The Pennsylvania legislature beat Governor Ed Rendell's announced deadline of Friday by two days in passing a compromise bill legalizing table games at state casinos. Gambling at the casinos will now add blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and poker to the existing slots.

Rendell had pushed hard for the bill, saying the budget had been planned with the expected $250 million from additional gambling revenue included, and that failure to pass the measure could mean layoffs of a thousand government employees.

The table gambling bill passed the House today with a vote of 103 to 89. The state Senate had passed it a day earlier, 28 to 22.

"This is a common sense, bipartisan piece of legislation that makes our gaming facilities more competitive, improves the public's confidence in gaming, raises money we desperately need in these tough financial times, and -- most importantly --helps put thousands of people to work in a brand-new industry," said Dante Santoni, chairman of the House Gaming Oversight Committee.

Under the new law, large casinos are permitted as many as 250 tables, while smaller resorts are limited to 50 tables.

One of the controversial aspects to the bill that was included in the final version is the legalization of casino markers for Pennsylvania casinos. Now, patrons can request and be granted credit on which to gamble, a provision some found to be troublesome with its potential for uncontrolled problem gambling.

 The UK Sports Ministry released suggestions on licensing offshore online casino operators, a move to even competitive conditions for domestic gambling companies.

Play the Best Slots at Superslots Casino! The Department for Culture, Media, and Sports in the UK released proposals yesterday to begin licensing online casinos operating from overseas. The measures are a response to accusations by British Internet gambling companies who say they receive an uneven competitive playing field, due to requirements that haven't been imposed on foreign sites.

Among the rules that foreign-based casinos would have to obey to receive a license include the sharing of suspicious sports betting patterns and the protection of children and problem gambling sufferers. New regulations would mean operators on the White List of approved regulatory jurisdictions, including other EU members, may have to obtain a UK license to advertise.

While EU rules say that member nations generally have to accept another member's licensing as good as its own, exceptions are made if it can be proved for the public welfare. Preventing sports corruption and protecting residents from predatory gambling could be the UK's reasoning to allow the license requirements.

Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said he intended that all gaming companies, foreign and domestic, that accept bets on British horse racing be taxed to subsidize the sport.

No solution was detailed in the proposals to resolve the discrepancy in the tax situation, a heavy domestic levy which is presently avoided by offshore online casinos. The domestic disadvantage led to William Hill and Ladbrokes moving their bases from the UK to Gibraltar.
 by MattMiller

An online casino drastically dumped the odds on David Beckham and his ex-Spice Girl wife splitting after abnormal gambling patterns showed new members loading up on this wager.

Officials at Paddy Power, an online casino offering proposition betting on entertainment and politics, among other gaming, have chopped the odds of a break-up between soccer star David Beckham and his wife, Victoria. Sports book operators at Paddy Power say they dropped the odds of a split of the power celebrity couple from 80-1 to 10-1 after detecting unusual betting patterns.

Online casinos use sophisticated technology to search for abnormal amounts being bet on one side of a proposition, or abnormal attention being generated by a minor wager offer. Paddy Power representatives said a number of new players registered with the Internet casino only to place maximum bets on a public separation between the former Posh Spice and her husband, noted for a wandering eye.

“The Beckhams were 80-1 on our list as they’ve been through some tough times before but always showed a united front; it’s hard to imagine them splitting up but there is a reason why these people are having a bet,"said Sharon McHugh, casino spokesman, to IrishCentral.com. "We just don’t know it yet!”

The Beckhams are still listed as less likely to break up than several other celebrity couples, including just-engaged Russell Brand and Katy Perry, and movie stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, both considered 8-1 wagers.

Gambling opponents have decried the part played by online casinos in the blooming scandal involving dozens of corrupted soccer results from around the world. But Internet operators have insisted that regulated and transparent online gambling sites actually help prevent corruption, as they can analyze betting sways and waves to determine strange gambling patterns.
 by JoshuaMcCarthy

 For the third time in a year, PokerStars hosted an online poker tournament that set records as the largest poker event ever held.

