The Australian casino wars show no sign of slowing down and keep taking off in new tangents with political 'art of war' tactics taking hold on the Gold Coast. The tourism, employment and supporting big business card is being played out, something competitor Crown Casino did to T, while the casino haters also ramp up their campaigns. Media Man and Gambling911 play 'Casino Jack' as we ride the wave into Surfers' Paradise with a tidal wave of Gold Coast fodder for the loyal and vast audience...
Gold Coast Minister of Parliament Ray 'Sure Thing' (Media Man tag) Stevens has rocketed the Bligh Government, strongly urging it to get right behind Tabcorp's planned $300 million revamp and expansion of Jupiter's Hotel and Casino to surge the city's roller coaster like construction industry.
Could be this a bit of real life Underbelly at play? As usual, only part of the real story will make the news, with only some Chinese whispers and 'dark side' x factor seeing the light of day. Make no mistake, casinos in Australia have a bit of a 'Casino Jack' and 'Underbelly' side to them, as Gambling911, Media Man, friends and spies keep finding out the more they probe.
Stevens advised the Government should get over its "electoral jitters" and grant Jupiters Casino more pokie licences so that the upgrade could proceed full steam ahead captain courageous.
He firmly spoke to the State Parliament this week Tabcorp's proposal to redevelop Jupiters showed passionate belief in the city at a time when business confidence was the lowest in a decade.
"Jupiters Casino is an iconic tourism attraction for the Gold Coast, but is in desperate need of an upgrade to compete with southern state casinos. We have to accept the economic reality that there will be no change to existing casino facilities without the financial incentive to fund these upgrades. Government should be oblivious to the short-term media pain of a necessary decision."
Treasurer Andrew 'Beancounter' (MM tag) Fraser said Tabcorp's proposed investment had an 'exciting' potential to deliver jobs and a life to tourism infrastructure on the Gold Coast.
He said "This is a massive proposal and one that obviously has many issues to consider. The Government is not poll driven. We will make a decision in the interests of Queensland. That means, as ever, balancing the interests of economic development with the interests of the community such as adequate control on gambling."
Tabcorp is seriously considering spending up to $600 million on Jupiters and Brisbane's Treasury casino but the amount it throws around gets down to securing permission to buy the rights to machines the Government has taken back, or otherwise be able to purchase existing one armed bandits and licences from pubs and clubs in Queensland.
Media Man and G911 understands that 1000 gaming licences would be required across both casinos for the $600 million plan. If the extra licences were not not in fact granted, for whatever reason, Tabcorp most likely would downgrade its total spend to a modest $150 million. This would leave it further behind competitor Crown Limited, famous for its Crown Casino in Melbourne.
A public - press announcement is expected before the end of the year. Well, Christmas is coming.
Stevens told Parliament that failure to grant the extra licences would result in 'second-rate casinos being the hallmark of Queensland'. Yep, second rate banana benders, in a second rate second skin scenario. Well, we heard there was something in the water up that way.
"Yes, there is community sentiment that enough is enough in the growth of slot machines throughout Queensland. Should this be the reason to reject the enhancement of our major tourism casino icons, which are by their very nature designated gambling destinations? No is the clear and unequivocal answer. This is about jobs, jobs, jobs for the Gold Coast."
It's hard to argue against the jobs and tourism cards, something our friends at GenerationOne and Crown Limited have become masters of the art at.
We're not sure Jupiters gets a special $1 a year rent deal... not likely, so you can't blame them for wanting a bigger slice of the action.
Reef Hotel and Casino in far North Queensland is not commenting at the moment, and the Aus Vegas proposal pitched a few months back has gone quite, but insiders tip it may be a "Sleeping Giant", just as James Packer and Media Man generals have been called over the years. Brace yourselves punters, heavy incoming is expected in the 'Age Of Aquarius'.
Media Man Profiles
Australia
Australian Casinos
Politics
The Late News...
