Donald Trump Teams With Avenue’s Lasry in Online Gaming Venture; Casino And Poker Push - 20th October 2011

Profiles

Donald Trump Trump Entertainment Resorts World Casino Directory Global Gaming Directory Games Casino Slots Casinos United States Las Vegas

Donald Trump has witnessed too much money side slipping him, and he's hoping that situation changes soon.

The real estate, gaming and entertainment giant, and founder of an Atlantic City casino company says the US should legalize internet gambling. The company that bears his name, Trump Entertainment Resorts, is moving forward with plans to establish an online betting venture... just as soon as it is legal to do so.

The company says it wants to get in on the ground floor of the internet gambling industry, and is close to selecting a joint venture partner to run an online gambling operation. The idea is to be well-placed and ready to go as soon as such activity is legalized in the United States.

"It should be approved here," Trump told news media. "An awful lot of money is leaving the U.S. that should and could stay in this country."

Trump Entertainment, which includes Donald Trump and daughter, Ivanka, and the Avenue Capital hedge fund, would own 10% of the new business venture.

Donald Trump advised the key to success in the online gambling market is having the best brand.

"We think we have the hottest brand there is, the Trump brand, my personal brand," he said. "We think it's going to do phenomenally well."

Donald Trump and New York hedge-fund manager Marc Lasry want a seat at the virtual poker table if online gambling is legalized in the U.S.

The real estate financier, Lasry’s Avenue Capital Group and casino operator Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. will form an Internet gaming joint venture should U.S. regulators permit such businesses to operate, according to an Oct. 14 regulatory filing. Trump Entertainment, which Avenue Capital took control of last year, would own 10% of the venture, the company said in its filing. It didn’t disclose the stakes to be held by Trump or Lasry’s $12 billion hedge fund.

The agreement coincides with a push to legalize online gambling by states including Iowa and New Jersey, where Trump Entertainment is based and holds casino licenses. The $6 billion that Americans wager each year through offshore sites is tempting state authorities who face budget deficits, as well as casino companies looking for new sources of growth.

"It’s just a matter of time," Ivanka Trump, Donald’s daughter, said in a telephone interview. "It would be a tremendous source of taxable revenue for states or the federal government and an enormous generator of jobs," said Ivanka, executive vice president of development and acquisitions for the Trump Organization, the New York-based parent company of Donald’s real estate operations.

2010 Bankruptcy

Todd Fogarty, a spokesman for Avenue Capital, declined to comment, as did Brian Cahill, a representative for Trump Entertainment. Lasry, 52, is chairman of the company, which operates the Trump Taj Mahal Resort and the Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino in its hometown of Atlantic City, New Jersey. It sold Trump Marina Hotel Casino earlier this year.

The agreement by Trump Entertainment, Donald Trump and Avenue Capital restricts all three parties from going after competing proposals through May, according to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Trump Entertainment, which emerged from bankruptcy in July 2010, said in the filing that the joint venture represented "the most advantageous way" to pursue online gaming "at minimal cost" to the company. "One or more other qualified parties" may also participate in the venture, according to the filing.

Ivanka Trump, 29, said that the joint venture is “positioning itself” to be the largest online gaming company if the industry is legalized in the U.S. She added that Trump Entertainment had the necessary licenses, while Lasry’s firm would provide the capital and her father would contribute his name to the venture.

Expensive Proposition

"In terms of the Internet, brand is essential toward attracting players," Ivanka said. "The Trump brand would be the most powerful one in this space."

Setting up an Internet gaming site can be capital intensive, according to Richard “Skip” Bronson, chairman of U.S. Digital Gaming Inc., a Beverly Hills, California, company that has created a technology platform for Internet wagering. While the cost of creating a site is relatively low, online gaming companies must spend heavily to make themselves known and bring in bettors.

"The question is how will you get people to come to the site," Bronson said in a telephone interview. "It takes unique promotions and significant marketing spend."

Trump Entertainment Reorganization

The online gaming industry received a jolt in April, when the U.S. Justice Department indicted the founders of three Internet poker companies, alleging that they circumvented a 2006 federal law barring banks from processing payments to offshore gambling websites. The companies -- PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker -- ranked as the leading online poker sites doing business with U.S. customers, even though they were all based outside the country.

Following the indictments, Caesars Entertainment Corp. and MGM Resorts International, a pair of Las Vegas-based casino companies, funded an advocacy group called FairPlay USA. The group is pushing for the legalization of online poker and revisions to the 2006 law, known as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

At least a half dozen states have bills pending tied to the legalization of online gaming, Bronson said, and another six to 10 are studying the issue. He predicts that online gaming will follow the same pattern as state lotteries, which were first adopted in 1964 by New Hampshire and are now offered in 43 states.

‘Domino Effect’

"There will be a domino effect, the same way lotteries started in the 1960s," Bronson said. Under the 2006 federal law, Internet poker sites established in states that legalize online wagering could only accept bets placed within those states, Bronson added.

Lasry, a billionaire investor who specializes in distressed debt, was part of a bondholder group that won control of Trump Entertainment last year when a bankruptcy judge ruled that their bid for the casino company was better than a competing offer from Carl Icahn. The bondholders offered to reduce the company’s debt by $1.4 billion and invest another $225 million, while Icahn sought to convert some $480 million of bank debt into equity, leaving nothing for Lasry’s group.

