Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Poker News Media: bwin.party digital entertainment Directorate Change

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15 July 2011

bwin.party digital entertainment plc

("bwin.party" or the "Company")

Directorate Change

The Board of bwin.party announces the appointment of Geoff Baldwin as a non-executive director of the Company with immediate effect. Mr Baldwin replaces Rami Lerner who is stepping down from the Board today as a non-executive director.

Geoff Baldwin's appointment is made following a nomination under the terms of a relationship agreement entered into by amongst others, bwin.party, Emerald Bay Limited and Stinson Ridge Limited that was approved by shareholders on 28 January 2011.

Geoff Baldwin, aged 46, is an investment banking professional with more than 24 years of experience, including serving as a M&A generalist in New York for five years and a technology M&A specialist for the last 19 years, primarily in Silicon Valley, California. He is a founder of GCA Savvian, a global investment bank that is publicly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with dual headquarters in Tokyo and San Francisco. In the United States, GCA Savvian specialises in technology investment banking and is recognised as having a leading franchise in digital media, including social and mobile gaming, internet advertising and ecommerce. Mr Baldwin currently serves on the board of directors of GCA Savvian's listed parent company (GCA Savvian Group Corp.) and its European subsidiary, is a member of the firm's global executive committee and is head of the firm's M&A advisory practice in the United States. Prior to founding GCA Savvian, Mr Baldwin was a Managing Director in Morgan Stanley's mergers and acquisitions group.

Commenting on today's announcement, Simon Duffy, Chairman of bwin.party said:

"We are delighted to welcome Geoff to the Board. Given the pace of change in our marketplace and his wealth of experience of working with high technology and social media companies, Geoff will be well-placed to contribute to the next phase of our corporate development. I would like to thank Rami for his contribution to the Board over the last two years and wish him well for the future."

There are no other disclosures to be made under Listing Rule 9.6.13.

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Monday, July 25, 2011

2011 WSOP November Nine is Set

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2011 WSOP November Nine is Set...

Everyone knew where this road was headed, we just didn’t know who would get there. Just 22 players entered play at the 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Tuesday with a chance to make the final table and come hell or high water, the field was going to be narrowed to nine before the tournament was adjourned until the fall. No more playing for a set number of levels. We were going to get rid of 13 players if it took all night. Fortunately, it didn’t take all night (so long as you were following the action in Las Vegas) and we now know the identities of this year’s November Nine.

Considering the increases in payouts at this stage of the game and the importance of advancing from Tuesday to November, one would have expected play to slow to a crawl as players became very careful not to bust out. Not so yesterday. Even with a the usual breaks, a two hour dinner break, and an extra one hour break, the field was whittled to the final ten before 10:00pm Pacific time thanks to lots of three-betting, four-betting, and risky all-ins (Konstantinos Mamaliadis moved all-in with 8-2. Granted, he was short, but still. Yes, he lost that hand).

The ESPN announcing team of Lon McEachern, Antonio Esfandiari, and Norman Chad predicted that eliminating that last player to determine the November Nine would take a long time, and it did. With the media attention, sponsorship deals, and a more than $200,000 prize jump waiting for them between now and November, nobody wanted to be the final table bubble boy. In some ways, even though he was to win $607,882, it is worse to be the November Nine bubble boy than the standard “in the money” bubble boy. And while play did slow down significantly as most hands didn’t get past the pre-flop stage, it still went about two hours faster than last year’s six hour marathon.

In the end, it was John Hewitt of Costa Rica who made the other nine players very, very happy. Ireland’s Eoghan O’Dea (son of Donnacha O’Dea, who has made two Main Event final tables) opened the pre-flop betting to 1.1 million chips, with blinds at 250,000/500,000 and a 50,000 chip ante. Hewitt, who had been riding high for much of the day before taking a bad beat when his A-K lost to Pius Heinz’s K-J, pushed for his last 3.875 million. It was a race: Hewitt’s 3-3 versus O’Dea’s K-J. Despite not hitting one of his cards, it was a good flop for O’Dea, as the Q-T-7 gave him an open-ended straight draw. The Ace on the turn clinched the hand for the Irishman, sending the poker room into a frenzy. Hewitt was gracious in defeat and his fellow tablemates were simultaneously congratulatory and empathetic to him. While the remaining players were no doubt thrilled they had made the November Nine, they knew what a disappointment it was for the likable Hewitt to fall short.

While everyone moving on to November has done a fantastic job, perhaps the most impressive player of the day was Matt Giannetti. He was one of the bigger stacks during the early part of Day 8 before running into a painful hand against Ben Lamb. With blinds at 150,000/300,000/40,000, Lamb raised pre-flop to 675,000 and Giannetti called. After the flop of Ah-9h-2d, Giannetti check-called a 700,000 chip bet. Both players checked the 7d on the turn and Giannetti once again checked the 2h on the river, a card which introduced the possibility of a flush. With the pot at just over 3 million chips, Lamb made a huge bet of 4 million. Obviously holding a good hand, but unsure of just how good it was compared to Lamb’s, Giannetti went into the deepest of tanks. One minute went by, then two. Then three. Esfandiari kept viewers interested by analyzing what he thought each player had. Five minutes. Eight. After ten minutes, Giannetti finally made the call with A-9, giving him top two pair. To his dismay, though, Lamb flipped over 2-3 for three-of-a-kind, giving him the large pot and sending Giannetti’s stack down to under 10 million.

Giannetti was noticeably shaken after that and even stepped away from the table a short time later to collect himself. Struggling to stay alive as he made it to the final ten, he held firm and didn’t make any rash moves. He was able to raise a couple times pre-flop without moving all-in to collect the blinds and antes, which at that point meant he was increasing his stack by around 10 percent. He finally decided to put all of chips at risk, twice doing it with pocket Jacks, and both times doubling-up. Matt Giannetti had emerged from the emotionally draining hand earlier in the evening and had climbed back from the November Nine bubble to make it to the final table with the third largest chip stack.

Here is how the chip counts stack up (pun intended):

1. Martin Staszko – 40,175,000
2. Eoghan O’Dea – 33,925,000
3. Matt Giannetti – 24,750,000
4. Phil Collins – 23,875,000
5. Ben Lamb – 20,875,000
6. Badih Bounahra – 19,700,000
7. Pius Heinz – 16,425,000
8. Anton Makievskyi – 13,825,000
9. Samuel Holden – 12,375,000

It is a final table with a very international flavor: just three Americans and one player each from the Czech Republic, Ireland, Belize, Germany, Ukraine, and England. At this point, everyone is guaranteed at least $782,115 with the winner taking home $8,711,956.

The players are now on a three and a half month break as they prepare for the rest of their Main Event journey. Play will resume on November 5th, will pause when there are just two players left, and will pick up again on November 7th to determine the next No-Limit Hold’em World Champion.


WSOP Day 6: 57 Players Remain, Ryan Lenaghan in Control...

We’re at the point in the 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event where everyone left in the field can smell the finish line. The coveted championship bracelet is now a realistic possibility, even for those at the bottom of the leader board. With just 57 of the original 6,865 players still holding on to chips, the tension will be ratcheted up a notch as Day 7 begins on Monday.

Leading the way is professional poker player Ryan Lenaghan, with a stack of 12,865,000 chips, almost 3,000,000 more than his nearest competitor. The Mobile, Alabama native now living in New Orleans made his biggest move late in the day. He opened the betting pre-flop with a raise to 110,000 and was then re-raised to 355,000 by Bryan Follain. Undeterred, Lenaghan took it up to 865,000 only to see Follain five-bet all the way up to 1,200,000. Lenaghan quickly moved all-in, covering his opponent, who, after some thought decided to put all his chips at risk. Interestingly, the hands weren’t all that strong considering the action: Lenaghan had J-J, while Follain held A-Q. None of the five community cards helped Follain and with the 4,200,000 chip pot, Lenaghan soared into the lead.

