Monday, October 01, 2007

Another Reason I Wish I Was in Barcelona This Week

I've already whined about all the fun stuff and interesting people I'll be missing by not going to Barcelona for the two big igaming conferences this week, EiG and CAP Euro.

Now I hear Tila Tequila is going to be there. I escorted Tila around London when she was there for the last CAP event so I know the fun I'm missing!

The MySpace, and now MTV, star arrives in Barcelona this week to meet with top online poker and casino affiliates. Tila, whose new bisexual reality TV show premiers October 9 on MTV in America, will be on hand at her TilaCasino.com booth during the CAP Euro conference to promote her online casino site to industry affiliates and insiders.

Tila will be using what can only be described as the MTV Promotional Steam Train currently in motion for her new reality show, to gain more visibility for her already successful casino/poker site. She'll be talking to the guys at the conference about her love of poker, why the casino site is an important part of her growing empire, and her future plans to grow her gaming business.

iGaming events are notorious for parties and Barcelona is known for its nightlife. Tila and her entourage will no doubt be out on the town throughout the week.

A lot has happened since the last time Tila partied in London with her affiliate partners at the launch of her Playtech-powered online casino and poker room, TilaCasino.com.

“I’d never been to London before. That was a crazy trip!” said the woman Time Magazine dubbed ‘The Madonna of MySpace’. “Poker people know how to win and how to party. I can’t wait – bring it on!”

Tila Tequila has since launched her single, “I Love U”, on iTunes and has been on the covers of Penthouse, Maxim and Black Men magazines. And her new MTV show, A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila, is very Tila. She hopes to further expand the Tila Tequila brand with this clever venture.

The LA Times states: “MTV may once have been about songs, but it has always been about spectacle, whether of the political, socially conscious, crassly consumerist or just plain sleazy variety. A Shot at Love may manage all of the above”.

See you next time Tila ;)

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Progressive Jackpot Hit Big Twice

Canadian Woman Hits $146K Jackpot Within Weeks of $165K Win

Last weekend, a Canadian woman was the second online slots player to hit Slotland.com’s progressive jackpot really big in just a few weeks. Her September 23rd jackpot of $146,761 (€105,840) follows a $165, 318 (€119,610) win by a regular player known as “Newman32” in July.

“I usually play the Booster slot because I like the way you can boost your bets. But a friend won a few dollars playing the slot machine called Magic so I decided to give it a try last Sunday,” said this week’s winner. “That machine sure lived up to its name that night, eh?”

In a recent player survey, 80% of respondents said the reason they liked slot machines over other online casino games is the jackpots. With a progressive jackpot that gets hit for $150,000 or more quite regularly, it’s no wonder jackpot-lovers flock to Slotland.com.

“I know a lot of people think slots players just like slots because they’re easy,” said John Lancelet of Slotland.com. “But the chance to win hundreds of thousands on a very minimal bet is a big part of it!”

Unlike many sites where it can take weeks for a jackpot to get back to a very large amount, Slotland’s progressive jackpot starts big thanks to a policy instituted earlier this year.

When the jackpot was hit several times within weeks of each other, Slotland started doubling the start-up amount when they reset it. Since it now re-starts at $50,000 it doesn’t take long to reach big numbers like the $163,114 win in March and the all time high jackpot of $179,166 in May.

The progressive can be played on any of the fourteen unique slot machines and video poker games on the Slotland.com web site. Six games are also available on mobile phones and PDAs. The mobile games are tied into the same progressive jackpot, so the next big winner could be at their computer or anywhere they take their mobile phone.

First Monthly Final in Million Dollar Free Roll This Sunday

Winners of Free Roll Qualifiers Compete for PlayersOnly’s Biggest Prize Pool Ever

This Sunday, players that have qualified in free rolls and cash satellites through the month will play-off for a cool $75,000 in the first Monthly Final of PlayersOnly.com’s Million Dollar Free Roll Series. In coming months the sexy, video-rich site will award one million dollars in cash prizes making this the richest poker tournament they’ve ever presented.

“Who wouldn’t want to win a million bucks!?” said PlayersOnly.com Manager David Anderson, “We’ve put a million into the prize pool but we’ve organized it so there’s lots of opportunities to win a nice piece of it.”

The payout structure for the PlayersOnly’s Million Dollar Free Roll Series divides the prize pool so that monthly winners each take away $75,000 and even second and third place players win $10,000.

There are still a few chances win a free seat in Sunday’s final, but players that don’t qualify in time for this weekend can buy-in directly or try again next month.

Free roll qualifiers continue twice a day. Those that prefer to avoid high volume free roll satellites can win their seat in the monthly finals in cash buy-in satellites held every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday (buy-ins as low as $2).

Players with Gold Chip loyalty points can play special qualifiers on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays where the buy in is ten Gold Chips. All players also have the option of simply buying in directly at the final table for $50.

25 players will make it to the final table absolutely free, possibly without winning a single hand. For the Deposit Bonus Lottery, each deposit of $100 made with the special bonus code announced prior to each month end final will be one entry in a random draw for free seats at the final.

For tournament details including full schedule and payout structure, see: http://www.playersonly.com/1million/.

Worlds Largest Roll of the Dice





GNUF brings you the world's largest dice sliding down a big snowy hill in Greenland. You can bet for free on the result of the roll at GNUF.com/diceroll. Seven, c'mon seven!!!

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

PlayersOnly Hostess Carrie Stroup in FHM This Month

But Model/Actress Not a Contender in This Sunday’s Million Dollar Free Roll Final

Carrie Stroup, the hostess at PlayersOnly.com that I had such a good time with at the WSOP in Las Vegas, is on the pages of yet another men’s magazine this month. Last month it was Playboy Magazine Babe-of-the-Month, this month it’s FHM.

The sexy and charismatic hostess of the recently re-designed PlayersOnly.com casino, sportsbook and poker room may not need to practice her smile but she says her poker game could use some work. She won’t be playing in this Sunday’s first monthly Million Dollar Free Roll Final.

“Omigod… I tried playing in one of the games they run all week where you qualify for the Sunday Final,” said the self-confessed poker newbie, “I didn’t last long. I’ll be watching the game on Sunday though – pretty exciting to see someone win $75,000!”

In their biggest tournament series ever, PlayersOnly.com will award a total of $1,000,000 over the next ten months with winners of monthly finals taking away $75,000 each. Players can win their way to the monthly finals at free rolls held twice a day, at one of three cash satellites with buy-ins as low as $2, or by direct buy-in ($50). There will be special opportunities for Gold Chip players and 25 seats at the final table will be awarded in a unique Deposit Bonus Lottery.

Stroup’s four-page spread in the October issue of FHM includes some of the raciest photos the former Miss USA has posed for as well as an interview where readers get to know the playful side of one of the prettiest faces in the online gambling world. The erotic photos for FHM Magazine were shot by Nicholas De Bruin at his L.A. studio.

“I’d done another shoot with Nicholas – he’s so good!” said Stroup. “When he asked me if I’d like to do this shoot for FHM I was thrilled.”

“But what’s my mom going to say when she sees the big headline FHM put over one of my pics?” laughed the actress/model. “‘My Sex Life is Great’ Did they have to put that?! I really should learn to watch what I say I guess. That’s just not me though.”

