The participants at the final table of the World Poker Tour Legends of Poker event in Los Angeles will get their chance at the US$1,000,900 first prize.

One of those fortunate finalists is “November Nine” member Kevin Schaffel. Mr. Schaffel leads the final six players with 2,234,000 chips. He will be sixth in chips when the World Series of Poker Main Event final table reconvenes on 10 November.

Since the inception of the “November Nine” format last year, Mr. Schaffel is the first player to make both the November Nine and a World Poker Tour final table. Last year, Russian poker pro Ivan Demidov finished third at the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event, and then finished second behind eventual champion Peter Eastgate at the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas.

Mr. Schaffel’s closest rival is Day 3 chip leader Todd Terry with 2,219,000, followed by online poker pro Prahlad Friedman with 1,476,000. Mr. Friedman is probably best known for his altercation with Jeffrey Lisandro during the 2006 Main Event, as well as the “rap” he performed for a segment of the ESPN television coverage. He also made a deep run in this year’s Main Event, finishing 64th and earning US$90,000.

The short stack at this table is poker pro Toto Leonidas with 580,000 chips. Mr. Leonidas won the 2003 United States Poker Championship in Atlantic City, New Jersey, earning US$388,000. He also has a WSOP bracelet from winning the US$1500 buy-in Seven Card Stud event in 2003. Although he has won several preliminary WPT events, he has never been on the TV table.

Another November Nine member and former chip leader in this event, Steven Begleiter, made the final nine, but missed the TV table when he finished in ninth place. He attempted to bluff off Todd Terry with king-three of hearts. Mr. Terry called with ace-queen of clubs, neither player connected with the board and Terry’s hand held up. Mr. Begleiter earned US$39,240 for his efforts.

In an interesting twist, none of the six players who will compete for the title have ever made a WPT final table before. The combination of familiar faces in new places, along with amateur players Sam Stein and Mike Krescanko, will make for entertaining viewing when the episodes air early next year. The final table will start 26 August at 4pm PDT.

In addition to such Las Vegas landmarks as Bally’s, Caesars Palace and the Rio, Harrah’s Entertainment has expanded their casino empire across the American Midwest. Harrah’s casinos can be found in states such as Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Indiana. Now the gambling giant has its sights set on expansion into Ohio. An e-mail that Harrah’s marketing department sent to customers in Ohio asked them for their opinions on a potential new casino site near the city of Cleveland.

Gaming options are expanding at an accelerated pace in the state. In addition to the seven horse race tracks and the state lottery, Governor Ted Strickland authorized a bill allowing for slot machines at the racetracks. A recent amendment to the state’s constitution up for a vote this November could bring as many as four full-scale casino gaming sites to the state.

Harrah’s spokesman Gary Thompson said that the e-mail approach is a normal part of new market research. He also stated that, while such an approach does not mean that plans to build a new casino are imminent, it is a method the firm uses to get a better idea as to how full-scale casino gaming will be received by customers, as well as if those customers would prefer the site to be built in a certain area of the city. Two of the areas under consideration would include racetracks Thistledown and Northfield Park.

The moves by both the state and by Harrah’s have not been met with unanimous approval. One industry expert claims that the introduction of slot machines to the state’s horse tracks will make them more lucrative targets for out-of-state companies such Harrah’s to buy out or partner with the track owners. In addition, a group of conservative activists has filed a motion with the state Supreme Court questioning whether either the legislature or the governor has the legal power to authorize slot machine gaming without a referendum.

Dan Gilbert, owner of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, also opposes Harrah’s entry into the state. He, along with one of the racetrack owners, has a stake in potentially building casinos all over the state if a different amendment receives voter approval. Both ballot measures go to the voters on November 3.

Online gambling group Party Gaming’s agreement with Intralot SA three months ago to provide an Italian online poker operation (see previous InfoPowa report) came to fruition this week when the gambling group announced the launch of the new Intralot.it poker site. Following the receipt of certification from the Italian regulator, AAMS, the Intralot poker service is now being rolled out and will join Party’s Italian poker network.

