Genius Poker

Due to a Threat From Neighboring States With Regard to Taxes and Increasing Competition, West Virginia May Be Next State to Legalize Poker

In the United States, there are 26 states in which casinos with tables games are legal. This year, West Virginia may add to this list and become the 27th state, with legal casino games. West Virginia is one of 33 states that allows only slots or video gaming. Legislation with regard to adding table games in casinos, has failed in the last 2 years. This is the third time and it might get passed. This is envisaged as there is increasing competition from neighboring states. Robert D. Marshall Jr., president of Wheeling Island Racing and Gaming Center, said that everyone in the casino business would be lobbying hard for this. Towards the east, Pennsylvania will put in 37,000 slot machines in 14 different locations. One of these is in Pittsburgh, that is hardly an hour away from Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming Center. Cardplayer.com reports:

Marshall estimates that when Pennsylvania comes online- the gaming board has until the end of 2006 to hand out licenses - West Virginia will lost $160 million a year in taxes. Marshall's track will lost $40 million alone.

Read More: West Virginia May Be Next State to Allow Poker

Underground Poker club in New York - New York Players Club, in Upper Manhattan, Raided by the Police

The New York Players Club in Upper Manhattan was raided by squad officers at 11.00 p.m. It detained dealers, snatched piles of cash and chased off several dozen card players back home, without any winnings. Washingtontimes.com reports:

Downtown another popular card club, Play Station, also was shuttered. In all, police arrested 39 employees and confiscated $100,000.

Read More: New Yorkers 'just want to play poker'

Texas Hold'em Poker Arrives at SkyCity, Auckland and is All Set to Take the Poker Fans by Storm!

The game that has reached the pinnacle of popularity in US and Britain and the Poker Zone is all set to create a storm in New Zealand. The Poker Zone was launched at Sky City, Auckland last night  Similar rooms will be launched very soon at Queenstown and Hamilton casinos. The Gaming Manager, Greg Hawkins said that there was a huge demand for poker from all its clients. Television events, tournaments and online poker rooms have all contributed to this popularity of poker. The glitz and glamor of the game is a big crowd puller. Another factor that draws people is the winning potential of the game. By winning the World Series of Poker in the US, Australian Joe Hecham, walked away with a prize sum of US $7.5 million. Jamil Dia from Wellington won $1 million at the Australian Poker Championship, held at Melbourne. Stuff.co.nz reports:

The stakes weren't quite so high last night at SkyCity, where about 20 people turned up. Among them was Brad Edley, whose interest in the game was sparked by television coverage.

Read More: Stars' poker game hits town

IPO of the Year 2004 - Las Vegas Sands Corp.

The most profitable IPO(Initial Public offering) in the American Gaming Industry was won by Sheldon Adelson, founder and owner of Las Vegas Sands. He won $690 million on December 15, 2004. Las Vegas Sands owns the Sands Resort in Macau and The Venetian Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas strip. The company sold almost 24 million shares. LVS set an opening price of $29 per share, on Tuesday evening. The bankers had foreseen an initial price between $24 to $26 prior to the IPO. The stock was priced at $36.01 when the market opened and reached a high of $49.45 by mid-day. This is said to be a record gain for American IPO's and the best since Jet Blue in May 2002. Lasmanaquevivimos.com reports:

LVS chairman Sheldon Adelson, 71, owns as 87.9% slice of the company, while company managers and directors share together 5.3%. The money is to be invested in the Venetian-style Casino/resort in Macau.

Read More: Las Vegas Sands Corp. is IPO of the Year

Slot Manufacturers Translate Hold'em to Video Game

Texas Hold'em is the hottest thing in gambling. The game has attained phenomenal heights of fame and popularity. Televised events and World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour have contributed to this in a big way. It is not surprising therefore that casinos want to make mileage from the Hold'em buzz and have variations to the game, on their slot floors. Big time slot manufacturers such as IGT and WMS Gaming are working fast towards this. IGT has a license from the World Poker Tour. WMS has a license from the World Series of Poker. Both these slot giants were ready with their newly transformed versions of the game, at the Global Gaming Expo at Las Vegas. Casinocitytimes.com reports:

For its spin on Hold'em, IGT turned to Northbrook, Ill.-based Leading Edge, the designers of Multi-Strike Poker. Steven Demar, director of business development for Leading Edge, showed his enthusiasm as he led over to try out the game at the IGT booth.

Read More: Hold'em Comes to Video Poker

Beware of Casino Affiliate Programs - Masive Frauds and Cheating Reported!

