A new bill was just introduced to the state senate of New Jersey that would allow Atlantic City casinos to offer online gambling services. The game terminals would have to be located in restricted areas of casinos and racetracks, and all equipment would have to be located within the boundaries of the city, making this more “local intranet” gambling than true internet gambling.

Press of Atlantic City: Legislation would permit online betting at Atlantic City casinos

New legislation introduced a few days ago would allow online gambling at casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The bill is sponsored by state Senator Raymond Lesniak. Specifically, it would allow “New Jersey residents to place wagers on casino games via the Internet.” All online games from blackjack to poker would be available.

The bill would require that all computers used for legal online gambling be located in a separate area of a casino, “but within the territorial limits of Atlantic County.”

An annual tax of 20% on gross revenue from online gambling would be paid into a casino revenue fund. A new unit would be created under the state’s Casino Control Comission called Division of Internet Wagering.

The Casino Control Commission along with the New Jersey Racing Commission would also allow the operation of online gambling terminals at racetracks, where “individuals who have registered to participate in Internet wagering may wager on games conducted at casinos in Atlantic City.”

WebProNews: New Jersey Considers Legalizing Online Gambling

A newly proposed law introduced in New Jersey would allow players there to gamble online through special websites run by casinos in Atlantic City.

The bill was introduced into the New Jersey State Senate last week by Senator Raymond Lesniak. Incidentally, Lesniak also introduced a different bill which asks New Jersey residents to vote on a constitutional amendment which would allow state-regulated sports betting at Atlantic City casinos.

Right now, New Jersey offers legal online gambling on horse races to local residents through the 4NJbets.com website. If this bill passes, the state will change the law to permit online versions of any game currently allowed in Atlantic City casinos, such as poker, blackjack and baccarat. The new online gambling system would be controlled and regulated by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, which would establish a new Division of Internet Wagering to manage operations and licensing.

“We’re happy that New Jersey has taken this issue into their own hands,” said iMEGA chairman Joe Brennan Jr.

StandardBred Canada: Gaming ‘Terminals’ Coming To NJ Tracks?

A newly proposed bill introduced by New Jersey state senator Raymond Lesniak could allow Atlantic City casinos to offer online gambling services to New Jersey residents. The bill reportedly has some support in the senate already, but those that do not want to online gaming at the state’s racetracks are voicing their displeasure.

An article by Press of Atlantic City states that Mark Juliano, who is chief executive officer of the three Trump Entertainment Resorts casinos in Atlantic City, revealed that the legislation appears to allow racetracks to also get video lottery terminals.

The report further states that any equipment used to run the new internet gambling system must be located within the territorial limits of Atlantic County, such as within a casino or at another secure location.

The bill reportedly states that the New Jersey Casino Control Commission might also let racetracks operate online gambling terminals. These terminals will likely be identical in appearance to slot machines found at local casinos.

From the first of the year, Estonians can gamble online. For now, only locally-hosted sites are allowed to operate. Any online gambling website in Estonia that does not meet new regulations will be blocked. In 2011, the country will open its online gambling industry to foreign operators.

The Baltic Times: Estonia Legalizes Online Gambling

Estonia recently legalized internet gambling in order to generate revenue through taxation.

The country is hoping to adopt the Euro next year and is frantically looking for further sources of income after suffering one of the hardest-hitting recessions in the EU.

This move to legalize online gambling was influenced in part by recent and very successful poker tournament held in the country. The tournament was sponsored by PokerStars, one of the largest online gambling sites in the world.

According to the Estonian Free Press, players will be able to use Estonian online gaming sites starting immediately. In 2011, Estonia’s internet gambling market will open to foreign operators.

“We are truly glad of this opportunity to start our partnership with Olympic as the leading casino entertainment provider in Central and Eastern Europe,” says Mor Weizer, Executive Manager of Playtech, who has been granted one of the first foreign licenses.

Estonian poker legend Imre Leibold believes development may be detrimental to Estonian players. “The possibility that online poker gaming could be restricted is not good news for us,” he said. “I believe and hope that the whole affair is resolved and that there will be several reasonable gaming locations on the market. However, if things get tough, one may have to consider moving residence or start working abroad like Estonian builders in Finland.”

Estonian Free Press: Estonia Legalizes Online Gambling

Following the success of the Baltic Poker Festival, held in Estonia organized by online poker site PokerStars, Estonia prepares to its doors to the global internet gambling market that.

