Online Casino Games

January 1 - The game of slots continues to be hugely popular both online and off. While we regularly read about great wins at online slot casinos, especially on progressive slot games, it was also heartwarming to read about a massive win in a Mississippi casino over the Christmas holidays.

Taryn Tyler visited the the appropriately named GoldStrike Tunica Casino in Mississippi to celebrate her birthday with her best friend after Christmas.

Drawn to the exciting Wheel of Fortune slot game at the land-based casino, the Arkansas native decided to try her luck with $20 worth of coins and proceeded to play. Inserting 25c each time to try her luck on the spin, Tyler didn’t have to wait long for Lady Luck to shine her way and in a little while she was facing the astonishing fact that the life-changing amount staring back at her was truly hers.

On Friday evening, International Gaming Technology technicians and casino management confirmed to the player that the $900,000 was hers for the taking. “I had no idea I had won the big one,” said a stunned Taryn Tyler. “The woman at the machine next to me had to tell me that I had won!”

Asked what she is going to do with her winnings, Tyler didn’t hesitate for a moment. “I’m going to buy a new car, a Lexus to be exact, and save the rest,” she said.

While this is the seventh Mega Jackpot win in the Mississippi in 2008, thankfully Wheel of Fortune slot fans needn’t travel to the state to try out their favorite games. Most reputable online casinos offer players the chance to enjoy all types of slot games from the comfort of their own homes, putting them in line to win $900,000 and more!

December 31 - What better way to start off 2009 than with a spare 227,054 GBP in your bank account?!

Simon B. of the United Kingdom is practically beside himself with the knowledge that he will be able to glide through the next year with no financial worries in the world, after this lucky slots fan hit the jackpot at William Hill casino.

Simon, who hails from Staffordshire, decided to play the very popular Pharaoh’s Treasure at industry-leading William Hill casino in order to enjoy some great holiday season slots entertainment.

The slots player was overjoyed when a 40p winning line took him to the King Tut’s Tomb bonus round, believing that he’d be able to increase his winnings a little more. But that joy turned to ecstasy when Simon realized that his great memory skills and a huge dosage of luck enabled him to unearth three Tutankhamen masks in the bonus game and hit the massive progressive jackpot in this game.

Simon B. said gleefully about his win: “I can’t quite believe it, but I’ll certainly be celebrating the New Year with a bang now! I’ve won a few hundred pounds before but nothing remotely like this, it’s out of this world!”

Players looking to enjoy Pharaoh’s Treasure or a host of other slot games at William Hill Casino should head on down to this site today and check the great promotions currently on offer. Working off the powerful Boss Media software platform, William Hill Casino is able to offer its players some of the best games around, including a wide range of slot games, table and card games and others in over six languages.

Leading online casino CircusCasino.com has started a campaign on Facebook that would see the sport of poker become a demonstration event for the 2012 Olympic Games in London before being fully recognised for 2016.

The Alderney-licensed site is operated by Genting Stanley Alderney Limited, part of the UK’s largest casino operator, and is lobbying the International Olympic Committee (IOC). However, it faces stiff competition from women's netball and Twenty20 cricket, both of which have launched online campaigns of their own.

CircusCasino.com stated that poker is thought to date back to 15th Century Germany and is now one of the fastest-growing games in the world after being officially recognised recently as a sport.

It revealed that the card game stands a better chance as it ticks more of the IOC's regulatory boxes. Unlike netball and cricket, for example, it is a cross-gender pastime that has a far wider international appeal and could become the first truly age and class-neutral Olympic event.
"Poker's appeal is global,” said Peter Nolan from CircusCasino.com.

“It transcends gender and age and is the fastest-growing sport in the world. It's ripe for Olympic recognition. Millions play every week, millions more watch it on television but perhaps more importantly, we've got some world-renowned British players.”

CircusCasino.com even released a list of eight professional poker players that it believes could take on and defeat the world as part of a British Olympic team. The selected players include Jon Kalmar from Chorley in Lancashire, Adrian Lambe from Abingdon in Oxford and Dave Colclough from Carmarthen in Wales. Also in the list is Dave Ulliott from Hull in East Yorkshire, Victoria Coren from London, Neil Channing from Reading in Berkshire, Lucy Rokach from Stoke-On-Trent in Staffordshire and Mark Goodwin from Birmingham in the West Midlands.

The five-event series will begin at the Olympic Casino in Tallinn, Estonia, from February 20 to 22 with later stops in Spain, Cyprus and the Czech Republic before finishing with the final at Malta’s Casino Di Venezia in September.

