Britney Spears has begun her early retirement in Las Vegas with a show that looks strikingly like the eye-popping Cirque du Soleil productions found elsewhere on the Strip.
The debut of Spears's long-term casino gig Friday kept an audience of about 4,500 on their feet for 90 minutes.
The young-for-Vegas crowd was there for the danceable hits and the spectacle, which included acrobatics, a ring of fire, confetti, a live band, frenetic costume changes and a frequently airborne Spears.
The show's production values are unusually high for a casino residency, often calling to mind the golden age of music videos. Its high-concept set pieces featured a cadre of backup dancers who danced in human-sized hamster wheels and somersaulted over the Grammy-winning star.
Spears, 32, has signed on to perform 50 shows each in 2014 and 2015 at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino.
She cuts a different figure from the typical Strip headliner. Other successful Las Vegas acts — including Shania Twain, Elton John and Celine Dion — have generally attracted an older audience. Judging from Friday's show, her fans are more likely to be found at a casino mega-club than in front of a slot machine.
Still, the show is not immune to nostalgia, one of the prime currencies in Las Vegas entertainment. It includes several callbacks to the 1990s and early 2000s, including plaid shirts tied around dancers' waists and a recap of the barely-there sparkling costume Spears wore in the Toxic music video.
Spears' younger self haunted the show, with clips of her early performances playing on huge monitors. Notably absent from those monitors, to the displeasure of some fans in the cheap seats, were any live close-ups of what was unfolding onstage.
Fans think they detect lip-syncing
On his way out, Shane Sodeman, of San Diego, complained that Spears hadn't donned the sexy school girl outfit or the skintight orange jumpsuit she wore in sexier days. A version of the jumpsuit was displayed in the lobby.
Maryn Harberg, 29, spent the night dancing in her $139 seat, on the upper end of the $59 to $179 scale. She'd come to the Strip for just one night, for Britney.
"I loved it," said the beaming Boston resident.
Officials with Caesars Entertainment Corp., which owns Planet Hollywood, say Spears sings her entire set. Entertainment Programming Vice-President Kurt Melien said she sings against a recorded track of her vocals to help her through the more physically gruelling parts of the set, and add the electronic undertones that characterize many of her songs. Some audience members said they thought they detected lip syncing.
Most of the show appeared physically gruelling. Spears has lost some of the crisp precision that characterized her dancing a decade ago, but she was in constant motion during the show, allowing her backup dancers to throw her through the air, and flying around in a huge angel costume for a performance of Everytime.
She spent downtime marching around stage and posing, banishing the spectre of her disastrous 2007 MTV performance, which also took place in Las Vegas, and was a career low point.
Younger divas Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, and Katy Perry lent moral support from the audience.
Casino executives say the gig may be extended if it proves a success.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the special-effects-laden tale that pits dwarfs against a dragon, blasted to its third consecutive box office title, collecting $29 9 million over the post-Christmas weekend in the US to beat newcomers The Wolf of Wall Street and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
Walt Disney's animated film Frozen was second with ticket sales of $28.8m in its third week, ahead of Will Ferrell's quirky comedy Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues that collected $20.2m at domestic theatres.
American Hustle, which reunited director David O. Russell with his Silver Linings Playbook stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, was fourth with $19.6m in ticket sales at theatres in the US and Canada, according to studio estimates. Sony, the distributor of American Hustle, also said it had grossed $3 billion worldwide as of this weekend.
Director Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street was fifth with $18.5m after finishing a close second to The Hobbit on Christmas Day, according to estimates compiled by Rentrak. The nearly three hour movie received good reviews but registered only a "C" rating from CinemaScore, a site that measures audience reaction.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the second of three movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien's 1937 novel, has collected more than $190m in ticket sales since its December 13 release, according to Rentrak. Its worldwide sales total more than $614m, according to distributor Warner Brothers.
"47 Ronin, the Keanu Reeves samurai adventure film that Universal Pictures made for $175m, opened with $9.9m in ticket sales. That was on par with the industry's $17m to $20m projections for total ticket sales of $20.6m since its Christmas Day release.
On December 24, Reuters reported that Universal, a unit of cable giant Comcast Corp, had taken unspecified writedowns when it became apparent the film would not take in the amounts it had spent to make and market it.
Nikki Rocco, president for domestic distribution at Universal Pictures, acknowledged that the opening of "47 Ronin" was disappointing, but said the studio would move on to greener pastures regardless of the film's performance.
"Of course it's very disappointing and you don't want to open a picture at this level, but exit polls are decent and we think it will find its way," Rocco said.
The Wolf of Wall Street, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio in the biographical story of a drug-snorting Wall Street scam artist, sold $18.5m worth of tickets after critics gave it generally positive reviews. The film and DiCaprio have both been nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which stars and was directed by Ben Stiller, collected $13m in ticket sales. The film was first developed in the early 1990s, and for a while Steven Spielberg was signed to direct it. Fox cast Stiller in the title role in 2011.
