Industry News

Loose Cannon


After 40 years of working in the poker world, poker legend Roy Houghton accomplished his lifelong dream, opening Europe's biggest brick-and-mortar games room. "Loose Cannon Sports Bar & The VC Player's Lounge" is now open for founder member registration. The venue is situated in a stunning 10,500-square-foot building in Allhallows Lane EC4, just minutes from Cannon Street Station in the heart of London.



A Poker Bond

As if it is needed, poker is set to receive yet more exposure when the new 007 movie, Casino Royale, hits the screens on Nov. 17.



Not only does the movie feature scenes set at a poker table, but its star, 38-year-old actor Daniel Craig, has reportedly become a regular poker player.



In fact, with Poker Million winner and European Poker Tour founder John Duthie acting as both a consultant on the picture and Craig's tutor on the finer points of hold'em behind the scenes, it is not inconceivable that the new James Bond will be spotted in a cardroom sometime soon.



Blonde Brush-Off


In an unexpected and bizarre move, Dave "El Blonde" Colclough has parted ways with website and online cardroom blondepoker.com.



A statement on the popular website that the Welshman fronted said: "His [Dave Colclough's] name will no longer be directly associated with what has become a fantastic online community.



"The good news is that Dave's departure [from blondepoker.com] was an amicable one, with the stress of the job, a wish to focus on his playing career, and the emergence of potential sponsorship deals being major factors."



It looks like Colclough, who used the nickname "Le Cerveau" during 2002 and 2003, will have to re-brand and rename himself once again following the split, but therein lies a problem.



An insider has (jokingly) confirmed to Card Player Europe that rumours regarding Colclough's departure from blondepoker.com were true and he is indeed struggling with substance abuse.



"Dave's had long-standing problems with the bottle, the peroxide bottle, and once you are on that slippery slope, you're going to be forever tarred with the same brush."



Betfair Pokerfair?



Betfair will be leaving the Cryptologic poker network at the end of October and switching to its own in-house poker system.



Also on the move is UKbetting, which has joined software developer Playtech, while Paddy Power has added online bingo to its portfolio in a deal with Parlay Entertainment.



Fred's Manchester



Betfred is to become the official betting and gaming partner of Manchester United.



The new deal will include the launch of a co-branded website offering betting, poker, and casino games, which will be promoted on the club's TV station, MUTV.



The partnership comes several months after Manchester United declined a shirt sponsorship deal with rival gaming site Mansion.



This season, online gaming sites have taken the football sponsorship market by storm, with Mansion agreeing to a record £34 million shirt sponsorship deal with Tottenham Hotspur.



Aston Villa also recently signed a shirt sponsorship deal with online gaming company 32Red, and Sportech became the official gaming partner of fellow Premiership side Everton. Their deal includes a gaming section on the club's website, offering poker and casino games.



Jesse Stay



Matchroom Sport, the world's largest supplier of televised poker tournaments, has announced the exclusive representation of the legendary poker presenter Jesse May.



May, based in Copenhagen, currently hosts all of Matchroom's TV poker events and will now be represented by Matchroom's management division for all future activities within the television world of poker.



Group Chairman Barry Hearn said: "Jesse is quite simply the face of televised poker, and no one can compete with what he brings to a show, and we are delighted to have acquired his exclusive services."



May commented: "With the explosion of poker interest around the world, my schedule has become more and more hectic, so I am delighted that Matchroom Sport is going to organise my life in the same way as it has other sporting stars like Steve Davis, Phil Taylor, and Chris Eubank.



"I am happy to be under their wing and give them the exclusivity of my services. I love the game and love what I do, and Matchroom's enthusiasm for poker makes this the perfect marriage."



Another Casino for Aberdeen



Councillors have given the go-ahead for a £2 million casino to open in a historic church building in the heart of Aberdeen; 80 jobs will be created at the new venue on Bon Accord Street, despite strong opposition from other casino operators in the city.



Party Purchase?



PartyGaming has emerged as the front-runner to buy sports betting firm Victor Chandler ahead of 888 and Sportingbet.



The privately owned Victor Chandler Group has become an attractive target because it has avoided expansion into America and concentrated on reaching punters in Europe and the Far East.



It is thought to be worth up to £400 million and has appointed investment bankers Zeus Capital to sift potential takeover offers.



PartyGaming recently purchased Bulgaria-based Gamebookers for £69 million.



Online Secrets



A professional online poker player has been convicted by Warrington Crown Court of possessing cannabis with intent to supply.



The 30-year-old, awaiting sentencing, told a jury that he had smoked cannabis since he was 14, and claimed a haul found by police in his attic to be for personal use. In addition to the drugs, an "eco-chamber" – only the second one a drugs expert had ever seen – was seized.



In open court, the accused said he made a living playing poker on the Internet, but the prosecution alleged he used the

same business methods to producing cannabis.



All In – All Out



Allinpoker.com, an Irish-based poker site fed into the Prima Network, closed suddenly last month.



Allinpoker.com offered a novel affiliate scheme, whereby players would earn a percentage of the rake of players they introduced to the site, who, in turn, would earn rake from their introduced clients in a chain scheme.



In theory, it was brilliant, but a simple e-mail message to customers stated: "Unfortunately, our multilevel marketing model has not been taken up by enough members to make the business sustainable. Thank you for your custom."



Poker Banking?



The anti-online poker brigade in the USA received plenty of ammunition for its cause recently when a former class president and son of a Baptist minister who robbed a bank to feed his Internet poker addiction received a sentence of 22 months to 10 years in prison.



Greg Hogan, 20, pleaded guilty to one count of felony bank robbery in a high-profile case that detractors claimed highlighted the growing popularity, and potential pitfalls, of online gambling among college students.



The Furness Poker Team


Furnesspoker.co.uk, headed by the enthusiastic Paul Robinson, is developing its own poker team.



"We are all from the Furness area and play a lot of live and Internet poker. I set up the website and have used it as a profit-share site for our 13 players, who will use pooled money to play in selected tournaments wearing our branded T-shirts and caps," said Robinson.



Paddy on the Road



Paddypowerpoker.com is hitting the road with the UK Poker Tour, adding £1,000 to sponsored £100 entry tournaments at the following venues:

PUT CHART HERE