http://www.virtuacasinos.com Virtua Casinos en-us 266 105 http://www.virtuacasinos.com http://www.virtuacasinos.com/images/logo.gif The World Series Of Poker has launched a new Facebook program application, named Poker Palace, where players can enjoy their favourite game for free. Poker Palace is the second biggest poker room in Facebook, with almost 160,000 players daily.

Poker Palace is powered by Playdom Games and it has ten-handed ring games and Sit & Go tournaments. The Facebook application allows gamers to play in virtual no-limit Texas Hold'em competitions and win virtual prizes.
The games are totally free. Poker Palace is a relaunched version of a poker application program by Mountain View, California based Playdom Inc.

This year's main event has a $10,000 buy-in, with a total prize pool of $8.94 million to be awarded after the final table in November. Texas Hol'em Poker became the second most popular game after Farmville, which has 63.9 million players.

Facebook is a social networking, launched in 2004, with more than 500 million active users. Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, a young Harvard student, who became the youngest billionaire in the world. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Free-Poker-Application-on-Facebook.htm William Hill, the major British gaming group, has planned to move its telephone betting operations offshore to Gibraltar. William Hill's chief executive, Ralph Topping, said that the change, which will affect almost 350 employees, is a “response to the challenge of competing with betting exchanges and offshore telebetting operators, all of whom have benefited from significant cost and tax advantages ”.

The bookmaker plans to move its telephone business offshore and to review its loss-making betting shops. William Hill wants to reduce its tax bills which amounted to £670 million last year. The bookmaker currently has over 170 unprofitable shops, 50 of which will not make the end of the year, causing the loss of other 200 jobs.

William Hill wants to enjoy the tax advantages that other offshore operators already take advantages of and save 4 to £7 million a year from January. The offshore operators pay very low taxes and no horse-racing levy.
This change will cost the bookmaker almost £7 million, but William Hill, whose betting business registered a loss of £1.8 million last year and another small loss for the first half of 2010, hopes to flourish again in the nearest future.

William Hill has a significant importance in the UK and Ireland and it includes 2,300 licensed betting offices and almost 16,000 employees. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/William-Hill-Moves-Telephone-Betting-Operation-Offshore.htm Federal MP Michael Johnson said he is against election betting and that the laws should forbid institutional betting on elections in Australia.

“It's entirely inappropriate for Australians to bet on the result of an election. Just like the next guy I enjoy betting on two flies (going) up a wall. I just think something like the result of an election, money shouldn't be put on it, given the seriousness of it. There's just something undignified about it. Betting and gambling is already a huge problem in our country,” said federal MP Michael Johnson.

Johnson said he doesn't oppose to casual betting between friends, for example, but he thinks Australia needs to change the gambling laws for prohibiting high street bookies and online sports-books from offering odds on national elections. He said the elections are too serious to be wagered and that wagering is already a black mark on the fabric of the country's democracy.
Mr. Johnson also expressed his concern regarding the possibility that betting on state and national elections could affect the outcome of elections, allowing some political parties to engage in actions of defrauding.

Political wagering has become very popular in Australia lately. The Australian Labor Party and the Coalition, formed by the National Party of Australia, Liberal Party of Australia and Country Liberal Party, are the two political parties that dominate the Australian government. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Australia-Wants-to-Ban-Election-Betting.htm The World Cup was one of the best for bookmakers in 40 years. William Hill, the British bookmaker, has recently announced that the company's overall revenue for the first half of 2010 has been boosted by the World Cup Championship.

William Hill has around 2,300 betting shops in Great Britain and Ireland. Chief Executive Ralph Topping said he has never seen such a strong performance at the World Cup Championship and such poor horse-racing results in the second quarter of the year.
“Whilst it was our worst ever Royal Ascot, with a loss on the meeting, the World Cup proved to be one of the best for bookmakers in 40 years. Overall, we have seen a good Group performance in the period, with a particularly strong contribution from William Hill Online,” Ralph Topping said.

Chief Executive Ralph Topping also suggested that the net revenue increased by 3% with a strong growth in the online business area and from gaming machines. William Hill's overall profit for the first half of year is of £135 million, compared with £143.6 million the year before. Most of the money came from the final match: Netherlands versus Spain, and from England's matches as well.
William Hill's interim results for the first half of 2010 will be announced on 26th of August. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/The-World-Cup-Was-Very-Lucrative-For-William-Hill.htm The British Columbia province has launched its first North-American online casino authorized and run by the government. 14,000 British Columbian players are already registered on the website.

Players can log on the website and play different casino games, including blackjack, baccarat, craps, poker etc, bingo and sports lottery. Users must be at least 19 or older.
Minister for Housing and Social Development Rich Coleman said the global online gaming industry is worth about $20 billion and that the British Columbia government wants to recover the estimated the $100 million their residents spend on illegal gambling websites which are operated offshore. “We want to ensure that money gambled in B.C. stays in the province to benefit B.C.,” said Coleman.

In 2009, the B.C. generated about $34 million in revenue from gambling operations. The website is expected to help at the raising money for social and health care programs or for education.
The famous website was launched on Thursday, but due to the overwhelming traffic, it had to be closed for maintenance. Michael Graydon, president of the BC Lottery Corporation said the company decided to close down the site for a half of day, to add new hardware and servers to the system.

The website offers a welcome bonus of $10 to gamble with, and if you spend $100 before the end of August, you will get another $100 free. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/British-Columbia-Welcomes-Its-First-Authorized-Casino.htm The 2010 World Series Of Poker Main Event has finally revealed the identity of the nine luckiest poker players who will play in November. The November Nine players were the survivals of an 18 hours of play marathon poker session.

After Pascal Lefrancois out in 11th position, Brandon Steven was finally eliminated in 10th place, which gave an immense joy to his opponents because they will return to fight next November for the incredible prize of 8.9 million dollars and the title of the world champion of poker, each player being guaranteed more than $1 million!
The 41st edition of the World Series of Poker consists of an amateur and eight professional players, more or less known. Here are the luckiest nine players and the chip count of the November Nine 2010:

1. Jonathan Duhamel (Quebec, Canada) – 65,975,000;
2. John Dolan (Florida, U.S) – 46,250,000;
3. Joseph Cheung (California, U.S) – 23,525,000;
4. John Racener (Florida, U.S) – 19,050,000;
5. Matthew Jarvis (B.C, Canada) – 16,700,000;
6. Filippo Candio (Sardinia, Italy) – 16,400,000;
7. Michael Mizrachi (Florida, U.S) – 14,450,000;
8. Cuong Nguyen (California, U.S) – 9,650,000;
9. Jason Senti (Minnesota, U.S) – 7,625,000.

Jonathan Duhamel is the currently chip leader of the 2010 WSOP Main Event. In December 2009, the 22 year-old player from Montreal finished 10th in EPT Prague. He started playing online poker a year ago.

John Dolan, 24 year-old, is originally from Florida. “I was fortunate to pick up some hands at the beginning at the final table,” he said. “I was able to do some things and as we progressed a little bit and my stack was a little deeper. It's amazing. Obviously you hope for this, but you never expect any of this. It's just awesome,” said the young player.

Joseph Cheong, 24 year-old, says he is a “full-time player” and that he has played over 10,000 tournaments. He thinks he is the most experienced player at the final table. Cheong holds his degree in psychology, mathematics and economics.

John Racener is a professional player who has already won over 1.1 million dollars for his notable success which includes a WSOP Circuit and 11 WSOP cashes.

Matthew Jarvis is a 25 year-old Canadian player. “I think I've played pretty well and I'm feeling good. It's amazing. It's every poker player's dream to make the November Nine. I'm stoked! Everything's good right now,” he said.

Filippo Candio is originally from Italy. He is the only European in the final table of the Main Event 2010.

Michael Mizrachi, the most famous poker player at the final table. He experienced 18 major wins in different tournaments, he has a gold WSOP bracelet and more than $8.8 million in live tournament winnings.

Cuong Nguyen, 37 year-old, is the only amateur player in the final.”This is the best time of my life. I didn't think I had any shot. I just came for the experience. Last night, Nam told me, 'Dude, this is every poker player's dream. This place, this tournament.' It's just been an awesome ride,” he said.