Starting immediately, the Government will allow Estonian players to gamble online. The liberalization of online gambling is expected to help the nation financially through taxes imposed on gaming operators.

With the Estonian economy down by close to 36%, these changes will bring even more revenue in 2011 when the gambling market will open to international gaming operators that are able to satisfy the regulation requirements.

Until then, Estonians will be able to play only at locally-run sites, like the one set up by the Olympic Casino group that is running on Playtech software.

Now that online gambling in Estonia is as legal as it is in land-based casinos, here is hoping that no one will have to report about stories about things such as the Arvo Viool scandal – the ex-manager of the Fund for Furthering Culture who was arrested and imprisoned for stealing 500,000 Euros from the State to satisfy his gambling addiction.

Baltic Repots: Online Gambling Regulation Begins

Online gambling in Estonia has gone unregulated for many years, but now that is all changing since the government now requires online casinos to be physically hosted in Estonia.

Before January 1 2010, gambling sites could not be hosted Estonian servers, and players could freely use foreign hosted sites. The new Gambling Act reverses this; now, online gambling sites must be hosted on Estonian servers, and those not will be blocked.

For a company set up an online gambling site in Estonia, they must receive a license and agree to pay a 5% sales tax (excluding player winnings).

“As such, online gambling taxation in Europe is nothing new, it has been applied in most of the countries,” says Annika Vilu, spokeswoman of the Ministry of Finance. “Estonia’s tax rate is still one of the lowest in Europe.”

According to Tõnis Rüütel, executive director of Estonian Association of Gambling Operators, “There are countries with smaller tax rate, such as Malta and Gibraltar with 3 percent but we don’t want to have a reputation of a tax paradise. Also the situation so far has been absurd as the gambling addiction emerged in Estonia, but all of the income went elsewhere.”

If an online gambling site in Estonia does not meet these new requirements, its website will be blocked and its bank accounts will be frozen.

“We’ll see how the law comes into force, and if it will be possible to block the gambling sites not fit for the requirements, but some other countries have not been able to do it so far including the U.S.,” Rüütel said.

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.

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.

Australia’s national election ended yesterday with Labor Party leader Julia Gillard emerging as the country’s new Prime Minister. While millions of Australians used votes to back their pick for the new PM, many others chose to use money instead, placing bets on their favorite candidate at some of the top online sportsbooks in Australia.

Betting on political candidates in Australia has been something of a controversy lately. Back in July, MP Michael Johnson tried very hard to ban online betting on elections, arguing that important political decisions are inappropriate things to be wagering on. Johnson was also concerned that betting on political elections could influence the outcome if unscrupulous political parties used betting as leverage to twist elections in their favor.

Despite Johnson’s efforts, no ban has been placed on election betting. Internet sports betting websites across Australia as well as in other parts of the world offered lines on all candidates.

Interestingly, one of Julia Gillard’s primary campaign efforts focused on the issue of gambling. She has expressed a strong desire to reform Australian gambling laws, implementing stricter regulations on pokies as well as offering tighter regulation of online gambling in the country. Most gambling licenses are not up for renewal until 2012, however, so few changes are likely to be made until then.

Slotland is an online casino dedicated to slot games. The site runs on proprietary software, which means every game they offer is exclusive, and can’t be found anyplace else. Slotland is especially well known for its progressive jackpot games. The jackpots don’t get as high as they do on some of the larger software networks like Microgaming or Playtech, but players can still win considerable amounts of money.

The latest jackpot winner at Slotland is player SOUTHBELLE, who just the other day won $148,711 while playing the Lucky Stars progressive slot.

“I’m so excited I can’t think straight,” said the lucky player shortly after she won. “I’m sure not used to having that kind of spending money so I really don’t know what I’ll do with it! I’m terrible for spoiling my family. Can’t help it! So I’ll have some fun with this that’s for sure. First though, my brother has been going through some tough times lately so I’m going to help him with some of the bills that have piled up.”

All the slots at Slotland are connected to the same progressive jackpot. The last time this jackpot was won on Lucky Stars was way back in December 2007, but since then, players have won the jackpot on other Slotland games.

“We had a $168,476 winner in May but other than that this is our biggest win since last October,” said Slotland manager Michael Hilary.

