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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Putin's law closes casinos in Moscow - 1st July 2009

Casinos and slot-machine halls across Russia have closed as a new law took effect that imposes sweeping new restrictions on the gaming industry.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to lose their jobs as a result of the law, signed in 2006 by then-president Vladimir Putin in a bid to contain gambling addiction.

"The hall will be closed as of 7pm on June 30, 2009," said the notice on one shuttered slot-machine hall in northern Moscow.

Other casinos are expected to refashion themselves into poker clubs under a quirk of Russian law that officially recognises poker as a sport rather than a game of chance.

The law marks the end of the era when businessman and gangsters who acquired fantastic wealth in the chaotic 1990s gambled it away in lavish casinos in central Moscow.

A special taskforce to ensure compliance with the law has been set up in the Russian capital, a spokeswoman for the Moscow city government, Maria Sokolova, told RIA-Novosti news agency.

From July 1, casinos may only operate in four remote regions of Russia, each of them at least 1,000km from Moscow and some much further.

The four designated legal gambling zones are in Russia's western Kaliningrad exclave; along the Azov Sea in the south; in the Altai region of Siberia; and in the far eastern Primorye region, near North Korea and Japan.

But the gaming industry has been reluctant to move there, given the regions' undeveloped infrastructure and difficulty of attracting customers to the far-flung locations.

The gambling law is expected to have the biggest impact on Moscow, which had 524 casinos and gaming halls until the law took effect, and the northern city of Saint Petersburg, which had 109.

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Monday, June 29, 2009

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Royal high rollers, by Paul Edwards - Fairfax - 13th November 2008

Paul Edwards follows the trail of beautiful people - and mere mortals - to the world's most glamorous casinos.

Sometimes it seems Lady Luck has lost a few of her beauty spots. These days casinos are a dime a dozen, particularly in Victoria, where many of our pubs resound to the banal music of poker machines and the blare of racing telecasts.

A true casino conjures up visions of European royals and aristocrats - many displaced - beautiful blondes, playboys, despairing dowagers down to their last dollar and an ensemble of raffish travellers spending their days in cheap hotels and their nights in glamorous gambling palaces.

That's how Somerset Maugham and F. Scott Fitzgerald saw the world of high rollers and low losers, and it's a world that still exists if you know where to look.

The beautiful people are still there - although outnumbered by mere mortals - and while the despairing dowagers might look more like desperate housewives, nowhere else on earth will you see triumph and tragedy wrapped up in such a glitzy bundle.

Here is the rundown of the royal list when it comes to roulette, baccarat, blackjack and poker - the world's top 10 glamorous casinos:

MONTE CARLO CASINO

There may be bigger, better, more luxurious casinos, but the grande dame of Monaco still clutches her blueblood eminence with a grip nurtured by old money and new technology.

The last time I was here, the Cary Grant-lookalikes had morphed into more laid-back Brian Ferry impersonators and the Grace Kellys seemed to have turned into Paris Hiltons, but discounting the odd loudmouth who would be better positioned in his/her native land, the in-crowd would still be recognised by Graham Greene.

The casino has a stunning position - below the palace of the ruling Grimaldi family and above the harbour that shelters the floating mansions of the rich and famous. Some of Europe's most expensive and desirable real estate clings to the cliffs and the casino's interior reflects the vast wealth of this most exclusive of principalities.

The gambling palace was built in 1863 and was designed to attract the world's richest people. It still does its job, luring the kind of people who regularly dine at the nearby Louis XV, which has a wine cellar with more than 300,000 bottles, none of which costs less than $100 and many of which are more than $1000.

The casino has the inevitable poker machines in the American Room but the European Room is just for roulette, baccarat, chemin de fer and other traditional games. Then there are the private rooms for the very private people who don't want anyone to see them adding to or subtracting from their seriously vast wealth.

CLERMONT CLUB, LONDON

Addresses don't come any better than 44 Berkeley Square, Mayfair - but there's no Monopoly money changing hands here. London's conservative gambling laws decree that if you want to visit any of the city's casinos, you have to apply for membership at least a day ahead of your proposed big plunge.

I'm not sure if that rule applied to HRH Princess Margaret or 007 Roger Moore, who used to add a bit of colour to the place in the early days. The Clermont was once a Playboy Club, but these days it's the punters rather than the staff who lose their shirts. Baccarat, blackjack and the English version of roulette are played here.

The club is in a lovely old mansion that was opened as a casino by eccentric entrepreneur John Aspinall. As a sideline to gambling, Aspinall kept a private zoo for which he found it increasingly hard to get staff - perhaps because five of his keepers were killed by elephants and tigers.

This is an understated place compared with garish facilities in Las Vegas and elsewhere, and its membership includes many British bluebloods. It is understood that missing murder suspect Lord Lucan is way behind with his membership payments.

ST JAMES'S CLUB CASINO, ANTIGUA

People who know a lot about casinos say this is as good as they come. The smallish facility - just 50 gaming machines and eight tables - attracts the kind of enthusiasts who want to keep their chips high and profiles low. Most are high-fliers from the US, with Chicago and New York providing many of the players.

The American version of roulette is the star attraction here, together with blackjack and craps.

Visitors are happy if they break even - the deluxe hotel has been judged for four consecutive years as the best in the Caribbean and has a beautiful setting on a sliver of sand fringing Mamora Bay.

The gaming rooms are styled on those at Monte Carlo - all rich timbers, murals, ankle-deep carpet and a wide range of opportunities for the endless battle with Lady Luck.

The crowd here is international, with a heavy sprinkling of New Yorkers, and if your luck is in you may catch a glimpse of Antigua's most famous son, Sir Vivian Richards.

BADEN-BADEN CASINO, GERMANY

Marlene Dietrich, who knew a bit about such things, declared this was the most beautiful casino in the world. Certainly it has a distinctive style, stemming from its history spanning almost three centuries and the workmanship of Europe's greatest designers.

Baden-Baden is in the Black Forest of south-west Germany and was well known to the Romans for its mineral springs. As is common with European spa cities, the wealthy visitors wanted something to break up the long hours of bathing and drinking medicinal waters. The first mention of gambling is in advertising leaflets dated 1748. Today's casino was founded in 1824, when the Kurhaus was built.

