Let your mouth speak archive

Zynga has added some firepower to its online gambling ambitions. AllThingsD has learned that Maytal Ginzburg is joining Zynga as the company’s chief operating officer in charge of new markets, according to her LinkedIn profile.

As recently as July, she was the SVP of regulated markets at 888holdings, where she was responsible for acquiring customers and other operations.

888 Holdings operates an online portal at 888-com, offering real-money games, such as poker, bingo and sports betting, in markets were online gambling is regulated. More recently, it started to investigate the opportunity in social and mobile gaming through the 2010 acquisition of Mytopia from Real Dice.

Ginzburg has not yet started to work at Zynga, but is expected to begin soon. Social Casino Intelligence was first to point out that she was hired by the company. A spokesperson declined to comment.

The hire is important for the Facebook games maker because it shows that while a number of executives have decided to leave, it can still recruit talent at a very high level.

Read More: Zynga Hires a New Executive to Lead Online Gambling Ambitions - Tricia Duryee - Commerce - AllThingsD

The U.S. Republican party released its political platform for the upcoming November election and included a section devoted to prohibiting online gambling.

In a segment entitled "Renewing American Values," the Grand Old Party (GOP) is attempting to revoke the recent progress made in online gambling when the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) ruled that the 1961 Wire Act applies only to sports betting. The GOP’s platform states that "Millions of Americans suffer from problem or pathological gambling that can destroy families. We support the prohibition of gambling over the Internet and call for the reversal of the Justice Department’s decision distorting the formerly accepted meaning of the Wire Act that could open the door to Internet betting."

That DoJ ruling occurred last December and has prompted a number of states to consider online gambling legislation with two states already having enacted online gambling laws. Nevada is in the forefront with poker-only legislation and is on pace to have at least one online poker site up and running perhaps by October. Delaware has also approved Internet gambling and will likely roll out its intrastate offerings next year.


Read More: Republicans Seeking Prohibition Of Internet Gambling

Ukash and Moneybookers are two of the innovative payment solutions that customers enjoy, thanks to the anonymity they provide. Ukash provides a simple, cash-like deposit method for online gamblers without requiring personal or banking info. Likewise, Moneybookers (Skrill) requires only a bank account or debit/credit card and email address.

Visa and MasterCard are the two leading credit cards in use among online casino-goers. These require no great explanation, as they work in the same way they do with any other purchase you make. Visa has proved particularly innovative, allowing withdrawals too.



Online Gambling Payment Solutions Still Evolving - Gaming - Onlinecasinoreports-com

LeAnn Rimes was reportedly "sobbing hysterically" at the prospect of her husband cheating on her.

The singer is married to Eddie Cibrian. The pair began their relationship while Eddie was stilled married to Brandi Glanville and LeAnn was wed to Dean Sheremet.

The couple subsequently divorced their spouses and tied the knot in 2011.

LeAnn's representatives announced that she is seeking treatment to address "anxiety and stress".

Infidelity has been on LeAnn's mind for quite some time.

"LeAnn called a friend of hers a few weeks ago sobbing hysterically about Eddie going out," a source told Radar Online.

"She was home for the weekend and he didn't stay in with her and she was crying saying that she was so worried about what he was doing when he wasn't with her.

"LeAnn is beyond stressed about the cracks in her relationship with Eddie and she has been really scared that he is cheating on her."

LeAnn has apparently been experiencing an emotional meltdown for months.

Read more: LeAnn Rimes suspects infidelity - News, Entertainment - Belfasttelegraph.co.uk

I always use visa, never got a problem with that.

Zynga has added a former online gambling exec to its team in an effort to advance its own real-money gaming initiative.


According to AllThingsD, Maytal Ginzburg was most recently a senior vice president at 888 Holdings, a company that describes itself as "one of the world's most popular online gaming entertainment and solutions providers." Her appointment comes at a time when multiple executives are leaving the firm, including two vice presidents.


Their departures are nothing compared to what a gambling expert could bring to the table. In its current form, Zynga is a struggling mess. The company continually tops the charts of AppData-com but can barely maintain a consistent stock price. On Aug. 2, Zynga shares hit an all-time low of $2.70. Four weeks later, the stock has yet to recover.


The company has attempted to offset its losses (and quell investor worries) with a venture into mobile game publishing. Zynga has not been successful, but the company hopes that a deal with Nokia will help turn the tide.

Read More: Zynga hires online gambling expert- MSN Money

Online gambling and betting firms can be economically beneficial to countries and states that can use the employment and the income and property taxes derived from the industry. In the Czech Republic the right leaning government Prime Minister Petr Necas is asking for a bigger cut in the form of a heftier tax on online betting and retail wagering. The government in efforts to reduce their debt to the European Union has introduced cuts and higher fees to operate gambling in the Czech Republic.