Under the winning plan, Avenue Capital acquired about a 22 percent stake in Trump Entertainment by swapping the casino company’s beaten-down bonds for stock and purchasing additional shares through a rights offering. Trump, who joined Lasry and the other bondholders after originally submitting a competing proposal with billionaire Andy Beal, received a 10 percent stake in the company for the right to use his name.

Three’s A Charm

Trump, 65, entered the casino business in 1984 with the Trump Plaza, and in 1990 defaulted on $675 million in junk bonds from his Taj Mahal casino and declared bankruptcy. Following the bankruptcy reorganization, he took the company public in 1995 as Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc.

Trump Hotels & Casino filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2004. When the second bankruptcy proceeding was completed the following year, Trump stepped down as chief executive officer while retaining his role as chairman, and the company was renamed Trump Entertainment Resorts.

Just before the casino company made its third bankruptcy filing, in February 2009, Trump stepped down as chairman and Ivanka also left the board. At the time, he held a 24 percent stake in Trump Entertainment.

Lasry has hosted high-stakes poker games in which the take can be as high as $20,000, according to "Hedge Hunters," a 2007 book by Bloomberg News reporter Katherine Burton. He is one of several hedge-fund managers who are also poker buffs, including David Einhorn, head of Greenlight Capital Inc., Cliff Asness, chief of AQR Capital Management LLC and Kenneth Griffin, founder of Citadel LLC.

Just a few online gaming companies that are understood to be interested in coming to business terms with Trump include Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, Richard Branson's Virgin Games and PKR. Most experts see Bwin.Party as the best bet, as they don't have any outstanding issues with the US Department of Justice, and have been playing by the rules (law) for many years, while other gambling companies continue to go after U.S players.

Internet gambling is legal in many countries, with the U.S being a glaring exception.

Media Man is following up.

Profiles

Donald Trump Trump Entertainment Resorts World Casino Directory Global Gaming Directory Games Casino Slots Casinos United States Las Vegas

Websites

Trump.com

Trump Entertainment Resorts

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Media Man News Website Updated

Website

Media Man News

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment tipped to be dominant player; Buy rec, by Greg Tingle - 21st October 2011

Profiles

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

Medium to long term investment prospect, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment (LON:BPTY) could be the dominant player in online gaming across Europe, deriving the majority of its profits from regulated markets, states UBS analyst Simon Whittington.

In the meantime, the company is buying back shares, paying around 5% dividend yield, and driving double-digit EBITDA growth, underpinned by conservative synergies, he added.

UBS rates the firm a 'buy' with a 12 month target price of 185 pence (current price: 104.8 pence).

Media Man is following up.

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Donald Trump says US should legalize Internet betting - 21st October 2011

Profiles

Donald Trump Trump Entertainment Resorts World Casino Directory Global Gaming Directory Games Casino Slots Casinos United States Las Vegas

Donald Trump has witnessed lots of money side slipping him, and he's hoping that situation changes soon.

The real estate, gaming and entertainment tsar, and founder of an Atlantic City casino company says the US should legalize internet gambling. The company that bears his name, Trump Entertainment Resorts, is moving forward with plans to establish an online betting venture... just as soon as it is legal to do so.

The company says it wants to get in on the ground floor of the internet gambling industry, and is close to selecting a joint venture partner to run an online gambling operation. The idea is to be well-placed and ready to go as soon as such activity is legalized in the United States.

"It should be approved here," Trump told news media. "An awful lot of money is leaving the U.S. that should and could stay in this country."

Trump Entertainment, which includes Donald Trump and daughter, Ivanka, and the Avenue Capital hedge fund, would own 10% of the new business venture.

Donald Trump advised the key to success in the online gambling market is having the best brand.

"We think we have the hottest brand there is, the Trump brand, my personal brand," he said. "We think it's going to do phenomenally well."

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Trump Entertainment said it has "determined that such a joint venture represents the most advantageous way for the company to participate in opportunities in online gaming at minimal cost to the company."

No cost estimates were given, and Robert Griffin, the company's CEO, declined to comment Thursday. But in March, after Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill passed by New Jersey lawmakers that would have allowed Internet betting solely within New Jersey's borders, Griffin said the money lost to offshore operators should benefit New Jersey.

The new law would seen New Jersey become the first state in the nation to allow Internet betting.

"Currently, millions of Americans engage in online gaming with illegal offshore operators, and do so with no oversight, no regulation or no consumer protections," Griffin said at the time. "It makes sense for the state of New Jersey to regulate this activity, enforce strict standards to ensure games are fair and safe, and in turn be able to collect tax revenue instead of having those dollars and the jobs they support leaving New Jersey and going illegally overseas."

Christie advised he vetoed the law fearing it was unconstitutional and could lead to an explosion of betting parlors throughout the state. By law, gambling in New Jersey is restricted to gaming hotspot Atlantic City.

But a New Jersey lawmaker is asserting that individual states in fact have the legal right to offer in-state Internet gambling within their own borders.

State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, D-Union, wrote in July to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder asserting that New Jersey and all other states can legally offer online betting within their borders.

Lesniak said he will introduce legislation in November to address the prime concerns expressed by Christie.

