Blackjack Winner Hits the Big Time…Followed By the Big House
When an unsuspecting blackjack casino player won more than one and a half thousand pounds at a casino near Philadelphia at the weekend, he must have thought that his luck had finally turned. Imagine his surprise when doing so led indirectly to his arrest a few hours later!
Authorities moved in on 34-year old Mateen Johnson after he was required to produce identification for his winnings of $2,500 at the Park Racetrack & Casino in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. When running his name through the computer, casino staff became concerned that Johnson was the subject of a warrant issued by local police in the town of Altoona, in connection with pending drug charges. The police were called in, and Johnson was apprehended a short time after.
The Altoona Mirror newspaper reports that there was a specific reason for Johnson’s presence at the casino – fearing an arrest for other criminal charges, he was there to try to win the bail money at the blackjack table before turning himself in.
Johnson is currently locked down at Blair County prison awaiting trial, after his bail was set by a Magisterial District Judge at a total of $100,000 for both cases – meaning his big win makes up only one-fortieth of the money he would have needed. Ironically, it’s not certain that he’d be in jail right now if he hadn’t taken steps to try and avoid it.
Remember kids, crime doesn’t pay – even if casinos do.
In the UK, we’ve never really benefited from the same casino culture as the US. With stricter gaming laws, the UK’s casino scene – while buzzing – hasn’t taken off in the same way. Of course, this isn’t just down to the laws; while America had vast stretches of Nevada desert to populate, games for ‘every man’ and newly electrified cities, here in the UK we had smaller spaces that were densely populated and a population itself split clearly into those who went to casinos (upper class high rollers) and those who went to the bookies (working class men and women).
So there’s something really attractive about the history of the American casino, and especially the electric beauty of Las Vegas and other gaming spaces like Atlantic City. It’s always seemed like Britain – especially from after the Second World War to the 1960s – was the poor cousin of America, with its nylon stockings, brightly coloured ‘New Look’ dresses and incredible race for political and geographical power, heightened by the ‘space race’ of the 60s onwards. Not only are we attracted to the fun and excitement of the casino history that we never had, but also of a glowing and glittering past that the whole country seemed to revel in. And while we know that, really, the glitz and glamour exuded by a fifties or sixties Vegas wasn’t indicative of the country as a whole, there’s something appealing about enjoying the nostalgic neon of the old Las Vegas strip.
Online casinos have gone some way to make visiting and taking part in casino gaming more democratic, allowing many more people to experience the thrill and excitement of poker, blackjack and a host of other games from the comfort of their own home. And lots of sites, too, have tried to recreate the glamour of a nostalgic American casino with their online casino counterparts, featuring traditional slots games, VIP programmes and a multitude of other benefits – all available anywhere with an internet connection and not limited by the physical building.
But American casinos, while still incredibly popular, will always have a hey-day of the fifties to the seventies. With a growing economy, the birth of the teenager and the increase in disposable income, and the push for a bright new future (both at home and out into the reaches of the globe and space), America saw the towns that had previously been home to infamous hubs of prostitution and gambling after the Gold Rush and during the Prohibition slowly morph into centres of glamour, excitement and tourism – both nationally and internationally. And now? Still as popular as ever, these gaming centres of America now work alongside online casinos and virtual gaming to provide more people than ever with access to gambling excitement: but we still are just a little bit in love with the American casino of yesterday.
Another day, another billion dollar valuation. Caesars Casino Group (Caesars Entertainment Corp) has had a price tage of $1.13 Billion stuck on it by the market following its IPO.
Caesars Casino has more than $22 billion in debt, mind. The Las Vegas-based group went private in a $30.7 billion buyout by Apollo Global Management LLC and TPG Capital 3 years ago.
Around 1.8 million shares went up for sale at $9 a share to collect around $16 million, a small figure- basically the ideas was to give investors the opportunity to cash out if they wanted. The accounts for less than 1.5% of the stock. The stock start trading publicly on Wednesday.