With a direct buy-in of €1,100 and an ultimate prize of up to €100,000 alongside the title of European Master of Poker, the series is targeted at non-professional players that may not have loads of cash to throw at a game of poker.

“Despite the large selection of poker tournaments in Europe, only few players are able to compete when the buy-in costs thousands of Euros,” read a statement from Solna-based Entraction.

“European Masters of Poker breaks the trend and targets the larger and more important segment of non-professional players who want to spend time with other poker players and compete for a first prize of up to €100,000.”

The Swedish firm revealed that online players could qualify daily for a seat at one of the five live events for as little as two Euro or 200 VIP points courtesy of its partner sites on the Entraction Poker Network including NoiQPoker.com, Redbet.com and I4Poker.com.

‘European Masters of Poker is a great way for partners in the Entraction Poker Network to both attract new players and strengthen the relationship with their existing players,” said Daniel Eskola, Acting Product Manager for Entraction.

“The only way to guarantee a seat at the tournament is to play at a partner site in the Entraction Poker Network.”
 

December 29 - If you’re depressed that the magical Christmas holidays are over - don’t be! Some of the top online casinos in the industry launched superb Christmas themed slot games this season. So before you take down those trees and pack away those ornaments, extend the holiday season with some great games.

Microgaming casinos are on the ball this season with a host of Christmas slots. Some of the favorites include the five reel, fifteen pay line Ho Ho Ho Slots game that comes with a bonus gamble and free spins feature or Deck the Halls, a giant 30 pay line game with stacked symbols and other cool bonus features. These games can be played at a variety of Microgaming powered online sites this season, including All Slots, All Jackpots, Golden Tiger and 7 Sultans.

Other Microgaming Christmas slots games include Santa Paws, Gift Wrap, Cabin Fever, Jingle Bells, Party Time and Frost Bite.

If Playtech is your game, then this industry leading software company will not disappoint with its range of Christmas slots available for play. One of the more entertaining is the classic Party Line, a three reel, one pay line game that comes with a generous 4000 coins jackpot. Party Line can be played at a host of Playtech powered online casinos, including Casino Europa and Casino Tropez.

Real Time Gaming, another top software provider, also has a delightful spread of Christmas themed online slot games, that can be played at sites such as Bodog Casino and Rushmore Casino. Look out for games such as Frozen Assets, a classic three reel, one pay line game with a cool snowman-themed bonus round. Rudolph’s Revenge, is a massive 5 reel, fifty pay line game that is jammed pack full with excellent features, including multipliers and free spins.

All in all, today’s online casinos stop at nothing to bring players entertainment - during the festive season, and all year round!

The Korean Times reported Thursday that police in Boeun, South Korea arrested five Buddhist monks for betting on an illegal poker game during a raid on a Mount Songni hotel.

According to a North Chungcheong Province police spokesperson, the monks were staying at the hotel while attending a national Buddhist event. The spokesperson went on to say that the monks had wagered more than W9 million (approximately $7,000) by the time police apprehended them.

The Won (W) is South Korea’s national currency.

"We were tipped off that a group of monks were gambling," one officer said.

To date, Korean officials have released no further details concerning the arrests.

phill.provance@gamblingplanet.org

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December 28 - While glitches on online slot machine software are practically unheard of, it seems that some land based slot machines can play tricks - sometimes cruel ones! - on players.

A New Zealand player who fed a regular slot machine last week was absolutely stunned to learn that she had won millions of dollars - only to have it confirmed a few weeks later that a slots glitch in the machine had triggered the wrong light and she had in fact only won a few hundred dollars.

The story began when Verna Brown, a mental health worker who hails from Otago, entered the Law Courts Hotel in the South Island town of Dunedin with the express purpose of having some slots fun and perhaps winning some extra cash to make her Christmas budget go further.

After feeding NZ$14 into the machine, Brown ‘hit the jackpot’ and learned that she had won the equivalent of A$36 million. “For a brief, wonderful moment”, Brown saw herself as an instant millionaire and even allowed herself to imagine the way her life would look from now on.

However, the slot machine was also showing a malfunction light, which caused the hotel’s management to suspect that the win wasn’t what everyone believed it to be and hurried to call technicians.

One of the co-owners of the Law Courts Hotel said half-jokingly, “When I saw it, I thought I would have to sell the hotel and mortgage myself for 200 years!”

Management’s suspicions were confirmed over a fortnight later when the faulty parts were returned to their Japanese manufacturers who officially stated that the multi million dollar win had turned into a mere NZ$500 due to a slots glitch.

To her credit, Verna Brown was not half as disappointed as many would expect her to be. She insisted that she was quite happy with her NZ$500 win and didn’t require millions to satisfy her life.