While the group’s Italian poker network has only been operating a few weeks, with the expected introduction of poker cash games before the end of the year, the Board is hopeful that Italy will prove to be a profitable and exciting regulated online gaming market in the medium to long-term, the company said in a statement.

Party Gaming took the opportunity to additionally deliver a pre-close trading update, revealing that since 6 April 2009, revenues have remained robust and in line with that achieved in the first quarter of 2009.

Online casino revenue has shown a significant increase from the first quarter despite a fall in casino active player days due to seasonality and lower levels of cross-sell from poker. This revenue growth has been driven by the group’s main casino site, PartyCasino.com, which accounts for over 70 percent of the Party group’s casino revenue.This operation continues to perform strongly on the back of a substantial increase in the number of games offered as well as the launch of a dedicated affiliate programme and major international marketing campaign, both of which commenced last (June) month.

There has been a marginal reduction in active player days in the poker operations compared with Q1, but this due to the summer months in Europe, where online activities are quieter. Rivals who continue to offer poker to US clients continue to provide very strong competition. The company reports that its enhanced player loyalty programme, improved player promotions and a new offline marketing campaign saw each of these metrics improve last month. As a result of these initiatives, poker yields have been softer than in the first quarter due to increased bonus and player loyalty costs, resulting in a reduction in poker revenue versus the first quarter.

Sports betting revenue was down on the previous quarter, reflecting a reduction in betting volume due to the end of the season for European football, which remains the single most popular sport for betting customers.

Whilst bingo is currently small in the context of the Party group, management says that it believes it represents a significant opportunity with the global online bingo market estimated at $1.5 billion per annum. The B2B deals signed over the past few months with CIRSA, DM plc and Channel 5 (see previous InfoPowa reports) are expected to benefit bingo revenues during the fourth quarter of 2009.

Party appears to see the recent New York US Attorney’s seizure of online poker funds with US e-processors as an opportunity to take players away from the US-facing poker rooms, and it has increased its marketing spend in certain territories.

Whilst this has already had a positive impact on player numbers, it is also expected to lead to distribution costs being slightly higher than the firm’s previous full year guidance of 38-40 percent of net revenue. However, continued cost savings and favourable currency movements have meant that lower staff and overhead costs have mitigated the increase in marketing costs and consequently, clean EBITDA margins for both the half year and the full year results are still expected to be in line with that achieved for the full year in 2008.

The group’s interim results will be announced on 28 August 2009.

Jim Ryan, Party Gaming’s CEO said: “The Group’s strategy remains on-track and I am pleased that many of the seeds we have sown over the past year are now beginning to bear fruit.

“The improvements to our poker product and loyalty programme, the addition of Intralot to our Italian poker network and the launch this week of bingo and casino facilities for DM plc are clear examples of this. We look forward to the rest of the year with confidence.”

Online gambling software developer CTXM, which provides games to many of the major companies in the industry, has released two new casual slots for the popular iPhone. Both slots are derived from proved casino slots already published by CTXM through its partners.

The offerings includes FreakyFruits Slots and Totem Quest Slots, a slot extension of the Totem Quest puzzle game.

Udy Yosha, CEO of CTXM, says: “Currently gambling is not available to iPhone users. However, to take an emerging market opportunity created by this popular mobile communications device, we used our game mechanics and rich graphics to appeal to the casual players among users.

“In addition, we linked the games to our social applications where they can share their achievements.”

This week, CTXM also plans to launch the full version of Totem Quest puzzle game and a Safari based version of FreakyFruits Slots.

“Undeniably, iPhone is a phenomenon of the contemporary gaming industry, which is transforming the gaming world to a new level, said Yosha. “We perceive gaming on iPhone as an essential part of our business strategy in future and we plan to work seriously to extend our gaming offering through this medium.”

