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The Chinese Government is coming down hard on those owning and operating online gambling sites within the confines of their country. A federal court in Shanghai dished out sentences to twenty people owning and operating online gambling sites this week. The sentences ranged from one to six years depending on the defendants involvement within the online gambling rings.  

China has very strict laws against online gambling and the punishments are harsh when caught. Qian Baochun, considered by many to be the leader of the entire operation, got six years in prison along with a $735, 000 fine.  

The main players were able to operate within China by opening accounts using off-shore user information and once in they would attract potential gamblers through their developed and established network. It is rumored that the organizers of the ring earned upwards of $250, 000 during the year through affiliates and the total bets over the year were in excess of a billion dollars.  

A spokesman for the Chinese government noted as this being the most notable case against online gambling rings being operated within China. The government has made a statement to continue to come down hard on those involved in online gambling and trying to beat the system.

The WPT Celebrity Invitational featured the likes of Jon Hamm, Marlon Wayans, Lukas Haas, William Hung, Jose Canseco, and Ricki Lake, all of whom made it through the second day of play. 

As Bluff Magazine points out, the only six players taking home any money are those who will resume play in front of the TV cameras this Monday evening with play resuming at 7 pm PST.

The seats were as follows:

Seat 1:  Scott Clements  -  1,170,000

Seat 2:  Freddy Deeb  -  1,190,000

Seat 3:  Jose "J.J." Tavares  -  1,390,000

Seat 4:  Nick Gonzalez  -  1,190,000

Seat 5:  Tom Hall  -  2,310,000

Seat 6:  Ottavio Tassone  -  850,000

Scott Clements is a professional poker player from Mount Vernon, Washington, United States, who has won titles in both World Poker Tour (WPT) and World Series of Poker (WSOP) events.  He has over $3.1 million in career live tournament winnings.

Freddy Deeb is the Lebanon-born poker player who won fourth season World Poker Tour (WPT) Ultimate Poker Classic event and a cool million dollars.  He has just shy of $6 million career live tournament winnings.

Play with Nicky Hilton at Doylesroom.com.  You could also receive up to $550 in free cash when opening an account at one of the fastest growing online poker rooms on the planet.

Ace King, Gambling911.com

Former Cryptologic CEO, Javaid Aziz, who ran the publicly traded online software company business from April 2007 to February 2008, has been trying to establish a foothold in an effort to gain control.  The company this week rejected calls from Aziz to hold an "extraordinary meeting" according to the Financial Times of London.   Aziz enjoys more than a 10 percent stake in the company and has been demanding that Cryptologic’s Chairperson removed.  The Board has issued a statement alleging Aziz to be a distraction and additionally published emails to and from Aziz in what many view as "pubic desperation".

CryptoLogic sent the letter to Mr. Aziz on February 22 and provided him until 5:00 pm Eastern Time on February 23 to advise the company of how he intended to address the deficiencies in his requisitions. At the time of this release, the company has not received a response.

The letter also expresses the board’s strong view that an EGM – with its substantial distraction and expense — is not in the best interests of shareholders at a time when the board and management are focusing on returning the company to profitability. CryptoLogic’s new business strategy is in the advanced stages of implementation, and shareholders will have an opportunity to evaluate the company’s progress at an annual general meeting expected in late May or early June.

The complete letter to Mr. Aziz will be available on the EDGAR and SEDAR sites, which are accessible from the investor page of the CryptoLogic site (http://www.cryptologic.com/investor23.asp). To view a copy of the letter, visit: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/cry223.pdf

According to the Financial Times report, Stephen Taylor, chief financial officer, said Mr Aziz made repeated demands for money and threats to sue while he was at the helm.

Mr Aziz dismissed the attack by CryptoLogic as an attempt to distract shareholders from what he alleged was a problem of corporate governance at the company.  Aziz also claimed he never asked for compensation and that his grievance was over the strike price of the share options that he was granted..

Cryptologic has long been among the online gambling industry’s most stable publicly traded companies.  In recent months, the firm has lost some of its most cherished clients including the Playboy Casino and Sun Poker.  Of even more significance was the loss of Cryptologic’s largest licensee, William Hill, to Playtech last month. 

Aziz sent a letter to the board expressing his view that the company should promptly execute on a recovery plan designed to stabilize revenues, streamline size and operations, achieve cost reductions, more effectively manage cash flows, and take other steps to improve operating and financial performance.

Among the allegations made by Mr. Aziz, that "The Board of Management have effectively Squandered $4.2M of shareholder funds in an abortive foreign exchange transaction (as reported by the Company).