This year is set to surpass 2012 as a record year for the box office by nearly 1 percent, according to Rentrak. Total gross sales were $10,811,701,260 billion in 2012, while 2013 is on track to exceed $10.9 billion.
The Hobbit | Box Office Record - entertainment | Stuff.co.nz
Current and former NASA astronauts are furious over a new Beyonce video that samples audio from the failed 1986 Challenger mission which resulted in the death of all on board.
Her new video for XO features audio taken just after the Challenger broke apart.
"Flight controllers here looking very carefully at the situation. Obviously a major malfunction," a NASA public affairs official said as wreckage fell toward earth on live TV.
The Challenger exploded 73 seconds after taking off from the Kennedy Space Center January 28, 1986. All seven crew members aboard were killed.
ABC News reported "former and current NASA astronauts, employees and Challenger family members argue that using it in a pop song mocks the crew's sacrifice and opens fresh wounds."
June Scobee Rodgers, the widow of Challenger Space Shuttle Commander Dick Scobee and a founder of the Challenger Center for Space Science Education, told ABC News she was not happy.
'We were disappointed to learn that an audio clip from the day we lost our heroic Challenger crew was used in the song XO,' she said.
"The moment included in this song is an emotionally difficult one for the Challenger families, colleagues and friends," she added.
"We have always chosen to focus not on how our loved ones were lost, but rather on how they lived and how their legacy lives on today."
Keith Cowing, a former NASA employee who now runs the NASAWatch.com website, said, "This choice of historic and solemn audio is inappropriate in the extreme."
He is asking that the Texan remove the clip and apologize to families of the Challenger crew.
But on Monday the 32-year-old defended her use of the clip in a statement to ABC News: "The song XO was recorded with the sincerest intention to help heal those who have lost loved ones."
The Halo singer added the reference should 'remind us that unexpected things happen,' so people should "love and appreciate every minute that you have with those who mean the most to you."
She also said, "My heart goes out to the families of those lost in the Challenger disaster.'
Her statement ended with: 'The songwriters included the audio in tribute to the unselfish work of the Challenger crew with hope that they will never be forgotten."
The song XO - written and produced by Ryean Tedder and Terius Nash, also known as The Dream - is about loving while you can.
The video features the entertainer running through an amusement park with two friends.
They laugh as they ride roller coasters together and meet strangers.
The lyrics include: "Your love is bright as ever/ Even in the shadows/ Baby kiss me/ Before they turn the lights out/ Your heart is glowing/ And I'm crashing into you."
The star also sings: "We don't have forever/ Baby daylight's wasting."
Oddly, Beyonce has worked with NASA in the past: She recorded a wake-up announcement for the orbiting crew of the STS-135 shuttle flight.
People's Daily Online reported on 19th December, 2013 stating that two Chinese hackers who were imprisoned earlier for writing a nasty computer virus, again stood for trial recently on charges of running online gambling websites.
A court in Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, China, heard the case against 26 individuals that includes Zhang Shun and Li Jun, inventors of "joss-stick burning panda", popularly known as Panda virus (Fujacks) which damaged millions of computers in 2006 and 2007.
Prosecutors noted that the defendants in the case all belonged to a virtual gaming firm, ran numerous card games which permitted players to lay bets using virtual chips, as per news published by People's Daily Online on December 19, 2013.
More than 2,200 people joined in and 12.4 Million USD or 76 Million Yuan in totality was at stake and the company raked in 8 Million Yuan by trading the chips.
Li caught public attention three years ago (2010) when he bequeathed money to a research firm for giant pandas as an act of remorse for making the virus that he christened after the rare bears.
The virus changed emblems on desktops into cartoon pandas holding three burning joss-sticks and inflicted havoc by damaging programs, deleting files, and embezzling gaming and messenger accounts. It (virus) was sold for $12.500 on the web.
Experts commented that the Chinese have a lot of cybercriminals out of which some hackers are causing extreme damage (as in the aforementioned event) where they created gambling websites which is illegal in China) but they (that is, Chinese Police) manage to catch them quickly.
Experts say that this case once again highlights the fact that crime does not pay.
The sentence bestowed on the hackers is not yet available.
Moreover, it is not just Chinese authorities that have been victorious in nabbing and impeaching cybercriminals in December 2013 as a 27 year-old Slovenian hacker Matjaz Skorjanc, who was nabbed in 2010 and charged of masterminding the notorious Mariposa botnet that compromised about 12.7 million computers around the world, was jailed for about 5 years on December, 24, 2013. He was also fined $4,100. - See more at:
Creators of Notorious Malware Tried for their Role in Online Gambling Games - FIGHTERtools
While looking through the latest news for the world of online gambling one can’t help but notice that online gambling is controversial in many parts of the globe and there are many points of view. There is all the latest gossip and stuff about how some internet wagering cost someone their job and home and family because they just couldn’t see past their irresponsible ways.
