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It appears as if Usain Bolt might race Chris Johnson for charity. This is getting a bit of run on ESPN today.  And as such Sportsbook.com has released odds on Usain Bolt vs. Chris Johnson. 

Bolt -500

CJ +250

Usain Bolt is a Jamaican sprinter and a three-time Olympic gold medalist. He holds the world record for the 100 metres, the 200 metres and, along with his teammates, the 4×100 metres relay. He also holds the Olympic record for all three of these races. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Bolt became the first man to win three sprinting events at a single Olympics since Carl Lewis in 1984, and the first man to set world records in all three at a single Olympics. In 2009 he became the first man to hold the 100 and 200 m world and Olympic titles at the same time.

Chris Johnson is an NFL rushing champ for the Tennessee Titans.  He will play in the 2010 Pro Bowl in Miami. 

The two camps are reportedly discussing the distance of the race with Johnson wants a shorter sprint while Bolt would prefer to keep things closer to 100 meters.

Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter 

Super Slots Casino While other online casinos are in the process of finishing up New year’s slot tournaments, Super Slots Casino has moved on. The casino is offering a month-long tournament that began January 1st and will run through February 1st.

The tournament, Cool Winnings, is being held on the Winter Wonderland slot game. The event has one of the highest prize pools to start 2010, with $100,000 being given away to the top 275 players.

“I started playing the Super Slots tournaments in October of last year,” said online player Mariam G., “They keep me occupied for weeks at a time, as opposed to other casinos that only hold weekend tournaments. I will certainly be staying with Super Slots in the new year.”

The first place winner for the Cool Winnings slot tournament will take home $50,000 in cash. Second place is slotted to receive $20,000, and third $7,500. There are two fourth place winners, five fifth place winners, ten sixth place winners, and twenty seventh place winners. Places eighth through tenth will pay another 235 players.

Super Slots is part of the Vegas Technologies network of online casinos. That is good news for US players that are having a hard time finding an online casino that will allow them to sign up.

One thing Gambling911.com readers are loving these days is news related to high stakes online poker players, many of whom are now more popular than their professional counterparts.

The online poker network of Cereus, home to Gambling911.com endorsed UB.com, can’t be liking a gentleman by the handle of  XBLINK very much of late though.

PokerTableRatings.com, a really good site specializing in coverage of the online poker high stakes online poker player phenomenon, reported on what went down last week witn XBLINK in one of the Cereus card rooms:

XBLINK has taken the cereus network by storm over the past month as he rode out one of the sickest heaters in online history. His identity is not certain, however two plus two member, ‘89blist’, has claimed to be cereus’s XBLINK, and the short account he gave of how he amassed his large bankroll was truly amazing. Apparently, XBLINK entered an $11 MTT on the 11th November and took 1st place for a $745 prize and ground this to a whopping 6-figure bankroll playing PLO in just 5 days! From the sixth day onwards, he has been playing $25/$50 up to $200/$400 and hit a career peak of $578,579 in just over a month.

His heater continued this week as he earned a staggering $588,190.07 in just 4 days of playing the best high stakes players on cereus.

UB.com itself has been reporting on XBLINK via its own blog in recent months.

Check this out:

"He went from $11 in his account to freakin’ $200/$400 No-Limit in, what? A couple of weeks? Wow. And please look at that final line, "Hope I dont go busto this time". He ran $11 into a six-figure bankroll."

Truly amazing!

Ace King, Gambling911.com

Isle of Capri US-based gaming companies were hoping that Monday would be the start of a strong finish to 2009. Instead, the industry saw minor decreases in stock prices across the board, led by Isle of Capri Casinos.

None of the major companies lost more than two percent from their starting price this week. Isle of Capri dropped 1.60%, to $7.40 a share, and that was the largest drop of the day.

Century Casinos was next with a loss of 1.49%, and MGM Mirage stock dropped 1.47%. The stock prices for these two companies were $2.65, and $9.36, respectively. MGM is down over $6 a share since January 2nd.

All of these casino gaming companies are hoping for a positive turn in the market in 2010. Analysts, however, caution that the market might not return until 2011. Continued improvement for most companies is expected.

Wynn Resorts stock was down less than one percent Monday, closing at $58.89. Wynn remains the top gaming stock on the US market. Las Vegas Sands stock finished at $15.21 today, also a decrease of less than one percent.

