Gambling Facts

The controversial issue of casino gambling in Alabama came to a peak when the state’s governor, Bob Riley, ordered a raid on a new $87.5 million casino in the middle of the night and the action was halted in its tracks by a judges blocking order.

LA Times: Judge halts state raid of $87M bingo casino in latest round of Alabama’s fight over gambling

Near 40 Alabama state troopers gathered before sunrise, Wednesday, for a Gov. Bob Riley approved raid. The target: bingo machines at a new, allegedly illegal, $87 million casino near Dothan.

Local officials moved quickly to defend the targeted site, going to a judge’s home after midnight to get an order blocking the raid. The order was given to police before they could seize the 1,700 electronic bingo machines at Country Crossing.

County Commissioner Mark Culver denounced the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling’s attempt to shut down the bingo and entertainment complex, which created 1,300 jobs in the struggling community.

Bill Eadington, a University of Nevada at Reno gambling expert, said Alabama casino investors relied on questionable laws to build, but casinos are hard to close when restaurants and hotels, that produce lots of jobs, are added.

ABC News: Judge Halts State Raid of Big Alabama Bingo Center

A rural Alabama county hungry for economic development staved off a state raid on a new bingo and entertainment center despite Bob Riley’s wishes to close it. The county won a middle-of-the-night court order barring the raid as agents from the governor’s anti-gambling task force massed near Country Crossing, an $87 million complex near Dothan.

Houston County Commissioner Mark Culver got the order from a judge’s home at 1:30 a.m. delivered it to the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling assembling for a pre-dawn raid. He was trying to save 1,300 jobs in a county with 8.7 percent unemployment.

The Houston County Commission approved the construction of Country Crossing in 2008 and created a method for it to issue up to $70 million in bonds for construction. Country Crossing sought to stop the raid, claiming it would harm the bond issue that’s supposed to be paid off with bingo revenue.

Alabama gambling centers have been expanding with restaurants and other attractions and portraying themselves as economic development projects providing needed jobs in a recession.

AP News: Midnight order halts Ala. raid of $87M casino

A Gov. Riley approved raid on bingo machines at a new, $87 million casino by himself was stopped before dawn on Wednesday by judge’s order blocking it. Houston County Commissioner Mark Culver secured the judge’s approval and signature.

It was a blow for the governor in Alabama’s odd, ongoing struggle for control over the state’s mushrooming gambling industry. Culver said, “We are going to do everything we can to protect the jobs of the people of Houston County,” in reference to the incident. The governor claims the machines are illegal and simply an attempt to compete with Mississippi’s coastal casinos.

Circuit Judge P.B. McLauchlin agreed that seizing the machines “would do irreparable harm” to the bond transaction and blocked any raid pending a court hearing Jan. 20.

A total of 169 individuals were arrested during a police raid on an illegal gambling on cockfighting competition in Texas including children as young as seven.

They will receive varying charges according to their activities on site. Children were released to relatives and 118 fighting cocks will be exterminated due to the ruling of a judge on the matter.

Illegal gambling and illegal cockfights

Police raided an illegal gambling cockfight in a small town near Fort Worth, TX, and arrested 169 viewers (among whom 15 children as young as 7 were present) and cock owners, and seized over 100 roosters condemned to fight to the death.Cockfighting is illegal in 39 states including Texas, and an illegal gambling misdemeanor in the remaining 11, but it continues to flourish.

Steroids , illegal gambling and other supplements are often given to the birds to heighten aggression. Sometimes metal knives are strapped to their legs to ensure that fights end in the death. Law enforcement authorities say that cockfighting rings are often tied up in drug smuggling and money laundering rackets.

Illegal gambling cockfights often have up to $30,000 purses riding on them. Owners pay about $300 to enter a bird for an event, and spectators pay a further $30 to enter. Last month saw several raids on fights around the US.

Authorities in Texas said 169 people were arrested and 114 roosters were seized during a raid on a local cockfight. Saturday afternoon’s raid occurred after authorities kept the site under surveillance for two weeks.