Then there are the political stories that seem to repeat themselves constantly. There are all the jurisdictional differences that make the political goings on an absolute fun thing to observe and some people even gamble on it. Of the many decisions made by those with political power gambling legislation is one that’s taken very seriously. Moral and religious concerns and the relationship with the bookies and the government is an interesting scenario to watch also. Australia has been a soap opera of sorts when it comes to the gambling legislation and the government.
Putting the online gambling industry in perspective is not easy especially from a global viewpoint. The industry has many sides and for the most part the regulated and supervised part of the online gambling industry is great. The old saying ‘the early bird gets the worm’ is sort of the idea. Those who have the reputation and got into the game early are doing fine the others are doing alright too if they’re smart.
The technology involved in internet wagering whether it’s the huge worldwide poker tournaments or the massive variety of casino games available on a mobile device anywhere there is an internet connection. Following the tech that involves the testing, the serving, the security, the delivery, the creation of the software and games, it goes on forever. Yes the technology has made online gambling what it is and it is fascinating to those interested in the subject.
Online gambling has begun to change the way some people regard gambling in general. It is different but only because it can be accessed anywhere.
James Avery, the actor famous for his role as the judge "Uncle Phil" Banks in the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, has died. He was 68.
Avery's publicist, Cynthia Snyder, said the actor had died Tuesday (US time).
She did not immediately know the cause of death or where he died.
Alfonso Ribeiro, who played Banks' son, Carlton, in the show, tweeted: "I'm deeply saddened to say that James Avery has passed away. He was a second father to me. I will miss him greatly."
Avery's stern patriarch often clashed with a young Will Smith's cool teenage protagonist in the popular US show from the 1990s.
He also voiced the villain Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
James Avery of 'Fresh Prince of Bel Air' fame dies - Entertainment - NZ Herald News
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NGE) has confirmed that more than 125,000 online gaming accounts have been opened in the US state since the full launch of internet gambling in November.
According to the CardPlayer-com website, the organisation said that a total of 126,231 accounts had been opened as of December 29. The latest figure represents an increase of 16,285 on the previous week.
The total number of accounts does not represent the amount of unique online gamblers as one person may have opted to sign up for an account with each online gaming operator in the state.
The state launched a full online gambling service on November 26 last year, a move that attracted over 32,000 players in the first week, as reported by iGaming Business.
New Jersey became just the third US state to go live with an online gambling service, following launches by Nevada and Delaware earlier in 2013.
New Jersey surpasses 125,000 online gaming account milestone | iGaming Business
The online gambling industry still has a long way to go before it exhausts all the available new markets yet to be explored. South and Central America are both set to be one of those markets that are on the verge of blossoming into a fully fledged money making venture for those willing to go the distance.
The current laws are the biggest obstacle for operators who want to set up shop in many if the region’s jurisdictions. The potential for profit is great and the effort of operators is considered to be part of the process.
Last year 2013 saw two major conferences related to the internet gambling industry staged in South America. Buenos Aires, Argentina hosted the largest gaming expo focusing on the market in Latin American and the first ever Brazilian Gaming Congress was held in Rio de Janeiro, a significantly smaller event that highlighted the potential gambling market in Brazil.
A recent article from CalvinAyre-com’s Rebecca Liggero highlighted the events through the experience of the Latin-American Manager for CasinoFantasia-com Mr. Victor Arias Lopez.
The gentleman was quoted as saying, “For the last 7 years of my career on the online gaming industry I have focused my research and work on the Latin-American market. It is really important to recognize the interesting growth and interest from the biggest companies all around the world to conquest a market with a population of over 600 million people in 27 countries which are having an important economic growth and the power of acquisition is getting better every day. As a result of these factors, the investors become more interested”
Brazil is on the list as having he most to gain from regulated online gambling but as Arias points out that won’t be an easy task. The usual requirements for customer protection, proper taxation and an open market approach are all mentioned as being factors the industry must address to be successfully launched. Brazil it was expressed has the most to gain but is slow off the mark.
The social network aspect of online gambling has not made a great deal of progress in recent months and the gaming software firm Zynga is a good example of what could happen to the whole process. The instant results of the issues and challenges the firm faced in 2013 were interesting to say the least. The uneasy tension between Zynga and its partnerships was very apparent as its customer base and its revenues declined rapidly.
Zynga’s quarterly results saw a decline in revenue of almost thirty percentage points after the fallout with partners and the removal of some of its iconic products from the market. After a consumer base of 300 million in 2012 was depleted to nearly half its size to 150 million in 2013 the challenge to come back became even greater. Management changes were another factor to hamper the firm’s transformation.
The recruitment of Don Mattrick as the new chief executive officer left investors concerned as to whether this move in 2014 will improve the company’s bottom line.