Don't change a thing Carrie -- love ya just the way you are!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

iGaming Parties in Barcelona Next Week

If you've been following the trail of igaming parties that I've been lucky enough to attend lately, you won't feel sorry for me when I whine about not going to Barcelona next week for EiG and CAP Euro. Lots of people I know will be there and, as usual, the parties and networking events will be the highlights. Here's one I have to turn down -- Lyceum Media's party at the beginning of EiG. And my friend Esther is doing a big party with a tropical twist on Friday the 5th: Go Tropical sponsored by Club World Casino and Rushmore Casino. There'll be body painted hostesses, exotic birds, lions, tigers... Waaaaa... Definitely not one to miss. If you're a casino affiliate contact Esther for party info.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Swede Wins Chance to Play Heads-up Against Legendary Doyle Brunson

Emanuel Karlen (“ManneKK”) from Stockholm, Sweden won the $25,000 Summer Series Free Roll Grand Finale at DoylesRoom.com on September 19th and will now face the “Godfather of Poker” Doyle Brunson in a Heads-Up match for $25,000 at DoylesRoom.com on September 30th at 6pm BST (5pm GMT). If he wins, Karlen will take the cash and receive the ultimate bragging rights for beating Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson in a heads up tournament!

Karlen said “The tournament was really fun. Early on I managed to double up with a couple of flopped sets and big slicks that held up. Things went my way. Late game was all about choosing spots carefully since the structure was pretty fast. Playing a legend like Doyle Brunson heads-up is more than I ever could have dreamed of and will be really exciting. I'm looking forward to it and I will be happy, win or lose.”

Doyle Brunson said “Congratulations to Emanuel on winning the right to take me on Heads-Up. I've seen some of our Scandinavian players in action and they are pretty good. I am looking forward to putting Emanuel to the test in the final match of the most innovative tournament series DoylesRoom.com has ever produced.”

Karlen will also be appearing on the cover of Online Poker Pro with the legendary Doyle Brunson as well as appearing in feature stories of other major poker publications.

Players at DoylesRoom can get a front row seat of the Heads-Up match by tuning in to DoylesRoom.com and watching the match over the Internet.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Final Heat in WPT North America Championship Satellites This Week at PlayersOnly.com


Winners to Play in High-Stakes Niagara Falls Tournament

PlayersOnly.com is sending tournament winners to Niagara Falls for the WPT North American Poker Championship where they’ll play for hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money.

The last in a month-long series of Super Satellites is being held on Sunday at 5:00 ET at PlayersOnly.com. Buy-in for this final WPTNA qualifier is $200 + $12 fee. Players can qualify for the Sunday event through Sit & Go and multi-table cash satellites held throughout the week.

“There were quite a lot of players -- some pretty stiff competition, especially when it got down to the last eight of us,” said last Sunday’s satellite winner. “I held my own though. Hopefully I’ll do OK in Niagara Falls!”

Last night was the final heat in the Gold Card Poker Tour Leaderboard contest, a special competition for participants in PlayersOnly’s Gold Card rewards program. Last night’s top 100 will join the top 100 from previous heats for the Gold Card Poker Tour Final September 29th when another $12K WPTNA prize package will be awarded to the ultimate winner.

“Our players love tournaments,” said PlayersOnly.com Manager David Anderson. “We gave away $25,000 in tournament prizes over the summer and we’re continuing into the fall with the WPT qualifiers and the Million Dollar Free Roll Tournament that also started this month.”

The $12,000 prize package being awarded to Super Satellite and Gold Card Poker Tour Leaderboard winners includes the $10,000 registration fee for the World Poker Tour North America Championship tournament and travel expenses for the trip to the Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Canada.

For further details on the WPT North America Championship satellite tournament series please see www.playersonly.com/contest/wtp-niagara-falls/. Information on the Million Dollar Free Roll Tournament can be found at http://www.playersonly.com/1million/.

Slots Player Survey Challenges Stereotypes


Early Results Confirm Slots are Most Popular With Women But Also Show Slots Players Are Bigger Gamblers Than Some Might Think

Going in to the final weeks of the Online Slots Player Survey, early trends confirm what many would suspect about online slots players and also challenge some common assumptions. The Survey, presented by Slotland.com, asks players about their betting habits, memorable wins and strategies for winning. With mobile gambling becoming so popular, it also includes questions about playing games on mobile phones.

Players that complete the Survey can enter a free contest. One player, drawn randomly, will win a $500 credit to their Slotland.com account.

One thing the survey’s early results suggest is that most slots players aren’t just playing for pennies. Although most said the highest they ever bet was $50 - $100 most respondents so far also said they occasionally or almost always like to place a maximum bet. Most said their biggest win ever was $1000.

There has been nearly unanimous agreement on how to win at slots: stick with a machine that feels lucky, no matter how tempting it is to switch games.

“We actually get a lot of correspondence from our players,” said John Lancelet of Slotland.com, “So we have a good impression of who they are. This survey confirms a lot of what we already understood but we’ve learned some interesting things about our players. For example, they seem to rely more than I thought on how they feel about a particular machine rather than specific playing strategies.”

Results so far show that video poker and solitaire are also popular with slots players while poker is not. Although some said they played the hugely popular online casino game occasionally, most didn’t play it much or at all.

Slotland’s Online Slots Survey challenges one popular myth about slots players. Slots are enjoyed by people of all ages, not just seniors as many might think. While survey respondents have ranged from their 20s to their 60s and older, most have been in their 30s.

Anyone online slots player can take the Online Slots Survey and get a chance to win $500. The Survey will remain online until Sunday, 23rd September at www.GamblingDaily.com/slots-survey.

Monday, September 17, 2007

European Teenager Wins First WSOP Europe

Europeans Dominate First World Series of Poker Outside Las Vegas

18-year old Internet phenomenon Annette Obrestad has been crowned champion of Europe after a tense heads-up battle at the inaugural World Series of Poker Europe, at the Casino at the Empire in the early hours of this morning.

The Norwegian, who goes by the name of Annette_15 on the Internet, became the youngest bracelet winner in World Series history, when she emerged victorious from a tense heads-up battle with 22-year old Englishman John Tabatabai.

“I never expected to win,” said Obrestad, who turns 19 in a day’s time. “I’m speechless. I really don’t know what to say.”

The result was a fitting end to a hugely successful tournament that had the largest concentration of elite poker players that Europe has ever seen. Yet, only Gus Hansen made a telling impression on the tournament, having sacrificed an overnight chip lead on Friday to crash out on the final table bubble.

However, the WSOPE, and particularly its winner, has made an indelible contribution to the welfare of the international game, and has also served to underline the talent that exists on this side of the Atlantic.

“In the end, the Europeans dominated here,” said WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. “But this is the start of a new tradition for the World Series of Poker and the European and global poker communities. WSOP Europe will provide more exciting action in the years to come and we’re confident poker greats from all over the world – and across the generations – will shine here, just as they have in Las Vegas.”

Last Chance to Enter the $25K Summer FreeRoll and Go Heads-Up With Doyle Brunson

Time is running out to register with DoylesRoom.com to enter into their Summer Series Freeroll for a $25,000 cash prize. The winner will then have a chance to play Heads-Up against Doyle Brunson for an additional $25,000 taking place on September 30th.

You can enter the Summer Series Freeroll by registering with DoylesRoom.com before September 19th when the tournament is due to take place. The winner will walk away with the cash prize and automatic entry into the September 30th “heads up” match against the Godfather of Poker, Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson.

“Time is running out,” says Doyle, “so if you fancy your chances against me then register now and get playing!”