New gaming rooms were created by architects, designers and artists from Paris, which had lost its own leading casino. Extreme opulence was built into the Winter Garden, the Red Room, the Florentine Room and the Salon Pompadour and, over the years, new rooms have been opened: the Baccarat Terrace, the American Salon and the Austrian Room.

From 1872, there was a 60-year break during which German casinos were closed - Hitler's regime reopened them.

MANDARIN ORIENTAL, MACAU

Up there with the best of them, this luxurious casino continues to flourish despite political and techno-logical changes. It has a bewildering assortment of gaming machines and sumptuous rooms housing roulette, boule, blackjack and baccarat. Macau has perhaps the widest range of casino games in the world, including fan-tan and hungry tigers - the local version of one-armed bandit.

The casino is part of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, which is part of the glitzy Chinese enclave along the Pearl River delta. This strip is roaring ahead with competitors for the Oriental, including seven casino resorts due to open on the Cotai Strip. At last count there were 14 casinos here, attracting high rollers from Japan, China, Taiwan and other rich and developing nations.

The former Portuguese colony of Macau is now, like Hong Kong, part of China, but in many aspects it's more like Las Vegas. The Oriental may lose its position as the gambling pearl of the East when the US-funded Venetian casino resort opens, at a cost of $3 billion and with about 3000 guest rooms.

It seems there will be no shortage of punters - the mainland has well over a billion Chinese who, historically, have not been averse to chancing their luck.

CASINO METROPOL, MOSCOW

The doors never close at this big casino resort, where occupants of the 450 guest rooms are given special privileges over local punters in the fight for a place at the tables. The Metropol has 11 table games, including five-card stud, blackjack, American roulette, punto banco and poker.

There are nearly 50 licensed casinos in Moscow, including the well-named Casino Desperado, but aficionados say the Metropol still has the edge for class and service. How long this will last may depend on the whims of the Russian bureaucracy, which claims casinos are run by criminals and has started to rip out the slot machines that have sprung up in almost every public place.

Moscow's deputy mayor has stated there should be no gambling establishments at all, but the Metropol has friends in high places and brings in eagerly accepted foreign currency. Odds are it will stay.

SUN CITY, SOUTH AFRICA

Africa's premier resort, Sun City, has four major hotels: the Cabanas, Sun City Hotel, Cascades and the Palace of the Lost City. Their existence came about when Bophuthatswana was declared an independent state by the former apartheid regime and could provide entertainment such as gambling and topless revue shows, which were banned in the rest of South Africa.

Sun City is a 90-minute drive from Johannesburg and is that city's major weekend destination. Entertainers including Queen and Elton John have worked the Sun City Super Bowl, Africa's largest entertainment venue.

The Sun City Hotel was the first of the super resorts and is famous for the huge jackpots on its slot machines, with one lucky punter picking up $1.2 million.

Trying to find your machine won't be easy - there are almost 900 of them. There's also punto banco, American roulette, craps and blackjack, with reserved rooms for sky's-the-limit gamblers.

BELLAGIO, LAS VEGAS

In the modern home of garish gambling dens, the Bellagio is perhaps the best of the best. The casino is part of the amazing Bellagio resort, with its 4000 rooms and suites, 30 restaurants, bars and cafes, shops including Tiffany, Gucci, Dior and Chanel, an art gallery with originals by Picasso, Degas and Monet, and a nightly performance by Cirque du Soleil.

Bellagio is owned by MGM, one of the major players in this sizzling city, and has a Players Club offering deals on seven resorts and casinos, 100 restaurants, 10 shows, seven-day spas and salons and three golf courses. There are almost unlimited events and free promotions.

There's an enormous range of gambling machines and a spread of table games including blackjack, Caribbean stud poker, craps, keno, Let It Ride, poker, Pai Gow poker, roulette, slots, big six, baccarat and megabucks. There's also a global service offering bets on sporting events - see if you can get set on the Yarra Glen trots.

You can enjoy much of this opulence for nothing - many of the amazing public rooms are open to all comers - and if you're a guest the resort expects to take your money at the gaming tables rather than the dining version. In other words, it's surprisingly affordable.

BORGATA CASINO, ATLANTIC CITY

Atlantic City is where the players from New York and other US eastern seaboard cities go to get their gambling fix. Serious wealth mingles with the hoi polloi and although the sky is the limit to what you can spend, the Borgata offers a range of accommodation packages starting around $100 for bed and buffet breakfast.

There are 14 table games and the usual range of jangling machines. You can have a flutter on races and other sports events around the world - in fact almost everything except two-up. The Borgata is big on entertainment and coming up soon are acts including Rod Stewart and Pearl Jam.

ATLANTIS RESORT, BAHAMAS

The largest casino in the Caribbean, Atlantis has 1000 slot machines, all linked to a system that offers rewards such as accommodation discounts each time you play. The salons are over the top in design - all gold plate and blown glass - and offer both French and American roulette.

There are 18 restaurants, buffets and cafes here and a range of non-gambling activities including water sports, golf, marine eco-exhibits, theatre and escorted island tours. But gambling aside, the marine attractions are what bring the punters here - Atlantis claims the largest artificial marine habitat in the world, with 11 lagoons and an estimated 200,000 sea animals.

There's a big choice of accommodation and you'll hear stories of punters who've started off in a $500 standard room, had luck on the tables, moved into a $4000 suite, lost the lot and moved back to their original accommodation.

But then, life's a gamble, isn't it? (Credit: Fairfax)

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Sunday, June 28, 2009

Hard Rock Intl Signs Deal To Build Hotel, Casino In Hungary

26th June 2009

Hard Rock International signed an agreement with EuroVegas Hungary Ltd to open Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hungary.

The move is part of a plan announced in 2007 by the company's owners, the Seminole tribe of Florida, to expand the restaurant chain aggressively in Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. The group said at the time it planned to open 25 to 30 hotels.

But the company's bid to lend its name to a theme park in the U.S. recently failed, as the park closed less than a year after it opened and was eventually sold in bankruptcy proceedings.

The Hungarian hotel will be in the northwest part of the country, near the Austrian and Slovakian borders, and is expected to open in early 2012. It will have more than 600 guest rooms.

