PartyGaming Plc. is one of the gambling operators that is hoping the United States government finally gets its act together and regulates the online gaming industry. While they are waiting on that to happen, they also have been on negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice.

A settlement is reported to be close in the deal. The settlement will happen in order to forgive illegal online gambling that was taken place in the United States. The company was accepting bets in the US before the government's 2006 attempt to slow the industry.

The deal could be a record amount of money. Rumors are circulating that the money paid to the U.S. could reach $1 billion. That figure could be the end result of two years of negotiating between the two sides. The$1 billion amount would also be 40 times more money than the US gave the entire island nation of Antigua for violating WTO agreements, which is a much larger law violation than that PartyGaming had supposedly committed.

PartyGaming is looking to settle the dispute. They are concerned about their shareholders in London, and do not want to risk losing any of their shareholders. They also would feel much more comfortable once the settlement is in place.

"Their executives can also stop looking over their shoulders when they come to the U.S.," said Joseph Kelly, a law professor at State University of New York-Buffalo.

While the settlement could mark the end of a chapter for PartyGaming, it will not be an indication into the future of online gambling in the United States. Several representatives are trying to pass a Bill that would regulate the industry, instead of isolating it.

The United States has been dodging bullets for a long time when it comes to their policies on Internet gambling. Several inquiries have been made into whether the U.S. has committed trade violations for their discrimination against European online gaming companies.

The European Commission has let the matter go on for longer than it would have liked, and because of that, have now launched an investigation of the United States' actions.

"The cumulative effect of U.S. WTO related actions over the past year have forced the European Union to take this drastic step. The line of inquiry opened by the questionnaire could reveal that the U.S. is engaging in unfair, discriminatory, and selective prosecution of European online gaming operators," said Naotaka Matsukata, a senior advisor to Alston & Bird, LLP.

While the dispute is rising against the United States, there are ways to avoid having further sanctions. Representative Barney Frank has sponsored a Bill that would end the trade debate by regulating online gambling.

The latest investigation has caused concern to many. "Congress should not sit on the sidelines as the USTR unilaterally grants trade concessions and hypocritically discriminates against against foreign online gambling operators. Congress needs to become part of the decision making process and create a non-discriminatory market for Internet gambling in the U.S. as a way to restore integrity to the international trading system," said Jeffrey Sandman, spokesman for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative.

Once the investigation is complete, the European Commission could work with the U.S. to find a way to stop the discrimination. If those efforts fail, a case could be pursued against the U.S. to the WTO.

The Online Bingo Industry is finally receiving the recognition it deserves by rewarding the best in the online bingo industry at this years Official Bullet Business Online Bingo Awards 2008 sponsored by Paysafecard. The awards, which will be taking place alongside the Annual Online Bingo Summit (17th – 18th June 2008) will be the first time individual online bingo companies are recognised for there successes in the Online Bingo Industry specifically.

With seven categories covering Best Newcomer, Best Online Bingo Portal, Best Marketing Campaign, Best Affiliate Program, Online Bingo Software and the much coveted Online Bingo Operator 2008 the awards have also set aside a special recognition for Innovation… and about time too it seems!

Seven recognised industry experts were brought together by Bullet Business in order to select the categories and to decide on the nominees for each category. "The panellists make up a representation of the online Bingo industry right now – a snapshot of the current market, with representatives from operations, technology, supplier, affiliate, analyst and association" Said Ravi Virpal, Director and Organiser for the Bullet Business Awards and Summit and continued "The aim has always been to give the Online Bingo Industry the recognition it deserves as a stand alone industry whilst also recognising the companies that have pushed to make this happen… This is a very exciting event and a big deal to anybody in the Online Bingo Industry".

The panellists include Michael Braga of Mice & Dice (Jackpot Joy), Phil Fraser of Which Bingo, David Hunter of Paysafecard, Jessica Luthi of Affiliate Program Advice, Steve Cook of Parlay Entertainment, Steven Baldwin of The Bingo Association and Ravi Virpal of Bullet Business. Following hours of discussion and deliberation the seven panellists settled on the categories and nominees.

Highlighting the need for an Industry Awards Michael Braga said "Within the last 12 months Bingo has entered the national consciousness thanks to the effects of the smoking ban and the proliferation of advertising hence the Awards this year are even more relevant and timely than previous. We are starting through this process to distinguish Bingo as its own industry sector, its own entity".

In support Phil Fraser added "For too long online bingo has been seen as a small adjunct to the online gaming market. The fact that there are awards specifically for the online bingo does indeed make a major contribution towards recognising the Bingo industry as a stand alone industry".

