"I can't even believe it... it hasn't sunk in yet."

They were the words of the second-ever two-time Red Dragon champion Tom Alner.

He's played a pretty good game at PokerStars LIVE Macau this week to conquer a record-breaking 1,145-player field and secure his second Red Dragon title and HK$2509,000!

Alner entered heads up play with a 2:1 chip deficit but against the chances he fought his as far back as emerge victorious over Wenxiang Chen. The battle waged for just about three hours until Chen attempted to set a trap and it backfired when the brand new champion flopped a straight.

Chen limped at the button and Alner checked to look the 3♣6♣5♠ flop. After a check from Alner, Chen fired for 300,000, only to be raised by Alner to fifteen. million. Chen desired to play for more and installed another raise to 4 million before Alner shoved all in with enough to hide Chen's 2.85 million behind.

With a defeated look Chen still committed the chips and saw his K♣K♦ was drawing super thin against Alner's 7♠4♠. A brick at the Q♠ turn meant it was official and Alner had locked up the championship before the inconsequential 6♥ arrived at the end.

Before that heads up clash though Alner needed to navigate his way through a difficult final table.

Surprisingly it was our start-of-day chip leader Shuiyang Qiu who was the primary evictee. After losing a large pot to Chen the latter soon finished him off when he picked up pocket aces against Qiu's pocket kings. Qiu five-bet jammed preflop and couldn't improve after being snapped off.

Our 8th place finisher was Xiao Bo Zhou. He fell into Jack Salter's trap and got all his money in with A♦Q♣ on a flop of 9♣3♠Q♠. Salter had him covered, however, along with his stack and his cards holding K♥K♣ for the overpair. The 9♥ turn and 3♥ river couldn't save Zhou and he headed to the payout desk to assemble HK$237,970.

Following Zhou to the rail in 7th place was Jingxuan Zhu. He jammed preflop from the cutoff with pocket nines but if Chen awoke with pocket tens within the small blind it was all over the place for Zhou. He did not improve when the community cards fell and Chen was sent packing.

Liang Song was our 6th place finisher. It was a straight draw that got him in trouble against Salter's two pair. With the board showing 2♠6♥8♣4♣ Song got all of it in with 9♦7♥ against Salter's 8♥6♦. The A♥ river bricked off to signal the top of Song's tournament run.

The next to fall was Daniel Lee after he received a foul beat from Benjamin Hamnet. Lee got his money in good holding pocket sevens but did not hold against Hamnet's pocket sixes when a six fell at the turn. Lee collected HK$440,000 for his 5th place finish.

After two hours of four-handed play it was Hamnet you was eliminated next. He ended up at the wrong end of a flip versus Alner. Hamnet had 4♥4♣ but couldn't hold against Alner's Q♦J♥ when the cards came down 9♦J♣5♠K♦T♦.

It could be another four hours of play before heads up began. Salter took home the 3rd place prize after his luck ran out against Chen. Salter got his short stack all in with A♦6♣ but was behind versus Chen's 6♠6♥. Failing to seek out an ace Salter departed and took us to the heads up match where Alner triumphed over Chen.

MPC25 Red Dragon Final Table Payouts

1st: Tom Alner (UK) - HK$2,509,0002nd: Wenxiang Chen (China) - HK$1,487,0003rd: Jack Salter (UK) - HK$892,0004th: Benjamin Hamnet (USA) - HK$650,0005th: Daniel Lee (USA) - HK$440,0006th: Liang Song (China) - HK$321,0007th: JingXuan Zhu (China) - HK$274,0008th: Xiao Bo Zhou (China) - HK$237,9709th: Shuiyang Qiu (China) - HK$202,000

Full payout list

Congratulations to Tom!

That's all from us here in Macau tonight. We'll pick up coverage of the HK$80,000 High Roller event tomorrow. We are hoping you'll be able to join us then.

Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com :: Asia Pacific Poker Tour]

Betgenius, the leading supplier of sophisticated data-driven services and products to regulated sportsbook operators and lotteries, has made offering a horseracing product simple and cost-effective with the launch of Racing Manager.