Alfred Supersberger, co-chairman of EuroVegas Hungary, said his company was convinced Hard Rock was its ideal partner for the project, citing its expertise in operating large hotels and casinos.

Hard Rock has hotel and casino properties in several U.S. cities and in Macau, Pattaya and Bali, and has announced others in Malaysia, Singapore, Atlanta, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, among other locations.

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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

New Landmarks For PartyCasino.com and PartyBingo.com More Additions To World's Largest Online Casino As Number Of Games Doubles In Six Months

Gibraltar -- 16th June – www.partycasino.com and www.partybingo.com are both currently offering record jackpots that are waiting to be hit! The PartyCasino.com Gold Mega Jackpot is at a record level and stands at over $2.4 million, while the PartyBingo.com jackpot in the Lillac Lounge is industry leading at over £63,000 and is rated as highly winnable by independent comparison checks.

Gold Mega Jackpot games on PartyCasino.com include The Godfather, Super Star, Super Joker, Super Fortune Wheel, Super Mystic and Mega Fortune Wheel. PartyCasino.com now offers over 120 games and pays out well over $10 million EVERY DAY to players. The world’s largest online casino continues to expand rapidly - in fact the number of games on PartyCasino.com has DOUBLED in just six months and there are a lot more to come! The latest release has seen dozens of new games added with the highlights being the in-house developed dinosaur themed Raptor Island and online casino classic Cleopatra. They join the group of Cryptologic licensed Marvel games, Wagerworks games like the very popular Monopoly and Next Gen slots such as Dolphin Reef.

With rights acquired from Frank Sinatra Enterprises (FSE), a joint venture of the Sinatra Estate and Warner Music Group, PartyCasino.com has also developed the Sinatra Slot - a five-reel, 20 line slot game with a Sinatra Big Band feature. Play through the three ages of Frank in Hollywood, Las Vegas and New York, collecting and writing big band tunes on the way. The game features an accumulating bonus trigger; collect a Treble Clef for each reel to build up a Sinatra track at the top of the screen. Complete the track to see Frank sing a classic track and then get a chance to write your own number in the Big Band Bonus feature. The minimum bet is $0.01 and maximum is $1,000. To celebrate the recent introduction of this innovating slot, PartyCasino.com is offering the chance to win trips to New York, Las Vegas or Hollywood and free spins until July 7 – see http://www.partycasino.com/news/newsletter for more details. Other highlights include film themed slots such as Mission:Impossible, The Terminator, Top Gun, Saturday Night Fever, Gone with the Wind and Rambo.

The PartyBingo.com jackpot in the Lilac Lounge is now over £63,000, the largest in the industry at the current time. It is rated by independent adjudicators to be one of the most ripe to be hit and the ball count has been increased to 37 make it easier to hit!

A PartyGaming spokesman said: “PartyCasino.com is a completely different product to what it was six months ago with so many great new games added. The Gold Mega Jackpot just continues to grow and grow past previous record levels – we’re surprised it hasn’t been hit yet. At the same time jackpot hunters are going to find PartyBingo.com very attractive, £63,000 would be a seriously big bingo win!”

PartyGaming Plc is the world’s leading listed online gaming company. Founded in 1997, the Group is a constituent of the FTSE 250 share index and the FTSE4Good Index Series, which measures the performance of companies that meet globally recognised corporate responsibility standards. PartyGaming’s shares are listed on The London Stock Exchange under the ticker: PRTY. PartyGaming’s principal brands are: PartyPoker.com, PartyCasino.com, EmpirePoker.com, PartyBingo.com, PartyGammon.com, PartyBets.com, PartyMarkets.com and Gamebookers.com.

PartyGaming is regulated and licensed by the Government of Gibraltar and is certified by GamCare as a responsible gaming operator. For more information, please visit www.partygaming.com

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Sunday, June 14, 2009

SkyCity chases the world's high-rollers, by John Drinnan - The New Zealand Herald - 15th June 2009

One of Ejaaz Dean's roles as executive manager for table games for SkyCity Entertainment is attracting big-spending international clients to casinos here and in Australia.

But the 24-year industry veteran says the company would get nowhere if it mainly focused on the really big spenders - the so-called whales.

"Whales are the sexy part of the casino business.

"People want to hear about these people with millions to gamble dropping $1 million in a day - or even in an hour.

"But there are probably only 100 whales in the world and if people are bidding $50,000 a hand they could lose a million dollars very quickly. We don't really want to be in that space."

Dean joined SkyCity Entertainment 12 months ago as part of the revival and new blood under chief executive Nigel Morrison.

Because of the economic downturn international gamblers at SkyCity's casinos were down 15 per cent at the start of this year.

Dean is looking to the significant but less extravagant spenders - people who might bet, say, $5000 a hand in a game of poker.

To attract them, Dean and SkyCity provide packages including tourist jaunts, accommodation, food and entertainment.

The bid is a part of the reason for SkyCity increasing its entertainment profile in Auckland - making it a more attractive destination.

Those international clients are commonly seen as coming from Asia, but Dean is also looking closer to home.

"We are trying to get more Australians from the eastern seaboard to Auckland.

"We convince them with a three-to-five day trip and that gambling is not enough - we will say we'll take you to the Orbit Restaurant, take you to Queenstown for jetboating, or jumping off the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere."

The big challenge, he says, is that Asian gamblers he coaxes to New Zealand literally fly over Australia to get here.

Calculating margins is a complicated part of a complex business, says Dean, who fell into the casino business by accident, wanting a break after studying mathematics and computer programming at the University of Western Australia in Perth.

He aimed to stay six months but after six months in his first job dealing poker at Perth's Burswood casino, knew he was there for the long haul.

There are fundamental differences between table game players and those who play the machines.

Tables game players like the interaction with the dealer and with the gaming community - they like there to be other players.

"The machine player likes the one on one - customer versus machine. Whatever their decision it affects them and no one else." (Credit: The New Zealand Herald)

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Friday, June 12, 2009

Crown's Las Vegas punt comes a gutser, by Vanda Carson - The Sydney Morning Herald - 11th June 2009

James Packer's $US250 million ($A315 million) investment in a US casino development company has evaporated after three of its subsidiaries including its Las Vegas arm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Crown's investment in Fontainebleau Resorts is its largest single investment in the US, aside from the $US320 million it has agreed to pay for a stake in the Cannery Resorts.