While 2014 presents a new year it also represents new challenges and opportunities for the veteran company. Mattrick is a seasoned professional that knows what moves must be made to facilitate a comeback and quickly. Recruited from the Microsoft Corporation he brings to the table a lot of experience on how to create games that work. The CEO’s stint at Electronics Arts Inc also gave Mattrick insight into strategies for company comebacks.
Mattrick knows the soft spot in social gaming remains in the relatively short life expectancy of social games and has seen to it that Zynga has introduced a number of role-playing games that create more retention among players.
Despite Zynga pulling away from the American real money social gambling market it still has created an impression in the international market for it products in that sector. The launch of ZyngaPlusCasino and ZyngaPlusPoker for the UK market has been marginally successful to date. That could still translate into a sizable profit considering the large market.
Jerry Seinfeld loves cars. He's fond of coffee. And, of course, he loves to talk comedy.
But the inspiration for his online talk show, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, was an episode of his eponymous 1990s sitcom.
Jerry's sad-sack pal, George, decided success might await him if he lived his failed life in the opposite manner.
"That," says Seinfeld, "gave me the idea to create a talk show that was the opposite of the typical show.
"With a typical talk show you have to go to a studio. You have to tell them in advance what you're going to talk about. You have to dress up. You have to put on makeup. It's very, very organised.
"I thought, maybe there's a different way than being stuck on a couch: Outside and moving is the opposite of inside and still.
The show's third season hits the road this week with Seinfeld joining Louis CK for a coffee after a zany ride in a 1959 Fiat Jolly, which resembles a golf buggy.
Other guests include Patton Oswalt, Howard Stern, Tina Fey, Todd Barry and Jay Leno.
"I wanted to make a show that people would like to be on" says Seinfeld in his Manhattan office, where soon he will begin another editing session to whittle the Leno episode to a tight 20 minutes from the two or three hours of recorded chitchat. Seinfeld is now 59 and has nothing left to prove. But he remains a stickler for detail - such as when he huddles with an editor a few minutes later to tweak the music accompanying a shot of the car (a 1949 Porsche 356/2) he and Leno will share.
Even so, the flavour of each episode is insistently no-frills, candid and off-the-cuff.
Seinfeld says he never prepares for a taping.
"Things just occur to me. Like asking Howard Stern to tell me how his life ends, what he's doing in that last moment.
"He seemed like a guy who's really afraid of death. So I wanted to ask him about it."
Unsurprisingly, Seinfeld mostly focuses on comedy with each guest. Welcome to his world.
"At least 50 per cent of the waking life of every comedian is gossiping and analysing with other comedians about comedy.
"Comedy is a very mysterious profession, so we're always trying to figure it out.
"This show is a little bit of a valentine to a certain subset of humanity," he goes on, winding up for a Seinfeld-esque riff that, even on the fly, spins out humourously.
"I wanted to put a few comedians into this one petri dish - that's what this show is - 'cause you got to get them in the wild. If you're going to study a species, you got to study them in the wild, otherwise the experiment is tainted! The evidence is tainted!" In the untainted back-and-forth that results on his show, Seinfeld proves to be an excellent audience, clearly enjoying each guest's bons mots as much as he enjoys delivering his own.
Fine, but how competitive does Seinfeld feel in the company of another comedian?
"Zero," he declares, and flashes a quizzical smile: "I haven't done well enough?! But even if I hadn't," he adds, growing serious, "no, I do not have that gene."
And yet, as you watch Seinfeld matching wits with a guest, it's not hard to imagine he's on high alert for any fresh idea embedded in the banter that, with just the right tweaking, could end up in his act.
You bet, Seinfeld nods.
"That's my whole life," he says. "That's every single second of my life."
Seinfeld back in driving seat for new series - Entertainment - NZ Herald News
A recent article concerning cyber cafes in Malaysia has brought to light the problems in that jurisdiction that the law makers are facing. Since gaining independence from Britain in 1957, Malaysia has developed into one of the strongest economies in Southeast Asia.
Gambling in the country is a complex problem with the majority of the population being of the Muslim persuasion which forbids gambling. The Betting Act of 1953, made 'common betting houses' illegal in Malaysia. Certain forms of gambling are considered legal in Malaysia one being the lottery which is upheld by the the Lotteries Act 1952 and the Racing Act 1961 which permits betting on horse racing, but only at the real race track. The Genting Highlands Resort is the only other legally sanctioned venue in the country.
Online gambling is less defined in the laws of the land and there are no references to internet wagering in the old Betting act statute and thus the market remains unregulated. No licenses or other permits are issued specifically for online operators although the government has told banks not to accept payments or deposits from offshore internet casino operators.
The proliferation of so called internet cafés has seen the call go out for some sort of action to stop their activities. The most popular sport in Malaysia is football and much of the betting involves the local Super League, as well as the major European divisions such as the Premier League in Britain. Well known on the international scene for hosting two major motorsports events; both the Formula One Grand Prix and the Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championships Malaysia is big on betting on these events too.