Who on the Board has been held accountable for this loss which represents in excess of 10% of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents as reported for Q3 2008 and a shareholder value loss of 30 cents per share?

"(They have) Mis-managed the cost and expense structure of the Company such that operating expenses in Q3 2008 at $16.5M were 40% higher than Q3 2007 at $11.8M.

Who on the Board has been held accountable for this loss of $4.7M in cash (as a result of excessive operating expenses) and a shareholder value loss of 34 cents per share? It would appear that the Board and Management are not focused on execution and the day to day operations of the Company. It is this apparent lack of accountability that concerns me the most and is my primary motive for writing to you again."

He closes in his letter by saying that "What is missing from the Company’s new strategy is the thought, the vision and the insight to make Cryptologic relevant in the internet gaming segment and to give it size and bulk to compete globally and keep pace with the industry leaders."

Playtech, an Israeli owned UK listed online gambling software provider, has vowed to essentially take over the European market.  Cryptologic remains vulnerable.

"We think that this is the right time to prepare the company to be almost the only alternative out there," Playtech’s Vice Chairman, Avigur Zmora, told Reuters last month.

Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher         

To celebrate bookie Paddy Power’s exclusive shirt sponsorship of Swansea City in the FA Cup this weekend the bookie is offering Swansea striker Jason Scotland a £250 charity bet on how long it takes him to score against Fulham.

Much will ride on the in-form striker from Trinidad to get the goals for Swansea on Saturday and the bookmaker is backing their man to get the job done.

Should Scotland get a goal in the first 15 minutes of the game at 11/2 the bookie will be writing a cheque to the NSPCC for £1,625. No matter what time Scotland gets on the scoresheet the Irish will be paying out.

“Swansea have made a great name for themselves this season with their quality football as well as knocking out Cup holders Portsmouth in the previous round. But it’s not just us at Paddy Power who think The Swans can knock out another Premier League team by beating Fulham this weekend, the punters are piling on the Welsh win too”, a spokersperson for the bookie said.

Swansea go into the match as the betting company’s 6/4 favourites for the win with Fulham 9/5.

Shirt Sponsor Becomes Reality

Former Miss Wales and Big Brother babe Imogen Thomas is also showing her support for her team The Swans and is sporting one of just 50 exclusive Paddy Power Swansea shirts being made for the game.

The shirts worn by the players in the match will be auctioned off by the club after the game with proceeds going to the NSPCC.

ITV Clanger

The lunchtime match will be ITV’s first FA Cup showing since missing THAT goal in the Everton versus Liverpool clash last week. The bookmaker is offering 25/1 that Steve Ryder and the boys drop the ball again and miss showing a live goal during the match.

If the last goal of the match is a header, Paddy Power will refund all losing 1st/last goalscorer, correct score and scorecast singles on this game.

Jackpot! Many people believe that it is just the slot games that pay out big jackpots at online casinos. That, however, is not the case with Caribbean stud poker also paying out some of the higher jackpots in recent months.

Not only do the poker jackpots pay out as much as the online slots, but they also pay out at a much quicker rate. The latest jackpot to be hit was on the Real Time Gaming network on a Caribbean stud poker game. The jackpot was hit for $42,367 less than twenty four hours ago.

The game can be played at many of the Real Time Gaming casinos including Rushmore Casino. The good news for US players is whether they want to play at Rushmore, Cherry Red, or Lucky 18 Casinos they will be accepted. The entire network still allows online US players.

That should serve as some relief for US players who have been shut out in recent months by casinos powered by other software companies. Microgaming ordered all of their casinos to stop accepting new US players, and that has made many existing players switch over to Real Time Gaming casinos.

The online community is still awaiting word as to when Representative Barney Frank is going to re-introduce a Bill in Congress that would regulate Internet gambling in the US. Most likely if the laws are changed, many of the casinos that left the market will try to return.

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February 16 – For the second year in a row, Gambling Online Magazine has awarded 888.com online casino with their Top Casino of the Year award as voted by players.

The magazine is distributed to casino players, making the award that much more significant for its recipients,

“It is always such an honor to win an independent awards” said Matt Robinson, Vice President of Marketing at 888. “T o receive the Top Casino Award at the Gambling Online Magazine awards is a tremendous distinction as it is voted by the readers of that community.”

This award follows a mere five months after the group won three awards at the prestigious eGaming Awards (eGaming Review Magazine). Those awards were for “Land Links Partnership of the Year”, Bingo Operator of the Year and Overall Operator of the Year.

