Costigan Media, parent company of Gambling911.com, submitted a Memorandum of Law in Support of its Motion to Intervene and to unseal court records related to the issuance of a seizure warrant of funds tied to online poker’s two biggest companies, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.

Earlier this month, Gambling911.com broke the story that the US Attorney out of the Southern District of New York had froze funds in excess of $30 million tied to both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.  That office had instructed three banks - Citibank, Goldwater Bank and Alliance Bank of Arizona - to freeze the accounts associated with the online poker rooms.

A magistrate judge in the district issued a seizure warrant for an account at a Wells Fargo bank in San Francisco, and a federal prosecutor told Alliance Bank to freeze accounts. In a letter faxed to Alliance Bank, the prosecutor said accounts held by payment processor Allied Systems Inc. are subject to seizure and forfeiture "because they constitute property involved in money laundering transactions and illegal gambling offenses." The letter was signed by Arlo Devlin-Brown, assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Up until now these seizure warrants have remained sealed. 

The question presented by the motion filed by Costigan Media on Thursday is whether the public and media are entitled to have the application for a civil seizure warrant unsealed after the issuance and execution of the warrant, but before the government — which is engaged in a contemporaneous criminal investigation — has filed any criminal charges.

"We do not want another situation like what happened with BetonSports," expressed Christopher Costigan, Publisher of Gambling911.com, making reference to a July 2006 indictment of what was at the time the largest online sports betting operation. 

The investigation into BetonSports began in 2002 and its customers were caught off guard when several criminal charges were brought against BetonSports and nearly a dozen of its key executives, thus forcing the company to be shut down before customers had a chance to pull their funds.  Players were out millions of dollars as a result and are yet to recoup their losses. 

"Customers of Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars have a right to know if their monies are in jeopardy should charges be leveled against principals in either company," said Costigan. 

Counsel for Costigan Media has contacted the United States Attorney’s Office to see if the government would consent to the unsealing of the warrant application and related documents.  The government has indicated that it would not consent. 

All the pleadings were filed under seal.  Although the warrant was issued a month ago, and although the funds are now safely under the control of the government and in no danger of dissipation, the affidavit submitted in support of the warrant application still remains under seal.   So too are any supporting documents relating to this Court’s decision to seal the warrant application.

This Motion contends that Costigan Media has the right to intervene for the purpose of seeking and unsealing the documents.  Costigan Media and the public are entitled to see these documents pursuant to both a First Amendment right and a common-law right of access to judicial documents.

Costigan Media functions as a member of the press and exercises rights and privileges arising under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Gambling911.com Staff

 

 

BetUS.com is one of many online sports betting firms offering odds on the 2009 Wimbledon tournament.  And while 2009 Wimbledon futures offer the best possible payouts, daily matchup odds remain tempting, albeit difficult to swallow.

Take Andy Roddick for example:  He’s a massive -1200 favorite vs. Jurgen Melzer (who would pay $600 for every $100 bet should he happen to upset Roddick).

A true sports betting enthusiast would jump at the chance to bet on Jurgen Melzer, though few would be as likely to lay down so much money on what appears to be a "sure thing" in Roddick.

"The Austrian (Melzer) was a junior Wimbledon champion but for all his successes early in his career he never converted on them at the pro-level," states Nila Amerova of BetUS.com.  "Nevertheless, Melzer is a dark horse and a potential stumbling block for the American. Roddick would do well not to underestimate Melzer. That said, he owns the series between them, which stands at a whopping 8-0. Though they have never played on grass Roddick should enter this match with all the confidence that his mark against the Austrian should give him along with the newfound self-belief that he has a chance to win a Grand Slam title nurtured by coach Larry Stefanki."

Another lopsided matchup involves Lleyton Hewitt -1000 vs. Philipp Petzschner +500.

"Hewitt enters this match as the huge favourite, priced at -1000. If the Aussie fans that showed up to watch him against Del Potro show up and set up a little Aussie cheerleading section for Hewitt, he might have a bit of home edge feel to this match. Either way, he should top Petzschner relatively easily. The big win over Del Potro must be a huge confidence lift for the Aussie who has been working hard all season long to revive his game after taking an injury timeout last season."

BetUS.com has all your 2009 Wimbledon action and is one of the leading online sports betting websites when it comes to free cash bonuses when opening a new wagering account. 