The requirement to reduce the deficit has the government in a bind by which this is a no win situation because companies that currently pay taxes on their gambling services may take their business and the employment it provides to offshore locations that give firms a better shake.

Sport wagering firms now have to pay an enormous 20 percent over and above corporate taxes amounting to 19 percent. Companies that take bets on sport events, political elections and the like must now pay a whopping 20% tax on gross wins on top of a corporate income tax of 19%. The Czech Republic is not in a good position to keep their current online gambling operators, and those that stay in the country will just pass the expense on to the consumer. Poland charges a little less than half the taxes and Slovakia are one quarter of the new costs in Czech Republic. Fortuna Entertainment Group NV is threatening to leave the Republic which has caused a stir in local media.

Read More: Taxation Hikes Pushing Czech Online Gambling Offshore

Have you ever wondered how easy it would be for online casino operators to cheat? After all, they’re magically shuffling cards online and you can’t even see the complete deck.

Formally launching on June 9th of this year, bitZino has designed a method to prove that its shuffles are fair and bitZino is not your typical online gambling portal. The first difference you realize is that gaming is conducted only in the digital currency bitcoin. The other primary difference is that bitZino displays a ‘Provably Fair’ button which allows you to independently and immediately verify the authenticity of a shuffle.

Now, the fact that they use bitcoin as the gaming currency has nothing to do with the cryptographic techniques of ‘provably’ fair’ card shuffling but it does add a nice touch. BitZino is differentiating itself on two amazing levels and this is sure to cause the mega online casinos some heartburn down the road.

Read More: BitZino And The Dawn Of 'Provably Fair' Casino Gaming - Forbes

Governor Brian Sandoval disagrees with his party when it comes to online gambling.

During their national convention the Republican Party adopted a platform that included a few lines where they promise to prohibit any form of online gaming.

As news 3's Sergio Avila tell us, the governor isn't planning to stop pushing for what he calls the future of gaming.

Gov. Sandoval says this stance by his party changes nothing when it comes to starting online poker in Nevada by the end of this year.



Governor at odds with GOP's opposition to online gaming - My News 3 - KSNV, Las Vegas, NV

"American Idol's" game of musical chairs may have taken another casualty as new reports claim Randy Jackson is vacating his post as judge -- a spot he's held since the singing competition premiered in 2002. Jackson is reportedly stepping away from the judges' table but would continue to play a role in the show as a mentor to the contestants. No word on what capacity that mentorship would be.

"Idol" currently relies on guest musicians to dole out advice alongside Jimmy Iovine, the in-house "Idol" mentor and chairman of Interscope/Geffen/A&M (contestants broker deals through Universal Music Group, with Interscope proving popular among them).

Speculation over who will occupy the judges' table when the competition kicks off its 12th season in January went into overdrive the moment Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler announced their departures after two seasons.

Pop diva Mariah Carey became the highest paid judge in reality TV when she inked a deal, reportedly worth $18 million, to replace Lopez. Carey remains the only confirmed judge.


Read More: People & Entertainment Jackson leaving 'Idol' as judge, not as mentor | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Nevada’s gaming industry today continues to recover, with some regions faring better than others.

“Both Southern and Northern Nevada markets are struggling right now,” said John Farahi, CEO of Monarch Casino & Resort Inc., which owns Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, in Reno.

State gaming revenue has been picking up slowly since it took about a $2.4 billion hit when the national economy headed south, data from the Nevada Gaming Commission show. Yet, it still has a way to go to reach its decade high.

At its most recent peak, in fiscal year 2006-2007, the Silver State’s casinos took in about $12.7 billion. The statewide gaming win dropped 19 percent the next few years to roughly $10.3 billion. Subsequently, it turned around and has risen since. At the end of fiscal year 2011-2012, on June 30, 2012, it stood at $10.7 billion.

The story of Southern Nevada’s gaming is similar—one of a big drop between 2007 and 2010, then a slow climb—but that of Northern Nevada’s isn’t. Washoe County’s gaming revenue has decreased annually since its past 10-year high in fiscal year 2005-2006.

Read More: Gaming: Betting on a Comeback

Rob McKenna is siding with Indian tribes and against some fellow Republicans in the Legislature who look to the nontribal gambling industry as a potential jackpot for the state budget.

On several fronts, in fact, McKenna has become an unlikely ally of the tribal governments that have helped maintain Democratic Party control in Olympia. As attorney general, he has visited every reservation in the state – an outreach effort that even a tribal leader who supports rival Jay Inslee calls “unprecedented.”

Tribes have rewarded him with a share of their campaign contributions. The money he has received is far less than Democrat Inslee but still vastly more than other Republicans who have run for governor in the recent past.

