SPRINGFIELD — A state report shows Illinoisans are gambling less, and the state’s budget is suffering as a result.

Why would the Times run quotes slamming its own work? This Sunday, The New York Times turned in a 4,500 word investigation into John McCain’s relationship with gambling and the gambling industry.

The Poker Hall of Fame is a group of poker players who have played poker well against top competition for high stakes over a long period of time. Originally established by the Horseshoe Casino, membership is now awarded by Harrah’s World Series of Poker.Members of the Poker Hall of Fame include (with year of induction):

Johnny Moss, 1979
“Nick the Greek” Dandolos, 1979
Felton “Corky” McCorquodale, 1979
Red Winn, 1979
Sid Wyman, 1979
“Wild Bill” Hickok, 1979
Edmond Hoyle, 1979
T. “Blondie” Forbes, 1980
Bill Boyd, 1981
Tom Abdo, 1982
Joe Bernstein, 1983
Murph Harrold, 1984
Red Hodges, 1985
Henry Green, 1986
Walter Clyde “Puggy” Pearson, 1987
Doyle Brunson, 1988
Jack “Treetop” Straus, 1988
Fred “Sarge” Ferris, 1989
Benny Binion, 1990
“Chip” Reese, 1991
“Amarillo Slim” Preston, 1992
Jack Keller, 1993
Little Man Popwell, 1996
Roger Moore, 1997
Stu Ungar, 2001
Lyle Berman, 2002
Johnny Chan, 2002
Bobby Baldwin, 2003
Berry Johnston, 2004
Jack Binion, 2005
Crandell Addington, 2005
T. J. Cloutier, 2006
Billy Baxter, 2006
Barbara Enright, 2007
Phil Hellmuth, 2007

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Video: Binions Casino – Hall of Fame

Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) — Intralot SA , the world’s second- biggest gambling services provider, agreed to buy 21 percent of Lawrence Ho ‘s Melco LottVentures Ltd. for HK$305 million ($39 million) because of rising lottery-ticket sales in China.

An Asian Handicap is a sports betting term used to describe spread betting in football (soccer). Described as Asian because of its Eastern origins, the phrase has little else to do with the region. This form of soccer betting has gained increased popularity over the last few years and is now offered by a variety of mainstream bookmakers.Football bets can be made using a few different formats. From a gambler’s standpoint, Asian handicap odds provide many benefits. For starters, the Asian handicap system eliminates any chance for loss due to a tie, which increases the gamblers chances of success. Secondly, bookmakers typically charge less Vigorish than with other bets.

Description

Soccer is one of the few sports in the world where a tie is a fairly common outcome. With traditional fixed odds, ties are treated as an additional outcome to the game. In other words, bettors lose when they place a wager on either team to win and the game ties. With Asian Handicaps, however, the chance for a tie is eliminated by use of a handicap that forces a winner. This creates a situation where each team has a 50-50 chance of winning; similar to the odds for a basketball or baseball game where a tie is impossible.

This system works in a straight-forward manner. The bookmakers’s goal is to create a handicap or “line” that will make the chance of either team winning (considering the handicap) as close to 50% as possible. Since the odds are as close to 50% as possible, bookmakers offer payouts close to even money, or 1.90 to 2.00. Asian Handicaps start at a quarter goal and can go as high as 2.5 or 3 goals in matches with a huge disparity in ability. What makes Asian Handicaps most interesting is the use of quarter goals to get the “line” as close as possible. Taken in conjunction with the posted total for the game, the handicap essentially predicts the game’s final score. Take a look at this example:

Example

Match: Everton vs. Newcastle United

Handicap: 0 : 1 1/2

Explained: This handicap states that Everton is “giving” Newcastle one and one half goal for the match.

This means is that Newcastle is starting the game with a 1.5-0 lead. If the final score of the game is 2-1, then a bet on Newcastle wins the with the final score (considering handicap) as 2-2.5.

Quarter Handicaps

Subsequently, many matches are handicapped in 1/2 and 1/4 intervals; both of which eliminate the possibility of a tie since no one can score a half-goal. Quarter (1/4) handicaps split the bet between the two next closest 1/4 intervals. For instance, a $1000 bet with a handicap of 1 3/4 is the same as betting $500 at 1 1/2 and $500 at 2. With 1/4 handicap bets, you can win and tie (win 1/2 of wager) or lose and tie (lose 1/2 wager).

Whole Handicaps and Ties

Handicaps that are whole numbers still allow for the possibility of a tie. Sportsbooks will refund both bets in the event of a game tied by the handicap.