Australian 'Gumleaf Mafia', Media Man and Gambling911 crew hear of more Americans on the way to show the Aussies how its done - running land based casinos. Talk persists that Australian former Prime Minster John Howard may land a major job in Australia as part of the anti corruption in Australian sports betting directive. Cricket, AFL, NRL and Tennis are all under the microscope. The Blue Carpet to be rolled out from the AFL Brownlow Medal at Crown Casino. Lots of footy and casino babes. Should be an awesome afterparty, even without 'Punter Fev'. Aussie business and horse racing tycoon John Singleton, and Network Nine top gun David Gyngell to get a proposal from a certain media man sooner rather than later, with a strong charity and giving back to the community element we hear. Yep, the political, media and people power fun and games has only just begin. What happens on the Gold Coast and Bondi Beach, does not stay "down under". Quite the opposite of the motto of our friends in Vegas and what happens in Vegas... you know the drum folks. Surfs up kangaroos, koalas, goannas, sea snakes, serpents and all manner of Aussie and Yankee critters.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming and offer political commentary and analysis.
Website Network
Media Man International
Media Man
Media Man Australia
Media Man Asia
Media Man Canada
Media Man Games
Media Man Brand
Media Man Network
Casino News Media
Poker News Media
Global Gaming Directory
Monday, September 20, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Poker News Media: WPT Legends of Poker Attracts 462 Players - Aug 22nd, 2010
WPT Legends of Poker Attracts 462 Players
Profiles
World Poker Tour WPT Poker WPT Casino PartyGaming Poker Online Poker Casino
After its buy-in was slashed from $10,000 to $5,000, the 2010 installment of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Legends of Poker attracted 462 players. Last year, a total of 279 entered, meaning that the field grew by 66%. However, the total prize pool of the marquee WPT event dipped from $2.63 million to $2.15 million, a fall of 18%.
The top 45 poker players will finish in the money, with the top spot scheduled to pay out $750,000. Last year, poker rapper Prahlad Friedman banked a little over $1 million after besting World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Niner Kevin Schaffel heads-up. Todd Terry, Toto Leonidas, Sam “KingKobeMVP” Stein, and Mike Krescanko also made the final table in 2009.
Nearly 300 players – including 16 former WPT champs – took to the felts on Saturday for the second of two starting days in the Legends of Poker, which emanates from the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. The day began with WPT officials honoring Kathy Liebert, who was playing in her 100th WPT tournament. According to the WPT’s website, Liebert is the female record-holder for most final tables made with six, most cashes logged with 15, and most money won with $1.75 million. However, she lacks a WPT title.
Despite the fanfare, Liebert was eliminated late in the day, as was Lock Poker’s Matt “All In At 420” Stout. The internet player dropped his stack with A-J of diamonds against Shawn Buchanan’s pocket sevens to hit the rails. UB.com pro Phil Hellmuth, meanwhile, took a three-hour dinner break on Saturday and returned to chat it up with fans rather than play cards. He finished the day with a stack of 66,850, or 167 big blinds, good for the 50th largest tally in the room entering Day 2.
PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu lodged a particularly memorable Day 1B. Negreanu dropped to 10,000 in chips after running into a royal flush and eventually hit the rails after his A-J fell to 8-2. On the latter hand, the flop came A-2-3, giving his opponent bottom pair, but another deuce on the turn and an eight on the river didn’t help matters.
Joe Sebok and stepfather Barry Greenstein have both made waves in the WPT Legends of Poker, entering Day 2 in 17th and 19th places, respectively. Also vaulting up the leaderboard on Saturday was Allen Cunningham, who tripled up to 90,000 after cracking pocket aces and pocket kings by flopping a boat. Cunningham candidly Tweeted following the monster pot, “Holy Macintosh, I just flopped a full house vs AA and KK to triple from 30K to 90K.”
Here are the top 10 players in the WPT Legends of Poker entering Day 2 on Sunday:
1. Manuel Reyes – 205,350
2. Vinny Vinh – 180,000
3. Raymond Dolan – 165,500
4. Justin Young – 138,950
5. Max Casal – 138,500
6. Micah Raskin – 135,000
7. Philip Stark – 132,575
8. Ari Goott – 129,000
9. Ken Michelman – 125,200
10. C. Zadfar – 125,000
Other players remaining in the top 50, including their chip counts, include:
17. Joe Sebok – 108,650
19. Barry Greenstein – 100,675
32. Jonathan “FatalError” Aguiar – 78,125
33. Soi Nguyen – 77,250
36. Allen Cunningham – 76,500
37. Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese – 76,350
39. Marco “CrazyMarco” Johnson – 75,225
45. Jeff Madsen – 70,800
47. J.J. Liu – 70,700
50. Phil Hellmuth – 66,850
Day 2 kicks off at 1:00pm PT on Sunday from The Bike, with 241 players remaining in the hunt for the WPT title. The Legends of Poker will crown a winner on Wednesday. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
Websites
WPT Poker
WPT Casino
Website Network
Media Man International
Media Man
Media Man Australia
Media Man Canada
Media Man Asia
Casino News Media
Global Gaming Directory
Poker News Media
Media Man Games
Media Man Casino
Media Man Poker
Media Man Network
Media Man Brand
Profiles
World Poker Tour WPT Poker WPT Casino PartyGaming Poker Online Poker Casino
After its buy-in was slashed from $10,000 to $5,000, the 2010 installment of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Legends of Poker attracted 462 players. Last year, a total of 279 entered, meaning that the field grew by 66%. However, the total prize pool of the marquee WPT event dipped from $2.63 million to $2.15 million, a fall of 18%.
