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Saturday, November 12, 2011

News Limited to get Foxtel top brass Kim Williams, by Greg Tingle - 12th November 2011

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News Limited Foxtel Kim Williams Media Companies


Foxtel chief exec Kim Williams has snatched the top dog job at News Limited and will leave the Australian pay-TV provider next month.

Williams, who has been head honcho of Foxtel for a decade, will be replaced by chief executive of The Australian and News Limited’s digital media business, Richard Freudenstein. This signals Freudenstein's return to Foxtel after having worked there years ago in a number of high level roles.

Williams told Sky News that 10 years at the pay-TV provider had prepared him to take the lead at News Limited, particularly since some of its newspapers were now charging customer subscriptions.

"I understand subscriptions. I understand customer value, I understand customer pricing. I understand customer relations," Williams said after the big announcement by News Corporation chairman and chief Rupert Murdoch.

Williams said his News Limited appointment reflected the fact that different media platforms were converging.

In an open letter, published by The Australian, Freudenstein said he was "excited to return to the business I helped launch 17 years ago".

"Foxtel is a dynamic, fast-moving business with a talented, customer-focused team and it is a real honour to be asked to lead that business," he said in the well received letter.

The revamp also includes John Hartigan, who has resigned after a largely very impressive 41 years at News Limited.

"John was an outstanding reporter, an editor with few peers and has been an inspiring executive, initially as Group Editorial Director and, later, as Chief Executive for 11 years and Chairman and Chief Executive for the past six," Murdoch said in an official statement.

"Few people have contributed as much as John to the quality of journalism in Australia. He has earned enormous respect among both colleagues and competitors."

The appointments become effective December 5.

Both gents are expected to put their mark on the respective companies.

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PartyCasino VS Virgin Casino iGaming War Continues

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PartyCasino.com Virgin Casino PartyCasino VS Virgin Casino



PartyCasino.com - Accepts Canadian, Australian and New Zealand players. PartyCasino new players get up to $3000 sign up bonus. Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment is the world's largest and most succesful igaming company.

VirginCasino.com - No US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand players. £100 sign up bonus. Virgin Games is part of Richard Branson's Virgin Enterprises Limited.

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Friday, November 11, 2011

Echo Entertainment - The Star and Crown Limited AGM Pokie Cap Talk, by Greg Tingle - 11th November 2011

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World Casino Directory Global Gaming Directory Australian Casinos The Star Echo Entertainment Crown Casino Crown Limited Gaming Sydney Australia


Times are a changing.

Echo Entertainment, with a capital E for entertainment, and its The Star (no longer Star City Casino)...red headed stepchild... are in some talks with James Packer's Crown Limited about... you guessed it - poker machine cap limits. The fierce rivals have found some common ground, or is it more about bit of a common enemy.

The "Aussie casino wars" as they have been described in gaming business circles have taken on a bit of a new angle, with Australia's 'Big Brother' government cementing itself on the battlefield, taking fire from Echo, Crown and the Liberal - National coalition party. One Media Man news-hound joked "It's bigger than the release of Call of Duty 3. They should be an Aussie casino war videogame".

There's been some good news for Echo coming out of its AGM. The integrated entertainment complex and land based casino owner advised revenue was stronger in the first quarter of 2011-12 and earnings are tipped to surge in the second half.

Mr Packer, perhaps a touch busier than usual, thanks to both his AGM in Melbourne, friend Shane Warne doing his thing with Club 23 at the casino, and insider, golf champ Tiger Woods doing his thing in and around Burswood Entertainment Complex in Perth, got to share his mind to shareholders (this writer being just one of them).

The famous Australian gaming billionaire showed his interest competitor Echo Entertainment, of which Crown Ltd snatched a 4.9 per cent stake in the Tabcorp spinoff last June.

Speaking on behalf of Crown at Echo's shareholders meeting yesterday, long-time Packer confidant, Guy Jalland, quizzed the Echo board whether its talks with NSW and QLD governments had covered ridding Echo's ownership caps which currently limit investors to a 10 per cent stake.

"At the time of the demerger that matter was raised with governments of each of those jurisdictions," advised Echo Entertainment chairman John Story. "Each government indicated it wished to continue the current caps."

Mr Jalland went on to ask whether these ownership caps are in the interests of shareholders.

"It's up to the government to determine that outcome, that's not of our making," said Mr Story.

After the meeting, Echo chief exec Larry Mullen, was probed about if there was any discussions between Crown Limited and Echo Entertainment to which he disclosed that the two outfits have only had talks on common business issues such as the new poker machine regulations.

It's clear that on this point Packer's Crown and Echo (E for Entertainment) have evidently found common ground, if not a common target.

Story stayed on message as JP (that's James Packer) when he railed against the pokie reforms and how it would hit the casino and gaming industry at a time when Echo and Crown are spending a combined $4 billion on new "tourism infrastructure"...that's including the redevelopment of Echo's flagship Sydney land based casino, The Star.

He advised the tipped reforms (pre-committing being a big part), "are unproven and untargeted proposals, which are at risk of adversely impacting the casino and tourism industry without the desired improvement in the occurrence of problem gambling." He said they along with many members of the casino sector are in talks with the government to find a more effective solution.

Swinging back to the Echo AGM, Mullen told investors that trading for the current financial year was in line with expectations and "solid" given the cautious consumer environment and disruptions from its redevelopment program.

Revenues at Echo were up 15.2 per cent from July 1 to October 31 he said.

Mullen pointed out that while benefits of the redevelopment of The Star will be evident from this quarter, earnings for the half year will be impacted by $30 million worth of pre-opening costs and higher initial operating expenses.

