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PartyPoker Launches New Five-Stop WPT National UK Tour

PartyPoker recently announced the launch of its redesigned poker client and website that features a brand new look with new logo and software updates.  The new site is also accompanied by a TV ad campaign with a slogan “The Game is Changing”.

Following on from this recent rebranding and software upgrade, PartyPoker has revealed that it is launching a brand newUKbased five stop poker tour.

PartyPoker and World Poker Tour (WPT) have teamed up to run the five stop tour which will fall under the umbrella of the World Poker Tour.

The first event of the five stop tour is scheduled to take place at Aspers Casino, WestfieldStratfordCityfrom Thursday, 24^th October to Sunday, 27^th October, 2013.

The new PartyPoker sponsored tour is a first for tournament poker in theUnited Kingdomwith each of its main events played as an accumulator tournament.

The Poker Manager atAspersCasinoWestfieldStratfordCity, John Scanlon, explained that the accumulator format gives players an option to buy-in to one, two or all three of the Day 1 flights.  Scanlon added that at the end of each flight players’ chips are bagged and moved forward to Day 2 with all chips from each flight accumulated to give players their total starting stack for Day 2.  Scanlon also revealed that the tournament is based on an original format from the Aussie Millions where there was a big fuss amongst players regarding the best strategy to play.  The structure allows more people into the game at various levels of buy-ins.

Players can buy into the World Poker Tour National London Main Event at a cost of £180 + £20 on each Day 1.  However, players qualifying at PartyPoker satellite tournaments that are currently taking place could pay much less.  PartyPoker is offering seat-only satellites or full packages that will see players being awarded two tournament entries as well as £241 in spending money.

Although it has not yet been confirmed, it is being rumored that the new tour will head to venues in Milton Keynes,NewcastleandNorthamptonin its first season.

Danish Online Poker Numbers Fall

According to figures that have been released by the Danish Gambling Authority (DGA), it has been revealed that online poker numbers for the second quarter of this year have fallen.  The second quarter’s revenues for 2013 have dropped from $9.8 million for the same period last year to $8.9 million, which is a drop of 9%.

The Danish Gambling Authority is of the opinion that poker revenues for this year will total $36.3 million, which is less than the total for last year.

The increased popularity of all other types of online gambling in the Scandinavian country appears to be the primary reason for the decline in the online poker numbers.  The second quarter of this year showed gross online casino revenues climbing from approximately $41.5 million to $44.3 million.  There has also been growing popularity in online sports betting which showed revenues climbing from $46.9 million to $59.2 million in the second quarter of 2013 amounting to a 26% year on year increase.

Denmarkis not the only European country where this downward trend has been noticed.  Several other European countries, includingFranceandItalyhave also reported that there has been a decrease in online poker revenue over the past year.

According to the Danish Gambling Authority, online sports betting and casino revenues are expected to exceed expectations, while they expect online poker revenues to be more subdued.

Dankse Spil,Denmark’s state controlled group, currently dominates the online gambling inDenmarkand showed a 16% increase in total GGR to €308 million for the first half of 2013.

The French gambling authority on internet gambling, ARJEL, published similar figures late last month, proving that the growth of online poker is slowing down and could possible decline.

ARJEL revealed that figures for real money players dropped 7% to 273,000 players a year at licensed French poker sites.  Analysts, therefore, are of the belief that online poker players are heading to offshore sites where they are offered better returns for their bankrolls.

Companies inFrancefind it very difficult to turn a profit due to the extreme competitive online gambling market, high tax rates and tough restrictions for operators.

Red Star Poker Joins MPN

Red Star Poker, the popular poker site, has announced that it has completed its transition from the Revolution Gaming network to MPN (formerly known as the Microgaming Poker Network).  

Red Star was formerly a member of the Cake network before joining Revolution when the network was formed and was an independent poker room with its own software, which mostly served the Russian market, prior to joining Cake.

The transition will result in players at Red Star Poker now having access to fast fold Blaze Poker and the MPN Bad Beat Jackpot and also benefiting from the MPN network’s higher player liquidity as well as a larger selection of cash games and tournaments which will significantly increase their gaming experience.

Maxim Brovco, the Director of Operations at Red Star Poker, said that joining the MPN is an exciting time for Red Star’s poker offering.