County Sheriff Larry Fowler said charges will vary among those arrested in the area barn but illegal gambling will be one of them. “The people who were arrested for illegal gambling will go before a judge and be charged with a gambling offense,” Fowler said. “We will look into charging some who were arrested with federal charges. A charge of engaging in organized crime is a possibility for some.”

The Star-Telegram said authorities found a number of dead and injured roosters at the cockfighting site, along with an unspecified amount of drugs and money.

Over 100 Arrested in Cockfighting Bust

Over 100 people were arrested as of Saturday night after police raided an illegal gambling rooster fight.  The Parker County Sheriff’s department found over 100 birds, injured and dead, along with drugs and children abandoned by fleeing parents as officers raided the scene.  The kids were taken into the custody of Child Protective Services while dozens of adults were sent to jail.

Cockfighting is a crime Sheriff Fowler says he’s never seen in Parker County.  Those arrested will face gambling charges and possibly felony charges for their involvement in the cockfighting operation.

Texans illegal gambling on a illegal cockfight that was raided Saturday leading to the arrest of 169 people were arrested, amongst them children as young as 7.

Poker Playing Priest

Poker playing priest is the new nick name of a Catholic paint-ball playing Father Andrew Trapp who made big news recently for his appearance on Poker Stars Million Dollar Challenge. Not only did the poker playing priest appear, but he almost made it through the last round. Though he didn’t win, he was able to raise $100,000 toward the construction of a new church in South Carolina.

Church celebrates as priest wins $100K in poker tourney

St. Michael Catholic Church in Garden City Beach needs over $1 million to build a new church. Father Andrew Trapp made a dent in that figure by winning $100,000 in the Poker Stars Million Dollar Challenge televised poker tournament.

Trapp’s final episode aired Sunday, and was watched by he and dozens of fellow church members at St. Michael’s. Trapp said he hopes his brief television fame shows people that priests are normal people. “This is an opportunity, hopefully, for people to see a young guy that’s a priest, that’s normal, that can have fun, have friends and try to do something great for the church.”

South Carolina’s Poker Playing Priest wins $100,000

Poker Stars Million Dollar Challenge left audiences stunned in October when S.Carolina poker playing priest Father Andrew Trapp beat NBA Champ John Salley, Team Poker Stars Pro Vanessa Rousso and her teammate and four-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu to win $100,000 and a chance to come back earlier this month for a crack at the $1,000,000 grand prize.

Fr. Trapp, the poker playing priest lost the final round of Fox TV’s “Poker Stars Million Dollar Challenge” on Dec. 27; but he still won $100,000. The winner was a 9-11 first responder at the World Trade Center.

Known as “Father Rambo” for his paintball play, the poker priest held rosary beads in a hand against Salley. After beating the former Pistons Bad Boy, Trapp shocked Rousso, and took home the six-figure prize when poker star Negreanu misread the strength of Trapp’s cards.

Trapp immediately donated all winnings to the St. Michael’s Church in Garden City, SC, where he’s associate pastor. His goal was to win the million dollar prize to help St. Michael’s build a new church, which is currently $1.5 million dollars short of its goal. In an interview, Trapp said, “I think I represented the church and the priesthood well, which was my main goal…I think my parishioners will be proud of me.

Church looks back at poker playing priest’s run for $1 million

St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Garden City, S.C., is in a four-year, $6.5 million fundraiser for a new church. “Our church family’s grown. We have over 3,000 [people] and 400 families,” said C. Griffith, a St. Michael’s member for more over 20 years.

Overcrowding isn’t the only issue at the Garden City church. Should a strong hurricane go through the area, St. Michael’s probably wouldn’t be standing in the aftermath.

As of Christmas, about $4 million was raised for building a church that’ll be at par with safety codes, hold over 900 people and bear hurricane-force winds. It’s a big upgrade from the old church. The project hopes to give new hope to worshipers at St. Michael’s.

Trapp’s played his role in bringing a new church to his parishioners. The poker playing priest appeared on the Poker Stars Million Dollar Challenge playing for $1 million wanting to break ground on the multi-million dollar construction project.

