June 17th, 2009
I admit I have been decidedly lax over the past few months when it comes to posting, but there have been reasons for this… We’re improving our communications systems so as to make our casino brands (JackpotCity.com Online Casino, Gaming Club Online Casino, River Belle Online Casino and Lucky Nugget Online Casino) even better for you.
Keep a lookout for these changes, because they’re coming SOON!
Cheers for now…
Justin
May 11th, 2009
Player strikes it lucky with a win of over €6.3 million at River Belle Online Casino!
Gibraltar, 11 March 2009 – River Belle Online Casino has given Europe its latest millionaire with a win of over €6.3 million by longtime River Belle player Georgios M. on the Mega Moolah Progressive Slot Machine!
With a “passion for slot machines” Georgios M. has most certainly insured that 2009 has been a year to remember! This 36 year old business owner, husband and father was playing the Mega Moolah Progressive Slot Machine in his River Belle Online Casino Software early on Saturday evening when he hit the big one - €6.3 million ($8,6 million) in CASH!
The Mega Moolah slot machine has long been a favourite with River Belle and Belle Rock Entertainment casino players, and had been amassing a huge progressive jackpot over the past few months. For Georgios, his date with destiny arrived when the progressive jackpot burst, making him the recipient of the largest ever Microgaming casino jackpot payout. On hearing about his win, Georgios phoned River Belle’s 24/7 Casino Support line for confirmation, as in his own words he “could not believe it”. River Belle’s efficient support staff quickly calmed his nerves and assured him that he had indeed won over €6.3 million in cash.
Belle Rock Entertainment’s Chairman Tim Johnson had this to say about Georgios M’s amazing win, “We at Belle Rock Entertainment take the utmost pleasure in seeing our players win life changing jackpots. It is an amazing accomplishment that for a single bet of €5 a valued long time River Belle player walked away with one of the largest online jackpots ever won. Well done and enjoy your winnings Georgios.”
Online casino players interested in playing and winning on any River Belle Progressive Slot Machine need to go to http://www.riverbelle.com, download the FREE online casino software, open a new real money account, make an initial deposit and start playing. It’s that easy!
Please note! River Belle Online Casino and JackpotCity.com Online Casino unfortunately cannot accept US based players.
February 27th, 2009
Two articles did the rounds at the JackpotCity mothership this week. Both Mediapost and Canada.com picked up on the story of Representative Barney Frank’s plan to introduce a bill that could legalise online gambling in the US.
This bill will challenge the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, Mr Franksaying the current law ” burdens the financial service industry at a time of economic crisis”.
He tried unsuccessfully in 2007 to introduce the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act which would control underage and compulsive gambling, money laundering and fraud. While Mr Frank seems to agree their is need for control he clearly disagrees with the Republican’s somewhat draconian outright banning of online gambling.
This conincides with the European Commission’s investigation into whether the US is singling out EU based companies for different treatment to American online gambling businesses. European gambling sites have petitioned the Commisssion to investigae and report their fidnings at the World Trade Organisation in a bid to reverse the laws that have cost them millions of dollars in revenue.
Will the change of leadership mean a change in online gambling regulations. It has been widely reported that in his days as Senator of Illinois, President Obama was a keen poker player. This, however, is in contrast to his concerns about the dangers of gambling in poorer communities. His words in 2003, “I think the moral and social cost of gambling, particularly in low-income communities could be devastating.”
It seems that despite support from the European Union, Mr Frank is going to have his work cut out for him getting his bill passed. Whatever the outcome, Online Casinos the world over will be paying close attention to the result.
February 16th, 2009
Throughout time, the game of baccarat has been seen to be a card game reserved for very exclusive and wealthy gamblers. The more well known players tend to be players in land-based casinos rather than online baccarat players.
In terms of land-based baccarat as opposed to online baccarat, one mentionable name would be Akio Kashiwagi. He first rose to fame through a record breaking win in Atlantic City, USA. This win in Atlantic City was of $6 million which he achieved through betting up to an astonishing $200,000 per hand. His luck turned a few weeks later when he reportedly lost a record $10 million.
Before online baccarat came about, Tommy Renzoni was a casino executive in Havana, Cuba in the 1950s. Renzoni is the man that took baccarat to Las Vegas. The game quickly became a huge success and he is widely regarded as the father of baccarat in the United States.
And last but not least, there is one man who’s name has been synonymous with the game of baccarat for some time. That is of course James Bond. Baccarat is the secret agent’s favourite casino card game although the novels were written before the introduction of online baccarat.
These, of course, are famous people that play baccarat at land-based casinos. There are not as many well known online baccarat players. This could be due to the fact that any large wins in terms of online baccarat can of course be kept relatively confidential. The introduction of online baccarat to casino sites means that you no longer need to be a member of the gambling elite to play. Online baccarat has succeeded in increasing the variety of different people playing the game of baccarat. Online baccarat has also become very popular as a standard game offered by online casinos.
February 4th, 2009
When playing slots games, whether land based or online slots, there are some terms that are helpful to know. While you don’t have to know these terms in order to play, it’s a good idea to know what everyone else is talking about. Following you’ll find some often used terms.
• Bonus Feature – There’s a special feature added to some newer slots that when activated automatically gives you free spins or a bonus round that allows you to win extra coins.
• Coins Size – This describes the amount of each bet. Most online slots allow more than one coin to be played. Typical coin sizes go from 1 cent to 5 dollars.
• Hit Frequency – This means how often winning spins happen. Obviously, larger hit frequencies are better than lower ones. However, you need to also consider the pay cycle.
• Multiline – Online slots as well as land based ones that have more than two pay lines to make winning combinations.
• Free Spins – Spins awarded for free occur when a specific combination, typically three or more, scatter symbols appear.