The future remains murky as the government struggles with the laws and enforcement. It is obvious that there needs to be some intervention there as witnessed by the large-scale criminal activities related to the online gambling industry happening in the jurisdiction.
The President of the Atlantic City based Borgata Casino and Hotel, Tom Ballance, said in a recent interview that New Jersey’s new online gambling regime has “exceeded all expectations”. He also said that the 20,000 new online poker and gambling accounts opened through the casino’s online gambling platform will not serve as a threat to the group’s operations or revenues.
Ballance told CNBC last week: “Borgata was uniquely positioned to be at the forefront, primarily because of efforts by our managing partner, Boyd Gaming Corporation’s strategy is to engage in online gaming nationwide. We weren’t out hunting for a service provider, when others were. We were all set up and ready to go.”
Ballance said that when the group examined databases to see who opened online accounts, they found that the majority of new account holders hadn’t visited the casino for over a year, and, as such, they were now serving “a different customer.”
One of the key points made by critics of New Jersey’s new online gambling platform is that it makes it very easy for gamblers to bet from their own homes. However, Ballance argued that point in the interview and said that there are actually more controls online. “You don’t extend credit online,” he explained. “You’ve got to fund your account somehow … through your checking account or through a credit card.”
Atlantic City casinos are hoping that the new online gambling legislation will turn their numbers around and see growth in an industry which has fallen on hard times in recent years. The Governor has said that if improvements are not seen within a year or so, he will consider opening gambling options in other parts of New Jersey, such as the Meadowlands Sports Complex in the north of the state.
Gambling Exec: New Jersey Online Gambling “Exceeded Expectations”
The 26-year-old singer said she wants to accept herself for who she is, and admitted she has struggled to embrace her own body despite being a "crusader for being yourself".
She told People magazine: "I'm a crusader for being yourself and loving yourself but I've found it hard to practice.
"I'll be unavailable for the next 30 days, seeking treatment for my eating disorder ... to learn to love myself again. Exactly as I am."
The 'Timber' hitmaker is said to be undergoing treatment Timberline Knolls near Chicago, the same facility where Demi Lovato found help.
Despite admitting she needs help, the star has previously spoken about her body in a bizarre but positive way, explaining she uses her boobs to write songs by dangling them over her piano.
She recently said: "What I do is I turn off all the lights and I walk over to the piano naked. Then I gently lower myself and my boobs.
"They go on the keys and I just let them tickle the ivories. They really just go crazy."
State regulators in New Jersey have confirmed that over 125,000 accounts have been created so far at the online poker rooms and casinos that became legal within the state’s borders in November of 2013.
The precise total provided by NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement as of December 29th, 2013 was 126,231.
A new update regarding the total number of accounts created will be issued sometime tomorrow. If past trends are any indication, the new total will be somewhere north of 140,000; since launching on November 25th, New Jersey’s online casinos have seen roughly 18,000 new accounts registered each week on average.
Number has somewhat limited utility
With very limited data made available to the public so far, many people have seized upon the account creation numbers as a proxy for the size and health of New Jersey’s regulated iGaming industry.
But the plain fact of the matter is that the number is a blunt instrument that actually provides precious little detail or context for online gambling in New Jersey. For example, it gives us no way of knowing how many actual individuals are playing at the now-legal poker and casino sites operated by Atlantic City casinos, as single individuals could create over a dozen accounts.
Furthermore, it does not speak to the level of activity for those accounts, meaning we gain no insight into the potential revenue earned to date from Internet gambling in New Jersey. Nor can we glean any specifics concerning how customers are accessing the state’s online gambling sites; for example, how many are choosing the mobile poker options available at rooms like PartyPoker NJ and WSOP-com?
Finally, the number does not distinguish between customers who live in the state and those who traveled to New Jersey in order to play online.
Several operators still on the sidelines in New Jersey
Industry observers will be carefully watching to see what impact the entry of the remaining eligible operators has on specific metrics like the account creation number and on New Jersey’s iGaming industry as a whole.
Trump Plaza and Trump Taj Mahal have yet to move forward with an online casino or poker site. Both casinos do have partners that are operating sites under the Trump iGaming permits, but both (Betfair and UCasino) are doing so under their own brands.
There’s no word on when, if ever, Trump Plaza and Trump Taj Mahal plan to launch sites bearing their iconic branding.
Resorts is still pausing their launch as they wait for partner PokerStars to reach an agreement with the DGE. And the financially-troubled Revel has yet to even identify a partner and has publicly indicated that they are not making online gambling a priority.
Meanwhile, Golden Nugget and Tropicana have both gone live with casino play, but their poker plans remain on hold. And Wynn Interactive (said to be partnering with 888) has so far been a no-show in New Jersey.
Could NJ face competition from neighboring states in 2014?