“Tribes historically have always leaned Democrat, but over the last 10 years or so we’ve become more politically astute and we’re more attentive to what is the political position of the candidates,” said the Inslee backer, W. Ron Allen, chairman of the Jamestown S’Klallum Tribe and president of the Washington Indian Gaming Association. “Tribes are being like a lot of special interests out there and they’re hedging their bets.”

Indian tribes haven’t abandoned the Democrats by any measure. Inslee, with more than $50,000, has outraised McKenna more than five-to-one among tribes. While the Puyallup Tribe, for example, has given equal amounts to both, more tribes have contributed only to Inslee.

Read more here: McKenna draws ‘unprecedented’ support from Indian tribes | Northwest News | The Bellingham Herald

British entertainer Max Bygraves, a veteran singer and comedian known for his old-fashioned charm, has died, his agent confirmed Saturday. He was 89.

Agent Johnny Mans said Bygraves, who had suffered from Alzheimer's disease, died in his sleep Friday at his daughter's home in Hope Island, Queensland, Australia.

Bygraves won fame in Britain's music halls and theaters after World War II, becoming one of the country's best known variety performers and releasing dozens of popular records.

Famed for his catchphrase "I wanna tell you a story," Bygraves become a staple performer on radio through the 1950s, and later appeared frequently on British television shows and in a small number of films.

"We have lost one of the best entertainers that Britain has ever produced," Mans said. "His death is a great loss to the entertainment profession and a great loss to all of his friends in the industry."

Born to an east London dockworker, Bygraves was awarded an OBE - a British honor - in 1982, and performed regularly for the royal family, first in 1950 for King George VI.

"He was one of the all-time greats of British show business," comedian Jimmy Tarbuck told BBC television.

The performer's career spanned six decades, with Bygraves recording an album in 2001 for the Royal British Legion charity. He was best known for the songs "You Need Hands" and the novelty hit "You're a Pink Toothbrush."

Read more here: British entertainer Max Bygraves dies at age 89 - Wire Entertainment - People - The Sacramento Bee

A new Republican party platform adopted at last week's GOP national convention in Florida opposes online gambling, putting it at odds with the position many elected Nevada Republicans take.

The plank in the platform — listed under the heading "Making the Internet Family-Friendly" — links online gambling to gambling addiction.

"We're not going to agree on everything," Gov. Brian Sandoval told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "Nevada has always set the gold standard in gaming, and online gaming is the next frontier for the industry. Our state supports online poker and will continue to work to ensure a secure online gaming environment."

Many major players in Nevada's casino industry are asking Congress to pass legislation that legalizes and regulates Internet poker nationally. Experts believe Nevada could be the center of a regulated Internet gambling market.

While it's not the first time the party's platform has spoken out against Internet gambling, this year's statement mentions recent changes in the U.S. Justice Department's interpretation of the Federal Wire Act of 1961, which governs betting over wires or electronic means.


Read More: GOP platform urges ban on online gambling | Deseret News

Promoters of Michael Jackson's planned 2009 comeback described in emails how they feared for the megastar's stability, saying he was out of shape and consumed with self-doubt.

The Los Angeles Times (Doubts about Michael Jackson surfaced early on - latimes-com ) obtained some 250 pages of messages, most between executives at Anschutz Entertainment Group, which was financing the ill-fated "This Is It" concerts set for London. Some of the emails indicated that executives were concerned that Jackson's planned 50-show stand at AEG's 02 Arena would be an expensive bust.

In one exchange AEG's Randy Phillips wrote his boss that Jackson was "an emotionally paralyzed mess." Phillips was writing from Jackson's London hotel suite just hours before a press conference announcing the concert run.

"MJ is locked in his room drunk and despondent," Phillips said in an email to AEG President Tim Leiweke. "I (am) trying to sober him up."

In the end, the emails show, Phillips and Jackson's manager had to dress the pop star, the Times said.

"He is scared to death," Phillips wrote to Leiweke.

Jackson arrived 90 minutes late for the press conference and made brief remarks that some of the 350 reporters described as odd and disjointed.

In an interview with the newspaper, AEG's attorney Marvin Putnam suggested Phillips had exaggerated in his emails and said Jackson's behavior appeared to be a case of "nerves."


Read More: Promoters' email: concern over Jackson's stability - Houston Chronicle

Time to start betting on Betfair? The online betting exchange remains the most intriguing company in the gambling sector and the one that polarises opinion the most. Fans brook no criticism of the company, citing its record of innovation and the potential for overseas expansion. Critics fret about "issues" with regulators and argue that growth prospects have been over-stated. The occasionally hyper-sensitive way it responds to some critics does it no favours.