Recognising the need to separate Online Bingo from the other Online Gaming products David Hunter stated "Previously Bingo would typically be grouped in with Casino and/or lotto type games, whereas Poker and Sports betting would be given separate reference. Now we can see Bingo being recognised as an important vertical sector in its own right".

Commenting on the selection and nomination process Phil Fraser stated "The categories cover the depth and breadth of the online bingo business as it stands today in 2008. The selection process was vigorous, well debated and received contributions from a wide range of sources."

Steve Cook, MD for Parlay Entertainment, said: "The Bingo Awards are in recognition of the phenomenal growth of the online bingo industry and an acknowledgement of the key players that aspire to be the best of the best and stand out from the rest! All the nominations show a strong category of excellence and those that excel in providing a quality customer experience. There is tough competition in the market between online brands that is also driving the bingo industry to new heights".

Collectively the panel have agreed that there is a real need to recognise the best in Online Bingo. The final selection process belongs to the delegates at this years 3rd sell-out Online Bingo Summit. "Now that the categories have been set and the nominees have been recognised, it's up to the 250+ delegates to decide by using their onsite voting card" said Virpal "We have a fantastic evening planned with a networking cocktail party, awards dinner, ceremony and then it's off to the iGaming Social After Party to celebrate with the winners".

Today PokerStars, the world's largest online poker site, announced the opening of Macao's first live poker room - PokerStars Macao. Housed in Macao's prestigious Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino in Cotai, it will have a 250 person capacity and offer cash games as well as a robust weekly tournament calendar.

The newly appointed poker room will launch on May 23 with a No-Limit Texas Hold'em Charity Poker Tournament to raise money for the victims of the recent earthquake in Western China. Participants will compete for $150,000 HKD in prizes, including entries to the $25,000 HKD buy-in September 2008 APPT Macao, after making a charitable donation to participate. The suggested minimum donation is $2,000 HKD.

"PokerStars is committed to the development of poker in Asia" said Joe Hachem, Poker World Champion and member of Team PokerStars Pro. "Although Macao has overtaken Las Vegas as the gaming capital of the world, it was only with the incredible success of the Asia Pacific Poker tour last November that Texas Hold'em poker started growing there. PokerStars planted the seeds and now this beautiful Poker room is going to be the garden where future champions learn to play. I wouldn't be surprised if the next World Champion comes from Macao or elsewhere in China."

Gary Woollard, General Manager of Grand Waldo Casino believes: "The arrival of poker as a gaming option in Macao's casinos will encourage more people to come and enjoy all Macao has to offer. We are delighted to have a company with the reputation of PokerStars to manage what is sure to be a very successful and popular poker room."

The charity event will be the first event of the "Macao Poker Cup" – a series of poker tournaments scheduled during the May 23-25 weekend, including a $1,000 HKD buy-in Deep-Stack event, the $10,000 buy-in Red Dragon event and the first of many satellites to the Asia Pacific Poker Tour's second season's events. Visit Pokerstarsmacau.com for details.

The full schedule for the Asia Pacific Poker Tour's second season will be announced shortly, but will kick-off at Grand Waldo Casino with the September 1-6 APPT Macao Main Event, a $25,000 HKD buy-in No-Limit Hold'em poker tournament with a guarantee of $10,000,000 HKD.

The luxurious Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino is one of Macau's newest five-star hotel resorts and gives poker players, their friends and family, an opportunity to explore one of Asia's most fascinating locations. With its wealth of Chinese temples, Portuguese monuments and beautiful gardens, Macau's historic centre has been designated a World Heritage site.

Jeffrey Haas, President of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour, comments: "Poker has grown tremendously in Asia and we are very excited to be driving that growth, particularly as we were the first to produce live poker in Macau. After the success of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour last November, a tremendous poker boom has resulted in Hong Kong and Macau – but it's just starting. The significance of the PokerStars Macau poker room on Asia will likely parallel the effect that Chris Moneymaker had on the USA when he won the 2003 WSOP."

Minister of Finance and the Economy Dr. Errol Cort travelled to Washington yesterday ahead of a high level meeting this week with the US Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Susan Schwab and other officials in the USTR’s office.

The meeting, scheduled for this Friday, is aimed at finally resolving the Internet gambling conflict between Antigua and Barbuda and the United States over market access for Internet gambling countries registered in Antigua and Barbuda. The trade dispute at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has stretched on for several years but both parties agreed to suspend the most recent arbitration process in the hope that this week’s meeting will create a framework for an amicable resolution.

The finance minister is expected to be joined by Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the OAS Deborah-Mae Lovell for the meetings in Washington.