Reference & Payout Charts

• Asian Handicap Betting Article from DragonBets.com
• See their Asian Handicap article for quarter handicap payout charts.

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Video: How To Score Goal in Soccer Match

John McCain, Congress?s most influential member on gambling issues, has a history with the industry complicated by personal ties and opposing loyalties.

One dollar chips from various Las Vegas casinos.

Casino tokens are small colored metal or plastic discs used in gambling establishments.

There are two main types of tokens used in casinos: multicolor tokens of various denominations called chips, used primarily in table games; and metal token coins, used primarily in slot machines. Some casinos also use gaming plaques for high stakes table games ($25,000 and above). Plaques differ from chips in that they are larger, usually rectangular in shape and contain serial numbers.

Money is exchanged for the token coins or chips in a casino at a cashier station (the cage), at the gaming tables, or at a slot machine. The tokens are interchangeable with money at the casino, but have no value outside of the establishment.

These tokens are employed for several reasons. They are more convenient to use than currency, and also make theft and counterfeiting more difficult. Because of the uniform size and regularity of stacks of chips, they are easier to count compared to paper currency when used on a table. This attribute also enables the pit boss or security to quickly verify the amount being paid, reducing the chance that a dealer might be overpaying a customer.

Furthermore, it is observed that consumers gamble more freely with replacement currencies than with cash.

Finally, the chips are considered to be an integral part of the casino environment, and replacing them with some alternate currency would be unpopular. However, many casinos are moving to paper receipts.

Casino tokens are collected as a part of numismatics, more specifically as specialized exonumia collecting.

A set of injection molded ABS poker chips “hot-stamped” with denominations 100, 50, 25 & 10

Chip Denominations

Chips of the same denomination from different casinos tend to have similar colors. This increases familiarity with denominations.

The most common color scheme used in US casinos:

• $1.00: White (uncommon: blue, grey)
• $2.50: Pink
• $5.00: Red
• $25.00: Green
• $100.00: Black
• $500.00: Purple
• $1000.00: Orange (often oversized)

A standard 300 piece set of ABS plastic chips

History

After the increase in the value of silver stopped the circulation of silver dollar coins around 1964, casinos rushed to find a substitute, as most slot machines at that time used that particular coin. The Nevada Gaming Control Board consulted with the US Treasury, and casinos were soon allowed to start using their own tokens to operate their slot machines. The Franklin Mint was the main minter of tokens at that time.

In many jurisdictions, casinos are not permitted to use currency in slot machines, necessitating tokens for smaller denominations.

Tokens are being phased out of many casinos in favor of coinless machines which accept banknotes and print receipts for payout. (These receipts can also be inserted into the machines.)

Future

In certain casinos, such as the new Wynn Casino in Las Vegas, chips are embedded with RFID tags to help casinos keep better track of them, determine gamblers’ average bet sizes, and to make them harder for counterfeiters to reproduce. However, this technique is costly and considered by many to be unnecessary. Also, this technology provides minimal benefits in games with layouts that do not provide gamblers with their own designated betting areas, such as craps.

Links

• Casino Chip and Gaming Tokens Collectors Club
• ChipGuide

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Video: RFID in Casinos, Abbiati

Canadians contributed five times more to government coffers through gambling last year than they did 15 years before, with Prairie residents spending the most, a new Statistics Canada report shows.

State is attempting to seize the domain names of 141 gambling sites in an effort to stop illegal online gaming. Domains in question include absolutepoker.com and pokerstars.com.

In Baccarat Chemin de Fer, it will have been noticed that a given bank only continues so long as the banker wins. So soon as he loses, it passes to another player. In Baccarat Banque the position of banker is much more permanent. Three packs of cards are shuffled together. (The number is not absolute, sometimes four packs, sometimes two only, being used; but three is the more usual number.) The banker (unless he retires either of his own free will or by reason of the exhaustion of his finances) holds office until all these cards have been dealt.

The bank is at the outset put up to auction, i.e. belongs to the player who will undertake to risk the largest amount. In some circles, the person who has first set down his name on the list of players has the right to hold the first bank, risking such amount as he may think proper.

The right to begin having been ascertained, the banker takes his place midway down one of the sides of an oval table, the croupier facing him, with the waste-basket between. On either side the banker are the punters (ten such constituting a full table). Any other persons desiring to take part remain standing, and can only play in the event of the amount in the bank for the time being not being covered by the seated players.

