$ 200 + 30 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo 2010 Gold Strike World Poker Open, Tunica 1st $ 4,678 02-Jul-2009: United States $ 5,000 Ante Up For Africa Charity Event 40th World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2009, Las Vegas 16th $ 10,653. The best for slot machines, roulette, poker machines, jackpot, casino and more. Jan 10, 2016 This nugget took over an hour to dig and chisel out. It was 10' deep in caliche. Caliche is a cemented conglomerate sort of rock very common in the desert SW. Metal detecting for gold in the SW.
In case you were lost in a fault line or too busy canoeing down a street to follow the latest gaming news, we've got it for you right here. Hurricane Irene didn't cause much structural damage to Atlantic City's casinos, but the Gaming-enforced weekend shutdown cost the financially flailing casinos more than $40 million. A little to the north, Connecticut casino executives wished a natural disaster would swallow the Massachusetts legislators who finally agreed on the details of a bill to allow three resort-style casinos and a slot parlor in Massachusetts. And MGM took to the courts to bring man-made disaster to an online poker site it says is violating its Gold Strike trademark.
Irene Washes Away Key Summer Weekend for Atlantic City Casinos
Hurricane Irene wreaked havoc up and down the eastern seaboard over the weekend, and Atlantic City's bank accounts were squarely in its sights. All 11 or the city's casino resorts closed from Friday night until Monday, only the third time since casinos opened there 33 years ago that all were closed at the same time. Late summer weekends are important sources of revenue for Atlantic City. Executives estimate that the total washout of the last one before Labor Day weekend cost between $40 and $45 million in gaming revenues.
Full Tilt Poker
Irene did little damage to the shoreline, and other than some minor flooding, all of the casinos escaped physically intact. Yet with their casinos already struggling financially, executives up and down the boardwalk lamented the weather. 'It's horrible,' Don Marrandino, president of Caesars, Bally's, Harrah's Resort, and Showboat told the Press of Atlantic City. Caesars Entertainment Inc. chairman and CEO Gary Loveman said that lost revenue at those locations, all Caesars properties, totaled more than $25 million. Tropicana CEO Tony Rodio said the weekend cost his property around $4 million.
'This was a major hit financially,' said Dennis Gomes, CEO of Resorts Casino Hotel. 'It was a $3 million loss for Resorts. You can't recoup it. We had an earthquake, tornadoes, and now a hurricane. What's next, pestilence?'
Some casino management was concerned that customers would think that Atlantic City had been hit hard since the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement required all of the casinos to remain closed until Monday morning. Marketing departments have been busy putting out press releases and offering post-Irene promotions in the hopes of filling their hotel rooms and gaming floor before the Labor Day rush. New Jersey Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno stopped by the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort on Monday to 'remind residents and tourists that the Jersey Shore is a great place to visit following Hurricane Irene,' according to a press release issued by her office.
The Press of Atlantic City has more on the story. Bloomberg also covers Atlantic City casino losses as part of a state-by-state accounting of the storm's human and financial toll.
Massachusetts Legislators Agree on Proposal for Four State Gaming Properties
Massachusetts took a major step toward legalizing casino gambling last week when Governor Deval Patrick and state House and Senate leaders agreed to a proposal that would license three Las Vegas-style casinos and one slot parlor in the state. After three years of political infighting, all sides seem to have reached an agreement in order create jobs and make up some of the state's $1.8 billion budget shortfall. While Massachusetts leaders have finally agreed on the terms of a bill, it still must be approved by the Legislature.
The bill calls for three casino licenses to be auctioned for a minimum of $85 million each and require developers to invest at least $500 million per hotel-casino. The fourth license, to be sold for upwards of $25 million, would allow the operation of a slot parlor with up to 1,250 machines. Massachusetts would tax 25 percent of the casinos' revenues and 40 percent of the slot parlor's intake. The slot parlor would have to set aside an additional nine percent to subsidize the horse-racing industry, which has been lobbying against added competition from local casinos. All of the properties would be open 24 hours a day and be smoke-free. They could serve free alcohol but must be dry from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m.
The bill gives the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian tribe preference for securing one of the licenses but only gives the tribe one year to find land, win community approval, and negotiate a deal with the governor before the state opens the license to competitive bidding. And it could get very competitive. Caesars Entertainment already has a deal with the owner of the Suffolk Downs racetrack to manage a casino if they secure a a license. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has also demonstrated interest. Gary Loveman, Caesars chairman, and Sheldon Adelson, Sands chairman, both live in the Boston area and have political ties to the state.
Analysts say the Massachusetts proposal could have a positive impact on Las Vegas businesses in addition to those seeking operating licenses. Four new gaming properties could create a need for up to 10,000 slot machines, which is good news for gaming equipment providers like International Game Technology. Table game suppliers like Shuffle Master Gaming could also benefit. Those poised to lose the most from the construction of Massachusetts casinos are the two Indians casinos in neighboring Connecticut. Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods both draw close to 35 percent of their revenues from Massachusetts residents.
The Boston Globe has more on the politics surrounding the 155-page bill, and CasinoCityTimes.com takes a look at the bill's potential impacts outside of Massachusetts.