The privately owned company has been struggling to stay afloat since April when 11 of its lenders withdrew their $US800 million financing for the company's Las Vegas project.

Its chief executive and co-founder, Glenn Schaeffer, left a month later and was not replaced.

In response to the bankruptcy filing by Fontainebleau yesterday, Crown last night announced that it had written down the investment to nil at the end of the 2008 calendar year.

This contradicted what the company told Bloomberg on June 1, when it denied that the carrying value was nil: "Investments in Fontainebleau, Harrah's and Stations Casino Group have been written down … Crown Limited has never indicated to The Australian Financial Review or to anyone else that the investment in Fontainebleau Resorts has been totally written off."

At the company's half-year result in February, chief executive Rowen Craigie declined to reveal the carrying value of the Fontainebleau investment.

Crown invested $US250 million with Fontainebleau Resorts for a 19.6 per cent stake last year. UBS valued the investment at $A75 million on June 1.

The company is part way through construction of a $US3.5 billion hotel and casino project, complete with apartments and upmarket shops, across the road from the famous Circus Circus casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

The 3815-room mega-resort was due to open in October but is over budget by $US375 million. It is majority owned by Miami developer Jeffrey Soffer.

A spokesman for Fontainebleau's Las Vegas arm told Associated Press that some of its lenders had agreed to let the company use cash during its bankruptcy. It was also in talks to obtain financing to restart construction at the resort.

Crown has had a bad run of luck in trying to break into the coveted Las Vegas market. Attempts to build the world's tallest casino in Las Vegas failed last year due to financing problems and in March, Crown pulled out of a deal to buy the Cannery casino group at the 11th hour, settling instead for a much smaller stake.

Crown had also been burned by its previous investment alongside the Californian private equity firm Colony. It paid $242 million for a 4.9 per cent stake in Station Casinos at the top of the market in 2007, which the company now concedes is "pretty much" worthless.

Station Casinos, which owns 13 casinos in Las Vegas, is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. (Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald)

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Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Others could follow us, says Virgin Games chief executive - This Is Guernsey - 9th June 2009

Guernsey has become the central hub for all Virgin Games online gaming services.

The company moved to Guernsey last year and took on four people, according to Virgin Games chief executive Simon Burridge (pictured).

‘We started as a marketing operation, which meant we had to outsource all operations except marketing,’ he said.

That has now changed and the company has centralised its casino, poker and bingo services in the island.

Making all the operations in-house had always been the intention when moving to Guernsey, according to Mr Burridge.

He said he was pleased with how the company was operating here.

‘It is a lovely place. It has fantastic infrastructure and we wanted to employ people with financial experience. It is also close to the UK and we are regulated nearby in Alderney.’

He said he could definitely see more online companies moving to the island. (Credit: This Is Guernsey)

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Thursday, June 04, 2009

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Sunday, May 31, 2009

Packer confident of his Macau gamble - The Australian - 30th May 2009

On Monday morning, James Packer will wake up in Macau to his moment of truth.

In the 3 1/2 years since the death of his legendary father, Kerry, Packer has transformed the family empire from one focused predominantly on media into the international casinos conglomerate Crown.

Monday's opening of Macau's City of Dreams casino -- one of the Chinese territory's most opulent and expensive -- is a crucial psychological marker on whether that transformation has been successful.

One of Packer's close confidants told The Weekend Australian this week the 42-year-old "always had a real belief in Macau and he's backed his belief". "City of Dreams is the culmination of that," the friend says. "It will be the jewel in the crown, in terms of size, of all of his casinos."

But with size comes risk. Packer has bet hundreds of millions of dollars of his money -- but more importantly his reputation as a major player on the international gaming scene alongside casino legends Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson -- on Macau.

Packer and Stanley Ho's son, Lawrence Ho -- his partner in the Melco Crown Entertainment joint venture behind the casino -- unveiled their plans for City of Dreams in the midst of an unseemly rush to develop a new Asian Las Vegas.

But today, such developments face pretty strong headwinds. In particular, gaming revenues in Macau are under pressure as the financial crisis and restrictions on Chinese citizens travelling to the former Portuguese colony bite. Even major players, such as the Las Vegas Sands, have reportedly delayed projects. Packer's fortunes have certainly fallen in line with the global crisis, with BRW magazine this week estimating his worth at $3 billion, down from $6.1 billion this time last year and the $7.3 billion he reportedly inherited from his father.

Still, Crown shares, of which the Packer family owns 36 per cent, have rallied strongly ahead of the City of Dreams opening. The run was spurred in part by Crown's escape from a proposed $US1.75 billion ($2.2 billion) takeover of Cannery Casino Resorts in the US. But one source close to Packer describes him as "quietly confident" about the future of City of Dreams. "I think we benefited from the fact there are a hell of a lot of cranes up there on unfinished projects," he says. "It is the only big new casino opening, and it will be the only one for some time."

The importance of Monday night's spectacular opening ceremony and first few months of trading are not lost on Melco Crown finance chief Simon Dewhurst. "City of Dreams is our flagship development," he says.

"It has consumed over 60 per cent of our investment capital and it represents our first opportunity in Macau to compete for the integrated resort middle ground that represents the future for the market. The opening of CoD marks the culmination of more than six years hard work. We are taking a transformational step from being primarily a development company, to being primarily an operating company."

Crown chief Rowen Craigie agrees the opening of City of Dreams represents "a major milestone". He says: "City of Dreams will be an exciting and attractive property and will benefit from being the only major casino entertainment complex to open in Macau in 2009."

City of Dreams, on Macau's popular Cotai strip, will be Melco Crown's second in the territory, following the opening of the $US760 million Crown Macau (now the Altira Macau) in 2007.

Analysts say City of Dreams is the first casino in Macau to break the $US2billion investment threshold. Its opening will be the culmination of a process that started before Kerry Packer's death when James settled on Macau as the first focal point of his global gaming ambitions.

