Let your mouth speak archive

Singapore Pools is looking to launch the first licensed gambling website to be based in Singapore.

It comes two weeks after the Government announced plans to limit access to remote gambling platforms such as those on the Internet and accessible via mobile gadgets.

Sources told The Straits Times the lottery operator is exploring ways to offer an online betting option to registered members as part of plans to revamp its portal. One proposal is upgrading the existing members portal to allow those who sign up with its phone betting system to place bets online. They can now log on only to check previous transactions and must call a hotline to place bets.

Adults who want to register as members and set up accounts must meet criteria like passing identity and credit history checks.


Singapore Pools looking to start licensed gambling website

Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey are currently the only U.S. states to legalize online gambling in one form or another. But other states have shown interest in the market, and Indian tribes don't want to be left behind.

According to a recent report by Stateline, American Indian tribes have 460 gaming facilities in 28 states, none of which have a piece of online gambling. Stateline reporter Pamela M. Prah notes that some of the 240 Indian tribes in the U.S. are eager for a piece, many of which are located in California, which represents the largest and most compelling potential market for intrastate online poker.

"By the end of the year, an American Indian tribe in rural California, the Alturas Indian Rancheria Tribe, expects to launch the country's first tribal online gambling effort," Prah writes. "The Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma are pressing forward with a site that will target gamblers from outside the United States. And the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians in the Midwest is actively preparing for the possibility that more states or the federal government will sanction online gambling sometime soon."

The two tribes in Oklahoma are attempting to an online gambling operation under an unusual agreement reach with the state this year. Online gambling isn't allowed in Oklahoma, but the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes have been authorized to launch a real-money online gambling site that targets customers outside of the U.S. Pokertribes-com was launched as a free-play site by the tribes earlier this year with hopes of transforming it into an RMG operation that offers poker, blackjack, bingo, and pull tabs. The tribe is still awaiting approval from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to get the project in motion.

In Wisconsin, an alliance between tribes could see Internet gambling open up in "Indian Country." In October, the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians became the first tribe to officially join the nationwide Tribal Internet Gaming Alliance. If three more tribes join, the alliance can form a commission to regulate and license online gaming. According to alliance council member Jeffrey Nelson, more than 50 tribes in 18 states have expressed interest in joining.



Indian Tribes Look to Capitalize on Internet Gaming in U.S. | PokerNews

For the fourth year in a row, Disney’s Anne Sweeney has been named the most powerful woman in entertainment by The Hollywood Reporter.

Sweeney is the co-chairman of the Disney Media Network and president of the Disney/ABC Television Group, which ABC News is a part of. She tops the publication’s annual list of 100 most powerful women in the industry.

Other women on the list include Jacqueline Hernandez, 47, the chief operating officer of Telemundo Media (60th on the list); Ellen DeGeneres, host of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (45th); Debra Lee, chief executive officer of BET Networks (24th) and Shonda Rimes, creator of “Scandal” and “Gray’s Anatomy” (41st on list).

E.L. James, the author of the “Fifty Shades of Grey” series, J.K. Rowling, who wrote the “Harry Potter” series and Suzanne Collins, who wrote “The Hunger Games” trilogy, share the 95th spot.

The list also honors music stars Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Beyonce (all tied for the 68th spot), as well as actresses Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy and Jennifer Lawrence (tied at number 11).

Here is a look at the women who round out the list’s top 10:

1. Anne Sweeney, the co-chair of the Disney Media Network and president of the Disney/ABC Television Group

3. Nancy Dubuc, president and CEO, A+E Networks

4. Amy Pascal, co-chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment

5. Donna Langley, chairman, Universal Pictures

6. Dana Walden, chairman, 20th Century Fox Television

7. Nina Tassler, president, CBS Entertainment

8. Oprah Winfrey, chairman, CEO and chief creative officer, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

9. Sue Kroll, president of worldwide marketing, Warner Bros. Pictures

10. Kathleen Kennedy, president, Lucasfilm

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The Golden Nugget Atlantic City was given permission by New Jersey casino regulators Friday to begin offering Internet gambling.

The state Division of Gaming Enforcement cleared the casino to start offering online gambling as of 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

Regulators kept the Golden Nugget restricted to trial play when six other casinos were cleared to begin offering full online gambling last month. The Golden Nugget said at the time it was working out glitches with its system and would not open until it was ready to give its customers a first-class experience.

That time is now, said Tom Pohlman, the casino's general manager.

