Monday, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police arrested professional poker player Ernest “Ernie” Scherer III. He is currently being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center in Nevada.

The Sheriff’s Department of Alameda County, Calif., has considered Scherer III, 30, a “person of interest” since his parents, Ernest Scherer Jr., 60, and Charlene Abendroth, 57, were found slain in their Pleasanton, Calif., home. According to police, the killings took place after the couple returned from dinner on March 7, 2008.

The couple’s bodies were discovered on March 14 when a Castlewood Country Club employee checked up on them at the request of their daughter, Catherine Gray. Gray had become concerned after not hearing from her parents for more than a week and consequently contacted the country club, on whose grounds the couple’s home stood.

Police reportedly searched Scherer III’s home while he attended a funeral service for his parents. To date, details of the couple’s deaths remain unclear with some news sources reporting that they were beaten and others reporting that they were stabbed.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, however, authorities did recover Castlewood security-camera footage from around the time of the killings of a vehicle resembling Scherer III’s 2001 Camaro convertible. No further information concerning Scherer III’s connection with his parents’ deaths has been released at this time.

Scherer III is best known for his career as a professional poker player. He placed within the top 20 in the 2007 World Series of Poker Omaha Hi-Lo event and has accrued $340,670 in total lifetime earnings. Scherer began playing poker professionally in 2003 and reached the peak of his career in 2004 with back-to-back first-place finishes in two World Poker Tour Legends of Poker events.

According to Alameda sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Dudek, the killings were financially motivated: Scherer Jr., a real estate investor, loaned Scherer III $616,000, which the younger Scherer used to buy a condominium in Brea, Calif. The home has since gone into foreclosure proceedings.

“As of right now, we have sheriff’s homicide investigators in Las Vegas and we are working on the extradition of Mr. Scherer (III) back here to Alameda County,” sheriff’s Sgt. J.D. Nelson told PleasantonWeekly.com. “If he waives extradition, then he will be on a plane very shortly, hopefully today. If not, probably tomorrow.”

Scherer III stands charged with two counts of murder with special circumstances and one count of murder for financial gain. If convicted in California he could face the death penalty.

Online poker room RedKings announced Tuesday that it has received an EU operator’s license. The license ensures that RedKings’ and its affiliates and advertisers may legally operate within the EU and U.K. and may not be targeted or blacklisted by national gambling monopolies.

Gibraltar authorities issued the license through a white-listing arrangement brokered by RedKings’ network provider, Ongame. It is a significant step for the online poker room, which can now offer its European players tax-free winnings.

What’s more, a RedKings press release said, it will allow the poker room to draw in new players during next week’s European Poker Tour event in Copenhagen; Team RedKings will participate in the event and will advertise the new development to Danish players, many of whom, the company said, prefer licensed poker rooms.

“In just two years RedKings has achieved substantial growth,” a company representative said. “With this new poker license we anticipate a huge surge in business, particularly within Scandinavian countries and the U.K. We are proud to have achieved the exacting standards that are required for a license of this kind.”

Wednesday, Jakarta police announced the names of four suspects arrested during a raid on a South Jakarta café last month. Police allege that the four suspects were operating an illegal gambling ring out of the establishment.

The men named to the Jakarta Post were Sri Nauli Yuniar Pohan, Tony Thamrin, Kristianto and Mohamad Saleh. If found guilty, the four suspects could face up to five years in prison.

Police said they confiscated two computers, a flash drive and nearly $454 in cash from the café. They also said that they are still seeking a fifth man, whom they allege was in charge of the illegal operation.

“We are hunting down the suspected mastermind in the case, named Tjoeng Fo Seng, who manage to escape arrest,” police Adjunct Senior Commander Achmad Rivai said.

The news comes after Indonesia’s National Police announced a spike in illegal online gambling. According to National Police Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri, “The number of cyber crimes in 2008 increased by 28.77 percent if compared with that of 2007 which stood at 73 cases.”

Danuri named sbobet in East Java and www.IBCBET.com in Jakarta as two illegal gambling websites and said that 20 suspects had been arrested in connection with online-gambling operations as of Dec. 31.

Jakarta police have not commented on whether the suspects named Wednesday were part of the arrests Danuri mentioned.