In the status quo, New Jersey is effectively the nationwide leader in the regulated online gambling space. Nevada only offers online poker, and while Delaware offers a full suite of casino and poker, the state’s tiny population and state-monopolized market renders it something of an afterthought.
But New Jersey’s lofty status is likely to have a rather short shelf life.
Analysts are already pegging Pennsylvania, where lawmakers have agreed to study the issue of online gambling regulation and issue a report in early spring of 2014, as a state likely to join the game sooner than later. And New York has recently been the target of intense iGaming speculation in the wake of that state’s approval of massive gambling expansion last year.
It’s believed that a fair amount of New Jersey’s online gambling traffic originates from those two states, meaning that regulation in either could exert a negative impact on New Jersey’s industry. How much of an impact remains to be seen.
New Jersey Online Poker and Casino Signups Continue to Grow
THERE are a couple of changes to this year's staging of Youth View Awards (YVAs), which is scheduled to be held at the National Indoor Sports Centre in St Andrew on Saturday, February 1.
The announcement was made by Karen Clarke, YVA organiser, at last Friday's launch held at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston.
"This year we will be merging the males and females for the category Favourite Dancehall Artiste of the Year. We won't have a separate category for male and females as is the norm," she said. "The same concept will be done for the category Favourite Dancer. We believe that once an individual performed well, he or she should be rewarded."
Clarke also said there will be an online app which will be available to voters. She said there was also an increase of nominees from three to five in 22 of the 24 categories.
American teenage recording/acting sensation Zendaya Coleman, 17, will be one of the show's guest performers. Coleman — who plays Rocky Blue in the Disney Channel Series Shake it Up — single Replay debuted at number 2 on the Billboard Dance Chart.
The YVA's — now in its seventh year — aim at celebrating persons in the entertainment fraternity through their teen and young adult fans.
Past winners include I-Octane, Sean Paul and Olympic athlete Warren Weir.
New Jersey authorized Internet gambling last year to give a boost to Atlantic City‘s struggling casino industry, which has been beset by increasing competition for the past seven years. It began with a five-day trial period on Nov. 21 and launched publicly on Nov. 25.
As of Monday, 148,487 accounts had been created, though the state’s Gaming Enforcement Division notes that individuals often create separate accounts on more than one site.
The state will issue its first report next week on Internet gambling revenue won by the casinos.
Seven casinos are offering online gambling. They are: the Golden Nugget Atlantic City; 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 its online partner, PokerStars, has been suspended from offering Internet gambling in New Jersey for two years due to an indictment against its founder.
State gambling regulators said PokerStars can reapply for approval before then if its circumstances change enough to bring it into compliance with New Jersey 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.
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.
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email [email]ftsales-support@ft-com[/email] to buy additional rights. Daily fix of fantasy offers a way around US online gambling ban - FT-com
Travis Spieth, an ad sales manager from South Dakota, found himself flying out of Las Vegas before Christmas on a private jet with $1m in the bank. He had just parlayed a $10 buy-in into a first-place finish in one of the largest-ever fantasy football tournaments.
The contest was one of the first to showcase an edgy new form of high-stimulation fantasy sports offering, known as “daily” games. Unheard of a couple of years ago, the games now account for about a third of the US fantasy sports market – valued at $1.2bn and set to grow at a 7.6 per cent annual clip, according to the market research firm IBISWorld.
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email [email]ftsales-support@ft-com[/email] to buy additional rights. Daily fix of fantasy offers a way around US online gambling ban - FT-com
The low-risk, sometimes high-reward contests were “the same deal as regular fantasy, except you get that rush every week”, Mr Spieth explained.
But the growing interest is coming from a wider audience than sports nerds, as daily games offer an alternative to banned forms of online gambling and sports betting – using a loophole exempting fantasy sports contests from federal internet gambling prohibitions.
To play, gamers pick “fantasy” teams of real-life players and bet on their performance over daily or weekly periods – as opposed to the full-length seasons offered by more traditional formats.
“What we needed was a short-form fantasy sports game you could play for money,” said Tom Griffiths, who co-founded FanDuel – the leading daily fantasy provider and sponsor of the Las Vegas tournament. “It’s instant gratification.”
When FanDuel began in 2009, it paid out $100,000 in winnings, taking a 10 per cent commission. By 2013, that figure reached an estimated $150m.
“We genuinely believe this is the next generation of fantasy sports,” Mr Griffiths added. “This could be the next billion-dollar consumer play in New York.”
Daily games trace their origins to 2006, when the National Football League and other sports leagues lobbied Congress to exempt fantasy sports from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which was intended to crack down on illegal online wagering.
Under the “fantasy sports loophole”, the games were classified as being of skill rather than chance – though at the time, betting on fantasy games was considered to be de minimis. By 2009, a cadre of upstart companies, led by FanDuel, had begun testing the waters of this regulatory grey area.