Jason Senti, 28 year-old player, left his job to devote himself to professionally poker. He says he prefers Omaha and Texas Hold'em.


The Main Event of the WSOP began two weeks ago and attracted 7,319 entrants. It was the second largest live poker tournament ever held and it gathered players from 117 different countries, including 18 former world champions and nearly 150 previous WSOP bracelet winners.

The Main Event is now on hold until the 6th of November. The final table will be played at the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Who-Are-The-November-Nine-This-Year?.htm Phil Ivey managed to reach the final table of the 2010 World Poker Tour Bellagio Cup VI. The famous WPT Bellagio Cup VI attracted many of the big names in professional poker game this year, such as Daniel Negreanu, Chris Ferguson, Phil Hellmuth, Tom Dwan, Erik Seidel, John Hennigan, Greg Mueller, Andy Bloch and Phil Ivey.

The $10,000 buy-in event gathered 353 players, creating a prize pool of over $3.4 million. Although he will face five tough competitors, Phil Ivey is the favourite player to win this competition. He currently has 1,595,000 in chips and he is about to add another major title into his impressive poker CV.

Here are the final table competitors:
John Caridad – 5,120,000;
Moritz Kranich – 2,715,000;
Justin Smith – 2,100,000;
Rob Akery – 1,980,000;
Phil Ivey – 1,595,000;
Eric Afriat – 620,000. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Phil-Ivey-Plays-at-the-Final-Table-of-2010-WPT-Bellagio-Cup-VI.htm Thomas Gigliotti, 74, and his wife Josephine, 71, were robbed on Saturday morning when returning from the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood. The couple spent several hours playing Texas Hold'em at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and won about $4,000.

They returned home to Plantation early Saturday, where two armed men, wearing masks, pulled the old man from his car, knocked him to the ground and stole their money just in front of the Gigliotti's house.
Gigliotti jumped back into his car and chased the masked robbers in his 2000 Lincoln Navigator.
“This chase was one of the greatest chases you’ve ever seen. They went right, left. They made their mistake when they went on the straightaway,” said Gigliotti.

His actions were finally successful because the robbers jumped from their car and ran away with the money, leaving the damaged vehicle behind. Meanwhile, his wife phoned to the police from inside their home. 20 minutes later, the police informed her Mr. Gigliotti arrived to the police station.
“I was hugging everybody. I was so happy he was alive, because I said, 'I don't know what I would do if anything happens to him,'” the woman said.

Although Gigliotti's actions may have helped, the police said they would not recommend victims to put their own lives in danger for a property crime. The investigators are now following leads to track down the two masked robbers. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Old-Couple-Robbed-After-Leaving-Casino.htm Peter Eastgate is known as the first youngest player ever to win the Main Event at the 2008 World Series Of Poker. In 2006 Peter Eastgate cashed in for the first time in his live tournament career. His total live tournament winnings exceed $10,900,000.

In July 2010, Peter Eastgate announced he decided to quit poker. He announced his decision in a statement through his sponsor PokerStars.com.
Peter Eastgate admitted he started playing poker for a living, but it was never his goal to spend the rest of his life as a professional poker player. He just wanted to become financially independent, which he achieved by winning the WSOP Main Event in 2008. The next two years he went on a worldwide tour, where he saw different places and met many new people. “It has been a great experience,” he said.

“In the 20 months following my WSOP win, I feel that I have lost my motivation for playing high-level poker along the way, and I have decided that now is the time to find out what I want to do with the rest of my life. What this will be, I do not yet know. I have decided to take a break from live tournament poker, and try to focus on Peter Eastgate, the person. I want to thank PokerStars, my friends and family for their support over the last 20 months and for their support in my decision to take a break from poker,” said the young player.

“We know that poker will miss this world-class player and world-class role model, but PokerStars has only the deepest respect for Peter’s decision. Poker is about determination and excitement, and if Peter lacks this in his game, the right decision is to take a break. Peter has played amongst world champions and he has carried his title in the most admirable fashion,” a spokesperson for PokerStars.com commented of Eastgate's decision.

Peter Eastgate's last poker game was in the NBC National Heads-up Championship in Las Vegas, when he finished the 5th and won $75,000. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Peter-Eastgate-Wants-to-Quit-Poker.htm The Romanian Government is facing fiscal difficulties caused by the economic recession and it is considering regulating the online market. The Finance Ministry secretary of state Bogdan Dragoi said the government might regulate online gambling as a way to attract more money to the budget.

In Romania, the laws prohibit Romanian operators to offer online gambling services. Only the offshore operators are allowed to offer their services online. The stakes are enormous because in 2009 the wagers were estimated at €500 million, compared to the €120 million spent in 2008.

According to Bogdan Dragoi, the Finance Ministry secretary of state, the change in the Romanian online gambling legislation combined with tax increases operating casinos registered over € 130 million to the State last year. The crisis led to the closure of many casinos. Regulating online gaming could generate more income and it could help the Romanian budget to face the large deficit.
“After the law was amended, gambling revenues increased considerably," he added, "...we are looking into ways to regulate online gambling, and, if we manage to control money [tax] collection, we will authorize them,” said Bogdan Dragoi.

The current Romanian gambling laws are not very precise and there neither forbid nor allow the online games to their citizens, but there forbid the involvement of the Romanian companies. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Romania-Plans-To-Regulate-Online-Gambling.htm Although according to the country's law, gambling games are considered games of luck, a Dutch High Court recently ruled that poker is a game of skill, not chance. The man arrested for organizing a poker tournament played in 2006, was set free. Four years after he was arrested, the court ruling reached the verdict “not guilty”.

During the trial, the defense argued poker has become a different game, which depends on tactics, experience and psychology and that playing a game of skill could not be considered as illegal.
The three judges agreed with the defense and ruled for a sudden change in the way in which poker is categorized. Since poker cannot be considered as a game of chance, the Hague ruled the man who organized the poker tournament is not guilty.

Dutch laws state that casino-style gambling games are considered to be games of luck or chance and there can only be played at state-run casinos. Now, the Dutch poker players are waiting to see the effects of the new ruling and how this will affect the online poker websites in Holland. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Dutch-Court-Rules:-Poker-Is-Not-A-Game-Of-Chance.htm Three Ghana players partied until 2am ahead of Uruguay quarter-final at the Sun City Casino Resort in South Africa for celebrating their way into the World Cup quarters. The three players, Daniel Agyei, Jonathan Mensah and Isaac Vorsah, went at the casino with their coach Milovan Rajevac, who gave them the permission to stay up late.

“Our coach gives us a lot of freedom. He trusts us. But we always train hard and we're very fit. We can go for a stroll here anytime we like. He trusts us to be sensible, treats us like adults and we don't abuse that trust. We come to the casino, but don't know how to gamble. We've not been drinking alcohol either. It's a long time from home, it's a lively place here, but we're always on the training ground every day, working hard. We really believe we are going to do it for Africa. We are the fittest and strongest team at the World Cup. We don't fear anyone. We've played well so far, we're getting better and have more confidence with every game,” said Jonathan Mensah.

The Ghana football team is popularly known as the Black Stars and it is controlled by the Ghana Football Association.
The Ghana football team will face Uruguay in the World Cup quarter finals and if it wins, the players will face Holland in the semi-finals of the championship. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Ghana-Football-Team-–-Party-in-Casino-Until-2am.htm The poker pro Huck Seed won the 2010 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, after defeating a field of 27 elite WSOP winners.

The original Tournament of Champions was launched in September 2004 as an exclusive event. All the 10 participants were invited to compete in this tournament. The winner, Annie Duke, received $2,000,000!
This year, the public voted the 20 players they wanted to compete into the tournament from March 15 until June15 and the results of the vote were as follows:
Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Chris Ferguson, Allen Cunningham, Johnny Chan, Scotty Nguyen, Barry Greenstein, John Juanda, Erik Seidel, Jennifer Harman, Huck Seed, Dan Harrington, T.J. Cloutier, Sammy Farha, Howard Lederer, Greg Raymer, Joe Hachem and Antonio Esfandiari. 2009 WSOP champion Joe Cada, Barry Shulman, Mike Matusow, Mike Sexton and Annie Duke were automatically rewarded with a seat. So were Andrew Barton and Bertrand Grospellier.