Despite his chip advantage, Lenaghan will start at a tough table today. Joining him is John Esposito, who has now cashed in seven Main Events, David Bach, who was the chip leader going into Day 6, top online (and now live) poker pro David “Doc” Sands, and one of the other top stacks, Hilton Laborda, who has 7,160,000 chips.

Currently sitting in second place is this summer’s star, Ben Lamb, who has been at or near the top of the field for most of the Main Event. With his deep run in this tournament, Lamb will take over the lead in the 2011 WSOP Player of the Year (POY) standings from Phil Hellmuth. Not counting the Main Event, he has four cashes at this year’s WSOP, including a bracelet, a runner-up finish and a third final table. His worst finish of the four cashes is 12th. Hellmuth will still have a chance to re-take the lead at the WSOP Europe later this year.

Other notables remaining the in the competition include Bryan Devonshire (10th), J.P. Kelly (21st), Lars Bonding (26th), Sam Barnhart (27th), Tony Hachem (36th), Erick Lindgren (38th), Steve Brecher (45th), and Sebastian Ruthenberg (57th).

Everyone remaining is guaranteed at least $130,997. Here is what the remaining payout structure looks like:

1. $8,711,956
2. $5,430,928
3. $4,019,635
4. $3,011,665
5. $2,268,909
6. $1,720,396
7. $1,313,851
8. $1,009,910
9. $782,115
10 – 12. $607,882
13 – 15. $478,174
16 – 18. $378,796
19 – 27. $302,005
28 – 36. $242,636
37 – 45. $196,174
46 – 54. $160,036
55 – 63. $130,997

And the current top ten chip counts:

1. Ryan Lenaghan – 12,865,000
2. Ben Lamb – 9,980,000
3. Matt Giannetti – 7,940,000
4. Andrey Pateychuk – 7,255,000
5. Phil Collins – 7,240,000
6. Hilton Laborda – 7,160,000
7. Nelson Robinson – 6,420,000
8. Tri Huynh – 6,295,000
9. Aleksandr Mozhnyakov – 6,070,000
10. Bryan Devonshire – 5,970,000

Play will resume at noon Pacific time on Monday. The original schedule indicated that Day 7 would end when just 27 players are remaining, but a tournament update released by WSOP officials has stated that, like in previous days, there will be four blind levels played, at which point the tournament will be paused until Tuesday. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Sunday, July 10, 2011

WSOP Main Event: Fred Berger Leads After Day 1a - 8th July 2011

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The World Series of Poker Main Event kicked off Thursday with 897 players participating on Day 1a, the first of four starting days in poker’s biggest showcase. The field was down about 20 percent from the 1,125 entrants that participated in 2010 — not surprising given the lack of online qualifiers from the major sites indicted by the Department of Justice on Black Friday.

The Day 1a chip leader was Fred Berger, who bagged 209,500 chips at the end of five levels Thursday night. The Las Vegas native took the lead in the final hour, winning a massive pot from former November Niner and bracelet winner Scott Montgomery. Berger had Jh-9h on a 8c-6h-2h-Js-Jc board, giving him trip jacks, and Montgomery was sent to the rail after he pushed all of his chips in on the river with two pair, jacks and eights.

Berger is no rookie at the WSOP; he has 13 cashes at the WSOP in his career, including victory in a $3,000 Pot Limit Hold ‘em event in 2002. Berger defeated Chris “Jesus” Ferguson heads up for the bracelet and a prize of $197,400. In total, Berger’s live tournament cashes eclipse $1 million.

Joining Berger at the top of the leaderboard are Shane Sigsbee (182,600), Kyle Burnside (159,050), Cedric Annen (155,400), and Michael Bena (150,350). Among the notables with healthy stacks at the end of the day included 2011 bracelet winner David Diaz (139,150), Sebastien Ruthenberg (117,000), Jonas Klausen (116,075), Raymond Rahme (103,950), Jaime “pokerjamers” Armstrong (103,000), Olivier Busquet (98,975), Luke “IWEARGOGGLES” Staudenmaier, and 2010 November Niner Soi Nguyen (87,325).

Four former WSOP Main Event winners took to the felt on Day 1a, including Doyle Brunson, who surprised many after announcing Monday that he would be sitting out the event. The “Godfather of Poker” apparently had a change of heart and took his seat at the ESPN Featured Table. By Level 3, Brunson had been chipped down to 4,375, and got the rest of his stack in preflop with pocket fives against the Ac-Qh of Steve Costello. The board ran out Ad-Qs-Jc-6d-2h, and Texas Dolly made his exit to a round of applause from those in the Amazon Room.

Former champions Johnny Chan, Greg Raymer and Jerry Yang also played on Day 1a, but only Chan survived, finishing with 34,000. Others making an early exit Thursday were McLean Karr, Jeff Papola, Tom Schneider, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, Vanessa Selbst, Matt Affleck, John Hennigan, Isaac Haxton, Randy “nanonoko” Lew, Faraz Jaka, and Evelyn Ng.

A total of 556 players survived the day and they will combine with the survivors from Day 1c to form the Day 2a field on Monday, July 11. The players that make it through Days 1b and 1d will form the Day 2b field, which will take place on Tuesday, July 12.

Here’s a look at the top 10 stacks from Day 1a of the 2011 WSOP Main Event:

1. Fred Berger — 209,500
2. Shane Sigsbee — 182,600
3. Kyle Burnside — 159,050
4. Cedric Annen — 155,400
5. Michael Bena — 150,350
6. Lynne Mitchnick — 145,675
7. Juan Perez — 143,425
8. David Diaz — 139,150
9. Christopher Macfarland — 135,350
10. Philipp Gruissem — 133,050

Day 1b gets underway Friday at 12:00 p.m. local time. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for continuous updates from the 2011 World Series of Poker from the Rio in Las Vegas. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Saturday, July 09, 2011

Australian Gambling News, by Greg Tingle - 10th July 2011


Media Man Crown Casino James Packer Tabcorp Holdings Star City Games NRL Internet City Of Dreams Macau Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Australia

Australian gambling continues to be red hot. We've got political fun and games, casino developments, revamps, and more. Media Man with the latest and greatest from down under...


Violence At Crown Casino; Punters Death Sparks New Claim...

A Melbourne bloke says he was bashed by about eight Crown Casino security guards who chased him out of the casino and left him a crimson mask. The 40-year-old man's case is 1 of at least 5 being handled by Melbourne law firm Arnold Thomas and Becker involving Crown security staff. The punter alleges that after a verbal war of words with security guards late last year, he was chased out of the casino and bashed by the group of guards. He alleges he was then dragged further down the road, possibly to remove him from the view of cameras, where he was again assaulted. A report was made to police, but a spokeswoman said they were unable to comment on the progress of the investigation. Solicitor Michel Margalit said one case currently being handled by the firm involved a security guard who had been allegedly bashed by a patron. "Our firm has been involved in an alarming number of cases involving allegations of violence at Crown Casino," she said. "It is extremely concerning that these incidents appear to continue at one of Melbourne’s major entertainment venues." The revelations come after 40-year-old Anthony Dunning died in The Alfred hospital on Thursday following a dispute with Crown Casino bouncers on Sunday. Dunning was in the casino's Velvet Room about 10.30pm when he was pushed to the ground and pinned to the floor by up to 6 casino bouncers for 6 minutes. The cause of his death has not been determined. Detective Senior Sergeant Ron Iddles, of the homicide squad, said CCTV footage of the encounter shows a clearly intoxicated Dunning being escorted from the crowded casino. "From what I can see on the video footage, I don't think that he has done anything to provoke them [the guards, but] I can't hear what's being said," he said. "Maybe he said something which gave them some belief that he was going to do something, so it's critical to actually ascertain what was being said." He said the footage showed Mr Dunning was not struggling while he was held down, with his legs, arms and head pinned to the floor, for up to six minutes. While he was on the ground Mr Dunning fell unconscious and suffered a cardiac arrest. Crown Casino did not contact police about the incident, despite having what Senior Sergeant Iddles said was a "moral obligation" to do so. Mr Dunning's friend, Matthew, suffered a broken nose and fractured arm during the same scuffle with guards. Matthew alerted police at 10am on Monday, when Dunning was on life support. A post mortem is being carried out on Dunning’s body to determine the cause of death. Punters and guards are urged to respect one another to keep further incidents at a minimum. The recent casino bashings have been damaging for Australian casinos, namely Crown, but insiders say the casino will bounce back and that the investigation appears genuine.


