2012 Champions League Final Bet. Chelsea vs Bayern Munich
Posted on | May 14, 2012 | No Comments
We are almost there! The Premier League has finished with those Noisy Neighbours bagging the tital (by the skin of their teeth). But we still have one MASSIVE football game left (not counting Euro 2012 of course).
Can Roberto Di Matteo’s Blues bag one more scalp in their incredible season?
Beating Bayern on their home turf was always going to be a big ask – just ask the bookies- and that’s not even counting all the suspensions and injuries that Di Matteo’s has to deal with this week. So if you are going to make a Champions League Bet – which way do you go?
Well, as they say, anything can happen. It’s a game of 2 halves. 90 (or 120) minutes stand before the Londoners and European glory. Can they do it?
The only way, we think is another backs to the wall job that they displayed against Barcelona.
Under the Italian coach, Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres have never started together and have been on the pitch simultaneously for just 132 minutes.
Could they be the Batman and Robin for the team?
Chelsea can win. They proved that against Barcelona. But they are not going to have much support in Tottenham, that’s for sure. We shall see.
MGM Resorts Develop a Facebook Casino Social Game. Smart or Bandwagon?
Posted on | May 11, 2012 | No Comments
MGM Resorts is developing a Facebook social Internet casino game, along the lines of Zynga, Farmville etc.
A shrewd move? Or are they piling onto the bandwagon.
Well, it’s a late move, as there are many facebook games out there already, not least the ones rune by the elephant in the room which is Zynga (whose poker app is massively popular). But with MGM’s marketing muscle, it is probably a sensible move. It does make you wonder whether the more traditional casino companies are fleet of foot enough to compete in this space, or whether they’d be better off buying up a start up who is with their big cash piles. The latter is the better strategy, I suspect.
MGM are calling the game “Casino Mogul” but that’s not the final name.
The game will be similar to Farmville and other social media games and aim to provide a Facebook Las Vegas, with only MGM casinos of course. (Aha! I have seen a flaw in their strategy already. Someone’s going to come along and offer what people really want, which is the choice between The Sands, The Bellagio and The Venetian online).
Chairman James Murren said major casino companies have a huge opportunity to get to know people who develop and play games on Facebook and other social media, and these Internet gamers are the same demographics the casinos are working to attract.
At its first, the game will be a cashless site, but Murren said they will move it to real gaming should that become legal. (Err, it already is in many countires. I though Facebook games were global?)
Murren reckons online gambling will be a go in the US in 2012 at a state-by-state level. “We prefer a federal solution,” he said.
He blamed House Republicans for stalling the federal legislation that would regulate and tax Internet casinos at a national level.
Murren stated that MGM Resorts is embracing technology, “not ignoring it like the booksellers did.” Ouch!
Well, we are chomping at the bit to see what this new game is like.
Leeds United Football Club To Build a Super Casino at Elland Road
Posted on | May 4, 2012 | No Comments
Well, they may be mid table in The Championship, but Leeds United has big plans to get back up into the Premier League where many people think they belong (Cantona did used to play for them after all). Not only have they confirmed plans to sign Pompey defender Pearce, but they have also announced plans to bid to run a “super casino” at Elland Road.
The club is one of 5 bidders lobbying Leeds City Council for the go ahead to run a casino in a redeveloped West Stand.
The new stand would be about 7 stories high, with a 21st Century casino on two floors, with around 3,500 square metres of gambling space. The stand would also have 3 tiers of football stadium seating.
United CEO Shaun Harvey says the bid would make Elland Road capable of staging world-class events. Maybe even some world class footie games, eh Shaun?
Leeds is one of 8 towns and cities with permission to license the big new casinos, three times the size of the previous UK norm, with up to 150 slot machines offering jackpots of up to £4,000. Aspers in Stratford has been blazing a trail in this respect and has been a great success- and other towns want a piece of the action.
But it is by no means a done deal that the casino will be built at the Leeds football stadium, as other bidders are in the fray. But who knows?
