Archive for
September, 2006
September 30th, 2006
The Jackpot Factory, a leading online casino group that has paid out over $4 billion since its launch and known for its wealth of games, has introduced another seven new casino games that are sure to be a hit amongst its growing player base… Jackpot Factory In addition, slot players will receive triple loyalty points and vie for a piece of $15,000 during the games first week at the casinos - All Slots Casino, All Jackpots Casino, First Web Casino and Wild Jack Casino. Headlining the new games, which were released on the highly successful Viper software platform, is a chocolaty-rich five-reel 9 payline game called Chocolate Factory. On this game alone, players can win a tingling $40,000 and relish in two bonus games that are sure to sweeten the fun. The other games are: Jungle 7s, an easy to learn classic three-reel slot; Legacy, a super sized three-reel 5 payline reel slot; and four new games released on the highly popular Gold Series brand, which truly takes online blackjack to a new paradigm. The Gold Series Volume 3 games are: Super Fun 21 Blackjack Gold, Spanish 21 Blackjack Gold, Pontoon Gold, and Double Exposure Blackjack Gold. David Brickman, Spokesperson for the Jackpot Factory said, “Following up with another big month, we are proud to offer more great games. All of us at the Jackpot Factory are confident that our players will enjoy playing the new games at our casinos, especially Chocolate Factory. “Players automatically qualify for triple loyalty points on the three new exciting slot games. In addition, there will be a $15,000 draw next week, where we will shower over 250 lucky players with some lip smacking bonuses. All Jackpot Factory casinos are members of eCOGRA and take great pleasure providing the most exciting online gaming experience.” About the Jackpot Factory Group With over $4 billion in payouts since its launch, the Jackpot Factory Group is a leading online casino group. Using Microgaming technology, the Jackpot Factory Group offers the largest and latest selection of games and as a member of eCOGRA, the group prides itself on customer support, fast payouts, and honest play.
September 29th, 2006
You get up from the slot machine, someone sits down and the machine hits the jackpot and your thought is “that could have been my jackpot!”
Don’t worry if this happens to you, it would have been your jackpot if and only if you were to pull the handle or push the button at the exact same moment that the other player did. Now this doesn’t mean 1-2-3 push same moment, this means that even a computer could not measure any difference because that is exactly what is happening.
The computers Random Number Generator (RNG) is stopped for a brief moment when you pull the handle (or push the button) and the results from the RNG determine what the outcome of the reels will be. So don’t fret about leaving your machine, if it’s meant to happen to you it will.
September 28th, 2006
If ever you felt that you could tell an online casino how to better do things, this is definitely your chance. If you think you know how they can improve their service, games, promotions or financial processing, eCOGRA invites you to make your voice heard…The eCOGRA (e-Commerce and Gambling Regulation and Assurance), the only really independent industry watchdog, has launched the biggest ever online gambling survey.
In our capacity as one of eCOGRA’s recognized “Reputable Portals”, we here at Online Gambling Insider are fully throwing our weight behind this valuable and long overdue initiative by inviting all our visitors to participate anonymously in the survey. The aim of the survey is to improve things for players, so there is little reason not to participate.
The project is the first of its kind and aims to target millions of participants from every corner of the globe.As of today, millions of poker and casino players worldwide will be offered the opportunity to have their say to help the industry understand and more closely integrate with the behavior and attitudes of online gamblers.
The survey covers areas like online poker, casinos, player protection, responsible gambling and even chance.
The outcome of the study will be aimed at better understanding player needs and issues. This type of information is vital to the future of our industry, so I urge all our readers to click through to the survey and have their say.
eCOGRA have employed the services of a couple of heavyweights. The survey is to be conducted by teams from the Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nevada (Las Vegas). Six focus group’s have been identified in the major markets - US, UK, Japan, Canada, Germany and Sweden.
The results are to be published as the “eCOGRA Global Online Gambler Report” in January 2007.
Again we urge your to visit the Player Survey website and make your voice heard. After all, it’s all about you, the player.
September 28th, 2006
Posted
in
Poker by
Diana Sterling
Leading online poker site, PartyPoker, has been awarded a special honorary spot in Forbes annual list of 400 richest Americans, and tied for the 197th place, each with $1.8 billion. Interestingly, they are the only online casino to make this list.
PartyPoker has just recently announced the availability of a Mac compatible download, and a browser based application for Mac players.
Currently, the online casino poker version is still under completion, and there is no capability for multi-table or sit and go tournaments, however, cash games are still available.