DoylesRoom.com recently launched their new-look website introducing Gemma Hiles as spokesmodel for the site. She’ll guide players through the site to make their poker experience the most enjoyable on the Internet. A new comer to the world of online poker, Gemma Hiles, as well as all players, can learn from the best poker players in the world, including Doyle Brunson, Todd Brunson & Mike Caro.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

$1 Million Free Roll Poker Tournament Series Has Begun!

Players Can Qualify Free for Ten Chances to Win

In the biggest tournament series since the re-launch of their video-rich poker room, casino and sportsbook, PlayersOnly.com has just begun its first Million Dollar Free Roll Tournament Series. A total of $1,000,000 will be awarded over the next ten months with winners of monthly finals taking away $75,000 each. Players can win their way to the monthly finals at free rolls held twice a day, at one of three cash satellites with buy-ins as low as $2, or by direct buy-in ($50). There will be special opportunities for Gold Chip players and 25 seats at the final table will be awarded in a unique Deposit Bonus Lottery.

The first monthly final will be on September 30th at 9:00 pm ET. Qualifying matches began last week.

“We’ve got a couple of poker tournaments going right now where the prizes are trips – one to the WPT Turks & Caicos and another to baseball’s World Series,” said PlayersOnly.com Brand Manager David Anderson. “But this series is for cold cash, and lots of it!”

The payout structure for PlayersOnly’s monthly tournaments divide the monthly prize pool so that the winner takes away $75,000 and even second and third place players win $10,000.
Any PlayersOnly.com player can qualify for the monthly finals for free by winning one of 14 free roll qualifiers held each and every week.

PlayersOnly.com’s tables are always busy and with this kind of money at stake they’re bound to be hopping. Those that prefer to avoid high volume free roll satellites can win their seat in the finals in cash buy-in satellites held every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Players with Gold Chip loyalty points can play special qualifiers on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays where the buy in is ten Gold Chips. All players also have the option of simply buying in directly at the final table for $50.

25 players will make it to the final table absolutely free, possibly without winning a single hand. For the Deposit Bonus Lottery, each deposit of $100 made with the special bonus code announced prior to each month end final will be one entry in a random draw for free seats at the final.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Europeans Win First WSOP Europe Bracelets

Two European players sponsored by Betfair.com have got the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe off to a flying start by becoming the first people to win a recognized WSOP bracelet outside of the US.

German player Thomas ‘Buzzer’ Bihl had the honour of making poker history yesterday when he took down the first WSOP Europe event, winning £70,875 in the H.O.R.S.E. tournament. Two-time WSOP winner Jennifer Harman from Reno, Nevada, finished in second place after relinquishing a two-to-one chip lead to Bihl, who played a quiet waiting game for most of the 13-hour final table.

Following in Bihl’s footsteps today was another Betfair-sponsored player, Italy’s Dario Alioto of Palermo who won the £5,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, £234,390 in cash and the second WSOP gold bracelet ever awarded outside the United States.

The 23-year-old battled past a strong contingent of star players including Roland de Wolfe, Andy Bloch and Ted Forrest, who all cashed, to take the title in the early hours of this morning. Istvan Novak of Hungary took second place and £137,280.

The WSOP Europe £10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Main Event will kick off later today at the Casino at the Empire on Leicester Square, The Sportsman in Marble Arch, and Fifty on St James’ Street.

Friday, September 07, 2007

Doyle Brunson a True Poker Superstar

My friends Inka and Esther at Lyceum Media arranged a media meet-and-greet for Doyle Brunson in London this week. Here's some pix.

The legendary WSOP superstar was in London for the first WSOP Europe and to launch his online poker room, DoylesRoom.com, to Europeans. As always, a hush fell over the room as the iconic, stetson-wearing Brunson entered the reception area. Brunson has played in every WSOP since it began, and has an armful of gold bracelets to show for it, so it's great that he could make it to London. DoylesRoom.com is the only online poker room where you can actually play against Doyle Brunson!

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Chilipoker Signs Poker Diva, Liz Lieu as Ambassador

Chilipoker.com has signed an exclusive contract with talented, astute and stylish Poker Star – Liz Lieu. Liz being an icon in the poker world brings card-playing expertise to the Chilipoker tables with style, versatility and flair.

According to Alexandre Dreyfus, “The partnership between Liz and Chilipoker is the perfect synergy of the aspirational poker lifestyle . Liz fits the concept perfectly. She has a flair for style and has created a unique personal image notwithstanding an aggressive and winning approach at the tables.”

Liz Lieu has secured her stance in the poker world achieving several limit and no-limit hold’em titles and earning over $600,000 in less than two years. Her most recent victory was in the LA Poker Classic last February, winning nothing less than $148,000 and a pledge to donate 20% to charity. Liz is among one of the few most feared high limit cash game player in the Bellagio and Commerce casinos. Her resume is rich of achievements and is considered to be one of the top 2 female poker players in the world.

Founder and CEO, Alexandre Dreyfus states “We are proud to have Liz Lieu as the ambassador of the Chilipoker brand and we are sure that this collaboration will further consolidate our presence in the European and the Asian Markets. We appreciate that Liz has decided to move to London to be closer to our European customer base and we are pleased to communicate to our players that Chilipoker will be organizing regular monthly exclusive tournaments with Liz Lieu. We are flying all the winners to the UK to play with Liz Live in an exclusive tournament that will be broadcasted on various channels.”

Liz Lieu confides, “I was very careful to find a site that I could work with as a true partner and one that had the same aspirations as myself. ChiliPoker is an ambitious site with exciting plans and also offers a lifestyle positioning. I was of course approached by other sites but I like the fact that with Chilipoker I will become an important face of the site. Chilipoker are also very supportive of my charity work and also a percentage of my winnings will go to my charities, which is very important to me.”

Liz lieu will be playing at the WSOPE in London on Monday the 10th of September. All poker enthusiasts will be able to tune in to follow the poker diva’s experience at the WSOP on http://www.chilipoker.com/.



“We are very proud to announce such an innovative feature on our site and give both players and guests the chance to experience the WSOP with Liz”. Chilipoker Players should keep an eye on the Chilipoker school, as the poker diva will soon be revealing some of her best kept tips and winning secrets.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

PlayersOnly Hostess is Playboy Magazine’s Babe of the Month

Carrie Stroup, PlayersOnly VIP Players and yours truly to Party at the Playboy Mansion with A-Listers Including Elizabeth Taylor, Oprah Winfrey, P Diddy, Jay Z, Magic Johnson & Tyra Banks

Carrie Stroup, host of PlayersOnly.com, is celebrating her Babe-of-the-Month spread in the September issue of Playboy Magazine by partying at the Playboy Mansion this weekend with PlayersOnly.com VIP players and a host of Hollywood celebrities. And I get to take my cameras and follow her around as she schmoozes the crowd just like I did at PlayersOnly.com's last party in Las Vegas.

“I had so much fun doing the shoot for Playboy,” said the actress, model and columnist. “I think the boys from PlayersOnly.com are going to like it. Let’s just say they see a little more of me than they see in all the video animations I did for the lobbies on the new PlayersOnly site!”

As a sponsor of the Players Toast Awards being held at the Playboy Mansion Saturday night, PlayersOnly.com has invited 15 VIP players to live it up at the world’s sexiest party venue with the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Oprah Winfrey, P Diddy, Jay Z, Magic Johnson and Tyra Banks, all of whom will be receiving Players Toast Awards recognizing their extraordinary lives. Presenters expected include Brandi Williams, Coolio, Danny Bonaduce, Davetta Sherwood, Patti Labelle and Christopher Tyler. Aretha Franklin, Coolio and 2Deep will entertain the A-list crowd.

