South Africa Considers Online Casino Legalisation

South Africa Considers Online Casino Legalisation By Andrew For OnlineCasinoNews.com The legalisation of online gambling in South Africa looks increasingly likely after the National Gambling Board advised Trade and Industry Minister, Mandisi Mpahlwa, of their recommendation for Internet gambling to be given the legislative green light. In what would appear to be a perplexing decision considering that in South Africa only one in ten households has a fixed telephone line, let alone an internet connection, experts still believe that there is opportunity for significant growth ? and local operators are purportedly salivating at the chance to become involved. National Gambling Board CEO, Thibedi Majake, admitted that his Board had little option other than to recommend the legalisation of online gambling. "The board's report says that legalising online gambling will address several issues: local gamblers will have legal protection; it will prevent 'criminal influence and exploitation' in the industry; and it will promote the development of an interactive gambling industry in SA," said Majake.

Chips in Chips

The Inside Scoop: Chips in Chips By Barry Shulman For CardPlayer.com

RFID (radio frequency identification) is the hot new chip-tracking technology that is taking the casino industry by storm. RFID (the patents to which have been obtained by ShuffleMaster Inc. for use in casino applications) works by way of microchips that are placed inside objects and communicate via radio waves with special readers.

Anyone with an AVID chip in their family dog or cat is already using this technology. For our purposes, however, we’re concentrating on the chips that will soon be put inside of our chips (poker, not potato).

Some people might argue that this is simply another “Big Brother” conspiracy straight out of an Orwellian nightmare; but anyone using a member card at his local grocery store or her neighborhood slot club has already made these privacy issues moot. And when it comes to poker tournaments, the benefits certainly outweigh any concerns one might have about privacy; unless one is cheating, of course – in which case it’s safe to assume that one would be prone to being very anti-RFID.

For instance, by eliminating the human-error factor, chip counts would become instant and accurate. Instant chip counts make for better reporting, allowing news-sources to immediately and precisely pass-along the data to you via television, Internet web-cast, what-have-you. Vexed by the time it takes waiting for the player rankings at a break? Well fret no more!

Other benefits include a stop to the passing of chips between players, and a safeguard against any foreign chips being put into tournament play. Also, chips can be immediately verified and tracked at the end of a tournament should they go missing or be stolen.

None of this even gets into the aspects of casino security or live play. Imagine how much time can be saved at the casino cage when cashing in at the end of an all-nighter at the tables when you’re tired and not double-checking the cashier’s counting. The house will now be able to know which cocktail servers are really hustling, and who the big tippers are. Comping as a means by which one’s play is rewarded will become an even more exact science; while the old-school hustler’s move of palming chips will become all but obsolete (be it on the part of the cheater or the dishonest dealer).

Still having doubts? Well, look at it this way: in true Las Vegas fashion, now even our poker chips will have silicon implants!

Online Casino Reports - Online Casino Banking Strategies

Online Casino Banking Strategies The cardinal rule as far as playing at the online casino goes is to always be prepared. As in life, the level of your preparedness will essentially determine the level of success you will experience at online casinos. With this in mind, let�s go over one of the most important aspect to playing at online gambling site, which is online casino banking. Approach playing at the online casino as you would any normal business transaction, meaning that you should strive for the highest return for your initial investment. What do I mean by investment? Well, when you sign up to get your online casino account, to start gambling you will be required to make an initial deposit of the amount of your choice. Many rookies make the mistake of not probing a bit further and looking over the fine print. On the homepage of every online casino you�ll find a section detailing the online casino bonus policy. This section details the amount of money that will be deposited into your account in accordance to sum of your deposit. Think of it as a gesture of good faith from the online casino, welcoming you aboard. In the game of casino gambling, your bankroll represents your lifeline! This means that the higher your bankroll is the longer you�ll be able to stretch you playing session at the online casino. Accumulating bonuses is the best way to enlarge your bankroll, other than winning of course.

Underwater Poker - What's Next?

Underwater Poker - What's Next? By Michael Friedman For PokerNews.com In what may be the most interesting poker tournament of the year, Juha Helppi became the first-ever underwater poker champion in the Interpoker.com Extreme Poker event. Created with the idea of testing top player's abilities in extreme situations, this event certainly gave the players as much as they could handle. While on his way to victory, Helppi had to deal with water in his mask and a dangerous stingray, all while sitting on the reef floor and playing the likes of Phil 'the Unabomber" Laak, Kenna 'Cowboy' James and Louise H., an online qualifier. For some photos of the event and the rest of the article - click here

Poker News: Southern California Poker Tour Producer Files for Bankruptcy

Southern California Poker Tour Producer Files for Bankruptcy By Oliver Tse For PokerNews.com Southern California Poker Tour (SCPT) Executive Producer Barry Dodd has filed for liquidation under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. According to a clerk of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego, Dodd's bankruptcy filing was his second in the past 7 years. Dodd listed over 100 creditors in his latest bankruptcy filing, which was primarily caused by financial problems encountered by the SCPT during its short existence. Barry Dodd and his son Matthew founded the SCPT in 2004 as a "minor league" televised poker series, featuring tournaments with buy-ins in the $200-$300 range, designed to attract journeymen professional and recreational poker players in Southern California. Click here to finish reading the article at PokerNews.com