The filing said the company, Donald and Ivanka Trump, and Avenue Capital have signed an agreement authorizing the joint venture once it becomes legal, and that prohibits any of them from seeking other online gambling ventures through May 2012.

Atlantic City is in the midst of a nearly 5-year revenue slump brought on by increasing competition from casinos in neighboring states, and worsened by the continuing unsteady economy. It's also speculated that many AC businesses have not adapted well to the internet medium.

Just a few online gaming companies that are understood to be interested in coming to business terms with Trump include Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, Richard Branson's Virgin Games and PKR. Most experts see Bwin.Party as the best bet, as they don't have any outstanding issues with the US Department of Justice, and have been playing by the rules (law) for many years, while other gambling companies continue to go after U.S players.

Internet gambling is legal in many countries, with the U.S being a glaring exception.

Media Man is following up.

Profiles

Donald Trump Trump Entertainment Resorts World Casino Directory Global Gaming Directory Games Casino Slots Casinos United States Las Vegas

Websites

Trump.com

Trump Entertainment Resorts

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

The Sopranos actor John Marinacci arrested for gambling; Life imitates art, by Greg Tingle - 20th October 2011

Profiles

Gambling Poker New York The Sopranos HBO Hollywood

Mid range actor John Marinacci has been arrested along with 36 others as part of an inquiry into a mob-connected gambling ring in New York.

The 56 year old, who has appeared in episodes of The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire, was hauled in by police as part of Operation Flat Rate after allegations he solicited bets, collected money and took a percentage of losing wagers for the Gambino crime family.

Deputy Attorney General Peri Alyse Kadanoff announced on Tuesday that police have gathered a "great deal of wiretap evidence" against 37 members of the ring, which allegedly operated in Brooklyn from April 2010 until April 2011. Three other Gambino associates were also arrested.

Marinacci, who is also a professional poker teacher, was charged with one count of enterprise corruption, 30 counts of promoting gambling, 30 counts of possession of gambling records and one count of conspiracy, according to the New York Post.

He has been released on $US25,000 ($A24,506) bail.

It's understood Marinacci is or was associated with controversial online poker brand, Bodog, and industry insiders are suggesting that it may be a good idea for the keen gambler to change to a less risky brand, be it World Poker Tour or World Series of Poker (if they will take him).

Other actors from The Sopranos or Boardwalk Empire are not under suspicion of illegal gambling.

Something tells us that the poker lover will soon be self sponsored and will be practising his flushes with inmates.

Websites

The Sopranos (HBO)

Boardwalk Empire (HBO)

Boardwalk Empire

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Australian Sports Entertainment

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Betting On United States, by Greg Tingle - 20th October 2011

Profiles

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyCasino PartyPoker World Poker Tour Gibraltar Gaming

Jim Ryan, the co-chief executive of Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment is a very busy man.

In fact, he's invested three of the past five weeks in the United States pushing a presentation that advertised to investors the strengths of the world’s largest publicly-traded online gambling - gaming firm. Ryan’s presentation included a one-page chart that listed the top online poker brands in the U.S. market. The names of once fierce competitors PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, were crossed out in red. Is Party the only real game left in town? Time will tell.

“Where you see the red lines, those organizations have been indicted, so although one can’t predict the future, it’s unlikely you will see those brands back in the U.S.,” Ryan said during an interview. “The brand that has the most consumer awareness is in fact the PartyPoker brand.”

Ryan’s company happens to own both PartyPoker and the World Poker Tour, two of the top online poker brands that did not have their U.S. operations shut down by the U.S. Justice Department in April because they were not facilitating for-money online poker play in America—in the case of PartyPoker since 2006. They also own PartyCasino, a top online casino destination website. The fact that Ryan, who is based in Gibraltar, has recently been spending so much time in the U.S. demonstrates he is optimistic and hopeful for a U.S. comeback. “My focus is on the U.S.,” says Ryan, who is in the final stages of negotiating partnerships with two U.S. companies. “Even though there is no guarantee that online gaming will ever regulate in the U.S.”

For years Ryan and his staff at PartyGaming, which merged with Bwin earlier this year, had to sit on the sidelines, watching how much money PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker were snatching. It was a difficult thing to watch for the top brass and workers at PartyGaming, which was the biggest online gambling company in the world thanks to its domination of the U.S. online poker market until Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006. PartyGaming exited the U.S. market and saw its stock price take a massive hit, while PokerStars and Full Tilt kept their U.S. facing .com websites on air. Party competitors enjoyed somewhat of an unfair advantage, with the rouges using the U.S. market to expand globally at PartyGaming’s expense. “We were beyond the point of frustration,” says Ryan.

Next PartyGaming struck a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, paying $105 million and admitting its U.S. operations had for years violated U.S. law. Meanwhile, PokerStars and Full Tilt continued to operate in the U.S. and claimed that their U.S. operations did not violate U.S. law, pointing to legal opinions the companies had received from top American legal eagles. To many, it appeared like PartyGaming had given a lucrative business away. Even at the company’s headquarters there were doubts until April 2011, when federal prosecutors in Manhattan closed down the U.S. operations of PokerStars and Full Tilt, naming them illegal gambling businesses, and indicted some of their key execs. "I think Party has been vindicated now in getting out when they did and in dealing with the Department of Justice," says Behnam Dayanim, a partner at Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider, who negotiated PartyGaming’s agreement with federal prosecutors in downtown Manhattan.

