Featured Articles Archive - Page 683

Kicking Down the £1 Billion Barrier

All indications seem to be that the World Cup 2006 generated more wagering than any other event in history, with total global wagering thought to be in the nearly US$2 billion. The early eliminations of favorites England and Brazil insured that a great deal of the cash flow remained in the hands of bookmakers. Said Graham Sharpe, a spokesperson for British bookmaker William Hill, "The World Cup has been the biggest betting event the world has ever seen, with the industry comfortably breaching the £1 billion turnover barrier for the first time." Prior to the tournament's concluding match between Italy and France on July 9, Sharpe stated, "Italy and France were comparatively un-fancied by serious gamblers; we offered 50/1 about them contesting the final at the start of the tournament...read more

ESPN Drops the Ball on WSOP Coverage

Phil Hellmuth's 10th bracelet win was perhaps the single most memorable moment of the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) to date. The play at the final table, however, will not be widely seen, as ESPN had not scheduled the tournament for broadcast. While a small camera crew was there to record history, it's likely that the coverage will receive the same treatment that Johnny Chan's 10th bracelet win received last year...read more

Grudzien Wins InterPoker.com's Loser's Leap

JEAN, Nev. -- Nick Grudzien, a 29-year old semi-professional poker player from New York City, won InterPoker.com's latest Extreme Poker Challenge – "Loser's Leap" – on Wednesday morning. The third in a series of exotic poker tournaments, Loser's Leap featured four Internet qualifiers against one of the most "extreme" poker players on the professional circuit: Phil "The Unabomber" Laak. The tournament took place on a plane 10,000 feet above the Jean Airport 20 miles south of Las Vegas, and when a player busted out, they took a tandem jump out of the plane, hurtling themselves back towards Earth. For the win, Grudzien receives a $6,300 entry into the Caribbean Poker Classic in St...read more

Putting Hellmuth In His Place

By Ryan McLane When Phil Hellmuth Jr. informed the poker world in the mid 1990's that he was on a quest to become the greatest poker player in history, many of the crusty old card room veterans simply laughed it off as Hellmuth being Hellmuth...read more

EARNINGS: Ameristar Cites More Competition

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Las Vegas-based Ameristar Casinos faced increased competition in several of its regional gaming markets during the recently completed second quarter, but the company was still able on Wednesday to report increases in revenues, net income and earnings per share. Company Chairman Craig Neilsen said Ameristar is exploring different expansion scenarios in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where its riverboat property experienced increased competition from two casinos operated by Harrah's Entertainment. "We maintained our marketshare leadership in Kansas City, (Mo.), Vicksburg, (Miss.), and Jackpot," Neilsen said during a conference call with analysts to discuss the company's results for the quarter than ended June 30. Ameristar reported revenues of $246.6 million, a 3 percent increase compared with $241.7 million in the same quarter a year ago...read more

WSOP Update - Day 31

While Phil Hellmuth's successful pursuit of his 10th World Series of Poker gold bracelet is likely the single greatest moment of the preliminary events in 2006, the greatest achievement for the entire series is likely the performance of Jeff Madsen. Madsen, already the owner of two WSOP bracelets this year, finished third in Event # 35, a $1,000 Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo tournament after starting the day as the short stack...read more

WSOP Update - Day 30

Phil Hellmuth's 10th World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelet win dominated the talk at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino on Tuesday night. But there were a few other story lines to follow as preliminary tournaments wrap up and the Main Event approaches. Event # 35 – $1,000 Seven-Card Stud Hi/LoWhat a month it's been for Jeff Madsen...read more

Station's Earnings Slump

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Station Casinos said Tuesday that expenses from maintaining its real estate holdings, an ongoing stock repurchase program, American Indian gaming opportunities, and ongoing projects dragged down earnings in the second quarter. Despite a 25 percent jump in net revenue, the Las Vegas-based casino operator said Tuesday its net income in the quarter that ended June 30 was $26.8 million, a 34 percent decline compared with $40.6 million for the same quarter last year. Earnings per share in the quarter were 44 cents, down from 58 cents per share in the second quarter of 2005...read more

Hellmuth Wins Tenth WSOP Bracelet

"Johnny Chan, Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth. Congratulations, again you have made World Series of Poker history." And with that, World Series of Poker (WSOP) Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack handed Hellmuth his 10th career gold bracelet after Hellmuth came from behind to defeat Juha Helppi in WSOP Event # 34, a $1,000 No Limit Hold'em Rebuy tournament. Hellmuth won $631,863 for outlasting 753 opponents, but the money was secondary for the man who became the youngest player to win the WSOP Main Event in 1989. Chan and Brunson each won their 10th bracelet in 2005, and Hellmuth has been on a mission to catch up to the Hall of Fame players this year...read more

Garber: 'PartyGaming Is Strong'

PartyGaming CEO Mitch Garber says his company is thriving--and will continue to thrive--despite fears of industry instability following last week's arrest of BetonSports CEO David Carruthers. PartyGaming on Friday released a trading statement for the second quarter and first half of 2006, revealing figures that beat most forecasts...read more