The Slotland Casino progressive jackpot has been reset to the base amount of $50,000 and will start growing with every wager placed at the casino until another lucky player wins it all.

Sometimes it seems even quitting gambling can be a gamble – especially if you win a jackpot.

Apparently finding himself becoming a problem gambler back in 2004, New Zealander Sothea Sinn and his then-girlfriend filled out the paperwork for a self-exclusion ban at Auckland’s Sky City Casino. But Sinn had either overcome his problem or lost control of it last month when he went to play at Sky City again.

Sinn’s trip to the casino ended up becoming a serious good news/bad news scenario: The now 28-year-old hit a $44,000 jackpot playing the pokies; unfortunately for him, Sinn was told that the ban was still in place and that they would not be granting his big prize after all.

“I was absolutely gutted,” said Sinn to Auckland’s Dominion-Post newspaper.

Stating that he believed the self-exclusion ban would have expired within six years’ time, the casino countered by claiming such a ban can only be removed once the banned player has attended a certain number of mandatory counseling sessions to treat addiction to gambling.

Sinn has told local media that he will hire an attorney and attempt to bring a formal complaint to the New Zealand gambling authorities in order to obtain his winnings.

Just days ago, a progressive slot game called Red White & Win, a Vegas Technology software progressive jackpot, paid out a jackpot just shy of one million dollars. The exact amount was reported as $989,441. After the jackpot paid out, the counter was reset to the low default amount of $6,400.

Red White & Win is a patriotic American themed slot game. Its three reel classic design combined with its progressive jackpot prize makes it a popular game among US players. Best of all, the game has a fixed coin size of $2.50 and a max bet of $7.50 making it very affordable as far as progressive jackpot slots go. The game is won by spinning three American Flag symbols across the center payline on a max bet spin.

News about this mega jackpot prize has only come through an automatic progressive jackpot slots tracking system. It is not yet known who won the jackpot, or even which casino the winner was playing at. Confirmation about the win will probably be announced soon, either through the casino where the jackpot was won or through Vegas Technology directly.

Vegas Technology software progressive jackpot games, and this Red White & Win jackpot is one of the largest they’ve ever paid out. This software producer is one of the few big players in the online gambling world that still accepts US players, making it a top choice for people from the United States who are looking for real money online casino games. Other software companies which power online casinos accepting US players include RealTime Gaming, Rival Gaming, and Top Game.

PKR Casino player ‘PaulTuscan’ just hit the jackpot for the second time in the past 9 months, winning $174,084 on the Queen of Pyramids progressive slot game. Last November, PaulTuscan hit a similar jackpot, winning $88,000 on a game called ‘Fruit Mania’. This brings the man’s winnings up past a quarter of a million dollars in the last year alone.

The Welsh gambler took notice of Queen of Pyramids slot when he saw that its progressive jackpot had climbed above $90,000. “Then it topped $174,004.01 and it was the most I have seen it at,” said Paul. “The rest is history as they say.”

The lucky slot fan is considering spending his winnings on an Aston Martin, or maybe a couple of long holidays.

PKR Casino is a sister site to the famous PKR Poker. The casino runs on software designed by Playtech which operates one of the largest networks of progressive jackpots in the world. Their progressive games can be played for as little as $0.50, and 1% of each bet made on the game is added to the jackpot, which grows and grows until a lucky player like PaulTuscan comes along and wins the whole thing.

Right now, two of Playtech’s progressive slot games have jackpots that are more than a million dollars. Beach Life is sitting at $1.2 million, while Gold Rally is just behind at $1.1 million. These prizes can pay out at any time. Who will be the next lucky jackpot winner?

Quite possibly the hottest online casino on the entire Internet in terms of big payouts last month was Spin Palace Casino. The Microgaming-powered casino reported no fewer than five progressive jackpot winners in addition to another nine players who took home $18,000 or more on standard video slot games.

July’s biggest winner at Spin Palace was a player known as S.P. Playing Treasure Nile on July 19th, S.P. lined up enough jackpot symbols to win a nice €52,815.82 (about $68,300) on the 9-payline machine.

Some smaller progressive jackpots won in July at Spin Palace include the €10,985.06 ($14,125) taken by M.D.R. at LotsaLoot when he hit three LotsaLoot symbols on payline 5. Player E.L. won a piece of the Mega Moolah jackpot worth €10,302.20 (almost $13,000) from Mega Moolah Summertime Slot. (The Mega Moolah bonus is now at over $3.8 million, by the way.) And M.B. took one of the smaller Mega Moolah progressive jackpots to start the month by winning $10,015.39.