With all that said, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment is not exactly holding a management party quite yet. It's so close, yet so far, from reclaiming online poker’s crown. Operating in highly-regulated and taxed European markets while competing against well-run companies like PokerStars is not for the faint-hearted. Bwin.Party’s stock, which trades on the prestigious London Stock Exchange, has dipped by 50% in 2011. Big corporate mergers can be problematic, but the outfit has also suffered a setback in Germany, where the nation’s top civil court recently decided to uphold an online gambling ban, and been dissed by higher gaming duties across Europe. When the company attempted to take advantage of the April U.S. shutdown of PokerStars and Full Tilt, Bwin.Party found that while some new European players were attracted to its poker brands, revenues remained flat-ish. It wasn’t until Full Tilt’s European regulator suspended Full Tilt’s license in late June that Bwin.Party’s increased advertising and promotional expenditures started to pay dividends. PartyPoker is now the second-biggest online poker room in the world, according to PokerScout, averaging 4,150 cash players during any given time. PokerStars has 22,800.

Ryan, who joined PartyGaming as CEO in 2008, has been waiting for this moment for what seems like forever. He long ago took Bwin’s Norbert Teufelberger to a McDonald’s in La Linea, Spain, and chatted to him at length about the pros of combining Bwin’s strong online sportsbook business with PartyGaming’s poker brands, resulting in the merger that was first announced in 2010. Ryan also fine-tuned his company’s business-to-business capabilities over the last few years with an eye toward finding a U.S. partner with whom he can re-conquer America. "We had to be realistic about where we sat in the food chain," says Ryan. "We figured if the U.S. regulated it would be unlikely that we would secure a license directly, that the laws of the land would be written to allow existing land operators and equipment manufacturers in the U.S. to secure the licenses." Ryan is optimistic about current efforts in Washington, driven by the American Gaming Association and powerful casino companies like Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts, to potentially get some sort of online gambling legislation through a divided Congress. Ryan notes he is also preparing for the possibility that online poker gets regulated first on a state-by-state basis.

"We have to be ready for both federal or state," he says. "It feels good to have American taxpaying companies finally driving this.".

If an offshore operator is to succeed in American, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment looks like the firm to place bets with.

Bwin.Party has identified Australia and New Zealand as places to further expand their business, even sponsoring high profile poker players such as Tony G and Stewart Scott (a former Crown Casino 'Aussie Millions' champion.) PartyPoker is one of a number of rumoured brands set to take over the sponsorship spot at James Packer's Crown Casino that FTP once enjoyed. Party look to have as much chance as anyone, probably more so.

In the meantime, poker and casino game players in regions such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Italy, South America, South Africa and beyond can continue to enjoy their gaming.

Poker playing celebs such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Tobey McGuire are understood to be open to sponsorship approaches from Bwin.Party.

Governments of the world - you're throw of the dice.

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Australian Sports Entertainment

Macau casino junkets thrive despite China credit squeeze - 18th October 2011

Profiles

Macau Casinos. World Casino Directory Casinos City Of Dreams World Directory

A funding squeeze on Chinese entrepreneurs has not ruffled the feathers of Macau's multi-billion-dollar casino industry as their core customers -- super-rich mainland Chinese -- and junket operators remain flush with liquidity, industry executives and analysts said.

Shares of Hong Kong- and U.S.-listed gaming companies such as Sands China Ltd, Wynn Macau Ltd, Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd, Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd and SJM Holdings Ltd plunged earlier this month as fears over a heightened credit squeeze on small-to medium-sized enterprises in China hammered the sector.

The credit squeeze, which reportedly resulted in a string of Chinese entrepreneurs going into hiding to avoid repaying loans, has also raised concern of restricted funding channels for junket operators -- middle men who provide credit to wealthy mainlanders for gambling in Macau.
Kenny Leong, chief executive of Nasdaq listed Asia Entertainment and Resources Ltd, one of Macau's major VIP gambling room promoters, dismissed the concerns, saying large junkets mainly dealt with super-rich clients with sound creditworthiness.

"Right now big firms do not have such problems. This may be related to the smaller operations," Leong said, adding that smaller junkets were affected because of their more informal funding channels and less rigorous checks on customers.

AERL is one of 190 licensed junket operators in the former Portuguese enclave, an hour from Hong Kong by ferry. The junket industry accounts for 75 percent of Macau's total gaming revenue, which analysts forecast to reach $34 billion this year, more than five times the $6 billion projected for rival Las Vegas.

Leong's firm, among 40 junket operators that bring in more than 80 percent of Macau's VIP revenue, deal with mid- to high-tier VIP customers who spend at least HK$10 million ($1.3 million), while smaller junket operators cater to lower tier VIPs who spend less than HK$3 million at a time.

"SME entrepreneurs are mainly classified as lower tier patrons," the 41-year-old junket veteran told Reuters as he sipped a glass of iced water in one of AERL's VIP gaming rooms at Galaxy Entertainment's Starworld casino.

CASH RICH

Shares of Macau casinos had staged a tepid rebound along with the broader stock market in the past week, spurred by Beijing's pledge to provide credit support for SMEs and hopes for an easing of the European debt crisis.