Commenting on his victory, Huck Seed said: “I really appreciate all the fans voting. This is your victory as well for voting for me.”
Huck Seed has four WSOP bracelets, 37 total cashes at the WSOP and his total live tournament winnings exceed $5,000,000. In 1996, he won the main event of the World Series Of Poker.
“I’m thrilled with how I played, but very disappointed. I really wanted to win. I don’t think I can play any better than I did today…Huck Seed is a fantastic player. I think he’s under-rated as far as poker history,” said Howard Lederer commenting on his runner-up finish.

The final table payouts are below:
1. Huck Seed - 500,000;
2. Howard Lederer - 250,000;
3. Johnny Chan - 100,000;
4. Joe Hachem - 25,000;
5. Barry Greenstein - 25,000;
6. Daniel Negreanu - 25,000;
7. Jennifer Harman - 25,000;
8. Annie Duke - 25,000;
9. TJ Cloutier - 25,000. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Poker-Pro-Huck-Seed-Crowned-Champion-of-Champions.htm On 1st of July 2009, Vladimir Putin described gambling as “worse than alcoholism” and passed a law against it. Russia made all online gambling activities illegal and restricted bricks-and-mortar casino games to the Krasnodar, Kaliningrad, Altai and Vladivostok regions.

The lack of infrastructure and investment in these areas discouraged both investors and clients. Now the wealthy Russian gamblers prefer to go abroad and the travel agencies even specialized in gambling offers which include airplane tickets and four star hotel packages in Las Vegas.

One year later, the Russian's draconian ban on casino games has only managed to move gambling underground. There, the gambling market is still prospering.
“Slot machine businesses were shut down 12 months ago. Regrettably, the majority of them were replaced with so-called 'lottery machines',” said Olga Golubeva, executive secretary of the Moscow Government's Interdepartmental Commission for Gambling Business. Since there is no law to define the requirements of the lottery equipment or lottery software, business owners obtain their certificates confirming that their old equipment is, in fact, a lottery equipment.

RT news, a Russian multilingual television news network, published a report on illegal gambling. An anonymous gambler told the RT reporter that he has been gambling for about 10 years and that since the law came into force, on the 1st of July 2009, nothing really changed because people still know where to go if they want to gamble. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Russians-Still-Gamble.htm PokerStars announced its involvement in the Empire State Hold'em Championship at Tuning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, New York. The Isle of Man licensed free online poker website will sponsor the upcoming championship that it is set to take place from August 14th to August 18th.

The Empire State Hold'em Championship will feature a $2,500 buy-in main event.
PokerStars arranged qualifying events on pokerstars.net, where players can win their seats into the championship. The packages worth $4,000 each and include the main event buy-in, six nights of accommodation and other travel expenses.

Jason DiBenedetto, Director of Poker Operations at Turning Stone Resort and Casino, said: “We are very excited about our new partnership with PokerStars.net and look forward to welcoming players to Turning Stone Resort for this premier poker event. There will be preliminary events beginning on August 9 leading up to the main event and several events running after the main event through August 22.”

Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona was opened in 1993. It has 32 poker tables, plus 60 additional tournament tables, championship golf courses and many restaurants, offering Vegas style gaming and entertainment. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/PokerStars-Will-Sponsor-The-Empire-State-Holdem-Championship.htm The Argentina and Brazil football rivalry exists since their first match in 1914 and it was called the “Battle of the South Americans”.
Since then, the two football teams have played 96 friendlies and other official competitions, with 35 victories for Brazil, 33 for Argentina and 28 draws in official matches.

The latest match Argentina versus Brazil took place on the 5th of September 2009, when the two teams played for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Personally I think there are a lot of similarities in both football teams' playing style. At the 2010 World Cup, Argentina became the bookies' favourite to win, while Brazil failed to impress.

Here are William Hill's odds for possible 2010 World Cup finals: - 4/1 Argentina versus Brazil, 11/2 Spain versus Brazil, 7/1 Germany versus Brazil, 15/2 Argentina versus Holland, 9/1 Spain versus Holland, 10/1 Argentina versus Uruguay, 11/1 Germany versus Holland, 12/1 Spain versus Uruguay.

“Punters believe we are set for an all-South American final, probably between the big two, but possibly with Uruguay gate-crashing the party,” said the William Hill spokesperson Graham Sharpe.

Ladbrokes offers odds of 3/1 on Argentina winning the 2010 FIFA World Cup, while Betfair, ExtraBet, and Bwin list Argentina at odds of 4/1. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Argentina-versus-Brazil-Betting-Odds.htm Andrew Trapp, a South Carolina priest, plays poker for his church's fund. The Saint Michel's Catholic Church is a $6 million project. The priest says they have already raised $4.2 million to start the project and they will also take out a loan for $1 million. The priest thinks they will need to raise about $900,000 more for the new church that it will be able to hold 12,000 people.

In 2009, father Andrew Trapp competed into the PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge, hoping to win the first prize. The priest was coached by the four-time WSOP bracelet winner, Daniel Negreanu.
“Poker is one of my hobbies. I play it with family and friends. It's a way for people to come together, have fun and enjoy each other's company. There’s no moral issue,” says the 29 years-old priest.

When he decided to participate at the Million Dollar Challenge, he thought that even if he doesn't win any money, it would be a great opportunity for people to see that “there are still young men choosing to be priests, and that one can be joy-filled and have fun as one serves God.”
He lost in the final round of the PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge, but he walked away from the competition with $100,000, thanks to his talent in poker. Of course, he donated all winnings to the Saint Michael's Church in Garden City.

The new project is a big upgrade from the old church and it will be able to bear the hurricane-force winds. The locals of the St. Michael Catholic Church parish in Garden City support and pray for their priest.
“We're going to have a beautiful church that really looks like a place of worship of God. It'll be big enough to hold all the people we have in the tourist season and the winter months, and big enough for our future growth,” Trapp explained. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/The-Poker-Playing-Priest-Starts-Building-His-Church.htm A New Zealand judge has recently ruled in favour of the poker game. The judge, Justice David J Harvey, has ruled that online advertisements are promotions for gambling operators and that poker tournaments are just another form of competition.

Harvey's decision will bring significant changes to New Zealand gambling laws. The court case was initiated by the New Department of Internal Affairs against TVWorks Limited, which owns two local television stations, TV3 and C4.
The New Department of Internal Affairs claimed that the two television stations accepted paid advertisements for PokerStars.net and that they promoted the overseas gambling operator's activities of gambling, violating the Gambling Act 2003. The DIA also claimed that these activities induced New Zealanders to gamble on offshore websites.

The judge decided that PokerStars.net is not a gambling website and that players, who pay a fee to join a tournament, are not actually gambling, because only the winners are rewarded with money prizes. Poker tournaments are actually poker competitions, with cash prizes at the end of the game.

Here are Harvey's complete remarks :
“Firstly, the nature of the material in the advertisements made it clear that what was being advertised was free websites that do not involve gambling. Secondly, the .com website is not mentioned at any time. Unless the user knew of the existence of the .com website, no association could be made between PokerStars and that particular website. A third reason for rejecting the suggestion that .net and .com sites involve a distinction without a difference lies in the very Internet itself....the navigational realties of the Internet mean that there is a very significant difference between web addresses of any nature, be they .net .com and .org even although they may be associated with a similar domain name.”

“I do not agree that the way in which the APPT is structured amounts to gambling. It does not involve the payment of consideration based upon the outcome of the game. It involves the splitting of a sum of money derived from the payment of entry fees between the winning players.
Although poker is usually associated with some form of gambling, because players do not make side bets on the outcome of each hand that element of wagering upon the outcome, or paying consideration or a stake, is not present”. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Live-Poker-Tournaments---a-Form-Of-Competition.htm Claire Renaut has signed with Team 888Poker.com and she became their new ambassador.
Before entering the poker world, Claire Renaut was an actress, model, movie script writer and journalist. While taking part in the first edition of the “Poker Academy Vegas”, she discovered her passion for poker and she decided to play professionally.