Trapp lost in the final round of the show to poker pro, Negreneau, but walked away from the competition with $100,000. The cash, he says, is going straight to who needs it the most — his parish.

The poker playing priest‘s winnings from Hollywood is putting quite the dent in construction costs for a new and improved St. Michael’s. There’s just $1.5 million to go, and those who gather at church each week say they’re more than thankful for such a generous donation to their future.

Poker playing priest went to take part in the Poker Stars Million Dollar Challenge on behalf of his parish on a mission to raise cash for a new church.

Belgian Gambling Laws

Gambling legislation is a point of contention all over the world today, specifically the new Belgian gambling laws which restrict online casino games. Many countries are changing their policies on the subject and organization, such as the European Union, are making very influential decisions with regards to all member states.

Despite wishes on behalf of the European Union that its mandates be acknowledged and followed, some countries still insist on going against the grain. A few such countries are France, Poland and most recently Belgium. Speculations indicate that these countries have crossed the line intentionally in order to test Michel Barnier, the new European Commissioner.

Belgium has stirred the subject to the brink of boiling by recently passing a law regulating online gambling that did not address several points of contention with EU rules, as found by the European Commission.

The European Commission gave an official Detailed Opinion to Belgian legislators which pointed out which parts of Belgian gambling laws needed to be amended in order to comply with EU law. Some of the points pointed out by the European Commission include: an unjustified limit on licenses, requirements of servers being located in Belgium, and forbidding citizens to participate in EU licensed and regulated internet gambling in Belgium.

Belgian gambling laws: Sigrid Ligne angry

Secretary General of the European Gaming and Betting Association, Sigrid Ligne, condemned Belgium’s action saying that, “The law is not only highly questionable from a legal point of view, a high level of consumer protection can be achieved by specific and targeted legislation, not by protecting the operators with a vested interest in the current situation.”

On December 3rd, lawmakers passed Belgian gambling laws without taking into considerations concerns that were voiced by the European Commission. In doing so, the Belgian Government has subjected itself to infringement proceedings that may be held by the EC which believes Belgian gambling laws are illegal within the EU framework.

Greyhound racing

Greyhound racing in the great state of Massachusetts has come to an end. The reason behind the recent change in policy is quite simple – greyhound racing was voted down by referendum. The 69-year old Raynham Park will see no more live greyhound racing as the result of 56% vote on behalf of the public against the sport.

Last lap for greyhound racing in New England

More than 3,000 people visited Raynham Park this weekend on the final day of live greyhound racing in Massachusetts and, possibly, New England. This is the result of a public referendum — 56% of voters favored banning the sport — and part of a national trend driven by a mix of animal-rights concerns and declining track attendance.

Live dog racing has ceased in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and, temporarily at least, Rhode Island. Greyhound racing continues at 23 tracks in seven states, 13 of them in Florida, according to the organization GREY2K USA, which formed in 2001. At that time there were 49 greyhound racing tracks in 15 states.

Many greyhound racing dogs will move to race elsewhere, but hundreds will be looking for new homes. Raynham is working with GREY2K and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell Animal Medical Center to aid their adoption.

“People who voted to end greyhound racing dog racing should step forward now and take a dog home,’’ Dorchak said. “This is the happy ending we all worked for, and these dogs make wonderful pets.’’

Industry can learn from greyhound ban

Rain Spot crossed the wire first in Saturday’s 10th race at Raynham Park, a track that’s been around for 69 years. Rain Spot’s race is the last dog race that will ever be run in Massachusetts, where voters decided the sport was cruel to animals and ended it.

Greyhound racing fell into decline by the mid-nineties when attendance reached pitiful levels. Casino competition, and a poor facility led to its demise, but what killed off dog racing was the public aversion to animal cruelty. Massachusetts voters passed the Greyhound Protection Act by a 56-44 margin.

Animal rights activists shed light on greyhound racing that had long tolerated owners killing dogs after their racing days were over. One story reported that the remains of 3,000 greyhounds were found on the property of a former racetrack security guard in Alabama.