Ladbrokes PLC announced last week that corporate development director Alan Ross will not stand for re-election in May. He will instead retire from the company July 19, 2009.

Ross began his 37-year career at Ladbrokes in 1971 as part of its shop staff in Dundee, Scotland. He rose to become head of the company’s Ladbrokes Casinos and Ladbrokes International Betting operations and became its managing director of retail in 2000. In 2006, he joined Ladbroke’s board of directors after the company sold its hotel arm to Hilton Hotels. He relinquished control of the company’s U.K. sports-betting shops in 2007.

Ross is best known as one of the U.K. sports-betting giant’s toughest negotiators, once following a fellow negotiator into an elevator to broker a deal after the other man had called off talks.

"Alan has made an enormous contribution to Ladbrokes and the betting and gaming industry," Ladbrokes CEO Chris Bell said. "He played a major role in developing the business from the introduction of live pictures into betting shops through Silicon Integrated Systems in 1986, to the introduction of fixed-odds betting terminals in 1998. And he played a significant part in our major acquisitions and disposals across the globe."

Bell noted that Ross will continue working for Ladbrokes as a consultant, saying, "We are very pleased he will continue to provide his advice and wise counsel to us moving forward, and we are very grateful for his dedication."

According to the Northhampton Chronicle, Towcester Racecourse CEO Chris Palmer will replace Ross as corporate development director in February. Ladbrokes’ managing director of U.K. and Ireland retail, Richard Ames, will also join the company’s board of directors in January.

phill.provance@gamblingplanet.org

TO AVOID LEGAL REDRESS UNDER INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW, REPRINTERS MUST CITE THE ARTICLE’S AUTHOR, THE AUTHOR’S E-MAIL ADDRESS AND ALL LINKS PERTAINING TO THE PUBLISHING SITE (www.gamblingplanet.org).

December 25 - Players looking for a fun way to spend this holiday season should head on down to Golden Tiger Casino and try their luck at some of the great slot games from the Microgaming portfolio.

Golden Tiger Casino has launched some excellent slots-friendly promotions and players will find a host of opportunities to increase their bankrolls or point counts by playing at this site.

The first promotion at Golden Tiger Casino is related to the Christmas-themed video slot game, Santa Paws. The casino is encouraging players to purchase $100 worth of credits to play on this machine, spin the reels 100 times and earn themselves a cool $25 bonus that will be credited to their CasinoRewards account.

The second promotion to be found at Golden Tiger Casino this month is the Vinyl Countdown offer. Players are encouraged to play this game until December 30th for a minimum of $20 and earn double points for doing so. The site has also promised that any player who plays on the 31st of December or 1st of January will earn triple points!

The final slots promotion available at Golden Tiger Casino is the slot game of the month, Mermaids Millions, which will reward players with double credit points!

This online casino also has a host of other bonuses and promotions, especially appealing to new players who open a real money account at this site for the first time. Golden Tiger Casino is giving away a $1500 no deposit welcome bonus to new players, where they can play for free and win for real!

With over 300 great games in its arsenal, Golden Tiger Casino is an excellent choice for online slot players.

Read our Golden Tiger casino review.

Please note that American players can no longer open accounts at Golden Tiger.

Eight is part of Gibraltar-based 888’s customer relationship management efforts at establishing an efficient and innovative communications channel with its members. It is mailed to all of the operator’s UK casino and poker members and is filled with lifestyle features and gaming content.

This year’s APA Effectiveness Awards, which are designed to recognise and reward the very best in editorialised branded content, were the biggest ever to be staged in its ten-year history. There were over 350 titles across a myriad of industries vying for just 18 individual awards with every category having an average of 20 entries.

‘For a publication to be awarded the APA’s Most Effective Membership title, it must be a fantastic demonstration of editorial creativity and be able to prove above all others that it is a sound part of a brand’s marketing mix, helping to position the value of the brand in the minds of the consumer,’ read an announcement from the APA.

The Award is considered as one of the most coveted distinctions an internal magazine can win and 888.com stated that is was rightly pleased at being singled out.

‘Eight magazine succeeds in not only being a shining example of this publishing maxim but also being an informative and entertaining read, whether you’re a committed online gambler or not,” said Matt Robinson, Vice-President of Brand marketing for 888.

“Whatever measure you look at, Eight is an amazingly effective magazine.

‘These Awards demonstrate how committed 888 is to ensuring we reach the highest performance levels in everything we do and to delivering on our other core values of innovation, caring, customer centricity, leading and collaboration.’