Dan Shapiro, Gambling911.com

 

 

A revolt of online gambling affiliates led to some high level (and often secretive) meetings at this year’s Casino Affiliate Convention (CAC) in Amsterdam.  A group calling itself the Gambling Affiliate Programs (GAP) organized a meeting of affiliates, many of whom were furious over Casino Affiliate Programs (CAP) conflict of interest operating its own online poker, as first reported by Gambling911.com, denied by CAP organizers, than later confirmed by these same organizers.

Internal issues have since plagued GAP.

This correspondence was submitted to Gambling911.com Monday by an individual affiliate (Casino Jack) in regard to GAP organizer, Lloyd Apter:

 

He is insane and I am going to hold this first anti GAP meeting soon. read 

this, and publish what you want: 

 

Casino Jack, you obviously didn’t you read my previous post. And neither 

did you Renee, seeing that you thanked Casino Jack for his last post. 

 

So, I’ll say it again: We are all only interested in genuine cooperation 

and respect. 

 

FYI Jordan setup the original GAP site and managed the subscription to the 

first joint statement: 

http://sites.google.com/site/gamblingaffiliateprograms/ 

 

Jordan has also been very involved in all important stages, many times 

behind the scenes. For instance the GAP logo he produced himself. 

 

And what have you guys been providing, seriously? 

 

Here’s one of Renee unthought out and simply rude comments: 

 

Quote: 

Originally Posted by Renee View Post 

Can someone enlighten me? 

What exactly (details) is the £2-5k paying for? It doesn’t explain that 

anywhere in this letter. 

 

Balloons maybe? 

And here is another one: 

 

Quote: 

Originally Posted by Renee View Post 

I’m not going to post here again until I can see a real business 

model/plan. I’m rooting for this, but I won’t support anything that I think 

is not prepared properly. 

 

You’ll notice that a business plan is usually a little longer than 4 pages 

with 1-2 paragraphs on each page and has a lot more detail than what we 

have been presented with so far. 

Seriously, we don’t work for you guys. 

 

FYI Renee, I wrote a business plan eight years ago that sold an Israeli 

manufacturing export company from a USA public company to an U.K. public 

company and I closed the deal, so I know what a business plan should look 

like. What you read was a high level strategic proposal, not a business 

plan. The document is even called a proposal and not a business plan. And 

even if you think otherwise, correctly or not, you really don’t need to be 

so rude in your manner of posting. Seriously it’s so uncalled for and is 

definitely not well intended because nobody that I know enjoys sly remarks 

being made at them. 

 

Renee, if you have something to say - please say it but with due respect. 

The same respect you would like to see from me or any of our other fellow 

affiliate/program manager and I promise you the respect will be returned, 

with interest. 

 

Casino Jack, you almost make it sound like you and Renee are running 

things here: 

 

Quote: 

Originally Posted by casinojack View Post 

Seems like Renne and 2 - 3 others are all that have been involved. 

Do you even now who drafted the joint PRs and setup the meeting at CAC? 

Well there where a few of us involved and it didn’t include either of you. 

 

I really don’t appreciate it when people push their weight around without 

much substance… just many long winded and insultive posts is in my eyes 

not very helpful. 

 

Like I said before, please think careful what your intentions are and then 

post honestly and positive. The popular tags cloud has casino jack there, 

isn’t that weird. Please carefully consider your true intentions. 

 

This is not a popularity contest. It’s a genuine effort to create a 

positive alliance between programs for improving our industry. 

 

Final comment: I honestly apologize if I have hurt anyone’s feelings in any 

way, including in this thread, but from now on all negative discussions are 

over. 

 

Any new simply negative postings will be move to the junk postings forum. 

 

I’m closing this threat." 

 

This guy off his rocker, his business plan has 400k a year in expenses to 

help us all save money, lol. what a scam 

 

After having lost their original domain name for two years, Bodog is back….Actually, Bodog.com is back.  The site is estimated to have lost significant business following loss of the Bodog.com domain name in a much ballyhooed patent suit that was settled back in April. 

It was not immediately known how the changeover will affect search rankings.  At one time, prior to the domain seizure, Bodog dominated search.  They lost most - if not all rankings - soon thereafter.   The predecessor domain - BodogLife.com - eventually managed to get some rankings back, but not all. 

One of Bodog’s only remaining celebrity poker pros, David Williams, announced the official return of the Bodog.com site Wednesday afternoon at the 2009 World Series of Poker.  The company waited a few weeks after the decision to move back to the original domain.

