Irish News

STRIP POKER


John Young of Slough, London, was recently declared the world's first strip-poker champion in a world-record-breaking tournament in London. John saw off 194 other hopefuls at the Paddy Power World Strip Poker Championship in London's Café Royal to walk away with £10,000, a specially commissioned Golden Fig Leaf trophy, and entry in the Paddy Power Irish Open, where up to €2 million will be up for grabs. In addition, Paddy Power promised to donate an additional £10,000 to the charity of the winner's choice, cancer research.

Silks Opens



Silks Casino in Dublin has opened a poker room run by former Merrion employee Glen McInnes.



Its tournament schedule is as follows:



Tuesday €20 + €3 Three rebuys, or two and a top-up

Wednesday €100 + €10 Double-chance freezeout

Thursday €15 + €3 Four rebuys, or three and a top-up

Friday €25 + €3 Four rebuys, or three and a top-up

Saturday €50 + €5 One rebuy or a top-up

All tournaments start at 9 p.m., with registration beginning at 8:30 p.m.



Silks Casino is situated at 24 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2.

Contact Casino: 00353 1 4759191

Glen McInnes: 0851441326

E-mail: [email protected]



Awards Change



The Irish Poker Awards, planned for the autumn, has been postponed and will now take place during the Irish Open Championships in January 2007.



Regulation and Not Retribution


Justice Minister Michael McDowell was left red-faced and counting the political cost of shooting off his mouth when forced by colleagues to ditch plans to ban all casinos in Ireland.



Just days after publicly insisting that he would shut down the 18 casinos that are operating in a gray area of the law – and telling would-be gamblers to "go abroad if they craved playing the tables" – McDowell was forced by the Cabinet to abandon the policy.



Instead, he will now bring in legislation to regulate the industry – which is in effect a victory for the casinos, as it will put them on a legal footing.



While McDowell predictably claimed the change in policy was not a U-turn, opposition leaders were quick to ridicule him for getting "a kick in the pants from the Cabinet."



Suspicions abounded that intensive lobbying by the casino industry meant McDowell had run into a brick wall when he discussed his plans with Cabinet colleagues.



In response to McDowell's announcement that he would ban casinos, the casino industry was quick to point out that tournament directors, senators, garda, and senior counsel were all casino members – a statement seen by many as a veiled threat.



The most high-profile backer of casinos in the country is multimillionaire Dermot Desmond, who owns the Sporting Emporium. Its arrival last October, promoted by former Celtic manager Martin O'Neill and former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan, highlighted the increasing popularity of poker and gaming.



Interestingly, the planned crackdown on casinos came just a couple of weeks after the Emporium's opening, and Desmond was believed to be furious in his belief that the move against gambling clubs was a personal attack on his investment.



So far, there has been no news on how, under new jurisdiction, casino licences will be allocated and venues regulated.



It has been mooted that anyone seeking a casino licence should go through a similar process as those seeking a betting-shop licence, whereby applicants must apply to the court, register with the garda, and satisfy them that they are suitable persons after getting a certificate from the court.



Successful applicants for betting licences also have to prove themselves tax compliant and then pay 3 percent tax on turnover.



Merrion Closed



The Merrion Casino and cardroom closed in August. "We are doing a complete refurbishment and 4,000-square-foot expansion, so we will probably be closed for about a year," reported Charles Harbournen, representing the casino owners. "The forthcoming EPT will now be held at The Regency Airport Hotel, while all other poker activities have been transferred to our recently refurbished sister venue, The Jackpot, opposite the Colosus Casino on Montague Street, Dublin 2."