House Lotto or Notto

People who bought raffle tickets to win a house in Devon have been told the prize draw, due to have taken place today, has been postponed.  Brian and Wendy Wilshaw sold 46,000 tickets costing £25 each for the chance to win the £1m Oldborough Mansion estate near Crediton, but a message posted on their website informed entrants the draw had been halted by the Gambling Commission. The commission said it could not comment on individual cases. A spokesman for the Wilshaws said they were “distraught” at having to postpone the draw. He said they were in discussions with the Gambling Commission to resolve the issue “as soon as possible”. And went on to say: “I can say with absolute certainty that if the Gambling Commission decides that the draw can’t go ahead... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 16th, 2008
(Posted in: Articles, General)

Google UK Lifts Gambling Advertising Ad Ban

Google will lift its ban on paid search advertising for gambling websites in the UK from 17th October, 2008 and no doubt net itself millons of pounds of advertising revenue. UK companies registered with the Gambling Commission will be allowed to target Adword text-based ads to users searching for gambling-related terms in England, Scotland and Wales, although not in Northern Ireland. Google refused to carry search ads for gambling companies and associated operations after the introduction of the Port Authority Bill and  UIGEA in the US and it became a worldwide stand by the company until now.No doubt many companies starved of advertising on the world’s largest search engine will start a new keywords bidding war, with companies seizing the opportunity to tap... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 16th, 2008
(Posted in: Articles, General)

The thrill of the chase… not for me it isn’t!

In the heat of the summer, some dogs chase their tails. They rarely catch them. In summer and in winter, spring and autumn, some men chase women. They rarely catch them. In all seasons, I chase my losses. I rarely staunch them. There, I’ve said it. I’ve admitted it. It’s a problem I’ve  had all my punting life and I am no nearer to a solution now than I was when placed  my first bet all those years ago. Maybe admitting the problem will be a step on the road to salvation, a bit like a therapy session, although I doubt it. I can’t seem to be able to stop myself. I bet quite conservatively, often betting on the place... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 9th, 2008
(Posted in: Articles, General, Sterling Brookes)

Biggest casino theft in United States history

In September,  11 members of a gang were indicted by the federal grand jury in San Diego for an alleged conspiracy to cheat 12 casinos across the country. The defendants were known as the ‘Tran Organization’ and operated between 2002 and 2007. . According to reports they were said to be allegedly using a ‘false shuffling’ cheating scheme at blackjack and mini-baccarat games in various casinos. They were said to have bribed card dealers and supervisors to perform false shuffles, creating ‘slugs’ of unshuffled cards. The indictment also alleges that members of the organization used sophisticated mechanisms for tracking the order of cards during games, including hidden transmitter devices and specially created software that would predict the order in which cards would... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 2nd, 2008
(Posted in: Articles, General)

I love playing Pachinko

Did you know that Pachinko grosses more money than the annual sales of the Japanese car industry and is allegedly controlled by the Japanese Yakuza and North Korean crime lords? Although pachinko machines were originally strictly mechanical, modern pachinko machines are a cross between a pinball machine and a video slot machine. Pachinko machines were first built during the 1920s as a children’s toy, called a “corinth game” (コリントゲーム), then emerged as an adult pastime in Nagoya around 1930. All of Japan’s pachinko parlors were closed down during World War II, but re-emerged in the late 1940s and have remained popular since then. Taiwan also has many pachinko establishments due to Japan’s influence during their occupation in WWII. More indepth information can be found... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008
(Posted in: Articles, General)

Ah, My First Time…

I CAN’T remember my first bet, but it was probably a winner. Isn’t everybody’s? My father was a small-time punter – he was only about 5ft 5in – and I suppose that’s how I first got interested in the horses. That was back in the 60s in Manchester when Man City had a decent team and no Arab backers. I used to frequent a local betting shop in Cheetham Hill where the clientele was mixed to say the least. I always remember the smell of sweat and the floor covered in discarded betting slips in the tiny shop. There was, of course, no commentary in those days and you just had to wait for the result to appear. Then came... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Friday, September 5th, 2008
(Posted in: Articles, General, Sterling Brookes)

Wet and Windy August Musings

Australian leg spinner Shane Warne was back at his former English county, Hampshire, after he got knocked out of the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas last month.  Warne was at Hampshire’s Rose Bowl ground in Southampton in a bid to inspire his former team-mates in their battle against relegation from division one of the LV County Championship.But his appearance failed to have the desired effect as Hampshire were beaten by six wickets by Lancashire and remain deep in trouble at the foot of the table. The first race track casinos opened in Florida and Pennsylvania two years ago in an attempt to stem falling attendances and revenues. Now there are eleven states with racinos. A Californian slots player... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 28th, 2008
(Posted in: Articles, General)

The latest position of the US government, the UIGEA and latest efforts to repeal the Act.

Oggs.com, a leading online casino reviews website, summarises the latest position of the US government, the UIGEA and latest efforts to repeal the Act. In late 2006, the US introduced the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (“UIGEA” – HR4411), a watered-down Act based on its predecessor HR4777 designed originally to prohibit online gambling in the USA. The passage of the UIGEA has been well documented, but just how much of an effect has the Act had on online gambling in the USA since its introduction? As soon as the UIGEA was passed into law, it caused ructions in the online gambling industry. While stopping short of prohibiting online gambling outright, it attempted to pass a responsibility onto banks and online... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 12th, 2008
(Posted in: Articles, General)

I Bet You Didn’t Know…

John Montague was a British politician, who served as Secretary of State and First Lord of the Admiralty, but he is probably best known for having “invented” the sandwich – and it happed while he was playing poker! Montague, a hardened gambler, didn’t like to leave the gaming table. So when he, and some of his opponents, became hungry after a particularly lengthy game, he told his servants: “Bring me a slice of meat between two slices of bread.” Thus the sandwich was born… Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky was a heavy gambler and wrote his most famous work, ‘The Gambler’, in 1866 in a desperate attempt to rescue his flagging finances. The story provides a vivid description of his life... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
(Posted in: Articles, General)

888.com Millionaire Genie Slot reaches $2 million Jackpot

888.com claims that its Millionaire Genie Slots Progressive Jackpot game has broken the $2 million mark and expects a winner soon. It will be the largest online casino slots win ever and players have a chance of winning the jackpot for only a $3 bet. Oggs.com wishes you all the best of luck, 888.com is not on its favourites list, instead prefering other progressive slots that have a better payout possibility, but you can’t ignore such an enormous amount which doesn’t come around very often.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 1st, 2008
(Posted in: General)