After two years of training, Claire entered live poker tournaments and she competed in the following events:
June 2010: 500$ Deep Stack Extravaganza, LV - 19th place;
June 2010: WSOP 1000$ NLHE - 252th place;
April 2010: 1000€ Ladies EPT Monte Carlo - 2nd place;
April 2010: 300€ Ladies Irish Open - 1st place;
March 2010: 3000$ PartyPoker Women’s. - 5th place;
March 2010: 500€ Evian Poker Open - 9th place;
February 2010: 340$ Deep Stack Extravaganza, LV - 37th place;
January 2010: 1000€ France Poker Tour - 24th place;
December 2009: 300€ Wynn Tournament, LV - 1st place.

She also wrote poker articles for one of the biggest French poker websites and she became one of the most appreciated journalists in France.
Claire Renaut is the newest member to join Team 888poker pros such as Shane Warne, Leo Margets, Darren Woods, Bojan Gledovich, Steve Day and Patrick De Koster.
She will represent the poker room at live and online poker tournaments and other poker events. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Claire-Renaut-–-The-New-Ambassador-for-Team-888poker.htm Phil Ivey won his eight World Series of Poker bracelet after defeating a strong field of 478 players during the $3,000 HORSE event. He became one of the top five bracelet winners in the history of the series.
This top include Phil Hellmuth – with 11 WSOP bracelets, Doyle Brunson – 10 bracelets, Johnny Chan – 10 WSOP bracelets, Johnny Moss – 9 bracelets and Erik Seidel who has won the same number of bracelets as Phil Ivey.

During his poker career, Phil Ivey managed to win eight gold bracelets in different poker events, except in Holdem. He won at: Seven Card Stud/Omaha 8 or better; 2-7 No Limit Triple Draw; Pot Limit Omaha; SHOE; Seven Card Stud hi/lo; Seven Card Stud; Pot Limit Omaha and HORSE.

His total live tournament winnings exceed $13,100,000 from 22 final table appearances and 40 cashes.
“I think I can win 30 gold bracelets. I think I can reach that if I keep playing and stay healthy,” Ivey said.

Here are the final table payouts of the Event #37: $3,000 HORSE:
1. Phil Ivey - $329,840;
2. Bill Chen - $203,802;
3. John Juanda - $129,553;
4. Kenneth Aldridge - $93,418;
5. Jeff Lisandro - $68,417;
6. David Baker - $50,871;
7. Albert Hahn - $38,391;
8. Chad Brown - $29,405;
9. Ryan Hughes - $22,849. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Phil-Ivey-Wins-his-8th-WSOP-Bracelet.htm Gambling activities are illegal in China, but there is an estimated $150 billion in underground betting made every year. The Macau is the only territory where gambling is allowed.

The Chinese Police in cooperation with the Information and Communication Technology Ministry had recently blocked 248 gambling websites found to be involved in online betting.
The anti-gambling police unit is prepared to closely monitor the online gambling activities during the World Cup, which will end on the 11th of July.

“We will put the highest priority on smashing football gambling on the Internet during the World Cup. We will continue to exert great pressure and take severe measures against gambling,” ministry spokesman Gu Jian was quoted as saying.

64 people were already arrested during the police raids in Hong Kong and southern China. The police also raided into a flat used by illegal bookmakers during the opening match between Mexico and South Africa. The bookmaker, which was taking about 20 calls a minute from punters, was seized with almost HK$16 million (US$2 million).

The police admitted that it is quite difficult to eliminate the online football betting activities because the server networks are located overseas. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/China-Targets-Illegal-Football-Betting.htm David Warga is the first player to win an open bracelet at the Casino Employees Championship, a WSOP event that is only open to casino employees.

In 2002 Warga defeated a field of 272 of his fellow casino employees and won $47,300 and his first title. Now he is the winner of the $1,500 buy-in Seven Card Stud High-Low Split championship at the 2010 World Series of Poker. When the game started, he had the second smallest stack at the table, but he managed to defeat his opponents. He took home $208,682.

“I've always been proud of that first bracelet, but some saw it as a little bit tainted [because it's not an open event]. So, to win an open event means a lot more to me. And, that it is the second one. There are not many players who have won multiple bracelets.”
“It means so much,” he continued. “I had very low expectations of actually winning it. I was very happy just make it into the money. And then to make it to the final table, I was ecstatic.”

David Warga is a 41 year-old former real estate investor who lives in Chandler, AZ. When he won his first bracelet, he worked as poker dealer at Casino Arizona.

Here are the final table players and their winnings:
1. David Warga (USA)- $208,682;
2. Maxwell Troy (USA) - $129,253;
3. David Levi (USA) - $87,400;
4. Karina Jett (USA) - $60,588;
5. Christopher George (USA) – 42,913;
6. Jonathan Bascom (USA) - $31,046;
7. Chris Tryba (USA) - $22,926;
8. Allen Bari (Finlande) - $17,274. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Former-Dealer-Wins-His-Second-WSOP-Bracelet.htm Google has just announced it would enter the world of television. The new Google TV feature will be launched in partnership with Sony and Logitech and it will help viewers to combine their television experience with the easy access to the Internet.

Up to the present players had to use their computers in order to access the online casinos. But Google announced this won't be the case for much longer, as they are about to launch Google TV by the end of the year. Google TV will allow viewers to search for their favourite shows that they wish to watch, their favourite programs, or other web based content, including online casinos, helping them to surf, to watch TV and to gamble on the same big screen.

Google has just started accepting online casino adverts in their search engine. Gambling through the TV is already available in some countries, including in the United Kingdom with Netplay TV.

“This opens up your TV from a few hundred channels to millions of channels of entertainment across TV and the Web. Your television is also no longer confined to showing just video. With the entire Internet in your living room, your TV becomes more than a TV - it can be a photo slide-show viewer, a gaming console, a music player and much more. Just type in the name of a TV show and you’re there,” Google said in a statement. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Google-Brings-Online-Gambling-To-TV-Set.htm
The 37 year-old poker player has beaten the previous official world record, listed in the Guinness Book of Records and held by another American, Larry Olmsted.
Larry Olmsted has established the prior official record of 72 hours and 2 minutes of play in a casino in Connecticut in 2004.
Phil Laak has managed to break Olmsted's record and another unofficial record set at 78 hours and 25 minutes of play, established by Paul Zimbler in London last year.

Therefore, Laak's new record exceeded the last performance game certified by the Guinness Book of Records, with 7 long hours and 2 minutes.
Phil Laak started playing the famous poker game at 12:04 pm on June 2nd, at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas and he stopped the game at 7:04am on June 7th. The new poker record was a dream come true for the American player.

“I was shooting for 80 hours all along and eventually it came. The obvious next step was to honor the moment by making the most of it. A gambling degenerate by trade this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see what my inner vampire was really made of,” he stated.
“Well we sure found out! It was loads of fun and of course impossible without my crew. This has been one of the most wonderful journeys I've ever taken, touchingly human and beautiful on so many levels. Thanks to everyone who shared in this amazing ride,” he said. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Phil-Laak-Attempts-To-Set-World-Record-For-Poker-Endurance.htm Thursday evening, the Australian Poker pro Van “Sirens” Marcus went at the Crown Casino in Melbourne in his top-of-the-range Ferrari F430 Spider 2006 and he gave the keys to the valet.

The man who was accused of stealing Van's car is a 32 year-old person. He approached the casino valet and he claimed he had lost his parking ticket. The valet asked him for a proof of identification and a valid driver's licence. Then, he asked the thief to fill out a form with his personal information and handed him the keys to the Ferrari. The casino announced that the incident was captured by CCTV cameras and they gave the recorded material to the local authorities.
Six hours later the luxury vehicle was recovered at a local service station 27 km north of Melbourne, where it was abandoned.

