Launch -- Antigua-based online betting operator CyberSportsBook, which was recently acquired by Betcorp Ltd. (the parent company of BetWWTS), has launched a new online poker room called BetHold'em Poker. The site is part of the Prima Poker network.
Gambling Comic -- PartyPoker is the official sponsor of a daily online comic strip called "Low Rollers." Written and illustrated by Richard Lorbach, Low Rollers offers "a twisted (sometimes even funny) insight into the world of sports, casinos, celebrity, gambling, pop culture, Vegas and the glamorous low roller lifestyle."
TV Tournaments -- Online poker site World Poker Exchange will hold its four-day London Open 2005 poker tournament at the Old Billingsgate Market on the banks of the Thames Aug. 3-6. The event promises a prize pool of more than $2 million and will feature a private concert, a separate charity tournament and a VIP reception featuring Dirty Vegas, Grace Jones and DJ Guy Preston. The London Open will be broadcast on the Bravo TV network later this year. . . . On July 13 Fox Sports Net will carry a live broadcast of the final table of the FullTiltPoker.net Championship at Wynn Las Vegas. Kahnawake-licensed FullTiltPoker, which prides itself on its close relationships with several professional poker players, will send many members of "Team Full Tilt" to the $500,000 tournament, including Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Erik Seidel, Jennifer Harman, Clonie Gowen, Phil Gordon, Andy Bloch and Erick Lindgren. Every player at the final table will wear a heart monitor so that viewers at home can determine how cool the players remain under pressure.
Shower Jesus -- The latest eBay auction purchase made by the marketing team at GoldenPalace.com is a piece of plaster that resembles the image of Jesus Christ. Jeffrey Rigo, the man who placed the plaster up for sale, named the auction "Shower Jesus" because he first saw the image of Jesus in the wall as he stepped out of the shower. GoldenPalace paid $1,999.99 for the relic.
Mobile Forum -- The Open Mobile Terminal Platform (OMTP)--a forum led by cellular network operators that aims to define a set of functional requirements for mid-end and mass-market handsets that can be tailored to operator requirements--will deliver its first terminal requirements by month's end. Formed in June 2004, the OMTP now has more than 50 members (nearly all from Europe). The forum's first priority is to define an application environment; its next is to define a customization environment.
Bodog Salute -- Online gambling company Bodog.com will hold a four-day event (July 21-24) for the 110,00 men and women of the U.S. military currently in Hawaii, many of whom are either awaiting or returning from deployment in the Middle East. Called "Bodog Salutes Our Troops: A Tribute to American Heroes," the event will feature celebrities, musicians, comedians and professional athletes interacting with troops in various activities, including a poker tournament, family picnic and softball game.
Welcome Aboard -- Tony Curtis, CEO of the Australian Capital Territories Gambling and Racing Commission, has been chosen to replace Sue Baker-Finch as the new CEO of betting company ACTTAB.
Quoteworthy -- "With the time I have spent and the contacts I made in this business I suspect it isn't only limited to Germany, and could affect the whole of Europe. The problem is that it is very difficult to control the world of betting. I propose they put it under state control, but even then it would be difficult to stop some scandals. It would not end the corruption."
- German football referee Robert Hoyzer, who was banned for life by the German Football Federation after it was discovered that he had received over $85,000 to fix matches. Hoyzer has reportedly been extremely cooperative with investigative authorities, and his lawyer is hoping the court system will show him some leniency as a result. Prosecutors are said to be investigating around 30 more individuals in relation to the match fixing allegations, including three other referees and 14 players.