Promises are made to be broken.

That appears to be the stance of 2006 World Series of Poker champion Jamie Gold, who is being sued for half his $12 million winnings.

While he admits to having a verbal agreement with Bruce Crispin Leyser to share his winnings, Gold seems to be backpedaling on certain aspects of it, although Leyser has a voice-mail tape of the promise.

When Gold didn’t promptly pay up, Leyser filed a lawsuit in Clark County District Court.

According to a front page Las Vegas Sun article on Monday, Gold filed a court brief last week detailing his side of the story.

The Hollywood talent agent, who copped the WSOP’s biggest jackpot ever while totally dominating the event, the agreement was ″nothing more than a promise to make a gift,″ a position Leyser’s lawyer called ″absurd.″

The issue boils down to whether the verbal agreement is binding.

Leyser, who has been described as a television development executive, claims Gold had a contract with BoDog.com in which the Internet casino agreed to pay Gold’s $10,000 WSOP entry fee if he found celebrities to wear apparel featuring BoDog’s logo during the tournament.

The suit claims Leyser helped him find the celebrities and in return Gold pledged to ″share″ his seat and any winnings.

Gold now claims the Costa Rican-based Internet casino paid for his seat because of his previous success in winning prior tournaments and that his contract required only that he wear the company’s logo and participate in media events.

Gold claims that as he kept advancing in the WSOP, Leyser and his wife began ″badgering″ him continually, causing him to leave a voice mail on the tournament’s final day confirming his promise to share half the winnings, after taxes.

Gold now says he only planned to give Leyser, who he portrayed as burdened with financial problems, ″some″ money and not literally half his earnings.

Chief District Judge Kathy Hardcastle in August signed a temporary restraining order freezing funds until the matter is settled.

She is expected to issue a final ruling sometime next month.

*****

The Bears have come down, while the Colts have gone up.

The Las Vegas Hilton on Sunday took down its proposition on whether Chicago would go unbeaten this season after the Bears were surprised by the Miami Dolphins, ironically the last team to go undefeated more than three decades ago.

Once underdog Indianapolis defeated New England Sunday night to run its record to 8-0, a similar prop on the Colts was posted on SuperBook boards, asking whether Indy would go 16-0.

″Yes″ opened at 6/1 and ″No″ at 1/7.

*****

The Hilton’s latest Super Bowl odds have the AFC favored by 3 1/2 points and the total set at 48 1/2.

Super Bowl XLI will be played Feb. 4, 2007, in Miami.

*****

The full parking lot at Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center is as good an indicator as any that college basketball is underway, though the full-court press will arrive with the Thanksgiving holidays.

Caesars Palace currently lists Florida and North Carolina as 9/2 co-favorites to win the national championship next spring.

Next are Kansas at 5/1, Ohio State at 7/1 and UConn at 10/1.

The Gators took the title to Tallahassee earlier this year.

*****

Early registration numbers indicate attendance at next week’s Global Gaming Expo 2006 (G2E) will increase by at least a third.

The event will be held Nov. 14-16 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Hundreds of new gaming products are expected to debut at G2E, providing attendees a peek at the future.

Three new pavilions — entertainment technology, entertainment and event production and hospitality — will be welcomed to the trade show floor.

Show organizers say that with a rising number of customers visiting casinos for a total entertainment experience, spectacular shows, excellent entertainment and impeccable service are becoming essential to the gaming business.

″These days, people are visiting casinos to do much more than gamble,″ said Frank Fahrenkopf, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association.

″They want to be entertained and feel pampered, and increased competition means operators have to be innovative to win their customers’ business and loyalty.″

When I first started playing at online casinos few years ago, I was a real bonus whore who tried out every possible way of getting free casino cash, every free dime and gambled it away. I never purchased maximum amount of money back then to receive maximum amount of bonus money, because I always thought: ″Hey, I am going to win eventually anyway, I don’t want to spend extra $50 for getting more green to my casino account!″ Of course, I lost it all and was quickly depositing again, this time without bonus, which clearly meant I was not very good handling my jumpy bankroll.