The croupier, having shuffled the cards, hands them for the same purpose to the players to the right and left of him, the banker being entitled to shuffle them last, and to select the person by whom they shall be cut. Each punter having made his stake, the banker deals three cards, the first to the player on his right, the second to the player on his left, and the third to himself; then three more in like manner. The five punters on the right (and any bystanders staking with them) win or lose by the cards dealt to that side; the five others by the cards dealt to the left side. The rules as to turning up with eight or nine, offering and accepting cards, and so on, are the same as at Baccarat Chemin de Fer.

Each punter continues to hold the cards for his side so long as he wins. If he loses, the next hand is dealt to the player next following him in rotation.

Any player may “go bank,” the first claim to do so belonging to the punter immediately on the right of the banker; the next to the player on his left, and so on alternatively in regular order. If two players on opposite sides desire to “go bank,” they go half shares.

A player going bank may either do so on a single hand, in the ordinary course, or a cheval, i.e. on two hands separately, one-half of the stake being played upon each hand. A player going bank and losing may, again go bank; and if he again loses, may go bank a third time, but not further.

A player undertaking to hold the bank must play out one hand, but may retire at anytime afterwards. On retiring, he is bound to state the amount with which he retires. It is then open to any other player (in order of rotation) to continue the bank, starting with the same amount, and dealing from the remainder of the pack, used by his predecessor. The outgoing banker takes the place previously occupied by his successor.

The breaking of the bank does not deprive the banker of the right to continue, provided that he has funds with which to replenish it, up to the agreed minimum.

Should the stakes of the punters exceed the amount for, the time being in the bank, the banker is not responsible for the amount of such excess. In the event of his losing, the croupier pays the punters in order of rotation, so far as the funds in the bank will extend; beyond this, they have no claim. The banker, may, however, in such a case, instead of resting on his right, declare the stakes accepted, forthwith putting up the needful funds to meet them. In such event the bank thenceforth becomes unlimited, and the banker must hold all stakes (to whatever amount) offered on any subsequent hand, or give up the bank.

The laws of baccarat are complicated and no one code is accepted as authoritative, the different clubs making their own rules.

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Video: Baccarat Revealed 2

Former Milford, N.H., Selectman Doug Bianchi has been handed a suspended jail sentence, a fine and 200 hours of community service after being convicted of helping a gambling operation at the town’s Veterans of Foreign Wars post.

A court hearing on whether the state of Kentucky can gain control of the names of more than 140 online gambling Web site names has been delayed.

Ace Invaders is a three line video poker game produced by International Gaming Technology. The game plays like other multi line video poker games except the bottom line is a Bonus Poker game, while the top two lines are both stud poker based games. The pay schedule for the Bonus Poker game on the bottom line offers a greater than 200% payout percentage (if one plays all three lines), but this is compensated for by the lower payout percentage on the stud poker games on the top two lines.Another feature unique to the Ace Invaders game is the gameplay. The bottom line is dealt and played as a draw poker hand, just like in a standard Jacks or Better game, and the player chooses which cards to keep and discard. Then the game deals the replacement cards, but unlike other video poker games, Ace Invaders doesn’t pay immediately. First the game checks the top line for a paying combination, then pays out for that. Then, if any of the cards in the top line are aces or would help create a royal flush in the second line, they drop down and become part of the hand on the second line. This process repeats itself on the second line, paying out, then checking to see if the cards would help complete a royal flush on the first line, and then drops those cards down again before finally paying out on the first line.

Links

• Official site
• IGT article from Bob Dancer

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

A progressive jackpot is a jackpot (highest payoff) for a gaming machine (usually a slot machine or video poker machine) where the value of the jackpot increases a small amount for every game played. Normally multiple machines are “linked” together to form one large progressive jackpot that grows more quickly because multiple players are contributing to the jackpot at the same time.

The progressive jackpot meter

The amount of the jackpot is shown on a meter as a money value. Usually the jackpot can only be won by winning the combination with the highest payoff, e.g. a royal flush at a video poker game, or five of the most valuable symbols (lemons, cherries, alligators, etc) on a slot machine. Once a player wins the jackpot, the jackpot resets to a preset minimum level.

The amount on the jackpot progresses (increases) a small amount for every play on a connected machine. The amount that the jackpot advances by is set by the casino (“the house”). For example, on a machine whose house edge is 5%, a generous jackpot contribution might be 1% (one fifth of the expected profit). The house is prepared to contribute some of the profit of a jackpot linked machine because players are attracted by the:

• relative novelty of progressive jackpots (generally, only a small fraction of the house’s gaming machines will be connected to a progressive jackpot)
• constantly changing meter, often displayed on large, fancy LED displays
• large amount of the jackpot, which eventually motivates more players to play the game.