Finally, the biggest table game winner was surely L.V.D.P. who won €20,000 on the Progressive Cyberstud Poker game there.

Slot players M.W., R.H. and V.L. each registered big wins in July, taking Spin Palace for over $154,000 combined. M.W. was the single largest winner after seeing quite a run on Isis and Fortune Finder slots for nearly $70,000. G.P. also recorded a nice windfall, going for $20,730 on Tomb Raider: Secret of the Sword slot.

A series of popular online progressive jackpot slot machine game called Millionaires Club are now offering a prize of more than $1 million. The games, developed by internet casino software company Cryptologic, feature high-life themes that give players a glimpse of the lifestyle that awaits them if they win the big prize.

The series is made up of three games, appropriately named Millionaires Club I, Millionaires Club II, and Millionaires Club III. The three slots feature different graphics and gameplay, but each shares the same Cryptologic casino jackpot. The jackpot is progressive, meaning it grows bigger every time a player makes a wager on the game. These jackpots continue to grow until they are won; the jackpot is then reset.

Millionares Club has a history of playing out big. In 2007, a 29-year-old blacksmith set a world record by winning over $4 million from the game at InterCasino.

It is not uncommon for online progressive jackpots to reach seven figures. The largest online progressive slot jackpot ever won actually paid out over $6 million, back in 2009 on a slot from Microgaming software called Mega Moolah. The jackpot on the Mega Moolah series of games now stands at an incredible $3.8 million.

Barnaby Jack has a special power – he can walk up to an ATM and trick the machine into thinking it is a casino jackpot slot game. Once Barnaby has performed his magic, the ATM will start spitting out money onto the ground faster than most people can enter their PIN code.

Barnaby is no magician. He is actually a security researcher, and he recently demonstrated his unique hacking skills at the Black Hat Security Conference in Las Vegas. His session, titled “Jackpotting Automated Teller Machines Redux”, was put together to bring attention to issues of digital security in today’s world of computers.

During the Black Hat conference, Barnaby hacked two different brands of ATM machines. He bought the machines online, and spent years going over the program code that powers them, looking for weaknesses. These are not the only ATMs he has hacked; in fact, Barnaby says he has yet to find an ATM that he couldn’t exploit to get free cash.

The issue of digital security in the online gambling world has been in the news recently, after Canada’s BC Lottery Commission launched the country’s first-ever fully licensed internet gambling website. Unfortunately, the site contained a massive security glitch, and within hours it had to be shut down. It seems that player accounts were crossing over, and certain casino users were able to gamble with other players’ money. Some 200 accounts were compromised before the site was taken offline.

Fortunately, these sorts of problems with online gambling sites are rare. The software that powers online casinos is rigorously tested prior to release, and new games undergo testing by third-party companies to make sure they are random and fair. Just as most people have no idea how to hack an ATM, most online casino users can gamble for years and years without ever running into problems.

Canada Lottery Commission (BCLC) has been in the news a lot recently after a technical error with their new online gambling site left the accounts of 200 players compromised. The site is still down, and the Commission has been left struggling to get back to its feet.

Meanwhile in the offline world, casino-goer Adrian MacNair is launching a lawsuit against the Canada Lottery Commission after they refused to pay him a $40,000 jackpot he won at one of their casinos.

Canada Lottery Commission

The problem is that three years ago, MacNair voluntarily listed himself as a “problem gambler” and enrolled in the self-excluding program. Under the program, casino security was supposed to ask him to leave once his ID was matched to a list of participants, but the casinos took no action, so MacNair continued to play.

It was only when he hit a $40,000 jackpot on a slot machine at Cowichan casino back in January that the BCLC finally stepped into action – by refusing to pay him the winnings.

MacNair is now suing the casino. He feels that if the casino let him play and lose money, they should also let him play and win money. This will be the second such lawsuit against the BCLC in recent months – earlier this year a woman sued the Canada Lottery Commission after losing several hundred thousand dollars because the casinos failed to stop her from gambling after she enrolled in the self-exclusion program.

A member of Sun Vegas Casino known only as DM hit his third progressive jackpot yesterday, bringing his total progressive winnings up to an amazing $157,200.