December 25 – Al Simmons, NFL analyst at BetUS.com, makes his picks for week 16 in the NFL:

Sunday December 27, 2009

Tampa Bay 2-12 (Road: 1-6) 1:00m ET
New Orleans 13-1 (Home: 6-1) TV: FOX

After their loss last week against the Cowboys, the Saints will try to make a statement. But if you really think about it they don’t have much too fight about since the Vikings are 2 games away from them.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers +14
New Orleans Saints -14
O /U 49

BetUS.com pick: The Saints will win but they won’t cover.

Houston 7-7 (Road: 4-3) 1:00pm ET
Miami 7-7 (Home: 4-2) TV: CBS

It’s hard to think these two teams will even qualify to get in the playoffs but at least they won’t rest until there really is no longer a shot.

Houston Texans +3
Miami Dolphins -3
O /U 45

BetUS.com pick: Dolphins will cover.

Sign up HERE to start betting on NFL!

Carolina 6-8 (Road: 2-5) 1:00pm ET
NY Giants 8-6 (Home: 4-3) TV: FOX

The Giants are in a must-win situation from now until the last game of the regular season. Meanwhile the Panthers have nothing to fight about. Bet on the G Men.

Carolina Panthers +3
New York Giants -3
O /U 42

BetUS.com pick: Giants.
Jacksonville 7-7 (Road: 2-4) 1:00pm ET
New England 9-5 (Home: 7-0) TV: CBS

I know the Jaguars think they might get into the playoffs, but facing the Colts and the Patriots in back to back weeks isn’t easy for anybody.

Jacksonville Jaguars +8
New England Patriots -8
O /U 44

BetUS.com pick: The Patriots will win but they won’t cover.
Baltimore 8-6 (Road: 2-4) 1:00pm ET
Pittsburgh 7-7 (Home: 5-2) TV: CBS

I don’t think either of these two teams deserves to be in the playoffs.

Baltimore Ravens +2
Pittsburgh Steelers -2
O /U 41

BetUS.com pick: Steelers.

Denver 8-6 (Road: 4-3) 4:15pm ET
Philadelphia 10-4 (Home: 5-2) TV: CBS

Denver Broncos +7
Philadelphia Eagles -7
O /U 41

Denver was not the team everybody was in love with for the first weeks of the season. There is no way they can stop the Eagles.

BetUS.com pick: Eagles will cover.
NY Jets 7-7 (Road: 4-3) 4:15pm ET
Indianapolis 14-0 (Home: 7-0) TV: CBS

New York Jets +5
Indianapolis Colts -5
O /U 40

There is an undefeated season on the line. Take the Colts no question.

BetUS.com pick: Colts will cover.

Dallas 9-5 (Road: 4-3) 8:20pm ET
Washington 4-10 (Home: 3-4) TV: NBC

The Cowboys proved to themselves and the world they can win in December. Meanwhile the Skins have only proven they are a joke.

Dallas Cowboys -6
Washington Redskins +6
O /U 42

BetUS.com pick: Dallas will cover.

Monday December 28, 2009

Minnesota 11-3 (Road: 4-3) 8:30pm ET
Chicago 5-9 (Home: 4-3) TV: ESPN

The Vikings don’t travel really well, however Jay Cutler seem to love the opposite team shirt more than his own

Minnesota Vikings -7
Chicago Bears +7
O /U 41

BetUS.com pick: Vikings won’t cover.

Read our BetUS Sportsbook Review.

Recent moves by the state of Kentucky to claim jurisdiction in its domain case appeal because unidentified domain owners were Americans is under the media spotlight once again.

The principal opponent to the state’s abortive move to seize international online gambling domain names, the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association, this week repreatedly requested that the outsourced lawyers working for Kentucky reveal the identities of those they claimed were Americans in their motion to the Kentucky Supreme Court.

The requests were refused.

“Lawyers representing the commonwealth of Kentucky have refused to name any new individuals targeted in their attempt to seize ownership of 141 Internet domain names, all related to online gambling, and then transfer them to the state,” said a statement from iMEGA.

“Despite numerous requests from attorneys representing the industry’s trade associations, the commonwealth’s attorneys have sternly declined to identify anyone.

“In response to one such request, William C. Hurt, Jr, a lawyer from Hurt, Crosbie & May in Lexington, wrote that no one had the right to any information or even to challenge the motion.”

iMEGA backed its assertions by publishing relevant legal emails. In one of these, Hurt wrote: “I do not believe anyone has standing to file a response or motion to strike.” This was despite a January 2009 ruling by the Kentucky Court of Appeals that blocked the seizures and decried the lack of due process for the defendants.

In a secret hearing in Franklin Circuit Court in the fall of 2008, Hurt and other contingency-fee lawyers for the state convinced Judge Thomas Wingate to sign off on seizure orders for the domain names, despite no notification or representation in court on behalf of the affected owners.