• Pay Line – Typically, this means the line in the center of the slot window. It can also be three – five lines. You can only win from symbols on a pay line.
• Reels – These are where the symbols of a machine are shown. A machine usually has three reels but can also be two, four, or more. The more reels, the harder it is to hit a jackpot.
• Scatter – A combination of two or more symbols that win regardless of where they appear.
• Symbols – The icons appearing on the reels.
• Pay Cycle – It’s believed that slots, either online slots or land based ones, go through cycles. This means once a certain amount of coins are played, the machine must pay out to keep up with the payout percentage programmed into that machine’s software.
• Wild Symbol – A symbol appearing on the reel that is substituted for other symbols to make a winning combination.
By studying this list, you can be as slots savvy as the next player.
See you in the software
Justin
January 23rd, 2009
I had the misfortune of watching Rush Hour 3 on Sunday night. It was offensive on so many levels and Chris Tucker’s voice makes Fran Drescher sound sultry and seductive. But what did get my attention was the scene in the Parisian casino. Tucker’s character tries to get the attention of a beautiful woman with all the subtlety of a rhinoceros on viagra, at one of the casino tables where she is playing a card game. Tucker gets 3 Kings in his first hand and thinks he has won. The ever so snooty croupier says to him ” Messeur, this is Baccarat, that is the worst possible hand”. I realised I had no idea how Baccarat works and thought others like me may want to know a little bit about the history of the game and how it works.
The game arrived in France from Italy in the 15th century and is similar to Faro and Basset. It was first played by Italian Felix Falguierein with a pack of Tarot cards in the middle ages before it moved across the Alps to France where it became the game of the French aristocracy. There are 3 versions of the game. Punto Banco or North American Baccarat, Baccarat Chemin de Fer, and Baccarat Banque.
The rules are basically this.
Each versions has different rules but I think you get the gist. In the 2nd to last James Bond, the remake of Casino Royale, Bond plays Texas Holdem against Le Chiffre due to the popularity of that game at present. However, in Fleming’s novel and the original version of the movie, the game was Baccarat. This game is popular with high rollers with players winning and losing tens of thousands of dollars per hand. Another reason the game is probably not as well known is that the tables are usually tucked away in the more exclusive parts of casinos.
However with the growing popularity of online casinos you and I are able to step into the shoes of the French nobility and give it a go. Just remember what happened to them though and that your card playing experience from those all night poker sessions counts for nought…or baccarat.
January 15th, 2009
Good viral ads are the ones that stay with you long after you’ve logged off. They get mentioned in online and offline conversation. And of course they make countless appearances in email inbox’s around the world. But the really good ones are those that use established hype, breed spin offs and keep us hanging on for the follow ups.
Piggs Peak got the ball rolling with this ad. You have no idea what the advert is for until the end and you can’t stop watching. They could never have got away with this in above the line media.
But the stroke of viral marketing genius came from the guys at Cool Hand Poker. Filming it all in their office bathroom and using staff members they created this spin off. It made me realise that some of the best marketing minds work in Online Casinos. Sometimes toilet humour rocks.
Ever since I saw it I’ve been thinking of poker hands and what the next instalment could be. Nothing’s come to me yet. Have you got any ideas? Let’s see them here.
October 30th, 2008
I’ve been very lax over the past few months with my blogging, but it’s not because I’ve forgotten about Online Casino! On the contrary, I’ve just been so busy with the launch of our new Online Poker site (Cool Hand Online Poker) and preparing the final stages to some very exciting changes here at JackpotCity.com that I’ve just not had the time to blog. That though is now a thing of the past (for now) and I’m going to throw myself back into this casino blog with gusto!
I thank you loyal readers for still sticking around even though there has been little or no action here. I promise, there is still plenty more to come
Cheers
Justin
August 14th, 2008
I’ve just been going through a list of promotions in the casino and I must say things are looking very good!
First up we have a Jackpot Cruise on offer and it’s one that I wish I could take part in. 50 players and their partners can win the chance to spend 7 days on an amazing Mediterranean Cruise. The trip takes in the sites of Barcelona, Nice, Florence, Rome, Naples and Palermo. Man I can just see the fun being had in all those beautiful cities and in the casino, bars and lounges of that cruise ship. It makes me a little jealous!
Next up is the Oktoberfest promotion and I can tell you that all that hearty fare and barrels of beer is a laugh a minute. I’ve been to Munich a few times to celebrate it and I can highly recommend it. This promotion is only running until the end of August, so if you want to win you better start to spin.
Lastly we have our €500 FREE sign up bonus. This will allow all new casino players to play with €500 without making a single deposit. This in my book is a great deal and I can tell you it’s a great way to start your JackpotCity.com online casino experience.
That’s all from me for today. Hope you have a great time entering our promotions.
Justin
PS: Remember that terms and conditions apply to all of the above.
August 12th, 2008
Holy cow it’s official! I don’t think the good people of Nevada are used to this sort of thing, but with the US economy faltering it seems that casinos across the State are feeling the effects. For the second time since last year the June figures report that casino revenue is down 1.9%. Fortunately this still translates to a win of $12.5 billion so it’s not complete doom and gloom. (For more on this read my casino blog post: Casino Revenue Down in Nevada)
I know I was a little flippant with my previous posts (see link above and here) but I’ve changed my mind after reading more and more reports about the downturn. This is not such a great thing. Yes I guess the fact that less people are driving to Nevada (causing less pollution and greenhouse gasses) is a good thing, but I’m a little worried about people losing their jobs in a tight economy.
Do any of you have thoughts on this subject? How do you think casinos (and not just those in Nevada) can get more people back at the tables? Do you think this is a bonus for online casinos because it makes online casinos a more viable casino destination? Leave your comments below…
Cheers for now
Justin