“It took me, like, five minutes to book a flight and accept this invitation!” said PocketFives.com host Cal Spears from the popular poker community’s new headquarters in Costa Rica. “Playboy Mansion – I’m all in!”

Carrie Stroup, the sexy and charismatic host of the recently re-designed PlayersOnly.com casino, sportsbook and poker room, has appeared in NBC “Scrubs”, movies “Cellular”, “Starsky and Hutch”, “The Girl Next Door”, and “Redline”. She has also appeared in the MTV pilot “Living the Dream” and hosted “VIP Parties Uncensored”. Most recently Carrie completed The Learning Channel show “Faking It”. One of the most recognized models in the world of online gambling, Carrie Stroup has worked exclusively with PlayersOnly.com and Sportsbook.com since 2006.

Carrie is a talented actress and a beautiful model. She’s also a total party girl and clearly enjoyed herself at PlayersOnly.com’s last party at the WSOP in Las Vegas. Photos and video clips from the party at the Sapphire strip club are online: www.lyceummedia.com/playersonly

PlayersOnly.com definitely knows how to throw a party – it’s also one of the busiest poker rooms online and hosts the best tournaments anywhere. PlayersOnly’s Million Dollar Free Roll Series – 10 monthly tournaments each with a $100,000 prize -- began last weekend. Saturday afternoon Fox Baseball World Series Free Roll Tournaments continue until September 22. The ultimate winner will get a trip to experience World Series baseball first hand. WPT Turks & Caicos satellites for the World Poker Tour Turks and Caicos Poker Classic also continue on Sundays.

InterCasino and InterPoker Obtain Full European Online Casino and Online Poker Licenses

The first of the offshore online gambling companies make their move to Malta

As of September 1st when the new Gambling Act came into effect in the UK, advertising of online casinos, sportsbooks and poker rooms is now permitted -- but only by companies that are licensed in the UK. It didn't take a genius to predict that many big companies currently licensed offshore in places like Antiqua and Costa Rica will move their businesses to Europe. This is all good for us online gamblers -- it means that more and more online casinos will be regulated by strict jurisdictions.

InterCasino and InterPoker have just been granted online casino gaming and online poker licenses from the government Malta. Pursuant to their licence, the companies have successfully satisfied the stringent requirements of the Maltese government to operate their online gaming business from Malta.

Recognised as blue-chip brands throughout Europe, InterCasino and InterPoker chose to relocate their servers to Malta due to the country’s progressive policy in online gaming regulation, and because of the operational advantages across Europe that an online gaming license within the EU affords. It has already been recognised by the United Kingdom that InterCasino and InterPoker’s Maltese license places these companies on a white-list of compliant operators allowed to advertise within the UK.

Besides players, the other beneficiaries of InterCasino and InterPoker’s Maltese license are the company’s affiliates and marketing partners, who will be able to continue marketing these brands across the EU. “InterCasino and Interpoker are both top quality brands that have been player favourites for years. They are a first choice brand to market, and their new license means that you’ll see a lot more of them in the future,” according to Michael Caselli, Editor-in-Chief of Europe’s #1 poker magazine, Bluff Europe.

“We are very pleased to confirm that InterCasino & InterPoker now have a full European license in the EU territory of Malta.

Following increased regulation of online gaming across the world, InterPoker and InterCasino have moved our business, servers and official license to Malta. We have done this to ensure that all our customers are able to enjoy playing at InterPoker in the full knowledge that their game play will be with the premier European gaming license jurisdiction,” said InterCasino Group Spokesman Peter Marcus.

Monday, September 03, 2007

Intertops Kicks Off NFL & College Football Season for American Sports Bettors

Perfect Season Prop Could Pay Off for Indianapolis Colts Fans


American sports bettors will be pleased to hear that one of the few online sportsbooks still open to U.S. bettors will be sending one lucky punter to Arizona for Super Bowl XLII. To celebrate the start of the NFL and college football season this weekend, Intertops is welcoming new customers with a $20 free bet and giving a 20% deposit bonus to all new and existing customers.

While most sportsbooks have pulled out of the U.S. since last season, Intertops continues to accept deposits and pay out winnings reliably. Intertops was established in 1983 and has been one of the most trustworthy online sportsbooks and casinos since 1996.

“Ever since we posted our NFL lines several weeks ago, we’ve welcomed many football fans deserted by sportsbooks that have left the American market,” said Michael Weiss of Intertops.com.


One lucky Intertops.com NFL bettor will be attending the XLII game in Arizona February 3rd. Every wager on Intertops’ NFL regular season betting offers gives one entry into the end-of-the-season draw where the winner of the deluxe Super Bowl package will be drawn randomly. The prize includes luxury accommodation, airfare for two to Arizona and two tickets to the biggest game of the year.


At +300, the New England Patriots are currently the favorite to win the Super Bowl. Intertops bookmakers favor USC (+250) to win the BCS Championship.


In addition to Super Bowl and Rose Bowl wagers, the long-established gambling site offers a wide variety of NFL props including Spread Winner, Over/Under Totals and Straight Up bet on the outcome of the game. The popular casino, poker and sportsbetting site also takes First Half and Second Half Side, Spread Winner and Totals wagers. For anyone that thinks the Indianapolis Colts can top their recent 14 win season, Intertops.com’s Perfect Season proposition may be their best bet.


“Since the Colts came so close a couple of years ago, we’re seeing a lot of interest in our Perfect Season wager,” says Weiss, “Only one team has ever won every regular season game – the Miami Dolphins in 1972. Lots of people think the Colt’s might just pull off such a miracle this year but it’s still a long shot (+2500) so betting on a Perfect Season could really pay off for dedicated Colts fans!”


For all current NFL and college football lines see: www.Intertops.com/sportsbook

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

New Low-priced Sportsbetting Odds Service Direct from Vegas

Wiseguys.com Re-Launches Website Featuring Non-Download Live Odds, Insider News, Links to Over 1,600 Local Sports Newspapers, Police Blotter

Wiseguys.com has re-launched their non-download live odds service from a direct feed from the Las Vegas Sports Consultants featuring Las Vegas casino and offshore internet sportsbooks. Their low-priced subscription service includes Insider News and links to over 1,600 local sports newspapers.

“We are truly excited to offer our services to the sports betting community all in an easy to use website,” said Scott Schettler, CEO and legendary Vegas sportsbook veteran.

The new design of the website allows for a streamline view of the odds without downloading any software on you computer allowing access on a guest computer and even users’ mobile phones. The Insider News service, slanted towards handicappers without the fluff, provides the true Las Vegas insight on games.

“By adding the latest sports news, scores, match-ups, and along with our premium services, Wiseguys.com is the one-stop shop for sports bettors and handicappers” says Schettler.

The premium service offers a monthly subscription for only $79 or annual subscription for $475, both deeply discounted compared to other live odds providers. A 7-day trial is also available to sample the offering.

“Our non-download lines combined with other features priced at a quarter of the competitors makes Wiseguys an obvious choice” says Eddie Murphy, Wiseguys.com Director of Operations.

The website’s new look and feel features easy to navigate services, cutting edge articles by Las Vegas experts, and the all new “Police Blotter” covering the ever increasing athletic legal trials and tribulations.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Doyle Brunson is coming to London

Doyle Brunson Keynote Speaker at CAP Euro

It’s official - Doyle Brunson is coming to London. The Godfather of poker has agreed to be the keynote speaker at this year's conference, which is anticipated to be the biggest affiliate event of the year.