The commonwealth’s lawyers then sought to have the domain owners pay huge cash settlements to regain ownership of their property, as well as promise to block Kentucky residents from accessing their Web sites.

The matter is currently before the Kentucky Supreme Court, which heard arguments from both sides in October. A decision is expected sometime early next year.

Joe Brennan Jr., chairman of iMEGA, has been scathing in his condemnation of the latest moves by the state’s lawyers, saying: “These lawyers lost a very public battle with us in the Court of Appeals, and probably sense the same result from the State Supreme Court, so they’ll do anything to keep this thing alive.

“They were counting on a big payday from our members, in the form of settlements to get their own property back, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. Since they don’t get one nickel from the state to pursue this, it’s clear that the drive for big money has taken over, and any sense of fair play or due process has gone out the window.”

Responding to Hurt’s claim that no one had standing to challenge the motion or to request the names of the new individuals added to the suit, Brennan said, “Their strategy all along was to ignore us every step of the way, even after the Court of Appeals recognized our standing and blocked their seizure efforts. They can stick their head in the sand, but we’re not going anywhere, and frankly, neither is their attempt to seize these domain names.”

With Saturday’s US East Coast snow storm hitting just one weekend before Christmas, it’s bad news for retailers but good news for online poker rooms and casino sites.

"It means more people in some of the biggest metropolitan areas will be stuck indoors and at airports," points out Carrie Stroup, Senior Reporter for the Gambling911.com news site and a spokesperson for the popular Players Only Online Casino.  "Already we are seeing brisk numbers compared to last week at Players Only whereas typically a Saturday before Christmas would witness a drop off as most people are out on the roads, gift buying, celebrating early and so on."

Real cash players on the Cereus Network of online poker rooms, which includes UB.com and AbsolutePoker.com, was averaging 3264 at press time compared to the 2700 average of the past week.  Likewise, Cake Poker, which hosts Gambling911.com endorsed DoylesRoom.com was seeing a slight increase of 100 more real cash players compared to the weekly average, though the 24 hour peak witnessed over 700 more real cash players.

"Business should be booming throughout the weekend as the storm inches closer to New York City, Philadelphia and Boston," explained Stroup.  "Many people in the Northeast corridor will be stranded in their homes throughout Sunday."

The powerful East Coast snow storm had already claimed three lives and left countless numbers of people stranded by early Saturday afternoon.  When all is said and done, two feet will have fallen in some areas including the nation’s capital of Washington, D.C.

Online poker rooms and casinos also saw a boost in overall traffic due to heavy rains in South Florida the past two days that left most people stuck in their homes.

Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher

Revelations that Team Cardrunners member Brian Hastings may have violated an online poker room’s rules could result in the reimbursement of $4 million to Web poker phenom Isildur1 according to a report at Crunch Poker.

The record breaking $4 million losing session Isildur1 booked against Team Cardrunners member Brian Hastings has caused quite a rumpus amongst poker circles. Moreover, the revelations made by Hastings in his blog may well have brought the triumph into disrepute.

In his blog, Hastings admitted to sharing extensive hand histories with other Team Cardrunners members (including Brian Townsend and Cole South) in order to decipher Isildur1’s betting patterns and gain an advantage. One savvy twoplustwo member, ‘HogMajor’ suggests this violated Full Tilt Poker’s terms and conditions.

Full Tilt Poker’s rule states the following:

‘2. Shared hand history databases and "data mining" software, including subscription services and the exchange of personal databases:

The use of shared hand histories provides detailed information on opponents a player has little or no personal experience playing against, and is deemed to be an unfair advantage. Violating this policy is subject to the maximum penalties for prohibited software use.

Players are not permitted to use the hand histories for hands that they have not personally participated in. Software designed to collect hand history information from games that the player did not participate in is prohibited. Some specific examples include:

•community shared hand histories 
•exchanging hand histories with a friend’

Isildur1 is quite possibly the most winningest online poker player of the year.  This fall he was considered the most profitable online poker player on the Full Tilt Poker website, making a cool $5.5 million dollars in profit over the first 10 1/2 months of the year.

Ace King, Gambling911.com 

Over the past year, Pokerroad.com has been steadily growing in popularity among the poker community. At every major live poker event, the company, founded by Joe Sebok and Barry Greenstein feature interviews from the top names and headliners in the world of poker. PokerRoad also has a very strong conscience. Earlier in the year, the group lost its young producer, Justin Shronk to an untimely demise. Now, another one of their own, Thuy Doan, is having a bout with Cancer. When the news was first revealed, the ordinarily boisterous group was deeply affected and it was quite obvious that Thuy is someone they hold in high regard.