Grosvenor Casinos has earmarked a site between Eastgate and the West Yorkshire Playhouse, and the former Majestyk nightclub near Leeds Station is also a contender.
I suppose the one thing hindering the Leeds bid for a Leeds United Casino is the lack of transparency concerning who actually owns the club. Is it Ken Bates?
Alledgedly, Ken, a UK tax exile resident in Monaco , bought the club from anonymous investors, via a company registered in Nevis, the West Indies , another tax haven. Hmmmm. Likes a tan then.
It’s a Wynn Wynn in Macau
Posted on | May 2, 2012 | No Comments
It’s a Wynn Wynn in Macau (groan) as Wynn Macau gets the green light for a new Casino on Cotai strip- the world’s largest casino enclave. So now there’ll be 2 Wynns in Macau: the company already runs one gambling palace in the former Portuguese territory in China (now an S.A.R of China) which means Special Administrative Region or “Sicbo And Roulette” to most of the people who flock there.
The competition, which includes the Las Vegas Sands and Galaxy Entertainment, have already opened new casino and hotel complexes on the strip.
Macau is the world’s largest gambling market: gambling revenues in the city state were up an eye watering 42% last year to $33 bn almost 6 times that of Las Vegas and are expected to inflate further.
The current Wynn Macau
Stevie Boy said: “The official transfer of real estate in Cotai makes possible the commencement of the construction phase, of what will be the single most important project in the history of Wynn Resorts.”
Roughly translated, that means “We’ve got the land, so we can start building. It’s going to be big”.
Anyone who is anyone in the gambling world has been piling in to The Cotai strip, an area of reclaimed swamp in Macau, (it used to be 3 sleepy islands connected by bridges with a great restaraurant at the end called Fernados (which still survives)- and has become the area-of-choice for casino operators).
There are new projects on the go that will add to the already impressive mix of shopping, entertainment and gambling. Just last month Las Vegas Sands cut the ribbon on a $5bn resort there.
And Galaxy Entertainment has plans to invest more than $2bn to increase the size of its resort in Cotai. The new phase should be open by mid-2015.
The new Wynn Macau will have a casino (surprise suprise), around 2,000 hotel suites, a convention hall, lots of shopping for the ladies (and the gents), entertainment and lots of swanky restaurants (plus a liberal sprinkling of noodle bars for those that are to busy gambling to eat leisurely).
OK- so if you are off to Macau to sample the bright lights, here’s our top tip for the day. Where’s the best place to stay?
The Best Hotel in Macau.
Well, if you are going there for the casinos, you are going to think we are mad. But trust me, this place is off the radar and beats the glitz hands down. Its the Westin Macau Resort which is a short cab ride (15 mins?) from the action, but this place could be a world away. It’s set on a peaceful bay overlooking the South China Sea- and it’s at the other end of the beach from that fab restaurant we were telling you about above: Fernandos, ie on the last island (back when they were islands) called Coloane.
Go for the garlic deep fired prawns washed down with an ice cold San Miguel (the Philippines imported stuff, not the Hong Kong stuff). Mmmmmmmm. I am drooling.
Stay at the Westin, and you’ll be on the tables in no time, but you’ll also be able to wind down and get some sand in between your toes, without the constant noise of the slot machines (ding, ding, ding, ding).
What Are the Best Odds for the Barcelona Chelsea Champions League Match at the Nou Camp?
Posted on | April 24, 2012 | No Comments
Well, it’s the 2nd leg of the Champion’s League Semi Final between Barcelona and Chelsea at the Nou Camp (or correctly Camp Nou (pronounced “Now”) as they say in Catalan. And we’re going to have a flutter- so which sportsbook has got the best odds on the game?
Well, we’ve taken a look. if you are going for the long shot and are betting on a Chelsea win, you’ll get 8-1 at the moment at Sky Bet (plus a tenner free bet) and 16-1 for Lionel Messi to score first and Barcelona to win 3-0.
You’ll also get 8-1 on Chelsea at Ladbrokes at the moment, and 7-4 on Messi slotting one in first. The odds across the board for a Barca win are pretty poor…..we’re going to steer clear of that one.
