Let your mouth speak archive

It's the wedding that you've been waiting for, for the past six years or so and according to US Magazine, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are finally tying the knot. It had to happen one day or another and since the power duo vowed not to marry until everyone else could then it was kind of a longshot but it looks like they're going to go through with it after all and soon. Does this mean that the Kim Kardashian wedding will be getting some competition?

The fact that Brad and Angelina are still together is pretty damn amazing and after six years, six kids and unstoppable rumors about the two that just won't quit, it looks like these guys are true survivors. According to US Weekly, the Brad and Angelina wedding will take place within the next couple of months and actually, they won't be giving Kim Kardashian any friendly wedding competition because the two are actually looking into more of an intimate setting for their big day.

It has been rumored that they could take their love fest over to their Chateau Miraval in Correns, France but we're definitely sure that it will probably be somewhere where they will be able to successfully dodge the paparazzi.

So why the change of heart for these two do-gooders? According to Brad, it's all for the kids, "It's meaning more and more to them," he said in a recent interview. Well, it's obvious that they don't need to get married to prove anything because even after six years together, the seem as happy as ever.

I'd make her wait 4 more years.

Lawmakers are now considering possible changes to win the governor’s support, though no specific changes have emerged./QUOTE]

Yeah, possible changes like putting a million dollars into his campaign fund for a positive vote.

$$$$$$$$$$$

Allan Doeksen is a professional online gambler. Well, he used to be.

He and perhaps tens of thousands of other U.S.-based internet gamers lost their bankrolls on Black Friday: April 15, the day the federal government seized the finances and domains of the world’s largest offshore, online gambling sites.

It’s not clear whether Doeksen will ever see his $40,000 that vanished when the authorities blocked access to Full Tilt Poker in the United States, and seized the Ireland-based casino’s bank accounts. Doeksen has until the end of Friday to make a claim in New York federal court, and it’s unclear whether there’s enough money to go around.

That Doeksen’s bankroll would suddenly vanish, the 32-year-old Florida man said in a telephone interview, “was a possibility I knew that could happen.”

That’s because online wagering in the United States is outlawed, based in part on the theory that gamblers could be taken to the cleaners by online gaming sites — which are located offshore and a world away.

“Among the arguments that were made in favor of the law were precisely things like that,” said Patrick Fleming, an attorney for the Poker Players Alliance, which has 1.2 million members. “‘Oh my God people would gamble away their money. We can’t let them do that.’”

Yet in the process of protecting gamblers, the authorities’ actions have cost an untold number of gamblers millions upon millions in lost wagering accounts.

“If you’re real lucky you’ll get 10 percent of the dollar,” I. Nelson Rose, a gambling scholar at Whittier Law School in Southern California, speculated in a telephone interview.

While no authentic numbers are available, he suspects that “hundreds of thousands” of online gamblers lost “tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.”

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 was also, in part, a law to combat terrorism in a bid to control money laundering. In response to it, many overseas internet gambling sites blocked access to players in the United States, while many others had not. On Black Friday, the government blocked the major online casinos that did not deny access to the United States, seizing their assets along the way.

The seized sites include Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. PokerStars is making available full refunds to the tune of about $120 million, but questions surround whether the other casinos will, or even have the means.

Gamblers that don’t meet the claim deadline have other options, Fleming said in a telephone interview.

Among them, he said, the casinos might pay back the funds, gamblers could sue the casinos and the government might decide to release funding if a judge awards the seized assets to it. The government has declined to disclose how much money was seized.

Doeksen, who recently moved from Chicago to Florida because of Florida’s more favorable income taxes, said his $40,000 bankroll just disappeared from Full Tilt Poker when the site went down.

Wagering on no-limit hold-em poker in the virtual world is more favorable to the real world, he said. For starters, “you can work from home,” he said.

“It’s more stimulating. You can play multiple tables. It’s a lot more fun. The action is a lot faster,” he said. “I can play 1,000 hands per hour. Now I’m playing live poker at very small dog tracks and going to Vegas.”