“It has happened in the past from time to time that people lose their tickets and in these circumstances we ask for proof of identification and a valid driver's licence. Those procedures were followed on this occasion. The procedures that we have followed in the past have not resulted in this particular incident, but that's not to say our system is perfect,” said Gary O'Neil, the Crown Casino' spokesperson. “We're co-operating fully with the police investigation.” O'Neil also said this was the first incident for the casino and that they are fully co-operating with the police.

Although the police recovered his Ferrari, the million dollar profile high stakes poker player was still upset because the car was trashed.
“It doesn’t even feel like my car. I guess the guy who took the car couldn’t figure out how to put gas in it,” he said. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Casino-Valet-Gives-Ferrari-to-Wrong-Driver.htm The European Dealer Championship is the perfect opportunity for European Dealers to show their high levels of professionalism, promoting their best practices in creating a fun, safe, fair and welcoming environment in the world of casinos. It was launched in 2007.

This year's fourth edition of the European Dealer Championship was organized by the European Casino Association (ECA) on 11th and 12th of May at the Olympic Casino in the Reval Hotel Lietuva, Vilnius, Lithuania. Dealers from across Europe had the chance to prove their skills at the Roulette and Blackjack tables and they were judged not only on their technical competences and control of the game, but also on their entertainment skills and hospitality, some of the most important aspects which prove their professionalism.

“Casino gaming is a relatively young industry in Lithuania, and we are proud to have been given the opportunity to host this event and demonstrate the hospitality and professionalism on offer in our casinos! Events of this kind are extremely important for the reputation of our industry and the people who work in our casinos. The European Dealer Championship provides a clear demonstration of the professional, technical and social skills needed to be a good dealer and the service excellence enjoyed at casinos across the whole of Europe,” said Saulius Petravicius, Managing Director of Olympic Casino Lithuania, expressing his great pleasure of hosting such an important event.

“We are delighted to be holding the 2010 European Dealer Championship in one of the newest EU Member States. Following the tremendous displays of professionalism shown by contestants in previous years, we are greatly looking forward to seeing the winners of the 2010 national heats in action at the Final in the Lithuanian capital,” said ECA Chairman Ron Goudsmit. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/The-European-Dealer-Championship-2010.htm Gabor Vasvenski aka "Gab1988", a 21 year-old Hungarian player has won the PKR Live IV Main Event. The PKR Live IV poker tournament was held at the Loose Cannon Club in London.
The Hungarian outlasted a field of 150 players over the course of two days and he scooped the first place prize of $20,000 and the PKR Live IV trophy at a televised live final table.

Vasvenski's achievement could not be described as a surprise, because he already has some impressive results in his portfolio. He has just won both the Sunday Classic and a WSOP experience package.
The PKR Live IV Main Event was recorded on the PKR live televised feature table, using infra-red cameras for filming the game whilst reading the cards from above using state of the art Perlego technology.

“Congratulations to Gab1988 and Jandro11! We are overwhelmed with the result of this year’s PKR Live IV, it has been the best yet and we look forward to plenty more PKR Live events in the future,” said PKR’s CEO Malcolm Graham. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/PKR-Live-IV-Crowned-Its-Champion.htm Poker Pro Daniel Negreanu has recently spoken out about what he thinks on wearing sunglasses at the poker table. He believes players should stop hiding behind their sunglasses because they could affect the integrity of the game. He thinks sunglasses help players cheating at the table.

Daniel Negreanu said he supports a total ban of sunglasses in all forms of live poker: tournaments, televised play and cash games. He also thinks poker players need to see and to read their opponents' eyes, this ability being one of the main differences between online poker and live poker games.

“They are so bad for poker on so many levels. Poker wouldn’t be on TV if everyone wore hoodies and sunglasses to hide their eyes. If anyone wants to start a petition to ban them in any form of poker whether it’s tournaments, cash games, or televised events I’d do whatever I could to help... Let’s just say that guys like Russ Hamilton would appose such a ban. You should always be uncomfortable playing high stakes poker against someone wearing sunglasses. I’m not making this up, it’s just a fact.
Banning sunglasses helps to protect the integrity of the game against cheating,” he said.

According to Negreanu, the best poker players in the world such as Tom Dwan, Patrik Antonius, Doyle Brunson and Phil Ivey never wear sunglasses at the table. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Negreanu:-“Banning-sunglasses-helps-to-protect-the-integrity-of-the-game”....htm Ladbrokes PLC offers land-based gambling and Internet gambling services in the United Kingdom and all around the world. The refund ends a long-standing dispute with the HMRC.

The British bookmaker Ladbrokes expects to receive 80 million pounds tax refund from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
The settlement will consist in the recognition in the 2010 income statement of a 262 million pounds tax credit in relation to prior years. The finance charge in 2010 will be reduced by around 20 million pounds as well.

“We have an excellent and transparent working relationship with HMRC. The rebate was a result of overpaid tax over a period of years and resulted in a cash rebate of £80 million, the creation of a deferred tax asset and an accounting benefit resulting from various provisions made in accounts in prior years to allow for costs we would have incurred had the settlement gone against us.
The cash will be used to pay down debt and will reduce our cash tax rate to 15% for the medium term. Our ongoing corporation tax rate guidance remains 19%,” said a Ladbrokes spokesman.

Ladbrokes is one of the bookmakers which moved their online businesses to Gibraltar, a “white listed” location, last year, but it kept running their Internet operations in the United Kingdom.
The British operator has recently launched an online betting service in France in cooperation with the French TV station operator CANAL+ and it offers sport, horse race betting and online poker to French players. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Ladbrokes-Receives-£80-million-Tax-Refund.htm The International Mind Sport Association (IMSA) has accepted poker as a mind sport. We will now be able to see poker making its appearance in the next World Mind Sports Games in 2012, alongside other mind games such as bridge or chess.

“I am delighted to welcome the International Federation of Poker into membership of IMSA. Poker’s participation alongside bridge, chess and other mind sports in the annual IMSA events will demonstrate to the world that poker is indeed a mind-sport of strategic skill,” said the IMSA President Jose Damiani.

The first World Mind Sports Games event was held in Beijing, China and it gathered 2.763 competitors from 143 countries.
“IFP deserves our thanks and congratulations. I believe that history will show this was a key moment for poker. All over the world the game has been faced with governmental controls and other obstacles. Yet, it is obvious it calls for qualities and skills that go far beyond a capacity just to take a chance,” said Doyle Brunson, a true poker legend.

The International Mind Sport Association will soon launch poker's first annual world championship. This news seems to be only the prelude to a long series of positive changes in poker. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Poker-is-Officially-Recognized-as-a-Game-of-Skill.htm CBC News Canada has recently revealed that land based casinos are beginning to feel threatened by the online gaming industry, which is continuously increasing its popularity. Online casinos knew many continue and accelerate developments, which assured their success.

According to CBC News, Canadians are betting over $1 billion online each year, but most of the revenues go abroad, to international companies, except in the case of Kahnawake, an online casino regulatory body, located outside Montreal.
The American recession and the significant number of online players convinced many land based casinos to go online, in order to increase their revenues and to ensure their survival.

Paul Burns, a spokesman for the association that is hosting the 14th Annual Canadian Gaming Summit in Calgary, commented: “We as an industry and government and regulators have to come to grips and catch up and bring in a regulatory environment.”

Since the online gaming industry is a $3 billion a year industry, many online companies think it is just a matter of time until its legalization in Canada. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Land-Based-Casinos-Versus-Online-Casinos-in-Canada.htm The 14th Annual Canadian Gaming Summit, Canada's largest events for the gaming industry, took place this week from April 26th to April 28th . 1200 industry professionals gathered at Stampede Park BMO Centre in Calgary to learn of the new products and to discuss on important issues, especially on responsible gambling, problem gambling solutions, or on valuable networking opportunities.

It is not unlawful to gamble in Canada, but it is illegal to operate online gambling activities across North America. John FitzGerald, president of the Interactive Gaming Council, thinks that regulating online gaming operations would create lots of new jobs, it would develop the existing technology and it would create more revenue for the government. The legalization of the online gambling would also allow better safeguards.