Ironically, the greyhound industry did a great job curbing the greyhound racing dog killings. The industry teamed with dog lovers in an effort to find homes for retired racers. According to the Greyhound Racing Association of America, more than 152,000 greyhounds have been adopted as pets since 1990.

Gates close on live racing at Raynham

After 26 years calling greyhound races, Tony Bonaminion went into race-calling mode as easily as turning on his microphone. After yesterday’s races at the Raynham Park dog track, Bonaminion was out of a job and 75 years of live dog racing came to a close.

Patrons and employees, who turned out in massive numbers yesterday, were largely somber. For Peter Burke, director of racing, the Raynham track had been a family affair for years. “My two daughters and their mom work here,’’ he said. Burke started as a lead-out and worked his way up to being in charge of all racing at the track.

The biggest transition might be for the greyhound racing dogs themselves. Chuck Thomson, head of adoption at the Off-Track Pets facility, said the closing was the “end of an era.’’ Although Thomson’s office was only open for three hours a week, he always had several visitors who came by.

Lots of greyhound racing dogs need a home now. Louise Coleman, Greyhound Friends’ director, said 150 dogs from Raynham will not continue racing elsewhere and need to be adopted. The Greyhound Friends kennel in Hopkinton has taken in 50 dogs in the past six weeks. “It’s unfortunate that the people are being laid off, but the dogs are being laid off, too. Their job is done. We do the best we can to help them,’’ she said.

After decades of entertaining the public, Raynham racetrack must discontinue live greyhound racing on account of being voted down by the public in referendum.

Powerball lottery ticket

Powerball lottery ticket, according to Kentucky Lottery officials, worth $128.6 million dollars was sold prior to Saturday night’s drawing. Up to this point. The powerball lottery ticket remains unclaimed and only today, Monday the 28th December, will officials be able to narrow down which business the ticket was sold in.

$128.6 Million Powerball Lottery Ticket Sold in Ky.

Anyone who bought a Powerball lottery ticket in Kentucky is going to want to double-check it. Kentucky lottery officials say there was a single $128.6 million winning Powerball ticket sold in Georgetown, making it the largest jackpot ever won in Kentucky.

Kentucky Lottery spokesman Chip Polston said that prior to this jackpot, the largest jackpot won in Kentucky was $89.3 million in January, 1996. He said the last Powerball winner in the state was December 12, 2007, when a Bullitt County man won $33.6 million.

Lucky Powerball Player Hits The Jackpot

The Powerball jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing will be reset to $20 million. Lottery officials said a ticket sold in Kentucky won a $128.6 million jackpot in Saturday night’s drawing. One ticket in Florida matched five numbers, but not the Powerball number, to win $200 thousand.

The winning numbers were 32-36-37-41-52 and the Powerball number was 30. Thousands of tickets matched lesser winning Powerball combinations.

Winning Powerball lottery ticket sold in Georgetown, Ky.

Someone is holding a ticket for the largest Powerball ticket ever sold in Kentucky — $128.6 million.

Chip Polston, spokesman for the Kentucky Lottery, said Sunday that the winning ticket for Saturday’s Powerball jackpot was sold in Georgetown but that the holder or holders of the ticket have yet to come forward.

Lottery officials also couldn’t identify the store where the ticket was sold until Monday for security reasons, he said.

“We can’t wait to greet our first Powerball jackpot winner in two years,” Polston said. The odds of winning Saturday’s jackpot were more than 1 in 195 million.

The largest jackpot won previously in Kentucky was $89.3 million awarded in January 1996, and the last Powerball win in the state was in Dec. 12, 2007, when a Bullitt County man claimed a $33.6 million jackpot.

A $128.6 million powerball lottery ticket was sold in Georgetown, Kentucky and at this point, as one of the largest state jackpots ever won, it has not been claimed.