And that’s not all, in October of last year, 888.com also won two other awards at the Leisure Report Awards, and in November they won an award for their Magazine, Eight.
Don’t miss…

“Indeed, this reward has tremendous relevance,” continued Robinson, “because it is voted by those who actually play our casino games and by those who have also experienced our competitors’ efforts, so it is a true reflection of our place at the top of the hierarchical tree in today’s casino market place.”

“I am proud that the readers of Gambling Online Magazine regard 888 as the top casino in the sector,” concluded Robinson, “and thank them for voting for us. Winning this award, and the six other awards this year, is a strong validation of our continued commitment to delivering on our core values of excellence, innovation, caring, customer centricity, leading and collaboration.”

Read our 888.com Review (No US players accepted).

De government of Japan is seriously thinking to change their law about gambling. Nowadays it is still impossible to find online casinos or even landbased casino in Japan. Japanese people love to gamble and the government kows that too.

Legalizing gambling can have an great possitive influence on the economy in Japan and also on the world economy. If Japan decides to legalize gambling there will be strict rules that can not be changed. All the landbased and online casinos will be checked and controlled by the government itself.

before 2010 the government will come with a more cocnrete plan. To be continued…
 

February 11 – The Baseball World was rocked by new steroid allegations this weekend stating that Alex Rodriguez tested positive in 2003, which was later confirmed by Rodriguez in an interview with ESPN. Whether the information should have ever made the light of day is debatable, and A-Rod will likely see no repercussions from the league, but the same can’t be said of the baseball fans across the country who are looking for answers.

This being the case, the largest most successful sportsbook on the web BetUS.com posted odds on the latest tragic news.

Analysts at BetUS.com posted the following odds on the newest MLB steroid news:

What’s next for A-Fraud:

• Leaves country 30/1
• Retires 100/1
• Records stricken from books 8/1
• Records given an asterisk 4/1
• Starts a pharmaceutical company 80/1
• Makes hall of fame 10/1
• Wins MVP 15/1
• Wins world series 3/1
• Stars in Madonna video 10/1
• Marries Madonna 15/1

Item most likely thrown at A-Rod:

• Batteries 18/1
• Pizza 2/1
• Burger 7/1
• Popcorn 3/1
• Hot Dog/Corn Dog 5/1
• Soda/Water 2/1
• Juice 5/2
• Ice Cream 12/1
• Peanuts 4/1
• Pretzels 6/1
• Beer 3/1
• Cotton Candy 8/1
• Coffee 10/1

Players most likely outed in report:

• Ryan Howard 8/1
• Adam Dunn 4/1
• Carlos Delgado 5/1
• Manny Ramirez 5/1
• Albert Pujols 8/1
• Prince Fielder 10/1
• Carlos Pena 3/1
• David Ortiz 8/1
• Lance Berkman 5/1
• Mark Teixeira 3/1
• Adrian Beltre 8/1
• Jim Thome 8/1
• Jim Edmonds 5/1
• Vladimir Guerrero 8/1

Barry Bonds signs with team

• Yes 15/1
• No 1/20

Clemens signs with team

• Yes 6/1
• No 1/12

Clemens/Bonds banned from baseball

• Yes 15/1
• No 1/20

Clemens, Bonds, and A-Rod start a pharma company together

• Yes 50/1 (One option prop)

BetUS.com is without doubt one of the most innovative online sportsbooks that service the North American marketplace. Visit BetUS Sportsbook for sports betting, horse racing, poker and casino games.

Ladbrokes Poker has successfully joined forces with the mighty Microgaming Poker Network and will now deliver a new era of online poker to its players.

This move will guarantee customers can continue to enjoy playing on the online poker website against many more players, at all stakes.

Existing poker players can rest assured that the essence of the Ladbrokes experience will remain, and will be fortified by better value and more choice.

Edward Ihre, MD of Ladbrokes Poker said: “The heart and soul of Ladbrokes Poker will remain – with some necessary enhancements to boost its vitality. As such, players can rest assured that the unrivalled security, reliability and trust that is synonymous with the Ladbrokes brand will continue to be of the utmost priority in our delivery and commitment to our customers.”

Ladbrokes runs several promotions currently, like the Poker Million Dollar Rake Race, where a million dollars is paid out every month and shared between 3,000 Ladbrokes Poker players, with each monthly winner receiving $20k.

Plus there is the daily $10,000- added celebratory ‘joining forces’ tournaments which begin on the 10th February and last for seven consecutive days.

Later in March, there is going to be a unique chance to live the ‘Vegas Dream’ and win packages for $10 in qualifiers for an $25,000 added super satellite which takes place on Sunday 8th March.