Racing Manager completely removes the will for any in-house traders and provides operators access to greater than 40,000 events a year across UK and Australian racing.

The new product contains three separate but complementary components: streaming, trading and front-end. These can also be integrated individually or as one to offer an end-to-end product.

Via an exclusive take care of Racing UK, Betgenius offers live streaming capability for major UK horseracing events, including the Grand National, Cheltenham Festival, Glorious Goodwood, Royal Ascot and the Epsom Derby.

The trading a part of the product gives partners access to a fully-automated system from which they are able to create a personalized feed of racing fixtures and costs to compare their requirements and strategy.

Key features include delivery of all race-card information from the official source, configurable odds allowing bespoke margins and suspensions, and automatic management of pricing within the event of non-runners.

Furthermore, Racing Manager’s front-end solution removes pressure on operators’ in-house UI and design teams by bringing the fastest and most accurate pricing and streaming together to tell punters’ betting decisions and create your entire customer experience.

Jack Davison, managing director of Betgenius, said: “With our Racing Manager product, sportsbook operators need not fail to see the high-margin, around-the-clock betting opportunity that may be horseracing.

“By making a unique, off-the-shelf service that automates all trading and front-end requirements, now we have made offering a horseracing product as simple and cost-effective as possible.”

Read More... [Source: eGaming]

So, you have nothing planned for the weekend? No holiday? No backyard BBQ? No ski trip in Patagonia?

What's say you win some money, then?

No matter how big or small your bankroll is, you may have an opportunity to play for a $1 million prize pool on Sunday. The MicroMillions 12 Main Event kicks off Sunday at 14:00 ET. You may get in for less than $22, or play any of the satellites for far less and get in at the action.

If you're itching to begin playing now, MicroMillions can be running all day long, all day Saturday, and all day Sunday. To plot the remainder of your MicroMillions weekend, head on over to the MicroMillions homepage and determine your individual MicroMillions finale.

MicroMillions is a smart strategy to build a bank roll and start as a poker player. Click here to get a PokerStars account.

If you are looking for a super-cheap method to get by and large Event, make sure you sit for the primary Event VIP Bash on Saturday at 13:00 ET. It only costs 100 StarsCoin to shop for in and PokerStars is adding 200 seats to the prize pool

Overnight, MicroMillions crowned a couple of new champs. Here's how they fared.

EVENT BUY-IN PLAYERS PRIZEPOOL WINNER COUNTRY PRIZE MONEY

67	$3.30	7,934	$23,802.00	rudy646	Russia	$3,355.69
68	$5.50	6,413	$32,065.00	WAAAAAAAAGH!	Russia	$4,561.35
69	$2.20	21,013	$21,013	gebo05	Czech Republic	$2,182.97
70	$4.40	17,230	$75,000.00	lo-fi dream	Brazil	$7,735.27
71	$2.20	4,615	$9,230.00	UdonkeyU	United Kingdom	$1,093.79
72	$4.40	4,300	$61,928.00	nickkoevoets	Netherlands	$5,810.48

As we mentioned earlier, PokerStars has spread out some Spin & Go tourneys that would send you to Barcelona for the EPT.

Daniel Negreanu apparently loves this idea. He wrote an individual blog post over on his site where he promises to be offer an exclusive Q&A session to all who Spin & Go their strategy to Spain. You'll be able to take a look at that story over on Kid Poker's blog.

I mean, give the fellow a read. It's his birthday weekend after all.

If none of that appeals to you and you've got other ideas about have fun, PokerStars recently unfolded the tourney creation station to...you.

If you take a look at the PokerStars VIP Store, you will see that you would be able to now create your personal tourneys and cause them to look however you want.

For full details on that, take a look at this post from earlier within the week.

If you happen to be within shouting distance of the Philippines, go take a look at the town of Dreams in Manila where the Asia Pacific Poker Tour is kicking off its festival there.

The Main Event still has satellites running on PokerStars, so that you can still make it in in case you are so inclined. For more information, take a look at our APPT Manila guide.

To make any of these items happen, you are going to want a PokerStars account. In case you wouldn't have one yet, click here to get one and feature a really perfect weekend.

Good luck!