"We weren't satisfied with what we were ready to offer our customers at that point," he said. "Now, we are very satisfied. Everything is exactly where we want it to be. We offer more titles of slots, video poker and table games titles than anyone, and we make it easier than anywhere else to fund an account and get started."

The Golden Nugget will allow customers to fund accounts using Visa, MasterCard, bank transfers, personal checks, or cash at the casino. But it also is offering a prepaid cash card that runs on the Discover card network that lets customers instantly transfer cash to and from their online gambling account.

The casino's online gambling site is www .GoldenNuggetCasino. com . It will have 77 game titles, including some not yet available on the actual casino floor.

It will be the seventh of Atlantic City's 12 casinos to offer Internet gambling. The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, the Tropicana Casino and Resort, Bally's Atlantic City and Caesars Atlantic City offer it.

Resorts Casino Hotel also has been cleared to offer it, but its online partner, PokerStars, has been barred from Internet gambling in New Jersey for two years. Resorts spokeswoman Courtney Birmingham sad Friday there has been no update to the casino's online plans.

New Jersey began Internet gambling last month. The state will begin publishing the amount of Internet gambling revenue the casinos win starting Jan. 14.

Read more at NJ lets Golden Nugget offer full Internet gambling

There seems to be some confusion about the Wire Act in the U.S as it pertains to online gaming. Some of the misunderstanding is coming from opponents of online gambling that are using the December 2011 Department of Justice (DOJ) opinion and a possible future reversal as ammunition to further their cause.

That DOJ opinion was in reference to state lotteries that were asking to use the Internet to sell lottery tickets and had concerns about using payment processors and other online services outside of the home state. The DOJ opinion clarified that the Wire Act only applied to sports betting.

Today’s online gambling opponents like to reference this decision as if it changed the world of online gambling. Online gambling was already approved and live in Nevada when this opinion was released and it was not online poker. Online and mobile sports betting, specifically ruled illegal under the Wire Act, was thriving in the only state where single game wagering is legal.

How was this possible?

The official name of the Wire Act is the Interstate Wire Act. The law covers exactly what it implies; interstate betting. It starts with this text:

Whoever being engaged in the business of betting or wagering knowingly uses a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers or information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers on any sporting event or contest, or for the transmission of a wire communication which entitles the recipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers, or for information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.


There is not much ambiguity there and it seems clear to laymen that the Wire Act only covers interstate sports betting. There was some debate about this under previous administrations, but one thing that was agreed on by all is that intrastate gambling is not covered in any way. This was evidenced at the time in Nevada.

Nevada apps and websites available before Wire Act opinion released

Several Nevada companies launched sports betting apps and websites before the December 2011 DOJ opinion was released. These were all approved by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

American Wagering, later acquired by William Hill, launched the first Nevada sports betting app in August 2010. Station Casinos launched its Sports Connection website in 2010 and later rolled out an app. In October 2011, Cantor Gaming introduced its sports app that could be used anywhere in Nevada. Cantor had been offering in-game betting on devices within its properties since 2009.

Cantor Gaming launched its PocketCasino product in January 2010. According to a press release, this product was initially available only on the Venetian and Palazzo properties.

One threat that came up during Tuesday’s committee meeting is that Congress might pass a law to ban online gambling that would affect anything already in place or the DOJ could reverse course and suddenly decide the December 2011 opinion was invalid. Both of these seem implausible.

Assuming the Nevada apps and websites were not flaunting the Wire Act, and there is no evidence that they were, it seems obvious intrastate online gaming is not covered by the law. At this point, only three states have regulated online gambling and it is all intrastate so any change of opinion in the Wire Act would not affect these games or any similar ones that are live at the time.

A change in federal law or DOJ opinion may change any interstate compacts at the time, however, there is precedent in grandfathering states when a federal gambling law is enacted.

The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992 halted the spread of sports betting in the U.S. It gave an exemption to Delaware, Montana, Oregon and Nevada. These states offered sports betting before PASPA was enacted. It also gave states one year to legalize sports betting provided casinos were legalized for at least ten years in the state. This carve-out was tailored for New Jersey, which failed to legalize sports betting at the time.

New Jersey is now challenging PASPA in an attempt to allow sports betting in the state. The case will be heard by the Supreme Court in the near future. New Jersey lost previous rulings on the way to the nation’s highest court. Four states have filed amici curiae (“friends of the court”) briefs in support of New Jersey’s right to legalize sports betting.

Any attempt by Congress or the DOJ to interfere with existing gaming is certain to find its way to through the court system, especially if intrastate gambling is targeted. Let us not forget the National Governor’s Association, which opposes any restriction taking away a state’s right to offer online gaming.