Crown Casino Patron Suing MSS Security; Casino Gets More Bad Press...

A punter ho claims he was knocked for six by a bouncer aka guard at Crown casino is suing a security firm for damages. As police investigate the death of Crown patron Anthony Dunning this week, it can be revealed that Waqas Ali Khan, 23, is suing MSS Security over an unrelated incident. Khan claims he suffered facial injuries, a fractured jaw, and psychological injuries, including stress, anxiety and depression, according to court documents. Khan was out with friends when he ended up at the casino early on August 1 last year. "He goes out on a Saturday night to have a good time with his mates and he ends up in hospital," said his lawyer, Nowicki Carbone partner Nunzio Tartaglia. He said a security guard had been talking to one of Khan's friends because he believed he was taking a video on his phone, and Khan went to his friend's aid. "A lot of it he does not remember, because he was knocked out," Tartaglia said. "Friends told him he was punched. It was totally unprovoked, from our account." Tartaglia said Khan had had four months off work as a result, and was seeking damages. Khan has filed a writ in the County Court against MSS Security, which he alleges was contracted to provide security services at the venue. Another man told the Herald Sun yesterday that about a year ago, security staff at the casino had tackled him and a friend to the ground and started hitting them, after they'd been asked to leave for being too loud. The man, who wanted to be known only as Tom, claims they were put in thumb locks, mocked, and forced to sing Baa Baa Black Sheep. He alleged they were taken into a back area of the casino and thrown against walls.
"I was pretty scared, to be honest," said Tom, now 22. "It was like a movie. I couldn't believe they would take you out the back and beat you up." A criminal lawyer, who did not want to be named, said it was possible that if the security guards involved in the incident with Dunning were found to have caused his death, they could face manslaughter charges. He said reasonable force could be used for protection, but it could not be excessive. "It must be proportionate to the threat faced." Nowicki Carbone partner Tony Carbone said that a "minute of madness" could cost people dearly. Not only could those involved in violence face charges, but they could be sued; any judgment could hang over their heads for 15 years, and in some cases could lead to bankruptcy. MSS Security and Crown Casino are not commenting.


Land Based Casino Robin Hood Blackjack Ace To Give Back In Australia...

Meet the modern day Robin Hood. He spends a lot of his time on the gambling floors of casinos, taking his winnings and donating them to the needy.

Not much is known about the secretive American but we know this...He plays blackjack under the pseudonym Robin Hood 702, and he is excellent at it. A high-stakes player, he wins thousands of dollars at a time.

He gambles in disguise, donning beards, glasses and hats. And he will visit down under next month to "steal" from our land based casinos and give away his winnings. He has asked Australians to visit his website and nominate a person or family in need of help - such as victims of natural disasters, illness or financial hardship.

"I will then pick a family or individual and fly them to the casino for the weekend, all expenses paid, and while they're enjoying the betterments of life I will be down at the casino playing blackjack for them," Hood advised.

He's given away $1 million plus to date. When he loses, the people Hood has chosen to help still get 50% of their bills paid, even if it means digging into his own savings.

He helped one American family wipe away more than $35,000 in debt, which they had accumulated from medical expenses while their three-year-old daughter battled brain cancer. He gave another woman more than $20,000 to care for her elderly parents.

He has also been known to wander around food courts pretending to be homeless, asking people for a bite of their sandwich and giving hundreds of dollars to those who say yes.

Hood's snack for winning big began when he was introduced to blackjack at 16. "First time I played, I won $122," he said. "I thought I broke the bank. Boy, was I wrong."

He practised his game by watching and learning but he does not like to play online.

He speaks of gambling with the likes of the late, great Kerry Packer..."he was a big gambler" - and being inspired by the late media mogul's generosity. But his mother, whom he cared for before she died, is his biggest motivation. "I watched my mother as a child help other people and do kind things and I just want to do the same."

Though he is much discussed on internet gambling websites and forums, he shies away from talking about his personal life with his Maid Marian (who calls herself Lady Greice) and does not show off his wealth.

"I try to keep the focus more on the gift, and not on the person giving it.
I also want to inspire other Robin Hoods, perhaps doctors and lawyers or business executives, who may consider giving to people in need. I would like to see an army of Robin Hoods."

Readers wishing to nominate themselves or someone they know to Robin Hood 702 can do so at www.robinhood702.com Good luck and be merry.


Star City At Sin City To Reach For The Stars, Dolphins And Whales...

Sydney's Star City is to relaunch in September with a brand new look and new name - The Star.

September 15 is set to be the day of the huge happening.

Looking to establish itself as Sydney's must-see tourist destination, owner Echo Entertainment Group has built an entertainment precinct which insiders say rivals that of Melbourne's Crown Casino complex and Perth's Burswood Dome.

"Until now, Star City did not realise its fullest potential as much beyond a casino," The Star's managing director Sid Vaikunta told the press "Our entire goal here is to, just like a star, create multiple reasons for people to be here. The casino is one amenity amongst several. In the past, the casino has been one amenity of one.

"For us, creating multiple reasons to be here, multiple reasons to come back, that is the fundamental shift from where it has been to where we are going."

Echo Entertainment, which de-merged from Tabcorp last month, has spent $860 million to bring The Star up to scratch with the aim of countering the highly competitive gaming market booming in Macau and Singapore.

In May, gambling and media king James Packer, who has controlling interests in Melbourne and Macau's Crown complexes and Perth's Burswood Casino, controversially said Australia's tourism industry was tired and under siege from more competitive Asian countries.

World Economic Forum figures show Australia's ranking in travel and tourism competitiveness dropped from fourth place in 2008 to an unlucky 13th.

"The market Australia should be aiming for is the affluent and rising middle-class Asian market," Packer said. "That is who Australia needs to be aiming for, because we are too far from Europe and too far from America."

Star City in Sydney faced the double problem of having to wrestle with the gaming growth in Asia as well as the strong offerings of Crown and Burswood.

Crown and Burswood will "complement" The Star and hopefully bring more tourists to Australia as a whole, Vaikunta said.

"This country deserves more than one casino that is talked about and no doubt, The Star should be that to Sydney," he said.

The new development will include restaurants from some of the world's top chefs, among them David Chang, Adriano Zumbo and Stefano Manfredi, as well as a raft of entertainment outlets and retail from everyday fashion to high-end stores.

Echo Entertainment will continue to use its 2000-seat Lyric Theatre, hosting Hairspray The Musical, and is planning a much bigger, world class, entertainment centre with a 4000-seat capacity. A five-star hotel will open later this year, adding 171 rooms to the apartment-style and tower hotel offerings already containing 479 rooms.

Architects have "flipped" the building, meaning Pirrama Rd will provide the main entrance to the complex instead of the previously used Pyrmont St.

"In the past we have been introverted and non-inclusive in our architecture but now we're opening up to the harbour and the city of Sydney," Vaikunta said.

While trying to entice more foreign visitors, Vaikunta said it was also vital Sydneysiders embrace the new precinct. For Echo this also meant coming up with a new name.

"What became clear to us is that Star City is in a beautiful city already, the city of Sydney. We are not a city within a city. So it became a very easy job of just eliminating the word city completely," Vaikunta said.

"First and foremost, The Star has to become a destination for Sydney.

"It has to become a place that Sydney is proud of, a place that becomes a part of the landscape of Sydney. If we are able to deliver, it will become a star within the city."

It'll bring new life to entertainment.