Since 2004, CTXM has developed over 20 titles to PC, XBOX live and iPhone, and has co-published over 100 casual game titles from Central and Eastern Europe.

The Global Gaming Almanac describes each segment of the gaming industry including casino and card room gaming, race wagering, sports betting, commercial bingo, lotteries, charitable gaming, and online gaming. Annual financial statistics are provided in tables and charts, where avaialable, along with the historic and current regulatory environment in each jurisdiction, an overview of pending legislation, and major trends. Counts and distribution of gaming properties, devices and tables are given along with profiles of properties, owners and regulatory agencies.

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Second, summary tables show the distribution and total numbers for types of gaming facilities, gaming devices (including slots, video lottery terminals, and electronic Bingo), and gaming tables (including poker) within the jurisdiction. Other summarized statistics include casino square footage, convention square footage, number of rooms, restaurants, entertainment venues, parking spaces, and number of employees.

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Finally, this edition of the Global Gambling Almanac is the first to include current and historical activity-specific revenue charts and tables. As this is the first year for which this type of data has been collected, it will not be included for many jurisdictions. We hope to see the number of jurisdictions providing revenue figures increase with each edition. This data is collected from regulatory agencies and commissions around the world.

Specifically, the new data includes
Four years of calendar year net gaming revenue by gaming activity. The four calendar years of data are presented in local currency and U.S. dollars for all jurisdictions. The data is also presented in inflation-adjusted terms using December 2008 as the base when the consumer price index is provided by the jurisdiction. See the appendix for details of the calculations required to produce the revenue data presented in this book.
Five-year revenue bar charts for each gaming activity in each jurisdiction. Inflation-adjusted and U.S. dollar charts are included for each available jurisdiction as well.
Summary tables with four years of revenue, revenue change since prior year, inflation adjusted revenue and inflation adjusted revenue change since prior year for each gaming activity.
Raw revenue data tables and, when obtainable, tables of taxes collected per gaming activity.

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U.S. online poker players frequenting the internet poker rooms, PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker, and who have grown used to withdrawing funds with Instant eCheck, are dealing with a dilemma of sorts after the third party payment processor was apparently removed as a viable account withdrawal method. In the wake of a crackdown by the New York State Attorney General’s Office (who else), a stream of non-sufficient funds notices have begun to roll in, and players are being advised to hold off on cashing in any instant eChecks.

Not to be confused with eCheck, which is widely used at online casinos, Instant eCheck is a payment method that many Poker Stars account holders have come to use over the last few years. Highly reliable until now, Instant eCheck appears to have suffered a direct attack by the NY Attorney General under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

At this stage, there is no telling just how many players have been affected. However, as mentioned, players are being advised to abstain from making hurried withdrawal requests through Instant eCheck. The consequences of doing so could result in “insufficient funds” charges being imposed by banks. As a matter of fact, it’s pretty much a given that if players try to cash an Instant eCheck, they will encounter some issues.

Poker Stars account holders need not worry, however. The premiere online poker room is advising players to simply use an alternative payment method when making withdrawal requests. In other words, players need not worry about accrued funds in their Poker Stars account. As was the case following Neteller’s seizure by the NYAG, online gambling destinations came through by offering alternative payment solutions to their members.

The warning should be heeded by more than just Poker Stars players. Instant eCheck is offered at several other online betting destinations, and as such, anyone who has ever used Instant eCheck or was considering to do so, should inquire with their online gambling cashier about an alternative withdrawal solution. Again, the payment solution, eCheck (commonly offered at the best online casinos), is an entirely different service altogether and is still safe to use.

With the year’s biggest races behind them, Kentucky’s largest tracks are now looking toward the future, and the view is a grim one. Profits have been slipping at the tracks for several years, and the recent economic downturn has hit this segment of the gambling industry especially hard.

Kentucky has long been recognized as the heart of horse racing, and the sport generates a great deal of income for the state; an income that is subsidized by the many breeders and trainers that have made the Bluegrass State their home. Historically, the racetracks have been all about the horses and the state has been quick to emphasize this focus by restricting all other forms of gambling.