Lydia Melton, the head of Network Games at Microgaming said that they are delighted that Red Star has chosen the MPN and that they will now reap all the benefits from being part of their network.  Melton added that they have launched a huge variety of exciting features in the last few months which include Blazing Cannon, which Red Star players will now be able to enjoy.

Red Star Poker launched in 2005 as a standalone online poker room with proprietary software specializing in players fromRussia.  The poker room is owned and operated by RSP Entertainment N.V. and since its inception has developed into a leading brand within the European online gaming market.  Since launching as an online poker site, Red Star expanded its offering and now delivered a huge range of services that includes sports betting, casino and live dealer.

Red Star is already live on the Quickfire platform and its online casino offers players at the site numerous Microgaming classic slot titles such as the popular Thunderstruck II slot game and the progressive jackpot game Mega Moolah.

Full Tilt Poker Claims to Open Next Month

Following a very lengthy period, the United States Justice Department eventually appointed Garden City Group (GCG), to act as refund administrators in assistingUnited Statesresident Full Tilt Poker players to recover the money that is still owing to them.

Poker Stars players in the United States received a refund of their money very soon after Black Friday but United States Full Tilt poker players have as yet not received any refund whatsoever.

The group chosen to handle the disbursement of Full Tilt Poker funds has at long last advised players that the claims process will commence on 16^th September, 2013.  Players were informed of this fact by an advisory posted on Full Tilt Poker’s Claims website that also advised interested parties that Notices would be emailed to all claimants who were potentially eligible for a refund and who have been identified by the group by using data given to them by Full Tilt.  These players were told that they would be receiving emails as from 16^th September, 2013, giving them instructions on how to submit a Petition for reimbursement online.

The deadline for submissions for reimbursement of the funds is 15^th November, 2013, and ex Full Tilt customers will be required to submit their petitions in just 60 days.

Once the claim submission period has ended payments will be electronically forwarded to eligible claimants.

Although it is hoped that players will be reimbursed all the funds due to them, there is a chance that there may be a shortfall and the Garden City Group has, therefore, not given any guarantee that full funds will be received by players.

Players have also been cautioned that they may not receive a refund of any non-cash assets in their accounts, such as Iron Man medals or tournament tickets and it is not known if they will be converted to cash.

Payment toUnited Statesplayers is expected to be approximately $ 186 million.  This will come out of an amount that the U.S. Department of Justice received following a settlement between themselves, Full Tilt and PokerStars in which PokerStars agreed to purchase Full Tilt for a total of $731 million.

888poker Offering Two £30,000 Freerolls Every Week

In order to celebrate the recent launch of its brand new mobile app, 888poker,UK’s leading poker site and best poker operator has announced that it is running two weekly £30,000 freefolls for players to enjoy.

All 888poker account holders have been sent an email from the poker site informing them of the new mobile app and these players are required to click the link in the email and then download the new 888poker app to their favorite mobile device in order to be registered for the promotion.

One free ticket to a £30,000 Giant Freeroll will automatically be given to all new 888poker customers when opening their accounts. 

Players who complete specific poker-related tasks that are set by 888poker will be awarded additional tickets to the freeroll.  In order to complete these tasks players are required to earn a certain number of Status, which is 888poker’s equivalent of frequent player points, within a certain period of time or play a set number of tournaments within a certain time.

It is necessary for players to download 888poker’s new app in order to be eligible for any of the freerolls offered.  The challenges can be completed and players have the opportunity to play in the £30,000 Giant Freerolls on any device they wish, which includes their laptop, PC, iPhone or Android device. However, although 888poker’s latest mobile app allows players to play MTTS, it is not available for the iPad at the moment.

Registration is open to the first massive freeroll that commences at 21.08 UKtime on Wednesday, 21^st August, 2013, to those players who have tickets at least 24 hours earlier.

Places in each of the £30,000 freerols are awarded on a first come, first served bases and is capped at 8,000 players.

Players start with 1,000 tournament chips in the £30,000 freerolls.  The first place prize should be a minimum of £4,000 although it depends on how many players register for the £30,000 freeroll at 888poker.

Bwin.Party Appoints Jeffrey Haas as Group Director of Poker

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, the giant online gambling entity, has announced that it will be launching the group’s entirely new poker product within the next few weeks and has appointed Jeffrey Haas as its new Group Director of Poker.