Part of the problem with curtailing the rise in illegal gambling, one police spokesman said, is that Indonesian investigators are understaffed and lack crucial training and equipment.

“We have no special room for surfing to trace the user names and passwords of the gamblers,” Jambi City Police Chief Eko Daniyanto told Online-Casinos.com. “The passwords change often. So we haven’t been able to track them.”

The Times Online reported today that U.K. Cultural Secretary Andrew Burnham has approved a resolution to relax slot-machine limits. According to the new guidelines, slots in the nation’s clubs, pubs and brick-and-mortar bookmakers can now accept wagers of up to $1.47 and pay out a maximum of $102.88.

These limits are nearly double the 74-cent bets and $51.47 payouts previously allowed. Officials expect the increases to boost tax revenue by 20 percent, an increase of over $40 million.

Currently, U.K. slot machines generate over $14 billion in total revenue and return about $12 billion in prizes. The new increase is the second time in as many years that regulators have agreed to raise the imposed limits.

However, as the Times Online reported, critics are already voicing concerns that the new limits will encourage gambling addiction during the present recession. Methodist Church spokeswoman Anna Drew said that as a gambler’s initial losses increase his likelihood of making more wagers also increases.

“People do chase their losses on slot machines,” Drew said. “They pump money in to get back the 5, 10 or 20 pounds (they) have already spent.

“Britain has around a third of a million problem gamblers according to GameCare, and we wouldn’t want that to increase.”

Detractors also point out that the new limits could create more opportunities for problem gamblers to bet. A rise in betting limits, they say, will cause pubs and clubs to increase the number of slot machines on their premises.

To date, there are about 80,000 slot machines with an estimated 8.1 million regular players throughout Britain alone. Approximately one-third of these players are 24 years old or younger, and according to the country’s Gambling Commission, a majority of them are male.

Religious groups have long accused Prime Minister Gordon Brown of promoting greed in the U.K. and view the new limits as evidence of fact. Yet Brown’s supporters argue that the prime minister’s continued opposition to casino expansion, including his veto of the planned Manchester “super casino” project, is testament to the contrary.

Brown supporters also said that Parliament had considered smaller increases but that no less than twice the prior limit would substantially increase tax revenue.

It was a necessary step, Brown said, because “the economy is not moving.”

What’s more, a spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sports maintained that the Gambling Commission would enforce a strict code of conduct on machine operators.

“The protection of children and vulnerable people is at the heart of the Gambling Act and this remains our priority,” the spokesman said.

U.S. software developer GameLogic announced Wednesday that it received $3 million in debt financing from Velocity Financial Group.

Accoding to Velocity principal J.P. Marchette, the finance company has become exceedingly selective due to the “current economic environment.” But, he said, Velocity saw “a tremendous opportunity” in the case of GameLogic.

One of the principle reasons for Velocity’s confidence is the success of GameLogic’s “PlayAway” system. Under PlayAway, players can purchase “MoneyPlay” tickets from participating land-based casinos and redeem them for online play. Winnings are paid within the issuing casino upon the player’s next visit, thus avoiding online money transfers - which are forbidden in the U.S. under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act or 2006.

To date, 21 brick-and-mortar casinos in 15 states participate in the program. On average, participants report a two-fold increase in patron interest, while the company says, the system increases active club-card membership by 2.5 percent.

“Our ability to proactively raise debt on favorable terms in these turbulent economic times is a testament to our solid business model and the tremendous opportunity to leverage the popularity of Internet games in the regulated U.S. gambling markets,” GameLogic president and CEO John E. Taylor Jr. said. “We are pleased that Velocity engaged us and that we were able to form this mutually beneficial relationship.

“Casino marketers are experiencing unprecedented economic challenges that require a complete rethink of marketing to existing players and finding new ones. Our products provide a solution to this challenge: low cost, efficient and entertaining ways for casinos to boost their marketing efforts.”

Last week, Norway’s parliament enacted a law that bans Norwegians from transferring money to Internet casinos and poker rooms. The new law amends three preexisting laws and specifically defines Web-based transactions as subject to a previously defined “mediating service” clause.