In a strong show of solidarity for one of their own, PokerRoad has been encouraging poker players to show their solidarity by shaving their heads as Doan is losing hers as a result of her ongoing chemotherapy. Per his Twitter postings, Greenstein has informed followers that the current number is 12 players and rising. Among those showing support are Greenstein himself, Sebok (who already had a short ‘do), Tom Dwan and many others. With each passing day on the circuit, it seems that more and more are following suit.

Doan, a well respected person among her peers, has been updating her status via the PokerRoad blog. In her latest update, she writes:

"2009 was a year for me to become many things: college graduate, full-time poker player, California resident….Never did I expect to become a cancer fighter.

The biopsy results came back … I have an aggressive soft tissue sarcoma in my upper calf. The next step is to get a chest scan to see if the cancer has spread. After that is chemo to shrink the tumor, then surgery. If chemo doesn’t work then amputation is a disturbing possibility. Since my health insurance policy is based in Virginia, I will be going back there soon for treatment.

This means a break from live poker. There’s a part of me that’s looking forward to disappearing for a while. Right now I’m getting too much attention from people asking me how I hurt my ankle, or if I have a sports injury, or telling me that I’m too young to be sick. They mean well but I don’t want to explain the situation to each person that asks. I come to the casino to be a predator, not to be pitied. There I can be tough and controlled instead of scared and weak. It’s my escape from the stress of realizing my own mortality. My days are spent talking to doctors, bickering with the insurance company, and doing what it takes to survive. However, my nights are spent at the tables on the offense, watching, analyzing, stealing pots and forgetting about the difficult months that lay ahead.

I was hoping to dedicate this year to building up my bankroll, traveling and playing more live tournaments, even landing some tv time. Those plans will have to take a rain check. At least I can use the time away to learn other poker games and dip back into the online world.

Going through this has got me thinking more about the hot topic issue of health care reform. Based on my experiences, change is badly needed. I was fortunate enough to secure health insurance through COBRA which is an extension of your parent’s plan. There was a period of time though when I thought I’d be uncovered and stuck with a half million dollar hospital bill. That was terrifying. When my current plan expires, I’ll be lucky to find insurance for a reasonable premium with my pre-existing condition. Hopefully when that time comes there will be more options.

This is a tough spot but don’t feel bad for me. My life is still great. I have amazing people in it, a profession that I’m passionate about, and the potential for an incredible future. It’s a life worth fighting for and this cancer is just a hurdle. I won’t let it destroy me. I will beat it. Just watch. ~Thuy"

It is this kind of spirit that seemingly makes those around her feel a little something extra for her and has caused so many to rally around her and hope nothing but the best for her. Even the sometimes cynical twoplustwo.com forum community has been nothing but supportive towards her, perhaps the most impressive indication of just how well-liked she is.

Source:  www.aintluck.com

No less a respected news source as the The Sunday Times has claimed that merger talks are in progress between PartyGaming and the giant Austrian online gambling group Bwin – a deal estimated to be worth some £2 billion.

The newspaper reported over the weekend that the two sides have been holding on-off talks since the summer. PartyGaming, led by chief executive Jim Ryan, is expected to be asked by the Takeover Panel to clarify the position before the market opens Monday morning.

A year after floating, PartyGaming suffered a huge setback when America made internet gambling illegal. Groups including PartyGaming closed their American operations and lost huge amounts of revenue.

“Speculation about consolidation in the online gaming sector has been rife in recent months,” the newspaper report claims. “A tie-up between PartyGaming and Bwin would be logical given the former’s ambition to grow its presence in sports betting, an area where the Austrian group has particular strength.

“PartyGaming, based in Gibraltar, is best known for offering poker and casino games. It seems likely that if the two businesses can agree a tie-up, the deal would be structured as a merger of equals.”

The Sunday Times quotes an insider who told it that discussions were at an early stage and there was no certainty that a deal would be agreed. “Everyone in the industry is talking to everybody else,” said the source.

Shares in PartyGaming closed on Friday at 256p, valuing the business at £1 billion. Bwin, which is listed on the Vienna stock exchange, has a market value of €1.3 billion (£1.2 billion).

In April this year, PartyGaming agreed a settlement with America’s Department of Justice to ensure that it would not face prosecution over its activities in the United States. It agreed to pay $105m (£65m) as part of the arrangement. That will make it a far more attractive partner to Bwin.

The Times also records that gambling groups including London-listed 888 Holdings and Sportingbet as well as Sweden’s Unibet, have all been examining possible deals.