Online gaming company 888 just agreed to buy Wink Bingo for a price that could reach as high as $96 million. Following a large down payment, the remainder of the price will depend on the site’s performance in coming months. 888 made the purchase to increase their presents in the rapidly-growing online bingo market.

New York Times: 888 Buys Wink Bingo For Up to £60 Mln

Online gaming company 888 just agreed to acquire Wink Bingo from its current owner Daub Ltd for as much as 59.7 million pounds, and said that current trading remains strong and in line with projections.

888 develops new gaming products like bingo to help offset the effect of online gambling becoming illegal in the United States two years ago, which lead to the loss of half of the group’s sales income. Today, bingo is the fastest growing area of its online business.

“We are delighted to announce the Wink Bingo acquisition as an expansion of our B2C online Bingo footprint in the lucrative UK market. The transaction is financially attractive and will be earnings enhancing,” said Gigi Levy, 888′s CEO.

Details suggest 888 will first pay 11 million pounds to Daub on completion, followed by subsequent payments based on performance. Payments are set between five and six times the businesses earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in the year to March 31, 2011.

Wink Bingo saw revenue of 15 million pounds with pretax profit of 1.3 million pounds in the 11 months prior to November 30th.

Shares in 888 were up 1.1 percent, trading at 112.8 pence.

domain-b: 888 acquires online game Wink Bingo for $96 million

Gibraltar-based 888 Holdings Plc. Recently agreed to buy Wink Bingo for as much as £60 million ($96 million) in an effort to enhance the company’s presence in the online bingo market, which is the fastest-growing area of the internet gaming industry.

An initial payment of £11 million will be given to Wink’s current owners Daub Ltd., followed by as much as £48.7 million in late 2011 depending on performance. This second payment is capped at £59.7 million.

Wink Bingo arrived with a bang in early 2008, and soon became very well known. Sponsoring popular UK television show’s like Harry Hill’s TV Burp and running amusing adverts like the Dancing Dog helped Wink Bingo increase their player base by more than 60,000 players each month.

With this acquisition, 888 hopes to catch up with bingo competitors Gala Coral, PartyGaming and Gamesys. In July, 888 lost a bidding war with PartyPoker when trying to acquire Cashcade, owner of Foxy Bingo, which also sold for £96 million.

888 reported that trading in this fourth quarter remains strong, showing growth of about 8 per cent over the third quarter of 2009.

London Evening Standard: 888 gets the nod for online bingo business Wink

Online gambling company 888 today dished out £60 million for an internet bingo business that started less than two years ago.

888 will pay Daub Limited, owners of Wink Bingo, as much as £59.7 million for the bingo business, which also includes the brands Posh Bingo and Bingo Fabulous.

The fast-growing industry of internet is very attractive to online gaming firms like 888 and PartyGaming, which are both constantly looking for partnerships.

Wink Bingo was just launched in 2008 but already supports more than 60,000 active members, making it one of the more popular bingo sites on the net.

It saw revenues of £15 million and profits of £1.3 million during the first 11 months of 2009.

888 will pay £11 million up front, with the remainder of the price possibly reaching as high as £59.7 million – this depends on the site’s performance in the next year.

888 chief executive Gigi Levy said: “We are delighted to announce the Wink Bingo acquisition as an expansion of our online bingo footprint in the lucrative UK market.

“The Wink team has a proven track record of excellence and will be a great addition to our growing bingo business.”

Levy also remarked that trading at 888 “remains strong and is in line with management’s expectations”.

PartyGaming reported an unexpected increase in forth-quarter revenues, marking the first time in the last year and a half that they have seen growth. They attributed the growth to several factors, including the introduction of new games in their bingo and casino sections, and to a better loyalty system in their poker site. A strengthening dollar may also have contributed to the increasing success of the site.

Times Online: Online gaming groups say they are on winning streak

Two of the largest online gaming groups in Britain revealed yesterday that players are returning to the tables. PartyGaming just saw better their best quarter since the second quarter of 2008, while Sportingbet saw a similar increase in revenues.