A special report has been released on the large extent of frauds taking place with casino affiliate programs. These are controlled by organized crime operators. Extensive research, real tests, investigations and several complaints have been compiled over the last 8 years. This information has been released by game developers, directors, officers, accountants and programmers. Technical support, sales teams, marketing companies and their licensees are other sources from whom valuable information has been received and compiled. This report confirms that casino affiliate programs do not track real sales properly. 99% to 100% of the sales were not tracked at all leaving the innocent affiliates cheated and robbed. As per figures on the online gambling industry, affiliates get cheated by over a billion dollar each year. Apart from casino licensees, several marketing companies also run dishonest casino affiliate programs which are again based on fraud and cheating. Gamblingmagazine.com reports:

Their entire business models are based on frauds, and nothing else than frauds, and we are certain about this becuase there is no possible doubt about it. Very naive affiliates wrongly think that bigger is bigger, so they signed up with the bigger companies, including many publinc companies.

Read More: Massive Frauds in the Casino Affiliate Programs!

Petition Circulated by Northern Marianas College Students, For Stricter Regulations on Poker Rooms

Students of Northern Marianas College have put in a petition to  support a House bill. The bill is related to an imposition of stricter regulations on the poker industry. The students wrote to the legal counsel of the Senate - Antonio Cabrera, on Tuesday, with regard to this bill. It has been pending for several months now. It was introduced by Rep. Clyde Norita, H.B. 14-267, seeking the imposition of higher poker fees. This will lead to the prohibition of poker establishments in villages. Along with this it was felt that by doing this, poker rooms will not be set up very close to schools and churches. This bill was based on a failed local initiative petition that had been circulated by the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, in July 2005. Saipantribune.com reports:

The petitioners said they support the intent of the bill, particularly with regard to curbing poker-related crimes. They also cited information from the Department of Public Safety showing that there were over 750 crimes committed between 2001 and the present related to the poker industry.

Read More: Students petition from stricter control over poker industry

Now Play Multiple Poker Games on Xbox, PS2 and GBA - With 2K Sport's World Poker Tour 2K6

2K Sports that is a brand of 2K Games and Take-Two Interactive, has just released World Poker Tour 2K6. Licensed by World Poker Tour, this casino game is a take off from its TV show. The game showcases real WPT casinos. Also included are actual commentary from show hosts Mike Sexton and Vince Van Pattern. Players of  World Poker Tour 2K6 can try their hand at playing with virtual representations of pros. Great players like Phil "Unabonber" Laak and Erick Lindgren are there to play with, in this pack. Players will now get to show poker faces too  with the PS2 EyeToy camera peripheral. This pack for sure promises great entertainment value! Gamespot.com reports:

Because poker against pixelated players can often be unsatisfying, the Xbox and  PS2 version both offer online support. World Poker Tour is rated E for Everyone and sells for $19.99.

Read More:World Poker Tour Pairs with stores

World Series of Poker Circuit to be Held at Harrah's Rincon

According to reports from Harrah's Entertainment Inc., a World Series of Poker Circuit stop has been scheduled at Harrah's Rincon in Valley Center, California. This event will be held from February 26 to March 7, 2005. Earlier a circuit event at Harrah's Rincon pulled in a total of 1,834 entries. The prize money given away, exceeded $2.7 million. Janet Beronio, the resorts senior VP and GM said that the World Series of Poker was the riches and most prestigious event. She said that she looked forward to bringing in all the thrill and excitement of the tournament, to it patrons at Harrah's Rincon. With this addition of Harrah's Rincon to the 2005-2006 World Series of Poker Circuit, the total goes up to 12 tournament stops that offer high stakes poker action, in Harrah's casinos. During this season the action started at Grand Casino Tunica and upcoming events will take place at Harrah's Casinos in places like Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Lake Tahoe. Home.businesswire.com reports:

Each Circuit stop offers several tournaments with buy-ins ranging from a few hundred dollars to $10.000 for the no-limit hold'em Circuit of Championship. The winner of the final event of each Circuit stop will qualify for the tour's grand finale, the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions.

Read More: Harrah's Rincon To Host World Series of Poker Circuit Event

Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Las Vegas From Home.com Entertainment Inc. - Action Poker Gaming Inc. Licenses its Software to Bicycle Casino, in LA - California

The best gaming action in Southern California is at Bicycle Casino. It is situated about ten minutes from Los Angeles. The Bike is ranked as one of the largest Card casinos in the world. It has over 135 tables for poker and California Games. It is also known for its World Class Poker Tournament and hosts the World Poker Tour.  Presently the Licensing Agreement provides for 'Play for Fun' software whereby the players can only get to the "Play for Fun" tables at the casino, on the Action Poker Network. This enables players to earn bonus points and also an entry into free rolls as well as other promotions. The Software will be released to the patrons of Bike, in early October.

President and CEO, Jake Kalpakian states, "We are thrilled to license our Software to the Bike. While initially the Software is only for "Play for Fun", its a terrific vote of confidence to have one of the world's largest and respected Cardrooms select our Software.

Read More: Gaming Inc. Licenses its Software to the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, California