Sporting a new 4000-seat theatre in the planning to open next year, The Star aims to establish itself as Australia's top live entertainment venue.

Its owner, Echo Entertainment Group, has set its goal to attract top international performers like Prince and Elton John for several week residencies as well as big-budget stage productions.

"Sydney is hungry for an events centre that is close, that can accommodate 4000 people with high-end bars, not a bad seat in the house, the best acoustics, and to have it all here," The Star's managing director Sid Vaikunta said.

Illustrating the calibre of artists The Star is targeting, Sir Elton will play two nights at the Lyric Theatre in November as part of extended re-launch celebrations.

And multiple Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey will headline the Sam Mendes-directed play Richard III in the Lyric Theatre for 11 performances from December 1.

Complementing the current facilities, a ton of new and exciting offerings are planned for the precinct.

As well as world-class restaurants with top chefs, the new entertainment centre is planned to house major events such as televised award ceremonies (such as the ARIAs) as well as extended runs of shows for big-name artists and performance troupes like Cirque du Soleil.

"Until the events centre and our entertainment centre is built, we don't really get to throw the kind of events we want to throw," Vaikunta said. "We can explore a production or a review show once the event centre is in place.

"But the potential to have a headline artist, much like Celine Dion did in Las Vegas, or Prince or Elton John, for a headline artist to come here to a city like Sydney, which they love, to have hotel suites and penthouses that they can stay in to do three - or four-week shows is an absolute winning formula."

Las Vegas casinos are famous for having high-profile entertainers as resident artists, performing runs that can go for years. For instance, Celine Dion performed for five years from 2002 at Caesars Palace, Barry Manilow played the Las Vegan Hilton for five years until December 2009, while Prince is performing every Friday and Saturday at The Rio.

"We'd be more likely to bring out big stars for, say, a 12-week run over summer than permanently," Mr Vaikunta said.

CHEFS AND RESTAURANTS...

David Chang - Legendary NY chef will open Momofuku

Teage Ezard - Melbourne favourite will open a contemporary Australian grill

Stefano Manfredi - The famous Italian will treat diners to modern Milanese cuisine

Chase Kojima - To run a contemporary Japanese restaurant in the new five-star hotel

Flying Fish and Chips - Sydney restaurant Flying Fish will operate a fish and chip outlet

Golden Century - An offshoot of the Chinatown institution will open

Adriano Zumbo - MasterChef’s dessert superstar will open a patisserie showcasing his famous treats

SHOPPING...

More than 20 retail stores, featuring leading luxury brands will be found at The Star

The 5500m2 space, also featuring dining outlets, will connect the hotel, refurbished casino and other entertainment venues

PARTIES...

Cherry - A new stylish cocktail bar with views of Sydney Harbour

Rock Lily - A live music bar has opened already, staging Good Charlotte

Lyric Theatre - Currently hosting Hairspray The Musical, seats 2000 people

Concert venue - A 4000-seat entertainment centre to open late 2012

International artists - Elton John and Kevin Spacey begin an influx of OS stars

Halo Bar - showing sport 24/7 on 50 LED big-screen TV

GAMBLING...

300 gaming tables

High rollers flown in via private jet...a Bombardier Global Express XRS

VIP gaming - New luxury area is under construction on level 17

New five-star hotel - 171 rooms including four high-roller suites with butlers

Other - ask the friendly staff and management


Australian Soft Rockers Air Supply To Perform In Michigan, USA...

Island Resort and Casino - Mark it down. July 22 and 23, Australian soft rockers Air Supply will perform at the casino in Harris in the U.P. Tickets are $25.
Tickets are at www.islandresortandcasino.com


Pullman Cairns First Hotel In Australia To Introduce Optimum Service Standards To Boost Chinese Inbound Market - 15th June...

The Pullman Reef Hotel Casino in Cairns has been announced as the first hotel to be accredited to Accor’s new Optimum Service Standards for Chinese Visitation, paving the way for the hotel to attract greater numbers of Chinese visitors to North Queensland.

The formal accreditation follows this week’s announcement in Cairns by Federal Tourism Minister, Martin Ferguson, of a new 10-year strategic plan aimed at boosting China’s inbound tourism to Australia. He extolled the tourism industry to more actively cater for the Chinese market, which is the fastest growing inbound market for Australia, and already worth over $3 billion a year to the economy.

Earlier this year, Accor - Australia’s largest hotel group with 150 hotels under brands such as Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel and Mercure – announced that it would implement an Optimum Services Standards program for hotels in its group that aimed to attract large-scale visitation from the Chinese and Indian markets. It involved hotels implementing a wide range of services to cater for the specific needs of these two growth markets, and only hotels that met (and maintained) these standards would be accredited to pitch for this business.

Recognising the potential of Chinese inbound for the Cairns and Tropical North Queensland markets, the Pullman has led the way with adopting services to meet the needs of the emerging China market. These include translation of in-room collateral and the Welcome Kit to Mandarin, Mandarin speaking staff available to handle guest queries, all reception staff trained to give basic greetings in Mandarin, Chinese breakfast and mini-bar items, green tea and comfort items such as slippers.

In addition, the Pullman has implemented training for all staff on Chinese cultural practices, so that they can better understand the specific needs and requirements of Chinese travelers.

Commenting on the accreditation, Pullman General Manager, Adrian Williams, said that he was very pleased that his hotel was playing a pioneering role in the national push for more Chinese inbound tourists.

“The growth in Chinese inbound isn’t new, but the pace of the growth highlights the need for the industry to really look at what is being provided for Chinese travelers and to enhance the offer, because this market represents a significant future for our tourism industry,” said Mr Williams.

“Many of the measures under the Optimum Service Standards program are fairly straightforward, but it sends a strong signal to Chinese operators that Australia is not only welcoming their clients, but going out of their way to ensure they feel as comfortable as possible when they are here.

“Cairns and far North Queensland have so much potential for this market. The Great Barrier Reef is the primary draw-card, but Cairns has many other attractions - natural and man-made - that our ideal for Chinese tourists. The climate is appealing, our infrastructure is well developed, there is good shopping and entertainment, high quality restaurants, and our prices are very competitive.

“It was very encouraging that Tourism Minister Ferguson chose Cairns to launch the new China strategy here in Cairns, so it is now up to us operators to translate the strategy into action on the ground.

“The Optimum Service Standards will hopefully lead other North Queensland operators to follow suit and really look at the specific needs of Chinese travelers.”

Pullman Reef Casino Cairns is the largest hotel, tourism and entertainment complex in Far North Queensland, offering 5-star accommodation, the award-winning Tamarind restaurant, the Cairns Wildlife Dome (where visitors can view Australian wildlife icons such as kangaroos, koalas and crocodiles), a range of cafes, bars and shopping, and the Reef Casino.


Casino Slashes Number Of Planned Pokies...

The operators of the Alice Springs casino have reduced the number of extra gaming machines it had planned to install. Earlier this year, Lasseter's Casino started work on a $35 million project that it said would include 100 more poker machines. Shortly after, the Northern Territory Licensing Commission said it had not approved any increase in gaming machine numbers. It said it would take community concerns into account when deciding. Local social welfare groups raised concerns the increase would adversely affect the relatively high proportion of low-income local residents in the central Australian town. The casino released a statement saying the increase is now 30 machines. It said the decision had been made after "community liaising". The extra machines are scheduled to be installed by the end of next year. The casino expansion project is scheduled due to be finished by early 2013.


Former Online Casino A To Head Up Anti Cyber Crime Unit In Australia...

The was the need to create a "hunter" to combat cyber crime in Australia, an expert with a background in online casino design has warned.

Recently appointed Asia-Pacific director of the Global Institute for Cybersecurity + Research, Australian cyber security expert Craig Wright advised there was a lack of fundamental skills in security training.

"Things like .NET have become very sexy. But from a security point of view, assembly language coding has far more relevance," Dr Wright said.

The GICSR is an international non-profit organisation seeking to advance a comprehensive range of cyber security initiatives, cyber innovations and research. It is funded by a range of organisations including the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security in the US.