In November 2004, Packer struck a joint venture agreement with the Hong Kong-listed leisure and entertainment group, Melco Development, run by Lawrence Ho. While there was little concrete announced at the time, it was soon made clear the joint venture company had big plans.

Once his father died in December 2005, Packer moved quickly to transform what was then the media-driven Publishing and Broadcasting Limited into a gaming empire. This transformation was highlighted late in 2006 with the top-of-the-market sale of PBL Media -- owner of the Nine Network and ACP Magazines -- to private equity firm CVC Asia Pacific for more than $5billion, just before the value of the assets started to decline amid both structural and cyclical change.

The PBL empire was left as largely a casino-focused one, and a subsequent split of the group in 2007 saw the casino assets hived off into the new casinos group, Crown.

But the move that signalled Packer's serious intent for gaming in Macau was his joint move with Melco just three months after his father's death to buy Macau's last available casino sub-concession from Wynn, the US casino entrepreneur, for $US900 million. The move cemented Packer and Ho as major players at the table of Macau's casino industry.

Altira Macau and City of Dreams are now held through Melco Crown Entertainment, which is listed on the Nasdaq index in the US and counts Crown as a 36.4 per cent shareholder.

Since 2006, Crown has also made a series of casino purchases independent of the Melco Crown venture in North America. These include stakes in the US-based Fontainebleau Resorts, Canada's Gateway Resorts group, Stations Casino Group and Harrah's Entertainment, underlining Packer's intense focus on gaming assets.

With the fall-off in casino values worldwide since the purchases, critics -- acting with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight -- have questioned the wisdom of his moves in both Macau and North America shortly before the global economic downturn. Even Crown's Rowen Craigie reportedly admitted earlier this year that the group had bought some of its US assets at the top of the market.

Crown's woes in the US were on full display in the company's interim profit result, with the group posting a reported net loss of $409.7 million due to a non-recurring $454.9 million writedown to the value of its minority US casino investments -- namely Fontainebleau, Stations and Harrah's.

But Packer's supporters assert that while there has been a fall in value of the US ventures in particular, he is well up on his Macau investments. After its $US45 million investment in Melco Crown's $US180 million capital raising this month, Crown has now invested a total of $US500 million in the group. That stake is now worth more than $US1 billion. Friends point out that Packer has effectively doubled his money and, in the process, gained a major say in a business that has two casinos fully funded, one of only six casino licences in Macau, and assorted hotels, retail complexes and entertainment venues supporting the casinos.

Melco Crown is not without problems. It booked a March quarter net loss of $US35.3 million, compared to a profit of $US43.2 million for the same period last year, prompting Ho to admit the casino market was not out of the woods yet. One analyst noted that Crown Macau had a "very poor opening" in 2007, with Packer's reputation suffering as a result. City of Dreams, he says, represents "a very critical moment".

Then again, Deutsche Bank last week raised its price target on Melco Crown from $US4.40 to $US6 a share, saying it was "now more confident on the success of City of Dreams after we walked through the property early this month".

City of Dreams certainly sounds impressive. Ho promises the water- and fantasy-themed complex will be a "next-generation resort like no other in Asia, or perhaps the world".

Located directly opposite the biggest casino in Macau -- the Las Vegas Sands Venetian Macau -- it will boast several distinctly branded casino floors, three world-class hotels and a shopping precinct to be known as The Boulevard.

On Monday, Melco Crown opens the first phase of that project, which will include the Crown Towers and Hard Rock hotels, 20 bars and restaurants, The Boulevard, plus a casino with 520 gaming tables (a third of which will be VIP) and 1350 gaming machines. It will be the only major casino to open in Macau this calendar year.

The casino's Bubble Theatre will feature a 10-minute "Dragon's Treasure" multi-media lights show. Theatre of Dreams, a 2000-seat theatre, will feature a Cirque Du Soleil-style water production when it opens in the December half. By December, the third hotel, the Grand Hyatt, will open, giving the complex a total of 1400 rooms. And there is even the future prospect of a further apartment development in the complex, subject to Macau regulatory approval. Melco's Dewhurst says Melco Crown is "very confident". He says: "We have spent a very significant amount of time, energy and resource into understanding what's working and what's not working throughout the market. We think City of Dreams is right."

Success for Melco Crown and City of Dreams will come down to a number of things. But one key measure will be foot traffic. "We expect that we will have something in the order of 35,000 guests a day passing through the property," Dewhurst says. "I have no doubt that we will have in excess of that number on the first day. In the first 100 days what's important for us is that on any of those 100 days we see that volume of traffic into the building."

In the current climate, that could be a challenge. Its performance will hinge on the recovery of the Asian economy -- and in particular how quickly Asian high-rollers return to the territory's casinos after the tough recent times.

Credit Suisse analyst Gabriel Chan said in a note last week that "with concerns about swine flu remaining vital, and signs that the recovery pace of the Chinese economy may have slowed, we see certain execution risks for the opening".

Indeed, visitor numbers to Macau, as recorded by the Statistics and Census Service, were down 3.5 per cent in April from the same period last year and steady over the previous month. Visitors from mainland China were down 13.5 per cent year on year.

Gaming revenues have suffered as a result of weaker visitor arrivals, but the pace of the decline has stabilised in the past few months. And there are hopes, from Ho down, for a swift rebound, partly driven by the buzz from the City of Dreams opening.

Some analysts believe that as Macau's most expensive casino, City of Dreams may be able to take market share from other players.

Janet Brashear, senior gaming analyst with US investment house Sanford C. Bernstein, says she expects City of Dreams to "make a splash, garnering $US1.4 billion in gross gaming revenues in 2010 and a 10 per cent share of the market". She also predicts City of Dreams could cannibalise the market share of some of its competitors in Macau, such as the Venetian Macau and Wynn resort.

For analysts, success will come down to one thing -- City of Dreams achieving an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of about $US300 million in the first year.

"You look across the road at the Venetian and they're doing about $US120 million EBITDA a quarter -- $US500 million a year," says one analyst. "So you would have thought $US300 million would be achievable for City of Dreams."

