Archive for the ‘Blackjack News’ Category

Gambling Deal in Florida is Nearing

Tuesday, September 11th, 2007

The Governor of Florida is close to a deal with the Seminole Tribe to allow them to open casinos in Florida. The representatives from the state said that they may need legislature approval before anything can be concrete but a lawyer for the Seminole Tribe said this is not the case. It is not clear at this time who is right but it does look like Casinos in Florida is likely to happen.

The Seminole Tribe is currently working out the details on what casino games they will be allowed to offer their visitors. They would like to offer Vegas style slot machines, blackjack and other card games. They have agreed that they will not try to seek approval of roulette and craps. This deal will be very lucrative for Florida as they will receive $50 million right away and potentially $100 million dollars a year after that.

Source: chron.com

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Virtual Blackjack in Rhode Island

Thursday, August 30th, 2007

The next state to get virtual blackjack may be Rhode Island. The Rhode Island lottery commission is currently looking into adding the machines to the Twin River slot parlor in Lincoln.

Officials for the Rhode Island lottery said this would not be expanding the gambling in the state so they would not need voter approval. Virtual blackjack does not use a dealer or real cards. It is played by players sitting around a computer and a screen where it simulates live blackjack. This game has become a hot topic as many states have been looking into adding this to casinos to increase tax revenue.

The Governor of Rhode Island who is not particularly a fan of gambling says this would be an extension to the state’s lottery and would be legal to implement. There is currently more than one slot parlor in Rhode Island but others have not applied for permission to offer virtual blackjack to their customers.

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US Online Gambling vs Antigua

Thursday, August 23rd, 2007

The New York Times has an article about how the tiny country of Antigua has taken the United States to court (World Trade Organization) over online gambling restrictions. They won a court battle in 2004 and two more appeals after that. They are currently in an arbitration case where an arbitrator is currently deciding on the damage the US will have to pay.

When the court decision was made in the WTO the US did not comply. They appealed the ruling and also made it harder for online gamblers to gamble by passing the UIGEA banning credit cards from being used to fund accounts. The US has an argument that they are protecting their citizens but the major problem with this is they allow some forms of gambling including horse racing and lotto while setting restrictions on others.

Antigua is home to many online casinos and with the current stats of the US laws it feels the US is not in compliance with the WTO. The decision from the WTO court agree’s with Antigua and it looks like they are looking for compensation of $3.4 billion dollars. They have also asked to be able to dismiss the US intellectual property laws and be able to pirate movies, music and software. This would be a solution Hollywood and many of the biggest companies in the US would be unhappy with and would push congress to make amends with the country and strike a deal.

The two solutions for the US is to completely ban online gambling which would include horse racing and state run lotteries. Or legalize all forms of online gambling. Both of these seem rather unlikely as the US has not show they are willing to do something so drastic. It will be interesting to see what the arbitrator comes up with and if the small country of Antigua will take the US for billions of dollars and the right to pirate music, software and games.

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Brian Soper Local Blackjack Celebrity

Thursday, August 16th, 2007

Brian Soper who is a resident of Ypsilanti has become a local celebrity after winning his way onto a blackjack show on CBS. He won his seat after winning a free online blackjack tournament and will now play in the Ultimate Blackjack Tour final table. He usually helped run the local Heritage Festival casino tent but this time he will be a “celebrity” dealer for the festivities. The competitive blackjack show will air this fall on CBS coming back for its second season.

Not to be outdone, his girlfriend, Deb Opalewski, won a seat to another televised blackjack tournament. Where she will play for a large cash prize. Sounds like they are a competitive couple…and it will be interesting to see how they do when the shows air this fall.

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No More Online Blackjack in Second Life

Friday, August 3rd, 2007

The popular virtual world, Second Life has recently banned online gambling from being played inside the world. It said the company did this in order to comply with a complaint from the FBI. Last year, the FBI investigated Second Life and told the creators that this activity was not allowed under US online gambling laws.

There was no formal ruling on the matter but the creators did not want to take a chance. They have recently banned blackjack along with other games including Slot machines, Poker and Roulette. Second Life has also said if they find instances where gambling is still being played in the virtual world they will removed.

Source: techtree.com

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Jenny McCarthy the Newest Blackjack Dealer

Monday, July 23rd, 2007

At the new Playboy Club in the Palms casino, Jenny McCarthy will be dealing blackjack games. Part of the new celebrity Bunny Dealer where celebrities wear the classic Playboy uniform and run a casino game. This is the first celebrity that the casino has been able to recruit and George Maloof (owner of the Palms) can’t be happier. She will undergo training to become a licensed blackjack dealer and will be working from 9 pm to 12 am.

There was no mention of the contract that Jenny McCarthy received for this gig but there must be one because I doubt she would work for a blackjack dealers salary. Jenny McCarthy was in the Playboy magazine in 1993 and became the Playmate of the year in 1994. She was made famous by the MTV show “Singled Out”.

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Andy Roddick Blackjack Player

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007

It looks like tennis player Andy Roddick is a frequent blackjack and poker player. When he is not playing tennis one of his hobby’s is playing at casinos. He has been playing frequently at the All England Club with his coach Jimmy Connors and hasn’t been winning like he has on the tennis court.

Andy Roddick said he needs to win his 4th match at this years Wimbledon against Paul-Henri Mathieu so he can take home the £88,550 prize money to pay off his debt to Jimmy Connors. He has been quoted saying that the cards have not fallen for him this week.

Source: Gulf Daily News

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Gambling Deadline in Florida

Thursday, June 28th, 2007

The Seminole Indian tribe has been looking to expand their casino offering to include blackjack and roulette. They are currently contested by the state of Florida. A recent decision of the U.S. Interior Department ruled that Gov. Charlie Crist needs to come into agreement with the Seminole tribe before mid-August that will allow them to expand six of their casinos to offer a variety of casino table games.

The tribe would like to offer table games like blackjack to compete with horse racing and dog racing tracks which currently are offering customers the ability to play slot machines at the tracks. The Seminole’s argument is they should be able to to offer other class III gaming which includes table games. The U.S. Interior Department has ruled on the side of the tribe and it looks like the Governor has no choice but to reach an agreement which may include revenue from each new table or machine.

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GameAccount to license gaming software to Stan James

Sunday, June 24th, 2007

GamingAccount has reached a deal with Stan James to offer their online gaming software in a multiple year deal. Stan James is an established sports betting operator that has been around since 1973. GamingAccount is a software provider that will be licensing three of their games Gin Rummy, Multiplayer Blackjack and Backgammon.

GamingAccount software allows players to play 1v1 or in a multi-table tournaments. Players will also have the option to play side games while playing 1v1 against another opponent. GameAccount also licenses its software to popular sportsbook companies including: BlueSquare, BoyleSports and William Hill.

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Casino Games House Edge

Saturday, June 16th, 2007

An article at Forbes online evaluates the best casino games to play if you are looking to beat the house. Though, in the first paragraph they mention that the house has an advantage at every game, but there are casino games with better odds then others. If you only bet one time while playing blackjack then the game has 50/50 odds. The longer a casino player plays blackjack the better the chance the casino will eventually win. When an unskilled blackjack player plays, the casino has a 2% house edge on them. That is $20 dollars per thousand.

Casino Games House Edge
Blackjack 2%
Wheel of Fortune 11%
craps 1.4%.
roulette 5.6%.

In 2006, 56 million people visited a casino. Non-Indian casinos had $32 billion dollars in gambling revenue . The revenue is actually much more then this because this number does not take into account the hotel and restaurant revenue in 2006.

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