PlayersOnly.com Poker Tournaments This Weekend: 'Lucky You' & WSOP Satelite

Sunday Night Free Roll Champ Gets Trip to New York for Eric Bana & Drew Barrymore Poker Movie and Another Sunday Night Winner Will Be On Their Way to the WSOP

This Sunday night, PlayersOnly.com will host a free roll tournament where the winner gets a trip to New York and tickets to attend the exclusive Tribeca Film Festival premiere of “Lucky You”, Warner Brothers’ hot new poker movie starring Eric Bana and Drew Barrymore.

The prize package includes airfare and two nights of hotel accommodations courtesy of PlayersOnly.com. The 2nd through 6th place finishers will receive an autographed movie poster and CD soundtrack.

The “Lucky You” free roll takes place at PlayersOnly.com on Sunday, April 22, 2007 beginning at 7:00 pm ET. Step-by-step instructions for Tournament registration can be found at www.playersonly.com/LuckyYou/getting-started.php.

“Man, we’re just tournament crazy these days,” says PlayersOnly.com Brand Manager David Anderson. “This ‘Lucky You’ movie premiere tournament is in addition to our weekly Sunday night WSOP tournament. Every week we award a $12,000 prize package and send another lucky player to the WSOP! Now someone’s going to New York too!”

In one of the biggest WSOP giveaways this year, PlayersOnly.com will award a total of $150,000 in prizes. Each Sunday, PlayersOnly.com hosts a multi-table Texas Hold ‘Em tournament and awards a $12,000 World Series Prize Package which includes airfare, accommodation and enough cash to register in the ultimate poker tournament, the World Series of Poker Main Event. Players can win free seats at the Sunday night playoff in a series of qualifying satellites throughout the week or buy-in for $100.

In addition to the twelve ‘WSOP Giveaway Tournaments’ PlayersOnly.com’s ‘World Series Low Bid Auction’ is yet another way to get a seat at the Rio. In the auction where the lowest unique bid wins, the winner could find himself at the WSOP for a buck or less. Further information on the auction, which began last week, can be found at www.playersonly.com/bidwsop.

In “Lucky You”, released May 4, a man with personal demons (Eric Bana) learns about life from a wannabe lounge singer (Drew Barrymore) and runs into his estranged father (Robert Duvall) at a championship card tournament in Las Vegas. In the world of high-stakes poker, Huck Cheever (Eric Bana) is a blaster—a player who goes all out, all the time. When Huck sets out to win the main event of the 2003 World Series of Poker—and the affections of Billie Offer (Drew Barrymore), a young singer from Bakersfield—there is one significant obstacle in his path: his anger toward his father.

$12,000 WSOP Prize Package Could Go for a Buck!

PlayersOnly.com Auctions World Series Prize Package
In a unique auction starting this week at PlayersOnly.com, a $12,000 World Series prize package could go for a buck or less. The popular casino, poker and sportsbetting site has begun taking bids in its World Series Low Bid Auction. The bidder that makes the lowest unique bid on the prize between now and the close of the auction in June will be able to purchase, for the amount of their winning bid, the deluxe travel package. It includes airfare, accommodation and enough cash to enter the World Series of Poker.

“A chance to play in the Big One, that’s every poker player’s dream,” said PlayersOnly.com Brand Manager David Anderson. “Vegas… World Series… Talk about the perfect place to ‘unleash the player in you’! It’d be great seeing one of our guys at the Final Table!”

To win the auction, bidders must make the lowest unique bid. If they were the only one to bid one penny for example, they’d get the $12,000 prize for a cent. Of course, the odds of being the only one to bid a penny are probably pretty low – but you never know!

“Last month,” explained Anderson, “We did a Low Bid Auction for a plasma TV. The winner of that auction ended up getting a $1500 TV for just fifty cents!”

There were many bids for amounts of more and less than fifty cents, but more than one player bid on them. The winner was the only one to place a bid of $.50.

Bids can be placed online at www.playersonly.com/bidWSOP. Bids can also be placed by texting from a cell phone (full phone bid instructions also at www.playersonly.com/bidWSOP.) Any registered player can place bids and players can place as many bids as they want. Registration is free, however PlayersOnly.com accepts registrations from U.S. residents only. There is a charge of US$1.99 per bid – but the first bid is FREE.

$150K ‘WSOP Giveaway Tournaments’ Begin This Weekend

12 Weekly PlayersOnly.com Tournaments Will Send 12 $12K Winners to the Big One in Vegas

In one of the biggest WSOP giveaways this year, PlayersOnly.com will award a total of $150,000 in prizes during the twelve weekly ‘World Series Giveaway Tournaments’ that begin this weekend and continue through to the WSOP. Each Sunday, beginning April 8th, PlayersOnly.com will host a multi-table Texas Hold ‘Em tournament and, each and every week, will award a $12,000 World Series Prize Package to the winner. Players can win free seats at the Sunday night playoff in a series of qualifying satellites throughout the week or buy-in for $100.