Brad Willis is the PokerStars Head of Blogging. Follow him on Twitter: @BradWillis.

Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com]

It’s a jungle available in the market with IGT’s Big Five Safari video slots. This high-volatility title is housed at the company’s CrystalDual and CrystalSlant cabinets, and lines animal-themed symbols on a five reel, 50-payline configuration. Within the wildlife journey, players can experience a blackout pay which triggers one of the crucial game’s five mystery progressives where the amounts dynamically comply with the bet. For big-win opportunities, the King Stacks feature offers huge symbol stacks including split symbols and 5x multipliers that create large payout opportunities. Additionally, the massive 5 Tracker feature is designed to inform players of progressives which might be about to hit. For more info about IGT’s Class III titles, visit igt.com.

Read More... [Source: Hot Games]

The EILERS-FANTINI Quarterly Slot Survey is designed to trace slot machine and related technology purchasing trends on a quarterly basis and is the gaming industry’s largest slot survey with regards to total casinos and slot machines surveyed. 

This quarter’s report represents our 27th proprietary slot survey and includes record level responses from key purchasing agents at quite a lot of North American commercial and tribal casinos, several racino/VLT operators, in addition to several international participants.  

In total, our 121 survey participants collectively operate 441 casinos worldwide with approximately 388,200 total slot machines or equivalent electronic gaming devices. Our 108 North America participants operate 283 casinos and approximately 349,300 slot machines, representing around 36 percent of the entire install base of gaming machines in North America.

KEY SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS 

Purchasing activity for 2Q CY16:  Our North America survey participants purchased and took delivery of 7,982 slot machines in 2Q CY16, including 2,374 new and expansionary units and 5,608 replacement units while also purchasing 3,901 conversion kits within the quarter. In response to this quarter’s survey results, we estimate total North America replacement sales usually are between 14,500 and 15,500 games sold in 2Q CY16, that's at the high end of our current industry forecast and above last quarter’s survey purchasing activity. Including new and expansionary demand, we estimate total slot demand for the quarter to be between 17,000 and 17,500 games sold. 

Market share gainers/losers: Aristocrat, Ainsworth and Incredible Technologies were the principle market share gainers on sold games this quarter. Aristocrat was the principle gainer followed by SciGames and AGS on lease/participation placements.

Non-big four vendors remain strong:  Non-big four vendors remain strong although down slightly from our prior quarter survey, with survey participants purchasing 15 percent of games from non-big four vendors through the quarter and 17 percent excluding route operations markets like Canada/Oregon VLTs and Illinois VGTs. Key suppliers include Ainsworth, Incredible Technologies, Everi Holdings and Aruze.

Gaming operations units grow for the fifth quarter in a row:  This quarter our North America survey participants added +544 (net) lease/participation games to their install base. That is the fifth quarter in a row of net additions to the market after several quarters of net removals. The gains this quarter came from both the premium (+418 q/q) and non-premium (+126 q/q) categories.

Top performing leased titles:After over six years and 27 individual surveys conducted, we note that IGT’sWheel of Fortunehas been dethroned from the highest spot in premium leased category as Aristocrat’s highly successful Lightening Linkgame is now the gaming industry’s top performer. As for suppliers, Aristocrat retains the industry’s top premium leased portfolio of games for the second one quarter in a row followed by IGT and Scientific Games. 

Most anticipated premium leased games.  SciGames had essentially the most anticipated lineup of premium leased games in keeping with our 2Q16 survey.  The Simpsonson the interactive Gamescape cabinet generated probably the most excitement for SciGames and was the second one highest anticipated game among our survey respondents. IGT was tied for second place for the industry’s most anticipated lineup at 26 percent share. The vast majority of IGT’s votes came from the approaching Wheel of Fortune 3D which was essentially the most anticipated game in our survey for the second one consecutive quarter.  Aristocrat tied with IGT for the second one most votes for many anticipated game lineup with 26 percent of total votes this quarter. Aristocrat’s The Walking Dead 2 and Game of Thrones were the company’s most highly anticipated releases this quarter.