If City of Dreams achieves better than that -- say $US500 million a year -- then it will be a strong position against its rivals. There is growing speculation that casino giant MGM may have to sell its Macau interests after US regulators raised concerns about its local joint venture partner, Pansy Ho -- the daughter of Stanley and brother of Lawrence. Las Vegas Sands is also looking to sell some plots.

One close Packer confidant is hedging his bets ahead of Monday's event. He says: "On the assumption that the Macau economy will start to improve, Melco and City of Dreams are going to be in a very good place." (The Australian)

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James Packer's biggest casino venture opens in Macau today - The Daily Telegraph - 1st June 2009

It is arguably James Packer's biggest and boldest venture, a key pillar in the man's grand plan of global gaming dominance. And it opens today.

It is the much-hyped City of Dreams, a colossal casino resort on Macau's glitzy Cotai Strip and the second instalment from Melco Crown (MPEL), the company jointly owned by Packer's Crown Limited, and Melco.

There is no disputing the fanfare with which the grandiose complex will open, but what is a hot topic is whether the venture will be a success.

The timing, amid a global meltdown and hampered by a forced slowdown of tourists entering Macau, is not helpful.

But it does have one key advantage. It is the only casino opening in Macau this year, after much-larger projects were postponed.

One gaming analyst told The Daily Telegraph the City of Dreams "was a sink or swim moment" for MPEL.

But UBS analysts believes product offering, and most surprisingly timing, will make City of Dreams a success.

"Against the context of limited supply growth, improving market revenue trends, and City of Dream's scale and product, MPEL is arguably in the right place at the right time," the analysts said in a report.

Melco Crown suffered an inglorious start to life in Macau with Crown Macau failing to attract the punters due to its location and public perceptions that the complex had Feng Shui design issues.

Recently reborn as Altira Macau, the complex has since flourished thanks to the significant revenue generated by VIP gamblers ferried in from Hong Kong.

MPEL does hold a licence to build a third casino complex in Macau, but has not committed to plans as yet. (Credit: The Daily Telegraph)

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Monday, May 25, 2009

G2E Asia to look at Asian gaming industry's future - Macau Daily Times - 25th May 2009

The Global Gaming Expo Asia (G2E Asia) 2009 will in this year present its industrial trade show and forums from June 2 to June 4 at the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel.

Hosted by the American Gaming Association, it is an annual international gaming event dedicated to the Asian gaming markets.

The three-day conferences will provide the latest trend in the Asian gaming industry and showcase of new products brought by leading manufacturers.

The conference will bring together a panel of eminent business and industry leaders from a variety of sectors related to the gaming industry, to exchange views and insights on the emerging gaming market in Asia Pacific.

Speakers will also share and discuss the impact of the global economic downturn on the gaming industry and the gaming equipment sector from the manufacturers’ perspective.

In addition, they will talk about the current and future outlook in regards to the Asian gaming industry.

The opening ceremony of G2E Asia 2009 will be held in conjunction with the Visionary Award Presentation with a keynote address by Stanley Ho Hung-sun at 10am on June 3 in the Naples Room.

It will be followed by a VIP tour with officiating guests at Exhibition Hall A and B.

The conferences and forums will be open from the morning till the afternoon, with different schedules each day.

(Credit: Macau Daily Times)

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Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Crown moves to distance itself from Ho's run-in with US regulator, by Eli Greenblat - The Sydney Morning Herald - 21st May 2009

James Packer's Crown has played down the possibility of damage to its US growth aspirations after a powerful New Jersey gaming regulator classed the sister of its joint venture partner in Macau as an "unsuitable" business partner.

A confidential report by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) has found that local casino operator MGM Mirage should be "directed to disengage" from its Macau joint venture partner, Pansy Ho, daughter of Asian gambling tycoon Stanley Ho. Among other things, the document highlighted compliance problems and deficient due diligence.

It represents the first adverse ruling against the second generation of the Ho family by a US state gaming body and might be used by other American jurisdictions to force a divestment by the clan of all of its US activities and partnerships.

News of the overnight findings sparked concerns that the contagion could also spread to Crown's billion-dollar tie-up with its Macau partner, Melco International.

Lawrence Ho, brother of Pansy, is the chief executive of Melco, which together with Crown forged a $US8.7 billion ($11.3 billion) casino business in 2006 called Melco Crown Entertainment to build a string of casinos and hotels.

But last night, Anthony Klok, the head of Crown's investor relations and director of its international business development, said the New Jersey investigation would not affect its dealings with Lawrence Ho or Crown's separate and independent operations in the US.

"It has no affect on us, our relationship with Lawrence or Melco … the Lawrence-Melco relationship has been approved in Australia and in Nevada some time ago," Mr Klok said.

He said when Crown sought approval for its purchase of the Cannery Casino Resorts business in the US for $US1.75 billion, it was fully investigated and cleared by Nevada gaming regulators. This would have included a review of Crown's associates, including Melco and Lawrence Ho.

The investigation into Ms Ho was kicked off in 2005 after MGM Mirage sought a renewal of its Borgata casino licence in Atlantic City which sub-sequently extended into a review of the $US1.25 billion MGM Grand Macau in which Ms Ho has a 50 per cent stake.

In a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the chief financial officer of MGM Mirage, Daniel D'Arrigo, said the DGE recommended that its partner be found to be unsuitable and MGM was directed to disengage itself from any association.

However, Mr D'Arrigo added that the report was merely a recommendation and was not binding on the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, which will have the final say. (Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald)

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Sunday, May 17, 2009

Classic Slots Online - Virgin Casino Slots - Top 5

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Thursday, May 14, 2009

Classic Slots Online - Most Popular Classic Slot Games

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Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Crown expansion plan draws fire from critics, by Sarah-Jane Collins and Jason Dowling - The Sydney Morning Herald - 13th May 2009

Crown Casino has been granted its biggest expansion in gambling capacity since opening at its Southbank location more than a decade ago, in a deal attacked yesterday by campaigners for responsible gaming.

The casino, now one of the biggest in the world, will be able to increase its number of gambling tables by more than 40 per cent to 500 tables.

"Clearly the casino is being treated as the primary and first citizen of the state, with privileges that are really a cosy deal without the rest of the community having any say," the Reverend Tim Costello said.