The legendary poker player will make a rare speaking appearance on the first day of the conference, Friday October 5th at 1 pm. Doyle will be talking about his extensive experiences in poker and how the poker industry has evolved over the five decades he has been playing.

DoylesRoom.com is launching its new-look site on the 1st of September focusing specifically on the UK and rest of Europe. The revamped site, which is an international hub for Texas Hold’em and other popular poker games, considers CAP Euro as one of the best platforms to communicate with European affiliates.

Doyle Brunson said “When CAP Euro invited me to Barcelona to be their keynote speaker, I accepted as it complements our re-launch strategy. Reaching out to so many affiliates like this is the perfect way to generate awareness within Europe of the new look DoylesRoom.com.”

In addition to a story or two, Doyle will be having autograph sessions and photo opportunities on the 5th and 6th.

DoylesRoom.com has received numerous industry awards over the years for its innovative tournaments, responsive customer service and the unique opportunity to play against the Godfather of Poker in the one and only original Bounty Tournament where players can pick up a cool $25,000 by knocking out the three celebrity bounties. To become part of this exciting and fast growing online poker community, simply go to www.doylesroom.com and register.

CAP Euro Barcelona, Europe’s premiere networking event for affiliates and casino operators in the iGaming industry, will be an exciting, interactive three day event taking place on the 5th, 6th and 7th October.

FantasySportsbook.com Launches Legal, Public League and Commissioner-based Fantasy Sportsbook Contest Site

FantasySportsBook.com has announced the launch of their 100% legal, public league and commissioner-based, fantasy based Sportsbook contest website. You can sign up and play for free using the same format found in the Las Vegas casino sportsbooks in a legal and safe manner. FantasySportsBook.com provides authentic odds, match-ups, and ability for players to pick the favorite, underdog, over, and under total score all in a user friendly point and click website.

“FantasySportsBook.com provides everyone, from the casual sports fan to the fantasy sports enthusiast, the ability to compete against each other in a fair, legal, and free environment, with the opportunity to win exciting prizes,” states Director of Operations and Founder, Eddie Murphy.

The website keeps track of all the picks and balances via a leaderboard format and offers cash prizes each week to the players with the highest winning balance. The grand prizes based on the total season winning balances earns a trip to championship game for each sport including NFL, NCAAF, NBA, NCAAB, and NHL, 65” Big Screen TV, and XBOX game consoles. The company also is planning on adding more sports in the future and spreading the format in overseas markets.

In addition to the free public league, FantasySportsBook.com has launched the first authentic fully functioning commissioner-based fantasy sportsbook. This subscription-based product works like the traditional fantasy format where a commissioner subscribes, sets the rules (including fictional bankroll and betting requirements), then invites their buddies.

“Our Commissioner Fantasy Sportsbook offers a truly unique experience for those players who want to compete in an environment where they don’t risk any real money, while getting the real Las Vegas sportsbook experience. Players can even place parlays and teasers, using flexible bet amounts,” says Murphy.
Other contest and commissioner based formats in development include survivor and team fantasy sportsbook.

“As the fantasy sports industry continues to grow at a rapid pace, it’s great to see companies like FantasySportsbook.com introduce new and unique products that meet the demands of the fantasy player and sports enthusiast” says Fantasy Sports Trade Association President and SportsBuff.com Founder Jeff Thomas.“

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

PlayersOnly.com Unleashes Players at Playboy Mansion Awards Ceremony

Elizabeth Taylor, Oprah Winfrey, P Diddy, Jay Z, Magic Johnson & Tyra Banks among those to receive Players Toast Awards

Yup, real tough life I've got... I'm in London now for the opening of WSOP Europe next week. When I go home I'll hardly have time to unpack and I'll be off to Los Angeles -- Beverly Hills to be precise -- for a party at the Playboy Mansion. Jealous yet? Read on!

To celebrate the recent re-launch of the world’s sexiest online casino and poker room, PlayersOnly.com is sponsoring another celebrity fundraiser at the sexiest party venue on the planet, the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills. 15 PlayersOnly.com VIPs players will attend the star-studded $1000-a-plate dinner September 8th with the PO’s hostess Carrie Stroup -- Playboy Magazine’s “Babe of the Month” for September.

One especially lucky PlayersOnly.com player will win a $10,000 prize package including travel, luxury accommodation in Beverly Hills, and two tickets to the fundraising event. Players are entered in a random draw when they make a $100 deposit between now and Saturday midnight (one entry per player). Deposits earn a reload bonus of 30%.

The event at the Playboy Mansion is the annual Players Toast Awards that recognize high profile individuals who have accomplished great tasks in their careers without forgetting about their roots. Hosts for the evening are the always-articulate hip-hop artist Ice-T and his wife model Nicole Austin. Awards will be presented to Elizabeth Taylor, Oprah Winfrey, P Diddy, Jay Z, Magic Johnson, Tyra Banks, Harvey Nobel, Judge Mathis, Cicely Tyson, the Maloof Family and the mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman. Presenters expected include Brandi Williams, Coolio, Danny Bonaduce, Davetta Sherwood, Patti Labelle, Christopher Tyler. Entertainers expected include Aretha Franklin, Coolio and 2Deep.

Proceeds from the evening will benefit The Art of Elysium, a foundation that helps artists who volunteer time and talent to benefit children battling serious medical conditions.

“We only have a few tickets for this event this time,” said PO Manager David Anderson. “Not like the party we did in Vegas last month where we could invite hundreds of players. I don’t even get to go myself this time – we can just send a few lucky tournament winners and some of our VIP players.”

This isn’t the first time PlayersOnly.com has sent players to the Playboy Mansion. In April and again in June the site sent special free roll tournament winners to play in celebrity fundraiser poker tournaments at Hef’s place.

“Let’s just say there were a few distractions that night” recalls the April winner that played in the All Star Tournament at the Mansion after winning an online tournament at PO. “It was kinda hard to concentrate on my game and I was eliminated pretty fast but it was a fantastic party that’s for sure!”

PlayersOnly.com Poker has been busy all summer with two tournament series currently in progress. Every Saturday there’s the Fox Baseball World Series Free Roll Tournaments that will send 2 players to the World Series. Winners of the Sunday tournament series will play in the World Poker Tour Turks and Caicos Poker Classic Main Event in the Caribbean this fall. For further information on PlayersOnly.com’s WPT Turks & Caicos satellites see: http://www.playersonly.com/contest/WPT-Turks-Caicos/index.php.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Backgammon Community Adds Blackjack to Free Multilingual Games Site

Free Contest Rewards Backgammon Players for Taking a Blackjack Break


The popular online games community, BackgammonMasters.com has added multiplayer Blackjack to its suite of games which already includes Backgammon, Perudo and Poker. To encourage their Backgammon players to take a Blackjack break, the site is presenting a free Blackjack contest with daily cash prizes to the player that plays the most hands of Blackjack each day until September 4th.

BackgammonMasters.com networked game software is the only free software of its kind which offers all of its games in one download from one site. All games are available in ten languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, Turkish, Hebrew, French, Japanese, Danish, Greek and German. The BackgammonMasters software has fast become a leader in the game industry due in large part to its powerful platform which contains a network of thousands of players at any given time. By adding the ever-popular BlackJack to its game lobby, industry experts predict that BackgammonMasters will triple its traffic.

The BackgammonMasters BlackJack game offers a multiplayer table where up to five players are spaciously seated and playing at the same table simultaneously, with the option of participating in real-time chat. Besides the sophisticated graphics and avatar modes, the software includes a unique View Mode adding another dimension to the fast-paced game whereby players can sit in on an existing game and watch the action before joining in.