George Harrison was probably the most unassuming member of The Beatles who while not attracting as much attention as the other band members let his song writing and musical talents speak volumes. This is exactly what director Martin Scorsese and co-producer/widow Olivia Harrison are looking to capture in an upcoming HBO documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World about the life and times of the beloved Beatle that is scheduled to air in October.

Harrison was one to avoid the spotlight but that never stopped him from creating great music as Scorsese told the BBC, “George was making spiritually awake music, we all heard and felt it, and I think that was the reason that he came to occupy a very special place in our lives.”

The documentary will allow fans to tune in to Harrison’s persona with special interviews with close friends and colleagues including Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton, the Monty Python crew and many others that were a big part of his life. Fans will also be able to experience unique footage that chronicled his life throughout his spectacular career.

Harrison is remembered for countless musical contributions from his time with the Beatles including a favorite, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” as well as numerous solo contributions which ended with his last album released in 1992 called Live in Japan before dying from cancer in 2001.

If you’re a Beatles fan, this will be a documentary you won’t want to miss and will air on October 5th and 6th on HBO. A great story about the understated Beatle that made great music while struggling Living in the Material World.

Gaming industry veteran Terry Lanni, who played a key role in directing the early development and growth of two of the gaming industry's largest casino companies, died Thursday night, after a two-year battle with cancer.

Lanni, 68, oversaw the growth of Caesars World in the 1980s as company president, directing the company's expansion into Atlantic City.

He joined what was then MGM Grand Inc. as president, chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors in June 1995. Lanni steered the company's massive growth over a 13-year period, which included the $6.4 billion purchase of Mirage Resorts in 2000 and the $7.9 billion buyout of the Mandalay Resort Group in 2005.

Lanni is also considered responsible for implementing the company's highly recognized corporate diversity efforts.

Lanni was first diagnosed with cancer in October 2009, nearly a year after he retired from what was then the MGM Mirage Corp. He underwent surgery and chemotherapy treatments. The company changed its name to MGM Resorts International last year.

As CEO of MGM Mirage, Lanni grew the company from one casino (the MGM Grand Las Vegas) into a gaming conglomerate with 17 resorts in Nevada, Mississippi and Michigan and 50 percent partnerships in four other properties in Nevada, New Jersey, Illinois and Macau. He also established MGM Mirage's presence in the worldwide luxury hotel business.

Prior to his tenure with MGM, Lanni spent 18 years as a senior executive at Caesars World, including 14 years as president and COO. He helped bring the Caesars brand from Las Vegas to Atlantic City and was responsible for other Caesars innovations, such as the successful Forum Shops at Caesars.

After turning over the reins of the company to current Chairman and CEO Jim Murren, Lanni largely stayed out of the picture. Lanni, who had a house in Las Vegas, spent most of his time in Southern California. He did not attend the opening of the company's $8.5 billion CityCenter development in December 2009, which began construction and development during the later part of his tenure with the company.

In a letter sent this morning to the company's employees, Murren said everyone was "heartbroken" at Lanni's passing.

"Terry was an extraordinary leader for our company and our industry," Murren said. "His thoughtful leadership on important issues, from expanding the gaming industry's reach internationally to establishing the industry's first formal diversity and inclusion program will forever mark his place in history."

Murren said two memorials would be scheduled, one in Lanni's hometown of Pasadena, Calif., and a second in Las Vegas.

Lanni's departure fro MGM came during a time when the company was dealing with corporate financing matters stemming from the melting economy and a debt load of more than $13 billion.

His departure also was marred by revelations that he had not earned a master's of business administration in finance from the University of Southern California, as had been reported in his corporate biography dating to 1982, when he was an executive with Caesars World.

Company officials and others denied the degree flap had any bearing on Lanni's retirement.

In 1996, then-Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., appointed Lanni to the nine-person National Gambling Study Impact Commission, which spent two years looking at all facets of legal and illegal gaming. Lanni spent a good deal of his time on the panel defending the heavily regulated casino industry from anti-gambling foes, including fellow commission member James Dobson, a conservative activist.

Former Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible, who was appointed to the commission by President Clinton, said Lanni helped balance the panel's final recommendations.