But the stocks slid sharply on Tuesday after China released figures showing GDP growth slowed in the third quarter. Gaming counters dropped 20-40 percent below their August peaks as investors panicked over China's economic outlook and the future of the highly lucrative industry.

Analysts say Macau's junkets and casinos are better positioned to weather the current global economic uncertainties compared with 2008, when the sector collapsed along with the global financial crisis.

"Compared with 2008-2009, the difference is casinos and junkets are cash-rich. They can still drive growth in the interim by pumping more working capital into the system," said Credit Suisse analyst Gabriel Chan in Hong Kong.

Galaxy's Chief Financial Officer Robert Drake said there had been no signs of a slowdown in VIP gaming revenue, as evidenced by massive revenue booked during China's "Golden week" National Day holiday starting on Oct. 1.

"This year's Golden Week has again proven to be a huge boost to business. The growth of revenue in Macau -- both VIP and mass market -- has been strong and we have seen no signs of any recent slowdown," the CFO of the $8 billion company told Reuters.

Leong said AERL extended HK$5 billion in credit to VIPs in the first five days of October alone.

"People are saying Macau suffers from trouble in China, this is not the case," he said.

($1 = 6.386 yuan)
($1 = 7.779 Hong Kong dollars)

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Australian Sports Entertainment

Visual Effects Society Lauds Stan Lee - Comic book icon to receive Lifetime Achievement Award. - 19th October 2011

Profiles

Thor X-Men Wolverine Spider-Man Iron-Man Marvel Entertainment Marvel Comics Marvel Studios Marvel Slots Paramount Pictures Hollywood Movies Media Man
Captain America The Avengers Spider-Man Fantastic Four The Hulk Comics Movies

Comic book publisher and entrepreneur Stan Lee has been selected by the VES Board of Directors as the recipient of the VES 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be presented at the 10th Annual VES Awards, which will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on February 7, 2012.

The VES Lifetime Achievement Award honors individuals whose "lifetime body of work has made a significant and lasting contribution to the art and/or science of the visual effects industry by way of artistry, invention and/or groundbreaking work." Stan Lee is known to millions as the man whose Super Heroes propelled Marvel Comics to its preeminent position in the comic book industry. His famous co-creations include Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Daredevil, The Avengers, Silver Surfer and Dr. Strange, among many others.

Lee first became publisher of Marvel Comics in 1972 and is presently the Chairman Emeritus of Marvel Enterprises, Inc. and a member of the Editorial Board of Marvel Comics. In 1977, he introduced Spider-Man as a syndicated newspaper strip that went on to become the most successful of all syndicated adventure strips. Spider-Man now appears in more than 500 newspapers worldwide -- making it the longest running of all Super Hero strips. Lee founded, and is currently Chief Creative Officer, of POW! Entertainment, where he continues to write and create new characters.

"Stan Lee's imagination has created a completely original and profitable niche in the entertainment world and has allowed visual effects to flex its muscle in service to it!" said VES Chair Jeffrey A. Okun. "Thanks to Mr. Lee's fantastic creations and amazing stories he not only created a future filled with gadgets and inventions that we aspire to create for real – but all while inspiring the minds and imaginations of storytellers, visual effects artists and computer wizards everywhere," added Okun.

"As a writer there is nothing more rewarding than to see your creations brought to life on the screen and I am indebted to all of the incredibly talented artists who have contributed to my projects," said Lee. "Visual effects have played a pivotal role in the ongoing success of Marvel's characters and allowed fans to experience their stories in an entirely new way. It is truly a great honor to receive this award from the Visual Effects Society."

Without question, Stan 'the Man' Lee has exerted more influence over the comic book industry than anyone in history. He created or co-created 90 percent of Marvel's recognized characters, which have been successfully licensed and marketed since 1965. The numbers are staggering -- more than 2 billion of his comic books have been published in 75 countries and in 25 languages.

In 1981 Stan Lee transformed his Spider-Man and Hulk creations into Saturday morning and syndicated television cartoons. When Marvel Comics and Marvel Productions were acquired by New World Entertainment in 1986, Stan's horizons expanded even further, giving him the opportunity to become more deeply involved in the creation and development of filmed projects for both the big and small screen. He supervised such diverse animated series as X-Men, Spider-Man and The Hulk. To date, Stan's characters have populated over 24 separate television series, all of which continue in syndication around the world.

In 2001, Stan founded POW! Entertainment, Inc., a multi-media entertainment company, where he is creating a myriad of new characters, stories and franchises for traditional and emerging media.

Previous recipients of the VES Lifetime Achievement Award are George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis, Dennis Muren, Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy & Frank Marshall, James Cameron and Ray Harryhausen.

Official Websites

POW! Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment Marvel Entertainment YouTube.com

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Australian Sports Entertainment

Crown Casino Caught Out By Fake VIP Gambling Whale - 19th October 2011

Profiles

Crown Casino Crown Limited James Packer Politics Melbourne Gaming

It took a "high-value" casino whale type gambler snatched by Crown Casino about five minutes to create the paperwork that duped the venue into advancing him $125,000 that he hoped would recoup what he had lost at its tables.

Jung Hwan Choi dropped $200,000 there last year and yesterday a Melbourne court heard how his "inherently simplistic" scam beat the house.

The County Court was told that Choi was flown to Melbourne from Sydney in November last year in a visit organised by a casino marketing executive.

