Harrah’s Entertainment is in trouble. Bankruptcy is looming and gaming industry experts say that the casino giant will have to sell off a large portion of assets to relieve cash flow problems. Online casino operators are keeping their fingers crossed that brand rights to the World Series Poker will be on the list of assets being sold.

The World Series of Poker brand has been Harrah’s for a while now (since Harrah’s bought Binion’s just to acquire the rights to the world’s top poker tournament). But the online rights to WSOP have never been exercised. Harrah’s has always planned to set up online casinos – and would still love to do so after the UIGEA is repealed – but gaming experts are wondering if they’ll ever get the chance. Financial problems abound and selling the rights to World Series of Poker may be one of their biggest chances at staying afloat.

There is already wide speculation that the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas will be on the sale block soon. And selling the online casino games license for World Series of Poker would keep Harrah’s from having to close additional hotel-casinos.

Online casino sites are hungry to carry the World Series of Poker logo. It’s the best-known name in the entire casino business – and the company fortunate enough to acquire the rights would benefit enormously from the name. The bidding war might also be intense because online poker sites will want to block other sites from using the brand against them.

If Harrah’s earnings continue to spiral downward, the sale of their online casino betting license may come sooner rather than later. Their need to convert assets into cash may outweigh their desire to hold onto the World Series of Poker brand themselves. The company reported over a $4 billion loss last quarter alone.

This day and age social networks are all the rage. First it began with Friendster, then MySpace and now everyone has migrated to Facebook. As the application grows so does the number of users to become affiliated with it.

That’s why the social gaming company, Zynga has decided to jump on board and continue to push forward into social networking.

Zynga Incorporated its plans revealed its plans to link up with Facebook in Texas this week, at the South By Southwest Music And Media Conference. By partnering with Facebook Mobile to add their live poker game to Facebook connect.

Players can access this game from Apple’s store for use with the Apple iPhone. Currently this application will be offered for free in the app store.

By combining forces, live poker will be a social gaming experience as players can enjoy Zynga’s Texas Hold’Em through Facebook on the iPhone or iPod touch.

Mobile online gaming has increased in popularity since the invention of the iPhone. The ease-of-use as well as the simple acquisition of games allows an affordable and efficient method for users to connect online.

With iTunes and iPhone’s players can easily access and download games, many of which are free, to enhance their online casino entertainment.

Now players can access their Facebook account and play a game of poker against their friends. With the new feature of Facebook connect players can now see their statistics as well as how they rank against their friends.

By adding games and quizzes and new applications to Facebook, they have expanded their network to not only be a social network, but a social gaming network as well. As they continue to grow more users find themselves involved in these games, and now they can bring them straight to their mobile devices. The question now: do we make the phones bigger?

For independent filmmakers one of the most prestigious festivals you can attend is a Cannes Film Festival. By making your market this festival independent producers and directors can get noticed by the industry.

888.com has recognized this and decided to pair up with this festival to offer poker players a new and exciting way to gamble.

Players can enter for a chance to play poker at a live event at the festival on May 19. If that were excitement enough, this live event will feature many a listers including Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.

The winner of this event will be the new owner of a $250,000 beach house in Durban South Africa, and a three night stay at a five-star hotel, and flight in Cannes.

The purpose of this charity poker event is to raise money for the charity “Not On Our Watch” and “One Voice For Freedom”which are sponsored by Ben and Matt. This charity poker event will bring aid to children in Darfur and raise awareness for children anti-slavery.

In order to participate in this event, players must go to 888 poker in the next few weeks to attempt to secure the one spot available for this competition.

Once a player participate in the website they must acquire 1200 points between March 1 and May 6. This will them to win entry into the free role event. The free roll poker term and takes place on May 9. If a player has not accrued enough points due to the fact that they were late in joining there is a 150 pound buy in on May 7 that will allow them the opportunity to participate.

In the final round of the Cannes Charity Poker Event, there will be seven tables each with its own celebrity. Both Matt Damon and Ben Affleck will be participating at these tables. This is an event not to be missed. This black-tie affair will allow one lucky winner to be in the mix some of the biggest celebrities today.

Online casino players just got luckier! Betfair.com announced a deal with virtual poker community PokerSource.com that allows players to claim a variety of free prizes. Betfair.com is licensed in the United Kingdom and boasts over 15 million bets a day. The site claims to be the world’s biggest betting community.

Pokersource.com was the brainchild of three poker players who wanted to give adults free prizes just for playing the caino game online. The site originated back in 2004 and has since proven immensely popular. Pokersource.com has formed partnerships with some of the online casino industry’s leading sites and offers players what is widely regarded as some of the best free online poker promotions.

Betfair.com players that sign up and make a minimum deposit of $50 will receive vouchers for major retailers along with licenses to Hold ‘Em Manager and Poker Tracker. They’ll also be eligible to receive a 300-piece Nevada Jacks chipset, a twelve-month membership to StoxPoker.com, or a subscription to PokerXFactor. The points they earn on PokerSource.com can also be used on $100 gift cards in the online shop or on various poker themed paraphernalia.

Players are clearly already aware and taking advantage of the new free prizes. PokerSource.com announced earlier this month that online casino players were lining up to register at Betfair.com.

Pokersource.com has added other online sites to their casino partner list as well. Just last month, they announced that they had added online poker room Unibet.com, which is part of the Microgaming Network. And online poker room NoIQPoker.com is part of their rakeback program. The rakeback program allows online casino players that are signed up for the program to claim 30 percent rakeback. Players also can receive a full sign-up bonus of up to €600. The Entraction Network is the home of NoIQPoker.com, along with other popular sites Devilfish.com and 24hPoker.com.

