Saturday, April 04, 2009

Aussie Gambling Reforms Close to Collapse - Gambling911 - 3rd April 2009

The revolutionary reform of Victoria's $5-billion-a-year gambling industry, which would end Tatts and Tabcorp's duopoly control of pokies by handing ownership to venues, is on the brink of collapse.

That's the news courtesy of The Australian:

"Gaming Minister Tony Robinson warned that the Government would have no choice but to walk away from its reforms if Opposition parties continued to block them in the upper house.

"The Coalition and the Greens, whose support Mr Robinson needs, hit back, accusing the Government of trying to ram through a flawed bill by scaremongering.

"The minister said his plan to auction pokies to individual venues and slash TAB's turnover tax on racing would collapse, leaving the industry and its 100,000 employees in chaos, unless the bill to achieve it passed in the next session of parliament in early May. He threatened to renew the duopoly deal if the "Opposition and the Greens would not support the bill. A nasty political brawl looms over the deadlock. The Government is expected to portray the Opposition and the Greens as lackeys of the two gambling giants."

Gambling911.com spoke with Australian Media Man, Greg Tingle regarding the gambling reforms issue:

"Things are still heating up in Australia on the gaming front. Australian's are amongst the world's biggest gamblers be it in clubs, hotels, casinos or online casinos. You can imagine the competition for the entertainment dollar, and of course the Australian government wants their cut also. The knives are out. Australian professional sports codes are upping the ante with magazine front cover promotions, in house sports betting like Betezy's BunnyBet, and so it goes on. In the meantime the world goes through a recession but the Australian gambling market looks pretty healthy."

Tingle deals with the online gambling community himself out of Australia and he claims times have never been better.

"Our numbers here at Media Man Australia are still holding up. We (Media Man Australia) had our recession a couple of years back but the last few years have been full steam ahead. That's an indication that the gambling sector, online gaming, igaming and the brave new world of internet portals are here to stay. Overseas operators still want in to Australia and for many like PokerStars, PartyGaming and The Bingo Affiliates, the internet is the way to go, backed up by "free to play" .net websites, complimented by live shows and offline promotions at the likes of Crown, Star City and Burswood Casino. Indications show that the industry is going to be further regulated, however as the ACMA blacklist policy shows there's going to be a few challenges and teething problems as the Australian government tries to regulate an industry that can be traced back to the underworld, 'Underbelly' days and the mob in Vegas and Chicago. If there ever was a "casino economy" the time is now."

Media Man Australia Profiles

Australian Casinos

Australian Pokies

Casino News

Australian Casino News

Poker News
PKR Add Omaha - Bluff Europe - 4th April 2009

PKR.com revolutionised online poker with customisable and controllable avatars, merging our favourite game with The Sims in a way that worked amazingly. Now the site has announced updates to their software including the addition of PLO.

Pot-Limit Omaha and its split-pot variant, Omaha 8, are two games steadily growing in popularity online. Many claim that PKR’s PLO games are the softest on the web, so you have no excuse not to check them out.

Marketing Director Simon Prodger said, “Our community is highly valued and as we grow we like to make sure we provide our players with exactly what they need. Many of the features in our updates are in response to popular demand and we are constantly working on improvements for the future.”

Media Man Australia Profiles

PKR

PKR Poker

PKR Casino News

Poker News

Friday, April 03, 2009

Aussie Senator Admits Error in Internet Censorship Policy, by Brett Collson - Poker News Daily - 2nd April 2009

A blacklist authored by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) aiming to censor various “indecent” websites, including online poker sites, leaked last month with the help of anonymous sources. Now, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy is beginning to own up to errors within his controversial internet censorship policy following an uproar from the Australian community.

Among the more than 2,000 blacklisted sites were numerous online poker sites, including PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, as well as sites with hyperlinks to such banned sites. These websites were scheduled to be secretly blocked by Australia’s Internet service providers (ISPs). The list was leaked by wikileaks.com, a leading online antagonist of government censorship and a supporter of freedom of information made up of anonymous submissions.

ABC TV’s “Q&A” program that aired on March 26 was Senator Conroy’s first major media appearance to discuss the government's internet censorship plans. The response from viewers was substantial as more than 2,000 people sent in web and video questions regarding the government’s censorship proposals.

“We’ve never seen anything like the avalanche Stephen Conroy has generated,” said the show’s host, Tony Jones, when introducing Conroy.

Conroy’s admissions during the broadcast created even more of a stir and left considerable doubt regarding the government’s ability to filter the internet without unintentionally blocking legitimate websites. He acknowledged that images taken by artist/photographer Bill Henson were added to the prohibited websites list in error, and cast blame on the “Russian Mob” for the addition of a dentist’s site to the list, saying that the Mob hacked into the dentist’s site. Several other sites were on the blacklist even though they changed hosting providers and cleaned up their sites several years ago.