And for the hardy gamblers going for a Chelsea win, you’ll get 11-1 over at Bet365. Pretty good odds for the brave, but it’ll be squeaky bum time if they do manage to pull ahead.
After the weekend’s defeat against “Mou”, La Liga is a lost cause for Barcelona, so they are going to have to repeat their Champions League success for some serious silverware this season. Barcelona are 1-0 down after losing at Stamford Bridge last week. Plus, Chelsea rested most of its first team over the weekend. Only 3 players who managed to beat the blaugranas took part in the 0-0 draw against the Gunners. John Terry, Gary Cahill, and Petr Cech started both games, and they are pretty hard.
But Barcelona should have local boy Gerard Pique back in tonight. If he does start, Carles Puyol will probably replace Adriano at left back.
Barcelona should be dominant again in the middle of the park, so if Chelsea are to win they will have to snatch one again on the counter.
Beware Lionel Messi – he hasn’t scored in two matches and he is due a goal. Prior to this, Messi scored in each of his previous 5 matches and 13 of the last 14.
On the blue side of things, Didier Drogba should start Tuesday night. Let’s hope there are less theatrics from the Chelsea strong man. He had an excellent game last week apart from the rolling around. He scored the goal of course, but probably his best contribution was tracking back and doing the defensive work.
Our prediction? Chelsea will nick another goal, but Barcelona will slot 4 in. 2 from Messi, a Puyol header and a toe in from Xavi. You can’t get more of our head on the block! Barcelona is “Més que un club” after all. So Barcelona to win 4-1 and 4-2 on aggregate.
Watch Out Sheldon Adelson, the Asian Taipan Are Catching Up
Posted on | April 17, 2012 | No Comments
Grand National 2012 Tips For Aintree. We Pick The Winners (Hopefully!)
Posted on | April 13, 2012 | No Comments
As is traditional at this time of year, we stick our necks out, and predict the winners (or at least those at the front of the pack for those of you placing each way bets) for the Grand National, 2012. I can’t believe we are here again!
Click HERE for a £50 FREE Grand National Bet on Ladbrokes
OK- here goes. The neck is firmly on the block.
The Going is predicted to be Good to Soft, Good in places.
We’ll be backing 5 horses, as you get paid on the first 5 places this year at Paddy Power. Incidently, Paddy’s are offering a £5 quid FREE bet for the Grand National. Thanks Paddy! (Most bookies suspend their free bets for the big race). Here goes- here are our Four Legged Ferraris:
- Chicago Grey (top class trainer/jockey combo from the Emerald Isle
- West End Rocker – this is a punt on the conditions which we reckon should favour The Rocker.
- Shakalakaboomboom – OK- we admit it. We like the name. If the ground is soft we might change our mind. Likes it firm.
- Black Apalachi – he always runs well here. Even if he doesn’t, we’ll still be “up” on him from previous years
- KillyGlen- Top Tip for an Outsider at the 2012 Grand National?
Other Sports Bets Worth a Mention for The 2012 Grand National: The Best Offers
One of the great things about The Grand National for punters, is that the bookies are falling over each over to entice you in to their sportbooks in the hope that they will see you again betting on the footie or whatever.
We have already mentioned Paddy Power who are paying the first 5 places on each way bets and offering a £5 free bet on The Grand National. Here is a list of the best offers available for the Big Race at Aintree.
The other one to watch out for is Bet Fred which will refund your losing place stake up to £100 if your horse finishes 5th or 6th.
Here are all of the runners:
1. Sychronised
Age 9 weight 11-10
Well, this horse is a Cheltenham Gold Cup winner. Could be up for the double.
2. Ballabriggs
Age 11, weight 11-9
Going for back to back wins after 2011′s romp home.
10. Junior
Age 9 Weight 11-2
Royal Ascot winner in 2010 and at Cheltenham in 2011. The Grand National would fit nicely on the mantlepiece!
16. West End Rocker
Age 10 Weight 10-12
Looking impressive of late
17. On His Own
Age 8 Weight 10-11
Will he live up to his name out ahead of the pack?