While the wider industry, which boasts 35m players across North America, was initially sceptical of the new games due to legal uncertainty, Paul Charchian, president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, said it had come around. “Our feeling is that it’s 100 per cent legal. We think the UIGEA carve-out exempts us.”
After no serious legal challenges were brought against the early entrants, a wave of other start-ups began jumping in – with major media companies and fantasy providers beginning to take notice.
“The government facilitated their risk-taking by not challenging,” said Marc Edelman, an expert on fantasy sports law at Baruch University in New York. “A reasonable start-up may look at the marketplace, see profitable opportunities and conclude that the legal risks are worth it.”
In 2013, private equity and media firms such as Comcast Ventures, Cantor Ventures, MGT Capital and IAC all made investments in daily game providers, further lending credibility to the industry’s legal safe harbour.
Daily games have also enjoyed some success in markets from the UK to Australia, which offer daily fantasy cricket games. However, they face tougher competition in jurisdictions where traditional sports betting and internet gambling are more widely accepted.
The daily game explosion in the US comes amid fragmented efforts to legalise online gambling which have met heavy resistance from deep-pocketed opponents such as Sheldon Adelson, the casino mogul. Though Delaware, New Jersey and Nevada all launched internet gambling experiments in late 2013, analysts doubt that these schemes will stop the growth of daily games.
“The legalisation of online slot machines in some states will do very little to cannibalise the market for daily fantasy sports,” Mr Edelman said. He added, however, that online poker liberalisation in states such as Nevada could have more impact due to overlap in the respective player bases.
Daily fix of fantasy offers a way around US online gambling ban - FT-com
While three states permit intrastate online gambling, an Oklahoma-based tribe is looking to conduct Internet gambling involving international players.
The Cheyenne and Arapahoe Tribe of Oklahoma has an agreement with the state whereby they would operate an Internet site called pokertribes-com that would attract players from around the world. But, even though state officials approve of the idea, the federal government does not.
Last month, the U.S. Department of the Interior blocked the activity saying Oklahoma can’t offer exclusive access to a market outside the U.S.
The tribe, agreeing the compact with Oklahoma is “pretty groundbreaking,” filed suit in federal court, naming Sally Jewell, secretary of the Interior, and Kevin Washburn, assistant secretary of Indian Affairs, as defendants.
It was Washburn’s intervention that stopped the tribe from enticing foreign gamblers.
Tribal leaders point out that the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Tribe is the only Native American tribe that has an agreement to operate a gambling website from tribal lands with international players. They have spent some $9 million in setting up the website.
Their plan differs completely with the Internet gambling currently taking place in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware. In those states, online gambling is restricted to people who are physically within the states’ borders. Their hope has been that Congress will act to permit Internet gambling across state lines.
“In Oklahoma,” said Richard Grellner, an attorney representing the tribe, “we have the Native American culture we can sell to the world, and the state and the tribes can really benefit.” It was estimated the tribal plan could generate $132 million annually by 2018, if the website attracts just 2 percent of the worldwide online gaming market.
And the benefits to the state would be substantial, as well, they noted. The agreement calls for the tribe to pay the state 4 percent of the first $10 million in annual net revenue, 5 percent of the next $10 million and 6 percent of any subsequent amount, plus a monthly 10 percent from non-house banked card games, or games in which the casino or host has no stake in the outcome.
Internet gambling plan eyes international players :: GamingToday-com
Man Jit SinghLess than a month after it was announced that David Bishop would exit as president of Sony‘s Home Entertainment division, his replacement was named today. Man Jit Singh is taking over once Bishop’s contract ends in March, the studio said Monday. Until today, Singh was CEO of Multi Screen Media Pvt. Ltd., the operating company that handles Sony Pictures Television’s TV networks in India. “Man Jit is a savvy global executive with a long track record of success at Sony Pictures, having built our Indian TV channels into high-performance, high-margin businesses. I am Sony-Pictures-Home-Entertainment__120320175721confident in his vision for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and his ability to provide strong leadership for the division as the marketplace continues to evolve,” said Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton in a statement. Singh will report to Lynton and co-chairman Amy Pascal. While he is taking over Home Entertainment, Singh is not immediately leaving the Indian market, where he has been in overseeing Sony’s TV business since 2009. The studio said the former management consultant will continue as Non-Executive Chairman at MSM during the transition. Former MSM COO N.P. Singh has been appointed CEO and will report to Andy Kaplan, President, Worldwide Networks, Sony Pictures Television.
Online gaming is a pressing issue that affects millions of American consumers, major businesses and the U.S. economy. With so much at stake, I recently testified before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade) to deliver a clear message: the attempted prohibition of online gaming simply does not—and will not—work.
Under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 and the Wire Act, the federal government has tried to crack down on operators running illegal offshore gambling sites. This attempted prohibition has failed by every measure.
