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Las Vegas Sands It has been an up and down year for US-based casino gaming stocks, and entering the final week of 2009, many stocks are looking to finish 2009 on a high note. One of those companies will be Las Vegas Sands, who will undoubtedly finish the year better than it began.

On January 2nd of this year, the US was dealing with one of the worst stock market crashes in history. Sands stock had dipped to $7.09 and many investors were concerned about the well being of the company.

Now, as the year closes, Sands stock has rebounded as well as can be expected with the economic conditions. Sands’ stock price is $15.33 entering the final week of trading this year.

Sands has been helped out this year by an initial public offering in Asia that raised over $3 billion. That money was used to restart projects in Singapore and Macau, and gave investors hope for the future of the company.

Other companies also enter the final week of 2009 looking to complete a nice turnaround. MGM Mirage stock is $9.50, and Wynn Resorts is trying to get over the $60 a share figure. Currently, Wynn stock is at $59.39. Wynn also had an Asian IPO earlier this Fall.

In America, a retired New York City policeman has won one million dollars after taking part in the PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge on television and beating top professional player Daniel Negreanu head-to-head.

Fifty-three-year-old Mike Kosowski revealed that he took up poker out of boredom after retiring in 2004 and used a combination of good cards and the ability to read people to win the top prize.

“It’s unbelievable,’ Kosowski told the New York Post newspaper.

‘We’re still on an emotional high every day. Every day I wonder ‘Am I living a dream’.’

The retired detective was one of the first officers on the scene following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center eight years ago and was helping to evacuate survivors when the South Tower collapsed. He stated that he was thrown ten feet into the air and suffered burns to his neck and back.

The Staten Island man revealed that his wife, Francis, had encouraged him to pursue poker as a way to occupy his time and was happy for him to enter a 16,000-person online tournament on PokerStars.net in which he finished in fourth spot. That placing entitled Kosowski to submit a video to the programme’s producers explaining why he would make a good television contestant. He eventually asked to be an alternate and was flown with his wife to Los Angeles where the show was taped over the weekend of the couple’s anniversary.

“Playing against a pro is difficult because you know he knows the game inside and out,” said Kosowski.

“You can’t take as many risks as you would against some guy in Atlantic City.”

In the end, Kosowski was fortunate enough to get to play and won two consecutive four-person qualifier games in order to meet Negreanu heads-up. He revealed that he had researched his opponent by reading his book and watching Negreanu on television and had even figured out the Canadian’s ‘tell’.

“The only read I picked up on him was…you knew he didn’t have the best hand because he puts his hand behind the back of his head,” said Kosowski.

Poker fans in the US can watch Kosowski’s final hands on Sunday afternoon from five o’clock in the afternoon on Fox with the winner revealing that he will use his new-found wealth to pay off his mortgage while donating some money to charity.

“I just got lucky, you know, and I just played my game,” said Kosowski.

 

The top country for jackpots in 2009 was the United States of America.  In the land of the free, online casino players pocketed more than $50 million in payouts.

Next on the jackpot list are Canada, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. In 2009, there were more than 9,000 winners from these countries who pocketed approximately $100 million.

In positions six to ten are Greece, Australia, Germany, the Russian Federation, and South Africa.  Perhaps, the biggest surprise in this selection is the only representative from the continent of Africa. South Africa contribution to player payouts is minor compared to the top five but still merits a place in the top ten.

Leading the next ten, in positions 11 thru 14 are Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Japan. The remaining countries in the top 20 have collectively paid out only €8 million which is more than five times less than the USA alone.

The USA is still top of the charts despite UIGEA regulation and restrictions and Microgaming is still the preferred casino software provider with 14 of the top 20 most popular games.

The most popular games include Thunderstruck and Roulette but Mega Moolah is far and away the #1 choice in terms of jackpot winnings in 2009.

It’s good times at PartyGaming with a return to growth in the poker segment of its market. According to PartyGaming, revenue is in line with forecasts, while clean earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortisation were anticipated to be slightly ahead of the board’s expectations.

The company reports solid trading since September and the business has performed well in the fourth quarter showing revenue growth in all four of the company’s product verticals: bingo, poker, casino, and sports betting.

Jim Ryan, Chief Executive, said: "As indicated at the time of our third quarter key performance indicators, our business has continued to perform well across the board during the fourth quarter with a return to net revenue growth across all four of our key product verticals."