Rumour has it that around a fifth of the company could be sold by private investors – so if you fancy a punt, now could be a good time to get in. (Watch those debt levels though). The trading symbol for the group will be CZR.
Caesars did try and get away an IPO in 2010 for over $500m, but had to abort. The hedge fund run by John Paulson should now have a chance to exit and return cash to investors. (The fund owns around 10% of the company). Other backers include Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Apollo and TPG. The company’s takeover took place in the heady days of 2006 during a buyout boom. Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., as it was then called, traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol HET until 2008.
The one big gap with the company is its absence from Macau, now the world’s largest gambling market, where it competitors Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Wynn Resorts Ltd. make the boat load of money.
So a punt on Caesars stock is basically a punt on the US economy. If you think it is going to return to the good times, then Caesars stock should follow. And bearing in mind that the US GDP grew at annual rate of just shy of 3% in Q4 2011, this might not be a bad assumption.
As ever with shares, just like roulette, it’s always a bit of a gamble. The only difference with the stock market is that you can kid yourself that you are making an informed decision rather than punting your money on red!
Casino Stocks & Shares: Dividends or no dividends?
One of the things that we are mulling over at the moment, is whether to invest in casino stocks and shares. If you think about it, it seems a pretty good bet. Casinos are expanding across the world, and they are heavily exposed to Asia which is growing fast. And gambling is firmly fixed in the cultures of most Asian markets. The stock have been volatile, of course- everything has been recently. But as long as you can pick a good entry point and you are in it for the long term, we reckon it’s a good flutter.
And one thing that is really starting to persuade us to get off our backsides and actually buy some shares, is the latest trend on dividends.
The welcome news last year for anyone holding Wyn shares was the announcement of a $5.00 special dividend from Wynn and the widely expected announcement of a dividend in 2012 or 2013 from Las Vegas Sands.
Both companies have reported steadier waters in the U.S. operations and bumper numbers on the Cotai Strip in Macau. Certainly those analysts who were tut tutting the massive capital expenditure on the South Chine Coast seem to have shut up.
And who is going to benefit the most from these dividends? Why, Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson of course, which makes me think that this is a trend that is set to continue. Wynn and family own over 20 million Wynn shares – that’s a $100 million cheque to you and me. Crisis, what crisis? Downgrade that champagne to Moet 57 Wynnie Boy! Trade down to the Montecristo cigars Shelly Belly!
There’s a standard $2 dividend a year on Wynn shares anyway, by the way. The latest special dividend makes a total of just under $30 in specials in 5 years – which equates to around a 6% dividend yield plus any money you make on the share price if you get your timing right on entry.
What about other casino shares? Well, International Game Technology pays around 1.5% in dividends , Melco Crown pays nada, and MGM Resorts hasn’t paid one since 2001, so we’d recommend sticking with Wyn for a Win or Sands to make some Rands (sorry, we were struggling there).
So – are we going to go for it and put our money where our mouth is? Yep! It’s not that easy to get into this market for new competition (legal restraints, licenses, capital costs etc). We don’t see Asia crashing any time soon- quite the reverse. AND, the dividends are rolling in, at Wyn, anyway. Count us in.
Sheldon Adelson has been looking to Europe for his next huge casino complex, and he wants to take all of the good things about Las Vegas and move them over to the Old Continent. So that’s the UK out of the running (on weather grounds). He’s set his sites on Sunny Spain. It’s a show down between the 2 old rivals- another “el Classico” between Barcelona and Madrid.
Madrid regional premier Esperanza Aguirre this week has proposed creating a legal and tax “island” in the Madrid region to accommodate the plans of the American US gambling supremo and his plans.
Sheldon’s EuroVegas project, with TWELVE resorts (36,000 rooms), 6 casinos, 9 theaters and 3 golf courses would involve an investment of up to 18.8 billion euros through to 2022 and the creation of 261,000 jobs.
