The European Poker Tour (EPT) today announced that it will stage Europe’s largest-ever poker festival in Barcelona this August to celebrate its 100th event.

Poker players and fans will not want to miss this historic celebration which will likely set European prize and attendance records from August 16 – 27, 2014 at the Casino Barcelona.

“The EPT was born in Barcelona so it’s very fitting to celebrate EPT’s 100th event in true style and with unforgettable poker,” said EPT President Edgar Stuchly. “EPT Barcelona is one of the most popular tour stops and attracts players from all over the world for the fantastic mix of beaches, iconic architecture, party atmosphere and world class poker,” he continued.

Since the first event took place back in September 2004, the EPT has welcomed over 180,000 players, visited 16 countries, created 39 millionaires and paid out over €535 in prizes, making it the world’s richest and most popular poker tour.

The Barcelona festivities will kick off Season 11 of the EPT, once again partnering up with the successful Spanish regional Estrellas Poker Tour from August 16 - 21 to create a spectacular 12-day Barcelona poker extravaganza.

Last year’s EPT Barcelona event broke all previous records when the Estrellas and EPT Main Events clocked 1,798 and 1,234 entries, sending Soenke Jahn and Tom Middleton back home with career-besting prizes of €169,136 and €942,000 respectively. This year, the EPT is adding 20 extra tables to accommodate player fields that are likely to beat last year’s records.

THIS year's ARIA Awards will take place at Sydney's The Star casino on Sunday December 1.
Channel 9's digital station Go will broadcast the event.
Ironically the venue instantly became the subject of discussion among the music community after rock star Joel Madden was busted when a maid found marijuana in his room in June.
No host or musical performers have been announced for the event yet, and nominations will be announced on November 15.
Eligible for Album of the Year are releases by Flume, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Tame Impala, Birds of Tokyo, Bliss N Eso, Bernard Fanning, Boy & Bear, Russell Morris, Harrison Craig, Troy Cassar-Daley and Adam Harvey, Empire of the Sun, Cloud Control, Guy Sebastian, Paul Kelly, Sarah Blasko, the Presets, the Cat Empire, the Rubens, Josh Pyke, Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson and Jagwar Ma.
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The timing means several international acts will be in the country and available to act as presenters or performers.
Teen star Justin Bieber will be in Sydney and would be a good choice to try and lure younger viewers to watch the broadcast.
British rockers Muse and rock icons Fleetwood Mac will also be in Australia, however Taylor Swift and Bon Jovi's touring schedule will mean they miss being in Sydney by several days.
Voting for the ARIAs started this week among music industry types, while the public can vote on four awards - Song of the Year, Best International Artist, Best Australian Live Act and Best Video - from October 15 onwards.
ARIA said that over 100,000 public votes were cast in these categories last year.
Ten Australian acts have had No. 1 albums this year - Flume, Nick Cave, Hillsong United, Birds of Tokyo, Bernard Fanning, Harrison Craig, Bliss N Eso, Karnivool, Rufus and Boy & Bear - a feat not achieved since 2004.
The Voice winner Harrison Craig, Guy Sebastian and Sydney electronic producer Flume have the highest-selling albums of the past 12 months, while Riptide by Melbourne newcomer Vance Joy, Resolution by Matt Corby, What You've Done to Me by X Factor winner Samantha Jade and Get Along by Guy Sebastian are among the highest-selling singles since last year's ARIA Awards.
Retail store David Jones will sponsor a red carpet event at this year's event.
The ARIA Hall of Fame will be announced at the event - with soft rock kings Air Supply on tour in Sydney at the time of the awards many are hoping they will finally be given an overdue induction.
Air Supply sold over 100 million albums and scored eight US Top 10 hits including Lost in Love, All Out of Love, The One That You Love, Making Love Out of Nothing At All and Here I Am.

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CONNECTICUT -- A blogger employed to post coverage of poker tournaments at Foxwoods was charged with fifth-degree larceny related to events in December 2013, The Day reported.

Jay "WhoJedi" Newnum stole dealers' tips from a box and was caught by Foxwoods security, the report said.