Prosecutor Amanda Ring advised Choi accessed his bank account at an internet cafe to transfer from his mother's account $1 and then copied the screen shot of the receipt's transaction and his balance.

With the images stored on a USB device, Ms Ring said he then imported them onto a PowerPoint program from which he changed his bank balance from $12.87 to $284,000.

Choi also altered the $1 transfer receipt to reflect a transfer of $100,000 from his account to Crown.

Arriving cashless at the casino on November 14, he was greeted by an executive host who sighted Choi's account balance and the transfer receipt and was advanced $100,000.

After gambling "heavily and unsuccessfully" that night, Ms Ring said Choi the next day was advanced $25,000 in gaming chips.

Arrested in February, Choi told police he had been "desperate" and had lost $200,000 at Crown over several months and "I wanted it back".

Defence barrister Geoffrey Steward said Crown's reaction to that "windfall" had been to ring him and invite him to dinner.

Mr Steward said Choi, 38, dined with a casino marketing executive and was gifted a $600 Louis Vuitton wallet.

"The cynical may say, 'Thank you for losing $200,000, you are welcome any time'," Mr Steward said of Choi's VIP status, which included plane trips, accommodation, limousines, food and beverages.

"You feel like a king, but he was more of a pauper than a king," he said.

Mr Steward told Judge Wendy Wilmoth that Crown did not deserve to lose its money, but to his client it was ''like a monolithic piranha dangling carrots'' of seduction, love and luxuries that were "incapable of resisting".

Choi, a married father of two, described himself as a now-reformed "gamblerholic" who had lost more than $2 million at casinos.

He pleaded guilty to two charges of obtaining a financial advantage by deception and one of making a false document.

Judge Wilmoth sentenced Choi to two years and three months jail, the term suspended for three years, with an order he pay compensation of $125,000.

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Australian Sports Entertainment

PartyCasino VS Virgin Casino iGaming War Continues

Profiles

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.

Profiles

PartyCasino.com

Virgin Casino

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Media Man Top Ten Online Games

Profiles

Casino Casinos Slots Games Poker Jackpots PartyCasino.com Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Media Man



Sin City Cleopatra Rambo The Godfather Sinatra The Terminator Thor Saturday Night Fever Unicorn Legend Palladium Slot

Play for free or play for money at PartyCasino.com

New players get up to $3000 sign up bonus via Media Man.

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Global Gaming Directory

Casino News Media

Poker News Media

Media Man Games

Smoking rules eased a puff at Crown Casino - 17th October 2011

Profiles

Crown Casino Crown Limited James Packer Politics Melbourne Gaming

Smoking in and around gambling dens in Australia continues to be a hot topic. Media Man investigates...

Crown Casino has been granted exemptions from smoking bans on four separate floors of the casino complex.

Crown Casino has been kindly granted exemptions from smoking bans on four separate floors of the casino complex...despite an election promise by the Baillieu government to review the casino’s special five star treatment.

Health Minister David Davis recently approved smoking in "high roller" or "whale VIP" areas on the ground floor and level one of the casino and on levels 29 and 39 of Crown Towers. Former health minister and now Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews approved similar exemptions for the casino last year.

Crown is the only poker / slot machine venue in Victoria where smoking is allowed.

It also enjoys a more favourable tax rate on its 2500 poker machines, is the only venue allowed to operate 24 hours a day and can make larger cash payments from its machines.

In the lead-up to last year’s election, the Coalition promised to examine "Crown Casino’s exemptions ... to ensure that gambling regulation is as consistent as possible".

"It is an important principle that, insofar as it is appropriate, gambling regulation be consistent across the state and across various modes of gambling. This is particularly so when considering measures that are designed to address problem gambling," the election promise said. Almost 12 months on from the election, the review of Crown’s special treatment is yet to begin.

Premier Ted Baillieu and Gaming Minister Michael O’Brien have also refused to detail discussions they have had with Crown Casino boss James Packer about poker machine reforms proposed by the Tasmanian federal MP, Andrew Wilkie.

The Baillieu government will not rule out a legal challenge to Mr Wilkie’s poker machine reforms, which could include mandatory cards forcing players to pre-set how much they are prepared to lose or low-intensity poker machines. Mr Packer has been actively lobbying federal and state MPs over the proposals.

Mr O’Brien told Fairfax owned The Age the review of Crown’s exemptions would begin "either the second half of this year or early next year".

"There is no doubt that Crown is treated a little differently from other gambling venues; there have been arguments put forward as to why there is good reason for that because of Crown’s mecca as a tourist destination," he said.

"I just think when things have been in place for quite some time it is always useful to have another look at them to see if the reasons you originally introduced them for still apply and if they are still appropriate," he said.

InterChurch Gambling Taskforce’s Mark Zirnsak said it was disappointing the Baillieu government had exempted Crown again from smoking bans.

"I think if employees were to suffer health effects down the track they would be wise to look at their legal options," he said.

He called on the government to review all of Crown’s exemptions.

"It is long overdue to have a review and what’s disappointing here is the same cosy relationship Crown enjoyed with the previous Victorian government appears to continue unabated with the new Baillieu government," he said.