But Sheldon drives a hard bargain. In return for all of this Euro Vegas Strip investment, he wants the land for the complex free, a long summer (or probably summers) tax holiday and for the Spanish smoking ban in Spain to be waived at the complex (that will go down well with the tobacco loving locals who have been forced out onto the street with their weed). So, basically, a state within a state then?
Speaking after a meeting with the new mayor of Madrid, Ana Botella, Aguirre promised to keep all of the region’s “principles and values” when negotiating the project. (Yeah, right!).
Spain would certainly be a great bet on the weather front. And it’s Europe’s most popular tourist destination already, so no worries with connections etc.
Personally, we’d plump for Barcelona over Madrid. It’s by the beach. It’s closer to the rest of Europe by road. And it’s already the top tourist destination in Spain. There’s a big expanse of land right by the airport which could be used for such a project. But I guess it will come down to money as usual, and if Sheldon is as wily as we know he is, he’ll put the Castillians and the Catalans head to head and he’ll see who comes up with the sweetest deal.
It’s a massive undertaking if it goes ahead. The Madrid authorities have proposed changing legislation to ease the development, and the Madrid project would mean a €16.9bn investment over 15 years, with an €6.7bn invested during the first four years. The Euro Vegas complex would need changes to the city’s urban planning laws ito free up some 6m sq.m. of land. There’s be new metro and train stations, new roads and a big demand for water in a region that has suffered from droughts in recent years.
Sheldon Adelson is loaded: the eighth-richest man in the US, according to Forbes, and is the man behind the Las Vegas Sands Corp., the owner of 2 casinos in Las Vegas, 3 in Macao and the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.
As previously mentioned, here on Online Casino King we love James Bond, and we love his dapper style whether in the casino, on the slopes, throwing himself across the bonnet of a classic car, seducing beautiful women, or being tied to a post in the middle of a lake while sharks circle round him and an evil-moustachioed villain explains once again how his masterplan will work. In this series on the style of the James Bonds, we’ve already covered iconic Bond Sean Connery – this time, we’re looking at one time Bond, George Lazenby, who starred in the 1969 ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’. OK- not the most popular Bond, but he at least did get a substantial wardrobe budget.
Lazenby’s Bond, coming as it did at the end of the 60s, has more than a hint of psychedelia about him and a taste of things to come with the flamboyant menswear of the 70s. The Lazenby Look is an easy if somewhat individual style to achieve, and can easily be interpreted for casual wear (when you’re playing online casino at home) or formal wear (when you’re playing online casino…at home, but it might be a Friday night).
If you are looking for tips on what to wear at the casino- why not pick up a few tips for the maestros?
Lazeby’s classic Bond tuxedo has the similar sharp lines of Connery’s, but this time the white shirt has a distinctly ruffled front and the waist has a more nipped in shape. In ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’, Lazenby also sports traditional Scottish dress – including a kilt and sporran. While this might not be quite appropriate for sitting at home, relaxing and having a few games at an online casino, the lace cravat he pairs with this ensemble could be particularly fetching at work. Next time, ditch that Marks and Sparks tie and opt for a white, lacey concoction instead. If nothing else, it’ll make a great photo for the newsletter. Keep your knees together though, if you are going the kilt thing at a landbased casino (at home this isn’t a problem obviously).
We think that George Lazenby’s casual look is ideal for some online casino action – it’s not a look to be taken lightly but if you can pull it off, you’ll be onto a winner.
Get the Dapper Casino Look
A pre-70s polo neck in on-trend mustard colour, paired with a leather and sheepskin coat? Retro never looked so good. A slick of Brylcreem and you’re ready for anything – whether that’s thwarting an evil Russian dictator or making a cup of tea before settling down to play online poker.
That last shot is a classic. That’s George Lazenby’s “Blue Steel” (I’m hard as nails) look, but he hasn’t quite pulled it off, has he? He looks like he’s suffering from a severe case of wedgie pants under all of that 70’s garb.
In the second of our award-winning* series (*best blog post written about celebrities on that website on that day!) on celebs playing poker, we take a look at more famous faces who have graced the gambling world with their presence.
