June 24th, 2008

George Carlin was a comedy genius that could sell out a casino show in minutes!


Yesterday I heard some very, very sad news regarding the passing away of comedy legend George Carlin. I had the honour of watching one of his live shows in Vegas a few years ago and I must admit that his show made up for what I lost at the tables that weekend. He was a witty man with a knack for picking up exactly what life was about. His shows sold out in minutes and his planned show on July 24th at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom was set to be one of his best.

George, you were and always will be a casino legend! And to quote the great man himself:

“Weather forecast for tonight: Dark. Continued dark overnight, with widely scattered light by morning.”

Every night will be a little darker without you George!

R.I.P

Justin

June 18th, 2008

Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. buys $10,000 touch screen table from Microsoft Corp.


I was scanning through my Google Alerts today and came across an article posted by Gizmodude that grabbed my attention. The article states that Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. has bought 6 $10,000 thirty inch flat screens equipped with Microsoft Surface Technology. This will allow patrons at the Rio All-Suite Casino in Las Vegas to enjoy streaming video, touch screen games plus a whole lot more while enjoying a relaxing time in the lounge. The beauty of theses tables is that they work even when glasses are placed on the table.

Now as you all know I love all things casino, so I’m dying to get over to Las Vegas to check this out! I think this is a great idea by Harrah’s to offer a little something extra to their casino patrons.

Cheers for now

Justin

June 13th, 2008

Casino Revenue down in Nevada!


Ok, ok the title might be true, but even though casinos in Nevada have gone through 14 straight months of lower revenue I still don’t think $1 billion in earnings (casino win) is all THAT bad!!!

But I’m getting ahead of myself I think! Let me start at the beginning… I was reading an article in the Mercury News the other day and it stated that casinos in Nevada have experienced a downturn in what they term casino win (casino win is the amount of money left in the casino coffers after the total amount players have wagered). According to the article $1 billion was left in the coffers after gamblers wagered $12.7 billion in April (including $10.5 in slot machine bets).

WHAT? They still have $1 billion left in the coffers? How on earth can they complain? Sure it’s not $2 billion and we can see it’s not $10 billion but PLEASE, PLEASE don’t tell me that $1 billion is chump change! Anyway, economic downturn is cyclical and what comes down will go back up. Or in the Nevada casino case – up and up and up!

Ok, I’ve had my gripe. I just don’t think that they should complain (admittedly this report does not say they are complaining, but you just need to look around the internet to see what I mean) when they still have $1 billion in their coffers.

Well dear players, I’m off for a nice 3 day weekend, so I hope you all have a great time and I’ll see you in the software!

Justin

June 10th, 2008

Lady Luck smiles down on a female patron at Bally’s Casino in Atlantic City! But not in the way you think…


I’ve heard of striking it lucky in a casino, but an article I just read on the FOXNews.com website most certainly gives this a completely new meaning.

Apparently a woman in a motorised wheelchair slammed into a hotel elevator (lift), which forced the doors open, and then fell 30 feet down the lift shaft… But she still survived! Now in my books this is a very, very lucky woman indeed to survive a fall like that. I just hope her injuries are not to severe and that she recovers soon. Our thoughts are with her and her family at this time.

Cheers for now

Justin

 I’ll keep you updated as and when I receive news on this story!

June 9th, 2008

JackpotCity.com online bingo supports the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.


It’s good to give something back! That’s exactly why our friends at JackpotCity.com online bingo are now hosting a daily charity event to support the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Every day at 19h48 GMT they host a charity bingo game and will fund 100% of the pot. The proceeds of ALL ticket sales will then be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

The Cystic Fibrosis Trust was established in 1964 to combat what has become the most common life-threatening inherited disease in the UK. They not only help to provide a better life for Cystic Fibrosis sufferers, but invest £4 million a year into finding a cure for this devastating disease.

So please join us every day at 19h48 GMT and lets fight to give all Cystic Fibrosis sufferers the life they deserve.

See you in the Bingo Hall!

Justin

June 5th, 2008

Happy birthday Casinomeister!


One of the most respected online casino watchdogs and top rate casino portal Casinomeister turns 10 years old!

We here at JackpotCity.com online casino would like to wish you many, many happy returns and would like to say that we are proud to have been around in the industry for as long as you have. 10 years in the online casino business can only mean one thing – you offer your players safety, security and above all honesty.