Qualifying

Usually only players who wager the maximum number of credits per play qualify to win the jackpot. All wagers, whether or not they’re max credit bets, contribute to the jackpot though. As a result, a game which requires a 10 credit wager to qualify for the progressive jackpot will tend to have the progressive jackpot rise to higher levels (relative to its break-even level) than a game that requires only a 5 credit wager to qualify.

The break-even point

In some games such as video poker, it is possible to compute an optimal playing strategy based on the frequency for each payoff versus the odds of hitting that payoff. Since the jackpot of a progressive video poker game is constantly growing, it eventually can reach a break-even point where the machine becomes a positive expectation bet for the player.

When the progressive jackpot is less than the break-even point, there is a negative expected value (house edge) for all players.

In the long run, with optimal strategy, a video poker player can make a profit, although the “long run” is generally longer than most people think. (Several tens of thousands of plays.)

It’s worthwhile to note that a break-even point cannot normally be calculated on a slot machine game, because the payback percentage for the game is unknown to the player. The break-even point in video poker can be calculated because the payback percentage for the game is a function of the paybacks and odds of the poker hands, which is based on a 52 card deck.

Advantage play

Advantage players who only play when the progressive jackpot provides them with a positive expectation situation still generate revenue for the casino. This is a unique situation where the player has an advantage over the house, yet the casino is still making a profit from the player. This situation occurs because the bulk of the progressive jackpot has been bought and paid for by the other players’ contributions to the jackpot.

Savvy gamblers sometimes organize teams of players to play machines where the progressive jackpots generate a positive expectation situation. Such teams often displace ordinary players, making the machines unavailable just when they are at their most interesting. Team members will often have cell phones and work in shifts, calling another teammate to replace them when they’re ready for a break. Some casinos have a policy of “no team play”, and will eject players suspected of playing in such teams.

Player’s clubs

Most casinos offer slot clubs, which pay back a percentage of a gambler’s wagers on their games in the form of cash rebates and other perks with a monetary value. Participating in a slot club can reduce the break-even point of a progressive jackpot game because of the value of the rebate on each wager.

Other jackpot games

Progressive jackpots are not limited to slot machines and video poker. Poker games sometimes include a progressive bad beat jackpot. Caribbean stud poker is another casino game which often has a progressive jackpot available, and some online casinos offer progressive versions of blackjack, roulette, and other casino games.

List of popular progressive games

• MegaJackpots
• Wheel of Fortune
• Megabucks
• Regis’ Cash Club

Links

• Megajackpots – ticker and records for MegaJackpots from IGT
• Slotcharts – tracks online progressive jackpots

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

A federal judge has dismissed a $20 million racketeering lawsuit against seven casinos by a former New York City attorney who said they had a duty to stop her from gambling. In a ruling issued Friday, U.S. District Judge Renee Bumb wrote that Arelia Margarita Taveras failed to support her claim that gambling was a hazardous endeavor worthy of special protections. “Playing blackjack, …

Get real on web gambling
Kansas City Star, MO
Rick’s Gambling & Tourism column in today’s Star Business Weekly looks at the US’s untenable position in the worldwide on-line gambling industry. …

State cracks down on Net gambling
Kentucky.com, KY
By Jack Brammer FRANKFORT — Kentucky is commandeering 141 domain names of Internet gambling sites in a novel legal move to crack down on the unregulated …

Ky. governor seeking to block online gambling
Forbes, NY
By JOE BIESK 09.23.08, 7:39 AM ET Kentucky’s pro-gambling governor is looking to make sure all bets are off for more than 140 online gambling Web sites that … Online gambling takes its toll
Aftenposten, Norway
Top community officials are among those who unwittingly lent large sums of money to finance a Norwegian bishop’s son’s gambling debts. …

Casino gambling, poker table revenue up in FL
CBS 4, FL
But the stakes weren’t as high for other kinds of gambling. Racing at horse and dog tracks and other sports wagering declined 43 percent, to $159 million. Gambling case fallout remains as Donaghy reports to prison
USA Today
The league has determined that for the first time in major professional US sports, a referee will walk into prison a convicted felon on a gambling charge …

Former gambling site worker cops to ID theft
Register, UK
The former employee of an internet-based gambling website has admitted he used his position in the company’s credit department to steal the identities of … Arizona gambling feels economic pinch, report shows
East Valley Tribune, AZ
“Gambling is a form of recreation,” she said. Morago compared it to people making decisions whether to go to a movie, go out to dinner or even “go shopping …