Earlier this year, Antigua and Barbuda submitted a proposal for resolution to the issue and received a counter-proposal from the USTR’s office. Cabinet rejected that counterproposal, but Dr. Cort said that negotiations had been resumed. Neither the contents of the proposal nor the counter proposal has been revealed and Dr. Cort has declined to speculate on a minimum settlement acceptable to Antigua and Barbuda or reveal what the sticking points in the negotiations have been.

The time allotted for the conclusion of the current round of talks is drawing to a close. The two countries applied to the WTO to suspend all legal efforts in Geneva until 6 June. If no resolution is achieved before then, the legal trade battle will be automatically resumed.

Both Cort and Antigua and Barbuda’s attorney at the WTO Mark Mendel have expressed the opinion that an amicable resolution would be preferable to the continuation of the protracted WTO battle.

Meanwhile, the Antigua Sun has been informed that the finance minister will travel from Washington to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada to attend the 38th Annual Meeting of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

The CDB meeting will run from 26 - 29 May and will be attended by several Caribbean heads of government and finance ministers along with regional and international banking officials and representatives from major international organisations.

Jack Hinchey, from Ontario took the million dollar first prize at the World Poker Crown final in Barcelona this weekend.

He says that his only goal was to win enough cash to put his granddaughter through university.

Hinchey's granddaughter, Victoria, is 10 years old, and was on his mind throughout the competition, as he faced off against some of the best poker players in the world.

After taking the first prize, Hinchey travelled back home to be greeted by friends and family.

Hinchey is not a professional player, but he has been playing poker for about 30 years. He entered the Internet competition, and bested more than 2000 players to become one of the top ten players who were flown to Barcelona for the tournament.

Hinchey, 49, works as a plumbing repair man, and said that winning the cash was a 'surreal experience', and that he had 'the week of a lifetime'. "What's the secret of my success? I play for my granddaughter Victoria," said Hinchey. “I put my picture back out and things went gangbusters after that”, he added, referring to a picture of his granddaughter that he used as a good luck charm, and pulled out when the game was not going well for him.

Now that he has returned home, Hinchey plans to sleep for a while, commenting that the tournament was exhausting for him.

Titan Poker is one of the Internet’s premier online poker sites and is a major force to be reckoned with in the online poker community. Now they are planning on making themselves a force to be reckoned with in the live poker community as they host their first live poker tournament. Titan will be joining some of their online competitors in the field of live tourney play and they are very excited about the venture.

Known as the fastest growing online poker room, Titan is hosting the Eurocity Poker Tour (ECPT) Madrid Open which starts on May 9 and goes through May 12, 2008. It is going to be held at the luxurious and glamorous Casino Gran Madrid and 200 poker players from around the world have been invited to attend. Those players won $3,000 prize packages offered through Titan Poker by playing in the sites qualifying satellite games that have been running since February. The packages include round-trip airplane tickets, three nights of accommodations, and the 1,000 Euro buy-in fee for the tournament. Players from as far away as Canada have been arriving in the city in preparation of the event.

Amateur poker players like Italian Massimiliano Assini have the chance to make a name for themselves in this event. Assini won one of the qualifying satellites and stated, "Thanks to Titan Poker, I have been able to cultivate my passion."

Titan Poker is hoping to send more of its online players to poker tournaments and is offering qualifiers to the Irish Open in Dublin. The World Poker Showdown Ocean World in another event Titan is offering satellite qualifiers for. They want to be able to send amateurs like Assini to many of these events, but realized that they had to start somewhere. The ECPT is the start of the online poker websites foray into the world of live poker matches, and it’s expected to be the first of many.

A spokeswoman for Titan Poker stated, "At the rate of our expansion, and considering the number of players we are sending to the tournaments every month, it only makes sense that Titan Poker should take it to the next level," when asked what spurred the sudden interest in live play and why Titan Poker wanted to pursue this route. At the rate Titan Poker is going, there will be a lot of players going to the next level when they play with this online poker community.

Mike Ashley, owner of the Newcastle United Football Club increased his fortunes earlier this week when he won £1.3 Million on a single spin of the roulette wheel at an exclusive casino.

Ashley is the 54th richest man in Britain, and won the money at the Fifty London Casino in Mayfair. After placing a series of bets totally £480,000 around his lucky number, the number 17.

According to some reports, the 45 year old businessman, and former owner of the Sports Direct chain entered the casino, placed his bets, and then left the casino 15 minutes later, and with almost a million pounds more money than he had entered with.