The weekly $12,000 World Series Prize Package includes airfare, accommodation and enough cash to register in the ultimate poker tournament, the World Series of Poker Main Event, which will be held in Las Vegas July 6 – 17 at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

There are five ways to get a seat in the Sunday night tournaments: win one of the Free Roll Satellites held twice at day at PlayersOnly.com; avoid the Free Roll crowds by entering a Sit ‘n Go Cash Satellite; or win one of several daily multi-table cash satellites. There will also be special Gold Chip Satellites for regular players that have earned Gold Chips. But even those that don’t win a free seat at the Sunday night match can get a shot at the weekly $12,000 prize with a direct $100 buy-in. Complete tournament details can be found at www.playersonly.com/poker/wsop.php.

In addition to the twelve ‘WSOP Giveaway Tournaments’ PlayersOnly.com’s ‘World Series Low Bid Auction’ is yet another way to get a seat at the Rio. In the auction where the lowest unique bid wins, the winner could find himself at the WSOP for a buck or less. Further information on the auction, which began this week, can be found at www.playersonly.com/bidwsop.

The 2007 World Series of Poker $10,000.00 buy-in main event is by far the biggest, most prestigious poker tournament of the year. Last year’s winner took home $12 million and this year’s prize pool could be even bigger. With at least thirteen at the Main Event, this year’s winner could well be a PlayersOnly.com player.

Grandma Wins $775 on $15 Pull

Wild Hearts Paid Off and Grandson Gets New Shoes!

The big jackpot is still waiting to be won at Slotland.com, but smaller wins that make big differences happen every day. For one of the popular slot machine web site’s thousands of grandmas, a recent $775 win on a $15 bet meant paying off some debts and buying her grandson new shoes.

“Of course it’s exciting to win a huge jackpot – and we’re certainly overdue for a big progressive jackpot winner,” said Hannah Morante of Slotland.com. “But smaller wins can make big differences, too. We see lots of players win a few hundred on a small bet, and we’re excited every time!”

The lucky granny, known at Slotland.com as “MAGAMILL”, was going through a stack of bills one night, wondering how they’d ever get paid off.

“I sure don’t rely on winning at the slot machines to pay off my debts,” said the grandma, “I just decided to play that night to forget about bills for awhile.”

After making a small deposit she went straight to her favourite slot machine, Wild Heart. She made a maximum bet of $15, which may not be much for some but for MAGAMILL it was more than she’d usually bet on one spin. Fortunately, that’s when good fortune came calling.

“On my third pull, to my amazement appeared two kings, one Wild Heart, another king, and oh my god, another Wild Heart! Not on one line, not on two lines, but on all three lines!” recalls the ecstatic player. “I had just won $775. Imagine betting just $15 and winning that much!”

MAGAMILL considered quitting while she was ahead, but she felt lucky and kept playing. In five minutes, she’d gotten her winnings up to $1000 and that’s when she cashed out. Her win that night didn’t exactly pay off the mortgage, but it was more than enough to buy her grandson something he badly needed – new shoes.

Slotland.com has winners like this every day but every six weeks or so the big progressive jackpot gets hit for well over $100,000. Since there hasn’t been a jackpot winner since January, the feeling around Slotland.com is that it must be about time. The only question is which of Slotland’s nine unique slot machines will the winner be playing? And will they be at their computer or will they be playing one of the five real-money games now available on mobile phones?

WPT Mobile Brings Hold'em to Your Phone

Mobile Content Aggregator Adds World Poker Tour Texas hold 'Em and 7 Card Stud to its Mobile Casino Games Collection

Hands-On Mobile, a respected international developer and distributor of mobile content and applications, and World Poker Tour Enterprises have announced a lengthy extension to their highly profitable deal to make the ever-popular World Poker Tour Texas Hold’em Internet casino game and other products accessible to mobile phones worldwide.

'We’re excited to continue our relationship with the World Poker Tour,” says Jonathan Sacks, Chief Executive Officer, Hands-On Mobile. “Together, we brought cutting-edge connected games to the forefront of the market and made World Poker Tour Texas Hold ‘Em the most successful mobile poker game in the world.”

World Poker Tour Texas Hold’em has caught the imagination of poker enthusiasts the world over with over 5 million downloads, hundreds of thousands of hands played weekly, and tens of thousands of users per month.

“Extending our brand beyond television and onto mobile devices has catapulted the World Poker Tour franchise into the number 1 poker brand across multiple platforms, including television, mobile and online,” said Steve Lipscomb, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, World Poker Tour Enterprises.

