Monthly Archives: June 2015

WSOP Day #34 Review: Jonathan Duhamel Wins a Dramatic One-Drop Event as Man Collapses on the Rail

A sleepy Lee Davy paints the news of the 34th day of the 46th Annual World Series of Poker, including a dramatic One Drop victory for Jonathan Duhamel that had to be halted during three-handed play after a man collapsed on the rail, and had to be rushed to hospital.

When you see a man failing to respond to defibrillators pounding his chest, poker takes a back seat.

That’s what happened during an all-in and call, when three-handed, with the Big One for One Drop champion, Daniel Colman, facing elimination against Bill Klein.

Jonathan Duhamel limped the button, Colman moved all-in from the small blind holding [Ks] [Js], Klein also moved all-in, holding [As] [Ad], and Duhamel folded. The cards were turned face up, the flop of [Jd] [5c] [2c] was shown, and a man collapsed on the rail, halting the action for 30-minutes as paramedics tried valiantly to revive him. It’s not known at this time if he survived. Colman didn’t. He was eliminated in third place. A great run for the controversial champion. But nobody seemed to notice. The life sucked out of the contest, like the poor man stretchered into the ambulance. Our prayers are with him.

Cherokee County wants Crawford County casino to be blocked

Cherokee County commissioners plan to ask the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission to reject a recommendation for a casino in southeast Kansas and to start the selection process again. County commissioners voted Monday night to ask the state to block the Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board’s recommendation for the $70.2 million Kansas Crossing Casino & Hotel in Pittsburg in Crawford County.

Wynn Resorts (WYNN) Stock Gained on Softening of Macau Visa Rules

Tourists holding passports from mainland China may now stay seven days in Macau, up from the current five day limitation, China’s Xinhua News agency said, Bloomberg reports. “High-frequency gamblers across segments can now visit twice every 30-days vs. twice every 60 days,” UBS Securities Anthony Wong said in a note, Bloomberg added.

Aston Villa FC inks betting partnership threesome with Betfair, Bet365

English Premier League football club Aston Villa has inked not one but two betting partnerships with UK online gambling firms Betfair and Bet365.

In a somewhat unorthodox move, Tuesday saw Aston Villa FC announce that it had signed both Betfair and Bet365 as its new official betting partners commencing July 1 and lasting through the upcoming EPL season. The club says each company will enjoy “co-exclusive rights” in the betting category, which puzzles those of us Highlander fans who grew up convinced that there can be only one.

Aston Villa’s official presser on the new polygamist partnership says both Betfair and Bet365 will “have the right to be associated with Aston Villa and activate the partnerships globally and both will appear on the club’s LED screens and interview backdrops.” Would love to have been in the negotiating session as the specific dimensions and positioning of each company’s logo were determined.

Aston Villa’s chief commercial officer Charlie Wijeratna said he was “very pleased that we have got two top betting brands on board as partners for next season.” Wijeratna said the club had two commercial aims: partnering with “good brands that will activate extensively” and – surprise – making scads of cash they can then spend on players with nimble feet and outsized egos.

Successful APT Vietnam Could Spark Asian Poker Boom

Poker industry insiders have long lamented over where the next poker boom will occur and for the past few years the frontrunners in the debate have been India and Asia. Offering huge potential in terms of their overall populations, both markets have tentatively embraced the game, yet neither has fully latched onto it in a […]

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Canada’s single-game sports betting bill officially dead from Senate inaction

Canada’s single-game sports betting bill is as dead as a doornail.

Canada’s Senate adjourned for the summer on Tuesday without holding a third reading or a vote on C-290, the bill that would have allowed Canadians to make single-game sports wagers with their provincial lottery corporations. With a federal election scheduled for this fall, all legislation not yet approved officially dies on the order paper.

Under Canada’s Criminal Code, the lottery monopolies are limited to offering parlay sports wagers. NDP Member of Parliament Joe Comartin, whose Windsor constituency includes a Caesars casino that would love to add a proper sportsbook, introduced a private members bill that would have abolished this restriction. Had it survived the Senate’s inattention, the provinces would have been able to offer a product that could compete with the many internationally licensed online sportsbooks that currently serve Canadian punters’ needs.