Once again congrats Casinomeister, it’s been 10 good years indeed.

Justin

June 4th, 2008

Ice cold casino action!


Lawrence Ho, heir to the Macau casino king Stanley Ho’s vast gambling fortune, has proposed building ski resorts in China. According to the National Post Ho has been quoted as saying “We’ve revolutionized the [gaming] industry in Macau and we know we can do the same thing with the ski industry in China”.

WOW! I never saw that one coming!!! I know there are rumours doing the rounds that the Chinese government might legalise some form of online casinos, but are they ready for hundreds of avid casino and skiing fans converging on ski destinations such as Star Mountain Beijing, Sun Mountain Yabuli and Sky Mountain Beidahu in northern China. For that matter, will the Chinese government even allow casino resorts to be built?

Guess we’ll all just have to wait and see.

Justin

June 4th, 2008

How do playthrough requirements work?


How do playthough requirements workWhen I first started playing bingo online one of the things that confused me the most was when bingo chat hosts and support staff would talk to me about playthrough requirements, or wagering requirements as some bingo halls call them.

I had no idea what these funny sounding words meant, but more often than not I assumed it meant trouble and was a way that the bingo hall was going to try and take more money off me.

After doing a bit of digging around, I finally figured out that it wasn’t all bad, so here is my take on how playthrough requirement work.

When would I need to worry about play though requirements?

Whenever a bingo (or casino site) gives you free money, there are usually play through requirements that go along with it. This means that for every pound you get from them, you need to play a certain amount of bingo before you can withdraw. The generally accepted playthough amount is four times. So, if you get £1 from a bingo hall, you’ll need to play £4 worth of bingo before you can withdraw any winnings. If you get £10 from the bingo hall you’ll need to play £40 worth of bingo before you can withdraw, etc.

This is so that players don’t just take the free bingo money and run, which would of course leave the bingo hall very broke which would lead to them going out of business and we’d have nowhere to play bingo!

The mistake that lots of players make (and one which I made too) is thinking that they need to deposit four times before they can withdraw, which is not the case. Once you have the free money from the bingo hall, all you need to do is play to meet the requirements and you can withdraw your winnings.

Well, I hope that this has helped and that the bingo world is now a little simpler :)

Till next time, keep well and gl in the bingo hall

 

TheBingoManager(TBM)
JackpotCity Bingo

 

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June 3rd, 2008

NOT building a casino in Las Vegas, genius or folly?


Ok, ok I know I’ve done a few posts on Trump casinos (or in this case lack thereof), but the man is a legend! But I digress…

Earlier on I was reading the online version of the Mercury News (I basically read newspapers from all over the world all day) and came across an article about the new Trump hotel in Las Vegas. Nothing strange there you might think, but please note that I said hotel, not casino, not hotel and casino, but hotel. The reason… Simple really, because the hotel does not HAVE a casino!

I know, I know, it sounds crazy to spend $1 billion on an amazing piece of Vegas real-estate surrounded by the Wynn and the Palazzo casinos and not even build your own casino, but Mr Trump has done it and done it in style!

But is it a clever move? Unfortunately only time will tell, but if Mr Trump has read the market correctly (and let’s face it he normally does) then this little bit of Manhattan glitz might just be the sanctuary some people need from the hustle and bustle that is Vegas. Hell, even if it doesn’t work, I for one must give “the man” kudos for trying something different in Vegas. It’s about time somebody shook things up (to quote another Vegas legend).

Cheers for now

Justin

June 2nd, 2008

Trump Marina casino finds a buyer.


It seems that property mogul, casino entrepreneur and reality TV star Donald Trump has found a buyer for the ailing Trump Marina casino.

The Associated Press reports that Coastal Marina LLC, an affiliate of Coastal Development LLC, will be buying the property and it will be rebranded under the Jimmy Buffet brand “Margaritaville”. This means that Coastal Marina will now be getting a second casino property as chairman, Richard T. Fields, is the co-developer of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Florida.

Well, well, well! I think this bodes well for the marina property that in recent years has taken a hammering from market leaders the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spar and Harrah’s Atlantic City casino. I also think the “Margaritaville” branding (taken from a Jimmy Buffet song) will bring a breath of fresh air to the Atlantic City casino area.

Cheers for now!

Justin

PS: Apologies about the lack of posts over the last few days, but I’ve been ill.