The top 45 poker players will finish in the money, with the top spot scheduled to pay out $750,000. Last year, poker rapper Prahlad Friedman banked a little over $1 million after besting World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Niner Kevin Schaffel heads-up. Todd Terry, Toto Leonidas, Sam “KingKobeMVP” Stein, and Mike Krescanko also made the final table in 2009.
Nearly 300 players – including 16 former WPT champs – took to the felts on Saturday for the second of two starting days in the Legends of Poker, which emanates from the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. The day began with WPT officials honoring Kathy Liebert, who was playing in her 100th WPT tournament. According to the WPT’s website, Liebert is the female record-holder for most final tables made with six, most cashes logged with 15, and most money won with $1.75 million. However, she lacks a WPT title.
Despite the fanfare, Liebert was eliminated late in the day, as was Lock Poker’s Matt “All In At 420” Stout. The internet player dropped his stack with A-J of diamonds against Shawn Buchanan’s pocket sevens to hit the rails. UB.com pro Phil Hellmuth, meanwhile, took a three-hour dinner break on Saturday and returned to chat it up with fans rather than play cards. He finished the day with a stack of 66,850, or 167 big blinds, good for the 50th largest tally in the room entering Day 2.
PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu lodged a particularly memorable Day 1B. Negreanu dropped to 10,000 in chips after running into a royal flush and eventually hit the rails after his A-J fell to 8-2. On the latter hand, the flop came A-2-3, giving his opponent bottom pair, but another deuce on the turn and an eight on the river didn’t help matters.
Joe Sebok and stepfather Barry Greenstein have both made waves in the WPT Legends of Poker, entering Day 2 in 17th and 19th places, respectively. Also vaulting up the leaderboard on Saturday was Allen Cunningham, who tripled up to 90,000 after cracking pocket aces and pocket kings by flopping a boat. Cunningham candidly Tweeted following the monster pot, “Holy Macintosh, I just flopped a full house vs AA and KK to triple from 30K to 90K.”
Here are the top 10 players in the WPT Legends of Poker entering Day 2 on Sunday:
1. Manuel Reyes – 205,350
2. Vinny Vinh – 180,000
3. Raymond Dolan – 165,500
4. Justin Young – 138,950
5. Max Casal – 138,500
6. Micah Raskin – 135,000
7. Philip Stark – 132,575
8. Ari Goott – 129,000
9. Ken Michelman – 125,200
10. C. Zadfar – 125,000
Other players remaining in the top 50, including their chip counts, include:
17. Joe Sebok – 108,650
19. Barry Greenstein – 100,675
32. Jonathan “FatalError” Aguiar – 78,125
33. Soi Nguyen – 77,250
36. Allen Cunningham – 76,500
37. Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese – 76,350
39. Marco “CrazyMarco” Johnson – 75,225
45. Jeff Madsen – 70,800
47. J.J. Liu – 70,700
50. Phil Hellmuth – 66,850
Day 2 kicks off at 1:00pm PT on Sunday from The Bike, with 241 players remaining in the hunt for the WPT title. The Legends of Poker will crown a winner on Wednesday. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
Websites
WPT Poker
WPT Casino
Website Network
Media Man International
Media Man
Media Man Australia
Media Man Canada
Media Man Asia
Casino News Media
Global Gaming Directory
Poker News Media
Media Man Games
Media Man Casino
Media Man Poker
Media Man Network
Media Man Brand
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)