"When you are reverse engineering malware, you need to have knowledge right down to the base level first, and there is little being done about it anymore," Dr Wright said.

"We are not going into the depth that is necessary to fight, combat and find where the cyber crime initiates."

Dr Wright, an adjunct lecturer at Charles Sturt University, said there should be a focus on creating security specialists with a deeper knowledge base.

"So when a piece of malware or some other code comes out they can understand it at a fundamental level, they can start reverse engineering it, they can pull it apart and see how it was created," he said.

Dr Wright, who designed the architecture for the world's first online casino, Lasseter's Online (no longer online), in the Northern Territory, will focus on establishing a regional centre of excellence in cyber security for the GICSR.

In the past, Dr Wright has also designed and managed the implementation of a number of the systems that protect the Australian Stock Exchange.

The centre of excellence will involve the region's leading research organisations and universities and will initially focus on establishing doctoral research projects in cyber security priority areas such as cyber extortion, identity theft and money laundering.

"The attacks are becoming more and more sophisticated and we are not banding together to actually fight it yet," he said.

Dr Wright said the GICSR would look to establish similar relationships with regional intelligence agencies, governments and security vendors to those that it has in place with the groups in the United States.

The focus of the relationships would be to assist government, industry and security vendors to be much more aligned to cyber threats.

"Until we start approaching this collaboratively and thinking internationally, we are going to have huge problems and they are just going to get worse."


Casino News Media Website Portal Relaunched; International And Australian Content...

The ultra popular casino and gambling news website portal www.casinonewsmedia.com has been relaunched. The blog is updated daily and it also sports numerous news stories tipped off to friends in the business including at the world famous Gambling911.com and Poker News Daily websites. Multimedia can also be found at it's YouTube and don't forget the profiles section where 100s of personalities and brands are showcased. There's even some interviews with the likes of Bwin.Party's Jim Ryan, Virgin's Richard Branson and some Media Man management, of course! Last but not least, don't forget to check out the promotions and advertising sections, but the blog is a must!


Punters, er readers, stay glued to Media Man reports for more "can't miss" information on Australian pokies, gaming and casino wars.

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming. Media Man also publishes Media Man News

*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited

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Monday, July 04, 2011

Poker News Media: Rake Free For MTT's!; All Tournament Fees On Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment's PartyPoker Eliminated!

Profiles

Sin City PartyCasino.com Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Hollywood Slots Comics
PartyPoker.com



Profiles

Sin City PartyCasino.com Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Hollywood Slots Comics Dark Horse Comics iGaming

Gibraltar – 4th July 2011 - In an unprecedented move, ALL multi-table tournaments (MTT’s) at PartyPoker.com are rake free with all fees eliminated!

This unique offer gives players outstanding value for money - all money paid by the players will go to the prizepool. As an example; $200 (buy-in) + $15 (entry fee) would now be $215 + $0.

A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: “In an industry first, all MTT’s on PartyPoker.com are completely rake free. For example, the buy-in to a main online satellite for the Summer Million, the main event of which takes place on Sunday 7th August, has changed from $600+$40 to $640+$0, while the rake is also waived on all feeder qualifiers. As the rake free period applies to ALL MTT tournaments - qualifiers for events such as WPT Paris and GSOP Manchester also have new structures which incorporate no fees.”

“Fees being waived on MTT’s is just another reason why there has never been a better time to play at PartyPoker.com in a secure environment where prompt payments are guaranteed whether you are a micro or high stakes player. We will continue this outstanding value promotion for as long as we can – we are already pleased with the positive response to this move we have seen from the poker community.”

$0 tournament fees will run for a limited time. See PartyPoker.com Rake Free Tournaments for more information.

Other recently introduced great value promotions include:

*$100,000 freeroll. Make a deposit using bonus code 200JULY and you’ll get automatic entry into a huge $100K depositors freeroll on Sunday 7th August.

*100% reload bonus Top up your account and get 100% extra up to $200. Just deposit using bonus code 200JULY. The 200JULY reload bonus is available until 23:59 on 7th August 2011.

*Summer Million freerolls. Enter daily Summer Million freerolls and play for a Summer Million ticket and a $1,000 prize pool every day for free.

*Keep your VIP status Have you been a VIP at another site? Just email proof to vip@palladiumlounge.com and earn 1,000 points within 15 days and we’ll upgrade your account to VIP status.

*World Domination’ gets underway the 8th July 2011. Conquer 72 cities by earning PartyPoints and pick up freerolls, cash prizes and a potential top prize of $100,000 on the way!

*Welcome bonus of up to $500.


Shares in online gaming firm Bwin.Party surged Friday after competitor Full Tilt had its licence suspended.

A US investigation into the companies founders led the gambling commission of the Channel Island of Alderney to order the firm to stop trading with immediate effect while it conducts its own investigation.

Full Tilt was indicted in the United States for alleged gambling offences, money laundering and bank fraud.

In a research note, UBS analyst Simon Whittington says the news is positive for remaining European poker operators.

He advised: "We estimate that Full Tilt has a 10-15% share of the non-US poker market. With a similar share themselves, we believe Bwin.Party should be a prime beneficiary of any market 'vacuum' created."

Austrian Bwin merged with rival PartyGaming earlier this year. The company is based in Gibraltar, a preferred location for igaming companies due to its relaxed tax laws and well-regulated gambling - gaming system. After their initial surge its shares fell back to close 1.2%.

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) Share Price Information

Share Price: 151.00 Bid: 151.00 Ask: 151.20 Change: 0.00 (+0.67%)


Preview Of PartyCasino

PartyCasino.com has the most frequent game launches in the industry and offers over 160 games, including over 100 slots. PartyCasino.com pays out easily over $10 million EVERY DAY to players. “The Big One” is structured as a five-tiered pool. The highest tier—Colossal Cash—seeds at $1.5 million, the biggest online jackpot seed in the industry, and currently stands at over $1.6 million.

Profiles

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyCasino.com PartyPoker.com PartyBets.com PartyBingo.com Gamebookers.com Movies Sin City

In the meantime PartyCasino.com continues to roll out new games and initiatives.

The most popular PartyCasino.com games of late include Sin City, Unicorn Legend, Heist, Circus, Rambo, Palladium Slot, The Godfather, Sinatra, Slotbox, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Mission: Impossible, The Terminator, Cleopatra, Sinatra, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spider-Man, Monopoly, Resident Evil, Melon Madness, Wheel Of Fortune and Mega Fortune Wheel.

The PartyCasino.com jackpot is currently approaching the $4 million mark. Players can also compete for The Big One and Marvel Hero Jackpot, playing the Marvel super hero themed online slot games.

PartyCasino's most recent game releases include Sin City, The Sting, Unicorn Legend, Shaaark! SuperBet, Crocodopolis, Alice's Wonderland, Glamour Puss, Super Cubes, Heist, Palladium Slot and Circus Slot.

PartyGaming CEO Jim Ryan has gone on record advising PartyCasino will soon feature more Hollywood blockbuster themed slots. A few in the know journalists and media agents have been recently tipped off that an all time classic movie and TV adaption will be showcased in the PartyCasino portfolio within 1 month. PartyCasino has the world's most impressive line up of Hollywood themed games, and more are just around the corner.

Media Man, Casino News Media and Global Gaming Directory do have a b2b relationship with Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, as they do with dozens of other companies in the gaming, igaming, media and entertainment industry.

The Big Fat Win

Collect your cut of more than $100,000
Starts: 00:00 ET, 6th July
Ends: 23:59 ET, 18th July

Sin City is now open for business and to welcome you to our most jaw-dropping slot game ever we’ve put together a cache of prizes worth more than $100,000.

With leaderboard cash prizes and double points for the taking, all you have to do is spin Sin City or any of our slots and jackpot slots to stake your claim for a share of this formidable haul of prizes.