PartyCasino has grown with the addition of new games and higher jackpots and the bingo vertical has developed rapidly since the group bought Cashcade in July.

Sports betting has benefitted from a good run of results and improved risk management tools. The core vertical poker has also seen a return to growth.

The company also said pending gambling regulations in Italy and France represent significant revenue opportunities. Last month Partygaming launched an Italian online poker service with Fueps.

The company said Friday that it has agreed a new GBP35 million loan facility which it will use for general corporate purposes including mergers and acquisitions.

The European football governing body UEFA has announced that investigations into a possible case of corruption are in progress against a Bulgarian referee. Anton Genov has been named as the subject of the investigation after irregular betting patterns emerged regarding an international friendly last month, UEFA said on Wednesday.

“Following obvious irregular betting patterns on the Macedonia v Canada (friendly) on 14 November, and after interviewing the referee in question, UEFA has decided not to appoint Anton Genov to any European matches until further notice while more investigations are carried out,” UEFA announced in a statement.

In the match, four penalties were awarded, two to each side, during Macedonia’s 3-0 victory, according to Reuters news agency reports.

More clarity on the position of Ivobank has been achieved following a further statement from the online bank, advising that following a ‘strategic decision’ by the owners – the Indonesian billionaire family Sampoernas – the bank will be closing in an orderly manner.

Apparently the Sampoernas have decided to redeploy their resources to other investments, although banking sources yesterday hinted that the decision may have been spurred by the UK regulator the Financial Services Authority requiring the commitment of further funds to meet solvency levels.

Depositors and merchants will welcome the additional clarity following yesterday’s bald announcement that Ivobank was turning away new business without explaining why.

In the latest statement, the online bank said that its services will remain available to existing customers, and again reassured all concerned that account balances were safe and available for withdrawals, transfers or purchases at online sites.

Those of its merchants who have concerns should communicate via their usual contact points at Ivobank or to the bank’s regulatory chief, Ian Stevenson at Ian.Stevenson@ivobank.com, the statement advised.

The Sampoernas also own the Mansion online gambling group, but it is understood that this division of the company is not negatively affected by the Ivobank decision.

The closure comes close to the first anniversary of the bank’s launch last year.

Online gambling comes in many exciting and profitable forms: you can enter slots tournaments, blackjack tournaments, prize raffles, loyalty point competitions and a growing number of equally or even more entertaining fixtures.  

Different Forms of Gambling
If you’d like to get your Blackjack skills up to par then check out our handy Blackjack Trainer. If you like online slots tournaments then you must make your move at the upcoming Grand Slam of Slots. However, if you like something truly unique then continue reading about the new game going on at Wink Bingo.

Team Bingo
Online bingo is known to be a very social game, and with the new Team Bingo competition Wink Bingo puts this positive attribute to good use. When you start playing at Wink Bingo you automatically join a team of bingo roomies, which changes every two weeks to ensure a fair bingo battle.

Team Power at Wink Bingo
Every member of the team has to collect as many team bingo points as he or she possibly can in order to boost the team score. You can check out the score at the leader board on the Wink Bingo website, and the members of the team that comes out on top after two weeks will jointly share the grand prize of 170,000 bingo points.      

The online gambling software developer Microgaming rounds off a busy summer this week with the addition of three new feature-rich themed video slots to its large and diverse portfolio, along with a brand new instalment in its popular Level-Up Video Poker series.

Flagship in the latest releases is Scoop The Cash, a game-show themed slot where rewards are the name of the game as players navigate their way through a wealth of prizes and taste the high life as they enter a millionaire’s playground, depicted by trappings of wealth and success such as cars, mansions and cashed-up tycoons in luxurious abundance.

The five reel, 25 payline, multi-featured slot format, offers players Multipliers a-plenty, re-triggering Free Spins, Wilds, two Scatters and a fat bonus to add that important element of excitement and entertainment as the game unfolds.

Take a voyage of discovery with Jewels of the Orient. Players can dust off their magic carpets in preparation for a quest to discover the secrets of the exotic East with this entertaining slot. Full of eastern promise and mystery, this five reel, nine payline video slot takes players on a journey from the vast plains of India to the snow capped mountains of Japan. Brought to life by advanced scenic graphics, vibrant colours and populated with exotic characters, the game offers a glittering array of rewards in the form of gold, priceless gems and treasure casks.