Teddy Sheringham
As a professional footballer with 51 appearances and 11 goals for England, his work-rate and eye for a cheeky shot on goal was renowned. As one half of Team SAS with Shearer, he certainly slotted them in. As a poker player, and with a number of top five finishes and big money-cashes on his CV already, Teddy Sheringham is certainly one of the bigger UK names to be involved in both beautiful games. Having scored in the Champions League final for Man United, he knows all about high stakes too.
Jason Alexander
You wouldn’t associate his trademark character, Seinfeld’s George Costanza, with any of the positive qualities required of a poker player –subtlety to name just one – but Jason Alexander has been a regular on TV tournaments of a celebrity bent; he reached the final of the 2005 Celebrity Poker Showdown but was the first to be eliminated. He’s also cashed in at two tournaments, most notably a 5th place finish and a prize of $16,000 at a World Series of Poker Circuit Event.
Boris Becker
It’s not all been about dalliances in broom cupboards in fancy Japanese restaurants for Boom Boom Becker. Oh no. The youngest ever Wimbledon men’s champion might be no spring chicken these days, but the six-time Grand Slammer can certainly cut it on the cloth. With nearly $70,000 of winnings in the bank, Becker’s four cashes-in includes among them a 7th place finish at the 2008 PokerStars EPT Grand Final for a takeaway of a cool 12,000 euros. He’s now signed as a member of Team SportsStars for the PokerStars brand.
Sir Clive Sinclair
Okay, so he’s no Phil Hellmuth when it comes to poker prowess, but this entry is just too random to ignore. Sir Clive Sinclair, creator of the groundbreaking ZX Spectrum in 1982, and less groundbreaking (ground-scratching?) weird bike thing three years later, is a keen poker player! He appeared in all three series of Challenge TV’s Celebrity Poker Club, scooping the top prize of £25,000 in the first run. Whodathunkit? There’s nothing quite like arriving at the big tourneys in your C5. Go Clive.
The moral of the story? Go and get yourself a successful career in sports, or inventing if you want to get a leg up in porfessional poker.
We’ve just survived another Friday 13th (last week), considered to be one of the unluckiest days of the year (for some, anyway – I know someone born on Friday 13th!). For gamers, luck is both a blessing and a curse, with all of us having our favourite lucky numbers, trinkets and other paraphernalia that we carry with us or keep hold of when we’re playing online casino. Lucky objects are different the whole world over, just like superstitions are completely different, so here’s some of our favourite superstitions and lucky trinkets from across the globe!
There’s a variety of different animals (and animal parts) that are considered to bring good luck or bad luck in different countries. Ladybirds are said to be lucky, with the number of spots the ladybird has signifying how much you might win or find. In Germany, the pig is also a lucky animal, while in the UK finding or wearing a rabbit’s foot is meant to bring good luck. In some African countries, wearing alligator teeth is thought to have a similar effect, while spying magpies or black cats in many other countries can be seen as a bad luck omen (especially if there is only one of them in the case of magpies).
Lots of people have their own specific good luck charms, including toys, pens, pieces of jewellery or even particular garments that have to go everywhere with them – just think about the mascots from football matches or on quiz teams! Native American dream catchers are considered to be lucky thanks to their, er, dream catching properties, while in some countries sapphires are considered to have lucky, even supernatural powers. Particular numbers also have significance across several continents, like the number 7 and the number 3, both of which have a relation to a number of different religions (like three as the Holy Trinity in Christianity).
For the Chinese, it’s number 8 that is golden. Try and buy a numberplate in Hong Kong with an eight in it and you will need deep pockets!
Closer to home, there are a number of superstitions that come from old folklore that are said to give us bad luck: putting new shoes on the table and opening an umbrella indoors are both well-known ones. Breaking a mirror is said to cause seven years bad luck, although frankly I think this might be actually how long it takes to make sure you’ve picked up all the tiny bits of glass. Walking under a ladder is also said to be bad luck (possibly because of the likelihood of something falling on your head) but can be remedied by walking back and spitting three times through the rungs. Best to do this just after someone has climbed up though, rather than when they’re on their way back down.
