Casinos are trying to encourage the public to come and play keeping very quiet about lowering their odds of winning. Traditionally casinos offer more favorable odds as the cost of the investment increases. Therefore when a Casino player comes to the table the larger risk that they put in will yield the highest payout in the end. This also means that their odds of winning the particular payout will be smaller however the reward will be substantial enough to overcompensate.

While the economy still is suffering, Las Vegas casinos are scrambling to find any way they can to bring in more customers. In the past few months we’ve seen declines in hotel occupancy as well as declines in the tourism industry as a whole. In order to compensate, many hotel casinos have lowered their room rates to encourage more customers to make the trip.

Along with lowered room rates, discounted prices, airline discounts and a variety of bonuses, Las Vegas casinos also have the ability to lower their minimum wagers as part of the scheme to draw in more customers to the land-based casinos.

Some casino examples include the Wynn Las Vegas which is offering $25 double deck blackjack on weekdays which is a 50% cut from its $50 usual minimum. As the larger casinos are making cuts it also affects the smaller casinos. The Sahara, commonly known as a less expensive hotel and casino is currently offering one dollar blackjack players. According to the Las Vegas advisor publisher, Anthony Curtis, the high minimum wager “never made a lot of sense,” because players would quickly burn through their accounts and not spend money at the casinos anymore. By providing lower minimums the player is enticed to remain at the table a longer period of time therefore increasing the potential of spending more money.

Some casinos are trying to preserve their image of having high minimums by merely maintaining their top minimums in expanding their range all the way through to a much lower minimum. Harrah’s entertainment is one of these casinos that maintains its image. According to Pres. Tom Jenkin, Harrah’s entertainment casinos, “have not nor are we planning to lower table game limits.”

The Seminole Hard Rock casino has added a new energy and life into the Florida landscape. This casino was the first one in Florida to have legal casino card games. The games that they featured included Blackjack, Baccarat, Mini-Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, Let it Ride, and Three Card Poker.

The casino hotel has generated many positive attributes to the lifestyle in Florida. One of the many positive things it has done was to add numerous jobs for unemployed citizens of the state. Since adding the new card games they have increased their employment rate by over 1000 employees. The Seminole tribe now employs over 45,000 people through the use of its Seminole Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos.

With the new anniversary, the Seminole casino has decided to create a special of $10 minimum bet blackjack that will be made available to gamblers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

According to the regional VP of table games for Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Joe Giaimo, the card tables at the facility have been operating at full capacity since its inception. He stated, “This has been an incredible year for Seminole Gaming. Today, we celebrate a significant move that gave Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and South Florida an opportunity to shine as a signature gaming destination with a first-rate hotel, top-name entertainment, world-class dining and increased leisure tourism. Plus, as one of the largest employers in the state, we’re proud to have had a positive impact on the economy. It’s been a tremendous win-win opportunity for everyone involved.”

A rough estimate of Blackjack players that have graced the casino floor since the inception of the card tables is around one million in just one year of operation.

One man has determined that his online Texas hold ‘Em software rank among the best in the world and has decided to throw down the gauntlet and bring out all competitors for a challenge.

From August 1^st of this year until December 14^th, the competition will commence bringing online poker sites from around the world to compete in this event. The outcome will be determined by voters who decide which online site has the best pokerbot-friendly site.

PokerbotBasics.com will host the online survey event and the winner will be awarded with $10,000. In order to participate in the online survey you must be a registered member of PokerbotBasics.com. Once the survey is completed, on December the 16^th a check will be issued to the winner of the online event.

Pokerbots have been very controversial in the online casino industry as they are programs that automatically play poker. “There is a lot of opportunity for the poker sites to view the proliferation of pokerbots for what it is, an emerging market,” said Rob Turner, the man behind PokerbotBasics.com. Although the popularity has increased for online pokerbots, they still are not recognized as legitimate players.

“Pokerbots play hands faster, stay at tables longer and can play at more tables at one time. This contest will not only allow pokerbots to sit at a table like everyone else but it will give players who have wanted to knowingly play against a pokerbot the chance they’ve been looking for. This is going to be a big win for participating poker sites.’

