Monthly Archives: February 2007

Expanding Casino Opportunities in Britain

Harrah’s Entertainment, the world’s biggest casino operator, is looking forward to expanding in Europe. Having purchased London Clubs International for US$530 million, they would like to run a huge in UK terms “super casino” in Manchester. It is going to be Britain’s first Vegas-style casino with 5,000 square meters of gaming space, 1,250 slot machines and 2,700 workers.

It is a very ambitious project, and it has to be economically sensible. So, Harrah’s Entertainment should be really wary.

Besides, there is a number of rivals who would like to invest huge sums of money into the project. Thus, Las Vegas Sands would like to build a US$760 million casino resort in Manchester, while Kerzner International, Bahamas-based operator, is ready to invest US$500 million.

In any case, sixteen smaller casinos planned in Britain represent a great opportunity for casino operators.

The World Poker Store and The Bar Poker League Offer Weekly Tournaments for the Residents of Minnesota

Texas Hold’em  State Finals tournament took place in January 27 at Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel in Morton, MN. The event was hosted by the World Poker Store Inc. and The Bar Poker League. There were more than 1000 people, both players and spectators, present there. The players were able to qualify for the tournament within 6 months at local casinos throughout the state of Minnesota by accumulating points.

The prizes awarded at the tournament varied, but the WSOP Main Event Seat grand prize was the $10,000 with the airfare to Las Vegas and accommodation for the World Series of Poker that is to take place in July.

The number of members of the Bar Poker League is constantly increasing, and at the moment there are more than 17,000 of them. What attracts people is the possibility to spend their time with friends and an opportunity to win great prizes.

The World Poker Store operating four retail locations in Minnesota at Southdale Centre, Rosedale Centre, Northtown Mall and Crossroads Center in St. Cloud offers a great range of things for entertainment: Texas Hold ’em tables, Casino Quality Chips, DVDs, Books, Apparel and Tour Pro Collectibles, etc. Having The Bar Poker League as a Patner, the company hosts more than 100 free weekly Texas Hold’em tournaments at bars and restaurants in Minnesota. At the same time the World Poker Store partners with local charities what adds a huge value to the company.

KOTH Ltd Gets VWE’s License

Youretheking.com which is operated by UK-based KOTH Ltd is the first mobile casino licensed by Vegas Wireless Entertainment (VWE, www.vegaswirelessent.com ). The license permits Youretheking.com to provide, administer and deliver such casino games as blackjack, roulette and slots on mobile devices.

Having appeared recently in the industry, Youretheking.com has got a nice opportunity for expansion and development, as it will deliver its service not only in the UK, but also in the entire world.

Graphics-rich games, rock-solid delivery and feature-packed back-end administration system have made VWE’s technology different from the others. Possessing it, the operator has everything to launch a mobile casino under its own brand.

During the pre-launch phase of the service, at www.youretheking.com, players can get bonus points for signing up. Further, they’ll be informed when the mobile casino starts its full operation.

Macau is on the Way of Becoming the World’s Gambling Capital

Macau, a former Portuguese colony, is the only place in China where gambling is legal. With the growing popularity of gambling in China, no wonder Macau has become a very popular place to visit what certainly brings profit. Gaming revenues there are steadily growing.

Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts are the international gaming firms to be found in Macau. Six casinos are scheduled to open this year. Thus, Las Vegas Sands is planning to open the doors of its Venetian Macao casino complex. The event is planned for summer. It is claimed that it will become the centerpiece of the Cotai Strip – a place with an array of casinos, shopping centres, hotels and theatres. Because of that it is called “Asia’s Las Vegas”.

Thanks to the arrival of foreign casino firms in Macau, its gaming revenues in 2006 beat those of Las Vegas Strip, and that happened for the first time. Soon nobody will be surprised to hear that Macau is the gambling capital of the world, and Las Vegas is “America’s Macau”.