In March 2012, the House of Commons unanimously approved C-290 and the Senate was expected to follow suit that summer. The bill passed the first two of its required third readings before the unelected members of the Senate decided to dig in their heels, claiming that the bill hadn’t undergone suitably rigorous debate in the Commons. Hearings and fact-free debates followed, but the third reading never materialized.

Wiretap room' access could cost Everett casino license

City lawyers suing the Gaming Commission claim state police gave Wynn Resorts’ private detectives access to an ongoing criminal investigation in the “wiretap room” of the attorney general’s office – an allegation that if true could jeopardize the Everett casino license, one a expert said. The city issued subpoenas to eight men yesterday, demanding depositions and related documents.

Judge Geordie Vicky Pattison enjoys flirty tweets with lottery millionnaire

Former Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison’s loaded pal Vlad Wilson sent tweet with love hearts and kisses following 5K Sunshine Fund run The pair who met when he appeared on her MTV show Judge Geordie have hit it off and Vlad says Vicky helped him get his ‘life back on track’. The Go Bananas appeal aims to raise A 50,000 during June, so the charity can provide life-changing specialist equipment to disabled children across the North East.

Baha Mar Ltd. sues Chinese state-owned contractor over delays

Just one day after filing for bankruptcy protection, the developer behind the troubled Baha Mar Resort & Casino has filed a civil suit against the Chinese parent company of its main contractor.

On Monday, Baha Mar Ltd. filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware bankruptcy court, citing debts related to its stalled $3.5b Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas. Baha Mar Ltd. said the voluntary bankruptcy was the result of “financial consequences of the repeated delays” by the general contractor, CCA (Bahamas) Ltd., a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned firm China Construction America.

Baha Mar’s suit, which was filed in the English High Court, accuses CCA’s parent China State Construction Engineering Corp of failing to meet stated guarantees and performance obligations. Both developer and contractor have publicly blamed each other as responsible for the project’s repeated delays, which have raised concerns about the viability of the venture. Baha Mar Ltd.’s lawsuit seeks various financial remedies from CCA.

Baha Mar also says it has been unable to convince its primary lender, Export-Import Bank of China, to provide the additional funding needed to see the project through to completion. The bank rode to Baha Mar’s rescue in 2010, agreeing to provide capital totaling nearly $2.5b after the project stalled following the 2008 global economic slowdown. But Baha Mar says the bank is refusing to release the final $112m of this guarantee.

Joe Barton, Sponsor of Internet Poker Freedom Act, Talks to CardsChat: Exclusive

Editor’s Note: CardsChat reporter Ed Scimia is on the ground in Las Vegas right now, covering the World Series of Poker for us daily. Ed was able to carve out some time to speak one-on-one with Rep. Joe Barton of Texas about his Internet Poker Freedom Act, and its potential impact on the game going […]

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Macau confirms plan for full smoking ban in casinos despite operator protests

Macau casinos will be forced to go completely smoke-free, which analysts believe will further delay the gambling hub’s recovery from its current slump.

The special administrative region’s government posted a notice to its official website on Tuesday, affirming its commitment to ending all smoking in Macau casinos. The plan mirrors Beijing’s efforts to reduce smoking in public places on the mainland to reduce health costs associated with the country’s 300m smokers.

To ensure compliance with the new regime, Macau plans to raise smoking-related fines from their current range of MOP 400-100k (US $50-$12,500) to MOP 1,500-200k. Even the use of electronic cigarettes will be forbidden in casinos and their sale banned outright throughout Macau.

Macau’s government introduced a partial smoking ban last October that restricted smoking to VIP gaming rooms and specially constructed airport-style smoking lounges on the main gaming floor. Both of these exemptions will be eliminated under the new plan, despite protests by casino operators, who spent a lot of time, effort and money altering their properties to comply with the government’s demands.