Still, it's worth taking a fresh look at the group, which is due to update the market on 11 September.

Betfair now sits on a multiple of about 18 times forecast earnings for the year ending 30 April 2013 (interims are due in December) falling to a more modest 14 times for the year to 2014. The prospective yield is a modest 1.5 per cent, rising to 1.8 per cent, but this is a young company.

That's quite a bit lower than the rating of more than 20 times when I updated last year.

The recent figures from Paddy Power suggest online gambling is still growing quickly and if that feeds through to Betfair then there are grounds for optimism.

Read More: James Moore: Betfair's worth a punt as online gambling grows - Sharewatch - Business - The Independent

The Remote Gaming Association, the group which represents some of the top names in the online gambling world, has created a document that will guide regulators in creating effective technical standards in the world of internet gambling.

The UK based RGA said that its objective is to play an important role in the regulatory status of online gambling on a national and international level, using first hand experience as a its guidelines.

"While innovation and technology may present new challenges for regulators, they also create new opportunities to provide efficient consumer protection and combat crime," noted the Remote Gaming Association in a statement issued.

The group acknowledged the work that has already been undertaken by regulatory groups such as the International Association of Gaming Regulators who are moving towards similar objectives.


Read More: Remote Gaming Association Advises Online Gambling Regulators - GamblingKingz-com

Last Friday, Marc Pincus saw the stake in his company shed another 3.11%. He has bagged more than $330 million from selling some of his shares, and he is still getting his hefty executive compensation, but its unlikely the falling price is making him happy. One thing Zynga, Inc. seems to be trying to do in order to offset the effect of its dismal earnings report, is to try to move in the real-money games arena. The latest development indicating such intentions was Zynga taking on board Maytal Ginzburg, a former SVP at 888 Holdings, a company operating a real-money games portal.

A successful entry in the online gambling business may very easily turn things around for ZNGA, but there are a number of very serious challenges in pursuing such a goal.

There are attempts to change legislation for online gambling in the US, but it's not clear when and even if, it will be legalized. At the same time, laws regulating online gambling in the rest of the world are not identical and it will take time to enter that market; on top of that, ZNGA would be facing an uphill struggle, because there are already established names in that niche.

Recent troubles for Zynga have not been limited to the disappointing performance of the business, although they may be connected. In the past month ZNGA has lost a number of executives, including Bill Mooney, Brian Birtwistle and former Chief Creative Officer Mike Verdu.


Read More: Zynga, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNGA) Takes Steps to Get in Online Gambling

Michael Clarke Duncan, the hulking, prolific character actor whose dozens of films included an Oscar-nominated performance as a death row inmate in "The Green Mile" and such other box office hits as "Armageddon," "Planet of the Apes" and "Kung Fu Panda," is dead at age 54.

Clarke died Monday morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he was being treated for a heart attack, said his fiancee, reality TV personality the Rev. Omarosa Manigault, in a statement released by publicist Joy Fehily.

The muscular, 6-foot-4 Duncan, a former bodyguard who turned to acting in his 30s, "suffered a myocardial infarction July 13 and never fully recovered," the statement said. "Manigault is grateful for all of your prayers and asks for privacy at this time. Celebrations of his life, both private and public, will be announced at a later date."

In the spring, Clarke had appeared in a video for PETA, the animal rights organization, in which he spoke of how much better he felt since becoming a vegetarian three years earlier.

"I cleared out my refrigerator, about $5,000 worth of meat," he said. "I'm a lot healthier than I was when I was eating meat."

Duncan had a handful of minor roles before "The Green Mile" brought him an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor. The 1999 film, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, starred Tom Hanks as a corrections officer at a penitentiary in the 1930s. Duncan played John Coffey, a convicted murderer with a surprisingly gentle demeanor and extraordinary healing powers.

www-baldcelebrity-com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/michael-clarke-duncan-peta-jpg


Read More: seMissourian-com: Entertainment: Actor Michael Clarke Duncan dead at 54 (09/04/12)

888 Holdings, the UK online gambling company, saw its earnings double in the first half of the year, it was announced in the group's financial report.

The vast improvement in earnings, driven by positive growth in casino and poker, led 888 Holdings to reinstate its interim dividend, to the satisfaction of investors who have watched the group go through rocky patches in recent years.

The interim dividend was reinstated at 2.5 c per share, and shares, which have risen 80% this year so far, closed at 82.5 p. 888 Holdings is now worth around £270 million.

888 Holdings earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITD) climbed to $36 million in the first half of 2012 - an 81% increase. In addition, revenue climbed to $186.4 million (21%).


Read More: 888 Holdings Sees First Half Earnings Double - GamblingKingz-com