Jeffrey Haas will be replacing Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment’s current Director of Poker, Chris Welch and will initially work alongside him in order to oversee the first month of the implementation of the new poker software until ChrisWelch leaves Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment at the end of September, 2013. 

Chris Welch joined Party Gaming from Centrebet during 2009 when he acted as Chief Marketing Officer, continuing in this capacity after Party Gaming merged with Bwin in 2001 and the group became known as Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment.   Although Welch announced that he would be leaving Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment in February of this year, he has agreed to remain with the group long enough for him to oversee the launch of the new poker product.

John Shepherd, the Director of Corporate Communications at Bwin.Party, revealed that they are very pleased to have secured Jeffrey’s services to head up poker.  Shepherd added that Jeffrey is a prominent and experienced professional who knows the ins and outs of poker very well.

Jeffrey Haas was recruited from The Rational Group where he served as Director of Strategy & Business Development, New Platforms.  According to his profile Jeffrey’s role at the Rational Group was to lead their efforts to establish, manage and grow commercial activities with key platform partners that included Apple, Facebook, Google, Amazon, TelCos.

Haas also previously worked for Bwin inSwedenduring 2005 and 2006 as Director of Product Management of the Ongame Poker Network that was at the time owned by Bwin.  He then went on to become president of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour before serving as Managing Director of Poker Stars Live. 

Bwin.Party Poker is presently in beta testing.

Thirty Seven Applicants for New Jersey Online Gambling Market

Since receiving 37 applicants for online casino and poker licenses by the date that was set by the state, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement is now beginning a process that will see them reviewing whether or not any of the companies are eligible to operate in the market.

According to David Rebuck, the director of the Division of Gaming Enforcement, they see this process as the first round of filings and they are anticipating more applications to be filed nearer to the start of Internet gaming.  Rebuck added that a full list of the companies who are granted permission to operate in the market will be published once a decision has been made.

The twelve terrestrial casinos that presently operate inAtlantic Cityand are the only gambling establishments that are allowed to offer internet gambling under currentNew Jerseyregulations are among those who have applied for online gambling licenses.

Online casino and poker software providers have permission to partner with casinos operating inAtlantic Cityand these providers have also made applications to the authorities in theGardenState.  Others who have applied are online payment processors as well as other companies wanting to enter the new market.

Despite the fact that applications will still be accepted by the authorities, it is not guaranteed that these late applicants will have the opportunity to launch their products on time to meet the launch date which has been scheduled for November, 2013.

Although only 10Atlantic Citycasinos have made their deals public, all twelve of these casinos have already signed deals with software providers.  Atlantic Club Casino and Revel Casino Hotel have not yet revealed their plans but will need to do so in the near future.

Caesars Entertainment who owns Caesar’s, Harrah’s, Showboat and Bally’s Casinos, has signed a deal with 888 Holdings.

The Trump Taj Mahal, which is part of Donald Trumps Empire has partnered with Ultimate Gaming, who received the first real money poker license to operate in the new online gambling market inNevada.

The Tropicana has signed a deal with e-Gaming group, Gamesys.

Borgato, which is co-owned by Boyd Gaming, has partnered with Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment.

Gold Nugget has inked a deal with Bally Technologies.

Resorts Casino Club has partnered with Poker Stars.

It has been reported that 2UP Gaming, a UK software group, is also one of the applicants and it is presumed that they will link up with one of the two Atlantic City casinos whose partners have not yet  been announced.

Poker Player Drafts Own Federal Poker Bill

Mark Shapiro, a very enthusiasticUSpoker player, who is known at online poker forums as PokerXanadu, has decided to create his own law proposal in an attempt to reduce the friction in the legislative process.

Shapiro believes that his proposal is player-friendly enough to satisfy the many poker fans in the country while at the same time is strict enough to satisfy gambling opponents.  Shapiro is currently seeking a powerful lawmaker to take on the proposal.

Legislators at the state as well as the federal level in theUShave experienced extreme difficulty drafting online poker legislation that would be acceptable to the huge range of stakeholders and onlyDelaware,NevadaandNew Jerseyhave thus far been able to enact laws that regulate online poker.  Several other states and federal lawmakers have, however attempted to do so in the past few years.