Play Now at Slots Oasis! Breaking a record it set itself this past summer PokerStars, the online poker operator, held the largest poker tournament ever on December 27th. Authenticated by the Guinness Book of World Records, the event hosted 149,196 players.

PokerStars had set the previous record with an online poker tournament in July, featuring over 65,000 players. This marks the third time in less than a year PokerStars has broken the world record.

While the number of countries participating this time hasn't been released, the July event had players from 155 different countries, out of 194 recognized in the world by the US State Department.

Last December, PokerStars set its first record when 35,000 players paid $11 to buy into the tournament. This year's online poker extravaganza had a buy-in of only $1, with a guaranteed $300,000 prize pool.

PokerStars has surpassed such early industry leaders as PartyGaming and more recent competition from Full Tilt Poker to become the world's largest poker network, as measured by independent site PokerScout.
 by EdBradley

Irish trainer Willie Mullins has told punters he expects to have last year’s Ballymore Properties Novices' Hurdle winner Mikael D’Haguenet back in training at the end of this month.

The raider is unbeaten since he joined the Mullins team and landed five on the bounce before his victory at the Festival last March.

A splint problem has kept him off the racetrack this season but he is now set to return and Mullins explained: "I had him up at the vets on Wednesday and they can't really find anything, maybe just a little stiffness behind but that might just have been caused by transferring weight from the front with the splint."

"We are going to carry on with him and the weather is now a bigger obstacle than anything else but hopefully he will be out before the end of the month."

"At the moment he is novice chasing. He hasn't schooled recently but he's run over fences in France and is a natural jumper so we're not too unduly worried about that," Mullins added.

"I'm not even worried about targets yet - let's just get back to the racetrack first."

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This weekends match ups in the NFL's wild card weekend may have a familiar feel for fans of the sport. That is because of the four games being played, three of them are rematches of last week.

The only game that will be between two teams that did not meet in the regular season finale will be played in New England. The Patriots and the Ravens will hook up in that game, and the two teams did meet during the regular season in week four.

The Patriots won that game, largely because Mark Clayton dropped a pass near the goal line that would have put Baltimore in position to win. New England will be without starting wide receiver Wes Welker for the entire playoffs due to a knee injury suffered last week in a meaningless game.

The other AFC game features the New York Jets traveling to play in Cincinnati. The jets embarrassed the Bengals in the last game of the year, although many analysts believe this game will be different with Cincinnati actually having something to play for.

Over in the NFC, both games will be rematches of the final game of the year. Arizona will host Green Bay, and Dallas will host Philadelphia. The Packers and Cowboys won easily in the first games played between the teams.

Arizona went on an improbable run last season and are the defending NFC champs. fans of the Cardinals are hoping that a similar situation occurs this year. The Packers could end up with a second round game against Brett Favre and Minnesota with a win.

The Eagles looked like the best team in the NFC until the Cowboys defeated them handily last week. Dallas now appears to be the hottest tam in the conference heading into the playoffs.


Posted By Vincent Tapoglia III

BradyGames has unveiled its official strategy guide for LittleBigPlanet, available exclusively for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) and PlayStation Portable (PSP). This enormous guide, checking in at an astonishing 544 pages, provides players with complete tips and strategies for both the LittleBigPlanet Game of the Year Edition for PS3 and the new PSP version.

The LittleBigPlanet Super Book leads players through each level of both games, revealing locations of costumes, stickers, objects, and secret items along the way. Everything a gamer needs to get the most out of the single-player campaign can be found in this entertaining guide. The level creation section gives players the basics of level building plus a special Challenge Level. And, that’s not all – solutions to multi-player puzzles are also included.

“Working with Media Molecule and Sony Computer Electronic Theatre ImageEntertainment Europe just furthered my belief that these are incredible games made by amazing people,” said Christian Sumner, Senior Development Editor at BradyGames. “Our team at BradyGames worked to achieve the same standard and succeeded.”

