Автор: casino

The eyes of poker players and fans all over the world are aimed at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas today as the World Series of Poker championship final (WSOP) enters its second and last day. The WSOP championship final kicked off yesterday with nine players from six different countries vying for the first place prize of $10,000,000, the other eight places sharing a total prize amount of $18,480,121.

The "November Nine"

The 45th WSOP championship began five months ago with some 6,683 players and it came down to these nine skilled players who had earned the nickname the "November Nine". The nine players are playing in a $10,000 buy-in Main Event for the huge prizes but also for cementing their names in the annals of poker and winning the coveted golden bracelet.

This year's WSOP final lineup is unique in the sense that it presents the competition with the youngest team to date, the average age standing at around 28. To compare, the youngest player in the 2010 WSOP finals was 37 years old; among the nine playing today, the oldest is 32. Even more unique is the fact that none of the finalists have ever won the title before, making the competition fresh and exciting.

The Appeal of Online Poker

One of the possible explanations for the youngest lineup of players at the final can be traced back to the rising popularity of online poker. From anywhere and at anytime, players can hone their skills against other live opponents in online poker, a tool with which they can gain experience much faster. Recent years have already seen online poker players being able to buy in into big offline poker events including the many competitions in the WSOP, playing at leading online poker rooms the likes of bet365 Poker and Winner Poker.

Last week's US midterm elections are considered a great success for the Republican Party. The Republicans swept across states and commanded a majority in the Senate, something which will weigh hard on any domestic or foreign policy the Obama administration will attempt to lead in the next two years.

An important question is how the midterm results will affect the plight for regulation of online gambling in the US. Below is a roundup of the results and their possible implications in four major states.

Massachusetts

The results in the Bay State are a mixed bag. On the one hand, voters rejected the repeal of the 2011 law which allowed for the building and licensing of three land-based casinos in the state. A spokeswoman for the Committee to Protect Mass Jobs praised the rejection, saying that it will bring $400 million in annual revenues for the state as well as generate new jobs.

On the other hand, the new Democrat treasurer, Deb Goldberg, who supported the casino repeal, has expressed anti-online gambling statements in the past. While the establishment of land-based casinos is good for the future potential of online gambling, it remains to be seen how these casinos will do and how the fight for iGaming in the Bay State will take form under Goldberg's office.

Florida

In Florida, online gambling opponent Republican Rick Scott was re-elected. Scott is a supporter of casino mogul Sheldon Adelson's campaign against online gambling. Scott's re-election is perhaps the biggest blow to iGaming regulation efforts in the US as Florida was considered by many as a state which might adopt regulated online poker in the future, yet hope remains.

Pennsylvania

Democrat Tom Wolf won Pennsylvania's governor race. Wolf has expressed his opposition to legalized online gambling and the building of more casinos in the Keystone State, but now that he will actually occupy the sit he might reconsider as gambling could be a good revenue generator for him to make his campaign promises come true.

Illinois

In Illinois, the Governor's sit was cleared by Democrat Pat Quinn for Republican Bruce Rauner. Quinn was a staunch opponent of land-based casinos while Rauner stated that while he personally opposes gambling, he believes casinos can be built if these are supported by local communities. As in other cases, according to the thesis that land-based gambling advances online gambling regulation, the future of regulation in Illinois is brighter.

From November 11-12, the sixth edition of the Malta iGaming Seminar will be held at the Hilton Malta as a must-attend event for the international iGaming community. The event's highlight is the key participation from leading industry players that are there to help newer entries get a leg up.

Beneficiary Audience

Targeting C-level leaders, managers, and aspiring individuals to the iGaming industry, the conference is particularly appropriate for those active in the industry as Operators, Key Officials, Affiliates, Service Providers or looking to start up.

Key Speakers

The wide array of speakers are set to shed light on these topics with their own individual and unique insights.

Among the scheduled speakers is journalist/academic/consultant Declan Hill, one of the world’s foremost experts on match-fixing and corruption in international sports. As author of the book The Fix: Organized Crime and Soccer, who better to share insight in the new dangers posed to international sport by globalization of the gambling market? Hill will weed out the myths and realities of the developments and resistance to online gambling expansion that many major sports leagues have demonstrated.

Another key speaker is leading international gaming and gambling lawyer Garron Whitesman. As founding partner of Whitesmans Attorneys in 2006, Garron has been ate the forefront of gaming, gambling and commercial law, and is fully prepared ad equipped to shed insight on the most relevant regulatory, commercial, corporate and media-related developments within the iGaming field.

A third speaker of interest is Pierre Mangion of PKF Malta in 1993. His long history with the firm specializing in evaluation of audit and IT programmes makes him both an ideal speaker to provide industry insight and an ideal representative of Malta as a hub for all iGaming companies and cities.

On Tuesday, blackjack players can put their skills to the test at bet365 Casino for the chance to win a share of the prize pool worth £1,000. The tournament will be held for the mobile version of the popular card game available on bet365 and it is open to all interested users that want to take on the challenge.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

The tournament will last for the entire day on the 11th of November and will award the top 25 players, with the first place prize being worth £200. The scoring system is not based on actual winnings from the game but on the amount placed in bets, with every £10 wagered on the Mobile Blackjack Tournament counting as one Comp Point in the casino reward system and one point in the rankings.