Double points when you spin Sin City

Don’t forget, every time you play Sin City during the promotional period you will get double the amount of points you would normally earn. Now there’s absolutely no reason for you to stay away from Sin City.

Make a name for yourself in Sin City

Lose yourself in Sin City and discover a slot game we’re certain will blow you away.

Based on the infamous graphic novel series, this unique slot is packed with dark humour, shocking visuals and, most importantly, free spins, multipliers features and five unforgettable bonus games. Wreak enough havoc in Sin City and you can win 1,000 times your line bet in the normal game and up to 8,000 times your line bet in the free spins feature.

Pay Sin City a visit today and see if you can make a killing.

Websites

PartyCasino.com

PartyPoker.com


There's Never Been A Better Time to Play at PartyPoker

GIBRALTAR - June 29, 2011 - There's never been a better time to play at leading online poker room PartyPoker.com New offers introduced TODAY include:

• $100,000 freeroll Make a deposit using bonus code 200JULY and you'll get automatic entry into a huge $100K Depositors freeroll on Sunday 7th August.

• 100% reload bonus Top up your account and get 100% extra up to $200. Just deposit using bonus code 200JULY. The 200JULY reload bonus is available until 23:59 on 7th August 2011.

• Summer Million freerolls Enter daily Summer Million freerolls and play for a Summer Million ticket and a $1,000 prize pool every day for free.

• Keep your VIP status Have you been a VIP at another site? Just email proof to vip@palladiumlounge.com and earn 1,000 points within 15 days and we'll upgrade your account to VIP status.

See PartyPoker.com for more information.

Cleaning up at the tables? Fancy a bigger project or just a bit of fun? Your chance to achieve total 'World Domination' gets underway at PartyPoker.com from the 8th July 2011. Conquer 72 cities by earning PartyPoints and pick up freerolls, cash prizes and a potential top prize of $100,000 on the way!

A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: "The premise is simple – divide and conquer! Rome wasn't built in a day but it could be won in an hour! Turn your PartyPoints into cities - the empire building continues until the 31st August or until all cities are conquered. There are 72 cities to conquer and freeroll seats, cash payouts and a top prize of $100,000. Just earn 10 PartyPoints to be randomly awarded a city from 72 available."

"Many of the cities have cash prizes and freeroll seats attached The big money comes in when you can complete all the cities in an entire continent, for example, getting all of Asia wins you $5,000 and Europe will bag you $20,000. Finally, a player who gets every single country has world domination – worth a cool $100,000."

As an incentive to get started, PartyPoker.com give you your first city for just 5 points. Tony G writes from his secret underground bunker at PartyPoker.com

Players can earn up to 100 cities a day throughout the World Domination promotion. Reveal the ones collected by logging in to your Party Account, checking the interactive map and start to accumulate a fortune.

For more information see: PartyPoker.com


Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Confirms Ongame Poker Network Deal Possibilities

The Ongame poker network is "likely" to be sold, bwin.party has confirmed that a formal process to sell the B2B network is on the way.

The announcement was made earlier today ahead of today’s Annual General Meeting, the first held by the giant since the merger between Bwin and PartyGaming was completed last March.

The statement read "One area of our stated strategy was to recycle surplus assets,"..."We expect that any sale will be completed by the end of the year."

No licensee on the network has yet responded to bwin.party’s announcement, although Betfair’s outgoing CEO David Yu passed opinion on Ongame just yesterday.

Bwin.Party’s AGM statement contains details of a planned share buyback, which will see the company follow the examples of Playtech and Betfair in making such a move, plus news of a progressive dividend policy containing a €30m dividend payout for the year ending 31 December 2011.

As we go to press trading is described as “Broadly in-line with management's expectations,” however analyst James Hollins, of Evolution Securities, advised in a memo earlier today that “The stock remains a Neutral ahead of potentially disruptive German legislation near-term.”

Meanwhile Simon French, of Panmure Gordon, reiterated his firm’s ‘buy’ recommendation, explaining “[We] expect the shares to respond well to the dividend and share buyback news.”

German sports betting proposals in April had seen the share price of bwin.party dive 16% in a day, and a decision on the country’s State Gambling Treaty is expected in October.

Yesterday things turned around following the suspension of Full Tilt Poker’s licences in Alderney - the share price ended the day at 148.2p, an increase of more than 10% day-on-day.


Bwin.Party In Line With Management's Expectations

bwin.party digital entertainment's trading performance since the beginning of April has been broadly in line with management's expectations.

But is says sports margins have been lower than expected due to a favourable run of events for customers in May.

The improvement in new player sign-ups in poker, following action taken by the US authorities against certain of the group's online poker competitors on 15 April, has not had a material impact on poker revenue as new players represent just a small proportion of the overall player base and these companies have so far continued to command significant market share in non-US markets.

Casino continues to perform well while bingo has been slightly softer than expected in the period.

At 8:47am: (LON:BPTY) share price was +0.5p at 148.7p.


Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Big On Security

The online gaming business PartyGaming has also long since been protecting its players with strong authentication. After all, there is a lot of money at stake – money that the dark forces may want to siphon away. PartyPoker, PartyCasino, PartyBingo and PartyGammon customers register by downloading the PartyGaming customer software. After registration, they can obtain an authenticator called PartySecure from the online store. This is again a Digipass Go 6 that has been completely adapted to the branding of PartyGaming. Here again, a Vacman Controller Server takes over the authentication. “The solution is highly scalable,” stressed a PartyGaming spokesperson. “It can grow with us and effortlessly cope with the growing number of online-players on our platform.”


Australian Tony G Inks Player Representation Agreement With PartyPoker

There's only an elite few poker players who are also extremely astute businessmen, and Australian Tony G is one such ace. Having amassed over $4 million in live-tournament winnings and having a few other healthy income streams the only thing missing from the mans achievements was a major representation deal with a major online site. Enter PartyPoker.com

Tony G in a cunning moving has sold his Tony G Poker official website and IP to the igaming powerhouse giving the Bwin.Party giant access to the website's strong poker player database.

Mr G said he couldn't be more pleased about his new deal and that he is ready to take on all challengers. "I cannot wait to start playing for Team Party on the circuit. I’ve always loved Party and what better way to kick off than at the Aussie Millions. I am also really excited about the Premier League in February ...it is the best event in poker in my eyes. After finishing runner-up and third in the last two years the title has to be mine! I just hope my rivals have the heart and commitment to the game to stop me!"

His new deal incorporates live tournament buy-ins to events around the world and he will play online under the screen name "TonyG." He joins an impressive roster of Team Party players including Mike Sexton, Kara Scott, Ian Frazer, Bodo Sbrzesny, Remy Biechel, Stewart Scott and Felipe ‘Mojave’ Ramos.

The Tony G Poke website will migrate all its players to NoblePoker.com, (a Bwin.Party subsidiary). As part of G's deal, he will continue to run the Sunday Bike Ride, a popular bounty promotion on the site. According to G, this will give Tony G Poker players added value over the long run.

"It’s business as usual for Tony G Poker.com The exciting acquisition of its assets by the PartyGaming will create a larger more flexible and productive playing environment," said the G. So, whether online poker, online casino or other tickle your fancy, the good folks at Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment have your number.

The company is currently expanding worldwide, and growing markets include Australia, Canada, Italy, Spain, and the firm is currently talking turkey with U.S regulators regarding a full return to the U.S market, where its World Poker Tour brand should prove to be the door opener, followed by sports betting and online casino offerings, all under the Bwin.Party banner. It's b2b deals with Marvel Entertainment, Frank Sinatra Enterprises, Paramount Pictures, Dark Horse Comics and International Game Technology are also understood to be giving the powers that be confidence to get negotiations with Bwin.Party to the next stage.