According to the site, they are hoping to draw in many curious competitors to engage in the online poker games against pokerbots. ‘People are going to be attracted to a pokerbot-friendly site,’ said Turner.

Three of the larger casinos to operate in the state of Pennsylvania have recently hired an analyst survey the revenue that would be generated by offering table games in the Pennsylvania casinos.

As stated in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Pennsylvania could get an additional $165 million in annual gaming revenue if table games were in operation at all 12 of the state’s larger casinos, an analyst hired by three casinos said today.”

Many casinos across the nation are starting to realize the benefit of adding card games to their arsenal of entertainment offered at casinos. The amount of revenue that can be generated from these table games have shown dramatic increase for both the land-based casinos and the state in which they reside. “The revenue would consist of $104 million generated by the table games themselves — poker, blackjack, roulette and dice — plus another $61 million in additional revenue from slots, said Steve Rittvo, chief executive office of The Innovation Group. He said the presence of table games would attract players of those games plus additional slots players who come with them.”

The key to a state generating a profit that would be beneficial depends on whether or not it is properly taxed. Many states have chosen what they deem as a fair tax on these casino games and have profited largely. The profits from these land-based casino games has gone on to fund sports arenas, education, charities and local events that benefit the citizens of the state. “Mr. Rittvo’s estimate of the additional annual revenue was based on a 12 percent state tax on the gross gaming revenue from table games. That tax rate is less than the 21 percent tax rate contained in House Bill 21, a measure introduced by House Democratic Whip Bill DeWeese of Waysnesburg.”

Clarion Events has recently released that it is going to begin its restructuring for their gaming division of online casino gambling. According to the press release, the US office will be closed and relocated to its London, England headquarters.

Along with the restructure, Julian Graves, former ATE Marketing & Commercial Director is now being asked to head the company’s position of Managing Director. Graves will now be responsible for the duties performed at the online gambling company that were previously held by Peter Rusbridge. Rusbridge has moved on to new ventures after serving 17 years with the company.

According to Graves, “There has been a major resizing of the industries that we serve and the restructuring process is essential for all businesses in order to remain competitive and healthy. I worked alongside Peter for a number of years both at BACTA and Clarion. He has made a major contribution to the exhibitions and has decided that now is an opportune time to try something new.”

The restructuring began with the new appointment to the online gambling company as they brought in Emma Green. “The Clarion Gaming exhibition team, expertly led by Emma Green, will focus exclusively on IGE/ICEi, ATEI and The Betting Show. These events represent global market leaders and in spite of the difficult times are performing extremely strongly. They are our flagship events and we will continue to work with our customers and stakeholders including our unique 198,000-strong database of global gaming professionals to ensure that they continue to meet the needs of the worldwide industry.”

Graves stated, “I look forward to responding vigorously to the challenges ahead and channelling the undoubted dedication and creativity of the organising and marketing teams to the benefit of all our exhibitors and visitors based in 140 jurisdictions worldwide.”

Now with Graves years of experience in the company, all matters will be resolved within the London office of the online gambling company.

Slotland.com has recently celebrated its 1^st birthday for its 3D online casino. The online gambling site first started in November of 2007 and now has become an international online gambling site. The site features many unique online experiences such as, “fair certified payouts, unique games, reliable and fast payments and last but not least, exemplary customer service,” states the website.

The website has much play for fun types of games, but it officially took its first real money online casino wager on June 23^rd 2008. Since that first wager, WinADay has expanded to offer three one-of-a-kind slot machines and video poker games in the three-dimensional lobby. These games have witnessed three six-figure payouts to winners.

“It seems like just the other day that a group of people at Slotland said, hey, let’s make a three-dimensional casino!”remembers Ondrej Tuma of Slotland. “The time from idea to launch was very short since everyone was so excited by the idea. Now it has a life of its own.”

The site offers many benefits to players including one-of-a-kind, no-download and instant-play Flash games to appeal to all types of online gambling.

The online gambling casino is proposing many new and innovative features that will be coming up this year. The 3D casino experience will capture all of the aspects of a live land-based casino without the hassle of actually going to one. “We have several new games in the works right now and will continue to add lots more games in our second year,” said Tuma. “And of course there will be more jackpots! The site is busier now than ever so the progressive jackpots could really get to some amazing levels this year.”