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Australian Sports Entertainment

ACCC to appeal Google court decision

Profiles

Google Search Engines Internet

The competition watchdog says it will appeal a court decision that rejected its claim Google was engaging in misleading conduct.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) lost its Federal Court case against Google last month in which it claimed the search engine failed to distinguish properly between advertisements and search results.

Justice John Nicholas rejected the ACCC's claim that Google was engaged in conduct likely to mislead or deceive the public.

On Thursday, the ACCC said it would appeal the decision to the Full Federal Court.

ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the role of search engine providers as publishers of paid content needed to be closely examined in the online age.

"It is very important that the law in this area is clarified and fully understood," Mr Sims said.

The ACCC's case related to 11 distinct claims involving various advertisers and sponsored links which Google is alleged to have published on its results pages.

The ACCC claimed the links were misleading because they included a headline consisting of a trading name, a product name or a website address of the advertiser's competitor but which also served as a link to the advertiser's website.

However, Justice Nicholas ruled that Google merely communicated representations made by the advertiser and as such, it had not breached the Trade Practices Act.

The ACCC said its appeal would be in respect of four advertisements.

"Justice Nicholas found that Google would have been unable to show that it had no reason to suspect that publication of these advertisements was a breach of the Act," it said in a statement.

"The ACCC considers that the Full Court may find that Google made the representations in question and find Google directly responsible for the publication.

"The ACCC takes the view that Google's key word insertion system, plus the role of Google staff, were fundamental to the representations being made."

It is estimated that online search advertising in Australia through search engines such as Google is worth around $830 million per year.

Google is the dominant search engine in the Australian market.

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Australian Sports Entertainment

WSOP Europe: Michael Mizrachi, Philippe Boucher Capture Bracelets As Championship Event Enters Day 1B - 16th October 2011

Profiles

World Series of Poker Poker. Online Poker Casinos Europe World Casino Directory

As the €10,000 Championship Event of the 2011 World Series of Poker Europe enters its second Day One on Sunday, poker pros Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and Philippe Boucher captured the final two preliminary bracelets awarded on Saturday.

In the €10,000 Split Format No Limit Hold’em event, Mizrachi came back yesterday as a member of the Final Four who would determine the title. In his semi-final match against Roger Hairabedian, Michael slowly worked the heads up match to what was a startling conclusion. On the final hand of their matchup, Hairabedian flopped a set of fives on a J-8-5 board, but Mizrachi was able to best that by turning a straight with his 7-6 when a four found the turn. Once the board didn’t pair on the river, Michael Mizrachi was on to the final.

In the other semi-final match, Shawn Buchanan and Noah Schwartz battled it out for the right to face “The Grinder.” Buchanan methodically worked his way into a comfortable lead against Schwartz before getting him to commit his final chips with a mediocre offering. After a minimum raise from Shawn, Noah decided to make a three-bet stand for his last chips with only an A-5 off suit. Buchanan quickly called, tabling his pocket Kings, and once the board ran dry (albeit with a bit of a flush sweat), Shawn Buchanan was the winner of the match.

As predicted here yesterday, the Mizrachi/Buchanan battle was a fierce one, although Michael came to the felt with a 2:1 chip lead over Shawn. “The Grinder,” true to his name, was able to gradually add on to his lead over the two hours of play; nothing that Buchanan attempted seemed to work as his chip stack slowly slipped southward. The end of the tournament was particularly brutal for Buchanan as, holding an A-J against Mizrachi’s A-10, a ten came on the flop to flip the lead to Mizrachi. Turn and river deuces sealed the deal for the 2010 $50K Poker Players’ Champion, giving him his second bracelet in as many years.

1. Michael Mizrachi (United States), €336,008
2. Shawn Buchanan (Canada), €207,624
3. Roger Hairabedian (France), €112,092
4. Noah Schwartz (United States), €112,092

The final table of the €1500 Six Handed Pot Limit Omaha tournament seemed to be more of a sprint than a marathon, highly unlike major championship final tables. Chile’s Nicolas Fierro came to the final table with the chip lead, but it was a one man wrecking ball by the name of Philippe Boucher who stole the show.

After taking almost an hour and a half before the first player, Jack Ellwood, was eliminated by Boucher, the Canadian pro would then storm his way through the remainder of the field. He would go on to knock off the entire table on his run to the title, only pausing slightly during heads up play against Michel Dattani. On the final hand, Dattani would commit his final chips holding an A-A-J-7 against the A-Q-10-9 of Boucher. After the board ran 6-6-8-J-Q to give him the winning straight, Philippe Boucher would pick up his first WSOP bracelet in just under four hours.

1. Philippe Boucher (Canada), €124,584
2. Michel Dattani (Portugal), €76,982
3. Nicolas Fierro (Chile), €53,426
4. Alexander Dovzhenko (Ukraine), €37,529
5. Jared Solomon (South Africa), €26,676
6. Jack Ellwood (United Kingdom), €19,181

While these two final tables wrapped up action, the first Day One of the €10,000 Championship Event was in play. 310 players eventually wound their way to the tables in the battle for the next WSOP Europe Main Event championship, guaranteeing that this will be the biggest Championship Event in the history of the WSOP Europe. Last year’s total number of players was “only” 346 and the record field for the tournament was in 2007 and 2008, when the tournament drew 362 players.