The LittleBigPlanet Super Book covers just about all there is to know in the LittleBigPlanet world and is the perfect companion to these amazingly fun games. LittleBigPlanet continues to grow and evolve, helped by the support of countless fans around the globe. Developed by Media Molecule, the customizable nature of this unique title allows players to alter characters and build entirely new objects and levels; then share and play them online as part of the LittleBigPlanet community. In fact, the sharing nature of the game has become so embraced, it has attracted fans to publish more than one million levels to the PlayStation Network since the award-winning game launched in October 2008. Put another way, one new level has been published roughly every twenty-one seconds since LittleBigPlanet hit shelves! LittleBigPlanet PSP is developed by Sony Computer Entertainment’s Cambridge Studio, and Electronic Theatre will keep you updated with all the latest details on the LittleBigPlanet franchise.

Titan Poker is an award winning online poker site that is offering you the chance to qualify to play on behalf of them at the ECPokerTour Barcelona with a €500,000 Guaranteed Prize Tournament that will take place in March.

Titan Poker are searching for the top poker players to send to Spain, giving you the chance to win a seat at the ECPokerTour Barcelona €2,500 and €250 Main Event which will be held at the Gran Casino from March 19th through to March 21st 2010.

If you are lucky enough to be chosen as a top player you will receive:

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If you want to meet poker girls this Christmas then why not visit our very own dating site and see if you can find that perfect lady in 2010!

With most of the country having to spend the day at home because of the snow, Ladbrokes have decided to assist with the boredom once you have finished building snowmen!

For most, today is a day of work that is spent pretending to do a normal day in the office, so why not distract yourself for an extra 5 minutes and visit Ladbrokes who are giving you the chance to win some great prizes and play in some fantastic tournaments!

Today at 3pm Ladbrokes Poker is putting on a special added money tournament so that you can win more for less!

If you are interested in spending the afternoon at Ladbrokes Poker then all the details you need to know are listed below:

• Buy in: €5

• Rebuys: €1 rebuy’s in first hour plus 1 add on

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• Prizes:Two seats to €30,000 guaranteed 100 series tournament on 11th January at 7pm.

It was revealed a while ago that PKR were going to air their Heads-Up Grand Slam on Sky Sports and last night saw the first episode go out.

The show consists of eight episodes over a two-month period and it seems that the hype from the opening show yesterday suggests that it is going to be an action packed series!

Yesterdays episode included footage from the first round match ups of the event that had 32 of the worlds best poker players qualify for the tournament that happened last October in London.

Each episode is two hours long and is repeated at least twice so don’t worry if you missed last nights there will be plenty more opportunities to catch up on the show. In addition, if you missed all the repeats then you can expect PKR.com to upload all the highlights to their website.

The next episode is on 12th January 2010 at 10pm on Sky Sports 2. For more information please visit PKR.com.

If you love poker then why not join our new online dating site Spin, Bet, Date and get talking to others in you area that also love poker and find someone special in 2010!

DevilfishPoker.com are renowned for their generous promotions and customer loyalty and this January they are offering you even more for less!

Devilfish Poker have lots of exciting promotions on offer this January to help kick start 2010 and there is something for everyone!

Devilfish Poker are giving players the chance to get 45% cashback every month. To be eligible for your cashback you simply have to join the VIP Loyalty Programme. Once you have played through your first deposit on the site you can become a member of The Hellfire Club where you can start receiving your bonuses whether you are an amateur or a professional, you will get a percentage of your cash back. It is completely free to join the loyalty scheme, so why not start depositing and win yourself more for less?

There are many more promotions including the Team Devilfish EMOP Gran Canaria promotion which gives you the chance to qualify to play with Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott at the end of January in Gran Canaria as well as the chance to enter the €15,000 Endurance Challenge which starts on the 26th January.