Gambling grows to unexpected levels in Poland
Puls Biznesu, Poland
Last year, the Poles spent more on gambling than on beer, vodka and medical services. If the upward trend continues the gambling market will be worth as … Unexpectedly, Las Vegas hit by US downturn
Reuters
And while free rooms and room discounts have kept hotels relatively full — occupancy is down just 1 percent in the year to July — gambling revenue is down …

Blogosphere:

Online Sports Gambling
Ken
The best sites to find Online Sports Gambling, a leading online casino gambling guide. Includes online casino reviews and recommendations, online casino directory, best payouts and bonuses, blackjack strategy and tips, … BetOnSports.com Gambling Site Worker Pleads Guilty After Stealing …
CyberInsecure
An employee of the offshore Internet gambling website BetOnSports.com has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his role in a large Internet-based identity theft ring. BetOnSports PLC does not exist since July 2006 and the Antigua …

Kentucky Seizes Gambling Domains
MHB
The seizure was taken after the Commonwealth found that the “domains were being used in connection with illegal gambling activity”. The domains seized include:. fulltiltpoker.com. indiancasino.com. bet21.com. allslots.com. bodoglife.com … Kentucks Seizes 141 Gambling Domain Names
Chad Kettner
There were a number of popular gambling sites listed for seizure including PokerStars.com, FullTiltPoker.com, BodogLife.com, GoldenPalace.com, Bet21.com, DoylesRoom.com and also Rick Schwartz’ IndianCasino.com. …

KY governor after online gambling domains
maconlinepoker
To be very frank and honest, this is not a good news at all for online gambling industry. US Kentucky state governor, Steve Beshear is trying all his efforts to crack down online gambling industry and in oder to boost offline local … NBA Ref Starts Prison Term for Gambling
The NBA referee who admitted gambling on basketball begins his 15-month federal prison sentence today, reports USA Today . The conviction of referee Tim Donaghy, 41, has rocked the NBA, even though officials determined he didn’t bet on …

Bingo Betting
gamblingguide
online gambling has typically been a mans world (sorry for the huge generalisation but this is a blog after all). Perhaps the influx of Bingo sites will even that up slightly. Certainly Bingo seems to be a more social than playing a … Judge Tosses Gambling Attorney’s $20 Million Lawsuit Against Casinos
Law.com – Newswire
A federal judge has dismissed a $20 million racketeering lawsuit against seven casinos by a former New York City attorney who said they had a duty to stop her from gambling. The judge wrote that Arelia Margarita Taveras failed to …

Responsible Gaming – Psychology of a Gambler
To be honest, gambling gets a bad rap, especially when you consider that it’s one of the prime driving forces of humanity. Nobody has ever gotten rich by playing it safe, and if you have a stock portfolio, you’ve bet your money that … Seniors Doubt Study’s Finding of Gambling Problems
Wholesale Bingo Supplies Blog – Bingo Bob
But a new gambling study published in the journal Psychology and Aging suggests not all senior citizens have Fava’s self-control. It concludes the elderly are more likely to develop gambling problems than younger people. …

Video: NFL Football Best Bet of the Week with Odds from Gamblers Television

A timeline of events surrounding the gambling scandal involving former NBA referee Tim Donaghy.

Tuesday will mark a historical moment for the NBA, but not what it wants to commemorate. The league has determined that for the first time in major professional U.S. sports, a referee will walk into prison a convicted felon on a gambling charge related to his employment.

Russian roulette (in Russian: (Русская) Рулетка, оr (Russkaya) Rulyetka) is the practice of placing a single round in a revolver, spinning the cylinder and closing it into the firearm without looking, aiming the revolver at one’s own head in a suicidal fashion, and pulling the trigger. The number of rounds placed in the revolver can vary, though as a rule there will always be at least one empty chamber. As a gambling game, toy guns are often used to simulate the practice. The number of deaths caused by this practice is unknown.

Links

• The Deer Hunter death roll
• Teen Wounded Playing Russian Roulette
• Man, 18, Dies in Russian Roulette
• “Russian Roulette” Olympics Death
• Kablamo, a tongue-in-cheek board game with a Russian roulette theme.
• Gimp Roulette, a Shockwave webpage game that simulates Russian Roulette.
• 2000 Darwin Award Runner-Up, Man wins Darwin Award after playing Russian Roulette with a pistol.

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

MANILA, Philippines—The unprecedented, seemingly irremediable inflationary trends that everybody experiences today may have so robbed Trade Secretary Peter Favila of his sense of Christian discipline and values that he now wants to make this country a gambling capital like Malaysia, Singapore and Las Vegas.