“The classification board looked at (Bill Henson’s) website and actually said it’s PG,” Conroy said. “A technical error inside ACMA I’m advised included it, but it was actually cleared by the Classification Board, so it shouldn’t be on the list.”

“I’ve asked ACMA in the last few hours to go through their entire list again to see if there are any other examples of this.”

Conroy’s comments raised concerns from Australians about freedom of speech issues. Because the community doesn’t have access to the blacklist they’re unaware of the criteria used in the banning process.

Such a ban on poker websites would have a huge effect in Australia, where the industry has been thriving even despite recent restrictions enforced by ACMA. The Internet Gambling Act 2001, which has been around for years, makes it unlawful to provide an interactive gambling service to a customer physically present in Australia. Only recently has ACMA become more determined in restricting such illegal material.

Some of the biggest poker tournaments in the world take place in Australia, including the multi-million dollar Aussie Millions as well as the Asia Pacific Poker Tour, Asian Poker Tour, and Australia-New Zealand Poker Tour. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

Media Man Australia Profiles

Poker

Poker News
Poker News Media Updates

Media Man Australia Profiles

Poker

Poker News

Casino

Online Casino News

Casino News

Casino News Media Profiles

Poker

Poker News

Casino

Online Casino News

Casino News

Thursday, April 02, 2009

PKR Ups The Ante

1st April 2009

LONDON, England - (PRESS RELEASE)- Next-generation poker room PKR.com has released a new upgrade to its award-winning software that adds a range of new games and features to its already market leading offering.

New games:

• Omaha Hi/Lo – Pot Limit and Limit variants of the popular split-pot game are now available across cash games, Sit & Go's and MTTs.
• Mini roulette – The world's favourite casino table game follows Blackjack and Casino Hold'em onto PKR.com's embedded game roster.

New features

• Timebank – Players facing difficult decisions can now take more time to make the right move. In cash games, the more hands you are dealt means more time added to your bank – up to the table maximum – while in tournament play the additional time allotted to each player is fixed.
• Break skips – Available at the final tables of all tournaments, players can now opt to skip the break. If all remaining players choose this option, the action continues.

PKR Shop items

• A raft of cool new items has arrived in the PKR Shop. PKR.com players will be able get their hands on a wide range of high-end electronics as well as fantastic new poker books, accessories and subscriptions to PKR.com's partner training site Bluefire Poker, hosted by high stakes poker prodigy Phil Galfond.

Marketing Director Simon Prodger said. "Our community is highly valued and as we grow we like to make sure we provide our players with exactly what they need. Many of the features in our updates are in response to popular demand and we are constantly working on improvements for the future.

Media Man Australia Profiles

PKR

PKR Casino

PKR Poker

PKR Casino News

Poker News

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Online Poker site offer Champions League Prizes - 30th March 2009

The Champions League final takes place in Rome on the 27th May and could well be another all English affair. With Arsenal, Chelsea, United and Liverpool all into the quarter finals, this years competition has again been dominated by Premiership teams.

PKR.com offer players 3D virtual online poker allowing users to change appearance, dress code as well as emotional behavior. The site will be giving away several VIP packages to players each worth $3,500.

The prizes can only be won by Gold, Platinum and Diamond club members who finish top of the PKR points earners table in April. The packages include, flight's, two nights accommodation in a luxury hotel and excellent seats in the ground.

Marketing Director Simon Prodger said, "The Champions League Final is the most celebrated event on the European football calendar. We are extremely happy to offer this fantastic incentive to our players, many of whom have as much of a penchant for the green turf of the football pitch as they do for the poker baizes."

PKR are famous for being the first internet site to offer 3D games and have now acquired millions of players from around the globe.

Media Man Australia Profiles

PKR

PKR Casino

PKR Poker

Poker News
Internet Filtering Continues to be Hot Topic in Australia - Gambling911 - 31st March 2009

The coverage related to Internet filtering in Australia continues to be a hot topic. A report aired just the other night with some 377 plus people commenting on what was transpiring. As Gambling911.com has been reporting, the Australian government, led by Communications Director Stephen Conroy, has been working to filter some 2000 plus websites they claim were "indecent" but as it turns out, a number of those sites were related to online poker, religion and politics.

One individual wrote:

"The fact that the black list already contains politically controversial sites -of religions with which the government does not agree- should be taken as a sign of things to come. That information on euthanasia has been blocked is fairly hypocritical. It was legal in the Northern Territory under 15 years ago. The filter only covers http traffic - not peer to peer traffic. Anyone hosting illegal content over http is advertising their location. Surely distributors of illegal content would use P2P."