19. Cappa Bleu
Age 10 Weight 10-10
Former winner at Cheltenham (Foxhunters)
11. Chicago Grey
Age 9 Weight 10-13
Lots of stamina. One for Obama fans.
27. Killyglen
Age 10 Weight 10-4
Went well last year until falling at the fourth (not that good then)
15. Shakalakaboomboom
Age 8 Weight 10-12
Should attract bets on the name alone.
34. Giles Cross
Age 10 Weight 10-1
Like the going soft this one. Should attract money if there’s been rain.
26. Sunnyhillboy
Age 9 Weight 10-5
Won the Kim Muir at Cheltenham. One to watch
31. Becauseicouldntsee
Age 9 Weight 10-3
Did well at Cheltenham
22. Organisedconfusion
Age 7 Weight 10-8
Trained by Arthur Moore and ridden by Nina Carberry. Organised chaos?
24. Treacle
Age 11 Weight 10-8
Fast improving, let’s hope it’s not a question of looking like being stuck in treacle.
14. Seabass
Age 9 Weight 10-12
On the up- could surprise.
18. Always Right
Age 10 Weight 10-10
Err- problemo. The horse’s always have to turn left at Aintree. Could be an issue.
13. According To Pete
Age 11 Weight 10-12
Firing on All Cylinders of Late. 13 could be lucky for some?
5. Neptune Collonges
Number 5 Age 11 Weight 11-6
Likes to jump.
7. Planet Of Sound
Age 10 Weight 11-5
Finished runner-up in the Hennessy
23. The Midnight Club
Age 11 Weight 10-8
Could improve this year.
8. Black Apalachi
8 is lucky in Chinese. Finished second in 2010 so has the pedigree.
4. Calgary Bay
Age 9 Weight 11-6
Fell last year, but looking good in 2012.
20 Rare Bob
Age 10 Weight 10-9
One of Dessie Hughes’ so don’t rule anything out.
3. Weird Al
Having a decent season. Weird, that.
6. Alfa Beat
Age 8 Weight 11-5
Has been building for the Grand National all season
21. Mon Mome
Age 12 Weight 10-8
Grand National outsider winner in 2009. Who knows?
28. Quiscover Fontaine
Age 8 Weight 10-4
An outsider, but a good punt?
31. State Of Play
Age 12 Weight 10-3
Placed three times in the Grand National for those of you who like an each way bet.
36. Vic Venturi
Age 12 Weight 10-0
3rd time lucky? Will need his luck to improve, doesn’t like bunching.
39. Hello Bud
Age 14 Weight 10-0
Likes a jump.
Arbor Supreme
Age 10 Weight 10-7
Didn’t finish in the last 2 Nationals- 3rd time lucky?
9. Deep Purple
Age 11 Weight 11-3
Had a recent win. Likes it heavy (metal).
35. Midnight Haze
Age 10 Weight 10-0
Has hit top form bang on time.
32. Swing Bill
Likes jumping but does he have the legs for the Big One?
12. Tatenen
Age 8 Weight 10-13
Again, some questions as to whether he has the legs for The National.
29. Tharawaat
Winner in 2007. That was 5 years ago, mind.
38. Viking Blond
Age 7 Weight 10-0
Only just out of short trousers. Could be asking to much.
37. In Compliance
Number 37 Age 12 Weight 10-0
Dessie Hughes again. But In Compliance will need a turbo charger fitted.
40. Neptune Equester
Purely focused on this one race.
33. Postmaster
Age 10 Weight 10-2
Won his last two races, could be worth a punt.
Sheldon Adelson is Busy in Macau and Dreams of Spain
Posted on | April 11, 2012 | No Comments
U.S. multi billionaire gambling mogul Sheldon Adelson has reiterated that he wants to flash the cash in Spain (would be welcome I guess) to the tune of around $35 billion (21 billion quid) on a Las Vegas type strip in either Barcelona or Madrid, with a mega casino complex.
He’s also in busy in Macau, where he recently cut the ribbon for a new casino palace in the former Portuguese colony of Macau, the world’s biggest town, where he is forecast to increase market share over the next year or so. Busy busy Shelders!
The New Cotai Central
And in Spain (either on the Plain in Spain or down with the football crazy Catalans), he is investigating building 12 joined up resorts, with 3,000 rooms each. So about half the size of the Las Vegas strip in Spain for Europe. Each hotel/casino complex would cost between $2.5 billion and $3 billion (1 billion pounds) and would focus on bringing in customers from western and eastern Europe.
BUT ASIA IS WHERE THE ACTION IS STILL
Adelson said he would continue to develop casinos in Asia after the success of his new ventures in Macau and Singapore, (the most profitable casino in the world). Next stop: Japan, Korea and Vietnam. Maybe even Taiwan although they are late to the party, government approval-wise.
And Adelson can probably afford it too- he is one of the world’s richest men worth roughly $25 billion.
Sands China Ltd has two properties in the special administrative region (S.A.R) of China which is Macau which is just one hour by jetfoil from Hong Kong.
Adelson already has a massive Venetian casino, (the world’s sixth-largest building) in Macau. We’ve been- it even makes the Las Vegas Venetian look a little “cosy”. His was the first casino on the Cotai Strip- which links 2 islands.
The new Sands complex is called the Cotai Central and will set Shelders back $5 billion once it is finished. (Less than the Marina Bay Sands in S’Pore by the way). He has spent twice as much as the last casino to go up- Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd’s Galaxy Macau, which opened last year. It’s hot competition out there!
The casino is Himalayan- and Polynesian-themed (I am sure it is very tasteful Squire), and will add 5,800 hotel rooms to Macau as well as the all important 300,000 square feet of gambling space and 1.2 million square feet of shopping, entertainment, dining and convention facilities. (Who sleeps in Macau anyway? All the punters seem to be super-glued to the seats around the Sic Bo tables).
It will include a Conrad and Holiday Inn hotel and will open a Sheraton hotel soon.
There’s a skylit shopping arcade designed as an indoor rainforest, stuffed full of parrot green leafy palms and cascading waterfalls.
And The Sheldernator is not stopping there. Oh no Sir. He’ll be back. There are plans for another 3,600-room property next to Four Seasons.
Adelson, who was born into a Jewish immigrant family in Boston and started life selling newspapers on street corners. He’s come a long way.
Gambling revenues jumped almost 25% in March to 25 billion patacas ($3.1 billion), in line with forecasts. Wowzer. Bang, wollop, kerping, kerching Addels.
US Mega Millions Lottery Jackpot: $640m (£400m). Play From the UK.
Posted on | March 30, 2012 | No Comments
The US Mega Millions lotto jackpot has gone over $640m (£400m). How crazy is that? And I thought the EuroMillions was big. The draw takes place at 23:00 EDT which is 04:00 GMT.
Play the Mega Millions Lottery From The UK HERE. Our advice- get in there early before the draw, as often these kinds of sites have to shut down the service as the demand literally becomes too big for them to manage.
When we first wrote this article this morning, the jackpot was $560 million. Since then, those Crazy American cousins have been buying up tickets faster than a Little Red Corvette and the pot has swelled by another $100m. Incredible…
What would you do with £400m? Even if you went down to the Bugatti showroom to take a look at the most expensive car in the world: Bugatti Veyron Super Sports, you’d be able to afford over 200 of them (but then you’d have a big maintenance bill every month). You’d be worth more than the GDP of Samoa, that Pacific Island where they are so good at playing rugby.
The Mega Millions prize in this US lottery is now the biggest lottery jackpot in history, organisers say.
What Are The Odds of Winning The Mega Millions Jackpot?
Watch this Excellent Video To Learn About How To Work Out the Probability of Winning the Mega Millions. This Will Hurt Your Head, But It is Very Good! Mega Millions Maths……. or Math as they say in the Yoo Ess Ay.
It’s basically (56x55x54x53x52) / (5x4x3x2x1), which is the white ball odds, multiplied by 46, which is the orange ball odds. That comes to 1 in 175,711,536.
This guy on the video puts this into context nicely. the odds of you getting struck by lightning are 1:10,000 roughly. The odds of you getting struck twice by lightning are 1:100 million. So the odds of you winning the Mega Million Jackpot are around one and three quarters times more unlikely than you getting struck by lightning twice. Not very likely, in other words.
The size of the Mega Millions jackpot has been heading up and up since late January: US media have reported a ticket buying frenzy over in the States, with queues of people waiting to buy tickets to earn their chance at scooping the giant prize.
A total of 42 US states sell tickets for the lottery, and tickets cost just $1.
If one person won it, and they wanted to “take the cash”, the maximum instant cash payout would be smaller, at under $400m (oh no! Can you survive on that?)
If the winner wanted the whole $540m they would have to get the prize in 26 annual instalments. (Tough choice actually. You’d go for the 26 annual installments wouldn’t you? I suppose it would depend on whether you were 18 or 88).
The largest jackpot to be paid out previously was a $390m Mega Millions (again) that was shared between two winning tickets in 2007.
Despite the growing frenzy, the odds are still stacked against anyone winning the six-ball jackpot: the chance of winning is just 1:176,000,000.
So can UK residents play the Mega Millions? Can you play it online?
Well, yes you can. But be careful who you play with.
You have to buy Mega Millions tickets from lottery retailers in the 42 playing states plus the District of Columbia and the U. S. Virgin Islands; a total of 44 areas.
Mind you- could be worth a flight out, if you think you are that 1 person in 176,000,000.
There are plenty of sites that offer Mega Millions lotto tickets online. But here’s the thing. If you buy a ticket through someone else, and they have to wander down to the shops to actually physically buy the ticket. And that ticket is the $540 million ticket, are they going to hand it over? I am sceptical!
The only company I vaguely trust in this respect is Win Trillions, and that’s because they scan the ticket for you so at least you have some proof. Then they send it to you by email.
Watch out at other sites. Some may be ok, some may be scams. And you don’t want to fall foul of a Mega Millions Lottery Scam. You’d be sick to the stomach.
For example, I am looking at the following site: Buy Mega Millions Online.
Here’s what it says in the T’s and C’s:
All tickets will remain in the possession of Buy Mega Millions Online, and will not be mailed to you. (!!). Could be OK. Who’s to know?
I’d want to have the physical ticket thanks. And Federal Law prohibits the mailing of lottery tickets. But if you really want to have a crack at it (and let’s face it, it’s not a massive investment), go for Win Trillions
However, you can play the Mega Millions Jackpot if you are a UK Citizen. On theie website, they state that non-US citizens can legally play, and non-US citizens are eligible to win any prize offered in the game.
If you win and you are a UK resident, you would claim the $540million prize in the same way that a US citizen would, but the taxes withheld would be different. BUT, the US and the UK have a Double Taxation Treaty so you are not going to get stung twice. Come on, that’s still $378 million after the withholding tax!: Federal withholding tax for non-US citizens is a flat 30%. And, individual states may have different tax structures for non-US citizens than they do for US citizens, so you might get some more tax grabs at the State level.
The good news is that you would probably pay less tax than a US citizen on a bumper win, if you are a UK tax resident.
If you want to play, we’d advise you to get someone (that you trust!) to buy the tickets for you, OR, buy the tickets yourself if you happen to be over there on holiday.
But I wouldn’t buy an airline ticket to the States on a one in 176 million chance of scooping the jackpot, even if it is $378 million after taxes. You may as well have a punt on the Euro Millions and lose your ticket down the sofa on this side of The Pond.
If you do win, can you do us a favour? Please donate some money for us to the Alzheimer’s Society. $539m ought to do it. Cheers!
By the way, the states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Alaska, Hawaii, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada are not participating in the draw so don’t buy a ticket to Honolulu if you were thinking of flying over to purchase a ticket. No sir.
New Android Casino Over at All Slots
Posted on | March 22, 2012 | No Comments
Bonuses for All Slots Mobile Casino Players
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