According to a story at majorwager.com, the European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, Charlie McCreevy, said his body is attempting to get member states to allow a free market in respect to online gaming.

According to the story:

The European Commission has initiated infringement proceedings against 10 European Union member states and it is possible that it would start similar proceedings against another five member states.

In an interview with The Times (of Malta) during his one-day visit to the island, Mr McCreevy said the European Commission was pleased that Malta made itself an attractive location for many elements of the gaming industry. The Commission had absolutely no problems with Malta. The Commission has problems with EU member states that are imposing restrictions on foreign gaming operators that set up shop in those same countries.

Whole thing here.

The EC is also meeting with other member states; for instance, McCreevy will also be talking with Greek officials about Greece opening its doors to foreign operators. See that story here.

The casino itself added money to the funds raised by the celebrity tournament, which was designed to raise awareness for the situation in the war-torn region of Darfur in Sudan.

According to pokernews.com:

The pair brought some of their celebrity friends out to the Inland Empire to play some poker, including Duke’s brother Howard Lederer , Chris Ferguson, Phil Laak, and Andy Bloch. The LA Dodgers young first baseman James Loney was in attendance, as were charity poker regulars Willie Garson from “Sex and the City”; Josh Malina from “The West Wing”; and Scott Ian of “Anthrax”.

Whole thing here.

Ante Up for Africa will also hold an event at the World Series of Poker on July 2, before the main event begins.

The site said it hopes to differentiate itself from the Microgaming Network, but it will continue to use Microgaming software.

According to a press release:

Initially, PokerTime will begin by moving all of their Texas Hold’Em tables with stakes of $1/$2 and below onto a private network. At this point, nothing will change with regards to their high-stakes tables.

PokerTime strongly believes that this move will enable them to attain a better lifetime value from their players. And, in turn, they will be able to provide better value to their players in the form of exclusive promotions, such as bigger bonuses and private high-stakes tournaments.

Whole thing here.

The ban there has been in effect since 2006 and will now likely remain on the books unless an appeal of the case is successful, or new legislation is passed to end the band.
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Jim Ryan, who has 22 years of experience in internet gaming, was given the position, according to a story at pokernews.com:

Previously, he was CEO of St. Minver Limited, the largest operator of European gaming networks. Ryan was also President and CEO of Excapsa Software, a leading internet gaming software developer whose licensees included UltimateBet, and CFO of CryptoLogic, Inc., an internet gaming software developer.

Whole thing here.

Ryan succeeds Mitch Garber, whose resignation was announced in March

The company also promoted John O’Malia from chief games officer to managing director.

No new shows are in production, and GSN has not yet bought new episodes of the show.
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According to a story at pokernews.com, the MGM Mirage and Pequot nation venture costs $700 million and includes “restaurants, clubs, high-end stores, state-of-the-art meeting facilities, and a 4,000-seat theatre,” in addition to 825 new rooms and suites:

With the soon-to-be unveiled expansion at Foxwoods, MGM achieves a presence in a growing, but competitive, region where they had none before.

The partnership is also compelling for the Piquot nation. While Foxwoods has always been a favorite among northeastern players, the gaming-centric and somewhat hotel space-challenged casino was positioned as a regional gambling destination. But competition has risen in the region, a trend that will likely continue as surrounding states revisit their gambling regulations. With the expansion, Foxwoods can differentiate itself as one of the only resort-style casinos in the area.

Whole thing here.

And here’s the Web site for MGM at Foxwoods.

Earlier this year, the Landsretten, below the Supreme Court in Denmark’s legal landscape, ruled that poker is not legal in the country and should not be organized by private clubs. But the Danish Poker Federation put together an appeal that was accepted by the Supreme Court and is good news for poker enthusiasts in Denmark.

According to pokernews.com:

It is common that when a case like this is brought to the Supreme Court, there is good reason to believe that a higher body has come to dislike the decision made in Landsretten on December 18th last year. By that time many clubs around Denmark were filled with poker enthusiasts who enjoyed playing in their local club. Ever since the verdict, all these clubs had to take measures to avoid breaking the law.

Now, since the Supreme Court has opened up the case again, the former rules are the ones that count, allowing private clubs to organize tournaments. It would be a big surprise if the final outcome would be anything else than positive for the Danish poker community.

Whole thing here.

The case could be an important one for the European Union in general as it grapples with state monopolies in online gambling and poker. The EU is trying to get member nations to fall in line and allow a free market for online gaming.

It will be the fourth season in a row with a new hostess for the WPT, which is in its sixth season.

According to pokerpages.com:

WPT Enterprises, who owns WPT, issued a brief statement was issued saying: “Layla Kayleigh brought great edge, wit, and personality to the World Poker Tour as hostess in Season VI, and we sincerely wish her well as she continues to explore her TV career. We are currently casting for the Season VII TV hostess role, and look forward to introducing her to everyone soon.”

Rumors on message boards are already circulating regarding who will replace Kayleigh in Season VII. The fan favorite seems to be online video reporter Kimberly Lansing.

Whole thing here.

According to her blog, Kayleigh decided not to return for the next season:

WPT were kind enough to ask me back for a 2nd season, however after much thought and deliberation I decided that I really want to minimize traveling in my schedule this year, focus more on my health and personal relationships, and they were very understanding to where I was coming from.

The WSOP announced a multi-year deal with XP events, which is “a leading retail merchandise management and fulfillment house,” according to a press release. Merchandise will also be distributed in other ways other than the Vegas store.

According to the release:

XP Events will manage the officially-licensed WSOP online store, officially-licensed retail outlets throughout Las Vegas during the May 30-July 14, 2008 tournament, and manage a new Official World Series of Poker retail store, coming soon.

“XP Events is a leader in sports merchandising and marketing and we’ve been impressed by their work with the NBA and NHL,” said Jeffrey Pollack, the Commissioner of the World Series of Poker. “XP’s expertise will broaden our footprint and provide our fans and players, and poker enthusiasts everywhere, with a world-class shopping experience.”

Whole thing here.

XP Events has managed retail sales for the NBA and NHL All-Star games, the World Baseball Classic, the President’s Cup, the Tour de France, and the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The WSOP online store, wsopshop.com will be relaunched Thursday with new products available.