For new players and experienced players that want to improve their game, BackgammonMasters.com has a library an extensive library of articles on how to play and win Backgammon, Perudo and Poker. A collection of articles on Blackjack play and strategy has been added to the library.

American Punters Look for Reliable U.S. Sportsbooks for NFL Bets

Long-established Intertops has pre-season and regular season NFL odds online now

The first online sportsbook to post NFL lines this season is the most reliable choice for American bettors looking for a safe book to take their football wagers. Although sports bettors typically have accounts at several sportsbooks, legislative developments that have forced many operators out of the U.S. over the last year have prompted many bettors to consolidate into one or two accounts with the most trustworthy books remaining in the American market. Intertops.com – the first company to ever take an online sports bet in 1996 – has earned players’ trust over the last eleven years and is one of the few online sportsbooks that has remained open to bettors in the U.S.

“I like to gamble on sports,” said one sportsbetting forum post. “I don’t like to gamble on whether or not I’m going to be able to collect my winnings!”

Intertops hasn’t had problems accepting payments or paying out winnings like the books that have left the American market did. They’ve stuck by their American customers.

"So many big books have closed their doors to Americans,” said Intertops bookmaker Andy Donahue. “We’ve had a lot of action on NFL bets ever since we posted our early lines in June.”

Lines for pre-season NFL games are posted at Intertops Sportsbook on Thursdays. Current regular season odds are also posted here: http://www.intertops.com/sportsbook/cgi-win-2/itwww.exe?app=itbet.exe?sprtyp=AF;scrncd=BI;compno=1018;lan=e;hide=true

From this Friday until Sunday August 19th, Intertops is giving a 20% reload deposit bonus (maximum $250) on all deposit methods. Most market competitors will not be giving away offers like this until the first weekend in September – when, of course, Intertops.com will also be back with another great deposit special. But with 20 days to go until the September 6th NFL kick off, Intertops.com is kick-starting the season with this "20% for 20 days to go" special for its customers.

The long-established gambling site offers a wide variety of NFL props including Spread Winner, Over/Under Totals and Straight Up bet on the outcome of the game. The popular casino, poker and sportsbetting site also takes First Half and Second Half Side, Spread Winner and Totals wagers.

This will be the 88th season of America’s National Football League (NFL). Last year’s Super Bowl champions, Indianapolis Colts, kick off the regular season September 6th when they meet the New Orleans Saints at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

$50,000 Prize Money at DoylesRoom.com Summer Free Rolls Finale

Winner to Play Face-to-Face With Legendary Doyle Brunson


DoylesRoom.com is giving online poker players the opportunity to face poker legend Doyle Brunson in a big money heads-up online cash game. The top poker site concludes it Summer Series of Freerolls with a no buy-in $25,000 Grand Finale event, where the winner will play poker legend Doyle Brunson for an additional $25,000!

Yes, it’s true - the winner of the Grand Finale will get the opportunity to play heads-up against the great Doyle Brunson, the biggest name in poker. The Grand Finale Freeroll will take place at 7:30pm GMT on Wednesday September 19th.

To play, simply register at DoylesRoom.com, where you will find the $25,000 Finale Freeroll, labelled in green under the Freerolls list option of the multi-table tournaments (MTTs). To get into this fantastic freeroll simply play 25 raked hands (minimum 25 cents in rake) in the ten days before registering for the tourney. The winner of the Finale Freeroll will not only win the first place prize money in that game but will go forward to a heads-up match against Doyle Brunson on September 30th. If he or she can beat Doyle heads-up, in addition to the ultimate bragging rights, they’ll walk away with a further $25,000.

Source: Online Casino News

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Doyle Brunson Is Coming to London!

Poker legend “Texas Dolly” crosses the pond to launch his new-look poker site

Legendary Vegas poker pro Doyle Brunson will be in London in September to introduce the UK and Europe to his online poker room, DoylesRoom.com.

His visit will also coincide with the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe, the first event of its kind, which is taking place in London and kicks off on September 6th.

Brunson, nicknamed ‘Texas Dolly’, is one of the biggest names in the poker world. His list of achievements is endless: he was the first player to earn $1 million in tournaments and has picked up an amazing 10 WSOP bracelets throughout a glittering career.

Doyle Brunson wrote his name into the poker history books when he won consecutive WSOP Main Event bracelets in 1976 and 1977 and remains one of only four men to do so. Given his track record it is little wonder BLUFF magazine last year named him the ‘Most Influential Force in the World of Poker’.

He has taught millions how to play the game with his book Super System, published in 1978, and an updated version, Super System 2, released in 2004. His latest book, My 50 Most Memorable Hands, reveals 50 of the greatest poker hands he’s ever played.

Doyle’s move into online was a natural progression and has proved a great success. The DoylesRoom.com website offers tournaments, great cash games, and sit ‘n’ gos as well as advice from Mike Caro, founder of the first permanent poker school. The site boasts the highest and lowest limit tables on the web and attracts celebrity players including his son Todd Brunson.

“I've watched poker evolve for over 50 years now and I continue to play in some of the biggest games in the world," said Brunson. "If you want to go heads up against me, look out for my screen name TEX_DOLLY.”

There’s no better time to log on to DoylesRoom.com as the site is offering a number of exclusive weekly Summer Freerolls. The tournaments culminate in a $25,000 “Finale Freeroll” where the winner will get not only their share of the prize pool but the opportunity to play heads-up against Brunson for an additional $25,000 prize.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Gambling Commission Report Shows Online Gambling Alive and Very Well in UK

The UK's Gambling Commission has just published new statistics showing that the number of Brits that gamble on their computer or their mobile phone continues to increase.

Hmmm... Why would that be I wonder? Because it's so much fun maybe? Or because Britain is the best market for online gambling companies these days so there's so many great online casinos and poker rooms and sportsbetting sites to choose from?!

Last year, 7.4% of those surveyed had participated in some form of online gambling. This year it's up to 8.6% Course, leave out those who's only form of gambling is national lotteries and it's 5.9%, up from 5.2%.

Mobile gambling is gaining popularity in Britain even faster. About a million and a half people had placed a bet using their mobile phone in the month preceding the survey. As mobile phones get better and better, and the cost of using the internet on your phone goes down, next year's numbers will no doubt skyrocket. (Hey, if you're into mobile gambling, take the Online & Mobile Slots Players Survey.)

For more stats from the UK Gambling Commission report there's an article on OnlineCasinoNews.com.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Weekly WPT Turks & Caicos Satellites Continue Through the Summer

PlayersOnly.com Awarding $12K World Poker Tour Prize Packs

The World Poker Tour is making its first stop in the beautiful Turks and Caicos this fall and PlayersOnly.com Poker is giving players a chance to enjoy surf, sand, sun and a shot at fame and fortune at this televised WPT event. World Poker Tour Turks and Caicos Poker Classic prize packages that include travel, accommodation and a seat at the Main Event will be awarded to Super Satellite tournament winners and to leaderboard champs.

Players can qualify for a seat in a Super Satellite for as little as $2. PlayersOnly.com is also rewarding its loyalty program participants by offering two free seats to players topping their Gold Card Poker Tour Leaderboard .

“There’s a million dollars guaranteed to the winner, and the final table is going to be televised,” said PlayersOnly.com Manager David Anderson. “So WPT Turks and Caicos should attract some high profile competition!”