In order to thank the online customers for their loyalty throughout this past year, WinADay is offering special bonuses. There was a 10% to 30% bonus on all deposits during the birthday week plus another 20% on June 23rd!

Cryptologic signs a new deal with online company, VictorChandler.com. This deal allows the site to house ten of Cryptologic’s top games for use of online gambling. These ten virtual slots will provide entertainment for the VictorChandler.com website and will offer a multi-year license that will allow for an option of renewal.

The deal set will bring the online slots to the website by the end of 2009 and will feature both branded and non-branded slots. The third quarter will see the roll out of these particular slots.

“Today, CryptoLogic adds yet another blue-chip European gaming brand to the growing list of customers offering players an extraordinary eGaming experience,” said Brian Hadfield, President and Chief Executive Officer for CryptoLogic.

“This is an excellent example of CryptoLogic’s ‘build-once, license-often’ business strategy in action and a sign of the continued demand for our games among the world’s top operators.”

The games will be available through the online platform, Gaming Technology Solutions. GTS is a top online gambling provider which enjoys the partnerships to propel their new EdGE technology for the gaming systems. This EdGE technology is a top software suite that allows sites to access numerous games created by developers all over the world.

“CryptoLogic is one of the best in the business so partnering with it makes perfect sense,” said Michael Carlton, Chief Executive Officer for Victor Chandler International.

“We are committed to providing our customers with a sophisticated multi-layered operation with easy-to-use betting platforms that will keep them coming back for more and CryptoLogic games deliver just that blend of simplicity and sophistication.”

The Camelot Group has recently announced record sales for the first time in over ten years. The Camelot Group is the operator for one of the top European gambling products, the UK National Lottery.

Through this growth, the online gambling company has increased its sales from £182.8 million to £5.14 billion. Now that the company is thriving in gambling sales, they have expanded their product to include a third licensed National Lottery.

Within the last year up to March 31^st, the gambling company has donated £25.8 million more to charity than in the previous year. The total gifted to charities last year amounted to £1.37 billion which was a significant increase over the £1.35 billion the year before. The cumulative amount donated to charity equals over £23 billion.

With all the new gambling products, “This has been an incredibly busy landmark year for Camelot and the National Lottery,” said Dianne Thompson, Chief Executive for Camelot.

“The fact that we completed the largest National Lottery upgrade of its kind in record time is testament to the hard work of all Camelot staff and puts us in an excellent position as we begin the third license and countdown to London 2012.

“Over the coming year we will be looking to consolidate our position as the most cost-effective lottery operator in Europe, introducing further innovation to ensure that we continue to deliver for players and the good causes in the next ten years.”

The economy in Las Vegas is taking its toll on land based casino gambling, but there looks to be a turn-around in 2010 according to analysts. Keith Schwer, director of Center for Business and Economic Research at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has stated that, “this is a severe, lengthy recession. Do I have an answer for how long it’s going to go? No. Nobody does.”

According to Schwer this is the longest economic recession since World War II. The effect of this recession has hit the tourism business and even Las Vegas Casinos.

The recession has led to loss of employees at Las Vegas casino resorts as well as the stopping of construction on future projects leading to unemployment rise. “I have every reason to believe unemployment will rise above 12 percent here in Nevada and 10 percent nationwide,” Schwer said. “We’re going to continue to see job losses in construction and weakness in the hotel industry.”

“Population is no longer a growth engine. More people are moving out than moving in,” he said.

The number of vacancies in the gambling city for residents has increased leaving 34, 389 residential units vacant. “The only way to get rid of excess inventory is drop the price or bulldoze them down,” he said. “Some houses (in California) have been bulldozed. I’m not advocating that here.”

Due to the expanding CityCenter and other hotel casino resort locations, the city asks the question, “Have we overbuilt the high end of our market with respect to our customer base? We’ve changed the sheets. Of course they change the sheets every night, but the quality of the sheets are now 300 thread count,” Schwer said. “We’re offering a high-quality product. The question is have we lost the value-oriented market.”

“Is there any good news? New claims for unemployment insurance have declined and home prices are starting to stabilize. We have not turned the corner, but this could be the beginning of the end of the decline,” Schwer said.