The bet he placed was a 'complete' – where he bet on every combination that would include the number 17 – a bet on the number itself, black, an odd number, and a number between one and 18. When he saw the ball land on 17, he looked up at the croupier and said 'That'll do me, thanks', and left the table to the applause of other gamblers.

Ashley is a member of the casino, which charges a membership fee of £650. The number 17 is his lucky number, and he wears that number on the back of his shirt when he is watching his team play football.

A man has been arrested following a shooting at the Star City Casino in Sydney, Australia. The shooting occurred at 2PM AEST. A female fitness instructor was injured in the incident.

It is understood that the victim was working in the gym on the fifth floor of the casino when the attack took place. She was shot twice in the hip. She was taken to hospital immediately and is now in a stable condition.

Approximately an hour after the attack, police apprehended a heavily armed man spotted near the casino.

Inspector Brenton Lee said “He went to the fifth floor [... of the casino ...] and there he saw a person he knew and shot her several times, [...] He fled the scene here in the Pyrmont area and was captured. At the time of his arrest he appeared to be wearing false facial hair.”

Inspector Lee said that the man was carrying three semi-automatic pistols. “There were a number of firearms it is alleged that he was carrying at the time of his arrest, as well as several ways to disguise himself”.

It has been said that the man had paid a taxi driver to wait for him at the casino, and it is unknown why he chose to flee on foot instead of returning to the taxi.

The names of the victim and the attacker have not yet been released, although it is known that the shooter was a 25 year old male, and was known to the victim.

According to MGM Mirage’s CEO Terry Lanni, the second largest casino operator may have to split their company in two in order to weather the economic crisis occurring across the United States. If the company decides to go forward with this plan, the hotel and casino operations will become independent of one another. He went on to say that the companies executive branch was becoming ‘frustrated with the favorable multiples that pure hotel companies enjoyed compared with gaming companies.’

Last year the company created the MGM Mirage Hospitality division which was designed to promote the hotel brand further and develop luxury hotel products. The joint venture partner’s in this endeavor are Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi and Diaoyutai State Guesthouse of Beijing. Lanni stated that if the current trend continues, they will most assuredly split the company.

The current economic crisis in the United States has been affecting the gambling industry, which has in recent years been considered recession proof. MGM Mirage’s quarterly profit has fallen 30% while their shares surprisingly enough where up more than 6% as the company battled to find ways to enhance their flagging revenue. Lanni is hoping that the second quarter profits are better than the first.

MGM, however, is the fourth casino company that reported losses during the last quarter. Las Vegas Sands Corporation, Wynn Resorts Ltd., and Boyd Gaming Corporation have also seen losses and the privately owned Tropicana Entertainment LLC filed for bankruptcy protection earlier in the week. The Bellagio, Circus Circus and Mandalay Bay resorts in Las Vegas, all owned by MGM, saw their first-quarter net income fall $118.3 million.

Spending by tourists and locals alike in Las Vegas is linked to the economy and the entire city has become more expensive over the last few years because of the amount of new properties that have been developed. In addition to the cost of staying at one of the resort casinos, most people do not have the extra disposable income they usually do. Gas and food prices are rising at a tremendous rate and most people are not taking the vacations they used to.

MGM is currently in the development stage of numerous casinos around the United States, including the highly anticipated CityCenter project that was due to open by 2010. In an effort to reduce costs, the sold half of the CityCenter development rights to joint venture partner Dubai World who are planning on acquiring at least 20% of the MGM company itself.

The newly released PartyCasino video slot is a 5 reel and 20 payline game and is based on a themes that needs little introduction once you have heard the famous music - Mission Impossible, which was recently featured as a remake of the old classic starring the famous coach hopper Tom Cruise. The symbols used in their game are based on scenes from the movies like high speed train chases and big explosions.

The best part of the game is the Bonus Round. It is based on the film's nail-biting vault entry scene. The player takes on the character of Ethan Hunt who has to find vital security information that is tuned into big cash prizes.

There is also a Wild symbol in the form of the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) picture. This symbol may appear on reels 2, 3 and 4 and substitutes for all symbols other than the Scatter.

Ethan Hunt is the scatter symbol. Three or more Scatters left to right or right to left will trigger the Bonus Round.

The game also has free spins that are triggered by the Finger Print symbol on reel 1 or the Retina Scan symbol reel 5. The number of spins awarded are random.

The bet range is between $1 and $200 per spin.

PartyCasino offers a 100% to $100 first deposit bonus and regular reload bonuses.

Party Casinoino is owned and operated by Party Gaming. US real money players unfortunately not accepted.

The final table for the the 2008 World Series of Poker will be played in November – almost four months after the nine players earned their spot in the no-limit Texas Hold 'em tournament finals.