Even in the casino business, you have to sometimes spend quite a bit of money to make money, and the stakes are often higher for the casino company than for the punters that might come in to try their luck on Cleopatra, Sinatra, Monopoly, Wheel of Fortune or any other one of hundreds of game titles.

Media agencies such as Media Man and Casino News Media are currently obtaining information from the public at large as to whether The Star or Crown Casino are seen at number one in Australia as well as if both casino groups are more about gambling or entertainment, or both. Information gathers and analysts at the likes of Roy Morgan and the Australian Government are expected to be very interested in the findings.

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Echo Entertainment: Entertainment name of the game at The Star casino, by Greg Tingle - 10th November 2011

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World Casino Directory Global Gaming Directory Australian Casinos The Star Echo Entertainment Gaming Sydney Australia


Stop saying Star City Casino... owned and operated by Tabcorp Holdings. It's The Star, run by Echo Entertainment, and don't you forget it my friends.

Integrated entertainment complex and land based casino owner Echo Entertainment advised revenue was stronger in the first quarter of 2011-12 and earnings are expected to rocket in the second half.

If you missed it, Echo Entertainment demerged from betting and gaming outfit Tabcorp Holdings in June 2011, and today operates The Star in 'Sin City' Sydney, Jupiters Hotel and Casino at Surfers Paradise, The Treasury Casino (Brisbane) and Jupiters up in Townsville.

Chief exec Larry Mullin told the company's AGM that Echo's performance in the three months to September 30 had been in line with the firms expectations.

Revenues in the period were up by 15.2 per cent and up 14.4 per cent on a normalised basis, he said.

Full-year earnings would be hit in the first half from costs associated with opening the newly revamped The Star, Mr Mullin said.

Pre-opening costs are going to be in the region of $30 million, while operating expenses at The Star will initially be higher.

Strong earnings growth is expected in the second half, due to new products and expansions at The Star, Mr Mullin said.

Second-half earnings in Queensland are also forecast to accelerate, following the impact of floods in the previous corresponding period.

In the meantime Australia's most famous gaming billionaire James Packer, and his Crown Limited - Crown Casino empire are not going to roll over and die, with casino revaps of their own in Melbourne and Perth, with Burswood in Perth expected to be rebranded Crown.

Media agencies such as Media Man and Casino News Media are currently obtaining information from the public at large as to whether The Star and Crown Casino are more about gambling or entertainment, or both. Roy Morgan and the Australian Government are expected to be very interested in the findings.

Websites

The Star

Echo Entertainment

The Darling

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Thursday, November 10, 2011

Sylvester Stallone booked for Fallsview Casino: Canada, by Greg Tingle - 9th November 2011

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Sylvester Stallone Rocky Rambo The Expendables Vince McMahon Casinos Canada Hollywood News Entertainment News Casino News News


Sylvester Stallone Hulk Hogan Vince McMahon

Sly is coming to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

You can also hear the name chants... Rocky, Rocky, Rambo, Rambo.

In the third installment of its popular “An Evening With ...” series, Fallsview Casino Resort has booked Sylvester Stallone for a pair sit down sessions on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25. Stallone has followed in the footsteps of other entertainers such as Al Pacino, Sean Penn and even Hulk Hogan (who does the talkfests with a number of his wrestling mates).

The clever format will have the handsome 65-year-old Stallone talk about his career with a moderator and then take questions from the audience. He is tipped to be on stage for anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours.

Both the Pacino and Penn sessions sold out. Hogan and Friends talks at other casinos have also pulled strong numbers.

Stallone is expected to sell out the casino’s Avalon Ballroom. Tickets, which start at $90, go on sale at noon, Nov. 11.

Besides Stallone, other acts booked for February at Fallsview Casino include Lynyrd Skynrd on Feb. 16 and Feb. 17, the Band from TV starring “House’s” Hugh Laurie and Jesse Spencer and “E.R.’s” Scott Grimes on Feb. 18, Feb. 19 and Feb. 20, and Rascal Flatts on Feb. 23.

Tickets for all of the shows also go on sale at noon, Nov. 11.


Sylvester Stallone speaks to Entertainment Tonight about his Steve Austin injury during 'The Expendables'...

Entertainment Tonight's Nancy O'Dell (one-time WWE Raw guest host) caught up with Sylvester Stallone on-set at his new movie, "Bullet to the Head," to discuss the film's progression before an April 2012 scheduled release date. Stallone noted he's still feeling the effects of neck surgery that was required after he suffered an injury at the hands of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin shooting "The Expendables" last year. Austin was required to tackle Stallone, who accidentally landed on a pile of bricks. Stallone said, "It's never really the same. "You're just able to function a little bit better."


Rambo game in development...

MCV have revealed that a Rambo video game will arrive in stores next year, courtesy of UK-based publisher Reef Entertainment and supplier Creative Distribution. Reef fended off competition from other publishers to secure the game rights to Rambo from film company StudioCanal. The deal allows Reef to develop and release a number of titles based on the popular Sylvester Stallone movies. The first three Rambo films – First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rambo III – have grossed over $600m to date.

Craig Lewis, commercial director at Reef said: “Rambo will be a triple-A title on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC and will capture the gritty atmosphere and full-on action which made the Rambo movies so successful.”

Websites

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Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Revenue Rises; Italian Game Boosts Business, by Greg Tingle - 9th November 2011

Profiles

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyCasino.com PartyPoker.com World Poker Tour Games Casinos Italy Greece Australia News Financial News Casino News Entertainment News


Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, the world's biggest and most successful listed online gaming company, shrugged off the global credit crunch to post a lift in third-quarter revenue, helped by the launch of new games in Italy and strong growth in its casino division.

The Gibraltar-based company, whose brands include PartyPoker.com, PartyCasino.com, Bwin and Foxy Bingo, said on Tuesday total net revenue grew 3% to 201.1 million euros (276 million) in the third quarter.

Bwin.Party, which was formed by the merger of Austria's Bwin and PartyGaming earlier this year, advised its third-quarter revenue was boosted by the launch of table games such as roulette and blackjack in Italy after the government opened up the market for casino table games and cash poker in July.

The company, which offers up to 30,000 bets daily across more than 90 sports, said it had also benefited from a bar on U.S. poker website Full Tilt Poker in April following charges of illegal gambling.

Bwin.Party said current trading was robust and in line with management's expectations.

"We expected our business to be resilient but not immune to the recession, and I think that's where we are today," said Chief Financial Officer Martin Weigold.

"There are certain markets that have been particularly hit by the financial crisis ... for us Greece is the one that stands out. However, even Greece shows quarter-on-quarter growth, but if you looked at the year-on-year movement, we have seen a double-digit decline," Weigold said.

GREEK GAMBLE

Co-Chief Executive Jim Ryan said a possible Greek exit from the euro zone would have a limited impact on the business.

"If in fact they did leave it would just be a function of the consumers in Greece playing with a different currency; they'd still continue to use the service," he said.

The gaming industry has traditionally been a rock for the entertainment sector during periods of economic weakness.

Rival 888 reported a 42% rise in third-quarter sales last week and said it expected 2011 earnings to be significantly ahead of market estimates as British consumers stay at home, watching TV and gambling online amid an economic slowdown.

Shares in Bwin.Party, which have dipped around 33% of their value since the merger, rose 1% to 136 pence by 1000 GMT (5 a.m. ET) on Tuesday.

"Bwin.Party's third-quarter (statement) ... shows good progress across the group," Evolution Securities analyst James Hollins said in a note.

Hollins, who has an "add" rating on the stock, highlighted the company's brand resonance in key European countries and the long-term U.S. upside.

Bwin.Party's average daily revenue climbed 8% on the previous quarter, while the number of daily average players fell 4%, in part because player numbers were boosted last year by the soccer World Cup.

"The elephant in the room remains German legislation, the company's single largest market (around 22%)," Daniel Stewart analyst Michael Campbell said.

In September Germany's highest civil court upheld a ban that bars private-sector companies from operating online gambling sites.

Bwin.Party said it was working with German states on a regulatory framework and said it hoped to secure a license in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, where gambling-friendly laws were passed in September.

The firm is interested in expanding into markets such as the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment is known around the globe for brands such as PartyCasino.com PartyPoker.com and World Poker Tour

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Virgin Casino New Circus Internet Slots; Virgin Casino Releases Siberian Storm Slot Game

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Virgin Casino Virgin Games Captain Cannon’s Circus of Cash Circus Siberian Storm Richard Branson Slots

Virgin Casino is licensed in the gambling jurisdiction of Alderney in accordance with British Law. New players are offered a 100% match bonus up to £$€100.

Virgin Casino has only reload bonuses reserved for the first week of November. The good news it has just added a new internet slots titled Captain Cannon’s Circus of Cash. Captain Cannon’s is a product of Ash Gaming which could be played at Virgin Casino through its GTS platform. One of the standout features of this circus based slot game is its 9 thematic bonus rounds. Captain Cannon’s offers players a return of 95%.

The slot game has three in-reel bonus rounds. In the Fire Breather bonus round a fire breather blowing flames appears on the reels. This amounts to three reels that have wild symbols. The line wins are then calculated anew and paid. A female lion tamer features in the Lion Tamer bonus features. In total five symbols are transformed into wild symbols. Yet again additional payouts are awarded to the player. Players will like the Rampaging Elephant. An elephant goes out of control on the reels knocking out some of the symbols. The remaining symbols and new symbols drop down to fill the gaps left. Chances are very good to obtain wilds in the new symbols. Every line win is calculated again and paid to the player.

The Caravan Side Shows is the next set of bonuses. These bonuses feature on the second screen and are played inside the caravan. To win bonus credits in the Bearded Lady bonus, the player has to choose one of two bearded ladies to win. In actual fact one of these women is a real beauty hiding behind the beard and offers larger payouts. In the Strongman Contest the player must pick one of the strongmen. The strongman lifts weights and holds it above his head. The longer the weights could be held, the larger the payout the player will receive. The Knife Throwers award five throws. The must choose a number of balloons, each balloon that is popped awards bonus credits or additional throws.

Last but not least is the Main Event bonus rounds; these offer the highest payouts as well as the possibility of hitting the progressive jackpot should the gold clown make its appearance on the screen during the bonus. Virgin Casino guarantees that one lucky player will win this progressive jackpot. Free spins are awarded by the Clown Car bonus. The amount of free spins is determined by the clowns with pink balloons and the multiplier is determined by the clowns with green spins. The Tightrope Motor Bear must ride across the rope and return a clown. Depending on how far the bar travels bonus points are awarded. The captain is fired from the cannon In the Captain Cannon Bonus. A prize is awarded with each object he collides with. The bonus ends the moment he collides with a water barrel.

Virgin Casino can not currently be accessed by Australian, New Zealand or American players, but a range of other online casinos can be located via the Global Gaming Directory.


Virgin Casino Releases Siberian Storm Slot Game...

Virgin Casino released a new slot game entitled Siberian Storm and it is set to cause just that at Richard Branson's very popular online casino.

The new slo game has a Siberian wild life theme to it and includes the mesmerizing MultiWay Extra™ format of wagering where players can win in up to 720 different ways.

The scatter pays and the stacked wilds make sure for an exciting slot game experience. The free spin bonus round gives the player the opportunity to win up to 240 free spins to win a huge reward. During the free spin bonus round, the player begins with 8 free spins. However, these can be re-triggered to attain the potential 240 free spins.

The stand-out features for Siberian Storm include superb graphics, a high quality soundtrack and the chance for players to win very big with a variety of ways to win a cash prize.

In Siberian Storm, players can win by hitting symbols diagonally as well as just from left to right. There is a single lines jackpot of 1,000 coins. This can be won when the player hits five Siberian Storm logos and there is a total jackpot of £250,000.

Siberian Storm is available to play at Virgin Casino right now.

Virgin Casino can not currently be accessed by Australian, New Zealand or American players, but a range of other online casinos can be located via the Global Gaming Directory.

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PartyCasino VS Virgin Casino iGaming War Continues

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PartyCasino.com Virgin Casino PartyCasino VS Virgin Casino



PartyCasino.com - Accepts Canadian, Australian and New Zealand players. PartyCasino new players get up to $3000 sign up bonus. Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment is the world's largest and most succesful igaming company.

VirginCasino.com - No US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand players. £100 sign up bonus. Virgin Games is part of Richard Branson's Virgin Enterprises Limited.

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Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Advertising safe gamble via James Packer, John Singleton and Robert Whyte business

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Advertising Politics Internet James Packer John Singleton Promotions Media Man


Looking to advertise and have a pretty big budget? Then perhaps one of Australia's richest men, James Packer, and a couple of his business associates can help you out.

Got a not so big budget, maybe any number of agencies can help you out, including this one.

An impressive business outfit set up by by James Packer, John Singleton and Robert Whyte is cashing in on changes to planning regulations made almost 5 years ago that took away local councils of the right to approve advertising signs on motorways.

Ah, free enterprise.

Manboom has started to erect advertising billboards worth in excess of $500,000 each along Sydney's 21-kilometre M2 motorway.

Manboom, currently owned in equal share by companies controlled by Packer, Singleton and Whyte, bought a concession to erect signs over the M2 from the road's operator, Transurban, in 1998.

For about a decade the concession delivered next to nothing, but times are a changing. The M2 passes through 3 local councils and just one, Hornsby, would allow advertising billboards. Of Manboom's 7 applications to Hornsby Council, it approved just 3.

This situation changed in 2007 when the then planning minister, Frank Sartor, amended legislation to make his very office the sign off authority for motorways.

Last year, Manboom submitted development applications to build 15 advertising signs along the M2.

The Department of Planning approved 11, after the Roads and Traffic Authority objected to 4 on safety grounds. The RTA cited fears about "sign clutter" and concerns the angle of one billboard would distract motorists.

This year Manboom put forward part two of its "M2 signage masterplan". It requested planning approval for another 9 advertising signs, including five billboards and 4 on bus shelters. The development has not achieved approval, yet the RTA has objected to the bus shelters and one of the billboards, which would overhang the road at Cropley Drive.

A question make lays over much income Manboom, owned by the business entrepreneurs since the late 1990s, would expect to deliver from advertising over the M2. The estimated cost of works for the first 11 signs, according to the development application, comes to a cool $5.57 million. That's more than 5 times the amount of money Echo Entertainment forked out for the redevelopment of The Star (formally Star City Casino).

The firm will, however, have to return a portion of its advertising revenue to local councils.

Hills Shire, which does not allow large billboard advertising, in May elected to accept Manboom's offer of $30,000 a year from 2012-13 when the advertising starts.

In deciding the approval, the RTA states it relies on national guidelines. It does not permit, for instance, advertising signs that resemble RTA signs or electronic advertising signs.

But what constitutes a safe sign remains a difficult area of research, according to Raphael Grzebieta, chairman of road safety at the injury risk management research centre at the University of NSW.

"On some highways which are particularly boring a sign on the side of the road can wake you up," Professor Grzebieta said. "On other instances you get overloads of signs, of information, and with your cognitive capacity being overloaded you have to make a choice of what to do, and you might make the wrong choice and be in a crash."

Once Transurban's $550 million M2 upgrade is finished, Manboom will try to implement part three of its signage masterplan.

They say advertising makes the world go round, so little wonder Packer, Singleton and Whyte remain high on the idea.

A Media Man insider said "They should have little trouble getting advertisers. They could even advertise some of their own wares, be it Crown Poker, Magic Millions, Perisher, or get any number of their existing advertisers to advertise on their latest, greatest, advertising platform".

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Wrestling News Media: WWE, Kevin Nash, Vince McMahon, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Mick Foley, Andre The Giant, Steve Austin, The Rock, John Cena, UFC - 7th November 2011

Profiles

Wrestling WWE Kevin Nash Hulk Hogan Vince McMahon Casinos Ric Flair Steve Austin Mick Foley The Rock John Cena UFC News Entertainment News News

Kevin Nash aka 'Diesel' returns to WWE Raw on Monday's episode from the United Kingdon. Nash is scheduled to resume his feud with an "injured" Triple H as part of the build-up to an expected singles match in the near future. Plus, more build-up for The Rock & John Cena teaming up at Survivor Series. Nash continues to run his official website, sporting gaming in the mix, but his site could do with a major update, not that ours is perfect either. Great to see Nash become relevant again and Triple H should bring out the best in him, but don't expect a Shawn Michaels 5 star classic.

WWE TV Network News Update...

During WWE's quarterly conference call with investors this past Thursday, WWE CEO Vince McMahon had some harsh words about talk show host Oprah's cable TV network and contrasted the Oprah model with WWE Network plans, which McMahon was very optimistic about during the conference call.

"I would say I suppose the one of the notorious ones (branded TV Network models) would be the Oprah Network, which is a miserable failure on all accounts because you have a brand like Oprah and it does take a genius to figure out that, 'Okay, why don’t we have Oprah do what she does best in our very own network,' and that's the one thing that doesn't happen," McMahon said. "So, in terms of the introduction of a network theory, you're saying, 'Okay, let's take Oprah, but let’s don’t use, let’s not whatever we do, we don’t use her and what she does best. Let’s just try and take an Oprah name and try and brand that in a big round about way,' which obviously from a common sense standpoint, it doesn't make sense... We know what our WWE attributes are. So, we have the opportunity to enhance all of that and bring further viewers, lapse viewers, and as well as current viewers and new viewers from a younger age set of two to 11 into the network, which will be extraordinary, because we are giving the audience what they want, not what they don't want."

Mick Foley WWE Return...

Mick Foley returned to WWE at Wednesday's Raw house show in Dublin, Ireland, which started WWE's bi-annual European Tour. Foley, who has hinted at a WWE return for several weeks, is in the U.K. for his own promotional tour.


Piper campaigning for Piper's Pit with Rock & Cena...

WWE Hall of Famer Roddy Piper has taken to Twitter to campaign for a Piper's Pit segment with The Rock and John Cena prior to their tag team match at Survivor Series.

"IF THE WWE DOESN'T PUT THE ROCK, CENA, PIPER IN PIPER'S PIT THEY ARE CHEATING EVERY FAN IN THE WWE UNIVERSE. THINK THERE AFRAID? i'M NOT," Piper tweeted Friday. "SPAM THE WWE FOR PIPERS PIT WITH CENA AND ROCK. I PROMISE, IT WILL BE EPIC."


Ric Flair staying put in TNA; Interesting in more business deals...

For the meantime Flair will be staying in Impact Wrestling (formally known as TNA). Flair continues to endorse Carolina's Education Lottery, and is keen to see a Ric Flair online slot game become a reality, following in the footsteps of Hulk Hogan and the late Andre The Giant, both expected to have their slots online in a number of months.

WrestleMania 28 press release; Rock vs. Cena...

STAMFORD, Conn., November 2, 2011– WWE® announced today that tickets for its annual pop culture extravaganza, WrestleMania XXVIII, will go on sale this Saturday, November 5 at 10 AM ET. WrestleMania XXVIII will take place Sunday, April 1, 2012 at the Sun Life Stadium in Miami, FL. The event will be headlined by the highly anticipated main event featuring “the most electrifying man in all of entertainment,” The Rock® against WWE Superstar John Cena®.

Ticket prices range from $25-$850. There will also be a limited number of “Gold Circle” VIP Packages available for $1,500. The Gold Circle packages include seating in the first four rows ringside, an exclusive Gold Circle VIP Stadium Entrance, a collectible WrestleMania XXVIII ticket holder and the commemorative WrestleMania XXVIII take-home folding chair. Tickets can be purchased through all Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000. All tickets are subject to service charges and facility fees.

Last year, a capacity crowd of 71,617 fans from all 50 states and 30 countries attended WrestleMania XXVII at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA. WrestleMania is more than just a one day event, it’s a week long celebration, as WWE will be taking over the greater Miami area during WrestleMania Week. In addition to WrestleMania XXVIII, other activities will include: WrestleMania Axxess – WWE’s four day interactive fan festival; WrestleMania Reading Challenge Finals; WrestleMania Pro-Am Golf Tournament and the 2012 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Additional information on these events will be announced in the future at www.wrestlemania.com.


Sylvester Stallone speaks to Entertainment Tonight about his Steve Austin injury during 'The Expendables'...

Entertainment Tonight's Nancy O'Dell (one-time WWE Raw guest host) caught up with Sylvester Stallone on-set at his new movie, "Bullet to the Head," to discuss the film's progression before an April 2012 scheduled release date. Stallone noted he's still feeling the effects of neck surgery that was required after he suffered an injury at the hands of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin shooting "The Expendables" last year. Austin was required to tackle Stallone, who accidentally landed on a pile of bricks. Stallone said, "It's never really the same. "You're just able to function a little bit better."


Hogan and Diamond Dallas Page starring in new movie...

Hulk Hogan and Diamond Dallas Page are scheduled to be featured in an upcoming movie, "Black River," that is currently in production. According to a synopsis released by filmmakers Corn Bred films, the movie centers around several murders, a local town secret, and a father who lost his son and whose life "rapidly deteriorates into a storm of violence, murder, and small town intrigue."


UFC 138 Gets Fox Sports...

After more than a devade of working his arse off and telling anyone who would listen that mixed martial arts would one day surpass soccer as the world’s most popular sport, UFC president Dana White has finally gotten to the super big time in the sports media world.

The UFC, the major league of MMA, will debut on network television on Saturday when Fox Sports airs the heavyweight title bout between champion Cain Velasquez and No. 1 contender Junior dos Santos live at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

The seven-year deal between the UFC and Fox, which runs through 2018, is an affirmation of the brilliant work done in the last decade by White and UFC co-founders Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta (casino, gaming and entertainment entrepreneurs from Station Casinos) in building a sport from the ground up.

The Velasquez-dos Santos match up is an interesting clash of styles, pitting Velasquez’s top line wrestling and awesome conditioning against dos Santos’ terrific boxing and underrated jiu jitsu.

The match up would have been a huge pay-per-view main eventer, but when he finally landed the network deal, White didn't hesitated to offer it as the first Fox main event. The show will essentially serve as a one-hour promo for the UFC, and there could be no better way to showcase the sport at its best than by putting the two top fighters in the sport’s marquee division on network television in front of the largest possible audience.