Shapiro revealed that he has undertaken the venture as no one else was doing it and that every bill that has thus far been introduced to Congress has been an incomplete bill and was not passable as it was only appealing to a limited number of vested interests.  Shapiro added that he decided that it was time to come out with a bill that covered every issue, preserves all the protections and rights of players and sufficiently meets the needs of all the major vested interests in a compromise with which they can support.

The act drawn up by Shapiro covers topics such as taxation of operators and consumers, licensing, regulatory oversight, enforcement measures, protection of consumers as well as updates to the existing federal laws which include the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), the Illegal Gambling Business Act (IGBA), and the Wire Act.

Shapiro is concentrating on a poker-only bill as he is of the opinion that this has more chance of passing through Congress.  He is hoping that someone with influence in DC will carry this bill forward and intends presenting his work to Reps. King and Barton as well asUSSenators fromNevada, Harry Reid and Dean Heller, who are both in favor of federal regulation of online poker. His

Online Poker Room to Introduce Online

Following days of speculation, Poker Stars has finally confirmed that it intends turning Full Tilt Poker into a broader brand that will be offering casino games on its platform and that the site will be rebranded as Full Tilt Gaming.

A list of the games that will be available at Full Tilt Gaming has not yet been released although it appears as if casino style gambling will be first on the list.  It has also not yet been revealed which software Full Tilt Poker will be using for its own game suite.

According to the Rational Group, the owners of both Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker, “The Rational Group intends to expand our product offering to including casino style games on Full Tilt Poker. While adding new games, we remain committed to building our leadership in poker with Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker and continuing to deliver the highest quality poker experience to players.  These new games on Full Till Poker will provide more gaming options with the same high quality player experience, integrity, security, safety and support that players have come to expect from our brands.”

The news has surprised many in the industry as both Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars have until now existed as poker-only sites while sites such as Party, 888 and most others provide customers with access to betting products – sport, bingo, casino and more under a single brand.

It does not appear as though the new Full Tilt Gaming will offer customers anything more than casino gaming

Full Tilt Poker is hoping that the rebranding will help the site to create a new image since its dark post Black Friday days and that it will make it easier to enter the online gambling industry in the United States via new legislation in individual states which includes New Jersey to offer online gambling to local players, under new laws.

Return of PokerStars Micro Millions Tournament

PokerStars, the world’s leading online poker room, launched the Micro Millions tournament series in March, 2012 and it has since become one of the most popular poker festivals on the internet,

The fifth series of Micro Millions will commence on Thursday, 18^th July and will run until Monday, 28^th July, 2013.

PokerStars created Micro Millions in order to give players an opportunity to participate in a huge tournament series with lucrative guaranteed prize pools without the necessity of laying out too much money.  PokerStars feels that despite the fact that the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) is a great tournament, it is not everyone who can afford to buy in to the tourney.   Very low rollers are also not able to afford to buy in to the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP).

However, the Micro Millions has an 11 cent kick-off event with most tournaments having buy-ins that range from $1 to $5.50 and a couple hitting $11.  The most expensive event in this tournament is the Main Event which is scheduled to commence at 2.30 pm ET on Monday, 28^th July, 2013, with a buy in of $22.

The Micro Millions will consist of 100 tournaments with guaranteed prize pools totaling $5 million.  On the first day the events will begin at noon, 1:00pm, 2:00pm, 4:00pm, 6:30pm, and 10:00pm ET. The following day, the events commence at 2:00am, 4:00am, 6:00am, 8:30am, 11:30am, 1:00pm, 3:30pm, 6:30pm, and 10:00pm.

Millions Players wishing to participate in the Micro Millions tournament can visit the PokerStars Micro page for a list of all the tournaments, along with their dates, starting times, game type, buy-ins and guaranteed prize pool.

The player ending up with the most points in the Micro Millions tournaments will win a $5,200 ticket into the 2013 WCOOP Main Event while those finishing 2^nd to 10^th on the leader board will each win a $1,050 WCOOP ticket and 11^th to 50^th place will be given a $215 WCOOP ticket.

Players wishing to participate in the Micro Millions tournament can visit the PokerStars Micro page for a list of all the tournaments, along with their dates, starting times, game type, buy-ins and guaranteed prize pool.