A change in DOJ opinion would have little effect on existing interstate gaming. Nothing will not happen without a fight. If there was a threat, the DOJ might end up in a situation it has always seemed to avoid; a legal precedent on Internet gambling.



Online Gambling Opponents' Flawed Wire Act Argument |

South Korea’s parliament is considering an anti-gaming bill that will classify online gaming as a potentially antisocial addiction alongside gambling, drugs and alcohol.

The bill is backed by 14 ruling party lawmakers, parents, religious groups and doctors who believe that online gaming is having a negative effect on schooling, family life and work.

“Without online games, kids would talk to their mother and play,” said Kim Min-sun, a mother of two who supports the bill.

Proponents of the bill argue that online games can contribute to social problems. For example, a couple spent most of their time raising a virtual child online at an Internet cafe while they allowed their 3-month-old son to starve in 2012. In the same year a 22-year-old murdered his mother for “nagging” him about playing Internet games.

If passed, the law will put a limit on gaming advertising and build a fund to fight gaming addiction by ordering the gaming industry to hand over one percent of their revenue.

In the past the South Korean government has taken other measures to combat online addiction. In 2011, they passed the “Shutdown Law,” which bans gamers under the age of 16 from playing between midnight and 6 A.M. The following year, they introduced a “Cooling Off” system which introduced mandatory breaks and further limited the number of hours of gaming students could play.

Some worry that these provisions will harm what is a significant export industry in South Korea. In 2012, MapleStory and other online games earned more money than Gangnam Style, K-pop music, and other cultural exports combined, according to The Independent. Professional gamers also exist in South Korea, where they have corporate sponsorship, live broadcasts of their competitions, and the wealth, status and rock star treatment usually associated with professional athletes. Players such as Jung Myung-hoon and Yo Hwan-lim earn up to $400,000 a year.

The gaming industry also opposes the idea that online gaming should be placed on the same level as harmful drugs and that other issues should be addressed, such as the high academic pressure being placed on children, which may lead to them turning to gaming as a way to cope.

“Workers in the Internet game industry are worrying about the bill. Our society does not understand Internet games. I feel sad when I hear that games are anti-social as well as harm health,” said Se-jeong Kim, the CEO of game company Blueside.



South Korea Considers Bill to Combat Online Gaming | The Diplomat

After months of speculation, Khloe Kardashian is ending her four-year marriage to Lamar Odom.

The reality TV star filed for divorce Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences. She also wants her last name restored to Kardashian from Kardashian Odom.

The filing comes days after Odom pleaded no contest on Monday to a misdemeanor drunken driving charge.

The 34-year-old athlete was arrested last August after his Mercedes-Benz SUV was seen weaving on an LA freeway.

He seemed to address rumors of personal problems when he tweeted a cryptic message in September, saying he had been “Seeing the Snakes.”

Only the Kardashian family, Odom said then, was standing by him.

The 6-foot-10-inch power forward has been out of the NBA since going unsigned as a free agent after a miserable season last year.

Odom last played for the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2012-13 season, averaging a career-low 4.0 points and 5.9 rebounds. Clippers coach Doc Rivers met with him last month, but apparently nothing came of those talks.

He had his best years with the Los Angeles Lakers between 2004 and 2011. The team won NBA championships in 2010 and 2011 and Odom won the NBA’s sixth man award during that second championship run.

Kardashian, 29, is best known for starring with her sisters Kim and Kourtney, and her mother, Kris Jenner, in the long-running reality TV series “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”

She also runs an upscale clothing store with her sisters and was featured in the short-lived reality series with Odom, called “Khloe & Lamar.”

The two were married in 2009 in a large ceremony that was taped for the E! network, following a whirlwind engagement that was also filmed.

Kardashian laughed last spring when asked about critics who said that the marriage wouldn’t last.

“I think everyone said it wouldn’t last, but I can totally understand why,” she said. “We knew each other for only 30 days and then we got married. … I just felt it and same with Lamar. Thank God it worked because it very well could’ve gone the other way.”

In recent episodes of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” Odom hasn’t been featured and the show has hinted at marital issues.

Read more: Khloe Kardashian files for divorce from Lamar Odom | Inquirer Entertainment
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

The online gambling market is a highly profitable industry that has an estimated 10 to 12 million users across the globe and generates about $27 billion every year. However, this growing business is not perfect and there are certain dangers that need to be taken into consideration.