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After battling it out with another of the world’s most notable internet poker platforms, fan favourite, PokerStars managed to hold on to its Guinness World Record title for yet another year. The record in question was previously awarded to PokerStars for the site’s ability to hold the largest-ever online poker tournament in 2008, and now, they have been confirmed as the winner of the position for 2009 as well.

PokerStars had to hold off attempts at the record by another enormously popular online poker network, Full Tilt Poker in the weeks leading up to the award. Earlier in the year PokerStars held an $11 buy-in tournament that attracted a total of 35,000 players to the game.

While this was certainly a difficult milestone to top, Full Tilt Poker recently announced their plans to top the record as part of their fifth birthday celebrations. Full Tilt’s “The Record Breaker” hosted a 50,000 player cap and a $5 buy-in, all but ensuring the win until PokerStars retaliated with a 60,000 player cap, $1 buy-in event that managed to draw in the full number of players, securing the record for another year.

The site’s ability to provide such an enormous series of games is sure to help drum up publicity for poker fans and Guinness readers alike. Although Full Tilt Poker failed to wrest the title from PokerStars this year it would still not come as much of a surprise if yet another attempt was made at the record in the time leading up to the Guinness World Records for 2010.

Mansion Poker and BankrollMob are having a $2000 Rake Race for all Mansion Poker players who signed up at Mansion Poker through BankrollMob, either by using our previous $150 no deposit bonus or our current 100% up to $500 deposit bonus.

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For most of the season, the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts alternated between the number one and number two spots in our NFL power rankings. With the regular season concluded, however, both teams have fallen off of their thrones.

The San Diego Chargers have played the best football over the last couple of months of the season, and that is why they are the number one team in our ranking. The Chargers are the number two seed in the AFC going into the playoffs.

The Minnesota Vikings have moved up to the number two spot this week. They also will be a number two seed, and they moved to number two in the rankings based on their performance in a win over the New York Giants on Sunday.

Indianapolis falls to number three, mainly because they have lost two games in a row after starting the season 14-0. The Colts are the top seed in the AFC. New Orleans slips to number four. The Saints have not played a complete football game in over a month.

Dallas moves all the way up to number five in the final rankings of the year. The Cowboys won the NFC East with a win over Philadelphia this past weekend. They open the playoffs with a rematch of that game on Saturday night.

Green Bay also finished the season strong, making them number six this week. The Packers will go to the desert to face Arizona, the number seven team in the power rankings. Green Bay beat Arizona last week when the Cardinals rested quarterback Kurt Warner.

New England comes in at number eight this week, sporting an 8-0 home record as they prepare to host Baltimore on wild card weekend. Philadelphia is number nine, and Cincinnati closes out the top ten. The Bengals have a rematch with the Jets in the playoffs, although this time the game will be played in Cincinnati.

Posted By Vincent Tapoglia III

Lady Gaga has become one of the top musical acts of her generation, and with that comes many offers to perform. The latest comes from Sin City, where many of the top talents of yesteryear have spent time on stages in Las Vegas casinos.

George Maloof saw Lady Gaga's latest Las Vegas performance, which took place last month, and he was allegedly, "blown away" by the singer. Maloof has reportedly offered millions of dollars to have Gaga perform nightly at the Palms Resort and Casino.

Going after the world's top performers is nothing new for Las Vegas casinos. In the past, such acts as Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, and many other lady singers have spent time in Sin City. The goal of these casinos is to give tourists top shows, and right now Lady Gaga is among the top shows in the world.

The appearances are not only strictly women acts. Late last year, Garth Brooks was lured out of retirement to perform several times a week at the Encore Hotel and Casino owned by Steve Wynn.

Brooks signed a five year deal with the casino this past December. Steve Wynn is said to have gone as far as flying Brooks back and forth from Las Vegas to his home several times a week.

Maloof was reportedly impressed when he invited Gaga back to one of his clubs after her show and the artist declined. He believes that she is goal oriented and the fact that she does not party would fit well in a city that could bring down a performer that is less grounded.