PartyGaming reported growth across all categories, including internet bingo and online casino. KBC Peel Hunt, a stockbroker and advisory house, projected a 24% rise in revenue compared to the fourth quarter of 2008, making this the first rise in the past year and a half.

The site’s poker tables saw the biggest increases. PartyGaming recently revamped site and has been working hard to introduce better loyalty bonuses. PartyGaming’s chief executive Jim Ryan states, “Returning poker to growth has been a key focus for us. We are pleased to see that the initiatives introduced throughout the year are now feeding through into both operational and financial performance with increased player numbers and average net daily revenues.”

Meanwhile, Sportingbet spread a similar statement yesterday, remarking that the strength of their online sportsbook, which provides nearly 70% of their total revenue, has been thriving.

Financial Times: PartyGaming flush with poker revival

Poker revenue at PartyGaming returned to growth during the last quarter of 2009, showing the first increase in the last six quarters.

In a trading update, the internet gambling group revealed that major European-based poker operators have been facing strong competition from dominant US groups Full Tilt and PokerStars, which are using their liquidity in the unregulated US market to increase their strength in the European market.

Morgan Stanley suggets three reasons to explain PartyGaming’s poker recovery: a more regulated European market; a stronger dollar; and the company’s ever-improving loyalty schemes.

PartyGaming did not mention their early-stage merger discussions with Bwin, its Austrian-based online gambling rival. The company did, however, announce a £35m three-year loan, which it intends to use for mergers and acquisitions.

In a similar announcement, Sportingbet stated that it was confident of a “satisfactory outcome” for the next financial year. Sports betting represents almost 70% of group’s revenues and will be the main force behind their growth.

The New York Times: PartyGaming Sees FY Earnings Up on Poker

Online gambling firm PartyGaming announced that fourth-quarter trading was solid, due to a return to growth in their online poker operations. The company things full-year earnings may beat their own expectations.

PartyGaming’s revenue is in line with forecasts, though clean earnings )before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) are expected to be slightly ahead of projections.

PartyGaming said that both its online casino and internet bingo businesses were both performing well due to the introduction of new games, higher jackpot payouts, and their Cashcade acquisition back in July. In their sports betting operations, the company also benefited from a good run of results.

Analysts expect that PartyGaming will report EBITDA of about USD 132 million (GBP 81.4 million) for the fiscal year 2009, according to a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S poll of eight brokers.

British media on Sunday revealed that PartyGaming is in discussions with Austria’s bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, but bwin downplayed the report, saying it was not in any advanced talks. PartyGaming did not comment on market speculation.

A website has just been launched that aims to help users of netbook computers make the most out of online casinos, because not all casinos are created equal, and not all work well with netbook devices.

Since the advent of the netbook computers a few years ago, “web apps” have been popping up all across the internet. Web apps are programs that run entirely online – users do not have to download or install anything in order to use them. In fact, most programs that users would normally install on their home PCs now have online web app equivalents.

The world of online gambling is no exception. “No download” casino games are becoming more and more prevalent. These games use Flash technology to stream content across the internet, allowing players to enjoy real money casino games inside their web browser from any computer with an internet connection. These no download casinos are perfect for netbook users since there is nothing to install.

Now there is a website dedicated to helping people find the best online casinos to use with their netbooks. CasinoNetbook just launched, but already it offers more than 130 pages of content related to gambling on the internet using netbook computers. A simple sidebar navigation system leads readers through each section.

Essential information about netbook computers is provided, along with netbook reviews and and some recommendations about machines that are particularly well-suited to use with online gambling sites. The relationship between netbooks and online gambling is discussed.

The bulk of the site consist of lists and tables providing links to hundreds of no download casino games, including an entire section dedicated to games that can be played for free, using unlimited casino credits. This is presented alongside information about dozens of online casinos that offer netbook-compatible services, including casino deposit bonuses, online slots and blackjack tournaments, and more.

A blog has also been established on CasinoNetbook. The editors write a new post each day describing their experiences using specific online casino games and casino sites on their own netbook computers. This section gives readers access to first-hand accounts of what they can expect when using the various services that the site recommends.