At the end of Day 1A, 173 players remained, with Jamie Rosen holding the chip lead with 162,700 in chips. Notable names in the Top Ten include the U. K.’s Chris Moorman and Erik Friberg, but there are threats looming down the leaderboard. Two time World Champion Johnny Chan is just off the leaderboard in eleventh place with 108,350 in chips, while Ramzi Jelassi, 2011 WSOP November Niner Ben Lamb, Carlos Mortensen, Will “The Thrill” Failla, Chad Brown and Arnaud Mattern are just some of the names in the Top 25.

Day 1B is currently in play, with 165 players stepping up for the action on Sunday. Some of the players who have made early moves during Day 1B include 2010 WSOP November Niner Filippo Candio, Robert Mizrachi, Tommy Vedes, Shannon Shorr, Bryan Devonshire, Sandra Naujoks, Mike “Timex” McDonald and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier. Defending World Champion Jonathan Duhamel, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Jean-Robert Bellande and Sorel Mizzi are all below their starting stacks, with “The Grinder” and Steve Billirakis two of this year’s WSOP Europe bracelet winners already eliminated from the tournament.

Final numbers for the Championship Event aren’t in yet, so the prize pool hasn’t been determined or the first place prize. However it plays out, the 2011 World Series of Poker Europe has been a record breaking schedule with its final stories yet to play out. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Australian Sports Entertainment

Australian Mel Gibson Gets Lift From Robert Downey Jr., by Greg Tingle - 16th October 2011

Profiles

Gibson Robert Downey Jr. Hollywood Movies United States Australia

Robert Downey, Jr. took great advantage of his tribute at the American Cinematheque Award Show to ask Hollywood to please forgive his friend inn the biz, Mel Gibson.

The gala evening was held to honor the work of Downey, whose professional comeback from drugs, prison... you name it, has been incredible. Mega stars including Michael Douglas, Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx, Jodie Foster and Gwyneth Paltrow poured praise on the Marvel Entertainment aligned Iron Man star in both live and taped tributes at famous Beverly Hilton Hotel.

The most emotional and dramatic parts of the show came after unannounced guest Gibson (Bombshell) came onstage to present Downey with the Cinematheque honor.

During Downey’s darkest hours, Gibson famously stood up for the actor, helping him get gigs. Not easy at the time as he was quite a "insurance risk".

It was now apparently time for Downey to return the favor.

“When I couldn’t get sober, he told me not to give up hope and encouraged me to find my faith. It didn’t have to be his or anyone else’s, as long as it was rooted in forgiveness,” explained Downey.

"Gibson kept a roof over my head and food on the table and, most importantly, he said if I accepted responsibility for my wrongdoing and embraced the part of my soul that was ugly – ‘hugging the cactus’ he calls it – he said that if I ‘hugged the cactus’ long enough, I’d become a man."

“I would ask that you join me – unless you are completely without sin, in which case you picked the wrong fucking industry...in forgiving my friend his trespasses and offering him the same clean slate you have me, allowing him to continue his great and ongoing contribution to our collective art without shame,” said Downey.

The crowd applauded as Downey said of mate Gibson, "He’s hugged the cactus long enough."

Gibson’s transgressions are now part of history, but much of Hollywood, AussieWood, and news media feels that its time to move forward. Much like Downey Jr, Gibson has paid for his sins and deserves and second (or third) chance.

Downey Jr is up for Marvel flick, Iron-Man 3, while Gibson is a very long shot for Mad Max 4, but the Media Man agency was just one source that leaked to the effect of 'Our Mel' having a number of other exciting projects in the pipeline.

Gibson's role in 'The Beaver' saw review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, give the film a score of 63% based on reviews from 125 critics and reports a rating average of 6.4 out of 10. It reported the overall consensus, "Jodie Foster's visual instincts and Mel Gibson's all-in performance sell this earnest, straightforward movie."

Our advise to 'Our Mel'... Keep selling son. You've done a swell job in the past month, and an even better job in the 48 hours. More of the same and she will be right mate.

Websites

The American Cinematheque Award

Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment - Iron-Man

Mad Max Online

The Beaver

Media Man News

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Australian Sports Entertainment

Underground Gambling TV Show With Vin Diesel; ‘Raising Blind’ To Clean Up Ratings, by Greg Tingle

Profiles

Gambling Casinos Poker United States Clubs World Casino Directory World Directory

Raising Blind, a show on the world of underground gambling, is set to hit the airwaves, and massive ratings and mainstream media attention is expected.

FX will develop a potential series set in the world of underground gambling. The pilot will be penned by Ben Younger and Jay Longino, based on a story by Josh Marchette, Longino and Younger.

John Dahl, who covered underground gambling in Rounders, will direct the pilot show. Vin Diesel and his One Race Films is the production firm behind this. Executive David Ortiz is a key part of the projects success.

Diesel and Younger first tag teamed on the feature Boiler Room. Younger, Dahl, Longino and Marchette will be the executive producers. Diesel and Younger are represented by agency CAA and Brillstein, Dahl by UTA, and Longino by Roar and WME. Yes, a few agencies getting a piece of the pie.

This is the virgin small-screen producing credit for Diesel, a producer on Fast Five and the next round of The Fast And The Furious films, and the next slot of the Pitch Black series.

If you're into underground gambling, don't change your dial.

Website Network

Media Man Int

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory