Punters, insiders, outsiders, journos, casino entrepreneurs and whales, and everyone else, what an interesting eclectic mix. NRL, Spain Running Of The Bulls, Red Bull Mark Webber fun and games, Casino cruise ship lights out, web censorship and politics and more... Media Man and Gambling911 go swimming with the sharks, dolphins, tuna and the rest of god's creations, and catch a boat load feast for your culinary enjoyment...
Pamplona Bull Run In Spain - Bulls 2, Australian Bull Runner 0...
It's that time of the year. The annual running of the bulls in Spain. A Spaniard and an Australian were injured on 2nd day of the San Fermin Bull Festival in the Spanish city of Pamplona. The injured Aussie is aged 18 and comes from Melbourne and the 20-year-old Spaniard is from the northern city of Saragossa. Both were taken to hospital. Score: Bulls 2, runners 0. Odds for a kill? Don't know, but maybe the likes of Centrebet, Paddy Power and Gamebookers might like to have a stab at it. Odds on a kill anyone?
Caffeine, Coke, Cappuccino And Pills In Australian Football: No Bull...
Re AFL stories circulate that some players mixed the caffeine drink Red Bull with the insomnia drug Stilnox for recreational use.
Not to be outdone, allegations of a "prescription drug culture" at the Sydney Roosters coming from the charging of Roosters hooker friendly Jake "The Mate" Friend last month for having tablets in his possession without a prescription.
Mr Friend and teammate Todd Carney, who was with him in beachside suburb Coogee when he was arrested, have been totally cleared of any wrongdoing by the Roosters. Friend's matter has been adjourned for mention to 21st July at Waverley Local Court.
Punters and insiders. Should NRL, AFL and poker pros take caffeine pills (or other legal performance enhancing drugs)? Tell us in the forum.
NRL State Of Origin - QLD Beats NSW But NSW Gains Respect...
It's the greatest side in State of Origin history... QLD, has now enjoyed its clean sweep.
Last night, before 60,000 plus fans at Sydney's ANZ Stadium, Queensland capped of its 5-year dominance of Origin with a gripping victory and the first 3-0 win of the Mal Meninga era!
Final Score:
QLD 23 - NSW 18
Centrebet Odds For The Record
NSW $2.85 for the win
QLD $1.44 for the win
Betfair Odds
NSW $3.15
QLD $1.45
Casino Cruiser Liner Looses Power At Sea, Casino Neon Lights Fade...
Punters have long enjoyed going on cruises. In fact some are known as "floating casinos", and various ports of the world have acted as havens of sorts for operators, with Bermuda coming to mind. All is fun and games until the neon lights go out, as they recently did, with punters being forced to the sun decks away from Vegas on the water. Passengers aboard the Carnival Cruise Ship "Fascination" said the ship lost power and drifted at sea for about five hours last Wednesday. The Jacksonville Coast Guard confirmed that the ship had lost power, but could not say for how long. The Coast Guard said marine inspectors boarded the ship off the coast of Jacksonville Thursday morning and investigated the cause of the electrical fault before clearing it to sail into the port of Jacksonville. The ship, returning from a five-day cruise, arrived about three hours late Thursday morning. Port officials alerted passengers on the next "All of the sudden, all the lights and the power went out. The air conditioning went out. The motor went off," passenger cruise lover Rita McGartland said. "We were floating." We were actually underneath the radar, and when it stopped, I kind of wondered about that," passenger James Smith said. Carnival issued a statement saying the power loss was due to a technical malfunction. "Carnival sincerely apologizes to our guests for this disruption to their vacation plans," the company said. "Carnival offered passengers a 20% discount on any future two- to five-day Carnival cruise." The ship has about 1,000 staterooms and 10 decks. The ship, which is 855 feet long, can hold around 2,000 passengers. It also has a casino, art gallery, spa, teen club, tween club, kids' camp, nightclub for adults, mini golf, waterslides and pools.
Carnival likes to call the ship a floating resort and punters call it a "floating casino".
Australian PM Julie Gillard Defends Internet Filter; Joins Media Man Twitter...
Julia, when you read this, thank you for joining our Twitter yesterday, and we trust you had a giggle at our proposed Gillard VS Tony "The Bruiser" Abbott wrestling championship 3 way dance, with a bit of a 3 Way Dance angle thanks to Malcolm "No Bull" Turnbull. How about yesterday's media tweek which is understood to have caught the eye of 'Jules':
"PM Julia Gillard's belief - non belief system is the fasting growing "religion" - belief system the world; Australia respects Gillard's out". Not quite as infamous as the tweek from "That Comedian" earlier this year at Crown Casino on the Logies night re Bindi Irwin: "I do so hope Bindi Irwin gets laid" or "Rove and Tasma look so cute ... hope she doesn't die, too". We expect Vegas comedian Tony Clifton or maybe his dead mate, Andy Kaufman, to buy into the 2nd round of TwitterGate.
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Julia Gillard says she is aware of public concerns over the mandatory internet filter interfering with "legitimate use" however has vowed to push ahead with the controversial proposal. In her first comments on the filter since scoring the Labor leadership, Ms Gillard told ABC radio in Darwin that the proposal was in fact an effort to control the "dark side" of communications technology. "Images of child abuse, child pornography - they are not legal in our cinemas. Why should you be able to see them on the internet? I think that's the kind of moral, ethical question at the heart of this. I understand that there's a set of … technical concerns about internet speed, and also concerns that somehow this accidentally doesn't move into taking away legitimate use of the internet.
Senator Stephen Conroy with an interesting quote: "We are prepared to spend as much time as necessary to make sure we get it right. Sooner rather than later… does this mean December? No, I wouldn’t think it would be. But there could be intervening events I can’t be in control of".
So, the federal government hopes to introduce legislation to enable its controversial internet filter by the end of the year. Communications Minister Stephen Conroy keeps saying the legislation would be this year "sooner rather than later". Timing for the web filter legislation, which has earned the ire of ISPs and internet freedom advocates, depends on the date for the looming federal election and if Labor wins office. Most political commentators have predicted August to October as possible election dates. The polls are likely to occur before the Victorian election in late November. Centrebet money says Jillard will get in, while most current Fairfax Media web polls show an Abbott (Liberal) victory. Since the plan was put forward in the public domain circa 2007, Senator Conroy has apparently changed his mind several times on how the filtering scheme would eventually work. The latest measure or pitch if you will, is to create a list of web pages comprising refused classification-rated content and force internet service providers to automatically block them. Legislation will be introduced to require all ISPs to filter the RC content list. New Prime Minister Julia Gillard solidly backs the filtering plan. She's made her support known with... understood public concerns over the scheme but that Senator Conroy was working to find a resolution that would be in the "right shape". When Sen Conroy was quizzed if Ms Gillard had set a deadline for the filtering legislation to be introduced, Senator Conroy said: "We are prepared to spend as much time as necessary to make sure we get it right. The discussions we're having behind the scenes with various players are more interested in getting the implementation and the actual policy right rather than saying it's got to be done by some artificial deadline." Those talks include consultation with ISPs on how to increase accountability and transparency for RC material. "I expect it (the legislation) to be this year. I expect that we will table the legislation this year sooner rather than later. "If you're thinking 'does that mean December?' - no, I wouldn't think it would be December, but there could be intervening events that I am not in control of," Senator Conroy told the press. The policy would be implemented 12 months from the passage of legislation. RC broadly consists of illegal content but Google and a boat load of internet and censorship experts believe the list could potentially contain legitimate material. Labor Senator Kate Lundy's suggestion for an opt-in approach has been rejected.
US Ambassador to Australia Jeff Bleich has urged the government to ditch the plan, saying child pornographers can be captured and prosecuted without using mandatory internet filters. The government has said it will introduce legislation to establish the filter after consultations are complete, but it is most unlikely to bring it before Parliament ahead of the next election. The federal opposition is yet to formalise its position on the mandatory filter. Aussie punters and internet fans, enjoy your interent filter free viewing while you can. Your days may be numbered.
A Media Man spokeserson said "In regards to the Australian proposed internet filter...This could be a vote winner or election looser, all depending upon the way the government handles it. Gillard is a friendly face and appears to have the ear of Australians much better than Conroy... who tends to raise the ire and piss off the internet community. Australian residents, business people and web publishers and portals developers need a lot more detailed information as to make an informed decision. If your a web publisher or portal developer, like Media Man or a NineMSN for example, who do you draw the lines on media vs PR campaigns, affiliate programs VS advertising, links in and web links out and so on. This is complex and if your running a network of websites across a dozen different industry sectors, 10'000's of pages of content, dozens of campaigns and the like, well you can just imagine. We consult with legal and the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, but the bottom line is that we need to see what is proposed by the Australian government. For the record we are a media, publicity and internet portal development company, and we cover a dozen different sectors, gaming, politics, media and technology included. We don't want to have to contact United Nations, Virgin Unite, The Elders and Reporters Without Boarders again, but if we have to, we will. Let's get the proposal right. Catch the crims and let media companies, web publishers and the community at large use the internet in peace. The real crims are not going to be found anyway, but if the government thinks they can get them on the web, let them try, but good luck".
Macau Gaming Operators Will Struggle With Overcapacity Says Expert...
If the market environment were different from what it is today, gaming operators would be struggling. That would happen because "player’s knowledge is lacking, and at the same time loyalty programmes and market segmentation is missing," notes Sudhir H. Kalé, professor of Marketing at Bond University’s School of Business in Australia and a visiting professor at the University of Macau. As the author of dozens of published articles on the marketing and management aspects of gaming, Kalé says he is "not impressed" with the market strategy of local properties. He also says that currently, gaming operators in Macau "don’t have knowledge about their players and there is no market segmentation". That, he stresses, "has been the weakest link in every property". City Of Dreams and Asia Pacific casino and lifestyle king, James Packer may like to argue his point... "Because the market is high and everyone is benefiting, they seem not to worry, but things can change in the near future," the expert warns. Kalé recalls being asked a few years ago "who is the Wynn customer?" – an enquiry that got no answer at the time and one that remains unanswered, he says, even after all these years. "No property knows who their customers are, be it Wynn, Crown or Grand Lisboa," he says. Hence, everybody is going for the same group of patrons. "That makes it very difficult to differentiate yourself from your competitors. I think every property should decide who their customer is and then organise activities and plan a strategy based on trying to provide an incomparable experience to that customer, and not to others," the professor states. If a company chooses another road it will end up either offering the same package as their competitors or offering a special package to all customers. "At the end, it will not have any competitive advantage," Kalé says. For the recond, Media Man and Gambling911 have a pretty good idea of who its readers and patrons are. G'day RB, Steve, Calvin, Mort, Rupert, Bruiser, Jules, Ryan, JP, "Mr Watchdog", Mr Wolverine, Mr Spider-Man, Mr Excelsior, Mr Underbelly, Ms Lash, Ms Universe, Ms Crocodile Wildlife Warrior, Sly, Mr Terminator, Mr Cruiser, Mr Hulkamania, Nature Boy, Mr Webby, Mr Bull, John Smith, The Don, and everyone else. Sorry, changed the names to protect the innocent and to have a bit of fun.
Jenson Button And Lewis Hamilton Clash Soon Says Red Bull Mark Webber; No Bull?...
The so-called special relationship between British F1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button was dismissed as nothing more than "smoke and mirrors" by their Red Bull rival Mark Webber. Webber's relationship with his team-mate Sebastian Vettel came under intense scrutiny after they crashed when running 1 and 2 in Istanbul ( Istan Bul for this No Bull Edition) at the end of May, while the mood between the Ferrari pair of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa has frequently sounded less than harmonious. But the Aussie said it was no different at the Woking-based camp and the relationship would be tested during the season. "They've been working very hard with smoke and mirrors at McLaren," he said. "Lewis and Jenson are always racing at the front and it's inevitable that it's gonna happen, because of what's at stake and both are hungry drivers." Speaking about his relationship with Vettel, Webber added: "We're pretty good. If Seb was drowning in the ocean I'd go in and save him. But it's totally natural that there will be rivalry. If you are like Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen (at Lotus) there isn't so much at stake right now. But look at Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell. They were both at the front and were both trying to win, and there was healthy rivalry. It's not possible in that situation to have a beautiful, fuzzy relationship because the other guy is a competitor. Here, the whole team learned from the incident in Turkey. It was a new experience for us. But 80% of the grid would give their right arm to be in a similar position, with two guys fighting at the front. As far as we are concerned, it's unlikely to happen again. The good thing is that I can stay at home, and I know all the back routes in from my cycling. I can feed the dogs and go in for the race. There are clear positives; we all know how much we like staying in hotels. I know the home crowd will be rooting for Lewis and Jenson, but I've always got on pretty well with the British fans. I've always lived in the UK." Vettel and Webber made it a Red Bull one-two at Silverstone last year and they need something similar this time on the new circuit if they are to reassert their position in this highly competitive season. It was a wonder Webber could speak, let alone look forward to Sunday's race, following his spectacular 200mph crash in Valencia 10 days ago. After his car smashed against Kovalainen's Lotus it soared in the air, hung there momentarily like a performing dolphin, and then crashed down, turning over before hitting a tyre barrier. The chassis is being rebuilt but Webber's leading mechanic, Mark "Crunch" Lenton thought it would not be used again and left an RIP note in it "You gave me the best day of my life, and also saved my mate." Webber said: "I don't get attached to my cars, but clearly my old one was unique. And it's mine. The team gave it to me after Monaco. It did a great job for me, there and in Valencia." There were a number of other fantastic crashes at the Red Bull factory yesterday (but fortunately they were on the simulator), built in-house at vast expense and introduced in March last year. "With new corners it's important to get a feel for them," said Webber. "Simulators are not the real thing but it's good to get a feel. I didn't realise, for example, just how tight the second left-hander is at the Arrowhead. The rest was as you'd expect. We'll be able to drive Korea before we ever get there ..."
Wrap up...
Did you enjoy your No Bull report? Are you drinking Red Bull? Tell us in the forum. Aussie F1 Mark Webber, keep powering in your Red Bull. Richard Branson, add more juice to your Virgin Racing. We don't want it heading south like the classic Virgin Cola from years back.
We know PartyGaming is going to give a run for your money, and now that the FIFA World Cup is taking a break, land based casinos and internet casinos will be returning to full speed, so watch out baby. Punters, as always, having fun, know the odds, keep it legal, and don't drink to much caffeine or Red Bull. Good punting and have fun. Punters, as always, having fun, know the odds, keep it legal, and don't drink to much caffeine or Red Bull. Good punting and have fun.
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*The writer is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. Gaming is just one of a bakers dozen of sectors they cover.
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