Profiles

PartyGaming PartyCasino PartyPoker PartyBingo Circus PartyCasino Marvel Slots The Big One Melon Madness Casino World Poker Tour PartyCasino Promotions
Sin City

Saturday, July 02, 2011

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment To Sell Ongame; Bwin.Party Gets New Games And Promotions, by Greg Tingle - 1st July 2011

Profiles

Sin City PartyCasino.com Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Hollywood Slots Comics
PartyPoker.com

PartyCasino, PartyPoker And Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment News

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment To Sell Ongame

The world’s largest listed online gambling operator, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, has begun the formal process of selling its Ongame Network Limited business-to-business subsidiary with completion expected before the end of the year.
Gibraltar-based Bwin.Party was born in late-March following the union of online betting and gaming provider Bwin Interactive Entertainment with PartyGaming and declared that the sale of Ongame was part of the ongoing integration process.
“One area of our stated strategy was to recycle surplus assets,” read a statement from Bwin.Party.

“As part of this process, and having taken some initial soundings from interested parties, we have commenced a formal process to sell Ongame’s business-to-business operation that is one of the world's leading online poker networks with a state-of-the-art technology platform.

“Since the completion of the merger that took place on March 31, we continue to make progress on implementing the plans that we had prepared prior to completion. As a result, we remain on-track to deliver the full €55 million of annualised synergies by 2013 as previously announced.”

Bwin.Party also revealed in a pre-close trading update that its business was trading in-line with management expectations ‘although sports margins have been lower than expected due to a favourable run of events for customers in May’.

“The improvement in new player sign-ups in poker following action taken by the US authorities against certain of the group's online poker competitors on April 15 has not had a material impact on poker revenues as new players represent just a small proportion of the overall player base and these companies have so far continued to command significant market share in non-US markets,” read the statement from Bwin.Party.

“Casino continues to perform well while bingo has been slightly softer than expected in the period.”

Finally, Bwin.Party stated that its board of directors has adopted a ‘progressive dividend policy’ that is set to start with a payment of €30 million for the year to the end of December while its share buy-back programme, which will remain in place for one year, currently has access to €75 million from existing cash resources.


Frank Miller's Sin City Comes To The World's Largest Online Casino


Casino News Media: Frank Miller's Sin City Comes To The World's Largest Online Casino

Profiles

Sin City PartyCasino.com Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Hollywood Slots Comics

Gibraltar - 17th June 2011 - Following up on last week’s release of Frank Miller’s Sin City: The Hard Goodbye at Digital DarkHorse comes more exciting news around this legendary title. Sin City has now entered the online gaming world, with a new game at PartyCasino.com This new five-reel, fifty-line slot features art and story from the widely acclaimed series by comics legend Frank Miller.

When Sin City originally appeared in Dark Horse Presents: Fifth Anniversary Special in April 1991, it was clear that the face of the comics medium had changed forever. Since that time, Miller’s groundbreaking comics noir has found its way into the public consciousness with toys, games, and even a feature-length motion picture. Frank Miller’s Sin City remains one of the most stylized works in the history of the medium, drawing heavily from film noir, including its use of shadow and stark backgrounds. The black-and-white comic was perfectly suited to the original format of Dark Horse’s flagship anthology, with occasional spot usage of primary colors added to later volumes and editions.

"Frank Miller’s Sin City is a very different slot to any other we have launched in recent times. The striking artwork and mature content mean this isn’t a game for the faint hearted," said a spokesman for PartyCasino.com

There are five featured games, which win the player free spins and multipliers: “Straight to Hell,” “The Hard Goodbye,” “He Never Screams,” “Deadly Little Miho,” and “Just Get Warmed Up.” The games feature the series’ main characters: Hartigan, Nancy, Miho, Marv, Kevin, the Yellow B*stard, and Dwight. The game includes mature content and scenes of violence, nudity, and depravation.

PartyCasino.com has the most frequent game launches in the industry and offers over 160 games, including over 100 slots. PartyCasino.com pays out easily over $10 million EVERY DAY to players. “The Big One” is structured as a five-tiered pool. The highest tier—Colossal Cash—seeds at $1.5 million, the biggest online jackpot seed in the industry, and currently stands at over $1.6 million.

About Dark Horse Comics

Since 1986, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator-friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent like Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Gerard Way, and comics legend Will Eisner, Dark Horse has developed such successful characters as the Mask, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Additionally, its highly successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Emily the Strange, Tim Burton, Trigun, Serenity, and Domo. Today Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic-book publisher in the US and is recognized as one of the world’s leading publishers of licensed comics material.

SIN CITY, FRANK MILLER’S SIN CITY and all characters therein and all depictions thereof are trademarks of Frank Miller, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ©2011 Frank Miller, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


Profiles

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyCasino.com PartyPoker.com PartyBets.com PartyBingo.com Gamebookers.com Movies Sin City

In the meantime PartyCasino.com continues to roll out new games and initiatives.

The most popular PartyCasino.com games of late include Sin City, Unicorn Legend, Heist, Circus, Rambo, Palladium Slot, The Godfather, Sinatra, Slotbox, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Mission: Impossible, The Terminator, Cleopatra, Sinatra, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spider-Man, Monopoly, Resident Evil, Melon Madness, Wheel Of Fortune and Mega Fortune Wheel.

The PartyCasino.com jackpot is currently approaching the $4 million mark. Players can also compete for The Big One and Marvel Hero Jackpot, playing the Marvel super hero themed online slot games.

PartyCasino's most recent game releases include Sin City, The Sting, Unicorn Legend, Shaaark! SuperBet, Crocodopolis, Alice's Wonderland, Glamour Puss, Super Cubes, Heist, Palladium Slot and Circus Slot.

PartyGaming CEO Jim Ryan has gone on record advising PartyCasino will soon feature more Hollywood blockbuster themed slots. A few in the know journalists and media agents have been recently tipped off that an all time classic movie adaption will be showcased in the PartyCasino portfolio within 1 month. PartyCasino has the world's most impressive line up of Hollywood themed games, and more are just around the corner.

Media Man, Casino News Media and Global Gaming Directory do have a b2b relationship with Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, as they do with dozens of other companies in the gaming, igaming, media and entertainment industry.

The Big Fat Win

Collect your cut of more than $100,000
Starts: 00:00 ET, 6th July
Ends: 23:59 ET, 18th July

Sin City is now open for business and to welcome you to our most jaw-dropping slot game ever we’ve put together a cache of prizes worth more than $100,000.

With leaderboard cash prizes and double points for the taking, all you have to do is spin Sin City or any of our slots and jackpot slots to stake your claim for a share of this formidable haul of prizes.

Get paid in The Big Fat Win

Muscle in on your share of The Big Fat Win by opting in from 6th July and earning points when you play Sin City or any of our slots and jackpot slots during the promotional period. Palladium VIP members will be fighting it out for more than $60,000, while non-VIP players have over $40,000 to play for.

Remember, the higher you rise up the leaderboard, the bigger your reward.


Double points when you spin Sin City

Don’t forget, every time you play Sin City during the promotional period we’ll give you double the amount of points you would normally earn. Now there’s absolutely no reason for you to stay away from Sin City…

Make a name for yourself in Sin City

Lose yourself in Sin City and discover a slot game we’re certain will blow you away.

Based on the infamous graphic novel series, this unique slot is packed with dark humour, shocking visuals and, most importantly, free spins, multipliers features and five unforgettable bonus games. Wreak enough havoc in Sin City and you can win 1,000 times your line bet in the normal game and up to 8,000 times your line bet in the free spins feature.

Pay Sin City a visit today and see if you can make a killing.

Websites

PartyCasino.com

PartyPoker.com


There's Never Been A Better Time to Play at PartyPoker

GIBRALTAR - June 29, 2011 - There's never been a better time to play at leading online poker room PartyPoker.com New offers introduced TODAY include:

• $100,000 freeroll Make a deposit using bonus code 200JULY and you'll get automatic entry into a huge $100K Depositors freeroll on Sunday 7th August.

• 100% reload bonus Top up your account and get 100% extra up to $200. Just deposit using bonus code 200JULY. The 200JULY reload bonus is available until 23:59 on 7th August 2011.