For one, it can be utilized by dishonest companies that do not pay out the proper amount for winnings, jackpots, and other prizes. Plus, it can also be a channel for money laundering and other financial crimes. These are some of the reasons why some governments make drastic measures to combat illegal activities.

The United States has strict guidelines when it comes to online gambling and its government utilizes a significant amount of their resources to control the said industry. In some cases, the US government may legally control an online casino portal to prevent financial crimes from happening.

On the other hand, this is not the case with Ireland as it is more lenient with regards to the said matter. The said country acknowledges the fact that online gambling is a flourishing worldwide market that should not be constricted by national rules.

However, this does not mean that gambling companies are above the law in Ireland. There are no public casinos in the said country and the provision as well as the promotion of gambling facilities are prohibited and are subject to stringent laws. These precautionary measures make it almost impossible for illegitimate companies to put together online gaming services in Ireland.

Simply put, the guidelines in Ireland are specifically designed to halt the establishment of illegal gambling entities. It does not prohibit its residents from utilizing online casinos or gambling sites.

Furthermore, while official casinos are deemed illegal under Irish laws, some casino clubs may enjoy legal status as long as they comply with government requirements.

All in all, Irish gambling laws are clear-cut proofs that the government can halt financial crimes and other illegal activities without compromising the right of people to enjoy online gambling activities.
Remember, online gambling and even traditional gambling are fun activities that should be enjoyed rather than resisted.

Read more: Examining gambling laws in the United States and Ireland | Irish News | IrishCentral
Follow us: @IrishCentral on Twitter | IrishCentral on Facebook

An ambulance crew raced to Justin Bieber's house after a woman passed out in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The emergency services were called to the Never Say Never singer's home in Calabasas, California, around 3am with reports of an unconscious 20-year old female; however, 15 minutes later they were called off.

The person who cancelled the emergency said the woman would be transported privately to hospital. However, a source told TMZ.com the matter wasn't as serious as thought and the woman regained consciousness, and insisted the emergency crew be called off.

A source told HollywoodLife.com: "There was no issue. A call was made out of an abundance of caution, but the woman was given some food and liquids and was fine and went home."

Justin, 19, was believed to be at home at the time of the emergency, and hosting a party.

The singer's gatherings are known to be wild, but what exactly goes on remains a mystery as the 'Confident' star makes guests sign a confidentiality agreement upon entering the house, promising not to reveal details of Justin's "physical health, or the philosophical, spiritual or other views or characteristics".

The agreement includes a ban on tweeting, blogging, taking photos or other forms of social media.

The document also warns how Justin's parties are "potentially hazardous and you should not participate unless you are medically able and properly trained".

Anyone breaking the agreement leaves themselves open to be sued for up to US$5 million.

Over the past two decades, as the Internet and technology boom altered how other brick-and-mortar businesses operated, the U.S. casino industry continued to generate virtually all of its gaming revenue offline.

That's now changing state-by-state, and a domino effect is expected to soon take hold.

This year, three states legalized some form of online gambling within their borders, with New Jersey recently joining Nevada and Delaware to allow live Internet-based casinos.

Quietly, Colorado lawmakers and industry officials drafted legislation late last session to authorize Internet poker. Though that effort stalled, the industry says it will continue to explore the issue, with another push possible in 2014.

"This is something we are monitoring very closely," said Troy Stremming, executive vice president of government relations for Pinnacle Entertainment, owner of Colorado's largest casino, Ameristar Black Hawk.

"Internet gaming continues to evolve state-by-state, and through ever-changing technology," Stremming said. "With respect to Colorado, when there is a piece of legislation to review, we can make decisions based on whether or not participation will be beneficial to the company."

On the smartphone side, gambling giant MGM Resorts International last month released the first casino mobile app to offer real comps and rewards, such as free rooms and buffets, for gambling with play chips. The rewards are redeemable at 11 brick-and-mortar casinos in Las Vegas, such as Bellagio and the Mirage.

If there's any question about the appetite for such games, look no further than the results of MGM's app, called myVegas, since it appeared in the Google Play and Apple App stores.

"The mobile launch has exceeded everyone's expectations. We're in the millions of downloads now," said Josh Swissman, vice president of corporate marketing for MGM. "Just a few weeks ago, it was the No. 1 casino application in the iTunes App store. It was the No. 8 overall game application. And we got it as high as No. 14 for all apps overall in the entire iTunes app ecosystem."

Many of those downloads came from residents of Colorado, a significant feeder market for Las Vegas-based casinos. MGM has a joint marketing agreement with Ameristar Black Hawk, sending Colorado gamblers offers and rewards based on their player up the hill.

