When the Grand Slam of Slots was announced by Microgaming months ago it had raised a lot of hype. The center piece of that hype was a first place prize of €1 million. It was the first time ever that a seven figure first prize was being awarded in an online tournament. The Grand Slam of Slots has lived up to the hype. Players at Microgaming online casinos flocked to qualifier events vying for a coveted seat to the final. Then on November 2 it was all over and the online casino industry had a new millionaire.

In a press release Microgaming has announced the name of the winner. The winner is Stefan from South London who played the event under the alias Pattoned. Since he entered the tournament through a €2 qualifier from Ladbrokes Casino he is known as a Ladbrokes player and has done that online casino proud. Speaking about the win Pattoned said, “I’m ecstatic to have won and can’t quite believe it yet. I’m absolutely stunned! What will I do with the money? Who knows; we’ll have to wait and see! ” Pattoned demonstrated that online casino players are responsible gamblers when asked if he would quit working now that he had received this windfall. Pattoned replied, “I’m not thinking about leaving work at all, I absolutely love what I do and want to continue it for as long as I can”.

The site’s new £100,000 Giveaway promotion will see cash prizes of between ten pounds and £1,000 awarded every 30 seconds, which means that up to 200 players per day could walk away richer.

InterCasino.com revealed that the promotion comes with ‘no strings attached’ and every player that takes part in one of its casino games is eligible to win. Competitors will be able to withdraw the free bonuses at any time or use them to participate on any of the 300 games on offer.

“Everyone who plays at InterCasino.com or InterPoker.com in October is in with a chance to get free cash,” said Alexandra Gal, Vice-President Of Marketing for InterCasino.com.

Although I have not seen my favorite structure, no deposit casinos still have a draw like no others.

Software maker of online gambling games moves forward with 2009 agenda toward profitability.

CryptoLogic Inc. is offering some hot new games in multiple languages and currencies through leading global supplier of gaming platform solutions to GTS.

The partnership is consistent with CryptoLogic’s strategy to expand the number of market leading casino sites that offer the company’s games. GTS’s impressive list of tier one customers includes Unibet, bwin, 888, Expekt, and Betclick, as well as many other top brands.

Under the agreement, CryptoLogic’s top-performing games will be made available to GTS customers through its Enhanced Gaming Engine (EdGE), a proprietary games platform. A range of 10 CryptoLogic games will be live on the platform for GTS customers by the end of the first quarter of 2009.

“Today, we connect CryptoLogic’s leadership in gaming innovation with GTS’ ability to serve top-tier gaming operators around the world,” said Brian Hadfield, CryptoLogic’s President and CEO. “This partnership is yet another example of how CryptoLogic is opening up powerful new distribution channels to get our market-leading games into the hands of more customers - and more players.”

Online casino gambling has remained a hot commodity with many of the biggest online casino companies weathering the market downswing with record profits. This looks to be a feather in the cap of Cryptologic and should help them propel forward to profitability sometime this year.

While racing has been known as the sport of kings for many years, and they don’t come much closer to that than Shaikh Mohammed, there was a period when investment was minimal in the UK and many tracks were falling into disarray. Shaikh Mohammed, through his racing business, ideas for improvements and generous donations has played a major role in improving the UK scene, a scene where he has been very prominent for many years.

It literally seems as though racing is in the family blood with a number of others from the UAE also prominent in what is now a multi-billion pound worldwide sport. Very little recognition is actually given to what goes on behind the scenes and the treatment of active and retired horses by the sport, with myths, rumours and untruths very common.  With so much money to burn I would expect no-less.  This guy is a sports betting guru and probably a heck of a bingo player too!

The card will be issued directly from ChiliPoker.com and players will be able to select how much they want to withdraw from their online cash account, which is then immediately credited to the card. This money can then be withdrawn from an ATM machine or used anywhere MasterCard is accepted around the world online and offline. ChiliPoker.com revealed that it is initially issuing cards to VIP customers for free. It stated that these are spread over some 30 nations and its plan will draw in new customers and increase the retention rate for existing players.

This is definately the direction online casinos should be heading.  I can see a real competitive edge to operators using this type of system.

To keep up-to-date customers and employees may log on to www.harrahs.com for the latest information on the status of the property. Employees are urged to maintain contact through the company’s toll-free emergency line, 1-888-488-OPEN (6736). Customers may call 1-800-HARRAHS for information and assistance with reservations.

Harrah’s New Orleans is operated by a subsidiary of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., the world’s largest provider of branded casino entertainment. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada nearly 70 years ago,