Two years after the Tiger Woods scandal broke out, his wife Elin Nordegren can finally say that she’s moving on or at least it seems that way after being spotted in Sweden getting cozy with New York investor Michael Dingman. So there is life after Tiger Woods for Elin and her $100 million settlement.

So who is the man that captured Elin’s heart? He’s New York investor Michael Dingman who according to the NY Post, is a very wealthy investor and philanthropist who specializes in Russian private equity funds and once owned an Indy car racing team sponsored by a Swedish charity. He’s a self-made man who was cut off from daddy but still managed to create his own fortune through wise investing and savvy dealmaking.

The reported couple met while attending the Red Cross Ball in Florida last January and sources claim that they have been dating for months but it wasn’t until recent pictures taken by the Swedish press surfaced this week that the couple were finally exposed.

A source close to the NY Post claims that Dingman is a good guy, “He’s handsome, a total gentleman and low-key. He’s never been in the press. Elin’s a very lucky girl: he’s a great guy but very private.”

It looks like Elin is truly bouncing back with a recently purchased $12.2 million Florida home and new man who seems promising; things are seriously looking up!

Marking Jennifer Lopez's third failed marriage, she and husband Marc Anthony have declared that their marriage is kaput.

The couple just released a statement, claiming, "We have decided to end our marriage. This was a very difficult decision. We have come to an amicable conclusion on all matters."

Lopez was first married in 1997 to Ojani Noa, and again in 2001 to her backup dancer Cris Judd. That union didn't last long. She famously found love and became engaged to Ben Affleck, but who could really stay together after Jenny From the Block?

As for Marc, the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time, this will be his second divorce. The couple got married in 2004 in their Beverly Hills home less than a week after Marc's divorce was finalized from former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres. Marc has two sons with Torres as well as twins with Lopez.

Their split will come as a surprise to many American Idol fans, who remember all too well the hawt performance Marc and Jennifer gave in May on the American Idol season finale. And just lat year, on their sixth wedding anniversary, they renewed their vows. Who will be the next celebrity power couple to crumble? Bet on the latest entertainment props in the Bodog Sportsbook today.

Industry reports say that smartphones have been able to make the online casinos accessible to a whole new generation of gamers, and online betting shop services can see that the new technology is clearly on the rise.

This 2011, mobile gaming took the world by storm, as an increasing amount of players are looking to access some of the most exciting online services in the internet. Packed with a great variety of amazing titles, in addition to a wide range of very attractive promotional offers, online betting shop services turned into one of the most popular destinations for gamblers all over the world.

Meanwhile, the rise of smartphones inspired a whole new generation to take a look at these fabulous forums for themselves. Gamers everywhere are now able to enjoy their favourite titles while on the move.

And if that’s not enough, software providers have also been making big efforts to release a brand new range of titles which are very suitable for the era of mobile gaming. Complete with impressive special effects, state of the art technology, and a variety of very unique and special gaming features, the games look set to become more successful in the year ahead as there will be even more developments with online betting shop services.

While commenting on the surge in activity, gaming experts were quick to recognise a rise in female players, and many people with a betting site have also seen this. The latest statistics have indicated that women are turning their attention to online betting shop services even more, and enjoying additional casino features like bingo chat rooms.

It has been said that smartphones have also allowed such players enjoy their favourite games while being able to keep up with the demands that their hectic lifestyles give them. Gamers all over the world, including many that have a betting site, can clearly see that with so much offered and incredible prizes to be won, it’s no wonder that mobile gaming is on the rise.

Hello all, I'm a business development executive for a casino resort, and I am curious about everyone's experiences in an actual casino. And your thoughts on gambling in a physical casino vs. online. Lastly, anyone ever visited the Biggest Little City in the World?

In an industry once known for crooks, toughs and juice, Terry Lanni — an unknown from a wealthy family in California — was recruited to bring legitimacy and professionalism to the casino business.

Lanni, who died Thursday at 68 from cancer, served as a public face not just of MGM Mirage, the company he steered through various incarnations for 13 years, but for a new generation of corporate casino executives.