"It's a big market for us," said Swissman, though he didn't have specific figures.

Developed by PlayStudios, the myVegas app combines traditional slot machine play with elements of social gaming that Zynga made popular on Facebook.

PlayStudios CEO Andrew Pascal said the app's technology platform can easily convert to the technical standards required for real money gambling, but that's not in the cards for the company.

Because it doesn't accept real money bets, the myVegas game is played worldwide.

Online gambling in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware is limited to players who are physically within the respective state's borders.

Nevada has authorized Internet poker, while New Jersey and Delaware permit other online casino games such as slots.

Colorado is closely watching Nevada's process.

"We had talked very late in last year's session with some legislators who were interested in pursuing it," said Lois Rice, executive director of the Colorado Gaming Association, an industry trade group. "We're still exploring it."

She said one of the challenges is that the industry is still unsure about Internet gambling's impact on land-based revenue.

Adam Krejcik, managing director of digital and interactive gaming at Eilers Research, estimates that online poker in Colorado could generate $30.4 million to $37.8 million in annual revenue about three to five years after legislation has been enacted.

Krejcik's forecast for Colorado's online casino revenue, which covers poker as well as slots, blackjack and other games, is $112.5 million annually.

For reference, Colorado's brick-and-mortar casinos generated adjusted gross proceeds — total bets minus payouts — of $761 million during the fiscal year that ended in June.

In Nevada, the two poker sites that are live aren't doing as well as expected, in large part because of the smaller player pool, said Donnie Peters, editor in chief of PokerNews-com, which tracks the industry.

"These two websites haven't necessarily gotten off to the roaring start that I think they thought they were going to, which has held other companies back from wanting to jump in," Peters said.

The sites, Ultimate Poker and WSOP, are operated in conjunction with companies that have land-based casinos in Nevada. They're each averaging fewer than 200 players per day.

Before the federal government cracked down on online poker more than two years ago and shuttered three popular offshore sites, the player pools on those sites covered millions of gamblers worldwide.

Black Hawk, Colorado's largest gambling destination, commissioned a statewide poll this summer to gauge voter interest in expanding betting to the Internet.

"Our survey showed that the voters of the state did not have much appetite for online gambling," said Black Hawk city manager Jack Lewis.

Rep. Kevin Priola, R-Adams County, said he was among a group of bipartisan lawmakers who took up the issue last session.

"My thought and some others' thoughts were, let's have Colorado as close to the starting line as we can possibly be because as soon as the gates open, I think there are only going to be a few states that are going to have enough scale to make it work," Priola said.

Industry observers believe California will be the next state to permit Internet gambling. Federal lawmakers are considering a bill to authorize online poker nationwide.

In the meantime, Delaware and Nevada have already had discussions about linking up their player pools.




[url=www-denverpost-com/business/ci_24720778/colorado-explores-online-gambling-virtual-and-mobile-casi

Charge up your iPhone, because online gambling is here.

Nevada and Delaware legalized in-state online gambling this year.

Laws in these two states start to bring into the open what has been a gray area in American law. The U.S. Justice Department long has insisted that the Wire Act of 1961 bans interstate gambling. And in 2006, Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which was signed by President George W. Bush. It effectively banned financial institutions from handling any online gambling payments.

Ironically, both Bush and the majority in both houses of Congress were Republicans who otherwise put their bets on limited government.

But in 2011, U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole wrote, “The Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has analyzed the scope of the Wire Act ... and concluded that it is limited only to sports betting.” This cut the cards for states to legalize non-sports online betting.

Even under the 2006 restrictions, online gambling has continued, according to a recent study by H2 Gambling Capital, a consulting and data firm. In 2012, global online gambling amounted to $36.3 billion. Of that, 11 percent, or about $4 billion, came from the United States.

Although technically illegal, such gambling still was possible because Americans use such work-arounds as foreign accounts and prepaid debit or credit cards.

H2 estimated that, with online gambling becoming legal, the U.S. total by 2017 could come in as high as $7.4 billion.

Restricting gambling in 2013 to physical locations seems as retrograde as limiting Amazon-com to selling only books.

Congress currently has legislation, H.R. 2666, the Internet Poker Freedom Act of 2013. Sponsored by Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, it would legalize online poker and regulate it within the new Office of Internet Poker Oversight, to be established in the Department of Commerce.

And H.R. 2282, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act of 2013, is sponsored by Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. It legalizes Internet gambling and regulates it through the Office of Internet Gambling Oversight, to be established in the Department of the Treasury.