DM’s first big win came two and a half months ago, when he hit the Lotsa Loot progressive jackpot and won $58,222. Last month he got lucky again, grabbing a $30,347 progressive prize on Jackpot Deuces, a single-hand video poker game. DM’s most recent win came from another progressive jackpot slot called Fruit Fiesta, and totals $68,631.

“Well done DM!” says Austin Green, manager of Sun Vegas Casino. “Three big wins in as many months is an outstanding achievement.”

Sun Vegas Casino, member of the Vegas Partner Lounge, is powered by Microgaming software and provides its members with more than 450 different online casino games, including more than a dozen progressive jackpot titles. At the time of writing this, more than $5 million in progressive jackpot prizes are available across these games at Sun Vegas Casino, just waiting for a lucky player like DM to scoop them up.

GamblingResults wishes a big “congratulations” to two recent winners on Microgaming-powered progressive jackpot slots online. First up was Golden Riviera Casino player MC, who hit the jackpot on the Treasure Nile 5 Reel progressive slot game at the casino last Tuesday. Playing all nine paylines on the Egyptian-themed progressive jackpot machine – combined with that necessary little bit of luck – won MC a big AU$40,858.75 ($36,913).

This win followed the win of exactly one week earlier at the Fortune Lounge Group’s Royal Vegas online casino, when player Joelle C. played the Cash Splash 5-Reel Slot Game to take a big €30,801 (just under $40,000). Royal Vegas seems to be quite generous this month, as they also saw player Jean-Pierre M. take the Arctic Fortune slot – a standard game with no progressive jackpot, mind you – for over $40,000 within a single 48-hour span.

Microgaming casinos are of course no stranger to big wins, as the company recently announced that it had passed the $280 million mark in progressive jackpot payouts since introducing its very first online jackpot slot, namely Treasure Nile. The company’s Mega Moolah last year broke its own all-time record single largest online progressive jackpot payout when a player cashed in for €6.3 million thanks to the game. The Mega Moolah jackpot currently stands at €3.7 million.

Among other well-known Microgaming progressive jackpot games are King Cashalot, Fruit Fiesta, Major Millions and Wowpot.

It is fashionable to speak of “dynasties,” i.e. multiple repeat title-winners, in many sports these days, but perhaps no championship is so susceptible to dominance by a single force as the Tour de France. The latest mighty ruler over the sport is this year’s winner Alberto Contador of Spain, who overcame Andy Schleck to take his third Tour in four years – and his third in three tries.

Though Contador managed to sport the yellow jersey from Stage 15, it was hardly easy going for the back-to-back champion. In Stage 3, Contador went down among the peloton in crash that would remove Frank Schleck from the competition altogether and set back the Spanaird’s chances for some time.

But Contador had been there before and he slowly chipped away at Andy Schleck’s lead, which the youth rider had regained in Stage 9. Stage 15 was key in the 2010 Tour de France and in fact Contador invited controversy when he forewent certain unwritten rules of sportsmanship to blow past Schleck as the chain on Schleck’s bike fell out. Though Contador apologized after the race, some former cyclists including Miguel Indurain came to his defense.

Schleck would fight back and take Stage 17, but since Contador finished mere seconds behind in the stage, it made little difference. At the end of Stage 19, Contador had built up a lead of 39 seconds and held that difference through Stage 20 for his second consecutive Tour de France win.

Contador now joins recent superstars such as Greg LeMond (Tour de France winner in 1986, ’89 and ’90), Indurain (’91 through ’95) and Lance Armstrong (’99 through 2005). The next dynasty may be Schleck’s, as the 25-year-old Luxembourger has now won three straight youth rider titles on the Tour de France.

In terms of odds, the bookmakers were again prescient, as the 4/7 odds on Contador held against Paddy Power’s proposition bet offering a 5/4 line on “the field.” In 19th place, John Gadret ended up the top Frenchman, a surprise to bookmakers who had him at 15/2 odds to be the tops from France in the race.

Microgaming is a software company that produces online casino games and gaming platforms that are used by gambling sites all around the world. They are one of the top dogs in the business, and their game library now has more than 450 individual titles, more than any of its competitors. A recent press release has revealed that Microgaming casinos have paid out more than $280 million in progressive jackpot prizes since the company first started offering online casino games more than a decade ago.