“This is a throwback to the old days of boxing,” White said. “We are putting a big fight – a huge fight – on free TV to expose this thing to a new audience. Our goal has always been to bring big fights back to network television. We are thinking long-term for the future of this sport. It is an investment in the future of the UFC. Fans that have never seen the UFC before will see this show, and that’s why we decided to put Cain and Junior in this position.

“I know for a fact this is going to be an awesome fight. I know it is going to be great. That’s why it was these two [fighters] in this position. I have no worries at all this is going to be a great fight.”

As its popularity has grown, the UFC has added a vast array of businesses. There is now a UFC video game, a UFC magazine and UFC-branded gyms. There are DVDs, trading cards, action figures, fan festivals and tons of clothing.

The turnaround that White and the Fertittas engineered with the UFC, which they bought for $2 million in Jan. 2001, is every bit as impressive as what Vince McMahon did with the old WWWE -Titan Sports, bringing it to WrestleMania and sports entertainment level.

White and the Fertitta brothers engineered a similar turnaround with the UFC. Less than five years into their ownership, they were $44 million in debt and on the verge of selling the company.

White, though, believed deeply in the sport and in putting on the best, most evenly matched fights he could. Then, he encouraged his fighters to compete in a fan-friendly style, awarding cash bonuses for Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night and Submission of the Night. In addition, White often pays fighters locker-room bonuses, which are above and beyond what fighters are contracted to earn, if he likes their matches. Those bonuses have gone in excess of $1 million at times.

Making the best fights he could and rewarding the fighters who delivered entertaining bouts are key reasons for the UFC’s skyrocketing popularity and is largely what made the Fox deal possible.

The UFC flourished on cable. Its deal with Spike saved the company and helped it to get to the point where every major broadcast network had some degree of interest.

It’s still got a long way to go however. UFC fighters aren’t nearly as well known as stars in other sports or sports entertainment. No UFC fighter is close to WWE's The Rock, John Cena, Steve Austin or Impact Wrestling's Hulk Hogan.

White is banking on the Fox deal to help bring the UFC into the mainstream. Lightweight contender Joe Lauzon, who fought on “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show on Spike, is convinced Fox will propel the sport to the next level.

“This is just the beginning,” Lauzon said. “The UFC took a huge jump when they got on TV with ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ [though] no one really understood how big of a deal it was until after the fact. Look how far the UFC has come with just Spike, basically.

“Now that they have Fox, and it’s going to take another tremendous jump. I think that Lorenzo Fertitta was saying it’s a commercial for the UFC. They’re going to use these Fox shows to get attention and funnel people into the pay-per-view.”

Prior to this deal, Velasquez would be preparing to defend his belt on pay-per-view. But White, 42, grew up in an era when there was still plenty of live boxing on television. He religiously watched fights on the weekends on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” and during the week on USA Network’s “Tuesday Night Fights.”

The biggest stars in the sport competed in those fights. But when pay-per-view came along, boxing promoters took their stars off network television and put them on PPV, where they were fighting in front of a significantly smaller audience.

White never forgot that, and when he took over the UFC, he vowed that he would honor the “Wide World of Sports” tradition and put big fights on free television when he got the opportunity.

There are few bigger bouts than a heavyweight championship match. Velasquez, who defeated former WWE megastar Brock Lesnar 13 months ago to win the belt, is an unlikely star in many ways.

A two-time All-American wrestler at Arizona State, he is soft-spoken and polite and not the kind of person to draw attention to himself. But he’s a fierce fighter who has become a fan favorite because of his aggressive, entertaining style.

He was on the set of Fox’s NFL pre-game show and has made dozens of appearances as he’s prepared to face dos Santos. Seeing the growth of the sport up-close has been mind-boggling to him.

“I saw it growing because it’s a very fun sport to watch, and it appeals to a young audience,” Velasquez said. “I never saw this, though. This is well beyond what I thought would ever be possible.”

And it’s only going to get bigger. The Fox contract will expose the sport to many who haven’t given it a chance and will help White cultivate an entirely new segment of fans.

The UFC may never become bigger worldwide than soccer, as White predicts, but that’s hardly a problem.

The combination of a network TV deal and White’s firm commitment to putting first-rate fights consistently on Fox will guarantee that the UFC’s growth spurt is nowhere close to being finished.

Make no mistake, UFC is right up their with WWE and most say its already far surpassed professional boxing (while taking away legions of fans from the sweet science).

White and his UFC are on top of the world, right next to WWE's Vince McMahon, who he has deep respect for.

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Monday, November 07, 2011

Australia Network tender terminated - 7th November 2011

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The Australia Network tender process has been terminated and the police called in amid claims the leaking of confidential information has compromised any deal.

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said on Monday ending the process was in the best interests of broadcasters ABC and Sky News, who were competing to win the new contract for the international television service.

'The advice which the government has received is that due to significant leaks of confidential information to the media, the Australia Network tender process has been compromised to such a degree that a fair and equitable outcome may no longer be able to be achieved,' Senator Conroy said in a statement.

'The government is extremely disappointed that such leaks have occurred and that the process has been compromised.'

He said the Australian Federal Police (AFP) have been asked to investigate the leaks.

Stories about details of the tender process have run in newspapers during the past six months.

The ABC currently operates the Australia Network and Senator Conroy said its contract would be extended by six months until August 2012 while the government resolves the long-term contractual arrangements.

This will also allow the ABC to book satellite time and maintain an ongoing service.

'The government will now make a decision on the long-term arrangements for the operation of the Australia Network no later than the end of March next year,' Senator Conroy said.

He said that at all times, the government has acted within the terms and conditions of the tender process.

