Gaming Industrial News all over the world

26.09.2008, Lesen Sie hier den Bericht über «Gaming Industrial News all over the world».

Touchbet Takes Over BettingStar24.Com
Sportsbetting operations will be controlled from Malta

The sportsbetting website BettingStar24.com is now under the management and control of betting exchange supplier Touchbet Ltd, which will be running the site from its operations headquarters in Malta.

Touchbet Ltd is one of the largest suppliers of live soccer odds to betting exchanges on the internet. The acquisition of Bettingstar24.com is its second consumer project and the plan is to run it alongside the niche live soccer betting website BetonLive.com.

Touchbet have agreed to honour players' funds and spokesperson and sports book manager Ulf Persson says: "The money in players' accounts is safe and will be paid out to the players if they wish to take it. We do however hope that the players will stay with BettingStar24.com as we believe we can offer not only an excellent and reliable service but also some of the best odds available on the internet."

"We understand that in the past few months players have had issues with withdrawing their money from their accounts, we can assure players this is now a thing of the past and all money within the terms and conditions of the site are available and will be available in the future for all players."

BettingStar24.com was first launched online in 2004 and is licensed through the Lotteries and Gaming Authority in Malta. All players will be informed in the coming days of the takeover and given further information on their accounts.

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Payne Joins GameAccount Board
Chairman's spot for online gambling veteran

One of the online gambling industry's most experienced and respected executives, Nigel Payne, has accepted the position of non-executive chairman of the board at skill games developer and network GameAccount.

Payne was formerly Group Chief Executive at Sportingbet.com, and joins a team of shareholders that includes Betfair founder Andrew Black and Dermot Desmond and the Smurfit family.

“We’re extremely excited to have Nigel on board”, says GameAccount CEO Kevin Dale. “His experience and knowledge of the industry is second to none and we’re looking forward to working closely with him over the coming months”.

Payne, who joined Sportingbet in 2000 as Group Finance Director, was appointed Group Chief Executive the following year. He held this post through 2006, guiding the company through numerous acquisitions and a listing on the London Stock Exchange before stepping down in favour of current boss Andrew McIver.

“I’m thrilled to now be working with one of the largest gaming communities in the world”, says Payne. “Multiplayer Blackjack, Dominoes and Backgammon are becoming more and more popular by the day – these are exciting times”.

GameAccount has been around since 2002 and is a head-to-head skill-based gaming provider for regulated sportsbook, casino and poker operators seeking a single-wallet skill gaming solution. The company’s proven portfolio of dynamic games attracts recreational gamers and is seen as an effective vehicle to build and sustain a broad user audience. GameAccount powers major online partners such as William Hill, Sportingbet Europe, Stan James, Victor Chandler International, BlueSquare, Boylesports, Paddy Power and Gala Coral.

GameAccount’s headquarters are in London, United Kingdom and it is also licensed by the UK’s Gambling Commission to operate online games for real money prizes.

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Morgans Hotel Group lowers capital commitment to Echelon joint venture project
New York (AP) -- Morgans Hotel Group Co. slashed its capital commitment to the USD 4.8 billion Echelon mega-development Thursday, signaling another speedbump in the joint venture project with casino operator Boyd Gaming Corp.

Last month, Boyd suspended work on the Las Vegas project after the capital market crunch prevented the company from obtaining financing for key portions of the development. Boyd said at the time that it planned to resume construction in three to four quarters if credit market conditions and economic conditions improve.

On July 1, Las Vegas-based Boyd pushed the deadline back to Sept. 15 to obtain construction financing for Delano and Mondrian brand hotels it planned to build in a USD 1 billion joint venture with Morgans. Construction on the hotels was to have begun this summer.

Morgans said Thursday that it amended its agreement with Boyd to extend the deadline to obtain construction financing to Dec. 31, 2009. The amendment also calls for the boutique hotel operator to get back its USD 30 million deposit, plus interest, and erases about USD 41 million in future funding obligations. Morgans is also no longer obligated to provide a construction loan guarantee and has sole control over the use of the Delano and Mondrian brands in relation to the development.

In addition, Morgans and Boyd's amended deal restricts the amount the companies must put toward predevelopment and related costs to about USD 420,000 each.

It was also previously announced that Boyd's separate USD 500 million joint venture with General Growth Properties to develop 300,000 square feet of the retail space at the Echelon was running into difficulties.

Shares of Morgans Hotel Group gained 21 cents to USD 12.86 in morning trading, while Boyd Gaming's stock added 19 cents to USD 9.97.

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Plans for major casino moved forward
A casino that could be one of the top employers in Carson City can build the city's biggest hotel and tallest building as part of its resort project, the planning commission said Wednesday.

Las Vegas-based Golden Gaming Inc. got permission to build the USD 100 million Sierra Gold on 4.5 acres at the corner of Highway 50 East and the Carson City freeway. It will have a 100,000-square-foot casino, an eight-story, 220-room hotel and stand 118 feet tall, passing the 110-foot Ormsby House.

It also got permission from the commission for a 44-foot-tall sign, a 700-space car garage and heavy water use.

The city board of supervisors has to also approve the project before work can start.

Amy Sances, director of business development for Golden Gaming, said the casino will be "iconic” and a "perfect project” for Carson City, employing about 1,000 full- and part-time workers.

The Carson City School District and the Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center both employee more than 1,000 workers.

Sances said the company, which runs casinos in Colorado and Pahrump and taverns throughout the state including Sparky's in Carson City, will start on design and engineering work, but she doesn't know yet when building will start.

It's been working with the city for about a year and a half now, she said.

The commission unanimously approved the company's requests, but Commissioner Craig Mullet said he was concerned about the parking garage. The garage will be built in the first of two phases, but Mullet said he wants the company to spread out building the garage over two phases so there wouldn't be unnecessary space if the project is delayed.

Michael Alonso, an attorney for Golden Gaming, said designers want to be sure they have enough parking from the start, and splitting the building into two phases would be too expensive.

Two people who live near the project also spoke at the meeting. One of them, Gary Scheuller, said there would be far more noise, traffic and possibly crime in his neighborhood because of the casino - a building would block his view, too.

He said he knows there's nothing he can do about the project, though.

"Because we're little and they're big, we're stuck,” he said.

Über Glücksspiele Las Vegas - Gambling in Las Vegas:

Las Vegas liegt im Westen der USA im Bundesstaat Nevada und ist das Glücksspiel-Paradies von Amerika.

Las Vegas hat rund 100 Spielcasinos. Im Bundesstaat Nevada sind sogar über 300 Spielcasinos registriert. Die grössten Casinos sind das Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Venetian / Palazzo, Wynn / Encore, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay.

Weitere bekannte Casinos sind das Mirage, frühere Heimat von Siegfried und Roy, das Luxor in Form einer Pyramide oder das Casino Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, in welchem jährlich die Pokerweltmeisterschaft (World Series of Poker WSOP) durchgeführt wird.

Die bekanntesten zwei Strassen sind der Las Vegas Boulevard, welcher auch als Las Vegas Strip bezeichnet wird. Daneben ist die Fremont Street eine gut besuchte Casino-Meile, wo beispielsweise das legendäre Casino Binion's (vormals Binion's Horseshoe) seine Spiele anbietet.

Las Vegas erstreckt sich über eine Fläche von 340 km2 und hat rund 650'000 Einwohner.

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