• Summer Million freerolls Enter daily Summer Million freerolls and play for a Summer Million ticket and a $1,000 prize pool every day for free.

• Keep your VIP status Have you been a VIP at another site? Just email proof to vip@palladiumlounge.com and earn 1,000 points within 15 days and we'll upgrade your account to VIP status.

See PartyPoker.com for more information.

Cleaning up at the tables? Fancy a bigger project or just a bit of fun? Your chance to achieve total 'World Domination' gets underway at PartyPoker.com from the 8th July 2011. Conquer 72 cities by earning PartyPoints and pick up freerolls, cash prizes and a potential top prize of $100,000 on the way!

A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: "The premise is simple – divide and conquer! Rome wasn't built in a day but it could be won in an hour! Turn your PartyPoints into cities - the empire building continues until the 31st August or until all cities are conquered. There are 72 cities to conquer and freeroll seats, cash payouts and a top prize of $100,000. Just earn 10 PartyPoints to be randomly awarded a city from 72 available."

"Many of the cities have cash prizes and freeroll seats attached The big money comes in when you can complete all the cities in an entire continent, for example, getting all of Asia wins you $5,000 and Europe will bag you $20,000. Finally, a player who gets every single country has world domination – worth a cool $100,000."

As an incentive to get started, PartyPoker.com give you your first city for just 5 points. Tony G writes from his secret underground bunker at PartyPoker.com

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For more information see: PartyPoker.com


Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Confirms Ongame Poker Network Deal Possibilities

The Ongame poker network is "likely" to be sold, bwin.party has confirmed that a formal process to sell the B2B network is on the way.

The announcement was made earlier today ahead of today’s Annual General Meeting, the first held by the giant since the merger between Bwin and PartyGaming was completed last March.

The statement read "One area of our stated strategy was to recycle surplus assets,"..."We expect that any sale will be completed by the end of the year."

No licensee on the network has yet responded to bwin.party’s announcement, although Betfair’s outgoing CEO David Yu passed opinion on Ongame just yesterday.

Bwin.Party’s AGM statement contains details of a planned share buyback, which will see the company follow the examples of Playtech and Betfair in making such a move, plus news of a progressive dividend policy containing a €30m dividend payout for the year ending 31 December 2011.

As we go to press trading is described as “Broadly in-line with management's expectations,” however analyst James Hollins, of Evolution Securities, advised in a memo earlier today that “The stock remains a Neutral ahead of potentially disruptive German legislation near-term.”

Meanwhile Simon French, of Panmure Gordon, reiterated his firm’s ‘buy’ recommendation, explaining “[We] expect the shares to respond well to the dividend and share buyback news.”

German sports betting proposals in April had seen the share price of bwin.party dive 16% in a day, and a decision on the country’s State Gambling Treaty is expected in October.

Yesterday things turned around following the suspension of Full Tilt Poker’s licences in Alderney - the share price ended the day at 148.2p, an increase of more than 10% day-on-day.


Bwin.Party In Line With Management's Expectations

bwin.party digital entertainment's trading performance since the beginning of April has been broadly in line with management's expectations.

But is says sports margins have been lower than expected due to a favourable run of events for customers in May.

The improvement in new player sign-ups in poker, following action taken by the US authorities against certain of the group's online poker competitors on 15 April, has not had a material impact on poker revenue as new players represent just a small proportion of the overall player base and these companies have so far continued to command significant market share in non-US markets.

Casino continues to perform well while bingo has been slightly softer than expected in the period.

At 8:47am: (LON:BPTY) share price was +0.5p at 148.7p.


Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Big On Security

The online gaming business PartyGaming has also long since been protecting its players with strong authentication. After all, there is a lot of money at stake – money that the dark forces may want to siphon away. PartyPoker, PartyCasino, PartyBingo and PartyGammon customers register by downloading the PartyGaming customer software. After registration, they can obtain an authenticator called PartySecure from the online store. This is again a Digipass Go 6 that has been completely adapted to the branding of PartyGaming. Here again, a Vacman Controller Server takes over the authentication. “The solution is highly scalable,” stressed a PartyGaming spokesperson. “It can grow with us and effortlessly cope with the growing number of online-players on our platform.”


bwin.party digital - AGM Statement - 30th June 2011


AGM Statement

Pre-close Trading update and Distribution Policy


Highlights

Ø Current trading broadly in-line with management's expectations

Ø Board has adopted a progressive dividend policy commencing with a dividend of €30m for the year ended 31 December 2011

Ø Share buy-back programme of up to €75m from existing cash resources

Ø Integration on-track to deliver €55m of annualised synergies by 2013

Ø Ongame B2B network to be sold


At the Company's AGM to be held in Gibraltar later today, the Board of bwin.party will be issuing the following statement to shareholders.


Trading and Regulation update

The Group's trading performance since the beginning of April 2011 has been broadly in-line with management's expectations, although sports margins have been lower than expected due to a favourable run of events for customers in May. The improvement in new player sign-ups in poker, following action taken by the US authorities against certain of the Group's online poker competitors on 15 April 2011, has not had a material impact on poker revenue as new players represent just a small proportion of the overall player base and these companies have so far continued to command significant market share in non-US markets. Casino (Paris: FR0000125585 - news) continues to perform well while bingo has been slightly softer than expected in the period.

The pace of regulatory change shows no signs of slowing down as governments around the world embrace the market reality that online gaming is an increasingly popular form of entertainment for adults. Recent developments include in Italy, where cash game poker and casino games are expected to become licensed next month, and in Spain where the proposed regulatory framework is expected to include all products. In Germany, Schleswig-Holstein's proposal to regulate and license all forms of online gaming has been approved by the European Commission and this legislation is now being considered by the State Parliament. An alternative proposal, as put forward by the other 15 Länder, has yet to receive approval from the European Commission.

In the United States there have been a number of fresh efforts to regulate internet poker at both a federal and state level, driven by US consumers' desire to continue to play games online following the enforcement action taken by the Department of Justice in April 2011 and also by widespread support for regulation by the land-based industry. The Group is encouraged by these efforts.


Integration update

Since the completion of the merger that took place on 31 March 2011, we continue to make progress on implementing the plans that we had prepared prior to completion. As a result, we remain on-track to deliver the full €55 million of annualised synergies by 2013 as previously announced.


Sale of Ongame B2B

One area of our stated strategy was to recycle surplus assets. As part of this process and having taken some initial soundings from interested parties, we have commenced a formal process to sell Ongame's Business-to-Business operation that is one of the world's leading online poker networks with a state-of-the-art technology platform. We expect that any sale will be completed by the end of the year.


Distribution Policy

Following the announcement on 15 April 2011, the Board has undertaken a comprehensive review of its capital and distribution policy. This review considered the investment needs of the business over the next few years given the expected changes to the Group's operating environment, together with the Group's significant net cash position, strong cashflow characteristics and long-term earnings potential.


Taking these factors into account, the Board is pleased to announce that it will:


Ø Commence a dividend at the half year results to be announced on 31 August 2011; and


Ø Implement a share buyback programme, subject to market conditions and shareholder approval at today's AGM, of up to €75m. This programme will remain in place for one year and all shares purchased under the programme will be cancelled.


In relation to the dividend the Directors have adopted a progressive dividend policy whilst maintaining an appropriate level of dividend cover, as measured against the Group's free cashflow. This policy reflects the strong cashflow characteristics and long-term earnings potential of the Group whilst retaining sufficient resources to fund ongoing operating requirements and continued investment for long-term growth.


For the year ended 31 December 2011, the Directors intend to pay out €15m as an interim dividend payable in October 2011 and €15m as a final dividend payable in May 2012. Thereafter, the Directors intend to target a payout ratio of no less than 30% of normalised annual free cashflow with the interim dividend representing approximately half of the total annual dividend.


Poll Results

The full results of the poll votes regarding the 16 resolutions to be put to the meeting, of which two resolutions (15 and 16) are special resolutions, will be announced later today.

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