Flybe Offers Online Gambling

Today, Ryanair is not the only company offering its customers online gambling service which started a year ago in partnership with Jackpotjoy.com, UK bingo site. It has been joined by Flybe, the UK budget airline. Its partner is PAF Group, a Finnish Gaming operator, will provide the gaming license and easy access to the online games.

As a result visitors of Flybe website will be able to play roulette and poker online. And it’s just the beginning of a promotional campaign of products and services under the Flybe brand. Looking for such innovative ways of improving customer offering, Flybe will definitely become a success. Launching Flybe Cruise and a flower delivery market has already proved to be a success. And that proves that the development strategy chosen by the company is correct.

Ryanair and Flybe are nice examples to be followed by other airlines.

Everest Casino Announces the Game of the Month

Everest Casino has a wide range of games to offer to their customers. They are: Progressive and Instant Jackpots, 19 video poker games, an exclusive 500-hand video poker, a variety of video slot machines like Space Ace, Faerie Tale, Eureka!, Cactus Jack and a brand-new video slot machine featuring travel theme – World Tour. The latter one has been called a game of the month of February by Everest Casino.

Trains, ships and various travel destinations like Big Ben and the Pyramids are used as the game play symbols in World Tour. If 15 lines are played and 5 ships appear in the game, the largest payouts take place. You can win there up to $175,000, and in a bonus round playing a single-level pick-five game – up to $9,000.

The Everest Casino’s officials claim that World Tour is the game that brings the real casino experience home.

Neteller’s Customers Should Get Patience

As it is known Neteller’s founders Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre were arrested on the 15th of January, 2007. They were charged with transferring billions of dollars in illegal gambling earnings. They will not face the court until the 16th of March, 2007.

At the moment, Neteller, the online gaming world’s most high-profile payment processor, is unable to make any payments to their customers as the FBI froze all of Neteller’s US customers’ accounts for the sake of keeping them as evidence against the company.

The process of recovering money can begin not earlier than in a month.

The First Java-Based Scratch Card for Mobile Phones

The release of the first personalized java-based scratch card that is available on mobile phones has been recently announced by WinOne – a Finnish supplier of cash games for mobile internet. Today, in the mobile gaming market, the game may be really called unique

The game features the horoscope theme, i.e. it has 12 forms corresponding to an astrological sign and the sign’s stone.

To scratch your star, you’ll use your phone keys, and that makes this game very attractive. Besides, the game presents a nice opportunity to get new experience every time you play. Being providing with a personalized horoscope, you’ll be constantly put through to a second stage. Is not it a great value?

Zodiac Online Casino Offers 50 Free Spins

Zodiac Online Casino, part of Casino Rewards group, is the site that can be visited by players from all over the world with the exception of those living in Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington or Wisconsin. Currently, the casino is offering a unique chance for their customers to play – it is a free offer of 50 free spins on the new Starscape Video Slot, a 5-reel, 25-line, multiple-coins video slot.

To get the offer, you are to register on the site. Then, within an hour, you’ll receive an email with the details of your free spins. The things left for you to do are signing into your personal casino account, opening the Starscape Video Slot Game, and starting the game. Besides, the slot contains a Pick Until Match Off Screen Bonus Game and a Wild symbol that doubles wins when substituting.

Online Gambling is Surveyed in Alberta, Canada

The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC) is reported to have started a survey among the citizens of the province of Alberta (Canada) on their attitude towards online gambling. Poker, blackjack and bingo are the focal points of the survey. Being initially through the phone, the survey has already spread online. The matter is that it is still unclear when or if the local government allows Internet gambling sites from outside the province to run their business in Alberta.

The survey has sparked a great opposition from the side of Calgary’s Catholic Church and some advocates who say that Alberta’s government is about to let the immorality settle in the society, and their main focus is financial profit.

Alberta’s First Nation is being investigated on the same issue by AGLC. It is known that it is offering hosting online gambling websites from all over the world on their territory. AGCL considers it to be illegal. Still, there is no evidence that gambling websites have started operating their business. The commission will keep a close eye upon what is going on, and as the officials say, they’ll close any operating in the Alberta website from outside of the province.