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Italian Football Fixed?

Friday, Milan newspaper Il Giornale published a report claiming that F.C. Internazionale Milano may have fixed matches during the 2007-2008 Italian football season. Inter, the report speculates, may have intentionally lost matches in order to skew the betting odds for the 2008 Scudetto.

According to the newspaper, the Italian Public Ministry released the report after Italian police investigated phone conversations between the club’s coach, Roberto Mancini, and known mafia associate Domenico Brescia.

The report speculates that from week 24 onward Mancini might have made coaching decisions specifically aimed at undermining the team’s performance. Mancini, it says, may have chosen Marco Materazzi instead of Julio Cruz to take a penalty shot in a match against A.C. Siena with the intention that Materazzi would miss.

As the Giornale report points out, Materazzi did miss, and Inter tied Siena 2-2. As a result, it notes, the odds gap between A.S. Roma and the Nerazzurri was trimmed to one.

The report goes on to allege that Mancini purposely prevented striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s return from injury until the season’s final match. When Ibrahimovic returned, he proved crucial to Inter’s win over Parma F.C.

If true, the report’s speculations could be damning for Inter. However, as Goal.com points out, many bookmakers stopped taking bets on whether Inter would win the Scudetto after week 24.

What’s more, the office of Public Prosecutor Stefano Civardi, who Il Giornale says ordered the investigation, denies all knowledge of the report.

“The office would like to confirm that no inquiry was ever made regarding the 2007-2008 season and, in particular, Inter [sic],” Civardi’s office said in a brief statement.

Inter President Massimo Moratti has decried the report, calling it “a joke.”

“It’s already been denied by the Public Prosecutor’s office,” Moratti said. “There’s no need for my denial.”

According to Inter’s official website, the club is planning to take legal action against Il Giornale, which it says harmed its reputation by “reporting a declaration that was never made.”

Say it ain’t so!  Thanks to the author Phill Provance - phill.provance@gamblingplanet.org

Tags: fixed football

ESPN Supports WSOP Europe

Beginning on Sunday, Feb. 1, ESPN will devote eight original hours of coverage to the World Series of Poker – Europe Main Event from the Casino at the Empire in the heart of downtown London’s theater district.

This tournament was among the most grueling and exciting of all of the tournaments played in the WSOP, and attracted an extremely formidable field of 362 top players from Europe, the United States, and around the world. Play took place over a six-day period, with the initial field divided into two starting days, and culminated in a final table which took more than 19 hours to complete. At stake was the first place prize of more than $1.5 million and the highly coveted WSOP – Europe Main Event bracelet.

ESPN’s coverage of the World Series of Poker – Europe will begin on Feb. 1 with the first four episodes beginning at 6 p.m. ET, followed by an encore presentation of episodes 1 and 2 on ESPN2 at 10 p.m., co-hosted by Lon McEachern and Norman Chad.

“The intimate look and feel of this tournament is different from other WSOP events we produced in the United States,” said Doug White, ESPN senior director of programming and acquisitions.

The cavernous Amazon Room at the Rio in Las Vegas, which housed all of the tournaments held last summer, has given way to a small club where players are seated at tables on two different levels; off in a side room, under the stairs, behind the bar, near the roulette tables, and in front of an ice cream shop.

Thanks to a new innovation called the Mobile Hole Card Camera, for the first time ever, ESPN will be able to show the hole cards from key hands at many of these outer tables in addition to the feature table.

“We believe the Mobile Hold Card Camera will provide fans a great understanding of the overall story behind the tournament, and how the players advanced to the final table,” said Jamie Horowitz, ESPN senior sports producer.

The ESPN2 air dates listed below: (ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN)

2/1
10pm Episode #1
11pm Episode #2

2/8
10pm Episode #3
11pm Episode #4

2/15
10pm Episode #5
11pm Episode #6

3/1
10pm Episode #7
11pm Episode #8

I am setting my calendar to watch it!

Tags: WSOP

Treasure Bay Casino Wins

Treasure Bay Casino and Hotel was recently awarded the Casino Design award for Best Architectural Re-Design for a Casino Resort at the 2008 Global Gaming Expo (G2E) held in Las Vegas.

Treasure Wins Big

The Casino Design awards are the only honors that recognize excellence in the field of casino resort design and construction. A panel of judges evaluated entries from across the country. Criteria included creative use of space, adherence to architectural themes throughout property, use of color, texture and other design elements, with attention to providing creative solutions for challenging opportunities.

Accepting on behalf of Treasure Bay was COO and General Manager Susan Varnes, and architect Peter Anderson of VOA Associates, Inc.