The Players' Club Turks and Caicos Poker Classic is a World Poker Tour tournament being held at the Club Med resort. The tropical islands just south of the Bahamas are where Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria and basketball star Tony Parker spent their honeymoon in July after their 7/7/07 wedding. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner got married there and Julia Roberts, Jerry Seinfeld, Barbra Streisand, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake all love the secluded paradise.

"It's important to continue delivering fresh and exciting experiences for our players and fans on both the tournament and television level," said Steve Lipscomb of the WPT. "By adding WPT stops in beautiful locations around the world season six is our best year yet."

There are two ways for PlayersOnly.com players to qualify to win the prize packages: by winning the weekly Super Satellite or by playing their way to the top 100 on the Gold Card Poker Tour Leaderboard.

Weekly Super Satellite’s began July 8th and continue until September 9th at 5:00 pm each Sunday. Direct buy-in for these events is $200 but players can also qualify for them at Sit & Go and multi-table cash satellites in the week leading up.

Regular PO players collect Gold Cards in real money ring games. Each Gold Card is worth points on the Gold Card Poker Tour Leaderboard. The top players on that list will qualify for the playoff matches.

PlayersOnly.com’s $12,000 Prize Pack includes registration in the WPT Turks & Caicos Main Event ($7700), seven nights at Club Med (Turquoise) and $1800 cash paid directly to the winner’s real money account for airfare.

The PlayersOnly.com Poker Room is part of the Cake Poker network, one of the fastest growing poker networks open to American poker players. The poker room is part of PlayersOnly.com’s graphically-rich, ultra realistic casino environment hosted by model and gambling columnist Carrie Stroup.

In addition to this Sunday tournament series, PlayersOnly.com is also presenting a weekly Saturday free roll series: the grand prize winner of the Fox Baseball World Series Free Roll Tournaments will win an all expense paid trip to the World Series this fall. Free roll qualifiers are held every Saturday at 3:30 pm EST – just as Fox Television broadcasts Saturday afternoon games.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Humans Win First Man-vs-Machine Poker Tournament

I was reading an email from my boss in London telling me to get down to the Artificial Intelligence Conference in Vancouver just as the first ever Man vs Computer Poker Challenge headlining the event was being featured on the morning TV news. A bunch of computer geeks from the University of Alberta was in town for the Association for the Advancement of Artifical Intelligence annual conference with a computer program they said could beat any poker pro. Two well-known professional poker players, Phil “The Unabomber” Laak and “Prince” Ali Esmali were playing against a computer program called Polaris. This I had to see!

I knew I’d stepped into some sort of parallel universe the minute I walked through the doors of the Hyatt Hotel where the conference was in progress. There was a laptop charging in every available electrical outlet in the hotel lobby, and all manner of geeks jostled for the best positions for wi-fi reception.

My trek to the Man vs Machine Poker Tournament took me past several large meeting rooms filled with studious looking computer programmers absorbed in presentation screens cluttered with formulas and charts and long words about logic and probability…

When I arrived at the Tournament site, poker pro Phil Laak was about halfway through five hundred hands of poker against Polaris and their chip stacks were about even.

The tournament format was designed to reduce the luck element and increase the chances that the match will be won based on skill -- cards dealt in the first match to the human are dealt to the computer in the second match, and vice versa. During the two-day tournament, Laak and Esmali took turns playing against the computer in the public room where a nice little crowd gathered to see if the humans could outwit the computer, while the other played the computer in another room.

Two years ago at the 2005 WSOP Laak took on and defeated an earlier version of the Polaris software called Poki-X. This time out, the program has more human abilities – it can now bluffs and it can read an opponent’s style of play and adjust accordingly.

After a Draw in the first of the four sessions, Polaris won the second round. The humans fired back in the third session taking the teams into the final match tied. Laak and Eslami won the final session by $570 to become the first Champions of the first ever Man vs Machine Poker Challenge.

Listening to Laak’s banter with the computer, one thing I noticed is that, as in any poker game, it still seems to be a matter of observing your opponent and predicting their next action based on their previous actions. Laak would say things like “Well, he always folds on even semi-shitty hands, so I know he’s gonna fold…” and “What should I do? It’s impossible to know what he’s gonna do here…”
The first official poker competition between humans and computers, organised by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), was held in Vancouver, Canada July 22-26. AAAI is is a nonprofit scientific society devoted to advancing the scientific understanding of the mechanisms underlying thought and intelligent behavior and their embodiment in machines.

Polaris Team Leader Dr. Jonathan Schaeffer believes this week’s event is an evolution of the 1997 match between IBM's "Deep Blue" chess program and Garry Kasparov, the world chess champion at the time.

"The difference is that chess is a game of perfect knowledge, meaning there is nothing hidden from the players. In poker you can't see your opponent's hand and you don't know what cards will be dealt. This makes poker a much harder challenge for computer scientists from an artificial intelligence perspective," Schaeffer said.

My boss bet me a pint that the humans would win. Time to pay up. :(



Opening remarks at the Man vs Poker tournament on YouTube

Online Slots Player Proves Even $2 Bets Can Be Exciting

Slotland Winner Calls $615 Win a Jackpot

A regular at Slotland.com has proven that even a $2 bet can get your heart pounding and a $600 win can feel like a jackpot. Player “CHAROO“ says that her $2 might as well have been a million and that winning her $17 balance up to $615 made for one her most exciting nights of online slots ever!

“I can’t exactly retire on $600,“ laughed the winner, “But that night sure was the best run of good luck I’ve ever had. I’m still shaking my head!“

After playing the $150 she budgeted each month for playing online slots down to just $17, CHAROO was ready to pack it in. She’s glad she didn’t though because that night luck was on her side.

“I sat down with my last seventeen bucks and went right to my favourite online slot machine, Treasure Box,” wrote the winner. “I was betting $2 and on my first pull I hit the Double Win symbols. On my second pull, I hit three different colored ones for $30. After I hit some other $5 and $10 pots, I held one green seven and then had two more given to me for $125 -- all within 20 minutes!”

“I continued to play and again hit three green sevens for another $125. I left there with about $300 and switched to the Striking Sevens slot machine and after only ten minutes I hit a Straight Flush for $65 -- not once but twice! Leaving there, I went to the Jacks or Better video poker game and kept my winning streak going. I was hitting Full Houses and Flushes like there was no tomorrow! I kept my bets below the max because I felt luckier that way. After about an hour, I hit four tens for $125 and 20 minutes later I hit four twos for another $125.

“I managed to keep my little bank roll playing for hours and before I went to bed I closed the night out with two Wild Royal Flushes on the Santa’s Sleigh machine. I hit big with small bets and look forward to turning this $600 into $60,000!”

Slotland.com, where victories like Charoo’s are celebrated every day and major jackpot wins happen every few weeks, features 13 unique games and is the most popular slot machine and video poker web site in the world. Slotland.com/mobile, which is compatible with virtually every phone model including Blackberry and the new iPhone, brings the five best games to mobile phones and PDAs.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Fox Baseball World Series Tournament – Free Roll This Saturday

Poker Tournament Champion Wins World Series Travel Package

Weekly Free Roll Qualifier: Saturdays at 3:30 pm EST; Final: September 22

Playing poker and watching baseball on TV simultaneously could be a multitasking nightmare for some couch potatoes, but the boys at PlayersOnly.com are mastering the art of poker between pitches. The grand prize winner of the Fox Baseball World Series Free Roll Tournaments will win an all expense paid trip to the World Series this fall. Free roll qualifiers began last weekend and continue this Saturday at 3:30 pm EST – just as Fox Television broadcasts Saturday afternoon games.

