Another story from the BBC:
An independent panel to advise the government on the location of new casinos has been appointed.
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell is due in 2007 to specify areas in England, Wales and Scotland for a "super-casino" and 16 other smaller ones.
Ministers had proposed allowing up to 40 super-casinos, but cut this under pressure from Conservatives.
Meanwhile the rule preventing people from gambling until a full day after joining casinos ends on Saturday.
Posted by casino man in Gambling News at 6:11 PM BST
Comments Off
More from The Times Online:
THE online gambling sector, already reeling from PartyGaming’s surprise profit warning this month, was dealt a fresh blow yesterday as shares in 888 Holdings closed in negative territory after their first day of trading.
Shares in the internet casino and poker operator, already priced towards the bottom end of the indicative range of 162p-212p, ended the first day of conditional trading at 170p, down 5p.
At the 175p launch price the company was valued at £590 million, although at one point the shares hit a low of just 162¼p before staging a partial recovery. The negative sentiment surrounding the sector also hurt PartyGaming as shares in the world’s biggest internet poker operator fell a further 8p to 87½p, almost 25 per cent below its 116p launch price in June.
The fall in the share price means that more than £1 billion has been wiped off PartyGaming’s market value since flotation and more than £3.5 billion since the shares peaked at 176p shortly after its listing.
So things aren’t looking good for online gaming at the moment - very bad news 
Posted by casino man in Gambling News at 8:11 AM BST
Comments Off
Another story from the BBC:
An English chef has won almost $1m (£567,419) in an amateur poker tournament in Costa Rica, after qualifying by playing the game online.
About 3,900 gamers had entered the internet poker competition.
BBC News looks at how to play online:
Potential players can enter a growing number of online casinos.
Posted by casino man in Gambling News at 1:41 PM BST
Comments Off
Another story from the BBC:
Online gaming firm 888 has set the price for the sale of its shares on the London stock market at 175 pence, which values it at around £590m ($1bn).
Institutional investors start trading Thursday, with full trading on Monday.
The firm is the latest to come to market, although confidence in the sector was recently hit when rival Partygaming warned growth may slow.
888 is 90% controlled by two Israeli families and run by Gibraltar-based Cassava, which runs two other sites.
Posted by casino man in Gambling News at 8:11 AM BST
Comments Off
Another story from the BBC:
A 28-year-old chef from Lancashire is flying home $1m (£567,419) richer after beating almost 4,000 other hopefuls in an amateur poker tournament.
Lee Biddulph, from Blackpool, emerged victorious against eight US opponents in the final, despite having never won more than $50 (£28) before.
"Even my teeth are shaking," he said as he played the final winning hand.
Mr Biddulph, who has been playing Texas Hold-Em poker for three years, was due back at Manchester Airport on Thursday.
Posted by casino man in Gambling News at 10:11 PM BST
Comments Off
More from The Times Online:
GALA, the bingo and casino operator, is competing with private equity firms to buy Coral, Britain’s third-biggest bookmaker, in a £2 billion bidding race.
The company, boosted by the recent acquisition of Permira, the venture capitalist, as a 30 per cent shareholder, is understood to be holding preliminary talks with Coral aimed at creating a £4 billion gambling company.
Coral recently appointed Lehman Brothers as advisers to a possible £800 million initial public offering. However, publicity over its plans is understood to have attracted interest from potential bidders and the company is thought to be running a twin-track process.
Although Gala is likely to face stiff competition from private equity firms, the ability to leverage cost synergies and cross-sell gambling products could give it an advantage over pure financial bidders.
Posted by casino man in Gambling News at 8:11 AM BST
Comments Off
Another story from the BBC:
BBC News, Sao Paulo
Brazil’s football season has been rocked by the arrest of a referee accused of helping to fix matches as part of an illegal betting ring.
Edilson Pereira de Carvalho is alleged to have accepted bribes in order to influence the results of games.
He refereed 11 matches during the current First Division championship. and they may now have to be replayed.
Posted by casino man in Gambling News at 8:11 AM BST
Comments Off
Another story from the BBC:
Guernsey’s chief minister admits the tendering process for the island’s first casino should have been handled differently.
It is feared several hundred thousand pounds of taxpayers’ money has been wasted, now plans for St Pierre Park Hotel look unlikely to go ahead.
Deputy Laurie Morgan says the money could still be recouped if other developers bid for a casino licence.
Tom Scott, the businessman behind the project, says it is no longer viable.
Posted by casino man in Gambling News at 4:41 PM BST
Comments Off
Found this story on Sky News:
Former boxing champion Leavander Johnson has died in hospital following a fight.
He suffered brain injuries last weekend as he lost his IBF lightweight title to Jesus Chavez in Las Vegas.
Johnson walked from the ring but later collapsed in his dressing room.
He spent the week in intensive care but died on Thursday, aged 35.
Posted by casino man in Gambling News at 11:41 AM BST
Comments Off
Another story from the BBC:
Guernsey States is asking for alternative proposals after plans for a casino in the island collapsed.
Tom Scott, chairman of CI Traders and the businessman behind the project at the Saint Pierre Park Hotel, believes it is no longer viable.
It follows stalemate over the terms of the licence after Mr Scott’s request to scale down plans from £25m to about £15m was rejected.
Now the States will look at whether there is still demand for a casino.
Posted by casino man in Gambling News at 8:41 PM BST
Comments Off