Another had this to say:

"Both during his appearance on Insight and Q&A last week, Conroy described it as a "Genuine conundrum" that blacklists have to be secret in order to work - therefore disenabling legitimate sites from knowing and protesting their blacklisting. I don't really see how it is a "Conundrum". If the sites are blocked, then supposedly people won't be able to access them ANYWAY. So what's wrong with transparency? And those who really want to view illegal sites will already know of them and can bypass."

Our man on the street, Greg Tingle, had this to say:

"I'm an adult and if I wish to watch adult porno that should be my business only. If I want to visit a poker or online casino website to place a bet, so be it. If I want to link to Betfair, I should have every right to. Here's a movie to watch, John Carpenter's 'They Live'. Part science fiction thriller and part black comedy, the film echoed contemporary fears of a declining economy, within a culture of greed and conspicuous consumption common among Americans in the 1980s. In They Live, the ruling class within the monied elite are in fact aliens managing human social affairs through the use of subliminal media advertising and the control of economic opportunity. Rudd, any bells ringing here. Liberal, you have found your next election winner I believe. The way this is going Australia is heading for a riot which will make Cronulla, Maroubra, Thailand, China and France look like child's play. Rudd and Conroy, it's happening on your watch. Is the Australian government happy with themselves now. I would suggest that some Australian politicians are going to do well to get bodyguards, if they don't have them already, such is the dislike of some of their jackass policy, and some of them are the clowns that signed off some of this garbage."

This is a hot topic that won't be going away any time soon. (Credit: Gambling911)

Media Man Australia Profiles

Casino News

Online Casino News

Australian Casino News

Poker News

Monday, March 30, 2009

Casino News Media Website Network Updated

Websites

Casino News Media

Media Man Australia

Australian Casino News

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Mickey Rourke Headlines Celebrity Bounty Tournament at DoylesRoom - Gambling911 - 28th March 2009

Mickey Rourke Headlines Celebrity Bounty Tournament at DoylesRoom

From 9 ½ Weeks to The Wrestler, no actor has lived the Hollywood dream like Mickey Rourke. Giving his all on the movie set, boxing ring and wrestling mat, Mickey’s true grit and talent are undeniable. Mickey will now take on challengers of another kind, DoylesRoom.com poker players.

DoylesRoom.com today announced the guest list for the DoylesRoom Celebrity Bounty Tournament. Mickey Rourke teams up with returning bounty celebs; billionaire heiress Nicky Hilton and Sopranos star Jamie-Lynn Sigler. New to the celebrity cast is the multi-talented singer and actress, Eve. With over 7 million albums sold, numerous movie roles and a BET, MTV and a Grammy award under her belt, this self-made queen of hip hop is up to any challenge. These 4 celebrity guests join 10-time WSOP winner Doyle Brunson, and poker’s famed educator and statistician, Mike Caro, for a blockbuster evening of poker.

It all kicks off on Thursday, April 2nd at 9:30 pm ET as the star-studded cast takes to the tables and the Celebrity Bounty Tournament begins. For a $27.50 buy-in, players compete in this fast action multi-table Texas Hold’em tournament. One lucky online poker player can win a $25,000 cash prize by knocking out all three key bounties. A handsome $5,000 consolation prize will be awarded if a single player knocks out two key bounties and $500 will be awarded to the player who knocks out any single bounty. First-time players have nothing to lose and everything to gain, as DoylesRoom.com will generously issue a full-refund of their buy-in and fees.

Since 2005, the weekly Doyle’s Bounty is the online poker world’s benchmark for guest bounty style tournaments. Its success has directly contributed to the crossover between mainstream entertainment and the excitement of online poker. (Credit: Gambling911)

Media Man Australia Profiles

Mickey Rourke

DoylesRoom.com

Doyle Brunson

Texas Hold’em

Poker

Poker Celebrities

Poker News
Poker Mag Launches new Poker Academy - 24th March 2009

With Poker being one of the most favoured of all gambling games, it was only a matter of time before professional tutorials were in demand.

One of the first to do so has been the well known poker magazine Bluff Europe, as it announced the launch of its new poker academy. The academy will be a series of tours, where the public are given lectures and advice from professional poker players.

The tour starts on the 4th April and will take place at The Casino of the Empire in London. The lectures are open to all and will cover various concepts in professional poker, including luck and variance, dealing with defeat and bankroll management.

After the lectures there will also be tournaments scheduled for attendees where they will be given direct supervision from some of the best players in the world.

The Editor and Chief at Bluff Europe, Michael Caselli said, “I’m really excited about the pros we have involved, we’ll be announcing who they are shortly, but let’s just say they are huge.”

Bluff also revealed that each series of the tours would be presided over by online poker professionals along with Bluff columnist Alex Rousso.

Alex Rousso went on to say, “This is a great opportunity for poker enthusiasts to learn to improve their games with the help of some of the best players around.”

Media Man Australia Profiles

Bluff

Casino Press

Poker Media

Poker

Poker News