Gambling & Entertainment Blog

OLBG.com announced as new sponsor at Cheltenham Festival 2012
(Bristol, UK, 16th February 2012) Sports Betting Community site OLBG.com are proud to confirm their sponsorship of the Mares Hurdle at Cheltenham Festival. From 2012, the race will be called the OLBG Mares Hurdle (for The David Nicholson Trophy). The first race under the new sponsorship will take place at 4.40pm on Tuesday 13th March 2012. “Our sports betting community at OLBG looks forward to the opening day of Cheltenham Festival with the same excitement as kids look forward to Christmas morning,? says Stefanie Reeve, PR Manager. ?We hope our involvement will help make the most exciting betting week of the year even more fun for all of the OLBG members.? The Grade 2 National hunt race is open to mares aged four years and older, and was originally added to the Cheltenham Festival in 2008 in memory of the iconic horse racing trainer and jockey, David Nicholson, whose death in 2006 robbed jump racing of one of its best-known personalities. Richard Moffat, Chief Operating Officer at OLBG.com says, ?OLBG will continue to honour David Nicholson?s memory and outstanding contribution to National Hunt Racing and through our sponsorship, we hope to work with Jockey Club Racecourses, Cheltenham Racecourse, The Thoroughbred Breeders Association and others to help improve the opportunities for mares in the sport.” The OLBG Mares Hurdle will be run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about two miles and four furlongs and consists of nine hurdles. Top jockey Ruby Walsh has won the race three years in a row riding Willie Mullins? Quevega. # # # About OLBG.com OLBG.com is a sports betting community where knowledgeable punters discuss, analyse and make predictions on a wide variety of sporting and non-sporting events – from football matches and horse races to new football club managers and X-Factor eliminations. The community provides an interactive microcosm of the mindset of online gamblers and their opinions of the stories of the day, from the latest antics of football celebrities to the impact of whip rules on horse racing betting. Thousands of comments on breaking sports news stories and upcoming sporting events are added daily. Contact: Stefanie Reeve, PR Manager Company Name: OLBG.com Telephone Number: +44(0)7532 058330 / +44(0)1179 856 992 Email Address: Stefanie@OLBG.com Web site address: http://www.olbg.com Press Releases

Harry Redknapp as prospective England manager splits bookies
England?s legion of sportsbooks are split on whether they want overwhelming favorite Harry Redknapp to go ahead and take the national team job. Ever since Fabio Capello disagreed with the FA on the John Terry issue and resigned there has only been one name on the lips of fans, players, managers and the media the entire universe. Even if ?arry does wheel and deal his way to the FA?s ivory towers it?s questionable as to whether he?ll be able to turn around the fortunes of a team full of controversial characters. As far as the bookies are concerned there?s a split. Sky Bet?s Helen Jacob told us Redknapp getting the job would be ?a great results? as his short price has forced punters to look at candidates at much longer odds. Garry McGibbon, spokesperson for Stan James, was of much the same opinion and said: ?Redknapp is actually a small winner for us, presumably because he is such a short and unattractive price at 2/9.? The larger of the three sportsbooks we spoke to, William Hill, were less happy with the prospect of ?arry getting the job. Graham Sharpe stated ?anyone but ?arry? would be a good result for them as 80% of the money staked on the next boss had gone on Redknapp. Even though it may seem otherwise the job is actually open to other men apart from football?s jowelliest man. A dozen are in the hat and seeing as Redknapp?s odds are so short a number have seen a fair bit of money staked. The FA is thought to favor a British candidate and it?s something the punters are clinging onto. For this reason, and the fact that he?s the current caretaker, Stuart Pearce has seen heavy backing. Hills report the money staked on the Under-21 boss is third behind only ?arry and Guus Hiddink with Sky Bet reporting their ?worst results? would be either Pearce and Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho. Stan James are looking favorably at a Pearce appointment but still only called it a ?decent winner? Their biggest loss would be if another Englishman got the job. ?Roy Hodgson is a giant loser for us having been backed at 20/1, but if he does get the job we’ll be shocked – he’s already managed 20 teams in his career and has only ever won trophies in Scandanavia. It’s hardly the CV of a world beater,? spokesperson Garry McGibbon admitted. Although the media like to make you think otherwise the coronation of Redknapp will take place at the end of the seas at the earliest. That?s if it happens at all. His current employers far outstrip the FA in terms of potential success and if Spurs were to make the Champions League you wouldn?t blame ?arry for turning down the FA. The bad news is some of the bookies will be in for a hiding should this take place. Sports News