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MGM Resorts, Boyd Gaming, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment In Talks For US Online Poker; Casino, by Greg Tingle

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Shares in Bwin.Party have jumped in recent days with news that the company has joined forces with leading casino brands MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming to offer online poker to US residents once legislation is passed in the States, a number of experts have advised not to get too excited, too soon.

Land based casino operators MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming this past week unveiled a plan to partner with online gambling company Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, subject to the legalization of Internet gambling in the United States.

Gibraltar-based Bwin.Party, the world's largest publicly traded online gaming company, was formed earlier this year through the merger of Austria's Bwin and PartyGaming.

Bwin.Party would own 65 percent of a start-up company that would offer online poker to U.S.-based players, while MGM would own 25 percent and Boyd would have a 10 percent stake.

U.S. prosecutors earlier this year accused the owners of three of the largest Internet poker companies of tricking regulators and banks into processing billions of dollars in illegal gambling proceeds.

That crackdown derailed a similar deal between online gambling operator PokerStars and Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts Ltd. Steve Wynn is understood to have gotten out of that deal in approximately one week.

MGM closed its original Internet gambling operations in mid-2003, citing regulatory uncertainties.

"There is now an overarching opinion in Washington that this needs to be addressed," MGM Chief Executive Officer Jim Murren told Reuters in a telephone interview. "U.S. citizens are putting their financial assets at risk on sites that the U.S. government has no comfort over how they are being operated."

Wynn, MGM and other land based casino operators have been lobbying hard in recent years for U.S. legalization of online poker...which they say is primarily a game of skill, rather than other forms of gambling where the customer is playing against the "house."

Their goal is legislation at the federal level, but legalization efforts are also underway in several states.

"Federal legislation is a vastly better solution ... to avoid any ambiguities in laws," Murren said.

Casino companies argue that millions of Americans are already playing online poker on websites operated from overseas and legalization would bring that revenue to the United States, where it could be taxed, jobs would be created and integrity could be assured.

Opponents, including groups like the Southern Baptist Convention, say online gambling is an irresponsible way to raise revenue.

Boyd Gaming and MGM Resorts also said each has agreements to use Bwin.Party's technology under its own brands.

MGM owns 10 casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, ranging from Circus Circus to the Bellagio, as well as casino-resorts in Mississippi and Michigan and joint ventures in New Jersey and Macau, the only place in China where gambling is legal.

Macau is currently seen as a more go ahead region for the gambling business than Las Vegas.

Boyd Gaming, which runs Las Vegas properties that cater mainly to local residents rather than tourists, owns and operates 16 casino properties in six states.

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment is looking to expand in a number of countries. The United States is their key target, however they also have Australia and New Zealand squarely in their sights.

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment is known around the globe for brands such as PartyCasino.com PartyPoker.com and World Poker Tour.

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Leonardo DiCaprio Leaves Sydney For LA; Lindsay Lohan Crashes J. Edgar Party - 7th November 2011

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Leonardo DiCaprio has left the building... the building / buildings being the old White Bay Power Station at Rozelle, Fox Studios Moore Park, and The Star (the revamped former Star City Casino, where he occupied an entire floor).

It's been a busy week or two for international celebs coming and going from Sydney and Melbourne, Australia), with some like Kim Kardashian not even making it to the races in Melbourne, but Sarah Jessica Parker and Ms Liz Hurley (accompanied by Shane Warne) did make it.

Sydney was however given a wide berth by action movie star Val Kilmer, who did both Brisbane and Melbourne via his appearance at the Supanova - comic book and pop culture etc festival.

Swinging up to LA, US of A, we understand that Leonardo DiCaprio is happy to be back on United States soil, after a bit of cat and mouse with Australian news media, namely at The Star, Fox Studios, White Bay and even his homely rented digs at Vaucluse.

Business, and a good spread of pleasure for Leo is what got him back to the US. We guess it helps motivate you to keep busy if your getting in the region of $20 million per film.

From Hollywood freight train smashing movie business records, enter Hollywood train wreck Lindsay Lohan.

Lohan crashed the party for Leonardo DiCaprio's upcoming movie J. Edgar, and many insiders say she was still sporting same hair and the makeup her Playboy nude shoot, that apparently netted her multiply hundred thousands. Some say about a million bucks, but that sounds like a bit of a stretch.

Lohan, who jumped across from her risqué Playboy shoot and has one foot just about in the jail cell for probation violations, told doormen and anyone else that would listen she was an invited guest to the party for the Clint Eastwood-directed biopic about FBI top brass Hoover and smooshed her way past security at the famous Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

Media tip offs came from the likes of AP, wires and the New York Post, and we figured they all can't be telling a mistruth.

"Lindsay was arguing with the security to let her in, dropping every celebrity's name to get in," a leak disclosed. "She could be heard saying, 'I have to go and see Leo.' Eventually they let her in, but she made everybody uncomfortable. She was aggressive and random, storming around. She tried to get to Leo, but he was surrounded by his security and a posse of his friends."

Gatsby director Luhrmann was delighted to have worked with Leo downunder, and is strongly rumoured to soon start shooting scenes at the Blue Mountains.

Leo is going to stay busy and the industry is a abuzz with news that he's close to an official sign on date with Quentin Tarantino via his new film production 'Django Unchained'.

Insiders tip that if Leo goes ahead with Tarantino it will see a new era for Leonardo, but will it be good, bad or indifferent?

The word is that Leonardo DiCaprio is very seriously considering the role of the main villain, Calvin Candie, who doesn't show on screen until the second half of the film. Think ala a 'Kill Bill' grand entrance.

Leaks who have put they eyes over screenplay tip Candie is the plantation owner who Django must kill, an eccentric who adores French culture and demands to be called "monsieur".