This is not what I do know. Although nowadays I don’t play slots, blackjack and craps very often at online casinos, I still hop by once in a while and give myself a shot. Some might call me a ″bonus whore″ even now, since I choose casinos by bonus. I don’t do that systematically anymore since I run my own gambling website and I keep getting generous bonus offers that I mostly keep for my visitors.

What I do now - I search the most generous bonus amount I can get from a casino with my first purchase and I buy myself that bonus. Searching the generous bonus amount includes reading terms and conditions carefully and doing some research work to make sure I am not getting ripped off.

I call these huge bonuses high roller bonuses, since they are perfect for people who like playing long sessions and who are willing to spend a lot of money in order to win big. High rollers are also aware that they are going to lose in a long term, but if they are going to lose anyway, why not lose the minimum amount of money? This is the root of online casino bonuses that every player should understand.

Since most of these high roller bonuses have similar terms and conditions, I will bring you few examples from random casinos and explain them to you. The following is essential, since if you don’t follow the terms you might lose all the winnings and the bonus itself as well.

The first example is from Racetrack Casino, that has 20% first deposit bonus up to $500. In the interests of fair gaming, they require you to have wagered a minimum of six times the total amount deposited plus bonus, up to a maximum wager of $18,000 for each deposit plus bonuses made during the bonus promotion time. The following is extremely important for you to understand! - If you make a withdrawal before wagering six times your deposit and bonus, the bonus money and winnings will be removed from your account.

The other example comes from Europa Casino. This casino claims to have $2400 welcome bonus for all the players, although it isn’t quite so. They have one of the trickiest bonus systems. I have personally only used the $500 welcome bonus, which is actually a 25% first deposit bonus. ″Low rollers″ have to do with 100% first deposit bonus with many times smaller first purchase.

To the bonus: In the interest of fair gaming they’re ordered to cash out any amount of money you must wager at least twelve times your play bonus plus deposit. Players depositing in U.K. Pounds must wager at least eighteen times your play bonus plus deposit. If you withdraw before having reached the minimum wagering requirements, your bonus and winnings will be void. So, again the similar bonus structure.

At least now you can understand why casinos offer those bonuses - it’s not very likely you have lots of money left when you have wagered at least twelve times your play bonus plus deposit. But you can always get lucky, and this is what we all want when we step in to a casino!

The following are guidelines only and although they are intended to help you win more often we cannot offer any guarantee. These guidelines are mainly for pot-limit draw poker (when the maximum raise is the amount of money in the pot):

1. You generally need two pairs, which need to be stronger the earlier the pot is opened to raise.

2. You need at least two Aces to open the bidding unless there are only one or two other players to bet after you. If there is only one player to bet after you we suggest at least two kings and if you are the lastto bet you can get away with two queens.

3. If you intend to re-raise you really need triplets, probably about three sixes against the average player.

4. If the pot is opened in the last two positions you can call with two Kings. If the pot is opened in any other position we recommend you have at least a pair of Aces.

5. Do not call on a straight of different suits. Such as 9 of Clubs, 8 of Spades, 7 of Hearts, 6 of Clubs and 5 of Diamonds or any similar straight.

6. Most often players are not bluffing, if you have no reason to suspect from the way that they are playing that they have a bad hand youd do well to believe that they do have a good hand. However from time to time you should call their bluff or they will bluff more and more. You should also ensure you bluff occasionally or other players will never call you when you have winning hands.

7. Even when you have had a run of bad luck we strongly suggest that you do not play on a low pair, this is a common mistake with players who are losing and getting desperate don’t fall into this trap.

We also suggest you read as much about the games tatics and stratgies as you can but remember there is no substitute for practise. You can play for free thus practise for free at any of the casinos reviewed on this site.

Prior to delving into the world of sports betting online, many people stop to wonder if they are breaking any state or local laws. In most states, and even the federal government, have legislation about whether its legal or not to gamble online.

Who Regulates Sports Betting?

The regulations of gambling in the US were entirely discretionary per state until recently. The start of online gambling created confusion about jurisdiction. Who runs the laws of cyberspace? Most current gambling laws were meant to apply to general gambling laws, long before the internet existed. Thus the application of those laws to online gambling are open to broad interpretation.