Singapore thanks casinos; Wynn has nothing to hide; Man enters casino with ID belonging to wife
Singapore?s two casinos have been held up as one of the main reasons for tourism growth. When they were first opened up, the casinos were permitted as the state hoped for an increase in tourism. 2011 seeing a record number testifies to this. The city/state?s tourism authority reported arrivals up 13% to 13.2million with Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands named as the two most important factors. In addition, the tourism authority noted revenue was up 17% to $22.2billion (US$17.8bn). Wynn Resorts CEO Steve Wynn has sent a memo to employees telling them their donation to the University of Macau was above board. The internal memo, obtained by Reuters, told colleagues the US$135m complied with all “applicable laws and regulations.” The Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry into the donation was announced earlier this week and comes as the firm is embroiled in a court case with their largest shareholder Kazuo Okada. Wynn doesn?t gloss over Okada in the memo and his view that it has more to do with a new Asian project than anything else. “In breaking ground recently on his Philippine project, Mr. Okada not only defied the wishes of the board, he became a significant new competitor,” Wynn said in the memo. The next turn in their tumultuous friendship comes later this month when the court case involving disclosure of certain information to Mr Okada comes before a judge. A Singapore man has been detained after attempting to use a false ID to enter Resorts World Sentosa. The 41-year-old attempted to enter one of Singapore?s two casino business locations even though he was under an exclusion order (EO). Best of all?the ID belonged to his 40-year-old wife. The offence took place on September 4, 2011 and comes to court later today when his fate will be revealed. Under the National Registration Act, Chapter 201, the man could be liable to a fine not exceeding $10,000 and a ten-year stretch at Singapore?s pleasure. There?s a charge for attempting to enter the casino without levy payment carrying a further fine of up to $1,000. They are also investigating his wife to see if she abetted the offender in providing the ID. Even after the court case one question remains. In relation to the ID, who comes out of this worse, the husband or wife? Casino News

Caesars CEO Gary Loveman promises Boston a mundane casino
Shares in Caesars Entertainment have slipped since last week?s initial public offering, closing Tuesday at $12.59. That?s well above the $9 opening price, but a far cry from the first day of trading when the casino company’s stock peaked at $17.90. In fact, the stock has fallen every single day since the IPO. You know what that means? Time for Caesars to pump up the volume. On Tuesday, Caesars CEO Gary Loveman spoke to local cognoscenti (including Mayor Thomas Menino) at the Boston Harbor Hotel, making the case for why his company should be allowed to construct a casino at East Boston?s Suffolk Downs horse track. The former Harvard professor and current local resident was the latest casino rep to have offered to bear the one true ring, er, the one casino license eastern Massachusetts has to give. But that scheming Steve Wynn wants it so he can build his own joint in suburban Foxborough. If this were the 18th century, these two would fight a duel (perhaps in the desert, with shovels). But since we live in a supposedly enlightened age, we get dueling podium speeches. Woo-hah… Early in his presentation, Loveman quoted a recent Boston Globe article in which the gambling industry was likened to wolves at the door. Later, Attorney General Martha Croakley voiced her suspicion that Loveman was trying to convince his audience ?that you?re a sheep in sheep?s clothing.? Proving he?ll always have a stand-up comedy career to fall back on, Loveman replied, ??I?m sure that once you read my tax return and fingerprint my children … we?ll know each other very well.? Loveman proceeded to dismiss other tall tales his well-heeled audience may have heard from anti-gambling critics during the long fight to bring casinos to Massachusetts. First of all, casinos aren?t scandalous; they?re ?entirely noncontroversial? and ?increasingly mundane.? So the message is: boring as shite a Caesars Entertainment casino may be, but it will grow into a mundanity ?that all of you will be proud of.? Loveman cited studies showing that, far from casinos increasing crime, the ?tremendous amount of law enforcement? operating within range of a major gaming joint actually increases local real estate values. And far from preying on the lower socio-economic demographic, Loveman said casinos tended to attract high net worth individuals who were “very judicious in the management of their finances.” Loveman agreed that addiction was ?a very problematic issue? that the company took ?exceptionally seriously.? But since 99 out of 100 people don?t have gambling problems, Loveman feels that ?if the country wants to get in the business of deciding what decisions all of us can make responsibly, we have a big agenda ahead of us.? Having demonstrated that all the controversy was overblown, Loveman lavished praise on Boston?s appeal to international travelers, on whom the US land-based casino industry is increasingly dependent. ?The fastest growing sector of the U.S. commercial casino industry are international visitors, especially Asian visitors. To the degree such visitors are attracted to your location, there is a segment of business that you can enjoy that you can?t if they are not actually there.? But enough about you, here?s more about Caesars. We?re bloody awesome. We?ve got over 50 locations around the world. None of them in Macau or Singapore or Manila, mind you, but Japan?s looking good, we think. We?ve just bought a new free-play social gaming developer! It added another $200m or so to our $19.6b debt, but really, after a while, the numbers sort of stop meaning anything. We?re literally too big to fail, so your investment is safe with us. Go Red Sox! Casino News