The top ten players in this weekend’s free roll will advance to the Fox Baseball World Series Tournament Final on September 22nd. Those that don’t win their way to the final table can buy into the $50.00 + $5.00 buy-in freeze-out tourney. Tournament details are posted here: http://www.playersonly.com/poker/free-roll.

“We’ve always got tournaments happening. Tournaments are a great way to get poker experience,” said PlayersOnly.com Manager David Anderson. “All you risk is the buy-in fee – so in a free roll you risk nothing. Everyone starts with the same stack of chips. And you play until one player has them all.”

This Saturday and every Saturday this summer, players will start with 1500 chips and advance through 8-minute levels. The top ten players – the Final Table – will automatically win a seat at the Grand Final Tournament on September 22nd. The winner of the Grand Final tournament will receive a deluxe travel package to attend the World Series including two box seats to Game 1, first class air for two, hotel suite and limo to and from stadium. The runner-up will receive two field level seats, coach air for two, a standard hotel room and limo to and from stadium. The Third Place player can watch the game from home on his new Proton 37" LCD TV.

For those extreme multitaskers that can play poker, watch TV AND predict who’ll take the pennant this fall, as of today the PlayersOnly.com Sportsbook favors the Detroit Tigers at 7-2 to win the World Series, followed by the Boston Red Sox at 4-1, the New York Mets at 6-1 and the Los Angeles Angels at 8-1.

In the recently re-designed PlayersOnly site, players enter the trendy, up-scale Poker Room, Sportsbook or Casino from the sexy, ultra-realistic Main Lobby where they’re greeted by site host Carrie Stroup and the ladies of PlayersOnly.

In addition to this Saturday tournament series, PlayersOnly.com is also presenting a Sunday free roll series where the winner will play in the WPT in Turks & Caicos. WPT Turks & Caicos satellites are held every Sunday.

PlayersOnly.com will award more than $25,000 in cash and prizes during this summer’s online poker free roll tournaments.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Slotland Launches Online Slot Machine Player Survey

One Player to Win $500 in Optional Free Contest

The world’s most popular slot machine web site has just launched an Online Slot Machine Player Survey to find out what’s on the minds of online slots players. One lucky survey respondent will win $500 in an optional draw at the end of the questionnaire. Between newsletters, blogs and attentive customer service, Slotland.com is in closer touch with their players than most. They’re about to get even closer.

“We know some things about what kinds of slot machines and video poker games players like best,“ said John Lancelet of Slotland.com. “We can see which ones get played the most. But we wanted to find out some other things like players‘ superstitions and strategies, where and when they play, things like that.“

The most comprehensive survey of online slot machine players ever conducted, the Slotland Online Slots Player Survey is being hosted by GamblingDaily.com. Anyone that’s ever played or thought about playing slot machines online is invited to participate.

“We didn’t want to hear only from our own players,“ said Lancelet, explaining the media partnership. “We want to hear from slot machine players everywhere.“

Do more people play at work or at home? How do players know when it‘s time to switch slot machines? Do slots players play poker? Who plays mobile games? Does anyone under 80 play slots? Do most people place max bets? How are British fruit machine players different than their American counterparts? These and other questions will be answered this fall when the survey results are reported.

The results of the survey will be published in the September issue of the monthly Slotland.com Newsletter, on Slotland’s info site, Slotland.info, on the community’s blog (slotlandnews.blogspot.com) and on GamblingDaily.com.

Slotland.com, which features 13 unique games, is the most popular slot machine and video poker web site in the world. Slotland.com/mobile, which is compatible with virtually every phone model including Blackberry and the new iPhone, brings the five best games to mobile phones and PDAs.

To take the Slotland.com Online Slots Player Survey click here.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

WSOP Partiers Love New PlayersOnly.com

PlayersOnly.com Unveils New Video-Rich Site at Las Vegas Party

Poker players at the recent PlayersOnly.com WSOP party in Las Vegas loved the new video-rich site that was unveiled at the event. The casino, poker, sportsbetting and horseracing site’s dramatic new look features video lobbies and animated service staff that create the most realistic– and sexually charged – online casino environment ever.

Hundreds of players got a sneak preview at the Vegas party from the site’s gorgeous hostess, model and sportsbetting columnist Carrie Stroup. They said:

“They’ve really nailed it. This is the kinda place I like to play!”

“Carrie Stroup is hot!”

“Cool. It feels like xBox or something!”

“Carrie Stroup is hot!” (A lot of people said that…)

“Poker and slutty chicks. What’s not to love!?”

“We wanted our customers to get that same rush of confidence a guy feels when he walks into a cool casino, ready to win it all,” said Brand Manager David Anderson as he showed off the new site at the Sapphire Club. “Nothing like a foxy lady lighting your cigar and handing you a drink to put you in the mood to play.”

Video elements incorporated throughout the site put the player right there, in what feels like the classiest, trendiest casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

"It’s funny, it’s the little stuff that people seem to love… like in the Help lobby when the receptionist swats a fly… or when you go to our Cashier and you catch the teller primping herself between customers… or the waitresses in the Casino and Poker lobbies -- just snap your fingers and they’re there with cigars and drinks.”

The slick new site will be busy all summer with WPT Turks & Caicos satellites every Sunday and Fox World Series Baseball free-roll tournaments each Saturday. More than $25,000 in prizes will be awarded in cash and prizes.

Tour of the new site with video hostess Carrie Stroup

For photos and video clips from “PlayersOnly Presents Bluff on the Strip”

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Big Month for Tila Tequila, TilaCasino.com Host & MySpace Diva

Between magazine covers, a new home on Second Life, and a controversial hit single, it’s been a big month for the self-made star

MySpace diva Tila Tequila has a lot to celebrate these days. Sure, she’s on the covers of both Penthouse and Black Men Magazines this month, “Tila’s Mansion” has just opened in the cyber-fantasy world Second Life and her single “I Love U” -- which she launched on iTunes without the help of any record labels -- is #2 at iTunes and racing to #1 on KIIS FM L.A. The immediate success of her online casino and poker room, TilaCasino.com, is icing on the cake.

“I’ve been playing poker since I was a kid. So launching a gambling site was a no-brainer,” says the young online entrepreneur. “But trust me, this isn’t like any other casino you’ve seen before!”

TilaCasino.com offers state-of-the-art casino games with live video dealers and is part of a huge poker network with great tournaments and jackpots. And the new online casino and poker room have Tila’s sexy touches at every turn.

TilaCasino.com features games and live video dealers powered by Playtech, the gaming industry’s leading online gaming software provider. The new casino site features all the usual table and card games as well as popular Asian games Mahjong and Pachinko and live Baccarat, Roulette, Blackjack and Sic Bo.

TilaCasino.com is licensed in Alderney, one of the strictest online gaming licensing jurisdictions in the world, which only licenses the most trustworthy and highest quality gaming sites.
TilaPoker.com is part of the iPoker network, the world’s largest poker network where there’s always thousands of other players online. Players from all over the globe can enjoy playing Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, or Seven Card Stud and choose from all types of cash prize tournaments including free rolls, qualifiers for the World Series of Poker, the World Poker Tour and the Aussie Millions.

Tila has appeared on sexy magazine covers like Maxim, made headlines in The Sun, and been featured in Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” issue. With her new online business, she continues to reach out to an audience that just can’t seem to get enough of her baddest-bitch-on-the-block style.