World Cup of Mahjong -- Online gaming software provider Dynasty Gaming Inc. announced today that its joint venture with Macau's largest casino operator, the Ho Group, will create and sponsor the first "World Cup of Mahjong" tournament in December 2006. The joint venture, Ho Majiang, will be the presenting sponsor of the event and Dynasty will contribute 50 percent of the marketing budget. U.S.-based sports and entertainment marketing specialists Elevation Group of Companies will manage the production and promotion aspects of the event, including television production and distribution.
Loaded and Biased? -- A recent poll from polling firm Zogby International revealed that almost 80 percent of Americans oppose a legislative ban on Internet gambling. However, the poll was conducted on behalf of the Antiguan Offshore Gaming Association, which Wall Street Journal writer Carl Bialik (The Numbers Guy) finds suspect because the sponsor may have influenced the way the poll was conducted, especially in the phrasing of the questions, which present as leading questions. Fritz Wenzel, a spokesman for Zogby International, said the questions were "fair and balanced," but Cliff Zukin, president of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, told Bialik they were "loaded and biased" and said that if any of his students wrote such questions he would fail them. Robert Blumenfeld, attorney for the Antiguan Offshore Gaming Association, disagrees with the criticism, but said the group would conduct further polling.
Just Loaded -- The recently released Sunday Times list of the United Kingdom's 10 richest Asian businessmen includes PartyGaming's co-founder, Anurag Dikshit, and marketing director Vikrant Bhargava. Dikshit, 34, who also made the recent Forbes Magazine's billionaires list, came in third place with an estimated wealth of £1.7 billion. Bhargava made seventh with a net worth of £592 million. The list was published by the Sunrise Group and compiled by Dr. Phillip Beresford.
Correction -- IGN reported Yesterday on a New York Times article that said the popularity of poker may be waning. The article included projections that the annual revenue growth of 158 percent will fall to 18 percent in the next five years. We mistakenly failed to mention that the Pokerpages Industry Index provided the figures in the article.