Forward replacement demand: Our 108 North America survey participants (operating 283 casinos and 349,300 slots) plan to interchange a regular of 7.2 percent of the casino-owned games on their floors (7.3 percent ex route operations markets) over the following 365 DAYS. We continue to look a slight trend upward in forward replacement rates likely driven by improved industry GGR trends. Tribal markets and international casino operators has been and continue to exchange games at a far higher rate than commercial casinos. 

This article is solely a temporary summary version of the EILERS-FANTINI Slot Survey for 2Q16.  The whole report can be bought by contacting Todd Eilers at (714) 619-9330 or e-mail at teilers@ekgamingllc.com.

Read More... [Source: Slots]

New French gambling taxes have online poker players staging protests very similar to the Tea Party grassroots movement within the US.

New regulations imposed by the French government in opening the country's online poker market include an important tax. Some Internet poker sites are crying poverty and passing the price to players, resulting in organized protests along the lines of the Tea Party gatherings within the US.

France will collect a 2 percent tax on cash games, tournaments, and re-buys. Even hands that feature folding throughout to the large blind may be taxed, meaning in those cases the unlucky player within the big blind seat wins the hand and doesn't even collect an entire small blind for his effort.

Operators similar to PokerStars are passing the tax along as an additional 2 percent rake. Spokesman for online poker sites say the additional rake is necessary, claiming the sites are losing money on a gradual basis under the brand new French gambling rules.

But players aren't quietly cooperating. Instead, semi-organized sit-ins are occurring, wherein players check in to PokerStars and other online poker sites after which occupy seats while sitting out hands.

Blocking the seats at cash game tables is costing the poker operators hefty income. Players say the sites brought it on themselves, because the additional rake can mean players see their collection of hands available for a given buy-in drop by up to 1 / 4 of the total.

A report by eGaming notes that Sweden actually followed a plan lowering rake to drive tax collections. The resulting increase in players greater than made up for the lesser take per hand. There is not any word yet, however, that French officials may even see the sunshine and help online poker sites escape from between a rock and a troublesome place.

Published on July 12, 2010 by MattMiller

Read More... [Source: Poker News]

Today's announcement of our settlement with the united states.. Department of Justice (DOJ) closes one chapter in our corporate history and opens another.

We have admitted to no wrong-doing with reference to our past U.S. operations and will now focus all of our energy and resources on advancing our global business, which now includes operating Full Tilt Poker. You will discover details of the announcement at our PokerStars press center.

We plan to re-open the whole Tilt site and, most importantly, we can make available all funds for players outside the united states.. within 90 days of the formal close of the deal, for you to occur within the next seven days. The money paid to the united states Government will partly be used to reimburse former Full Tilt Poker customers within the United States, through a remission process to be administered by the dept of Justice.

Paying back Full Tilt players was a key component in our agreement to procure the assets. This isn't only important to the person players who've had their bankrolls tied up for greater than a year, but additionally it is vital to re-building trust in online poker and instilling confidence within the global poker economy.

It's too early to start disclosing many information about our strategic plans for Full Tilt, but our first order of commercial is to re-open the site, pay back all the players and start rebuilding Full Tilt's reputation. Going forward, we will be able to operate Full Tilt as a separate brand, giving players another leading and trusted platform to benefit from the game. The re-launched Full Tilt site will bring back the innovative features, the authentic poker and the cutting-edge software that made it so well-liked by millions of players worldwide.

Getting the positioning up-and-running and paying back players is a fancy challenge involving technical, practical and logistical hurdles affecting millions of player accounts. We're confident we will work throughout the challenges and our track record as a responsible and responsive company will hopefully bring some comfort to the players that experience waited see you later for resolution. We ask for only a bit more time and patience as we sort during the details. For now, we've posted an FAQ for Full Tilt players. There may be also a brief FAQ for PokerStars players.

One final word in regards to the future U.S. market. Our settlement acknowledges that both PokerStars and whole Tilt are eligible to use for a license within the U.S. to provide real money poker when states or the government offer such a possibility. We glance forward to this chance and are confident that we bring tremendous value, regulatory experience, market credibility and fiscal integrity to the marketplace.

We're optimistic in regards to the future and we glance forward to sharing the following chapters in our history with you.

Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com :: Corporate Blog]