Last year, before a single state legalized online gaming, Americans spent nearly $3 billion—or nearly 10 percent of the entire worldwide online gaming market—on illegal, unregulated offshore gaming sites.
In other words, prohibition has succeeded only in creating a thriving black market that places consumers at risk. Moreover, the failed attempts to squeeze the Internet back into the bottle from which it came prevent law-abiding U.S. companies from innovating and prevent states and localities from creating jobs and reaping much-needed tax revenue.
In New Jersey—one of three states that have legalized online gaming in the absence of federal action—50,000 people signed up for online gaming sites in the first week it was available. Furthermore, estimates show that 100 million individuals will gamble on their mobile devices by 2018.
The writing is on the wall: the encroachment of the Internet cannot be stopped and neither can consumer demand. Anyone who doesn’t believe that online gaming is here to stay should ask Blockbuster if streaming movies online was merely a fad.
The simple question that policymakers must answer is: Are we going to regulate online gaming or pretend that we can wish the Internet away?
Fortunately, there is a solution. Where prohibition has failed, legalization, oversight and a strong regulatory regime can accomplish the following:
Protect consumers from unscrupulous operators and fraudulent games;
Shrink the unregulated black market and provide for the safe, controlled, pragmatic development of the regulated transparent market; and
Provide law enforcement agencies with a willing partner for cracking down on underage gambling, criminal activity and illegal operators.
Congress has the chance to enact strong regulatory standards that provide a uniform set of protections for consumers while respecting states’ rights to choose what is in their best interests. The technology exists now to allow regulated online gaming that can preserve the integrity of the games to protect consumers, prevent underage play, promote responsible gaming, and provide law enforcement officials the tools they need to identify fraudulent and criminal activity.
Countries and jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Spain, Belgium, Australia, Switzerland, Sweden, Hong Kong, Japan and Canada—as well as Delaware, New Jersey and Nevada—are already using these technologies to effectively protect online gamers. If and when we choose to join them, we have the potential to generate over $26 billion in tax revenue while bringing over 22,000 jobs to the United States.
Responsibly extending gaming into the online world is a natural progression. Millions of Americans are already gambling online illegally and will continue to do so—no matter how many times governments try to prohibit it.
Instead of benefitting shady offshore operators through pretend prohibition, American consumers deserve an online gaming market that is safe and well-regulated.
Freemn is president and CEO of the American Gaming Association.
The debut of Spears's long-term casino gig Friday kept an audience of about 4,500 on their feet for 90 minutes.
The young-for-Vegas crowd was there for the danceable hits and the spectacle, which included acrobatics, a ring of fire, confetti, a live band, frenetic costume changes and a frequently airborne Spears.
The show's production values are unusually high for a casino residency, often calling to mind the golden age of music videos. Its high-concept set pieces featured a cadre of backup dancers who danced in human-sized hamster wheels and somersaulted over the Grammy-winning star.
Spears, 32, has signed on to perform 50 shows each in 2014 and 2015 at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino.
She cuts a different figure from the typical Strip headliner. Other successful Las Vegas acts — including Shania Twain, Elton John and Celine Dion — have generally attracted an older audience. Judging from Friday's show, her fans are more likely to be found at a casino mega-club than in front of a slot machine.
Still, the show is not immune to nostalgia, one of the prime currencies in Las Vegas entertainment. It includes several callbacks to the 1990s and early 2000s, including plaid shirts tied around dancers' waists and a recap of the barely-there sparkling costume Spears wore in the Toxic music video.
Spears' younger self haunted the show, with clips of her early performances playing on huge monitors. Notably absent from those monitors, to the displeasure of some fans in the cheap seats, were any live close-ups of what was unfolding onstage.
Fans think they detect lip-syncing
On his way out, Shane Sodeman, of San Diego, complained that Spears hadn't donned the sexy school girl outfit or the skintight orange jumpsuit she wore in sexier days. A version of the jumpsuit was displayed in the lobby.
Maryn Harberg, 29, spent the night dancing in her $139 seat, on the upper end of the $59 to $179 scale. She'd come to the Strip for just one night, for Britney.
"I loved it," said the beaming Boston resident.
Officials with Caesars Entertainment Corp., which owns Planet Hollywood, say Spears sings her entire set. Entertainment Programming Vice-President Kurt Melien said she sings against a recorded track of her vocals to help her through the more physically gruelling parts of the set, and add the electronic undertones that characterize many of her songs. Some audience members said they thought they detected lip syncing.
Most of the show appeared physically gruelling. Spears has lost some of the crisp precision that characterized her dancing a decade ago, but she was in constant motion during the show, allowing her backup dancers to throw her through the air, and flying around in a huge angel costume for a performance of Everytime.
She spent downtime marching around stage and posing, banishing the spectre of her disastrous 2007 MTV performance, which also took place in Las Vegas, and was a career low point.
Younger divas Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, and Katy Perry lent moral support from the audience.
Casino executives say the gig may be extended if it proves a success.