Newnum was given "accelerated rehabilitation" which means he will not face jail time, however he has returned the money and will be banned from the casino, The Day reported.

THE man at the poker table had a cap pulled down almost to his nose, but his glance up at a television screen revealed he was a well-known card cheat.
His photograph was sent by bulletin to casinos around the country.
Within hours, the bettor was arrested, accused of marking cards with invisible ink.
"The officer who identified him, basically she had a 'Holy crap!' moment,'' said Jay Lindroos, the casino's surveillance director. "She saw the face and said, 'I recognise that guy!'''
Casinos from the US to Australia use their own intelligence network to warn one another about cheaters. As table games spread across the Northeast, resorts are using it more than ever to stay ahead of suspect players - professional thieves and card counters - who can easily hit multiple casinos in the span of a few days.
Mohegan Sun, one of the world's largest casinos, began sharing intelligence a decade ago with its giant, next-door rival in southeastern Connecticut, the Foxwoods Resort Casino.
Although it was once less common for casinos to talk with competitors, the online network has evolved through mutual self-interest.
"If something happens at Foxwoods at 1 o'clock, we'll be aware of it no later than 2, 2:30,'' said Joseph Lavin, director of public safety for the Mohegan Tribe, which owns and operates the casino. "It won't take more than a day or so before that information goes to Atlantic City, goes to Pennsylvania, goes out to upstate New York.''
The element of luck makes it impossible to know exactly how much revenue is lost to cheaters, but 100 per cent casino surveillance coverage is a security standard for a US industry that generates tens of billions of dollars annually.
Workers at Mohegan Sun monitor feeds from roughly 4000 cameras, scrutinising the dealers as closely as they do the players. On a given day, they could be on the lookout for as many as hundreds of faces, some pointed out by other casinos, others by law enforcement agencies seeking criminals who might be trying to launder money.
If a camera picks up somebody who's been flagged for possible cheating, security officials said they'll watch the person play before taking any action.
The man arrested September 15, Bruce Koloshi, 54, was the subject of a security bulletin issued two weeks earlier by officials in Louisiana. He had cheating convictions in Iowa and Nevada and was facing charges in Louisiana that he marked cards last month at the L'Auberge Casino in Baton Rouge.
After the surveillance officer spotted him, Koloshi was seen moving his hands away from the Mississippi Stud poker table, allegedly for the marking substance, and cameras detected the ink that wasn't visible to the naked eye. Koloshi wore special contact lenses to see the ink, authorities said. He was arrested and charged with cheating, conspiracy to commit larceny and being a fugitive from justice. His bond was set at $300,000.
When he was questioned in Louisiana, he surrendered $3300 in winnings though authorities did not have enough evidence to charge him at the time, according to Captain Doug Cain, a spokesman for Louisiana State Police. Mohegan Sun officials said Koloshi was arrested at their casino before winning a significant amount.
A person who answered the phone at Koloshi's home in Summit, New Jersey, declined to speak with a reporter. His defence attorney was not available for comment.
The warning about Koloshi was relayed by the Division of Gaming Enforcement in Delaware, where table games were introduced in 2010. The division's director, Daniel Kelly, said information sharing has increased as Northeastern states have legalized more types of gambling. It also has become more important, he said, because cheaters have so many potential targets in a small geographic area.
"Within an hour, they can be in three or four different states,'' Mr Kelly said.
High-level casino cheats are considered rare, but Mohegan Sun officials say they frequently see card counters and other "advantage players,'' people who are not breaking the law but have skills that bend the odds in their favour. Mr Lavin said card-counting techniques were glamorised by the story of a group of MIT students who scored big wins at casinos, including his, in the 1990s.
One tell-tale sign for surveillance workers is gamblers placing higher bets than might be expected with the hands they're dealt.
When card counters are discovered, Mr Lindroos says, the casino will restrict their play by keeping them to betting the minimum or suggest they try a different game.
"The professionals, as soon as they see somebody walking over toward them, they'll say, 'OK, I'm out of here,''' Mr Lindroos said.

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