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Anurag Dikshit, the co-founder of successful US online gambling company PartyGaming, was recently fined a staggering $300,000,000 by US courts. Now he faces a verbal attack from poker legend Doyle ‘Texas Dolly’ Brunson.

Dikshit pleaded guilty to contravening the US federal wire act just a few weeks ago. He admitted to using the wires to transmit bets and wager information on interstate commerce and now also faces up to two years in jail.

‘Dikshit was one of the owners of Party Poker and became a multi-billionaire when Party went public,’ Brunson wrote in his well-read blog. ‘It looks like he would feel a sense of obligation to online poker, the industry that made him a rich man. Instead, he folded up like an accordion and pleaded guilty to breaking some kind of mystery law.

‘It certainly created some ill will from the other online poker sites. I personally can’t imagine what was going through his mind when he made the decision,’ the respected Texan wrote.  

January 2 - Ever since online slots hit the scene, it was generally understood that they offered better payouts than their land-based counterparts. The reason for this was simple - online casinos can afford to offer bigger promotions, bonuses and payouts simply because they don’t share the same overhead costs that land based casinos, especially in Nevada do.

However, an even stronger case was made for the viability of online slots payouts this week after the results of a recent survey were made public. A report in the Las Vegas Sun showed that gamblers who visit popular casinos in the Las Vegas area are sure that these establishments have tightened their slot machines in recent months, thus increasing the advantage that is held by the house and reducing the player’s chance of receiving a payout.

2,300 regular land-based gamblers were interviewed in the survey, commissioned by Anthony Curtis, publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor newsletter. According to the newsletter, those surveyed reported receiving smaller, tighter payouts over the years while statistics cited by the Nevada Control Board also show that slots payouts are on the decline, with less and less payouts being made with each passing year.

Curtis wrote that the some of the decline could be put down to the fact that many slot players are shifting to low budget slot machines because of the recession (thus generating less income for the bigger paying slot games), however he said that there was no way that this could account for the entire drop in slot payouts.

In the meantime, online slots continue to flourish in the industry, where payouts seem to grow and grow with each year.

Find the best online slots casinos ranked by our impartial reviews.

Celebrities and poker players alike will join forces in order to raise money for Therapeutic Living Centres for the Blind (TLC), according to reports.

The event, titled “All-In to Win”, will be hosted at the world-famous Commerce Casino, California. This prestigious venue has also played host to the WPT LA Poker Classic.

The event promises to attract stars such as actors Adam Baldwin and Judd Nelson as well as stand-up comedian and Everybody Loves Raymond star Brad Garrett. The latter has made appearances at other major live tournaments alongside sitcom co-star Ray Romano and will certainly be one of the more experienced celebrities.

The buy-in for the tournament, held on January 17, is $200. A further $200 gets each player a re-buy and all proceeds go toward benefitting infants with blindness and developmental difficulties.  

January 1 - The game of slots continues to be hugely popular both online and off. While we regularly read about great wins at online slot casinos, especially on progressive slot games, it was also heartwarming to read about a massive win in a Mississippi casino over the Christmas holidays.

Taryn Tyler visited the the appropriately named GoldStrike Tunica Casino in Mississippi to celebrate her birthday with her best friend after Christmas.

Drawn to the exciting Wheel of Fortune slot game at the land-based casino, the Arkansas native decided to try her luck with $20 worth of coins and proceeded to play. Inserting 25c each time to try her luck on the spin, Tyler didn’t have to wait long for Lady Luck to shine her way and in a little while she was facing the astonishing fact that the life-changing amount staring back at her was truly hers.

On Friday evening, International Gaming Technology technicians and casino management confirmed to the player that the $900,000 was hers for the taking. “I had no idea I had won the big one,” said a stunned Taryn Tyler. “The woman at the machine next to me had to tell me that I had won!”

Asked what she is going to do with her winnings, Tyler didn’t hesitate for a moment. “I’m going to buy a new car, a Lexus to be exact, and save the rest,” she said.

While this is the seventh Mega Jackpot win in the Mississippi in 2008, thankfully Wheel of Fortune slot fans needn’t travel to the state to try out their favorite games. Most reputable online casinos offer players the chance to enjoy all types of slot games from the comfort of their own homes, putting them in line to win $900,000 and more!

The firm behind one of the world’s leading online poker networks, Entraction Holding AB, has launched its European Masters of Poker tournament series in conjunction with some of Europe’s premier land-based casinos.

The five-event series will begin at the Olympic Casino in Tallinn, Estonia, from February 20 to 22 with later stops in Spain, Cyprus and the Czech Republic before finishing with the final at Malta’s Casino Di Venezia in September.

With a direct buy-in of €1,100 and an ultimate prize of up to €100,000 alongside the title of European Master of Poker, the series is targeted at non-professional players that may not have loads of cash to throw at a game of poker.

“Despite the large selection of poker tournaments in Europe, only few players are able to compete when the buy-in costs thousands of Euros,” read a statement from Solna-based Entraction.

“European Masters of Poker breaks the trend and targets the larger and more important segment of non-professional players who want to spend time with other poker players and compete for a first prize of up to €100,000.”

The Swedish firm revealed that online players could qualify daily for a seat at one of the five live events for as little as two Euro or 200 VIP points courtesy of its partner sites on the Entraction Poker Network including NoiQPoker.com, Redbet.com and I4Poker.com.

