Added -- International Game Technology subsidiary WagerWorks has added Power Blackjack to its Player's Suite line of table games.
Placed -- Former 365 Media Group rights and video production director Peter Lewinton will join Virgin Media to develop its broadband sports product, set to launch in July 2007.
Multi-Lingual -- Titan Poker has launched Danish- and Finnish-language versions of its poker site.
Launched -- Fixed odds financial betting operator BetonMarkets has launched its Irish Web site, betonmarkets.ie. "We are delighted to be adding Ireland to our expanding portfolio of target markets," said CEO Jean-Yves Sireau. "The launch marks another milestone in our development plan and reflects the growing demand for online financial betting."
Coming Soon -- Gaming Intelligence Group reports that 24hPoker, despite delays, still plans to launch its common e-wallet "in the near future." The news source did not specify when the e-wallet service would launch but indicated that it was originally scheduled to go live in January.
Speaking Up -- Recently sacked Tabcorp CEO Matthew Slatter has defended a multi-million dollar pay-out. The former CEO and managing director is set to receive $3.2 million with an additional $36 million in shares. Slatter is quoted by several news sources as saying, "Those are shares that I bought myself over the time that I've been working at Tabcorp. I bought them because I believe in the company and I believe my own performance in being able to deliver." Slatter was released from the company on Wednesday.
Big Money -- Full Tilt Poker will offer players who both qualify through its dot-com site for and win the 2007 World Series of Poker an additional $10 million in prize money. The promotion, in its third year, has yet to bear fruit, as last year's winner, Jamie Gold, was sponsored by Bodog. Other recent winners, including Chris Moneymaker ('03), Greg Raymer ('04) and Joe Hachem ('05), were affiliated with PokerStars.
Catching On? -- The AP reports that two Nevada legislators who support I-gaming liberalization will seek a National Academy of Sciences study of online gambling. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Jon Porter, R-Nev., said they intend to cosponsor the legislation "within weeks" and are looking to ally with U.S. Congressman Barney Frank, D-Mass., who this week announced his intention to repeal the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The news source says that Berkley spoke with Frank on the House floor on Wednesday, and that the two made plans to meet again soon. "The purpose of our bill is to provide a comprehensive study with detailed information on the expanded growth of Internet gambling," Berkley told the AP.
Trouble for Partouche -- The French media is reporting Partouche Group CEO Patrick Partouche was on Wednesday handed a 12-month suspended sentence and a 40,000 euro fine for his involvement with online poker site Poker770.com. Partouche International, the group's Belgian subsidiary, was also fined 150,000 euros for, with its online gaming activities, targeting French residents. The reports said that two other men with Poker 770 were fined 40,000 euros each and handed the same suspended sentence by a court in Nanterre.
Highs and Lows -- “With every prudent saver there is also a racy gambler as shown by strong trading in Partygaming once again this week. The share price in the online-gamer plummeted to 26p in November but has since made daily gains, lifting above the 40p level this week. Public interest in the sector has been renewed this week amidst speculation that the United States could soon relax its anti-gaming legislation. Not everyone is convinced though, and some investors have gone short on Partygaming stock this week as news hits that European operators are preparing to follow America’s lead with a clampdown on online gaming.”
Angus Ringby, CEO of brokerage TD Waterhouse. as quoted by online news source easier.com.
Stock Watch -- On the LSE, William Hill is up 4.50p to 613, CryptoLogic is up 5p to 1,305 and Ladbrokes is down 1.50p to 217.50.