Even though the Microgaming network has recently been hit with the loss of DoylesRoom.com it still continues to grow bringing more exciting new video slots as well as a different kind of poker to the site. These new games are part of the Gold series of games and are growing strong favorite in the online casinos. It has been over a decade since Microgaming release the very first online casino software and now they’re casinos continue to grow with over 40 card rooms and a top-of-the-line bingo software.

The four new games for video poker are Rat Pack, Kings and Queens, Fighting Fish, and Beach Babes. With Rat Pack you get that sense of old school cool reminiscent of the days of Frank, Sammy, and Dean. Kings and Queens is a game that will inspire the royalty inside us all and have us all wishing to be crowned the jackpot winner. Fighting Fish involves two heavyweights under this the sea fighting it out, and Beach babes consists of a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead in their bikinis leading you to an exciting day in the sun.

Microgaming offers something for everyone. If the new video slots to entice you that maybe she tried her hand at Triple Pocket Hold’em Poker. This table game puts the online Casino player against two dealers places the player in a position to win up to 50 times the bet. The player will involve himself in a single 52 card deck game in which he must defeat not one but two dealers. There are two opportunities to discard with the final round being a hold and play around. The betting range begins at one dollar and Max is out at $200 creating the possibility of a 50 to 1 payout.

Microgaming continues to prove that it’s one of the world’s leading online casino networks by constantly adding and improving their games.

Sometimes the definition of legality can be spun by the use of words used to describe it. Such is the case in South Carolina where a judge ruled that online poker was not a mere game of luck, but a game of skill. After hearing 20 cases of players being arrested in a huge gambling raid in 2006, Judge Larry Duffy ruled that online poker was not illegal based on it being a game of skill. Although the prosecutors fought to convince the judge that this was a game for profit, similar to that in casinos, the players argued that it was a casual game played among friends.

According to the gambling law that was instituted in 1802 games with dice or cards are deemed illegal. Under this law many well known games played today will fall into this category. Is it really a crime to play “Go Fish” amongst friends? Now that this ruling has favored card players, it will be interesting to see how further cases weigh in on the games of online gambling.

The results of this ruling will cause a small ripple in the courts and will undoubtedly cause many further conversations, however for now this will open up the opportunity for more online casinos, and gambling in regards to poker especially. Judge Duffy attested that the evidence was overwhelming that the game of poker was played with skill, however, he will be seeking the guidance of the higher courts in the cases to come.

“We are humbled by Judge Duffy’s thoughtful decision and applaud the effort put forth by the legal team defending these poker players,” said John Pappas, Executive Director for the Poker Players Alliance.

Colorado, Pennsylvania and Kentucky have also received favorable rulings concerning the area of poker and gambling which will assist in bring the world of online gambling and online casinos into play. As poker players continue to argue that poker is a game of skill they are loosening the courts for some big decisions that may be coming up in this year. Then we can all sit around and play a nice legal game of Monopoly.

Apple is at it again, this time, their innovation is getting them in trouble at the casinos. The iPhone and iTouch now have a downloadable app that allows users to achieve card counting. Administrators in the casinos in Nevada have been warned of this new program as it helps players to illegally count cards and beat the house in games of blackjack.

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal it is not illegal for players to count cards as long as they do it independent of any devices. Aides, especially electronic devices are considered illegal to use in this capacity.

The iPhone and iPod Touch are common devices for listening to music while playing games in the casinos, but now with the technological advances, programs such as this are creeping into use.
The discovery of such programs was found in a northern California casino and immediately reported to the California Bureau of Gambling Control. From there Nevada Gaming control board administrators were warned of this occurrence and began to crack down on the use of these devices.
Randy Sayre of the Nevada Gaming Control Board has since made public that players using such devices as iPhones or iPod Touches will be detained and subject to arrest under the Nevada Gaming laws. Currently Sayre has not reported any uses of this device in the Nevada Gaming circuit, however, they will be keeping a watchful eye on the situation.

Allegedly this program can be installed through Apple’s iTunes software and be launched to perform one of four different strategies of card counting techniques. Along with these strategies comes a separate mode where players can place their devices into a “stealth mode” in which the screen appears black while the player operates the program without exposing the program. Now that this issue has surface Sayre has assured the public that they will be on the watch for it.

With growing concern in the United States about the legalization of online casino gambling, California has reportedly decided to test the waters for itself. Representatives from California legislation will attend the upcoming iGaming conference to check out prospective online poker operators.

News from Gambling911.com states that California is looking toward new options with the recent decline in the economy. Currently California suffers from the second highest foreclosure rate in the United States, as well unemployment reaching into the double digits and a $42 million budget deficit. By legalizing online casino poker, California, under the leadership of governor Arnold Swarzenegger would be hoping to draw in new cash flow into the devastated economy.

Although California seems to be making a last ditch effort to make great strides towards improving the economy, they still are hold strong against collaborating with PartyGaming. Anurag Dikshit who is the online operator of PartyGaming was slapped with a $300 fine recently after pleading guilty to a charge before he was even charged with a crime.

California is looking towards 888.com a reputable online casino outfit known for its service and fair play. Along with a tremendous service account, 888.com also has publicly traded stock which helps legitimize their participation in legalizing online poker play. The state has also tried, with the assistance of the US government, to pin down companies that took bets from US players in 2006, however, they have not been successful in finding the lawbreakers. By adding 888.com to their partnership, California will also add access to some of the top named games in online casino gambling.