Recently this stance has fallen under fire as the Kentucky tracks have lost major action to the slots-subsidized purses offered by neighboring states. Track owners fear that the aforementioned breeders and trainers could also follow the cash across state lines, resulting in bigger losses across the board.

Last week, six of the state’s most notable racetracks spoke out at an emergency press conference demanding changes in gambling legislation and forecasting the failure of one of the state’s largest industries if these changes aren’t made immediately. First and foremost among the desired changes is a request for the state to expand its gambling legislation to allow the installation of slots and the institution of slots-subsidized purses at Kentucky’s racetracks.

Bob Evans, the current CEO of Churchill Downs, punctuated the urgency of the plea by stating, “We can’t wait any longer.” Already 11 of the states nearest to Kentucky offer some other form of trackside betting, and many others are expected to follow within the next year. “When that happens…look out,” Evans warned.

The press conference was just the beginning. This week, a series of radio ads will hit the air in an effort to rally public support for the motion, and these ads will be further supplemented by a mass mailing campaign that is expected to reach over 250,000 Kentucky homes.

State Governor Steve Beshear has already pledged his support, and a previous House proposal for video slots is under new consideration.

The Canadian Internet bingo software developer Parlay Entertainment has reported another disappointing quarterly result in its numbers for Q1 2009, with revenues declining to $1 million (Q1 2008: $2 million).

However, the company managed to substantially reduce expenses from $2.5 million in the same period last year to $1.3 million in the first quarter 2009. The company’s net loss over the quarter was $200 000, lower than the $300 000 loss recorded in Q1 2008.

Scott White, Parlay’s Chief Executive Officer commented: “2009 marks an important transitional year for Parlay as we deploy Parlay5 across our licensee base and provide enhanced technology solutions through our Parlay Games Services division in Alderney.

“With Parlay5 representing the most sophisticated and robust Internet bingo software commercially available today, our ability to support some 11 languages in a multi-currency environment, gives us a platform to service increasingly sophisticated licensees offering gaming opportunities across multiple languages and currencies.

“Through the use of this new generation of Parlay bingo, our integration of new content from our recently announced technology partners, our launch of complete remote gaming services in the UK and North America and our enhanced customer relationships, as well as opportunities to use the Parlay5 platform outside of traditional Internet gaming, will give Parlay the ability to recoup the revenue streams divested in 2008.”

Parlay remains debt free and the firm’s cash balance at March 31, 2009 was $3 million.

White said that the company had anticipated that both revenue and cost-base would shrink in Q1 2009 as plans to move out of non-regulated markets developed.

The exemptions in US law that allow the horseracing industry to take bets over the Internet seem to be working well for the major Churchill Downs Inc track operator. So well, in fact, that it has attracted criticism from the press as distracting management from the core live racing business.

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that the exchange between management and media took place during a conference call discussing the company’s first quarter 2009 results. Washington Post columnist Andrew Beyer criticised the focus by Churchill on the new online wagering business in a Kentucky Derby week piece, citing disputes Churchill had over the last year with horsemen’s groups on how to share revenue from account wagering, and CEO Bob Evans defended his company.

“We aren’t abandoning racing,” Evans said. “We’re rebuilding it.” Evans went on to confirm that the company’s results are increasingly benefitting from non-pari-mutuel gaming and its online pari-mutuel business, TwinSpires.com, and those trends will continue “…because the growth rates of these new businesses are higher than [those in] racing.”

The Washington Post writer had opined that Churchill’s bid to increase income was at the expense of the owners and trainers who put on the show at the tracks.

Evans made a general response in which he pointed out that “every single dollar spent by Churchill Downs on slot operations and online operations produces more purses for horsemen at CDI tracks, expands the customer base to which we can market racing and makes CDI a stronger financial entity, which enables us to make more investments and take greater risks.”