What are your lucky charms – or superstitions that you always abide by? Do you have any good luck charms that you make sure you use every time you play at online casinos? Like switching the computer on and off 3 times, turning around in your swivel chair 4 times (clockwise) and touching your nose before every 5th slots spin. Well, that’s what we do here when we play on the fruities- it works for us
They’ve made a career in other fields, and are famous faces wherever they go; but as the game of poker has surged in popularity over the last few years, so too has the number of celebrities crossing over into the casino to try their luck at the poker table.
Here we present…Celebrity Poker Players.
Ben Affleck
The Oscar-winning actor, writer, producer…odds are Ben Affleck’s had a hand in at least one film from the last ten years that you have enjoyed. In 2004 Affleck became the first celebrity to win a major open tournament when he took home a pot of almost a quarter of a million pounds from the California State Poker Championship. Like he needs the money!
Jennifer Tilly
Probably best known as the Bride of Chucky, although she has enjoyed some success in mainstream Hollywood, the Academy Award-nominated (and very high-pitched) actress has won a World Series of Poker bracelet; in the Ladies’ No-Limit Texas Hold ‘Em event she beat 600 other ladies to the prize, and helped herself to £100,000 in the process. As of the start of last year she’s earned over £400k, thanks to another seven money finishes at the WSOP.
Shannon Elizabeth
Surely poker’s only Lebanese-Texan star, the American Pie sex symbol first achieved success at the table with her appearance in the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event; she also cashed in at the following two WSOP contests, and was the overall winner of a special tournament to open a new poker room at Caesar’s Palace casino in 2006.
Victoria Coren
When not bamboozling contestants on BBC Four’s fiendish quiz show Only Connect, the TV presenter, newspaper columnist and raconteur can often be found playing a few hands at the Victoria Casino in London. She’s earned over a million pounds on the poker circuit, and is often generous enough to divert winnings to charities such as Age UK, which received $10,000 from her second place finish at last year’s inaugural The Table World Championship.
Stay tuned for more stories from the celebs who turned heads at the poker table! They all sound like they are making a nice living from their “second jobs”.
Just in case you just happened to have scooped the top jackpot on the Mega Mooolah slot, (although that would probably only cover a couple of weeks maintenance on these puppies), here is a great article showcasing the world’s Top 10 Superyachts. Enjoy!
Russian Billionaire Roman Abramovich is the rumoured owner of the biggest yacht sitting at #1 in the list: Eclipse. This boat is believed to accommodate 30 guests in 15 cabins and also cater for 75 crew members. There’s your maintenance cost for you.
But Sheldon drives a hard bargain. In return for all of this Euro Vegas Strip investment, he wants the land for the complex free, a long summer (or probably summers) tax holiday and for the Spanish smoking ban in Spain to be waived at the complex (that will go down well with the tobacco loving locals who have been forced out onto the street with their weed). So, basically, a state within a state then?
As previously mentioned, here on Online Casino King we love James Bond, and we love his dapper style whether in the casino, on the slopes, throwing himself across the bonnet of a classic car, seducing beautiful women, or being tied to a post in the middle of a lake while sharks circle round him and an evil-moustachioed villain explains once again how his masterplan will work. In this series on the style of the James Bonds, we’ve already covered iconic Bond Sean Connery – this time, we’re looking at one time Bond, George Lazenby, who starred in the 1969 ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’. OK- not the most popular Bond, but he at least did get a substantial wardrobe budget.
The Lazenby Look is an easy if somewhat individual style to achieve, and can easily be interpreted for casual wear (when you’re playing online casino at home) or formal wear (when you’re playing online casino…at home, but it might be a Friday night).
Russian Billionaire Roman Abramovich is the rumoured owner of the biggest yacht sitting at #1 in the list: Eclipse. This boat is believed to accommodate 30 guests in 15 cabins and also cater for 75 crew members. There’s your maintenance cost for you.