“A common federal standard will ensure strong protections for consumers, protect against problem and underage gambling and make it easier for businesses, players, lawmakers and regulators to navigate and freely participate,” King said.

Such bills are strongly opposed by some conservatives who, in other areas, favor freedom and states’ rights. Columnist Ken Blackwell not only rejects these bills, but wants Congress to enact legislation to ban even the limited legal, state-sanctioned online gambling.

He warned of the danger to “teenagers and young adults and the elderly.” Other concerns are the use of online gambling to launder illegal money for terrorists and organized crime.

These concerns should not be brushed off, but can be dealt with through adequate regulation to ensure that only responsible adults engage in online gambling. The concerns are similar to arguments for banning alcohol a century ago. Prohibition showed that legalization, with regulation such as laws against drunk driving, was the best policy.

Gambling addiction is a problem, but one not limited to those wagering online. Taxes and fees on casino and racetrack gambling currently fund gambling cessation programs. Both bills in Congress include provisions to combat problem gambling.

Adults in a free society should be given great latitude in their activities. Although occasionally abused, gambling is a fun pastime for millions. We should let adults be adults.

Finally, the digital world keeps changing, becoming cheaper and freer. Laws on online gambling need to change with the times. More states and Congress need to enact laws to make online gambling legal.



Online gambling is a matter of choice - Las Vegas Sun News

Known on the one hand for his starring role in Lawrence of Arabia, leading tribesmen in daring attacks across the desert wastes, and on the other for his headlong charges into drunken debauchery, Peter O'Toole was one of the most magnetic, charismatic and fun figures in British acting.

O'Toole, who died Saturday at age 81 at the private Wellington Hospital in London after a long bout of illness, was nominated a record eight times for an Academy Award without taking home a single statue.

He was fearsomely handsome, with burning blue eyes and a penchant for hard living which long outlived his decision to give up alcohol. Broadcaster Michael Parkinson told Sky News television it was hard to be too sad about his passing.

"Peter didn't leave much of life unlived, did he?" he said.

A reformed — but unrepentant — hell-raiser, O'Toole long suffered from ill health. Always thin, he had grown wraithlike in later years, his famously handsome face eroded by years of outrageous drinking.

But nothing diminished his flamboyant manner and candour.

"If you can't do something willingly and joyfully, then don't do it," he once said. "If you give up drinking, don't go moaning about it; go back on the bottle. Do. As. Thou. Wilt."
Hit instant stardom with movie role

O'Toole began his acting career as one of the most exciting young talents on the British stage. His 1955 Hamlet, at the Bristol Old Vic, was critically acclaimed.

International stardom came in David Lean's epic Lawrence of Arabia. With only a few minor movie roles behind him, O'Toole was unknown to most moviegoers when they first saw him as T.E. Lawrence, the mythic British World War I soldier and scholar who led an Arab rebellion against the Turks. His sensitive portrayal of Lawrence's complex character garnered O'Toole his first Oscar nomination, and the spectacularly photographed desert epic remains his best known role. O'Toole was tall, fair and strikingly handsome, and the image of his bright blue eyes peering out of an Arab headdress in Lean's film was unforgettable.

Playwright Noel Coward once said that if O'Toole had been any prettier, they would have had to call the movie" Florence of Arabia."

British Prime Minister David Cameron said Sunday the movie was his favourite film, calling O'Toole's performance "stunning."
8 Oscar nominations, 0 wins

Actor Will Ferrell also remembered Lawrence of Arabia.

"My father took me to see a re-release of Lawrence of Arabia on the big screen and I couldn't get over how amazing that movie looked for the time it was shot and how charismatic he was on screen," Ferrell said Sunday at the New York premiere of Anchorman 2. "You hear a name like Peter O'Toole, you hear these names and you go, 'uh, yeah, OK, they were movie stars,' then you watch them on film and you go, 'they really were movie stars.'"

In 1964's Becket, O'Toole played King Henry II to Richard Burton's Thomas Becket, and won another Oscar nomination. Burton shared O'Toole's fondness for drinking, and their off-set carousing made headlines.

O'Toole played Henry again in 1968 in "The Lion in Winter," opposite Katharine Hepburn, for his third Oscar nomination.

Four more nominations followed: in 1968 for Goodbye, Mr. Chips, in 1971 for The Ruling Class, in 1980 for The Stunt Man, and in 1982 for My Favourite Year. It was almost a quarter-century before he received his eighth and last, for Venus.