US Regulation of Sports Betting

Most people ask "Is it legal to run a ports betting operation offshore and take action from clients in the US?" The US will most likely argue it is not legal. However, no bills have yet been passed to prevent any such activities from happening. In recent years, attempts to pass bills of this sort have failed.

The government has placed responsibility of gambling legislation at the hands of individual states. Some states have considered legalizing online gambling but have failed. Some states also have added legislation that prohibits the advertising of online casino (Illinois is one such state). Only three states – Nevada, Louisiana and California prohibit citizens from betting beyond state borders. Such laws are loosely enforced. In fact, most states consider gambling violations misdemeanors with the majority focusing on operators as opposed to the gamblers themselves. To avoid breaking US laws, most internet sportsbooks are located offshore in foreign countries along with their servers!

To be clear, the US government has been trying to pass legislation to deal with the regulation of online gambling. But, because there are so many grey areas regarding who has authority over cyberspace activities, these attempts have been unsuccessful in passing. It's becoming clear that the US will not be able to effectively legislate online gambling as of now but that's not to say what the future may hold…

So, Can I Bet Sports Legally?

The simple answer is there is an explicit law against online betting in only three states – Nevada, California, and Louisiana. Even so, NO American citizen has r been arrested for betting on the internet as of yet. Again, that's not to say what the future may bring…

Let the Glitz and Glam of a casino set the tone for your special night. This exciting theme will be enjoyable for everyone whether you've been to a casino or are a gambling enthusiast or not. A few simple steps can result in games and decorations for all to enjoy.

Send out invitations in the shape of a heart, a diamond, a spade or a club. When decorating your party space, simple favors can do far more then you expect. Pick up dice and poker chips from your local store. Throw a green tablecloth over your table and simply scatter the chips and dice around. Add glitter or confetti to spice things up an extra notch.

You might not be able to bring the neon lights of Vegas to your living room, but think what you can do. A few colored light bulbs, such as red, can change the feel of the entire room. A personalized banner with something such as your name turned casino can be fun as well.

Casino theme games can range from the old standards such as black jack and poker to anything as feisty as a rented roulette wheel. Bingo can always be a crowd favorite as well, and easy for guests of any age to play.

Whether you serve punch to mixed drinks or champagne, make things official with a cocktail waitress. This not only gives things the casino feel, but the "waitress" can also help keep people mingling or moving from game to game.

Casino night can be a great way to celebrate many occasions, anything from a 40th birthday party to an excuse for friends to gather. One last possibility would be charity. If your guests gamble and lose real money, it could all go towards a good cause. Most importantly, have a great time no matter what your reason.

What to do when you are in a midst of horrible cards. And you just finished multitabling 7 tables online and now you are playing 1 table live. It is not an adjustment many poker players can make, unfortunatley many players do make the move from online to live and vice versa. The fact is when you play online poker for a while then switch to live games, you have to put on the brakes a bit. I remember years ago the first poker tournament I ever played live worth over $100 buyin, the owner of a well respected poker site told me ″you have to bring your 12 hour game, not your 6 hour game″. He was referring to me playing online poker tournaments only before and doing quite well in them. I had to rebuy in this live tournament because I played way too fast. I think there are major differences between live and online poker. Let’s look at some of the differences.

- Live poker is much slower, so your patience must be better. An online poker player could literally play 10 tables at once if they really wanted to.

- Online poker tells are limited to time patterns, betting patterns, hand selection, etc. Live poker adds the element to read your opponent and his tells. On the flip side of this equation, if you don’t read opponents well than this element of live poker becomes a disadvantage for you - but only until you learn to read your opponents better than they read you.

- Online poker allows you to wear what you want, yell, scream, swear, and eat sloppy at the poker table, all in the comfort of your own home. Their are distractions, however, while playing at home that simply aren’t present at the poker room in the casino.

- Playing online poker, you do not have to worry about messing up. Nobody can laugh at you because they can’t see you. If you don’t know how to play with your chips or push them in on an all in it doesn’t matter because you can just press the all-in button while playing online poker. In live poker, using chip tricks can be an effective way of scaring off your poker opponents.