Bodog Poker has fallen to the number 15 spot among all online poker rooms in the world, with an average of 760 real cash players per week.  Compare that with PokerStars and its 23000 real cash players per week. 

Gambling911.com Staff

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For more information on Tote sport Casino and it’s promotions, visit their site review page.

The latest Sasha Cohen film, Bruno, could potentially become the summer’s biggest comedy hit.  The movie features a cameo appearance by none other than Republican Texas Congressman, Ron Paul.  Congressman Paul is a staunch advocate for legalized online gambling and has actually co-sponsored a bill with Democrat Barney Frank, who is openly gay, a point worth noting since Cohen attempts to seduce Paul in the film.

"I was expecting an interview on Austrian economics," Ron Paul told Politico.  "So, that didn’t turn out that way. But, by the time he started pulling his pants down, I … What in (inaudible) is going on here? I ran out of the room."

While the Congressman didn’t exactly seem thrilled by what he described as a "dishonest means of getting him in the studio," which was designed to look like a bedroom, the film is likely to help build on the Ron Paul mystique.  As a one time US Presidential candidate, Dr. Paul raised significant amounts of money through a grassroots Internet campaign.  That helped him develop a sort of cult following.

And it’s not the first time Ron Paul has been interviewed by a gay reporter.  Gambling911.com’s Jenny Woo has interviewed the Congressman in the past.  She is a bisexual.  Woo did not remove any articles of clothing during the interview, however.

As for the film itself, it is slated for release July 10. Brüno was initially rated NC-17 by the MPAA for sexual content, but the film was reclassified to an R rating after Universal Pictures edited certain scenes.

Some industry analysts and studio executives believe the movie has the potential to be the summer’s top-grossing comedy. But the studio releasing it — General Electric Co.’s Universal Pictures — is taking a low-key approach according to the Wall Street Journal.

For months, Universal has been forgoing big-ticket marketing moves — such as trailers in theaters and television spots — that are normally de rigueur for launching a big comedy.

Instead, industry watchers say, it has pursued a subtler strategy it hopes will create enough buzz to pique audience curiosity about the film, which ultimately garnered an R rating after some cuts.

Hollywood studios typically spend between $30 million and $40 million to market a big summer comedy, but Universal appears to have spent just a fraction of that sum so far. Its boldest effort as yet has been to hang "Bruno" posters — featuring Mr. Baron Cohen in high-waisted yellow shorts — in movie-theater lobbies.

Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher

 

 

 

 

 

Each of the first three open events of the 2009 World Series of Poker Presented By Jack Link’s Beef Jerky has broken a record.

First, it was Event #2, which set the record for largest prize pool for a non-Main Event field, when 201 players anted up $40,000 each to create a massive $7,718,400 prize pool. The previous record prize pool was $7,104,000 (2007) - a solid $614,000 behind the new record.

Then, Event #3, the $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low, had 918 entrants, besting the old record of 833 and becoming the largest live Omaha tournament ever played.

But the most impressive feat thus far has been the sellout of Event #4 - a $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament.  Billed as a "stimulus special," it has blown away the then-record 3,929 entrants who participated in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em tournament at last year’s WSOP - by selling a capacity of approximately 6,000 entries.

The new mark means the $1,000 event, which features two start days (May 30 and 31), is the largest non-WSOP Main Event tournament ever played. Registration for Event #4 is now sold out, with a maximum capacity of approximately 3,000 players per start day - or 6,000 players total.

"The demand for the Stimulus Special could be felt the moment we announced it," said World Series of Poker President and Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. "We welcome all the first-time players to the World Series of Poker and wish everyone good luck in their pursuit of a gold bracelet."

The total prize pool for Event #4 will exceed $5 million, with the winner guaranteed to earn more than 750 times the entry fee and the coveted gold bracelet.  Each of the final table participants will receive at least six-figure paydays.

The 40th annual WSOP began May 26 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and will continue until July 15. For the second consecutive year, the final nine players in the WSOP Main Event will halt play this summer and return in November to compete for the most prized trophy in all of poker, the WSOP Main Event gold bracelet.