For writer-producer Judd Apatow, in addition to Lawrence of Arabia, My Favourite Year also stands out. "I related to the comedy writer hanging out with the mad actor because I've done that a few times," he said at the Anchorman 2 premiere.
'One of the giants' of film, theatre

Seamus Peter O'Toole was born Aug. 2, 1932, the son of Irish bookie Patrick "Spats" O'Toole and his wife Constance. There is some question about whether Peter was born in Connemara, Ireland or in Leeds, northern England, where he grew up, but he maintained close links to Ireland, even befriending the country's now-president, Michael D. Higgins.

Ireland and the world have "lost one of the giants of film and theatre," Higgins said in a statement.


After a teenage foray into journalism at the Yorkshire Evening Post and national military service with the navy, a young O'Toole auditioned for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and won a scholarship.

He went from there to the Bristol Old Vic and soon was on his way to stardom, helped along by an early success in 1959 at London's Royal Court Theatre in The Long and The Short and The Tall.

The image of the renegade hell-raiser stayed with O'Toole for decades, although he gave up drinking in 1975 following serious health problems and major surgery.

He did not, however, give up smoking unfiltered Gauloises cigarettes in an ebony holder. That and his penchant for green socks, voluminous overcoats and trailing scarves lent him a rakish air and suited his fondness for drama in the old-fashioned "bravura" manner.
Retired in 2012

A month before his 80th birthday in 2012, O'Toole announced his retirement from a career that he said had fulfilled him emotionally and financially, bringing "me together with fine people, good companions with whom I've shared the inevitable lot of all actors: flops and hits."

I play Bacarat on my home from work a few times a week. I am trying to set win/loss stop per session. I am thinking +6 or +8 units or -6 or -8 units per session and then leaving if i hit either.

Should I aim for +6 or +8.

I usually get 12 - $25 chips and bet $25 per. Is +8 realistic or should I go with +6 units?

Thanks for your feedback.

+6 units will do it

Cheers

New Jersey casinos added 20,000 Internet gambling accounts last week.

The state's Gaming Enforcement Division said Monday that 91,531 accounts had been created as of Sunday. The number of individual gamblers who have played so far has yet to be determined, though, as some users have created accounts with multiple gambling websites in New Jersey.

Internet gambling began with a five-day trial period on Nov. 21 and launched publicly on Nov. 25. Seven casinos are offering online gambling, the most recent being the Golden Nugget Atlantic City, which began on Saturday.

The others are the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa; the Tropicana Casino and Resort; Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino; the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort; Caesars Atlantic City and Bally's Atlantic City.

Resorts Casino Hotel also has received approval to offer Internet gambling. But their online partner, PokerStars, has been suspended from offering Internet gambling in New Jersey for two years due to an indictment against its founder.

The gaming enforcement division said PokerStars can reapply for approval before then if its circumstances change enough to bring it into compliance with New Jersey gambling regulations.

Online betting marks the biggest expansion of gambling in New Jersey since the first Atlantic City casino opened in 1978. The state lets gamblers play any of the games offered in its 12 casinos including card games and slots, but online poker has proven especially popular in the early going.

New Jersey is the third state in the nation to offer Internet gambling, after Nevada and Delaware.

The state approved Internet gambling earlier this year as a way to generate new revenue for Atlantic City's 12 casinos, who continue to struggle with increasing competition in neighboring states. Atlantic City's casino revenue reached a peak of $5.2 billion in 2006, and is likely to fall below $3 billion this year.

It remains to be seen if the $200 million to $300 million that Wall Street analysts predict Internet gambling may bring in over its first year will be new business, or whether it will simply cannibalize walk-in business at the brick-and-mortar casinos.

Read more at NJ Internet gambling accounts top 91,000

Gaming Realms was founded by the team behind Cashcade, which created the leading online bingo brand, Foxy Bingo, in addition to other online bingo and casino games. It was one of the first companies to promote online bingo to a mass market, using community chat to create an immersive and enjoyable user experience.
Cashcade’s leadership in online gaming and successful brand development attracted multiple industry awards culminating in its sale to bwin.party digital entertainment plc for a total consideration of approximately £96 million in 2009, delivering a 10x return for initial investors.

Gaming Realms creates and develops interactive next-generation online gaming applications, focused on delivery via mobile, tablet and desktop computers. Its principle businesses are BingoGodz, a multi-platform real money social bingo game; Bejig, an award-winning designer and developer of multiplayer online social real money games; and Alchemy Bet, which develops and operates mobile fruit machine games.
This summer Gaming Realms paid millions for a massive television campaign to advertise their mobile-focused Bingo Godz website, which launched in September. In this mobile bingo game, players are required to collect “Godz” in order to go to the next level, where prizes are larger and more luxurious.

