Nick Slade has completed one of the great poker comebacks by winning the PartyPoker European Open in London last weekend. Slade was considered the rising star of European Poker in 2006 after a string of formidable results but had a very quiet 2007. He almost quit poker completely due to the serious illness of his wife and a water skiing accident which shattered is neck.
Scottish Politician Kenneth Gibson has called for a tax on all gambling firms operating in Scotland, according to the Sunday Mail last weekend. The SNP MSP said; “It is simply not acceptable for gambling firms to make a fortune in profits from the Scottish people while largely ignoring their social responsibility to help educate people of the dangers of gambling and contribute to the treatment of gambling addicts.”
Inside the social utility Facebook, it’s all about networking, and the company has now extended that networking to online poker. Last week it was announced that Facebook had teamed up with online game supplier Ujogo to provide online poker services to Facebook’s clientele. While Facebook has had online poker applications in the past, Ujogo will be kicking it up a notch by offering real-money prizes for tournaments and Amazon gift cards for participation and performance in cash games.
A new tax revenue analysis announced by US House Representative Jim McDermott estimates that regulating Internet gambling would generate between $8.7 billion to $42.8 billion in federal revenues over its first ten years. The findings of the analysis, prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers, were provided to all Members of Congress by McDermott this week.
Online Gambling Could Generate $42 billion Tax Revenue US Congress Told
Swedish tax authorities have released the first findings of their investigation into the online economic activities of poker players and gaming affiliates, showing a total of 230 investigations up to December 1st 2007, of which 47 have been reported for suspected tax crimes.
Sweden to Tax Poker Players & Affiliates €44 million Undeclared Income
The PartyPoker.com European Open IV kicks-off in London tomorrow (Friday), running until the 8th, with its strongest field to date. The latest news sees confirmations from WSOP Europe winner Annette Obrestad and runner-up John Tabatabai, who play in the same heat as each other! They join a line-up that includes Phil Hellmuth, who will playing and joining Jesse May in the commentary box.
The story is likely close to breaking. There was a post on Monday alluding to potential company acknowledgment. They are watching developments to be sure, and I’m sure hoping this will all blow over.
Which it likely will. Sad.
Anyway, lemme give you the abbreviated cliff notes, gentle reader.
About the same time the AP scandal broke a few players that were running allegedly like superusers either changed their names or eliminated their accounts at UB. Folks are still checking on this, actually.
Betfair is demanding that around 20 online poker players return more than £100,000 in “winnings” after the company became the victim of a late-night sting operation, writes Alistair Osborne.
Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., the world’s largest provider of branded casino entertainment and the company behind the World Series of Poker, successfully transitioned into private ownership yesterday following its $17.1 billion acquisition.
Tomorrow night sees the return of the Poker Den: Big Game II to UK television. The $20,000 buy in cash game was filmed over a continuous 24 hour period in London last year by Barry Hearn’s Matchroom Sports, and the line up is as tantalising as the first edition of the show.
He ended 2007 on a high note, winning three tournaments in one day. It seems like Dario still has that winning feeling though as 2008 gets warmed up. A win this weekend for $100.000 followed on from a five-figure win the week before, and Minieri is fast staking claim to being the hottest player on PokerStars right now.
Although China is not officially open to online poker, it hasn’t stopped Bodog Entertainment from announcing they will be pursuing an aggressive advertising campaign in the country. A new ad campaign as well as a Chinese web page on the Bodog Poker site shows they are aiming to capture as much of the market as possible.
The very notion of ‘online poker’ would have seemed ridiculous to many just 15 years ago, but now it is the very cornerstone of the poker industry. It looks like we are heading into the next chapter in poker right now with newer and more exciting ways to play poker. You can now play poker via a TV set top box, over a mobile phone and most recently on the social network web site Facebook.
Antigua’s Minister of Finance and the Economy Dr. Errol Cort held meetings Thursday with United States Trade Representative Ambassador Susan Schwab to discuss the USD $21 million per year settlement awarded to Antigua by the World Trade Organization (WTO) panel last month against the United States for pulling online gambling from its Trade in Services Agreement.
Peter Dicks, who was in the 2006 spotlight when he was arrested on a Louisiana state sealed warrant for illegal gambling charges while in New York, is back again with Sportingbet, parent to Paradise Poker, having accepted the appointment of non-executive chairman, effective February 1st.
In France, the Court of Appeal of Versailles has called into question the compatibility of the nation’s gaming legislation with European Union law and placed the burden of proof on authorities to justify that their regulatory framework is consistent, proportionate and justified.
It has been suggested through Reuters that the European Union will be taking legal action against Germany following Germany’s newly implemented online gambling ban. The EU are keen to press the action as quickly as possible, and will seek European Commission approval as early as next week.
The Golden Nugget on the Vegas Strip will host the ‘The Grand Poker Series’ from 6th June – 6th July. The tournament is based on ‘The Grand’, which is a film released this spring and is much like a Spinal Tap style ‘mockumentary’ on the poker world.
Boss Media AB has reported a 31.2% drop in net profit to SEK44.3million (€4.70 million) for the year ending 31st December 2007.
Sales of the software developer fell by 3% on last year to SEK312.30 million, while royalty revenues declined 5% to SEK232.90 million. Earnings per share after full dilution and income tax amounted to SEK0.75, down from SEK1.09 in the previous year.
Gaming revenues in the southern Chinese territory of Macau soared last year, beating expectations and rivalling proceeds from the Las Vegas region.