Posted By April Gardner

Many countries are making their own laws regarding online gambling and are ignoring European Union trade agreements in the process. The latest to do so is Belgium, where lawmakers have inked new laws in an effort to regulate online gambling in the country.

Belgium lawmakers felt that the current Internet gambling system was being corrupted by organized crime. They believe that regulations would keep the crime out of the industry, but what they have come up with is in direct violation of EU agreements.

The European Union warned Belgium in a letter back in June of last year that these new laws would be a violation. Belgium, however, ignored the warning, and created new regulatory laws to oversee Internet gambling, more specifically, online poker.

Some of the top online poker players in the world reside in Belgium. With the new laws in place, major poker sites such as PartyPoker, Full Tilt, and PokerStars, would not be permitted to accept players from Belgium. That means that the top players could only play while putting themselves at risk of arrest.

The EU has not been consistent in their upholding of agreements. While Belgium and France has been warned about their nationalization of online poker, other countries such as Italy have been permitted to regulate their online gambling industry.

The US, which is the biggest online gambling market in the world, has been in violation of EU agreements since they enacted the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act back in late 2006. Lawmakers in the US, however, are in the process of attempting to overturn the UIGEA and set up a regulated Internet gambling industry in the country.

Posted By Larry Rutherford

It’s that festive time of year again, and William Hill Casino Club is celebrating in style. Members of William Hill can take part in an exciting Christmas Leaderboard competition that is promising its winners some wonderful prizes, including a trip for two to Paris.

Running from December 1 – 23, you can play your way to victory at any of the wonderful games on offer at William Hill.

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In addition to these brilliant prizes, William Hill is also tripling comp points on all non-progressive slots throughout the entire month of December – a special Christmas gift from William Hill to you.

To join in on the action, all you have to do is start playing. The more you play, the more Leaderboard Points you earn, and the more Leaderboard Points you earn, the closer you will get to the top prizes.

The Christmas Leaderboard is viewable at all times on both the William Hill Casino Club website, and on the downloadable software.

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Microgaming said that its popular Mega Moolah Major slots game hit for the ninth time this month, with the last win being on Christmas Day at All Slots Casino.

The lucky player headed to the casino over the festive season to spend some quality time at his favorite site – and came out the other end of his gaming session $10,363 richer!

The highest that Mega Moolah Major paid out this month is $46,000 and the majority of the nine wins were over $20,000, according to Microgaming. The software group continues to keep its players well rewarded and entertained with the release of new games each month.

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World Poker Tour returns to Fox Sports Net with an all new season, bringing high stakes poker action from its US-based tour. Broadcasting for the first time in high definition, WPT Season VIII national premier is scheduled for Sunday, January 24 at 11pm local time*. All 26 episodes airing on FSN will be sponsored by FullTiltPoker.net, one of the leading websites in poker instruction.

Hosts Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten are back to call the action for 13 WPT final tables, featuring everything from rising stars to poker pros to million dollar pots and heartbreaking suck outs. Viewers will see each final table unfold over two one-hour episodes, which will premier nationally on Sunday nights at 11pm*. Regional and repeat airings will show on FSN throughout the week; check your local listings or the WPT Channel Finder at www.worldpokertour.com for times and channels.

Kicking off the new series is the $15,000 Bellagio Cup final table, followed by events at venues around the US, including Bay 101 in San Jose, Calif.; Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles; Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Miss.; Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa in Atlantic City; Commerce Casino in Los Angeles; Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn.; and new stop on the tour—Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Ind.

“We’re excited to bring a new season of WPT events to our regional sports networks,” said David Sussin, Vice President of Programming for FSN. “The drama of high-stakes poker continues to connect with our audience of sports fans.”

To warm up for the new season, FSN will run a WPT marathon on Christmas Day. To find out how you can play in World Poker Tour main events, visit www.worldpokertour.com or www.clubwpt.com.