Now Gaming Realms has acquired a marketing firm to help expand its business associated with the online gambling industry. The software developer decided to purchase Quick Think Media, a deal recently completed for GBP 2.2 million.

Executive chairman of Gaming Realms, Michael Buckley, commented on the acquisition of the marketing firm, “Our combined marketing operations will be able to secure new customers over a shorter timeframe and at lower cost across the business, particularly in the new digital channels which are now available. In addition, QTM brings a growing profit stream and user base into the group, both of which can be used to further enhance our brand development activities”.



Online Gambling Firm Gaming Realms Buys Quick Think Media

Social online gambling as a great deal of potential as companies develop methods to monetize the past time. Software firms are working on creating attractive games for Facebook that allow for the addition of real money gambling.

Plumbee is a technology-led start-up based in the United Kingdom founded to create a new generation of digital casino entertainment. Founded in 2011 it is the only startup with a serious presence in both free-to-play and real-money digital casino action. It recently created a joint-venture with Unibet, ‘Bonza Gaming’, which launched one of the first real-money casino games on Facebook, Bonza Slots, and more recently Bonza Casino.
The company has just announced that the Netherlands-based TV production house, Endemol, has made a strategic investment of $13 million in Plumbee, as Endemol plans to expand into social online gambling.

Endemol will be working with Plumbee to expand on its existing digital gaming projects, Chief Executive Officer of Endemol, Lucas Church commented on the approach, “Social casino gaming is a fast emerging market and Plumbee is one of the most innovative and dynamic operators in this space. This new partnership will allow us to accelerate the growth of Endemol’s digital gaming business around the world, whilst capturing more of the value created by our entertainment brands,”
Raf Keustermans, the Chief Executive Officer and founder of Plumbee said, “Endemol will become a strategic shareholder and this will enable us to leverage the company’s international network and globally recognized brands. This will significantly boost the growth of our worldwide user base as we create gaming experiences that stand out from the competition.”

Endemol has been building its digital portfolio of games from within, by launching gaming apps based on its popular shows, such as The Money Drop second screen game, which to date had over 30 million games played globally and The Million Pound Drop application in the United Kingdom, which has over 2.5 million downloads so far.



Endemol Invests Millions in Online Gambling

—“Fast and Furious” star Paul Walker died from “combined effects of traumatic and thermal injuries” according to the actor’s death certificate as reported by entertainment website, TMZ.

According to the death certificate issued by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Walker not only died on the initial impact from the crash, but also was burnt to death.

Roger Rodas, Walker’s friend who was driving the 2005 Porsche Carrera GT, was listed to have died from “multiple traumatic injuries” in his death certificate.

The death certificates said that the two men died almost immediately, according to the documents, the interval between the impact and the deaths were “rapid.”

Read more: Paul Walker death certificate released | Inquirer Entertainment
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An amendment to the Colorado Constitution would be required for the state to authorize online gambling, according to a formal opinion recently issued by state Attorney General John Suthers.

The opinion, dated Friday and made available to the public Monday, was published in response to a July 17 request from Laura Manning, director of the Colorado Division of Gaming, which regulates the state's limited-stakes casino industry.

The Denver Post reported Monday that Colorado lawmakers and industry officials are exploring a push to legalize and regulate Internet gambling. Three other states approved online casinos this year.

Manning sought clarity from Suthers on the steps needed to authorize online gambling in Colorado. She also asked Suthers about how a gambler's location would be determined for the purposes of regulating online gaming, whether it would be based on the physical location of the bettor or the servers that determine the outcome of the wager.

"Under Colorado law, a bet is placed where the person placing the bet is located," Suthers wrote. "However, the location of the server or other hardware or software that determines the outcome of the bet would also be relevant to the permissibility of any online gambling under Colorado law."

The states that have authorized Internet casinos — Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey — restrict online betting to gamblers who are physically within their respective borders.

Suthers said statewide voter approval likely would not be required to tax online casino revenue, if Internet gambling is approved by voters.

"Authorization of online gambling by some other form of constitutional amendment may raise different issues related to" the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, Suthers wrote.

State lawmakers drafted a measure this year that would have authorized Internet poker. Although the bill wasn't introduced, another push is possible during the legislative session that kicks off in January.




Read more: Suthers: Constitutional amendment required to permit online gambling - The Denver Post Suthers: Constitutional amendment required to permit online gambling - The Denver Post
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