MaharajahClub.com Shortens Odds on India as Team Prepares for Tonight's Must Win Game Against Sri Lanka

Indian Souray Ganguly Strong Contender But Ricky Ponting Remains Favourite for Best Batsman

Odds on India to win the Cricket World Cup were lengthened after their shocking loss to Bangladesh in the Opening Match of Group B, but their win over Bermuda on Monday prompted MaharajahClub.com bookmakers to shorten the odds on India winning the Cup to 8/1. Australia remains the clear favourite at 2/1 to take the coveted cricket prize.

India, which had a record-breaking 257 runs in Monday’s game, must win tonight’s match against rival Sri Lanka to continue in the tournament. Additionally, with 155 runs so far, Indian Batsman Sourav Ganguly (12/1) is a strong contender for Best Batsman in the tournament but Australia’s Ricky Ponting (136 runs) is the favourite for this prop at 6/1.

“Most of our punters are southeast Asians living in Britain, so their loyalties are split between India and England,” said Sachin Pawa CEO of MaharajahClub.com. “The loss against Bangladesh had some people sceptical about India and we started to see more money wagered on England, but since the win against Bermuda we’re seeing much more money back on India this week.”

MaharajahClub.com offers more Cricket World Cup betting propositions than any other online sportsbook. While most sportsbetting sites just offer cricket as an afterthought, MaharajahClub.com offers odds on every match in the month-long Cricket World Cup tournament as well as player props like Best Batsman and Best Bowler. MaharajahClub.com offers in-running wagering on many games including Saturday’s Australia/South Africa match-up.

The Second Stage, or Super 8, phase of the Cricket World Cup continues next week in Antigua & Barbuda, Grenada, Guyana and Barbados. The Semi-Final Round will be held in Jamaica and St. Lucia the following week with the Final Match in Barbados April 28th.

Complete and current Cricket World Cup odds and props are posted at the MaharajahClub.com Sportsbook (www.MclubSports.com).

Asian Poker Classic Introduces the Sport of Poker to India

International Poker Tournament in Goa Deemed a Huge Success

March 4th 2007 was an historic day in Indian sport as Carl Hostrup from Denmark (1st place), Samuel Lehtonen from Sweden (2nd place), and Pranav Bathija from India (3rd place) shared their portion of the $1,000,000 (44,490,085 INR) prize pool at the Asian Poker Classic (APC) sponsored by MaharajahClub.net, India’s first-ever professional poker tournament.

“This is my biggest tournament win, and I still cannot believe that I am the champion. Yesterday I told people that I would win, not to boast, but to give myself the positive attitude I needed to win. I came up with a strategy on how to play the final table, and combined with my positive attitude, played my way to first place,” said Hostrup.

The tournament attracted 143 participants from over 15 countries to compete for the $1,000,000 prize including high profile players such as Ross Boatman, Roy Brindley, Mark Goodwin, Issac Gulazan, Arshad Hussain, Mel Judah, John Kabbaj, Lee Nelson, Jani Sointula, Surinder Sunar and Willie Tann. The main event, held over three days at Goa’s luxury five-star Intercontinental Grand Resort, was the first of its kind, and has introduced the globally-popular sport of poker to the Indian sub-continent. The poker tournament provided a unique experience -- unlike anything the poker community has seen before.

“Poker is a global sport with players from almost every country around the globe. And now India has taken its place as a viable poker destination. We are extremely proud of the success of this year’s Asian Poker Classic and hope that it provides the platform for the future growth and development of the game in India,” said Imran Hassan, Director of Operations for the Asian Poker Classic.

Not only was this tournament a first for India, but it was one of the most generous tournaments in poker history, with sponsors MaharajahClub.net guaranteeing a minimum $1,000,000 minimum prize pool and a $250,000 overlay. The tournament also marked the introduction of Team Maharajah - a group predominantly of Indian players who took the tournament by storm. Team Maharaja proved that Indian poker players could compete with the world’s best, with five Asian players finishing in the money, including a third place result from Pranav Bathija of Mumbai.

“Of course we knew Indian poker players would come to the APC, but we wanted to make sure that this tournament would be recognised throughout the global poker community, and that it would bring the best poker players from around the world to compete in India. The final table alone included players from Denmark, Great Britain, India, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Vietnam,” said Hassan

“It’s also been a feast for the Danes at APC – two of us made it in the money but, I can see that the game has a bright future here in India. Pranav has a great future ahead of him in poker and if all Indian players are good like him, we are in big trouble,” said Carl Hostrup.

Pranav Bathija, who learned the game of poker in just four months playing at MaharajaClub.net, commented, “I have enjoyed my path along the poker trail; I have developed a true love for the game, and am grateful that my training on MaharajahClub.net has now come to fruition. It was a fantastic experience and I wish to win it next year!”

African School Children Say Thank-you Slotland!

Classes begin at Malawi School Funded by Slotland.com

Classes have begun at the rural African school built by popular online casino and mobile slot machine site, Slotland.com. It’s not only changing the lives of the children of Juma, Malawi – the project is now reaching out to bring new hope to surrounding villages as well.

“In Europe and America and everywhere Slotland.com games are played, we take basics like education and food and water for granted,” said Hannah Morante of Slotland.com. “Slotland feels obliged to share our bounty.”

A little more than a year ago, Slotland.com began collaborating with local villages in Malawi to build and operate the elementary school. Classes have now begun and hundreds of villagers are involved in maintaining the school and the demonstration gardens that feed its 116 students.

"These people don’t know what an online slot machine is and they’ve never seen a mobile phone, never mind played video poker on one,” said Slotland’s local project coordinator. “But they do understand generosity and are all forever grateful to Slotland.com.”

Opening a school takes more than construction of a building. The popular online and mobile slots machine site provided all funding for building the school as well as training volunteers and recruiting teaching staff. They’ve also provided skilled project coordinators to teach villagers to run the school when they eventually leave.

The school, known as Umodzi-Mbame, provides meals to all students and even grows the food it serves. Its gardens have been used to demonstrate new farming methods to local farmers – ways to conserve soil and water and produce more food with less work.

We got the village elders on side from the start,” explains the project coordinator. “Our project depends on the involvement of the whole community so their support was critical. It’s amazing what a positive difference Slotland has made here."

3GSM Good News for Mobile Gambling

Slotland.com’s Mobile Games Manager Liked What He Heard in Barcelona

When I had lunch in London last month with John Lancelent, Mobile Games Director with Slotland.com, he was soon on his way to 3GSM, the big mobile conference in Barcelona. I talked to him the other day about what impressed him there and let's just say it's all good for those of us that like to play games on our phones.

There was a lot to take in at the massive international exposition that covered everything mobile -- from hardware and handsets and telcom infrastructure to entertainment and content. One thing is clear though -- rapidly developing technologies are making it easier, cheaper and more fun to play casino games like slot machines on mobile phones. And that puts a smile on John's face.

“The hottest topic in Barcelona was mobile video and mobile TV. Everyone is excited about delivering music videos, short films and TV news to mobile phones.” said Lancelet. “What excites ME about that is that any phone capable of handling video multimedia is also great for playing slot machines and that means more players coming on board.”

Every year, mobile phones get smarter and more capable of playing graphically rich games.

“At 3GSM, all the new phones the handset manufacturers were showing off had higher display resolution -- 240 x 320 is becoming the standard,” said Lancelet. “That’s just what you want for mobile games like our slot machines and video poker games.”

No matter how cool phones get, or how many new real-money games providers like Slotland.com/mobile develop, one barrier to mobile gambling is still the cost of data transfer. Visiting a lot of WAP sites on your phone’s Internet browser can add up. Fortunately, Lancelet observed a trend that will improve that too.

“It seems more GSM network operators are offering flat rate wireless data tariffs,” observed Lancelet. “That’s good news for the mobile gambler too!”

First-ever Personalised Mobile Scratch Card Launches to Rave Reviews

WinOne launches GemScope at 3GSM World Congress, Barcelona


WinOne, the Finnish supplier of money games for mobile internet, announced the release of the first personalised scratch card available on mobile phones.

The java-based scratch card, featuring a horoscope theme, comes in twelve versions, each matching an astrological sign. Moreover each sign is matched with a precious stone, hence its name - GemScope.

GemScope enables players to use phone keys to “scratch” their star sign and win money or prizes. The special feature of the game is that there is always a second stage providing a personalised horoscope, so that the player experience is different each time they play - whether they win or lose. Further personalised stages are also available - without buying a new ticket.

“With this type of game mobile players feel they are getting much more value,” commented Rufus Miles, WinOne VP of Business Development. “Of course they have the chance to win a big prize – but even if they lose, they still get personalised content. We think this is unique in the mobile money gaming market today.”

According to WinOne, GemScope is the first of a range of games to push its Mobile EnterGainment® concept to a whole new level. Mobile EnterGainment® is a new idea in mobile money gaming, offering a rich, personalised entertainment experience – as well as the chance to win money and prizes and interact with friends through powerful community features.

Rufus Miles said: “Mobile players around the world look for responsible gaming solutions, excitement, security - but above all varied entertainment. WinOne is able to offer all of this, and across both mobile and internet, if needed.” He added: “Over the next few months we shall be releasing several other games based on this idea, each one with more personalised content than the last.”

Underpinning GemScope, as with all WinOne’s games, is the EnterGainment® Gaming Platform. WinOne provides the platform and the gaming solution as a managed service, including distribution and handset recognition, hosting, back office operations and payment processing. Players will be able to use a single wallet and move seamlessly between mobile and internet if they wish.

The Coolest Thing Ever Just Changed Online Poker

The Coolest Thing Ever is Now Live on Bluff Magazine’s website

It’s here! The Coolest Thing Ever has launched on the newly designed http://www.bluffmagazine.com/ website, and is changing the way online poker players track, interact, and satisfy their poker urges online.

The foundation of The Coolest Thing Ever is thepokerdb, the most comprehensive online tournament database in the world. With results going back as far as 2004, thepokerdb has tracked hundreds of thousands of tournament results, which has been the catalyst for ranking almost two million players based on tournament performance, total lifetime winnings, biggest cashes, “streak” stats, and much more. There is no more accurate way to track your play or compare yourself to the rest of the poker community that with thepokerdb. It is hands-down the largest player-accessible poker database anywhere on the planet.

But with a name like The Coolest Thing Ever, this tool has to be more than super-useful, it has to make poker more fun; that’s what the new community tools are for. The new Buddy List allows you to track your friends online, see where they are playing, and view their up to date results on your own customizable personal dashboard. But if you don’t have time to sit online and watch your buddy reach the final table, new Buddy Alerts will notify you when he gets there. Live on your PC, by email or on your Mobile Phone via Text Message, Buddy Alerts are there to keep you in the action, even when you can’t be at your PC.

Besides being useful, fun, and communal, The Coolest Thing Ever saves you time and energy, getting you to the tables faster than ever. The real-time Custom Tournament Directory means that you’ll never have to load every piece of poker software you own to find the tournament structure, game, buy in, prize range, site preference and starting time that best suits your needs. Simply enter your requirements and the Custom Tournament Directory will direct you to the action.

“The Coolest Thing Ever has been a massive technical challenge” said Jeff Markley, CTO of Bluff Magazine. “Migrating and manipulating millions of records, and adding never-before used technologies has been a labor of love, but its something that, as a poker player, I know will be appreciated by the poker community. All I can tell everybody is to try it – once they do they will never stop using it”, continued Markley.

To try The Coolest Thing Ever, visit http://www.bluffmagazine.com/ and click the link to The Coolest Thing Ever.

Five Stars Sign Up for Asian Poker Classic

Top names announced for the guaranteed $1million tournament in India

Five of the world’s top poker stars will play in the Asian Poker Classic, the largest poker tournament ever staged in India, taking place in beautiful coastal resort of Goa from March 1-5, 2007. The $1 Million guaranteed jackpot combined with a minimum $250,000 overlay makes this tournament one of the richest in the world.

Ram Vaswani, Arshad Hussain, Surinder Sunar, Lee Nelson and Mel Judah have announced that they will compete for a share of the guaranteed US $1million prize pool and £250,000 add-in in this televised poker event!

The Asian Poker Classic is sponsored by online gaming site Maharajah Club and the five players who have signed up have huge profiles in the game thanks to their formidable achievements:

Ram Vaswani – a member of the London-based Hendon Mob, Vaswani’s live tournament winnings exceed $2.3 million. The 36-year-old is the only player to have made three final tables on the European Poker Tour (EPT).

Arshad Hussain – Hussain topped the European Rankings in 2006 after a series of remarkable performances. The 33-year-old from Accrington in Lancashire came second in the EPT Grand Final Event at Monte Carlo, winning $644,825.

Surinder Sunar – The Wolverhampton-based player earned $822,631 when he won the Paris Grand Prix on the World Poker Tour (WPT) in 2004. Sunar is famed for his poker face – he has an inner calm and shows absolutely no emotion at the table.

Lee Nelson – New Zealander Nelson has been the top-rated player in Australia and New Zealand for the past seven years. He was 2006 Aussie Millions champion, earning him more than $1 million.

Mel Judah – UK-based Aussie player Judah won bracelets at the WSOP in 1989 and 1997 and was 2003 Legends of Poker winner, collecting $579,375. He made the final table of the main event at the WSOP in 1997.

Sachin Pawa, CEO of sponsor Maharajah Club (http://www.maharajahclub.com/), said: “It is fantastic to see such high-profile players participate in India’s first poker tournament and I’m looking forwarded to hosting them and Europe’s top Asian poker players. The surroundings in Goa and huge prizes on offer mean the Asian Poker Classic will be one of the most exciting and eagerly-awaited events on the poker calendar.”

150 players are expected at the event, which will be held at the five-star Intercontinental hotel at Grand Resort Goa. Register to play in the tournament at http://www.asianpokerclassic.com/qualify.html or email team@asianpokerclassic.com for further information.

London’s Annual iGaming Networking Week a Marathon of Parties!

One thing ya gotta love about the igaming industry is we know how to party! Sure, conferences like ICEi and CAP Euro offer seminars and lots of formal opportunities to soak up news and information. But let’s face it – the real business is done at all the cool networking parties that are such an important part of the annual week of online gaming events in London.

Yes, everyone in London was talking about the impact of UIGEA, but it seemed to me the consensus among the thousands of casino and poker operators, affiliates and gambling media that gathered in London was that sure, lots have taken a hit losing their American business – but at the end of the day there are other expanding and lucrative markets to focus their attention on. America? Who cares – Europe is hot!

Lyceum Fire & Ice was, as usual, the biggest and best party of the week, held just as ICEi was wrapping up and the CAP Euro crowd were arriving in town. Lyceum got a huge venue this year – a posh new Picadilly night club -- to accommodate the 1500 partiers. Thanks to Cryptologic and NextGen Gaming who kept the open bars open. (See www.lyceummedia.com/events for photos.)



The next day I had the pleasure of escorting Tila Tequila, the Queen of MySpace, to promotional press appearances around London, including the huge launch party for TilaCasino.com. Tila and her Tila Girls were raunchy and sexy and in extreme performance mode -- the air was thick with hormones at this posh Mayfair bash. TilaCasino.com invited all CAP Euro delegates, so it was one of the first of many rowdy affiliate gatherings. (See www.lyceummedia.com/tilacasino for photos.)

Another event I really enjoyed was Bodog’s party at the Café De Paris. The place reeked with history -- Prince Charles, Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, Mick Jagger, Andy Warhol, Christian Slater have all partied there. But the slick Bodog crew turned it into a high energy mingler by filling the ornate celebrity hot spot with sexy videos and thumpa thumpa music. The room had to be cleared at ten for another private party so everyone spilled out onto the busy London streets and wound up at various Picadilly Circus venues.

I only spoke to one guy that had started the week with the mobile gambling summit -- John Lancelet from Slotland.com. Slotland was one of the first to test the mobile gambling waters and John, who sees mobile phone users as the biggest new market for online gambling to target, suggested more of the online gambling crowd should come a few days earlier next January if they don’t want to miss out.

3GSM in Barcelona this month is the next big event on John’s calendar. It’s a huge gathering of mobile operators, vendors and content owners from across the world where I’m sure mobile gambling will have a strong presence. But it couldn’t possibly be the crazy marathon of parties that happens every January when the online gambling world converges on London!

Based in Vancouver, Canada, Larry Colcy is an account manager with London’s igaming PR and events specialists Lyceum Media.

New 'Striking 7s' Mobile Video Poker Added to Slotland.com Java Games

Blackberry one of thousands of mobile devices now supportedby veteran mobile games provider

Slotland.com has added another Video Poker game – one that’s already a hit online -- to their suite of real-money mobile slot machines and video poker games. The long-popular slot machine web site was one of the first to offer mobile casino gambling when they launched their first slot machine for phones and PDAs back in 2005 and has been continually adding new mobile games ever since.

"We've made substantial improvements since we first launched or mobile platform," said Slotland.com Mobile Marketing Manager, Martin Smith. "We now have two mobile slot machines and two mobile video poker games, and we now support over a thousand different mobile devices, including the Blackberry, which only a really small number of other mobile gaming platform providers support."

"Striking 7s" is a video poker game, with a unique Doubling Feature. It has been one of the most popular games on the community’s web site since the day it was introduced earlier this year. After a win, Striking 7s players are offered the option to "Double or Collect". If they choose to try and double their winnings, another five cards are dealt and the player has one chance to pick the hidden high card.

Slotland’s mobile players use the same account that they play with online and can deposit and withdraw from their mobile phone just as they would online. The mobile games are tied to Slotland.com’s Progressive Jackpot which is famous for being frequently hit for well over $100K.

With more mobile games to choose from, and more of their players playing on their phones now, Slotland.com is seeing more and more wins on mobile devices.

"Just last week we had two players win over $3000 playing on their phones," said Smith. "One was playing Lucky Stars and the other was Jacks or Better. We’ve a few people hit a Royal Flush on their mobile device. That’s a nice win – and they could have been just about anywhere when they hit it!"

Lyceum Events Announces “Studio 54” Theme for Fire & Ice 2007

Big week for the online gambling industry coming up in London. Thousands of industry execs will fly in for the huge ICEi exhibition and thousands of rowdy affiliate webmasters will be in town for CAP Euro. There's also a Mobile Gambling Summit happening the same week. Lucky me -- I'll be there for it all!

The biggest social networking event of the week is, without a doubt, Lyceum Media's annual Fire & Ice 2007 party. They've just announced that this year's party theme will be Studio 54 -- so I guess I better start practicing my hustle!

With the support of sponsors, software provider CryptoLogic, games developer NextGen Gaming and payment solutions provider Wirecard, the party will be held on Wednesday 24th January at Paper&Glass, 9 Glass House Street, doors opening 8pm. Pokerzone will also join the party to film a news feature which will include interviews with some of the top industry names attending the event.

Lyceum Events will create the iconic theme by flooding the venue with a mixture of original digitally enhanced Studio 54 imagery, inter-mingled with sponsor branding, and specially chosen graphics developed and designed by Platinum sponsors CryptoLogic and NextGen Gaming. Decorative lighting effects and cracked mirror balls will also complement the synchronised projections to make Fire & Ice the most exuberant party within the 2007 iGaming calendar.

With the increase in popularity, Lyceum Events has secured a venue that will hold up to 1000 guests, giving iGaming Executives the opportunity to party late into the night with an evening of entertainment guaranteed to send them back to the hedonistic days of Studio 54.

Jodie Thind of Lyceum Media said: “Looking back over the last six years, it’s incredible to think how significant Fire & Ice has become as part of the iGaming calendar. Fire & Ice is a recognised brand within the Lyceum portfolio and the opportunities are endless. With the support of our sponsors Fire & Ice is a yearly event that is here to stay and can only get bigger.”

Justin Thouin, Vice President of Casino, CryptoLogic said: "As Platinum Sponsors we are working very closely with Lyceum Events to ensure that our innovation and vision is recognised immediately by guests attending Fire & Ice. The games graphics we have chosen are complimentary to the theme and are specific to our exciting games and new licensee launches.”

Admittance to the event is by special VIP wristband from one of the sponsors or with a printed invitation from Lyceum.

I'll let you know about the big CAP Euro party I'll be going to as well as a celebrity casino launch I've been invited to. Check this space for pics!

Online Slots Players Have Regional Preferences & Global Favourites

Slotland.com Survey Shows 'Lucky Stars' Most Popular Online Slot Machine in America, Britain, Europe & Australia

A recent player survey at Slotland.com shows that online slot machine players may have regional preferences, but they also have universal favourites. While some games are more popular in America and others in Europe or Asia or Australia, one in particular is a favourite with players around the world. “Lucky Stars” is Slotland.com’s most popular mobile game with customers everywhere.

“Sometimes it’s hard to understand why people are attracted to one game over another,” said Hannah Morante at Slotland.com. “Lucky Stars isn’t our only multi-line slot, and all of our games are tied into the same progressive jackpots – even the mobile games. So that’s not why it’s so universally popular. I guess people just think the little space man is cute!”

Analysts may not always know why people choose one game over another, but there are a few things that can be quantified. It seems that the “Booster”, a three-wheel, single-payline slot machine where you can “boost” your bet, is more popular with American players than in Britain where “fruit machine” players seem to prefer more classic slot machines like the “Golden 8”, a 9-wheel 8-payline slot machine that features the largest slot wheels ever on the Internet. Although there are slot machines in every Pachinko parlour in Japan and the casinos in Macau are adding them as fast as they can, Asian players still tend to play video poker more than slots.

So far about a third of Slotland.com players play on both their computer and their mobile phone. Since Slotland is continually adding new games to its mobile suite (“Striking 7s” mobile launched just last month) that’s one statistic that’s likely to change.

Neteller is another global preference. Although Slotland.com offers other banking options, players everywhere use Neteller more than the others, especially now that the Neteller Card enables almost instant withdrawals at ATMs around the world.

“It’s such a small world,” wrote one Slotland player in a story written for the Slotland.com community Newsletter. “It’s funny to think that while I’m playing slots or video poker on my WebTV in California, there’s people playing the same game on their phone in London or their laptop in Tokyo!”

With nine unique slot machines and video poker games on their web site and now four also available on mobile phones and PDAs, Slotland.com is one of the most innovative and trustworthy online casinos in the world.

Asian Poker Classic the Main Draw for Goa in 2007

The inaugural Asian Poker Classic, March 1-5, will be the biggest event held in Goa, India this year!

The Asian Poker Classic (APC) is the first professional poker tournament to be held in India. It will be sponsored by MaharajahClub.com and offer one of Asia’s richest ever poker prize pool – a guaranteed $1 million. The three-day APC main event marks poker’s arrival to the big time in India.

Goa is the perfect venue. The resort has become the new ‘it’ spot for people seeking luxury surroundings in India. Spectacular New Year celebrations promise to attract tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world as Goa changes its image into one of glitz and glamour.

Goa is set to transform itself into a gambling mecca over the next 12 months, which underlines that the APC is being held in exactly the right place at the right time. Plans are afoot to build a series of luxury casinos in Goa starting in 2007, so that the venue will eventually rival Macao as Asia’s number one gambling destination.

A further coup for the APC is hiring Thomas Kremser as tournament director. The Austrian poker expert has run numerous festivals around the world and played a central role in establishing poker on television across the globe.

“The Asian Poker Classic is not just the biggest poker event scheduled for India in 2007 – it’s one of the biggest events anywhere in the world. With big names ready to take part and Goa the perfect setting, it’s the most exciting new poker tournament of the year,” said Kremser.

A number of Bollywood and Hollywood celebs will attend to play, watch and have a good time. Names and details will be released in the weeks leading up to the event – watch this space!

Sachin Pawa, CEO of tournament sponsors Maharajah Club, said: “We are proud to be associated with such a prestigious event. The APC will promote poker in India and we look forward to the APC becoming a fixture on the poker circuit.”

IntertopsPoker.com Celebrates Winner in the Billionth Hand Promotion

Lady Luck Hits at Intertops.com for one Lucky Poker Player

The Intertops.com Lady Luck was well and truly on the side of a 27 year old Finnish poker enthusiast, Petteri S. as he sat playing Texas Hold 'em on IntertopsPoker.com, when his table was handed the honor of receiving the 1,000,000,000th played hand on the network.

Petteri S. instantly won a cash prize and free entries to all guaranteed tournaments for a whole day. And if that wasn’t enough, he also received free entry to a $250,000 guaranteed tournament.

Using his alias "T-Bone-Pete", Petteri S is a new comer to the world of poker and started playing at IntertopsPoker.com just two days previously.

Petteri S said “I have only been playing poker for six months. I never imagined that I could win so big, so quickly. I started playing with Intertops.com because of recommendations online. It’s a ´big house´ with a long history online, so I thought it must be reliable. I think the poker software is also one of the best online.”

The Billionth Hand promotion was yet another Player initiative from IntertopsPoker.com, the site offering the most satellites to land-based tournaments online. IntertopsPoker.com is part of the Microgaming Poker Network, which is the fastest growing poker network on the internet.

MaharajahClub.com Brings Online Gambling to India

MaharajahClub.com is set to widen its reach when play-for-fun only gaming site MaharajahClub.net goes live in India on November 1.

As the first online gaming site to specifically target the Asian market in the UK, Europe and South East Asia, Maharajah Club is ideally placed to make an impact in the up-and-coming market in India. The new US law making online gambling illegal is set to have an impact on the industry worldwide and as the focus switches to new markets, Maharajah Club will use its strong cultural relevancy and team of experts to make its mark in Asia.

India boasts one of the most rapidly growing economies in the world with highly educated affluent communities expanding at astronomical rates, a familiar environment for the gaming community. Poker is a very new recreation among India’s middle-classes and could follow other pop culture trends as an example of the way Indians strongly embrace western pastimes and passions.

As the first online gaming site to aim its launch towards the Asian market, MaharajahClub.net brings the fun side of gaming to India. Their new play-for-fun site will help grow the game on the continent by teaching first-timers how to play and increase poker’s widespread appeal among beginners and seasoned players alike.

Maharajah Club has already underpinned its commitment to India with its involvement in a Bollywood-based TV show and support for MahaCricket.com, a cricket website carrying news stories, latest stats and community news. This follows the news that Maharajah Club will be sponsoring the Asian Poker Classic (APC), which will be held at The Grand Resort in Goa, India from March 1-4 2007. The APC is the first major professional poker tournament to be held in India and will include players who have won $7,500 prize packages via satellite tournaments held at MaharajahClub.com.

Sachin Pawa, CEO of Maharajah Gaming, says, “This is the first time an online gaming company has targeted an audience based on ethnicity. It happens in land-based casino around the world. By targeting ethnically, we can cater to the culturally specific needs of our clients in a way that no other casino on the net can.”

Household Slots Tournament Adds Excitement

Husband and wife compete against each other on WebTV & computer

Logged on side-by-side – one on the household computer and the other using WebTV – a husband and wife team at Slotland.com has created their own household slots tournament. When players TOOTY and REENY34 go head to head, the jackpot prize -- picking a chore for the loser to do -- is better than cash they say.

“My wife and I have been pulling slots at Slotland.com for over seven years now,” said TOOTY, “But this month was special because we purchased a new computer and now we play in the same room, at the same time. I’m on WebTV because the TV screen is bigger and my wife is on the computer because she says it’s faster.”

The pair starts out with $100 each and they can choose whatever games they like. Every three hours, whoever has the most money picks one chore from a list of chores for the other to complete during their break.

In a recent after-dinner tournament, they each won $250 within twenty-five minutes hitting four of a kind at Jacks or Better – TOOTY twice on $5 bets and REENY34 just once but with a $10 bet. TOOTY later changed strategy when REENY34 took the lead and switched to placing max bets playing the Treasure Box slot machine.

“After three hours of competition, my wife had $900 in total wins and I had $700. I did the chore that night!”

“Many other online casinos don’t allow two members of the same household to open separate accounts,” said Hannah Morante of Slotland.com. “Which means Slotland.com is about the only place where you can enjoy head-to-head competitions.”

“Actually, they could have as many friends join them as they can fit in their living room,” reminds Slotland.com Mobile Gambling Manager, Martin Smith. “You can play our most popular slots on any mobile phone or PDA!”