There are still many different issues that PartyPoker needs to address and work on, but they have made such great progress already, and future plans look bright as they set a Mac-friendly example for the rest of the online casinos on the market today.
Players, who are interested in running online casino PartyPoker’s all-access version, will need to download the software. Access is available for all Windows, Mac, and Linux systems, but in order to run a browser based version, you have to have Windows IE5 or better, Safari 1.3 or better, or Mozilla Firefox 1.0 or better.
Java versions supported include Microsoft JVM, Sun JDK 1.4 or 1.5, IBM JDK or MRJ 2.2.5 for Mac users.
September 24th, 2006
Posted
in
Poker by
Diana Sterling
PokerStars.com has announced its sponsorship of the upcoming world championship Super Featherweight rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Erik Morales III. The fight will take place Nov. 18 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas and will be broadcast live on HBO Pay-Per-View. Pacquiao and Morales are both three-division world champion fighters and are both being considered for the “Fight of the Year” top prize. The upcoming match will be the third time the boxers battle each other and will determine which athlete reigns supreme, as both have won a previous match against the other. Pacquiao hails from General Santos City, The Philippines. He has won two matches thus far in 2006, including a knockout victory over Morales January 21 where he used his signature move - a punch known as “Manila Ice.” Morales, who is from Tijuana, Mexico, is considered one of the best boxers in the world. He became the second boxer from Mexico to win world titles in three weight divisions and is considered a shoe in for the Hall of Fame. His beat Pacquiao in a 12-round unanimous decision victory in their first match. The match is being promoted by Top Rank, in association with Wynn Las Vegas. It will be a 12-round super featherweight fight.
September 23rd, 2006
With the first season of the Ultimate Blackjack Tour premiering this weekend on CBS, there are many people who think the game of blackjack has the potential to rival online poker’s recent success.
Golden Palace Casino is buying into this theory with their latest investment in RNG Gaming, a company established to develop multi-player blackjack tournament software.
Golden Palace Casino is investing $600,000 in RNG Gaming. In return, Golden Palace will receive 20% equity in the subsidiary company, with an option to buy a further 30% stake at a later date.
“The Tournament Blackjack software is an exciting new addition to the Golden Palace group of games,” said GoldenPalace.com CEO. Richard Rowe. “We expect Tournament Blackjack to skyrocket in popularity, and Golden Palace will be at the forefront of this new trend. RNG Gaming’s superior software coupled with Golden Palace’s ten-year tradition of online gaming excellence is a winning combination.”
With blackjack already being the most popular online casino game, Golden Palace Casino will be hoping the game can achieve the same dizzying heights reached by online poker in the last few years.
The success or failure of tournament blackjack will largely be determined by the interest generated by televised blackjack tournaments; however the concept of tournament blackjack holds a great deal of promise for a number of reasons. Firstly, the game itself is already played by millions of gamblers worldwide, in the form of casino blackjack or the card game 21. Secondly, new players will be able to learn how to play tournament blackjack at a decent level fairly quickly. Both blackjack and tournament blackjack are far easier to master than poker or tournament poker. New players to the game will be able to match it with the best players in a far shorter period of time than a new poker player might be able to achieve playing tournament poker against the professionals.
Bets on the future success of tournament blackjack are increasingly looking like very solid wagers.
September 21st, 2006
A UK based skill game network, Game Account, announced that it plans its own affiliate program to join this widely successful venture open to anyone who wants a cut from the online casino and gaming industry. With ongoing restrictions on the online casino and gaming industry and affiliates driven towards new alternatives in the gambling industry, this UK company took over an interesting niche combining affiliate to skill based games. According to the companys’ spokesman, this makes for a competitive new promotional channel for affiliates looking for the best deal. The affiliate marketing manager regards skill gaming as an underexposed field in the online casino and gambling market with the potential of generating some great revenue. The company claims to be offering a competitive CPA (Cost per Acquisition) and revenue structures in return for online casinos promoting their skill based person to person games, such as Gin Rummy and the popular online casino Blackjack games offered in multiplayer version tournaments.
The company’s new direction is mostly towards the traditional online casino, poker and bingo partners, in search of diversifying their range through advertising skill game brands that do not fall under the tightening legislative restrictions. The company has over 20 games and products also including many card games as poker and Blackjack. They also provide less common online casino games of 8-Ball Pool and Backgammon. They offer varied solutions including bilingual log-in menus and multi currency payment options providing a high level of technology. The affiliate program already shows some good prospects with global gambling affiliates joining in on the action.