Treasure Bay Casino and Hotel opened in April 1994 and was located inside an authentic replica of an 18th Century pirate ship, which quickly became a popular landmark for both tourists and locals. After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, Treasure Bay management moved quickly after the storm to begin rebuilding. The renovation project resulted in consolidating operations on the north side of Beach Boulevard in the original hotel building that dates back to the 1960s, and was itself a Biloxi landmark.

Starting in September 2005, the multi-million dollar rebuilding project worked from the ground up and included guest rooms, lobbies and public spaces, restaurants, retail and conference space, outdoor pool terrace with two swimming pools, plus the addition of the casino area. Peter Anderson served as the design architect for the project along with Mary Ann Whitmore as interior designer. “It was quite a challenge,” Anderson offered. “We managed to open the entire project in five separate phases, designing later phases while early phases were under construction or occupied by the casino itself.”

The project was completed in November of 2007. A departure from the old-world pirate theme, Treasure Bay now features a contemporary design reflecting a sophisticated blend of style and comfort. Open, elegant and inviting, the interior features natural elements of wood, stone and water with copper and bronze accents. Many unique lighting and art pieces can be found throughout the property, complimented by two hand-blown glass chandeliers that greet guests as they enter through the twin staircases at the front of the property.

Tags: casino award

Hippodrome slated for new casino

The famous London Hippodrome is set to get a makeover and return as a casino, it has emerged.

A focal point for the entertainment industry in the English capital for more than 100 years, the London Hippodrome is currently being used to stage a bizarre circus cabaret entitled La Clique.

However, it is possible the theatre, which has played host to stars such as Frank Sinatra and Shirley Bassey, will not feature live performances for much longer.

United Leisure Gaming has successfully applied for a casino licence for the Leicester Square venue and is set to make public detailed plans for the site in the near future.

Audrey Lewis, cabinet member for customers and neighbourhoods at Westminster city council, told The Stage a casino was the best option for the London Hippodrome.

“In the past, when the venue was run as a nightclub, there were a series of problems on the premises … and we feel that the venue will serve people better and be safer as a casino,” said Ms Lewis.

Leicester Square is already home to several gaming venues, including The Casino at the Empire and Napoleons.  I can’t wait to visit this coming Summer and I hope they have football betting in their sports wagering area.

Tags: london casino

Gambling Plan Turned Down

A controversial plan to open a gambling arcade on a Lancashire high street have been thrown out. A bid was lodged to turn the former Woolwich building society, on the corner of Lune Street and Fishergate, Preston, into an over-18s slot machine centre.

But the plans were condemned as “tacky” and “inappropriate” for the landmark listed building, which has been empty since February 2007.  Planners rejected the idea because of the impact they felt it would have had on the listed building and on the Winckley Square conservation area.  I vote for more gambling in the area to improve the opportunity for employment.

Tags: gambling arcade

Crazy All-In Tourney Donkey’s

I know us decent players make alot of our money off donkeys but it can be very frustrating when we lose to them.  Case-and-point, I am playing on a $11.50 re-buy HE NL tourney.  The way I play these is that I buy only once untless I am very close to the first break (10 minutes or less) then I sometimes rebuy once. 

I am UTG and am dealt pocket kings, I just call 20 chips because I know this table is “all-in crazy” - as per my thought the button goes all-in and the BB calls and I push the rest, so I can almost tripple up.  Button has J, 8 suited and BB has A, 7 off-suit.  I figure if I don’t see an ace on the flop I should have built a nice little stack.

Blah, blah, blah….the river hits the gut-shot straight for the BB and I lose.

Tags: bad beat, bad poker beats

Online Blackjack Fun

Finally I played online blackjack today.  I have played a bit at the online casino before, but mainly I have played online poker.  I really enjoy blackjack in land-based casinos so I thought, why not?

I started with a small bankroll of only $75 and in the first hour I ended up at exactly, $75!  Not bad I guess because I had a pretty bad run with the dealer making 3 consecutive blackjacks.  Second hour went more my way with a nice double down on a $10 bet.  Third hour was the charm, I hit a blackjack and a couple of 22 splits that were profitable.  All-in-all I logged off with $140 in my account which I am quite happy with.

Tags: casino blackjack

Hi gambling friends!

I am a guy that loves to gamble so I thought I would start a blog and share my experiences and hopefully meet some like-minded folks that are interesting.  Online gambling has been a hobby of mine for the past 3 years, I am very careful to only gamble with ‘extra’ money that I can afford. One thing I stay away from is online bingo because it is just too much fun!