Corked? -- GoldenPalace.com on Saturday purchased baseball legend Pete Rose's allegedly corked bat for $103,631 on auction site Lelands.com and plans to saw it in half to reveal the truth to the world. The bat is signed by Rose and was used to hit his 159th home run in 1985. The money raised will go to charity. "We love Pete Rose," Drew Black, a marketing representative for the site, said. "We have nothing against him and are amazed by his accomplishments, but we think this is a terrific opportunity to put the bat's popularity to good use." GP, which has a history of devising creative ways to raise awareness and funds for many worthy causes, has not yet selected a charity. "Anytime an item of this historical significance generates so much attention, it has enormous potential to raise money for charity," GoldenPalace.com CEO Richard Rowe said. "We expect to use the interest in the bat to develop a fund-raising campaign to help those less fortunate. You can also bet that we will find the most fun and innovative way to do that."
Zone in Texas -- Dallas-based telecommunications company Commonwealth Telephone Enterprises, Inc. has begun offering play-for-fun Internet-gaming to its residential customers through its two primary operations--Commonwealth Telephone Company and CTSI--as well as its epix Internet Services customers. The games are the product of deals signed in April with interactive software developer Zone4Play, Inc. and digital video game provider Exent Technologies. Customers who subscribe to Zone4Play's package through Exent Technologies can select from a suite of single and multi-player games as well as play-for-fun casino-type games.
PCIG Macau -- River City Group (publisher of Interactive Gaming News) will hold the Fourth Annual Pacific Congress on I-Gaming at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Macua Feb. 20-21, 2006. It will be the first time the conference is held in Asia. (The first three took place in Australia.) The two-day educational and networking event will feature a wide range of seminars, with topics including I-Gaming in Asia; internationalization and localization strategies; betting exchanges; the Hong Kong Jockey Club; an overview of the financial markets, payment processing; and cross-border business ventures.
Nabbed -- CYOP Systems International Inc. today acquired online gambling software solutions company FutureBet Systems Inc., its 40 online casino games and its sports book software for $1.2 million.
Farewell -- Steve Molnar has resigned from his position as executive vice president for Youbet.com. The company hasn't yet named a replacement.