Congress reaches tentative deal on payroll legislation; no sign of poker language
On Tuesday, Poker Players Alliance director of grassroots and external affairs Drew Lesofski cautioned Pocket Fives that the chances of online poker legislation being added to the payroll tax cut extension bill currently dominating the Washington political scene was ?not likely.? Lesofski?s statement was followed by news that congress had tentatively reached a deal on the payroll tax cut as well as associated legislation involving reimbursements for doctors who treat Medicare patients (aka the ?doc fix?) and the extension of jobless benefits — the latter Lesofski now suggests is a “more likely” candidate to receive an online poker appendage. Details of the deal could emerge if approved by a bipartisan panel on Wednesday, and could come up for a vote in the House as early as the end of this week. House Republicans had earlier signaled their willingness to drop their demand for the payroll tax cut to be offset by spending cuts elsewhere, but whether poker will be included as a revenue generator to offset the effects of the unemployment benefits extension and the ?doc fix? remains an open question. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), the wellspring from which all US online poker players? hopes and dreams appear to flow, said he preferred the payroll legislation be fast-tracked to minimize meddling (by people other than himself). ?I would rather have the conference committee [finalize the legislation?s wording]. If the conference committee does it, it is a non-amendable item. If we get a free-standing bill, it is amendable 1,000 times.? So if Reid can convince conference committee members to accept an online poker provision as part of the legislation, those rank and file members of the House and Senate who are opposed to online poker would have to defeat the entire legislative package in which poker was wrapped. Then again, President Obama may not take kindly to Reid slipping in a borderline controversial pet project that might jeopardize passage of the ?real? legislation. Obama said congress must pass the legislation ?now, without drama and without delay. No ideological sideshows to gum up the works, no self-inflicted wounds.? Tuesday also saw the release of an op-ed co-signed by Rep. Mary Bono-Mack (R-CA) and Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), both of whom have recently chaired online gambling hearings in their respective chambers. The op-ed (which appeared briefly on The Hill website on Monday before being taken down and reposted Tuesday) is titled Failing to Consult with Stakeholders on Internet Gaming is an Unacceptable Gamble; the stakeholders in question being native American tribes. The two pols claim their recent hearings made one thing ?very clear: although collaboration has occurred between lawmakers and large-chain casinos, similar conversations must also take place between these same legislators and leading tribal gaming enterprises.? The op-ed alludes to Reid?s obsession with ensuring Nevada-based casino giants end up with the biggest slice of the pie by stating that it?s not the job of congress ?to pick winners and losers; it?s our job to make sure everyone gets a fair shot. And right now, we believe Native Americans are facing a stacked deck ? It?s imperative that we be deliberate and thoughtful in our process ? as we consider the future of internet gaming.? So will Reid be deliberate and thoughtful in his approach, or will he damn the torpedoes and attach a poker bill to whatever legislation looks most likely to pass? Should be an interesting week or two… Legal News

Zynga in -unique position- to enter -very interesting- online gambling biz
Zynga?s first quarterly earnings report since the social gaming developer went public in December saw Q4 revenues total $311.2m, a 59% bump over the same period in 2010. Online game revenue accounted for $283.9m (+51% from 2010) while advertising brought in $27.3m (+230%). Zynga titles Farmville, Mafia Wars and Poker accounted for 78% of revenues. Despite the rosy numbers, costs associated with the IPO (including $510m in stock-based compensation issued to employees) resulted in a $435m net loss for the quarter. For the full year 2011, Zynga?s revenues were up 91% to $1.14b. Games accounted for the lion?s share ($1.07b, +85%) while ad revenue was up 226% to $74.5m. Looking ahead, Zynga is forecasting the second half of 2012 will grow faster than the first half. Looking closer, Zynga?s daily active users rose 13% to 54m, while monthly active users rose 23% to 240m. Monthly unique user stats rose 38% to 153m. Monthly unique payers, a far more crucial stat in revenue terms, rose 13% to 2.6m. The number of paying users was 12.2m, roughly 5% of the total. Player conversion was 1.9%, up from 1.7% in Q3. Zynga owned the top-five social games chart, which included the company?s most recent release, Castleville. Zynga?s mobile offering topped 15m in daily active users, a five-fold increase year on year and a gain of 2m in just the past month. Zynga released five new mobile games in Q4, and three Zynga titles ? Dream Zoo, Words With Friends and Poker ? placed in the top 10 iOS games for the quarter. On a conference call with investors, Zynga COO John Schappert said the company viewed mobile as ?a big opportunity ? as devices become more powerful, this is yet another canvas to grow.? Schappert also said progress was being made on Project Z, the standalone social network Zynga hopes will help decrease its dependence on Facebook. Project Z is currently in closed beta testing with no release date scheduled. Project Z might be just the platform to assist Zynga?s desire to expand into real-money online gambling. According to Schappert: ?I think it?s actually a very interesting opportunity, because we?re in an unique position. We have the world?s largest online poker game and the most social online poker game we?ve been running for four years. We had record results last quarter. And it?s one of the top six games on Facebook. So I think we?re in a very good position and it?s a category that?s interesting to us.? The company has already launched Zynga Bingo, the first game to fall under its new Zynga Casino umbrella. In other Zynga news, the company inked a deal with toymakers Hasbro to develop toys and games based on Zynga titles. Given Zynga CEO Mark Pincus? alleged proclivity for duplicating what has gone before, we?re expecting a bunch of re-tooled GI Joes with the letter Z emblazoned across their chests. Probably why they didn’t sign a deal with Mattel, because Barbie’s ample assets would have rendered that letter completely illegible. Business News