- While playing live poker, you can cashout your winnings immediately. This is available on some online poker rooms too, but on some online poker sites, you are required to wait a certain amount of hours after first deposit or limited to a certain number of cashouts in a week.

The complete poker player of the future will be able to succesfully break online and live games and consistently win in them. Poker tournaments and live games are increasing dramatically in size and it doesnt look like they are going to stop. Harness your game online and show off your game on t.v. That’ll be the poker pro of the 21st century.

Omaha Holdem

Very similar to Internet Texas Holdem Poker, Omaha Holdem Poker is a game in which each player receives 4 cards and 5 community cards are placed on the table. Online Omaha Poker is a internet poker betting game that gives the player a higher chance to hit better hands and thus, increase the amount of online bets players will make. This internet poker betting game can be played as high only but it usually has a online betting or internet gambling limit on the pot.

Draw Poker

Draw Poker betting online is the basic form of poker betting online. It is also the internet poker betting type that most people know, since it has been popularized in movies and home games. Each player receives a complete deck of 5 cards that can be changed for later rounds. Today, draw internet poker betting is hard to find in online casinos and has been replaced with Internet Texas Holdem Poker or Online Omaha Holdem Poker.

Pineapple Holdem

Pineapple Holdem Poker online is a internet poker betting style in which each players receives 3 cards and 5 community cards are placed for bettors to make a hand. The difference on this internet poker betting site style is that you discard the third card before the flop, if it's regular Online Pineapple or after, it its crazy Pineapple. Bets are made same as Texas Poker and online Omaha Holdem Poker. At the end, the gambler can combine his 2 cards left and the 5 cards placed to make his hand.

All that glitters certainly looks to be Gold in the 2006 World Series of Poker’s $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event at Harrah’s off-Strip Rio Hotel and Casino.

Jamie Gold, a California TV producer and talent agent, kept a tight grip on first Tuesday as the record field was sliced from 27 to Thursday’s Final Table of nine, more than doubling the chip count of his closest competitor, well-known pro and two-two-time gold bracelet winner Allen Cunningham, at one point.

Gold had more than 35 million chips at the time, but saw his stack dwindle as play proceded.

Action began at noon and progressed slowly after the first half of the remaining hopefuls had been eliminated as players tenaciously battled for the last nine coveted slots.

Play finally ended about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday when Fred Goldberg went all-in from the cutoff of $2.8 million.

Richard Lee called in the small blind and showed the kings; Goldberg displayed the queen of hearts and 3 of spades.

The board came 9 of hearts, 7 of hearts, 7 of clubs, jack of spades and 8 of clubs.

The nine players from last year’s Final Table all had busted out before Tuesday play began, with defending champion Joe Hachem winding up 99th.

The 2006 WSOP Texas No-Limit Hold’em finalists, hometowns and chip totals are Gold, Malibi, Calif., 26,000,000; Cunningham, Las Vegas, 17,700,000; Erik Friberg, Stockholm, Sweden, 9,725,000; Lee, San Antonio, 8,745,000; Paul Wasicka, Westminster, Conn., 8,050,000; Doug Kim, Hartsdale, N.Y., 6,500,000; Rhett Butler, Rockville, Md., 5,000,000; Michael Binger, Atherton, Calif., 3,320; and Dan Nassif, St. Louis, 2,840,000.

The last dozen contenders each were guaranteed at least $1.1 million.

They will compete for a $12 million top prize.

The 10th, 11th and 12th-place contestants earned $1,154,572 apiece.

They were Goldberg, Lief Force and John Magill.

The 13, 14th and 15th place finishers each received $907,128.

They included William Thorsson, Luke Chung and Kevin Aaronson.

Notable pro Jeffrey Lisandro was eliminated in 17th, just behind David Einhorn.

Each took home $659,730.

Einhorn, the Rye, N.Y., investment firm emploee who began Tuesday as the third highest chip holder and had pledged to donate his winnings to actor Michael J. Fox’s Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, busted out in 18th place.

Parkinson’s Disease was responsible for his grandfather’s death.