With a host of player-enriching features that include Wilds, Scatters, Free Spins and Multipliers, Jewels of the Orient also offers a brilliant series of second screen bonus offers, the main one of which empowers the player with three different selections of treasure-bearers. On each appearance the player can choose one treasure cask which can deliver 40 Free Spins and a 5x multiplier to boost winnings.

Get those chainsaws purring with Lumber Cats. Players can join a team of burly tree-felling felines at peak harvest season on a pine plantation in this light hearted new video slot. With vibrant graphics featuring a trio of axe-toting lumber cats, tree-tractors and logs, this treble featured, five reel 20 payline video slot creates player opportunities through a combination of traditional slot action, boosted by three winning features that offer prizes and free re-spins galore.

The Wild Cat feature helps players to build winning combinations, but the trees have scatter functionality and three or more across the reels triggers the main feature in the game, which is the highly competitive Tree Climb, in which picking the winning cat awards additional prizes. Capping the action, there’s a Gamble feature, where a player can double or quadruple winnings by predicting the right colour and suit.

The last of September’s releases is Double Joker Poker, the latest edition of Microgaming’s very popular Multi-Level Power Poker series. Double Joker Poker Level-Up Poker is guaranteed to keep players busy as they climb a series of levels with increasing multiplier rewards for each victory.

The aim of the game is to secure a win and progress to the next level – the higher the player progresses, the more money they can win. To add to the excitement there is an extra Joker in each pack, but the news is even better for gamers as The Joker is ‘Wild’, enabling players to build winning combinations.

With a total of four levels, and the opportunity to win 8x the original bet, there are ample opportunities to win big with this clean, colourful new game.

TALLINN, 31 August 2009 – The world’s largest online poker site PokerStars.com announced that it will hold the PokerStars Baltic Festival this autumn in Tallinn, capital of Estonia. PokerStars Baltic Festival will be held in the conference centre of the luxurious Swissôtel in Tallinn from October 28 to 31. The buy-in of the four-day main event will be €1,100 and the prize pool is expected to reach hundreds of thousands of Euros. The exact schedule of side events to be held in Tallinn during the festival week will be announced shortly. PokerStars.com will hold a large number of satellites to the event in September and October, including freeroll qualifiers and satellites where the buy-in start from as little as $2.20.

"We have hundreds of thousands of poker players in the Nordic countries, the Baltic States and Russia, but so far there have only been a few attractive live tournaments," explained Tomas Larsson, PokerStars Country Manager Finland & Baltic’s. "Our ambition with this festival is to create the ultimate live poker experience similar to what players find at the most prestigious events in the world like the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas and the European Poker Tour’s Grand Final in Monte Carlo, combining a luxurious venue with the best live poker in the Baltic’s."

"Tallinn is an excellent location for such an event with its good access, outstanding facilities and previous experience in hosting large international poker tournaments. I am convinced that the PokerStars Baltic Festival will attract players not only from neighbouring countries but from all over Europe, including a number of Team PokerStars Pro members and some of the region’s top sportsmen," Larsson said.

About www.pokerstars.com:

PokerStars is the world’s largest poker room with over 25 million members worldwide. It’s the premier destination for the world’s top players – with hundreds of tournaments running every day. PokerStars is renowned for offering the best software and security in the online poker world.  PokerStars:

•        Is the first online poker room to host over 100,000 real money cash game players simultaneously
•        Has dealt over 32 billion hands
•        Has run more than 180 million poker tournaments
•        Have had over  285,000 simultaneous players, and entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the first and only poker website to reach the 200,000 simultaneous players mark

PokerStars is the official sponsor of the: European Poker Tour (www.ept.com), PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Latin American Poker Tour (www.lapt.com), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (www.appt.com) and The World Cup of Poker.

PokerStars is the home of Team PokerStars Pro, a group of over 30 veteran and up-and-coming players from around the world who play online at PokerStars and are sponsored by the site in international tournaments around the world. For more information please visit www.pokerstars.com. 

Just when a lot of people thought that the Kansas City Chiefs would have an impact in 2009, their newly acquired quarterback, former New England stud Matt Cassel has gone down with an injury. 

Cassel was seen to have limped off the field in Saturday night’s 14-10 loss against Seattle, after he was sacked on the third play.

Cassel is one in a series of Kansas City Chiefs players who have suffered injuries in recent days, thus depleting their odds.

Brandon Flowers and Devard Darling are both out with injuries.  The UNDER 6 ½ regular season games won in 2009 remains the early favorite.

Dan Shapiro, Gambling911.com