Known for his gracious manners and deft management skills, Lanni was one of the industry’s longest-serving executives. His casino career began suddenly and auspiciously in 1977, when Caesars World Chairman Clifford Perlman hired him — then treasurer for a nondescript California conglomerate — through an executive search firm. Within a few years of being hired as chief financial officer, he was running Caesars World, a predecessor of Caesars Entertainment.

“He was the only one who came out of the (corporate world) who had a feeling for this business,” Perlman said. “He was probably innately suited for it.”

By the time he was running Caesars World and later, MGM Mirage, a forerunner to MGM Resorts International, many industry experts considered Lanni to be their most valued representative.

“There have been a small number of people who have made meaningful contributions to the overall advancement of the gaming industry and Nevada in particular,” state Gaming Control Board Chairman Mark Lipparelli said. “Terry Lanni was one of them. He set the bar higher.”

He was a polished speaker who wore expensive business suits, even on casual Fridays, and owned champion racehorses. He was impeccably neat, with an office that was as spotless when he left at the end of the day as it was when he arrived in the morning.

He was a hands-off manager who kept up with management decisions but entrusted subordinates to make key decisions. His cordiality with peers and underlings alike helped steer Nevada’s largest private employer through tough times.

Lanni urged everyone to call him by his first name and “treated everyone the same, no matter if they were a housekeeper or a CEO, a $2 blackjack player or high roller,” said Rich Rose, who worked for Lanni as head of sports marketing at Caesars Palace in the 1980s. “We was genuinely interested in people’s well-being.”

In December 2007, when industry pundits anticipated continued growth in gaming, Lanni was the first major casino executive to step forward with an assessment of rough waters ahead that few others were voicing:

“I think we’re going to have a very difficult ’08 in our business,” Lanni told the Sun. His gloomy forecast was not shared locally although many experts outside Las Vegas were sounding alarms about the housing slump, rising interest rates and a poor consumer spending outlook.

Still, neither Lanni nor any other casino executive publicly predicted the extent of the crippling, long-term business slump that caught Las Vegas — amid its most ambitious growth spurt in history — off-guard.

“This business sometimes has a way of making the smartest people in it look like they don’t know what they are doing,” Lanni acknowledged years ago.

As the state’s budget deficit loomed in 2008, Lanni hammered the business community for lobbying against a broad-based tax system that would have increased taxes on nongambling businesses.

That year, Lanni resigned from the American Gaming Association board, citing frustration with Nevada’s tax problems and a desire to focus more energy on helping to fix it. At the time, he supported an increase in the state’s businesswide payroll tax over the more palatable suggestion that the Legislature passed. The resulting tax increase on hotel rooms was borne by tourists.

“Why education should only be paid for by visitors I’ve never quite understood. Businesses that operate here should be willing to fund education,” Lanni told the Sun. Lanni was a lead partner in the Clark County School District’s Empowerment School Program and spearheaded MGM’s Academic Excellence Scholarship Endowment at UNLV. He also led the founding of the MGM Resorts Foundation, an employee giving arm of the company.

In 2003, MGM Mirage gave up its membership in the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce after a gross receipts tax plan failed to win legislative support. The chamber had opposed the plan.

That kind of outspokenness was characteristic of Lanni, friends and associates say.

“He was absolutely frank about what was on his mind,” Perlman said. “He was completely honest.”

Under Lanni’s direction, MGM became the first casino giant to pursue a Web-based casino at a time when competitors, worried about potential competition from Internet casinos and poker rooms, hung back.

Outlawing Internet gambling in the United States wasn’t stopping people from risking their money playing on unregulated sites, while regulations could offer some consumer protection, Lanni said at the time.

MGM Mirage opened a virtual casino for British customers in 2001 but scrapped the effort two years later at a cost of millions of dollars because the company couldn’t compete against bigger, black market operators based offshore.

By showing how Internet gambling could be regulated in a manner similar to brick-and-mortar casinos, MGM helped pave the way for Nevada regulators to consider allowing Internet gambling for the state’s residents.

Lanni also launched the casino industry’s largest corporate diversity campaign at a time when Las Vegas casinos were criticized for being too white and too male — a program that earned national honors from minority groups and gay-rights organizations.