The organizers plan to televise final table play the same day the winner is crowned, and the change is intended to heighten the suspense and hype surrounding the most well known, and richest poker tournament.

In the past, the World Series of Poker final table was played at the end of the two week $10,000 buy in main event, with the winner being reported immediately. The final table was not aired on ESPN until several months later.

This year, the World Series of Poker Main Event will begin on July 3rd, with the final table being decided by July 14th. The final table will then begin on November 9th, with the winner being decided early on Nov 11th, just before the final table competition is shown on ESPN.

Jeffery Pollack, the tournament commissioner, said “I think the goal is to create a greater sense of anticipation for the outcome of our final table. We want people, as many people as possible around the world, talking about who's going to win.”

The Casino Association of South Africa (CASA), a voluntary group that represents thirty seven out the thirty eight licensed casinos in the country, has commented that it would like to be officially recognized as the industry representative.

Speaking at the National Gambling Conference that took place in Johannesburg last month, the chairperson of the Casino Association of South Africa said that the organization should be a natural choice due to the huge strides that is has made in the country's gambling industry.

He pointed out that CASA is committed to strict standards among its members, thanks to a code of conduct put in place. In the five years that the group has been operating, CASA has reported extensively on the enormous contributions that its casinos have made to the South African economy, as well as the advantages to local communities who have benefited from the casino constructed in their areas.

CASA chairperson, Jabu Mabuza said at the Conference: "Despite the fact that we are a purely voluntary association with no formal status recognized in the country's gambling legislation, the scope of our work since our founding five years ago has demonstrated quite clearly the need and value for such a body."

The South African gambling industry has grown enormously in the past seven years, attracting over R15-billion in investment opportunities and creating over 100,000 jobs. Members of CASA include Century Casinos, Gold Reef Casino, London Clubs International, Peermont Global, Sun International and Tsogo Sun.

Jabu Mabuza, on the organization's website, wrote: "CASA has always paid considerable attention to the casino sector and while we believe that our track record in this respect has been exemplary, we have commissioned Empowerdex to conduct a thorough assessment of our achievements in this area, with a view to maintaining our leading position as pioneers in the management of assets in Southern Africa's tourism and leisure industry."

The World Series of Golf today announced that online poker giant, Full Tilt Poker, will become the title sponsor of the Las Vegas-based sports and entertainment event that has been describe as the most innovative golf tournament format since the Skins Game.

The 2007 World Series of Golf inaugural event was hosted by the Mirage Hotel & Casino and aired on national television in June 2007 and earned a viewership of more than 2 million domestic viewers. The event included 60 amateur golfers with Mark Ewing, a 31-year-old day-trader from Newport Beach, CA, taking home the top prize of $250,000. Notable personalities playing in the inaugural tournament included poker stars Phil Ivey, Phil Gordon and Rhett Butler, former NFL quarterback Mark Dyle, and former major league baseball player, Dusty Allen.

The sponsorship partnership will yield a variety of strategic branding opportunities between the World Series of Golf and Full Tilt Poker. This includes multi-platform branding opportunities that span broadcast television, international print media and the Internet. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“The World Series of Golf is a sports and entertainment company with a global strategy that encompasses live events, television content and online enterprises,” said Terry Leiweke, president and CEO of the World Series of Golf. “As we strategically grow our brand, the synergies that will result from our relationship with the leading virtual cardroom service will be mutually beneficial to both our companies.”

Members of “Team Full Tilt,” a select group of the world’s finest professional poker players, will be well represented in this year’s tournament field with avid golfers and world-class poker players Phil Ivey, David Benyamine, Brandon Adams, David Grey, Allen Cunningham, David Oppenheim, Andy Bloch, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, and Erick Lindgren scheduled to participate in the World Series of Golf live event that will be played May 12 - 15 at Paiute Golf Resort in Las Vegas, NV.

Played in a patent-pending method of play, the World Series of Golf allows for high stakes to ride on each and every shot of the tournament. Similar to poker, players must ante up before teeing off at each hole. Depending on the outcome of the tee shots, the player can then raise, call, check or fold on subsequent shots, with the winner of the hole collecting the pot. The result is a dramatic competition in which every shot counts, and wagering strategy is just as important as skill. As in poker, when a player no longer has any chips to ante up, that player is eliminated. The winner of each group moves onto the next round until the final group yields the golfer who is crowned the champion of the World Series of Golf.

This year’s telecast is scheduled to air domestically, throughout the United States on June 28 and 29 on CBS Sports. Check local listings for times and details.