The nation’s Ministry of Church and Cultural affairs proposed the law last September as anti-gambling sentiment grew over spiraling slot-machine addiction. According to the ministry’s legal advisor, Rolf Sims, the bill was “on the drawing board” as early as Oct. 5.

“The anti-gambling lobby has got the wind in its sails,” Sims told Reuters at the time. “It would be political suicide for any government minister to suggest legalizing gambling.”

Yet the bill has found little purchase in some circles including the Norwegian Financial Services Association (FNH) and the European Union. Norway is not an EU member state. However, as a part of the European Economic Area, the Scandinavian nation has drawn fire from Brussels for encouraging France, Germany and the Netherlands to keep their gambling markets closed.

The FNH, meanwhile, has pointed out the difficulties American legislators have faced in implementing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The UIGEA also bans online transfers to Internet gambling sites but has experienced a myriad of enforcement setbacks since first becoming law in 2006.

“Although the law amendments have been adopted in the Norwegian Parliament… regulatory guidance might need to be revised,” FHN spokesperson Tonje Westby told GamblingCompliance.com. “If politicians choose to introduce revised regulations, it will take some months before the law amendments come into force.”

Westby went on to say, “This [prohibition] will be very difficult to enforce, and those who really want to gamble on the Internet will find other ways to do so. Norwegians susceptible to problem-gambling behavior will most likely be persuaded to set up foreign bank accounts and use foreign payment systems outside Norwegian regulatory control.”

While Norwegian MPs have yet to announce a definitive enforcement timeline, legal commentators at GamblingCompliance.com said, “Delays could mean the ban will not take effect before mid-2009.”

Danish player Peter Eastgate reigns triumphant Tuesday supplanting Phil Hellmuth as the youngest World Series of Poker Main Event champion to date.

The grueling heads-up match lasted 104 hands and saw both finalists gain an edge by turns. Ivan Demidov, who came into the face-off short-stacked with $56.6 million in chips to Eastgate’s $80.3 million, pursued an aggressive strategy beginning with the very first hand. His loose, from-the-hip style seemed to pay off early on as he clocked Eastgate several successive times to pull out the lead in the first four hours.

Lady Luck turned on the Russian, though, rewarding Eastgate with several sweet-spot deliveries when he called Demidov’s bluff on an ace-high and, then, when he drew the Russian in, meanwhile having pulled out a flush on the turn.

With $100 million in chips stacked against Demidov, Eastgate’s win was only a matter of time. In the final hand, the Dane turned a straight on a board of 2-K-3-4 off his hold-up A-5 and drew Demidov in with expert ease. The Russian, who was sitting on a 4-2, called Eastgate’s $1.2 million bet after the flop, then followed him in on the turn. At the river (a 7), Demidov continued to press his luck going all-in on a lo pair that was sunk by Eastgate’s straight.

Eastgate walks away from the tournament with a hefty $9.15 million check and the WSOP XXXIX bracelet. For his second place finish, Demidov will also receive a sizeable slice of the pie to the tune of $5.8 million.

In one of the most worst examples of problem gambling to date, Spanish police reported Thursday that they had apprehended a Chinese man suspected of faking his own kidnapping and that of his 14-month-old grandson in order to finance his addiction.

The child’s father, a Madrid food-store owner, notified police on Oct. 28, that both the child and his 53-year-old father-in-law were being held for a €50,000 ransom by a woman who had contacted another relative.

According to police, the grandfather, identified as Yimei L. “said he was being coerced by the kidnappers.”

After a second call in which the supposed kidnapper put both grandfather and child on the line as proof of their safety, Yimei reportedly made a third call saying that he had escaped and that he desperately need the money in order to save the child.

Police were able to locate Yimei and say that, while questioning him, they learned that the incident was a scam. Police were then able to capture his accomplice, Jiantuan Y., after she abandoned the child in a grocery-store buggy.

According to police, Jiantuan called Yimei the mastermind of the scheme and explained that the two planned to use the money to play slot machines.

Instead of hitting the slots, however, it seems both suspects will now face charges in connection with the incident.

Slotland has announced the launch of a hot-off-the-presses affiliate dashboard program that combines the company’s new 3D casino, WinADay.com, with their original slots and video poker site. What’s more, the company announced, Slotland’s original site is now available in English and Spanish.