Some MGM employees recall an annual employee meeting a few years ago when Lanni, unannounced, introduced an unknown woman standing in the audience as a friend he had known since the 1950s when they attended elementary school together. Some parents didn’t want her to attend the school, located in a wealthy, white neighborhood, because she

Lightning doesn't strike twice, at least, that's what 54-year-old Stephen Rooney believed when he stepped under a street to smoke a cigar at a family barbecue.

The New Jersey father of two daughters had just told guests this sentiment at his July 3rd barbecue, a 30-year family tradition at the Rooney residence, before he was struck by a lightning bolt. He died five days later.

Forty-eight years ago, when Rooney was just 6 years old, Rooney's father was also struck and killed by lightning.

His father went fishing by himself in Fortescue, N.J. and was killed immediately by a bolt of lightning while he was cleaning the fish.

"When he got out of the water, he started cleaning the fish with his knife," Rooney's cousin, Scott Digerolamo told the press. "The knife was like a conductor — the lightning directly struck the knife."

In this latest tragic incident, Stephen Rooney and his family had set up their picnic around a large tree, when storm clouds rolled in. Most of the family retreated to the house for shelter, however, five of the men, including Rooney wanted to stay outside and smoke a cigar. When they were warned to come inside by family members, Rooney assured them that "lightning never strikes the same family twice."

Just moments later, a bolt hit the tree Rooney was standing beneath.

"Steve got knocked back and knocked over," Digerolamo said. Digerolamo was also indirectly struck by the same bolt and knocked 5 feet off of a bench by the impact.

(Offshore operators pay no UK tax, while onshore gambling companies pay 15% gross profits tax plus corporation tax)

The chancellor, George Osborne, will fire the starting gun on the Treasury's new tax grab of offshore gambling profits by making a statement to the House of Commons.

The move, squeezed into the House's schedule on Monday, just before the start of the summer recess, follows a statement on the same topic last week by the heritage minister, John Penrose. He announced that every betting company offering wagers to British punters will have to obtain a UK licence – news that was widely seen as a precursor to the UK beginning to tax offshore operators.

Like Penrose, Osborne is not expected to give a detailed outline of his plans, but the announcement will start a process leading to a more formal proposal and ultimately a tax-rate change.

A racing industry lobbyist said: "The statement will mean that this will be part of Treasury legislation. There is going to have to be a level of consultation in all of this but I would have thought that [the statement] will mean that the topic will end up being worth four sentences in the chancellor's budget speech next year."

Currently, offshore operators pay no UK tax, while onshore gambling companies are liable for a 15% gross profits tax plus corporation tax. Bookies operating from the UK also argue that they are disadvantaged by VAT.

There are a range of new taxation options open to the Treasury, which include simply imposing the 15% rate on offshore operators dealing with UK punters. However, the leading high-street bookmakers are almost certain to lobby for a drop in the gross profits tax to about 10%, arguing that the duty would also catch rivals who currently pay nothing. One top high-street chain privately insists that such a regime would see it repatriate its offshore operations to the UK.

Gambling analysts have warned that the government cannot simply change the law to raise taxes, which is why many of them believe that the initial move was made by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport [DCMS] and was painted as a consumer protection initiative.

In a note at the time, Richard Stuber, a JP Morgan analyst, remarked: "While the [DCMS] statement is likely to focus on player protection, rather than tax [a Treasury issue], we believe the key proposed change will be a move from recognising supply to recognising demand from a regulatory standpoint. We believe this could be the first step to creating a tax footprint for UK operators regardless of their corporate domicile."

Charlie Sheen’s Ex-wife Brooke Mueller is taking drastic measures to hopefully put an end to her addiction to hard core drugs by taking a special trip to Cancun, Mexico to try out an experimental treatment involving the hallucinogenic drug Ibogaine which is currently illegal in the U.S.

According to TMZ, Brooke will take part in a 7-day treatment program which will hopefully forever put an end to her substance abuse problem. Brooke has been in and out of rehab treatment for quite some time and most recently completed a 45-day stint after an emotional plea for help was televised on a recent episode of “The World According to Paris” where she openly admitted to needing help.