“I think jurisdictions that have allowed Internet gaming, like Sweden and the U.K., now regret it,” said Robert Williams, a professor at the University of Lethbridge, who is also a coordinator with the Alberta Gaming Research Institute. He said that regulated Internet gambling will soon be a reality in Canada.

Although some Canadian provincial governments expressed their interest in regulating and taxing online gambling, Canada allows gaming operations only if the websites are operated by a provincial government lottery agency. Canadians spend more than $1 billion every year on gambling activities, playing poker or betting on sports because they think is fun and convenient. The money goes to offshore companies.

“Current times are exciting and challenging for the gaming industry. This year's Summit once again brings opportunities for gaming industry employees to learn and network,” said Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission CEO Gerry McLennan. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/The-14th-Annual-Canadian-Gaming-Summit.htm David Williams took down the World Poker Tour Championship after defeating a field of 195 players on Saturday night at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. He took down the title and the $1,530,537 first place prize.

“When I saw that deuce come, it was amazing. It was weird, as soon I saw it my mind was like I just won. I couldn’t speak for a while. It was awesome.
Winning a tournament always feels great. Even if it’s a $100 tournament, it’s an amazing feeling. To win a tournament of this caliber feels even better. Financially it’s not as awesome as the WSOP Main Event 2004, but this feels a hell of a lot better. At that point I had just won $3.5 million, but I felt miserable. I felt like I got so close to something.”

Eric “BaseBaldy” Baldwin, Card Player of the Year in 2009, finished in second. He was in a 4:1 chip disadvantage. “Second place is bittersweet, but I’ll wipe my tears with seven figures,” Baldwin told Mike Sexton.

The Final Table Results were:
1st : David Williams - $1,530,537;
2nd : Eric Baldwin - $1,034,715;
3rd : Shawn Buchanan - $587,906;
4th : David Benyamine - $329,228;
5th : Bill Baxter - $246,921;
6th : John O'Shea - $199,888;
7th : Phil Hellmuth Jr - $152,856;
8th : Scotty Nguyen - $105,823.

The next three upcoming European stops of the World Poker Tour Championship will be:
- WPT Grand Prix de Paris, Aviation Club de France, May 8th to 15th;
- WPT Spanish Championship, Casino Barcelona, May 19th to 23rd;
- WPT Amneville, Casino Municipal D'Amneville, October 30th to November 1st. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/David-Williams-Winner-of-the-WPT-Championship.htm Phil Ivey and Howard Lederer made a $5 Million prop bet, the biggest known prop bet in poker history. Ivey bet that he can win two more bracelets over the course of the next two WSOP's, while Lederer is convinced of the contrary.

However, Lederer, known as “the Poker Professor” due to his remarkable analytical skills, is definitely not comfortable with the bet, as long as Phil Ivey is seen as the biggest poker player in the world. He already owns seven WSOP bracelets and a WPT title and rumors circulating the online poker community say he has earned $10 million on side bets only last year. His total career earnings are estimated at $12,815,787 and he is currently listed as first in the world among all-time money winners in poker tournaments.
By the end of 2011, Phil Ivey is expected to enter at least 80 World Series Of Poker tournaments, in an attempt to reach his goal.

In 2002, Ivey won three WSOP bracelets and he is the youngest person to win 7 bracelets at just 33 years old. In 2006 he was the 3rd at the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Event. He finished the 2nd in the stud World Championship in 2007, the 4th in the $5,000 H.O.R.S.E, the same year, in 2008 he was at the final table of the H.O.R.S.E and of the Stud World Championship. Even when he didn't win bracelets, he was still making the finals and I personally think Phil Ivey will probably win the bet this year. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Ivey-and-Lederer-made-a-$5-Million-Bet.htm Liv Boeree is a former astrophysics student, member of the UB Team.
At the European Poker Tour San Remo Main Event, she conquered a field of 1240 players and won the tournament, the title and a fabulous €1,250,000 paycheck!

Liv Boeree became her poker career in 2005. She had the chance to learn valuable tips from three of the best poker players in the world: Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke and Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott and, in 2008 her strong personality and playing style helped her to win the European Ladies Championship.

“I don't want to cry because that's not professional, but I can't believe that I've won this. This is incredible. Everyone today played so good. Jakob was the one person I didn't want to get heads-up against, he's such a good player. But I ran well and I played good,” she said.

“I'm over the moon, absolutely over the moon. I can't believe I've won an EPT. This is exactly what I've been working for since I learned poker, winning a major event. The entire tournament I had such a weird feeling I was going to win it. I didn't tell anyone. I'm a scientist, so I try not to get weird like that. This is all just a big blur. I can't believe I have won. I really played my arse off,” Liv added.

The European Poker Tour San Remo €5,000 no-limit Hold’em Main Event had a total prize pool of €1,250,000!
Here are the Final Table Results:
1 - Liv Boeree, UK, €1,250,000;
2 - Jakob Carlsson, Sweden, PokerStars player, €750,000;
3 - Toni Pettersson, Finland, PokerStars qualifier, €420,000;
4 - Michael Piper, UK, PokerStars qualifier, €345,000;
5 - Alexey Rybin, Russia, €270,000;
6 - Giuseppe Diep, Italy, €210,000;
7 - Claudio Piceci, Italy, €150,000;
8 - Atanas Gueorguiev, Bulgaria, €90,000. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Liv-Boeree---Queen-of-EPT-San-Remo.htm William Hill turned away a bet on the date of Prince William's wedding date, after deciding “it did not fit the typical profile of a punter”.

The bettor who wanted to place a £2,000 bet on the royal wedding, was described by the William Hill's staff as “looking like a Ralph Laurent advert”. He was “was very posh, clean-shaven, wearing a blazer, shoes, the full Monty. He didn't fit the typical profile of a punter and his stake was way over what we would normally expect to receive on this.
The typical bet is STG5 ($A8.27) or STG10 ($A16.54) and it's usually people having a flutter for a little bit of fun, someone who wants to say to his mates down the pub, `guess what I bet on today' and then be proved right,” the staff added.

The punter tried to make the bet at a betting shop in Windsor, not far from the castle.
The bookmakers think the bettor may have had access to insider knowledges about the royal wedding.
William Hill currently has 1-2 odds for a royal marriage this year and 6-4 odds for a marriage in 2011. A spokesperson from William Hill said they have seen a 1,000% increase in bets for a royal engagement in the last 48 hours.”
A Buckingham Palace spokesman told the Daily Star: “Only William and Kate know if they have set a date.” ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Bets-on-Prince-Williams-Wedding-Date.htm Bwin, the Austrian-based online sports betting company, has just announced its intentions to expand its business in America, working on a new global expansion strategy.

The sportsbook is getting ready to enter the United States market “when the market is liberalized again shortly”. Bwin is very confident that the US gambling regulation will soon change. The online sports betting company admitted it plans to launch in the US with a partner.

“We are in talks with possible partners from the casino and media areas. We want to start by 2011 at the latest,” Chief Executive Norbert Teufelberger said.

Bwin's previous attempt to enter the United States gaming market was in 2006 when it bought the Swedish poker operator Ongame, for almost $680 million.
Bwin's first attempt to expand to the United States market failed because the United States outlawed online gambling later that year.

Norbert Teufelberger said Bwin have received several offers for Ongame, but the company is not interested in selling it, as the brand is too well positioned in the United States to let it go. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Bwins-New-Global-Expansion-Strategy.htm Not even the cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland could stop the European San Remo event. A total of 1240 players from 44 different countries entered the €5,000+€300 Italian tournament.
The total of 1240 players created a prize pool of €6,014,000, with a first prize of €1,250,000.

This was the third edition of the San Remo EPT event, which nearly doubled in just two years.
In 2008, there were 701 players at the event, which was won by Jason Mercier, and last year's event counted 1178 players and it was won by Constant Rijkenberg of the Netherlands.

After their flights from Heathrow Airport, London, were canceled, Peter Eastgate, Barry Greenstein and NAPT Mohegan Sun High Roller winner Jason Mercier, hired a bus and traveled for 20 hours for arriving to San Remo in time.