The WSOP is running a day ahead of schedule as the original field of 8,773 was pared much quicker than anticipated, setting up an unprecedented dark day on Wednesday, the eve of the finals.

Registration for a simultaneous $1,500 buy-in No-Limit event fell considerably as players began heading home after extended Las Vegas stays.

The Monday-Tuesday tourney drew one of the smalllest fields in the six-week poker extravaganza, just 362 players.

James Mitchell beat Stuart Fox in heads-up action and won $153,173 from the $494,130 purse.

Few are the gamblers who can resist the allure of playing slots online. Don't go looking for any hidden secret or mysterious source of the phenomenon, either. That's just a total waste of valuable time which you could be spending playing online slots. Some things in life are just so simple that no explanation is really required. The popularity of online slots certainly falls into this category. The same way that sunsets are beautiful, cold beer is refreshing, one sock will always get lost in the laundry, and the phone will always ring the moment you get in the tub… these are essential truths that we as a society have learned not to question, but rather to unquestioningly accept as part of the package of being human So it is with the unending appeal of online slots.

But where should you go to find the best slots available on the Internet? Now that, my friend, is a question worth asking. It's also a question that comes loaded with not one answer, but an extremely broad range of answers. It would take a volume as thick as the Beijing phone book to list all the great web sites offering slots these days, so rather than go for a shotgun approach, this article will direct its focus toward just a few of the better options.

7 Sultans Casino

This joint is a class act all the way, and it is known for having a ton of slot games to choose from. Powered by the awesome Microgaming software, the 7 Sultans collectively offer you a whopping 100 free slots online games to play. Included in that massive tally are five-line slots, nine-line slots and 15-line slots games, as well as nine progressive online slots with high jackpots. One of the most popular slot games at this casino has the catchy name of Genie's Gem, and another called Winning Wizards comes equipped with five payout lines. You can actually win up to $50,000 in a single spin. Also offered by 7 Sultans Casino are nine progressive online slots, plus one-line to five-reel slots. If you are looking for a variety of virtual slots games, 7 Sultans Casino deserves a slot a the very top of your list.

Slot-Player.com

This online casino was designed by people who love slots for people who love slots. Every aspect of the site is intended to provide you access to slot-playing resources and make you a better player. Be sure to try the some of the many free simulated games available here for download. It's a quick and easy way to get a feel for the different kinds of money games that can be enjoyed at this great site.

Break Away Casino

You can really break away to a zone of fun and excitement here. You will find nine-line slots, five-line slots, three-reel slots, traditional slots games, and bonus round slots games. That's quite a bounteous array of slot action, by just about anyone's measure.

Poker is like making love. You have to know when to raise the stakes, when to fold and when to bluff. And when you hit the jackpot, in either, it’s enough to hold you over until the next one comes along.

Dames are like poker hands. There are a lot of pairs out there. Once in awhile you'll find a sweet little number that resembles a full house. But how often do you find a natural royal flush? Not often. And if you ever find a woman like this you better hang on to her. That's what I call lady luck.

I don't know how many dames that I have come across that are like a straight? They go straight for your wallet. Or how many are like a flush? Sure, I get flushed, but it only lasts for a few minutes and then I want to hit a casino.

I remember one dame I knew that was more like a crap game. Every time she threw she threw bullets. One for my heart and one for my back. I couldn't win with that one so I gave up craps.

And then there was one dame that was more like betting on a horserace. She was a sweet little filly but just at the climatic moment she would pull up lame. I don't know how many bottles of aspirin she went through. I always betted on her to win. But she always seemed to show then disappear.

Then there was the love of my life. A classy dame that resembled Blackjack. No matter how many times I hit her she always came up twenty-one. Now that's class.

Right now I'm with a woman that resembles a slot machine. She keeps yanking my chain until I cough up all my coin.

Anyway I look at it a woman is a gamble. They are either stealing my heart or my money. I guess that is what makes it interesting. I just haven't figured out a way to beat their odds. They always seem to be stacked against you. But I'm working on a system. And one day I'll beat those odds.

(c) 2006 Hank Bolt.