Slotand has confirmed that it will NOT, however, be changing its “gross commission” structure. This system rewards Slotland affiliates by giving out cash comps not only for losses but for all cash deposits.

“We have a lot of loyal, long-term players,” Affiliate Manager Hannah Morante said. “We have some players that have been with us almost since we started ten years ago! We have affiliates that continue to earn income every month on players that they referred to us years ago.”

“I like Slotland’s ‘gross commission’ structure because I can always rely on making a consistent income and I never have to worry about having a negative month,” Antoine Tardif of CasinoRanking.com said.

CasinoRanking.com, a Slotland super-affiliate, recently donated a year of Slotland commissions to the company’s African aid project.

Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, the inspiration for Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Martin Scorsese’s 1995 movie “Casino,” died from a heart attack Monday. He was 79.

Roenthal was a one-time Chicago bookmaker who rose to prominence as Las Vegas’s premier casino executives in the 1970s. As a result of alleged mafia ties, Las Vegas authorities revoked his operator’s license in 1976. He was subsequently banned from the state’s casinos and, in 1982, left Las Vegas for Miami Beach after a car bombing nearly took his life.

According to the Associated Press, a Fire Rescue spokeswoman said Rosenthal died in his Miami Beach condominium.

Rosenthal was born June 2, 1929 in the heat of the Chicago Outfit years. He reportedly ran small bookmaking schemes and owned a hotdog stand before moving to Las Vegas. In 1961, he was called before Robert Kennedy’s Senate hearings on organized crime and became infamous for invoking the 5th Amendment over 35 times. It is said that Rosenthal even refused to confirm whether he was left-handed—the origin, in fact, of his nickname.

In 1968, Rosenthal moved to Nevada at the age of 39 and, soon thereafter, opened a small bookmaking parlor. The FBI bugged the building and indicted Rosenthal on federal bookmaking charges, but the case was thrown out.

Rosenthal next began working as a floor manager for the Stardust hotel and casino in 1974. His rise up the chain of the command from someone who was only “higher that the shoeshine boy” to the casino’s $250,000-a-year executive position was sudden and unconventional, and only matched by his subsequent fall.

At the height of his power, “Lefty” oversaw the Stardust, Fremont, Hacienda and Marina casinos, and even hosted his own local talk show, which boasted appearances by Frank Sinatra and Muhammad Ali.

According to Nicholas Pleggi, “Casino’s” screenwriter, he was “one of the originals.”

“When Lefty went down,” Pleggi said, “the new Las Vegas emerged—the corporate Las Vegas.”

Rosenthal continued to enjoy prominence in both the sporting and gambling communities even after his fall from grace. Credited with bringing sports betting to Sin City in the 1970s, he was hailed by Sports Illustrated as “The greatest living expert on sports gambling,” and his passing has inspired the grief of Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, who as a young lawyer, represented Rosenthal in a 1972 court case.

”He really brought glitz and glamour to what we now know as sports books,” Goodman said at a press conference Wednesday. “He wouldn’t tolerate anything but the best in customer service.”

Goodman went on to relate that once, while walking through the Stardust, Rosenthal found a cigarette butt on the floor. According to Goodman, Rosenthal picked up the butt himself and immediately fired the employee responsible for keeping the area clean.

Among other Rosenthal legends two stick out most vividly in the public consciousness. Foremost of these is an incident involving a card counter he caught while in charge of the Stardust. Rosenthal himself admitted to breaking the man’s right hand with a rubber mallet in an attempt to deter other counters from targeting his casinos.

“(The card counter) was part of a crew of professional card cheats,” Rosenthal related to the Miami Herald in 2005. “Calling the cops would do nothing to stop them, so we used a rubber mallet—metal hammers leave marks, you know—and he became a lefty.”

The other memorable moment came from the car bomb incident itself. According to legend, Rosenthal was saved by a steel plate, which had been fitted beneath his Cadillac Eldorado to correct a balancing problem. Las Vegas locals still claim they can see the scorch marks in the parking lot where the attempted assassination took place.

In 1969, Rosenthal married dancer Gen McGee, with whom he had two children. No comment from his family has been forthcoming.