MGM Sues Poker Site over Gold Strike Trademark
MGM Resorts International filed a federal lawsuit last Thursday against WorldPokerRewardsClub.com Co. Inc. and Washington resident John George alleging trademark infringement, cybersquatting, and unfair competition. The suit claims that the defendant's websites goldstrikepoker.com and goldstrikepoker.net infringe on MGM's trademark of the name attached to its Gold Strike hotels in Jean, Nevada, and Tunica, Mississippi.
WorldPokerRewardsClub.com Co. owns the subscription-based online poker club now called Gold Rush Poker, billed as 'America's first 3-D poker site.' Users pay $19.95 a monthl to play on the Atlantis Solutions-operated site.
According to the suit, attorneys for MGM asked the defendant to voluntarily transfer the domain names to MGM in July. The suit says that George agreed to change the site's name to Gold Rush Poker but insisted that MGM would have to buy the domain names. After being contacted by MGM, George filed applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark 'Gold Strike Poker' and 'Goldstrikepoker.com,' according to the suit.
'Defendants were and are attempting to frustrate or divert Internet traffic intended for the trademark owner and its Gold Strike hotel casinos,' the lawsuit charges. It asserts counts of cybersquatting and unfair competition in addition to trademark infringement.
VegasInc.com has more.
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*Photo courtesy of Associated Press at WSJ.com.
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On the heels of “Black Friday” and the shutdown of the three most popular sites in the online poker industry, there has been a rise in the number of “subscription” online poker sites. These sites are promoted as being 100% legal because, unlike their “pay to play” brethren, actual money is not on the table. But are these subscription sites the future of online poker in the United States or will players ignore them?
John George Gold Rush Poker Run
It was announced last week that Gold Strike Poker had switched its name to GoldRushPoker.net and entered into the subscription based model for American action. To promote the changeover, the new GoldRushPoker.net has aggressively marketed the site, buying national television and print ads on such popular television networks as GSN and Bravo. What the new GoldRushPoker.net seems to be doing is placing itself in line for when the U. S. government legalizes and regulates the online poker world.
“It’s not a question of if online poker will be legalized,” John George, the Chief Executive Officer of Gold Rush Poker, stated during the announcement. “It’s a question of when. We are the top choice for American players right now and we have made strategic alliances with several industry leaders to ensure GoldRushPoker.net will be a household name.”
But will these online subscription sites be the future of online poker in the United States, will they simply be a stopgap measure for American players who want to play poker or will the players ignore these sites in their entirety?
What separates the subscription sites away from the “normal” online poker sites is that there is no money actually on the table when people play. Players can play for free on the sites, with play money chips, to attempt to win prizes, making them, in essence, a sweepstakes, which is allowed by many states in the U. S. By paying a monthly fee – usually dressed up as being a “VIP” member of the site – players can get into more lucrative tournaments, where the larger prizes such as automobiles, seats in live tournaments and money are offered.
One of the most popular subscription poker rooms is ClubWPT, the online site operated by the World Poker Tour. On their website, ClubWPT touts their offerings as not being gambling because, “Gambling means you put something at risk (consideration) to play a game (like poker or blackjack) for a prize (like money). ClubWPT is not a gambling site because you join the “club” to get benefits like discounts on goods and services and the opportunity to play in tournaments for prizes. The tournaments are part of the club promotion. ClubWPT operates within the sweepstakes rules where they are legal and excludes people from joining who live in those states and countries where they are not.”
The prizes offered by ClubWPT are fairly lucrative for players. The site advertises that over $100,000 in cash and prizes are offered every month for its members for a monthly subscription of $19.95. One of the opportunities offered by ClubWPT is seats in their live tournaments around the world, which some may remember as how ClubWPT member LeRon Washington won the 2010 WPT Invitational after earning his seat in a ClubWPT qualifier.
At GoldRushPoker.net, the subscription model is expanded slightly. There are three tiers of VIP – Miner, Master Miner and Gold Miner – with the costs ranging from $19.95 to $29.95. Like ClubWPT, prizes are offered for “reward points” that are earned and there are cash tournaments that players can participate in. There are also valuable prizes at stake, such as a Corvette during one of their current promotions.
Gold Rush Poker
But are these subscription sites for the hardcore, multi-table grinder or for the casual player just looking for a game? The latter is the case as, without any actual money on the tables, multi-tabling is worthless for the hardcore player. For those that are just looking to pass some time, it offers a chance to play while ensuring that your monthly fee is the only money you’ll lose instead of dropping a mortgage check at the tables.
A close examination of the subscription site’s FAQs also reveals that certain areas of the country are not eligible to play at these sites because of their sweepstakes laws. Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Washington are the states in the U. S. that are excluded from subscription poker rooms and residents from Quebec, Canada also are not eligible.
For those players who are fortunate enough to make a big score at one of the subscription sites, there are a few hoops to jump through as well. At ClubWPT, players must submit a valid ID before the prize will be released and, if a player wins a cash payout over $600 in a calendar year, then the player must submit a W9 tax form to the site and they issue a 1099, meaning that players will have to claim their winnings on their taxes for a given year.
John George Gold Rush Poker Room
While the options for Americans in the online poker world are dwindling, the subscription poker rooms are attempting to pick up some of those players looking for action. But the subscription model has been tried, with varying degrees of success, since the passage of the UIGEA in 2006. Whether they will now become a staple of the online poker industry is yet to be seen.