A large percentage of this incredible pile of money was paid out through special Microgaming casino games that offer progressive jackpot prizes. These progressive games are networked across all Microgaming casinos, and a small portion of every wager made on the game is added to its progressive jackpot prize. The jackpots continue to grow until one lucky player hits the winning combo, then the jackpot is reset. There are currently 36 Microgaming progressive jackpot games available, making it one of the largest progressive networks on the internet.

The software company made online gambling history in 2009 when one of their progressive jackpot games, Mega Moolah, paid out a record-breaking €6.3 million prize. The same jackpot now stands at €3.7 million, and can be won by anyone at any time.

Microgaming was founded back in 1994, in the early years of the internet. The company opened up the first true internet casino that same year. They have grown exponentially over the years, and Microgaming’s software now powers 120 casinos and 40 poker rooms serving tens of thousands of players all around the world.

Mike McNally, a 29-year-old business graduate and football fan from Bradford, England, turned a £10 bet into £650,000 ($1 million) betting on World Cup at a popular online sportsbook in the UK. McNally correctly predicted the results of an incredible 36 out of the 64 matches of the 2010 World Cup, beating hundreds of other football fans from around the world who also entered the contest.

The win wasn’t secured until the final match. McNally and another participant were tied 35-35 until the Holland and Spain match. McNally picked Spain to win, while his rival had put his money on Holland. McNally must have been on the edge of his seat during the entire match, only relaxing after Andres Iniesta’s extra time goal for Spain put him in the lead.

“I was speechless when I learned I’d won,” McNally revealed. “I just wish England could have performed as well as I did.”

Punters who missed wagering on this year’s World Cup may feel left out after learning about McNally’s success, thinking about all the 2010 World Cup bets they could have made. This big football tournament series won’t be back until 2014, but in the meantime, there are thousands of bets offered every day at sportsbooks across the internet. Just check out the latest online sports betting odds, then put your money down to win.

Last Sunday, a woman from Wolverhampton (who wishes to remain anonymous) went to the Gala Bingo club at Ashmore Park with some friends to enjoy an evening of fun and games. The night started off with a bang when some of her friends won the house prize of £3,000. Things soon got even more exciting when the lucky lady hit the club’s High 5 jackpot, which paid out an amazing £250,000.

Because the High 5 jackpot is designed to benefit more than just one player, the winner only took home half the prize money. The rest got distributed between all the other players in the bingo club. There were 61 at the time, so each one went home with £2,049.18.

“I am absolutely ecstatic with the win,” said the 76 year old grandmother. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet – when I got home from bingo I just sat staring into space while it hit me! I’m going to spend the money on my kids, my grandchildren and some home improvements.”

Gala Bingo runs 145 clubs across the UK. Since the High 5 jackpot was launched in 2007, it has paid out a total £17,096,890.09.

Gala is also one of the many groups that offer online bingo games in the UK. Dozens of other top online gambling groups provide internet bingo services for UK players. All accept deposits in British Pounds. While jackpots as big as the one won at Gala Bingo over the weekend are not so common online, some of the internet’s top online bingo rooms offer progressive jackpot bingo games and progressive side games that can pay out enormous prizes.

Ann Marie Stubbs got the bingo bonus of a lifetime last week. This Scarborough resident was at home playing online games at Virgin Bingo when she won a big jackpot. Stubbs was so surprised and excited when she realized she had won, that she suddenly found herself ready to give birth!

Stubbs was pregnant while enjoying a game in the . When she went into labour, she announced though the game’s live chat feature, telling the other players that she had to abandon her game and rush off to the hospital.

“Everyone has been fantastic in the Marrakesh room,” she said. “I could not believe my waters broke while I was playing bingo, to say I was shocked was an understatement!”

Within hours, Stubbs had delivered a healthy baby boy: Harley Jay Stubbs, weighing in at 7lbs 1oz. Virgin Bingo was so excited to her about her “double win” that they caught up with her to offer their congratulations by presenting the woman and her new child with a bouquet of flowers.

Internet bingo in the UK is becoming more and more popular, not only with mums-to-be but also with a younger crowd as well. Sites like Virgin Bingo offer non-stop games in a variety of styles, and they use live chat technology to maintain the social aspect of traditional bingo halls. The site offers free bingo games several times a day in their Marrakesh room so new players can try things on for size.