September 20th, 2006
Last week was certainly nice, but the profits will quickly disappear if I bungle this week’s plays. No need to waste time, let’s get to it.
YTD Record
1* = 2-2
2* = 3-1
3* = 3-1
As a reminder, the ranking system is as follows:
1* = Gun to my head, I’d play the team listed (risky)
2* = A good chance of covering; a worthy play (fairly confident)
3* = I would be play for a large chunk of money (very confident)
Wisconsin +14 @ Michigan, 12:00 PM, ESPN
It’s amazing how frequently I’ll back a team one week only to go against them the following week. The cat is certainly out of the bag with Michigan after they humiliated Notre Dame last week, as predicted in this column. It always cracks me up how quickly teams can go from overrated and terrible one day to one of the teams to beat the next in the eyes of the average sports fan.
The Badgers enter this contest 3-0, but they certainly haven’t dazzled anyone in their victories over Bowling Green, WIU, and San Diego State. Their offense will need to operate more efficiently this week if they hope to play Michigan tough.
Expect to see lots of people touting Michigan to win this one big. They are probably going to be the new “it” team for the next few weeks. I certainly don’t love Wisconsin, but 14 points is pretty generous considering Lloyd Carr is the coach of the favored Wolverines.
The play: Wisconsin 1*
Iowa St +24 @ Texas, 3:30 PM, ABC
It may sound funny, but this could very well be a preview of the Big 12 title game in December. The Cyclones played Iowa very tough last week at Iowa, while Texas rebounded from its defeat to Ohio State by drubbing Rice.
At first glance, this number looked a little bit too high, but it’s probably about right as Iowa State hasn’t shown any level of consistency in their first three games, and Texas remains very highly regarded by most. Texas definitely has more speed, talent, and depth than ISU, but I expect Iowa State to play them tough nonetheless. ISU should cover here, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this one is still close in the fourth quarter.
The play: Iowa State 2*
Penn State +17 @ Ohio State, 3:30 PM, ABC
Both teams had proverbial byes this past week, defeating Youngstown State and Cincinnati, respectively. Ohio State will have revenge on its mind this week, as it was Penn State who handed them their first loss in 2005. A win here would get Penn State’s Big 10 title defense off on the proper foot.
Ohio State may very well go undefeated and win the national championship this season, but they aren’t going to finish 13-0 ATS. They have covered in their first three, and these things tend to even out over time.
Do I think Penn State comes into Columbus and knocks off No. 1? Not really, but I do believe Penn State has enough athletes on each side of the ball to keep things respectable. Look for a meaningless, late touchdown from Penn State for the cover.
The play: Penn State 1*
Boston College @ NC State +7, 7:00 PM, ESPN
Boston College comes into Raleigh unbeaten after a trio of down to the wire victories. Meanwhile, the hometown Wolfpack are coming off a pair of disappointing losses to mid-major programs, Southern Miss and Akron.
Anytime you back a Chuck Amato-coached team with your money, you better prepare yourself to endure an avalanche of ridiculous penalties. It can be very, very painful to watch. In fact, it is tough to imagine anyone wanting to bet on North Carolina State in this spot. Boston College looks like easy money, but I think their seemingly endless supply of luck begins to dwindle on Saturday night.
The play: NC State 3*
USC @ Arizona +21, 8:00 PM, ABC
Arizona has looked average in their two victories over mediocre schools and horrific in their loss at LSU. If you can find any reason to believe they can keep this one within three touchdowns, please let me know.
On the other side of the field, USC has played twice, dominated twice, and covered twice. Nebraska and Arkansas weren’t a match for the Trojans at slightly smaller spreads, so is there any reason to believe that Arizona can compete let alone cover in this game?
Probably not, but Las Vegas wasn’t built on bad numbers, so I will be giving Arizona a look here.
The play: Arizona 2*
Notre Dame @ Michigan State +4, 8:00 PM, ABC
I love games like this. Nobody who watched Notre Dame play on Saturday should in their right mind be willing to lay four points on the road with the Irish right now. Especially when you consider the fact that Notre Dame is facing a very similar Michigan State team to the one that beat them in South Bend last year.
Sadly, the majority of sports bettors don’t think in rationale terms. They will justify their Notre Dame wagers this week with rationales ranging from “they’ll bounce back” to “last week was a fluke” to “no way Charlie Weis loses two in a row.” It is no accident that most people lose the majority of their bankrolls by the end of the season.
The play: Michigan State 3*