The treatment she will be seeking will involve the drug Ibogaine, which is a hallucinogenic drug from Africa which will take her brain on a “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” type adventure which is said to eventually reset her brain, rejecting her need for drugs and alcohol.

It has not been reported as to exactly when she will begin her treatment but hopefully the Ibogaine will finally work for the 33 year-old actress and set her on the road to recovery. Maybe this could work for Charlie Sheen too, but not sure if it works on the whole Warlock syndrome thing…

Germany’s draft gambling rules can’t be adopted as planned because they violate European Union law, EU regulators said.

The European Commission said “Germany should not adopt the draft,” according to an e-mailed statement today.

Betfair Group Plc (BET), a British online-gaming site, complained to the EU this month about the rules it described as “discriminatory and protectionist” because it would force them to pay a 16.67 percent tax on all stakes and would limit the number of licenses for private betting companies.

The betting treaty would overhaul the country’s state monopoly on sports betting and lotteries that was attacked as unjustified by the EU’s highest court in a ruling last year.

EU regulators wouldn’t give details on their objections to the German rules because they are still in talks with German officials. They said German authorities are expected to respond to the EU’s objections. A call to the German government press office wasn’t immediately answered.
Court Ruling

The EU Court of Justice ruled in September 2010 that Germany’s betting monopoly, which only allows state-owned companies to offer most sports betting, violates European laws because the German rules “do not limit games of chance in a consistent and systematic manner.” The online-betting ban was upheld on June 1 by Germany’s top administrative court, which said the rules were in line with constitutional and EU law.

The leaders of Germany’s 16 states last month delayed until October a decision on the draft rules, according to Kurt Beck, the prime minister of Rhineland-Palatinate. State premiers in April reached a preliminary agreement on the new rules.

The Brussels-based commission, the 27-nation EU’s executive arm, is responsible for checking whether national legislation complies with region-wide rules. EU Financial Services Commissioner Michel Barnier’s department is conducting a review of gaming laws across the region.

Betfair’s chief legal officer, Martin Cruddace, said the company expects Germany to amend the draft law “so that it genuinely caters for a competitive online gambling market in Germany,” according to an e-mailed statement.

“As a responsible operator committed to transparency and integrity, Betfair hopes to obtain a license in the newly regulated German market, and we view today’s action from the Commission as a significant step towards us achieving this goal,” Cruddace said.

Word on the street is that the reason for Jennifer Lopez's split from her husband Marc Anthony is a model with a raging six pack.

William Levy starred alongside Jennifer Lopez in her hot "I'm Into You" music video and let's just say there is some serious on-camera chemistry. However, after rumors surfaced on the Internet today, Levy claims he's NOT romantically involved with the 41-year-old mother of two.

On Friday, Jennifer Lopez and her husband of seven years, Marc Anthony, revealed to the media that they were ending their union. Coincidentally, Levy, who is known as the "Cuban Brad Pitt" recently also separated from his wife, suspiciously after his sexy video shoot with Lopez.

Levy denies the allegations, telling the press, "The only relationship there was or is, is a professional relationship. That’s all there’s ever been.”

However, the sordid tale has just begun! Radar Online obtained court documents filed one year ago that accuse 30-year-old Levy of battery.

“Through deception and trickery Levy, with the aid of several members of his entourage, lured Plaintiff back to the Hilton Hotel in Glendale. Plaintiff, who was infatuated with Levy — a rising star of international renown for his work on Spanish language telenovelas — wanted his autograph,” the official papers state. The papers go on to say that Levy “forced Plaintiff to perform [sex act] on him, strangling her in the process. He e****lated in her mouth, on her person, through which he transmitted a sexual disease to plaintiff. Plaintiff was subsequently taken to urgent care at Concentra Medical Center by a friend.”

Levy argued that the minor had told him she was 19 and that she was consenting throughout their sex acts. In his statement he said that she, “was at no point, whatsoever, physically restrained."

The victim asked for $2.5 million in damages and Levy countersued for defamation and extortion.