Hollywood (and AussieWood) have seen better days, but massive successes like Australia's 'Red Dog' are the exception, not the rule.

If the next few weeks are anything like the past couple, its sure going to be interesting to follow the likes of Leo, Lohan and Kardashian, but don't expect any of them to open right up to the media, with all having a bit of a love - hate relationship with the press.

Our money is on DiCaprio, Eastwood and Tarantino to all continue to go great guns in the business, but as to what happens to Lohan and Kardashian is anyone's guess.

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Sunday, November 06, 2011

Casino in West Australia Getting High-Roller VIP Revamp

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James Packer, chairman of casino owner Crown, is ramping up his Australian casino revamps and developments.

Billionaire James Packer has a love affair with Perth and he is putting his money where his heart is.

It is known among his tight-knit group of Perth mates - Andrew Forrest, Adam Rankin-Wilson and John Poynton - that he admires the "can do" attitude that is alive and well in the WA business sector.

Mr Packer can also relax in Perth in a way the casino and media mogul cannot in the Eastern States, where he is the focus of unrelenting media scrutiny.


All this, and the opening of two mega-casinos in Singapore in the past 18 months, are behind his extraordinary levels of investment in the ageing Burswood Entertainment Complex.

It is an investment program that will end up costing the Crown chairman upward of half a billion dollars and includes brand name restaurants, an Italian-built super-yacht for high rollers and VVIPs, a new high-roller gaming facility and two floors of renovated suites at the Intercontinental Hotel.

The super yacht, the new rooms and the VVIP high roller facilities are all badged "Infinity", a sub-brand which directly targets the big international punters.

But it doesn't end there.

The main gaming floor has also been revamped with new food outlets and early next year the casino will expand into new gaming areas and a new gastro pub, where once the circular driveway wound past the casino, hotel and convention and theatre venues.

Also next year, star Sydney chef Guillaume Brahami will open Bistro Guillaume at Burswood, the fun and casual offshoot of his classy Sydney Opera House flagship restaurant, Guillaume at Bennelong.

He will be joining Neil Perry's Rockpool, Nobu and the Modo Mio, the complex's high-end Italian restaurant, all opened in the past 12 months.

Then there's that pool: Hollywood meets Miami, meets unalloyed glamour and the two VVIP mansions that will cost a cool $25 million for the pair.

Currently under construction, the first high roller can expect to slip between the mansions' Egyptian cotton sheets early next year.

They will be for the exclusive use of the highest of the high rollers, many of whom will be flown to Burwood in Mr Packer's Gulfstream V business jet to enjoy the home-away-from-home luxury of the two massive houses abutting the new pool area.

If everything goes according to plan, the Packer-isation of Burswood will lure back the "whales", big Asian punters, who jumped ship to gamble at Singapore's spectacular Marina Bay Sands Casino and Genting International's Sentosa Island Casino resort.

With strong rumours that Crown is also considering building a six-star hotel at Burswood in the mould of Melbourne's super-luxury Crown Towers Hotel, the spending is not set to stop anytime soon.

And the icing on the cake?

Burswood management will not confirm it, but rumours persist that the entire complex will be re-badged Crown, aligning the complex with the superior, luxury brand values of Packer's Melbourne operation.
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PartyCasino Wins Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month' Award


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PartyCasino.com has been awarded the Media Man and Casino News Media "Online Casino Of The Month" award.

PartyGaming's igaming suite has grown a custom to winning awards since they first opened for business in 1997.

The competition for the coveted award was intense again this month with massive bids from both WPT Casino Captain Cooks Casino, Virgin Casino, PKR and Noble Casino however there can only be one winner... ladies and gentlemen, that's PartyCasino.com

The award follows PartyPoker's EGR Poker Operator Of The Year and PartyGaming also made the shortlist for EGR Operator Of The Year. Recently Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment's PartyPoker.com also won the Casino News Media "Online Poker Website Of The Month".

The Media Man - Casino News Media accolade is based on a combination of elements including user experience, innovation, trustworthiness, customer service, gameplay, affiliate program offerings, newsworthiness and company values.

PartyCasino.com is one of a number of Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment brands.

The most popular PartyCasino.com games of late include Heist, Circus, Rambo, Palladium Slot, The Godfather, Sinatra, Slotbox, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Mission: Impossible, The Terminator, Cleopatra, Sinatra, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spider-Man, Monopoly, Resident Evil, Melon Madness, Wheel Of Fortune and Mega Fortune Wheel.

The PartyCasino.com jackpot is currently approaching the $4 million mark. Players can also compete for The Big One and Marvel Hero Jackpot, playing the Marvel super hero themed online slot games.

PartyCasino's most recent game releases include War Of The Worlds, Atomic Fruit, Aztec Gold, Sin City, Robin Hood, Shaaark! SuperBet, Crocodopolis, Alice's Wonderland, Glamour Puss, Super Cubes, Heist, Palladium Slot and Circus Slot.

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Co CEO Jim Ryan has gone on record advising PartyCasino will soon feature more Hollywood blockbuster themed slots. A few in the know journalists and media agents have been recently tipped off that an all time classic movie adaption will be showcased in the PartyCasino portfolio within 1 month. PartyCasino has the world's most impressive line up of Hollywood themed games, and more are just around the corner.

PartyCasino.com and PartyPoker.com customers can also benefit from rewards and bonuses via PartyPoints and the Palladium Lounge. Be certain to check out the PartyCasino exclusive "Cash Machine" that is being championed as one of the greatest online casino promos ever.

Media Man, Casino News Media and Global Gaming Directory do have a b2b relationship with Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, as they do with dozens of other companies in the gaming, igaming, media and entertainment industry.

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