The Victorian Gaming Minister, Tony Robinson, said the Government had agreed with Crown to alter their licence agreement to allow for 150 extra gaming tables and an expansion of the gaming floor. In exchange, Crown will pay about 10.5 per cent extra in poker machine taxes, bringing it into line with other pokie machine operators across Victoria. The increase will be implemented in 1.7 per cent increments over six years.

"This is bringing the tax that they pay on their poker machines up to the level that is paid by other entities across the state, so it's a good deal for taxpayers," Mr Robinson said.

He said allowing the expansion would ensure Crown remained the first choice casino destination in Australia.

"If people ultimately want to have the boiled sweets experience of casinos, let them go to Sydney. If they want the rolled gold dark chocolate experience they're going to keep coming to Melbourne and we're going to ensure that."

Gary O'Neill, from Crown Casino, said the deal meant Crown would be able to keep up with growing rivals in Macau and Singapore. "The new mega complexes are very big. They will be very competitive and they will compete for the tourist dollar in this part of the world."

Mr O'Neill said the gaming floor at Crown would expand but final approval for an expansion rests with the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation.

Mark Zirnsak, from the Interfaith Gambling Taskforce described the expansion as appalling. "This, coming at a time when there's a global financial crisis, it's going to push more Victorians into being in hardship and vulnerable," he said.

Dr Zirnsak said the deal pointed to the "very cosy relationship between the Government and Crown".

"There's been no consultation on this expansion, which we believe there should have been, and the timing is indeed appalling," he said.

He said Crown did not need an expansion to remain competitive. "They've got a monopoly [in Victoria] and most of their patrons aren't millionaires flying in from overseas. They are locals," he said.

But he said he supported the increase in pokies taxes.

The Opposition's gaming spokesman, Michael O'Brien, said Mr Robinson had waited until budget day to announce the deal in an attempt to bury a bad decision. "Labor is clearly embarrassed by this gambling boost and tax grab, as it should be." (Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald)

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Monday, May 11, 2009

Betfair goes to court over Dutch bank ban - 11th May 2009

One of Britain's biggest betting companies is taking the Dutch Government to court over its attempt to block Dutch banks from processing the payment of bets made over the internet.

Betfair, the betting exchange operator, which has been seeking a Dutch licence since 2004, described actions by the Ministry of Justice as "a desperate move" to protect the position of De Lotto, the Dutch state monopoly.

The ministry recently wrote to domestic banks claiming that, because Dutch laws did not allow for the licensing of internet gambling companies, it was "inappropriate for banks to provide facilities to the providers of illegal games of chance".

It urged the directors of the banks to terminate all relationships with internet gambling operators "within a reasonable timeframe".

Betfair maintains that it is entitled to accept bets from The Netherlands because Dutch residents are allowed to bet online with De Lotto and because it is a licensed operator in the EU, with licences in Britain and Malta.

Betfair managing director Mark Davies said the ministry's actions "fly in the face of the EU principles of open and fair competition", serving to protect De Lotto and keeping prices high.

The lawsuit by Betfair, which has also made a formal complaint to the European Commission, is the latest salvo in a battle over internet gambling in the EU. Ladbrokes has challenged several governments, including that of the Netherlands, and the EC itself has issued proceedings against the Dutch Government.

Betfair said the timing of the letters to the Dutch banks was "questionable" given that the European Court of Justice, to which cases involving Betfair and Ladbrokes had been referred, had yet to rule on the compatibility of the Dutch Betting & Gaming Act with EU law.

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Sunday, May 10, 2009

Casino anticipates ten redundancies, by Brian Reyes - Gibraltar Chronicle

The Gibraltar Casino will lose up to 10 of its existing staff as part of a restructure ahead of a £5.5m move to Palm Island in Ocean Village. But it plans to recruit up to 40 new employees locally to fill new posts once the relocation is complete.

Casino manager Stuart Kirkpatrick said about six workers had already been made redundant from a staff of 120 and that a further “three or four” jobs could be lost.

He said affected staff had been offered the option of new posts in the restructured business but many had preferred to move on.

Managers have engaged with union representatives and have met to discuss the changes, he said. The latest meeting is scheduled for today.

The recruitment drive for new employees will start next year and there will be vacancies in all areas of the casino’s business.

“We need to fill those jobs and we’ll be looking locally,” Mr Kirkpatrick said.
The staff shake-up follows a wide-ranging operational review carried out by casino management since April ahead of the move next year.

The Ocean Village site will be a completely revamped casino and could be up and running as early as next August.

UK-based Gala Casino, which owns the Gibraltar Casino, will invest heavily on cutting edge technologies to offer customers new products and games.

“It will be miles from where we are now,” Mr Kirkpatrick said.

(Credit: Gibraltar Chronicle)

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Wednesday, May 06, 2009

iMEGA Letter to ISPs: Reject Minnesota Online Gambling Blocking Order - Gambling911 - 5th May 2009

The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA) has sent letters to Internet service providers Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and others, alerting them that they need not comply with an order to block access to Internet gambling Web sites that was issued by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) Alcohol & Gambling Enforcement Division (AGED).

iMEGA's letter highlighted the state agency's error applying a federal law - the Wire Act of 1961 (18 USC 1084) - as the basis for issuing an order to block Minnesota residents from freely accessing 200 Web sites included on a "black list" created by DPS/AGED. In addition to a few popular sites, like FullTiltPoker.com and Bodog.com, the list included sites that did not accept business from US residents, and some that were no longer in business.

"Because website operators are not subscribers of yours, have no contracts with you and are not provided facilities by you, you should be aware the the MN DPS is attempting to mislead(either intentionally or inadvertently) you into believing that you are bound by federal law to do what the MN DPS asks," the letter stated. "In fact, [the Wire Act] simply does not apply to the web site operators and imposes no duty upon you and provides no authority to you to comply with the MN DPS request."

iMEGA sent the letter to the ISPs in hope of persuading them not to block access to the sites by Minnesota residents. "The DPS has issued this order on erroneous legal ground," said Joe Brennan Jr., iMEGA chairman. "We hope that the ISPs will disregard the order, and that DPS will reconsider their actions and the far-reaching effects this kind of Internet censorship would have." (Gambling911)

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Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Swiss To Offer Online Gambling Licenses - iGaming Business - 5th May 2009

In Switzerland, the Government has announced plans to liberalise its online gambling market by offering operators a limited number of licenses while keeping a ban on wagers placed through telephone and interactive television.

