy-in Seniors No-Limit Hold'em - event 34 - topped 3,141 this year, eclipsing the registration lists for last year, when 2,707 players entered.

"Oklahoma" Johnny Hale gave the shuffle up and deal call, prefacing it amusingly with a George Burns-esque, "I'm glad to be here today. At my age, I'm happy to be anywhere."

Tournament director Jack Effel handed over the Golden Eagle award, recognising all past champions, and the cards were soon in the air Friday afternoon.

Some 706 contestants were still going at it hammer and tongs by late Friday evening, with Kenny Milam holding the chip lead at 53,200, chased by Michael Hirschensohn (43,000) and Tom Schneider (38,000)

Another prestigious event kicked off Friday afternoon - number 35, the $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship, which has an entry field capped at 256 players.

The cap was easily met by a star-studded entry field that included a strong internet component among a list of Phil Ivey, Sorrel Mizzi, Victor Ramdin, Ashton Griffin, Gavin Smith, Blair Hinkle, Faraz Jaka, Tom Dwan, Antonio Esfandiari, John Juanda, Annette Obrestad, British aces Sam Trickett and James Dempsey, Andy Bloch, Carlos Mortensen and Jason Mercier.

By 10.40pm local time Friday, the Day 1 players still standing were down to 128, with the departure list including Mark Muchnik, Jay Rosenkrantz, Blair Hinkle, James Mackey and Barry Greenstein.

Among those already through to the third round are Maxim Lykov, Anton Kozlovskly, Andrew Feldman and Faraz Jaka.

A man in his forties from Norway has won over 4.8 million Euro on the online gaming site Betsson, with a stake of just 5€. The win is the largest payout in Betsson's history, and one of the largest in online gaming ever.

One can imagine how difficult it must be to describe how it feels to win this stunning amount. Therefore,we will instead disclose the chat session the newly multi millionaire had with customer support at Betsson.com.


10:17:28 PM Is this true???
10:17:50 PM Hi "Peter", Welcome to Betsson Support, I am Mike. What can I do for you?
10:18:28 PM Hi. Take a look at my account balance.
10:18:43 PM Is this really true???
10:19:18 PM What do you mean?
10:19:35 PM Have I won the Jackpot?
10:19:56 PM One moment.
10:20:16 PM I am shivering now!!!!
10:21:29 PM One moment "Peter", I am checking this now.
10:21:38 PM Thanks.
10:21:48 PM Hoping for a phone call
10:24:47 PM now???
10:25:08 PM I can confirm that you have won a Jackpot!
10:25:14 PM Do you want me to call you?
10:25:20 PM JESUS!!!!
10:25:50 PM Will some one call me to confirm it??
10:26:14 PM We can call you to confirm, if that's what you want?
10:26:43 PM No, I can see that the money is on my Betsson-account.
10:27:04 PM Congratulations!
10:27:06 PM But how much is it (€4,850,000, ed) in Norwegian Crowns???
10:27:41 PM I can calculate, give me a second.
10:29:43 PM In Norwegian Crowns is it today 38 119 098,24
10:30:07 PM OMG, thx, thx, thx!!!
10:30:46 PM Your welcome. Again, congratulations!
10:30:58 PM If you have further questions, don't hesitate to contact us.
10:31:13 PM Thank you!!!!!


"The jackpot has built up over a long time, and it is always nice when a normal customer becomes a Betsson millionaire. The prize is the largest single win we have ever paid out, and shows that it is possible to win big even with small stakes," says Marius Andersen,Betsson Norway Country Manager.

The gamer from Norway hit the jackpot after betting €5 on Betsson's Arabian Nights online game. Jackpots have grown significantly in recent years as the number of online gamers has increased, and online games are increasingly competing with the national lotteries to fulfil the Europeans' dreams of becoming millionaires.

Aside from this press release, we are also launching a TV commercial starting tonight on TV3/Viasat, Discovery and National Geographic, congratulating the winner.