‘European Masters of Poker is a great way for partners in the Entraction Poker Network to both attract new players and strengthen the relationship with their existing players,” said Daniel Eskola, Acting Product Manager for Entraction.

“The only way to guarantee a seat at the tournament is to play at a partner site in the Entraction Poker Network.”  

December 29 - If you’re depressed that the magical Christmas holidays are over - don’t be! Some of the top online casinos in the industry launched superb Christmas themed slot games this season. So before you take down those trees and pack away those ornaments, extend the holiday season with some great games.

Microgaming casinos are on the ball this season with a host of Christmas slots. Some of the favorites include the five reel, fifteen pay line Ho Ho Ho Slots game that comes with a bonus gamble and free spins feature or Deck the Halls, a giant 30 pay line game with stacked symbols and other cool bonus features. These games can be played at a variety of Microgaming powered online sites this season, including All Slots, All Jackpots, Golden Tiger and 7 Sultans.

Other Microgaming Christmas slots games include Santa Paws, Gift Wrap, Cabin Fever, Jingle Bells, Party Time and Frost Bite.

If Playtech is your game, then this industry leading software company will not disappoint with its range of Christmas slots available for play. One of the more entertaining is the classic Party Line, a three reel, one pay line game that comes with a generous 4000 coins jackpot. Party Line can be played at a host of Playtech powered online casinos, including Casino Europa and Casino Tropez.

Real Time Gaming, another top software provider, also has a delightful spread of Christmas themed online slot games, that can be played at sites such as Bodog Casino and Rushmore Casino. Look out for games such as Frozen Assets, a classic three reel, one pay line game with a cool snowman-themed bonus round. Rudolph’s Revenge, is a massive 5 reel, fifty pay line game that is jammed pack full with excellent features, including multipliers and free spins.

All in all, today’s online casinos stop at nothing to bring players entertainment - during the festive season, and all year round!

The Korean Times reported Thursday that police in Boeun, South Korea arrested five Buddhist monks for betting on an illegal poker game during a raid on a Mount Songni hotel.

According to a North Chungcheong Province police spokesperson, the monks were staying at the hotel while attending a national Buddhist event. The spokesperson went on to say that the monks had wagered more than W9 million (approximately $7,000) by the time police apprehended them.

The Won (W) is South Korea’s national currency.

"We were tipped off that a group of monks were gambling," one officer said.

To date, Korean officials have released no further details concerning the arrests.

phill.provance@gamblingplanet.org

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December 28 - While glitches on online slot machine software are practically unheard of, it seems that some land based slot machines can play tricks - sometimes cruel ones! - on players.

A New Zealand player who fed a regular slot machine last week was absolutely stunned to learn that she had won millions of dollars - only to have it confirmed a few weeks later that a slots glitch in the machine had triggered the wrong light and she had in fact only won a few hundred dollars.

The story began when Verna Brown, a mental health worker who hails from Otago, entered the Law Courts Hotel in the South Island town of Dunedin with the express purpose of having some slots fun and perhaps winning some extra cash to make her Christmas budget go further.

After feeding NZ$14 into the machine, Brown ‘hit the jackpot’ and learned that she had won the equivalent of A$36 million. “For a brief, wonderful moment”, Brown saw herself as an instant millionaire and even allowed herself to imagine the way her life would look from now on.

However, the slot machine was also showing a malfunction light, which caused the hotel’s management to suspect that the win wasn’t what everyone believed it to be and hurried to call technicians.

One of the co-owners of the Law Courts Hotel said half-jokingly, “When I saw it, I thought I would have to sell the hotel and mortgage myself for 200 years!”

Management’s suspicions were confirmed over a fortnight later when the faulty parts were returned to their Japanese manufacturers who officially stated that the multi million dollar win had turned into a mere NZ$500 due to a slots glitch.

To her credit, Verna Brown was not half as disappointed as many would expect her to be. She insisted that she was quite happy with her NZ$500 win and didn’t require millions to satisfy her life.

Ladbrokes PLC announced last week that corporate development director Alan Ross will not stand for re-election in May. He will instead retire from the company July 19, 2009.

Ross began his 37-year career at Ladbrokes in 1971 as part of its shop staff in Dundee, Scotland. He rose to become head of the company’s Ladbrokes Casinos and Ladbrokes International Betting operations and became its managing director of retail in 2000. In 2006, he joined Ladbroke’s board of directors after the company sold its hotel arm to Hilton Hotels. He relinquished control of the company’s U.K. sports-betting shops in 2007.

Ross is best known as one of the U.K. sports-betting giant’s toughest negotiators, once following a fellow negotiator into an elevator to broker a deal after the other man had called off talks.

"Alan has made an enormous contribution to Ladbrokes and the betting and gaming industry," Ladbrokes CEO Chris Bell said. "He played a major role in developing the business from the introduction of live pictures into betting shops through Silicon Integrated Systems in 1986, to the introduction of fixed-odds betting terminals in 1998. And he played a significant part in our major acquisitions and disposals across the globe."

Bell noted that Ross will continue working for Ladbrokes as a consultant, saying, "We are very pleased he will continue to provide his advice and wise counsel to us moving forward, and we are very grateful for his dedication."

According to the Northhampton Chronicle, Towcester Racecourse CEO Chris Palmer will replace Ross as corporate development director in February. Ladbrokes’ managing director of U.K. and Ireland retail, Richard Ames, will also join the company’s board of directors in January.

phill.provance@gamblingplanet.org

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