Radar reports that Levy claims the minor tried to extort $950,000 from him in exchange for her silence and that local authorities "conducted a complete and thorough investigation of [Plaintiff's] allegations, including interviewing Levy and witnesses and concluded that there was no probable cause sufficient to proceed in a criminal action against Levy."

Will J.Lo and Levy reveal they are actually in a relationship? Bet on the latest entertainment props in the Bodog Sportsbook today.

I hope you don't mind me posting this here and that it is of interest to your community.

I would like to invite forum members to take part in a short survey about Internet gambling in the UK. The survey is about Internet gambling activity and how it changes over time. It takes about 15 minutes to complete and completed entries are entered into a prize draw for an Apple Ipod touch.

To take part, you need to be over 18, live in the UK and gamble on the Internet for money, either now or in the past, on any type of game, e.g. betting, poker, bingo, lottery, fruit machines, casino games.

The survey and further details about the research are available at
Internet Gambling Survey

If there is anything about the research you want to know or check out, please just ask.

Please give it a go - this is a chance to have your Internet gambling experiences represented in academic research, and you may win a nice prize too!

Thankyou.

JainieD
PhD Researcher
University of Greenwich

Please note this project is for academic research purposes and does not include any marketing, advertising or other promotional material. It has received ethical approval from the University of Greenwich Research Ethics Committee.

Beacon Hill lawmakers are considering expanding the Lottery to include Internet sales — already a common practice in five states — and Treasurer Steven Grossman said the Bay State will be ready as the idea gains national momentum.

“Whether I think it’s a good idea or not, it’s clear Washington is moving toward online gambling,” Grossman said. “While I oppose it, I want to make sure we are ahead of the curve and are one of the winners of the new world of online gaming and not a loser because we stuck our heads in the sand.”

State legislators are considering a bill that would require the Lottery to launch a pilot program to sell tickets online, accepting a variety of payment methods from debit and credit cards to services such as PayPal and eCheck.

The measure, sponsored by state Sen. Michael Rush (D-West Roxbury), is intended to boost revenue, possibly by as much as 25 percent, and follows states such as New York, Minnesota, Virginia, Maryland and North Dakota, which already sell some season tickets online. Neither Rush, who is currently serving in Iraq with the Navy Reserves, nor his chief of staff John Regan, testified yesterday at a hearing on the bill, which also drew no detractors. Instead, Rush’s office offered written testimony.

If Rush’s bill passes, Grossman said the Lottery would be ready in nine months with a plan offering a number of online sales options.

“If online gambling is approved by Congress, we want to have a product to put to work that day so that Massachusetts is not unfairly disadvantaged,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid has proposed a bill that would legalize online gambling and U.S. Rep. Barney Frank is a strong supporter of the idea.

Reid, a Nevada Democrat, is pushing the measure, in part, because it would benefit his state, where gambling is the major industry. Today, offshore operators of Internet poker and gambling Web sites reap an estimated $5 billion annually from cyber-casinos, according to Reid.

Lamar Odom is reportedly devastated after an accident involving his driver killed a teenager.

The NBA player was in New York on Thursday to attend a funeral for his cousin and had hired a car service to drive him around town. But while Odom was in the backseat of the car leaving his cousin's funeral, the vehicle was involved in an accident with a motorcycle, which then skidded into a 15-year-old pedestrian.

After sustaining head injuries, emergency surgery was performed in an effort to save his life, but the boy died the following day.

Odom, reportedly really shaken by the incident, tweeted: "Thank you for your support and prayers! My thoughts and prayers are with the young boys family. (sic)"

His wife Khloe Kardashian also tweeted: "My heart/soul goes out 2every1 in pain from any suffering. Pray 4 all of the angels surrounding us constantly. May our spirits stay strong.

"Above all, love each other deeply, b/c love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality 2 1another without grumbling 1 Peter 4:8-9

"Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

"Our love will give us strength! Love conquers ALL! @RealLamarOdom: My thoughts and prayers are with the young boys family…

"Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest! (sic)"

Witnesses saw him Odom crying at the scene, in Jamaica, Queens – his old stomping grounds.

The motorcyclist is still in the hospital, listed in serious condition.