Poker pros such as Barry Greenstein, Jason Mercier, Peter Eastgate and Joe Cada announced their participation at the event. The European Poker Tour Live will have live webcast coverage of the event in seven languages and it will last from the 20th until the 21st of April. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/EPT-San-Remo-Smashes-New-Records.htm According to the National Lottery records, people called 'John' and 'Margaret' are the luckiest Lottery players.

It seems like the top 10 luckiest men's names who have banked important cash prizes are: John, David, Michael, Peter, Robert, James, Paul, William and Stephen, while the luckiest women are named Margaret, Susan, Patricia, Mary, Christine, Elizabeth, Jean, Janet, Linda and Karen.

“If you aren't lucky enough to be called John or Margaret, perhaps this is the time to form a syndicate with your fortunately-named friends, and why not invite David and Susan in too?” said a National Lottery spokesperson.

The biggest Lotto jackpot winners in the history of the National Lottery are Mark Gardiner and Paul Maddison who banked £22,590,829 in June 1996, while Iris Jeffery from Belfast remains the nation's biggest single Lotto winner after banking the £20,100,472 jackpot in July 2004. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/John-and-Margaret-–-Luckiest-National-Lottery-Players.htm The offshore gaming companies that wish to maintain their access to the British online gambling market, will pay a price of 10% of their gross profits to the UK Horserace Betting Levy Board.

While the UK-based gaming operators were heavily penalised by gambling taxes, paying a 10% tax of gross profits to the UK horse racing fund, the offshore gambling operators have enjoyed considerable tax advantages over the UK-based gambling companies.
These new measures will force the bookmakers operating offshore to pay millions of pounds for the racing industry in order to stop corruption in the sport.

Half of the annual prize money offered in sports, or for schemes and educational programmes, is from the levy, which already registered a huge loss of £4.5 million due to Ladbrokes and William Hill that moved their gaming operations abroad, where the tax payments are smaller. Ladbrokes and William Hill relocated their online betting operations in Gibraltar, where the tax payments are down to 2 percent or less. Since these two gaming companies went abroad, the income has dropped with 20% in the United Kingdom.

“When you take the 15 percent tax and 10 percent levy together, that's 25 pence out of every GBP1 we win going straight out of the door,” said David Hood, spokesperson from William Hill. He also said that the company paid the 10 percent Levy on all horseracing bets at its 2500 land betting shops in the UK.

According to a report, the Sports Minister Geryy Sutcliffe declared: “These plans will also help protect British jobs by assisting British betting operators who to date have remained in the country and pay their fair share to racing. They will no longer face an uneven playing field.” ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Offshore-Bookies-Must-Pay-Their-Share-To-Racing.htm
Dwan's record through online poker rooms made him one of the hottest stars in the poker industry.
Tom Dwan is a veteran of the televised poker games such as High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark, and member of the Team Full Tilt. Dwan played around 11,500 hands on Full Tilt Poker last week only, earning $1.6 Million.

Tom Dwan said he first learned to play poker watching other pros like Hansen – from whom he learned to play aggressively, like Phil Ivey – from whom he learned to intimidate his opponents, or like Chris Ferguson from whom he learned to calculate every move.
His spectacular game play brought him nearly $5.6 Million profit after playing 142,000 hands this year only.

Top 3 winners:
Tom “durrrr” Dwan - $5.6 Million;
“NEKOTYAN” - $1.98 Million;
Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies - $1.94 Million;
Alexander “PostflopAction” Kostritsyn - $1.79Million.

Patrik Antonius is currently having a deficit of over $2.5 Million, while Brian Townsend has a deficit of $2.2 Million.
Poker is a quite unpredictable game and where there are winners, so there are losers. We are still waiting for the following twists and turns to come and we will keep you informed. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Tom-“durrrr”-Dwan-$56-Million-in-Profit-for-2010.htm Tom Donovan has been battling with Grand Victoria Casino from Indiana, since 2006, over the legality of card counting at blackjack. The casino won the lawsuit in the county court, but the man filed an appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court of Appeals that overturned the decision because the state does not have a law prohibiting card counting.

Tom Donovan is a retired computer programmer, who won about $65,000 playing blackjack since 1999. The man said he learned to count cards at blackjack by taking online classes. He said he hasn't broken any laws when the casino banned him for being skilled at card counting and for keeping mental tracks of the cards already played during the game in order to adjust his wagers and to improve his odds of winning additional money.

“I respectfully submit to the Court that just like the casino can make money and play by the rules, a casino patron should be able to go to the casino and play by the rules. The only thing card counting is doing is slightly tipping the odds in his favor,” said Donovan's attorney Marc Sedwick.
If he wins, Donovan's victory win mean that highly skilled gamblers will be able to see a potentially bigger return on their investments.

The commission waits to see what will the court decide. “We're not taking a position on this," he said. "I respect the authority of the court in these decisions,” said Yelton, the State Gaming Commission Director. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Man-Fighting-Against-Indiana-Casino-in-Card-Counting-Case.htm On the 20th of March, the small Baltic nation of Lithuania has officially recognized poker as a sport. The Lithuanian Sports Poker Federation will now have the permission to organize non-commercial tournaments.

“This is extremely important step in our work. We are receiving congratulations from many of our colleagues abroad and I know that we are breaking thick ice with our progress for similar international initiatives,” said Andrius Tapinas, president of the Lithuanian Sport Poker Federation.

The Lithuanian Sports Poker Federation (LSPF) became an official sports body and a member of the International Federation of Poker (IFP) as well.
This change is expected to increase the number of the poker tournaments for Lithuanian poker fans.

Lithuania legalized gambling in 2001 after nearly seven years of lobbying by the National Gambling and Gaming Business Association. Lithuania counts only twelve casinos for the nation's 3.3 million inhabitants.
The first LSPF tournament will take place from the 24th to 26th of April 2010 in Vilnius and it might be the biggest poker tournament in any Baltic country yet.
Lithuania was the first Soviet republic country to declare independence back in March 1990. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Lithuania-Recognizes-Poker-as-Sport.htm The WPT Bucharest Tour was sponsored by Gamebookers.com and it was hosted by the Novotel Bucharest City Centre Hotel with the cooperation of the Regent Casino. A total of 161 players joined the €3,000 + €300 Main Event on the 28th of March.

The French businessman Guillaume Darcourt, 37 year-old, won the €125,846 first prize title and a $25,000 seat at the prestigious WPT Championship at the Bellagio later this year.
“This win is amazing. I was eighth in chips after the first day and chip leader at the end of day two. I was running really good on day three too but started to slip away. One hand changed the whole tournament for me. I was up against AA with A9 but hit a straight. I will always remember that hand,” said Darcourt.

Guillaume Darcourt, father of three children aged 2, 7 and 10, said he looks forward to the WPT Championship. “Winning the $25 000 WPT World Championship seat is incredible. I have a full tournament schedule but to get a seat to such a prestigious tournament is wonderful. The last three months have been three of the best of my life,” he added.

The final table payouts were as follows:
1st place: Guillaume Darcourt (France) - €125,846;
2nd place: Simon Munz (Germany) - €93,400;
3rd place: Joseph Ebanks (USA) - €59,750;
4th place: Jose de la Guardia (Panama) - €36,600;
5th place: Abdula Atila (Romania) - €30,550;
6th place: Eva Iosif (Romania) - €23,150;
The total prize pool for the event was of €449,450.

Regent Casino CEO and tournament organizer Sorin Constantinescu added, “We would like to congratulate Guillaume Darcourt on his deserved victory. Poker in Romania is on the up and this is just the start. We will be back and even bigger next time!”

The next WPT event is the WPT Championship that will take place at the Bellagio, in Las Vegas from 18th to 24th of April 2010. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/French-Businessman-Wins-WPT-Bucharest.htm The amateur player Cuong Tran has won the GUKPT London 2010 main event, after outlasting a field of 318 players over four days of play. Cuong Tran took down the title and the £127,000 first place prize.
The buy-in at the GUKPT London main event, which took place at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino, was of £1,500 + £90 and 31 players finished in the money.