The proposals are the idea of the Justice Ministry in response to the increasing number of illegal online money games but any changes would be subject to the approval of the Swiss Parliament.

The plan would also tighten measures against other forms of illegal gambling, which could see the Swiss run afoul of the European Commission for seeming to give preferential treatment to locally licensed providers over those based in other Member States.

According to an article from news portal SwissInfo.ch, new forms of gambling in Switzerland could see the Government generate tax revenues of up to $22 million a year.

The Swiss decision comes hard on the heels of Denmark’s announcement last week that it would be presenting proposals that would, if passed, end the 60-year gaming monopoly of the State-owned Danske Spil organisation. (Credit: iGaming Business)

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Great Women of Gaming for 2008 award winners honored - Indian Country Today - 5th May 2009

Casino Enterprise Management Magazine spotlights gaming executives for outstanding professionalism, perseverance, drive, commitment and mentorship

FARGO, N.D. – Casino Enterprise Management Magazine named the winners of its 2008 Great Women of Gaming Awards, now in its fourth year.

This year, 10 award winners were broken down into two categories: Proven Leaders and Rising Stars. To qualify as a Proven Leader, candidates must have worked in the gaming industry for a minimum of 10 years and have been in their current position for at least one year. They must also work for a gaming industry company and hold a position of director or higher, having demonstrated exceptional achievement in at least three of the following areas: 1) ability to go above and beyond job responsibilities; 2) commitment to company and co-workers; 3) contributions to the industry as a whole; 4) commitment to mentoring; and 5) strong overall life balance.

The 2008 Great Women of Gaming Proven Leader Award winners are:

• Cath Burns, vice president, Asia-Pacific and managing director, Bally Macau.

• Libby Francisco, chief operations officer, Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise.

• Jana McKeag, president and co-owner, Lowry Strategies.

• Cynthia Kiser Murphy, president and COO, New York – New York Hotel & Casino.

• Linda Roe, vice president of business development and client relations, Thalden-Boyd-Emery Architects.

To qualify as a Rising Star, candidates must have worked in the gaming industry for a minimum of three years and have been in their current position for at least one year. They must also work for a gaming industry company and hold a position of manager or higher, having demonstrated exceptional achievement in at least three of the same five areas as proven Leaders.

The 2008 Great Women of Gaming Rising Star Award winners are:

• Michelle Chatigny, vice president of compliance, International Game Technology.

• Catina Moore, senior manager of operations, WMS Gaming.

• Valerie Morris, regional vice president of sales, communications and community relations, Harrah’s Entertainment.

• Treena L. Parvello, director of marketing and public relations, Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise.

• Jennifer Roberts, associate attorney, Gaming and Regulatory Department, Lionel Sawyer & Collins Las Vegas.

This year’s judging committee comprised of former Great Women of Gaming award winners and other industry leaders including Brenda Boudreaux, vice president of product management, International Game Technology; Dona Cassese, creative director of global marketing communications and operations, Aristocrat Americas; Tracey Chernay, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Transact Technologies; Christie Eickelman, senior director of worldwide marketing, Gaming Laboratories International; Christie Modlin, tribal chair, Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; Shelia Morago, executive director, Arizona Indian Gaming Commission; Courtney Muller, group vice president, Reed Exhibitions; Debra J. Nelson, vice president of corporate diversity and community affairs, MGM MIRAGE; Mary Lynn Palenik, director of development, research and analysis, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP; and Lynn “Nay” Valbeauna, vice chair, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.

“This year’s candidates were an accomplished group of women from all facets of the gaming industry,” said Peter Mead, publisher of Casino Enterprise Management Magazine. “Our judges had a difficult decision choosing the winners, and I believe they did an excellent job selecting the top 10. But, in the end, each woman nominated is a Great Women of Gaming to our industry. It’s been a pleasure of ours to continue to honor these women as they continue to strive for personal and professional excellence.”

An in-depth article featuring profiles of this year’s 10 award winners will be featured in the May issue of Casino Enterprise Management Magazine. The winners will also receive the prestigious crystal Great Women of Gaming Award and will be honored at a dedicated ceremony. (Credit: Indian Country Today)

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State plays its hand in targeting online gambling websites, by Paul Walsh - Star Tribune - 1st May 2009

Users may be finding ways around Minnesota's attempt to cut off access to the 200 Internet game sites.

The state of Minnesota on Friday released the names of 200 online gambling websites it is trying to prevent Minnesotans from using, warning that Internet wagering is illegal.

The specific sites being targeted will be of interest to Minnesotans who use them and are concerned that any balances they have with those operations could be lost if the state succeeds in blocking access.

Fulltime online poker player and instructor Chris Wallace of St. Paul scoffed at the list built by the state, however.

"I'm certain they didn't do a whole lot of research," Wallace said. "The largest poker site in the world [Poker Stars] is not listed."

Wallace also said he's confident that he won't lose any money because of the state's block. "I do have money in many of these sites," he said. "The worst is that I will drive over to Wisconsin and request a cashout."

He said he has already shifted his computer to a server in the Cayman Islands and was back on his favorite site within 20 minutes at no expense, thereby getting around any block that Minnesota wants put in place.

On Wednesday, a division of the state Department of Public Safety that enforces gambling and alcohol laws said it has instructed 11 national and regional telephone and Internet service providers (ISPs) to block access by all Minnesota-based computers to the websites on the list.

Minnesota says all online gambling within its borders is illegal, even if the games are hosted outside the United States.

Operators of these types of sites are spread around the world, most commonly in the United Kingdom and the Caribbean, as some of their names suggest: Casino Euro, English Harbour and Virgin Games, among others.

Written notices from the division were served Monday to AT&T Internet Services, Charter Communications, Comcast Cable, DirecTV, Dish Network, Embarq and Sprint/Nextel, Frontier Communications, Qwest, Verizon Wireless and Wildblue Communications. (Credit: Star Tribune)

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