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The French investment house Louis Dreyfus is preparing to buy a stake in Mangas Gaming, a 50-50, Paris-based Internet betting joint venture between Bains de Mer de Monaco and the holding company of French TV producer Stephane Courbit.

Louis Dreyfus will take part in a Mangas Gaming capital increase that will give it 25% ownership, while Courbit will reduce his stake to 25% and Bains de Mer de Monaco will keep its shareholding unchanged.

Mangas Gaming is now Europe’s third biggest internet betting group, after Austria’s Bwin and Gibraltar’s PartyGaming. The online gambling group, which owns BetClic, paid around $100 million for 60% of online poker company Everest Gaming on 16 December in a deal with parent group Gigamedia.

Earlier in the year, Mangas acquired Germany’s Bet-at-home and Scandinavian sports betting operator Expekt.

The company has over 4 million customers, 600 staff and a presence in 25 countries.

Louis Dreyfus notified the European Commission of its planned acquisition on 14 December and expects a decision by the middle of January.

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.

 

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 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. 

Poker is officially invading England. Over the course of the next 6 weeks, the World Series of Poker Europe is set to kick off as well as PokerStars‘ EPT-London event In addition to those enormously anticipated events, another prestigious tournament will be taking place as well as the first-ever English Poker Open will be held. The event which features a $5,300 price tag as its buy-in will take place from September 15-17 and already has lined up some of the most recognizable faces in the game.

Among those confirmed to attend are:

Phil Hellmuth

Doyle Brunson

Liv Boeree and

Joe Beevers

The tournament is being capped at 270 players and there are already over 125 registered. Seats are expected to rapidly fill up as online poker rooms are currently offering entry satellites. For the $5,300 buy-in, players will receive $10,000 in chips and 60-minutes levels, meaning action will end after 3 days.

Live coverage of the event will be available on the English Poker Open website. This inaugural tournament, if successful will lead to more and more events in the London area.

Source:  www.aintluck.com

Recent speculation that William Hill plc would move its online operations to Gibraltar to better compete in a kinder tax climate were confirmed today (Tuesday) in a statement from the company.

The announcement was widely predicted in the UK, and industry observers are now waiting for the other shoe to drop – will rival group Ladbrokes follow suit? Ladbrokes has intimated that if Will Hill moves it may be forced to reconsider its own situation. Both groups have pointed to the difficulties of remaining competitive online when they carry a 15% UK tax burden and a 10% racing levy versus the 1.5% tax regime enjoyed by offshore based competitors.

William Hill recently confirmed plans for a £350 million rights issue as part of a £1.2 billion refinancing, and revealed that it was relocating 90 jobs in its sportsbook operation overseas, mainly to Gibraltar – a move widely interpreted as an advance warning on today’s announcement. The company has also negotiated a new £588.5 million debt facility.

The statement from William Hill plc confirmed that its online betting and gaming business, William Hill Online, will be moving its online betting service, sportsbook, and online fixed-odds games from the UK to Gibraltar. Thereafter, the sportsbook and games activities will be operating under a Gibraltar licence.

The transfer of the sportsbook and fixed-odds games is part of the ongoing integration of William Hill Online, which was created in December 2008 through the combination of William Hill’s existing interactive business with assets acquired from Playtech Limited.

Gibraltar is a leading centre for online betting and gaming companies, offering access to skilled employees, an established regulatory environment and a competitive tax regime. William Hill Online’s headquarters and core gaming operations are already based in Gibraltar. Approximately 75 employees have already relocated from William Hill’s UK operations to join William Hill Online in Gibraltar.

“As a result of the move, William Hill Online will benefit from cost savings already being achieved by other offshore operators, which have previously put it at a commercial disadvantage,” the statement announced.

“William Hill continues to have a substantial presence in the UK and Ireland, including 2,300 licensed betting offices and around 16,000 employees. It paid almost £300 million in UK taxes and levies in 2008.

Ralph Topping, Chief Executive of William Hill, commented: “We are ambitious for William Hill Online to be a successful online betting and gaming business on the international stage. Having acquired European-focused websites, global marketing and multi-lingual customer services capabilities, this is the logical next step in our development of this business. William Hill Online has an increasingly international customer base and this move will ensure we are well positioned to compete on an international stage.”

In a seperate statement, the group released half-yearly results to the end of June 2009 for its online activities that included a 58% increase in net revenue to £100 million (H1,2008: £63 million. Online operating profit rose 13% to £31.4 million (2008: £27.7 million). Telephone betting revenues were disappointing, falling 18% to £18.6 million, while operating profit dropped 73% to £1.2 million.

Online net gaming revenues grew 88% during H1 as casino and bingo/skill gaming performed strongly with net revenues up 21% (casino) and 50% (bingo and skill gaming).

Despite earlier rumours of integration hiccoughs, the group seems satisfied that the newly formed William Hill Online is performing well, with new accounts and unique active accounts up 30% and 29% respectively.

Sportsbook revenue was down 1% due to poor betting results but new accounts were up 9% and unique active accounts up 7%. Poker revenues also disappointed, dropping 15% following the migration of the player base in March. However, management remains confident that the higher liquidity on the iPoker network will remedy the situation, and William Hill Online be adding sterling and Euro-based tables to the existing US dollar-denominated offering.

Live betting is assuming growing importance in the online activities and will constitute a core element in the company’s sports offering in 2009-2010, building on the 18% quarter on quarter rise in net revenue growth achieved in the current year.

In a wider group sense, revenues for the group’s retail division declined by one percent to £393.2 million (H1,2008: £398.2 million) and operating profit fell 10% to £111.5 million. Total group revenues rose 5% to £515.5 million (H1,2008: £488.8 million).