Tran, originally from Vietnam and a London resident, faced a very tough competition at the GUKPT final table, including the former Irish Open champion Neil Channing, the EPT winner Victoria Coren, the circuit regular Rumit Somaiya, the poker blogger Mick McCool and the GUKPT champion Darren Annis.

The final table results were:
1. Cuong Tran £127,800;
2. Neil Channing £84,700;
3. Leon Bui £56,000;
4. Rumit Somaiya £33,400;
5. Steven Ducharme £25,300;
6. Salman Behbhani £20,500;
7. Michael McCool £15,700;
8. Darren Annis £11,900;
9. Victoria Coren £9,100;
10. Laurence Houghton £6,700.

Following his win, Tran commented: “I got lucky on the day. Sometimes the cards fall the right way, but hey, that’s poker.” He now intends to play in more poker tournaments and he ensured his participation in December's £150,000 Champion of Champions tournament and at the £2,500 GUKPT Grand Final in November.

The next GUKPT events are the Club Championship tournaments in Stoke, Southampton, Bolton and Dundee on the 10th of April.
The fourth leg of this season will take place at the G Casino in Manchester from 17th to 25th of April 2010. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Amateur-Player-Cuong-Tran-Wins-GUKPT-London.htm Barbara Wells, a 39 year-old Australian woman, has been sentenced to 18 months of prison after stealing $545,222 from her boss to support her addiction to poker machines. The woman transferred more than half of million dollars from the company's money into three of her personal accounts. At first, she took only a few thousands of dollars, but she ended by stealing amounts of $15,000 at a time.

Barbara Welles, property manager with a property consulting firm, pleaded guilty to 129 charges of stealing property as a clerk or servant.
The woman said she became poker addicted in 2006 after enduring violence at home. She became “a zombie” lately, but the solicitor Peter Cleaves said she had strong chances of rehabilitation.

“People gamble for recreation, but it's when they start to chase their losses that it becomes problematic,” said Wesley Mission gambling counsellor Jeff Lucas.
“Problem gambling is a hidden illness," Mr. Lucas said. "It's not like drugs and alcohol where you can see the effects of an addiction,” he added.

According to a recent government Productivity Commission report, 125,000 Australians have gambling problems.
Australians spend more than $18 billion on gambling each year, including $12 billion on poker machines only. Poker machines (pokies) are extremely popular in Australia.

“It is sad that the whole situation was to feed your gambling addiction that developed as a result of your exposure to domestic violence and your position in a previous relationship,” said the Magistrate Sharron Crews to Barbara Wells, after passing the sentence. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Australian-Woman-Lost-$545222-of-Bosss-Money-on-Poker-Machines.htm SkyPoker.com's 13-week Total Player Competition has crowned its winner. Dan Brown, a 26 year-old player from Doncaster received the most votes from the Sky Poker community of online poker players.

“The light stopped on me and I didn't know what to do. I was waiting for it to move onto someone else, but it didn't! Then Richard Orford announced my name and it was all real!!!,” said Dan Brown describing the moment when he won the title.

Dan Brown was voted the “Total Player” live on the Sky Poker TV channel. The player was mentored by Ed Giddins who thought him the “mathematical approach” to the game.

“Over the course of the competition Dan showed that he has what it takes to compete at the highest level in poker and I am really proud of what he has achieved. What has really struck me and the other mentors is the friendship that has developed between the finalists. This is really borne out of the community atmosphere found on SkyPoker.com and that community will be supporting Dan all the way to Vegas,” said Ed Giddins.

Dan Brown will represent the Alderney licensed online casino at an upcoming £100 buy-in SkyPoker.com Tour event along with a £1,000 buy-in national UK tournament. The winner will fly to Las Vegas in July for the $10,000 buy-in main event of the World Series Of Poker with Ed Giddins, the Yorkshireman’s mentor for Total Player, receiving ten percent of his winnings from these poker tournaments.

The judges for the Total Player were Matt Broughton – analyst for Sky Poker, as well as a former poker magazine editor and author of the book 'How to Play and Win at Poker', Ed Giddens -a former professional cricketer, also an analyst for SkyPoker, and David Tuchman – professional commentator on all American sports. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Sky-Poker-Total-Player.htm Two elderly biological sister are fighting in a Connecticut courtroom for a $500,000 lottery ticket which was purchased in 2005.

Rose Bakaysa, 87 year-old, and Theresa Sokaitis, 84 year-old, have not spoken for five years and they are now facing each other in a courtroom, fighting for who should get the money.
The two sisters said they had a legal document which stated they would split all their winnings, making gambling a family affair. Rose and Theresa used to gamble together three times a week and they played the lottery as well. The two sisters played the same numbers and they even hit a $165,000 jackpot 10 years ago.

That until Bakaysa, in partnership with her brother, bought a half-million-dollar winning ticket and they didn't split up the winnings with their sister. Sokaitis found out about the win and she wanted a share of the money. She sued Bakaysa, saying they had a written contract to divide all gambling winnings.

Bakaysa said she thought the deal was off in 2004 when they had a fight over a few hundred dollars.
Sokaitis testified she learned of her sister winnings when her daughter received a $10,000 check as a gift from her aunt.
“I told her I felt I deserved a share of the money and she told me I wasn't going to get a dime,” Sokaitis testified. “I said, 'I have a contract.' She said, 'I tore mine up.' I said, 'I didn't."'

Sokaitis also said that her sister had been very generous with her money over the years and helped her to pay for her children's private education.
“I was tired of giving her money. I gave her money for everything,” said Bakaysa.

“The consideration for the agreement was not the money that they won, but rather their mutual promises to one another to share in any winnings they received,’’ the justices ruled.
“Although perhaps not often stated explicitly, every legal wager is, in essence, a gambling contract,’’ the justices wrote. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Octogenarian-Sisters-Fighting-Over-$500000-Lottery-Ticket.htm A few weeks ago, the media announced that poker is about to be recognized as a sport and therefore, added to the Olympics.

The Baltic state of Lithuania has officially declared poker as a sport. The announcement was made by the Lithuanian Department of Physical Education and Sports on the 20th of March. The Lithuanian Sports Poker Federation (LSPF) was recognized as an official sports body and as a member of the International Federation of Poker (IFP).

“This is extremely important step in our work. We are receiving congratulations from many of our colleagues abroad and I know that we are breaking thick ice with our progress for similar international initiatives,” commented the president of the LSPF Andrius Tapinas.

From now on, there will be no virtually poker restrictions in Lithuania.
The inaugural LSPF tournament is set to take place on the 24th of April in the country's capital Vilnius. The Lithuanian Sports Poker Federation is also expected to announce and to present their official tournament schedule to the Lithuania's sports media next week.

Although poker is quite a limited activity with only 12 casinos to choose from, across the country, from now on, Lithuanian poker fans will see an increase in the number of poker tournaments available to them.
Lithuania legalized gambling in 2001, after 7 years of lobbying by the National Gambling and Gaming Business Association. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/Poker-recognized-as-a-Sport-in-Lithuania.htm A lucky bus driver has scooped a £2.3 million jackpot win, just one day after receiving the decree that signaled the end of his marriage.

The day when his divorce was finally finalized, Kevin Halstead went out for a drink with his friends and decided to spend his last quid on a lottery ticket. The next morning, he found out he is the lucky winner of the amazing amount of £2.3 million!

Kevin Halstead is now planning a holiday, but he says he will return to work and drive the bus on the same route as he did in the last 17 years. He is also aiming to help his current partner, Josephine Jones, to obtain her passport, so they can go on her first ever trip overseas.
“I don't want to pack my job in. I asked my boss for time off, a month maybe two, but I don't want to cut myself off from my friends and I really enjoy my job,” the man said.

“We’ve been separated a long time. We are the best of friends. In fact, we get on better now than when we were married. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer bloke. I wish him all the luck in the world – he deserves it,” his ex-wife said. “All I’ll say is I won £5 on a scratchcard on Saturday,” she added.

Kevin Halstead married his ex-wife in 1994 and they split three years after. They moved in with their new partners, but they remained married for the sake of their daughter Jessica. ]]> http://www.virtuacasinos.com/British-Bus-Driver-Wins-£2.3-million.htm