Once the action is over, the prizes will be automatically granted to the leading players based on the number of points they earned in the tournament. The mobile casino game can be played on both iOS and Android devices and the controls make it very easy to make quick decisions on the smaller screen in order to get more hands going.

Brush Up On Blackjack Strategy

Blackjack is one of the few casino games that allow the player to improve the odds through strategy. Following basic tips for playing the card game, the house edge can get very low and thus provide a great opportunity for big prizes.

Bet365 Casino offers several versions of the popular casino game and they are made to be highly realistic and feature graphics that would resemble the gaming experience in a real land-based casino. With some time left until the Blackjack Tournament reaches its end, it is a great time to get some practice done and make sure that every bet placed on the mobile game gets you closer to winning.

After evaluating all facets of the global online casino industry throughout 2014, we have been able to analyse the best sites currently in operation. However, there is one casino site above all others that is our pick for the most promising in 2015… BETAT Casino. Find out exactly why by checking out the sections below.

Expansion Efforts

A limitation of the global online casino industry has been the uneven focus on English-speaking players. However, this strategy has been unfair to the players who do not speak English. Thankfully, BETAT has sought address this imbalance by adding Finnish, Greek, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish to the site’s language selection in 2014.

The expectation for 2015 is that BETAT will continue to welcome new players from all over the world by adding yet more languages. This will prove to be a pivotal step in the operator becoming a worldwide brand. Currently, the site’s top five markets are Australia, Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the UK.

UK Licensing

From 1 November 2014, the UK online gambling market is adopting a new system whereby all operators serving the market have to be licensed in the UK. BETAT is one of the few not to be affected, as the site has already acquired its license and will be permitted to operate without issue.

Mobile Development

As of November 2014, the mobile casino has close to 80 games. For the most part, the games consist of mobile slots. However, that is to be expected due to the diverse potential for new brands and story themes – plus the mobile conversion of older games. Additionally, it is also possible to play table games and video poker.

What really benefits players is that the huge selection of mobile games comes from two leading software developers in the form of Microgaming and NetEnt. Expect more brand new mobile slots to be released on BETAT in 2015 as the site continues its expansion.

Payment Methods

Again touching upon the topic of global expansion, BETAT will be drawing in more players by adding payment methods that appeal to international players. The casino has stated Sofort will be added for players in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and Switzerland (euros only). Meanwhile, Trustly and Entercash will be added to process deposits and withdrawals made by bank transfers in Estonia, Finland, Poland, and Sweden, with Denmark and Spain to follow later.

Winning Players

Throughout the continued ascendancy of BETAT Casino, more and more stories emerge of players who are managing to score huge winning sums. Transparency is of incredible importance in the online casino market, as players need to trust the sites at which they play. Vital to that is the sharing of winner stories to demonstrate that winnings are being paid out on a regular basis. As for the most recent winners, here are three impressive hauls: JP from Canada won an incredible CA$186,000 playing Gold Factory; KK from the UK won £32,000 playing Starburst; and MR from the UK won £17,500 playing Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Achievement Feature

BETAT laid the foundations for its current success by making crucial changes in 2013. Having previously used bet.at.eu, the site rebranded to the much more appealing name of BETAT Casino. Also part of the rebranding was the decision to improve the visual standard of the site and display all of the most appealing games.

On that note, BETAT added the Achievement Feature to highlight the excellent online slots it could offer players. For headline Microgaming slots, BETAT will track your lifetime gameplay and provide you with rewards as you unlock the various features. This is an innovative approach currently being pioneered by our most promising 2015 online casino.

The company that operates the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas announced its second quarter earnings today.

Company: Nevada Property 1LLC

Revenue: $200 million, up about 17 percent from $171 million in the second quarter of 2013.

Loss: $13.59 million, nearly half as much as last year’s $25.23 million loss.

What it means: The company saw year-over-year increases in casino, hotel, entertainment and food and beverage revenues. The gaming revenue increase was particularly substantial, rising nearly 70 percent from last year to $51.38 million.

Hotel revenue went up significantly as well, rising to $80.77 million this quarter compared to $71.23 million last year. Other increases were more modest: Food and beverage revenue went up to $95.28 million from $90.04 million last year, while revenue from entertainment, retail and other sources rose to $10.29 million compared to last year’s $9.25 million.

But the company’s $211.67 million total operating expenses was more than $11 million higher than this quarter’s net revenue.

In May, the Cosmopolitan’s owner Deutsche Bank announced it was selling the resort and casino to the Blackstone Real Estate Partners for $1.73 billion.

Quote: “Our strategy at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas has proven that we are on the right trajectory, as demonstrated by our substantial growth in gaming … Our second quarter 2014 financial performance affirms that the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas brand and guest experience continue to resonate, and we are extremely pleased to see our unique approach to the Las Vegas market translate into the strong numbers reflected in our earnings report.” — Cosmopolitan CEO John Unwin