ABOUT THE WSOP

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world awarding millions of dollars in prize money and the prestigious gold bracelet, globally recognized as the sport’s top prize. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker’s longest running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970.  In 2008, the event attracted 58,720 entrants from 124 different countries to the Rio in Las Vegas and awarded over $180 million in prize money.  The creation of the new delayed Main Event final table more than doubled ratings on ESPN year-over-year.  In December, 2008 the WSOP was named the 7th most admired sports brand in North America by Turnkey Sports Survey, trailing only the more established NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR and PGA Tour among sports properties.  In addition, the WSOP has formed groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent in 2007 of the World Series of Poker Europe. For more information on the World Series of Poker, please visit our website at www.worldseriesofpoker.com

 

A popular bet option each year - and one that is not always the easiest to find - is wagering on which poker player will win the World Series of Poker.  Odds to win the 2009 World Series of Poker were available at BetUS.com and included a wide range of offerings from who would win to the nationality of the winner to what the winning hand would be.  You can also bet on which player you think will make it to the final table of nine in November. 

The 2009 World Series of Poker main event is coming up quickly, starting the first week in July.

Nearly all the poker players listed below would pay out handsomely should they win thanks to the thousands of entries anticipated. 

"It’s almost like playing the lottery only your chances are much greater," says Payton O’Brien of Gambling911.com.

For instance, the favorites are noted players Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Gus Hansen and Tom Dwan.  Each would pay out $15000 for every $100 bet at  BetUS.com.  It should be noted that Negreanu came in second place at the World Series of Poker Europe, which only had a few hundred entries.  This was still quite a feat under the circumstances. 

Your odds to win the 2009 World Series of Poker appear below and are available at BetUS.com.

 

1

Phil Ivey    

+15000

2

Daniel Negreanu    

+15000

3

Gus Hansen    

+15000

4

Tom Dwan    

+15000

5

Andrew Black    

+20000

6

Juha Helppi    

+20000

7

Ivan Demidov    

+20000

8

John Juanda    

+20000

9

Barry Greenstein    

+20000

10

Allen Cunningham    

+20000

11

Jamie Gold    

+25000

12

Peter Eastgate    

+25000

13

Johnny Lodden    

+30000

14

Robert Mizrachi    

+25000

15

Theo Jorgensen    

+25000

16

Phil Hellmuth    

+25000

17

Patrick Antonius    

+25000

18

Noah Boeken    

+25000

19

Chris Fergusen    

+25000

20

Annette Obrestad    

+30000

21

Ramzi Jelassi    

+30000

22

Andreas Hoivold    

+30000

23

Bertrand Grospellier    

+25000

24

Johnny Chan    

+25000

25

Erick Lindgren    

+30000

26

Eric Seidel    

+30000

27

Howard Lederer    

+30000

28

Joe Hachem    

+35000

29

Phil Laak    

+30000

30

Scott Montgomery    

+35000

31

Michael Mizrachi    

+35000

32

Andy Bloch    

+35000

33

Greg Raymer    

+35000

34

David Tran    

+40000

35

Bengt Sonnert    

+40000

36

Dave Ulliott    

+40000

37

David Rheem    

+40000

38

Julian Thew    

+45000

39

Scotty Nguyen    

+40000

40

Chris Moneymaker    

+50000

41

Sander Lylloff    

+50000

42

Freddy Deeb    

+50000

43

Philip Hilm    

+50000

44

Martin De Kniff    

+50000

45

Soren Kongsgaard    

+50000

46

Roland De Wolfe    

+50000

47

Luca Pagano    

+50000

48

Ram Vaswani    

+50000

49

Kelly Kim    

+50000

50

David Chiu    

+50000

51

Darus Suharto    

+50000

52

Kenny Tran    

+50000

53

William Thorsson    

+50000

54

Martin Wendt    

+50000

55

Neil Channing    

+50000

56

David Benyamine    

+50000

57

Jerry Yang    

+75000

58

Humberto Brenes    

+75000

59

Sorel Mizzi    

+75000

60

Viet Van    

+75000

61

Mark Teltscher    

+75000

62

Dennis Phillips    

+75000

63

Jan Svendsen    

+75000

64

Jesper Hougaard    

+75000

65

Dario Minieri    

+75000

66

Mika Paasonen    

+75000

67

Lars Bonding    

+75000

68

Marty Smith    

+100000

69

Marcel Luske    

+100000

70

Hans Eskilsson    

+100000

71

Mats Iremark    

+100000

72

Tore Oydne    

+100000

73

Andreas Hagen    

+100000

74

Gert Andersen    

+100000

75

Dag Martin Mikkelsen    

+100000

76

Rasmus Nielsen    

+100000

77

Brian Townsend    

+100000

78

Denes Kalo    

+100000

79

Rene Angelil    

+100000

80

Rene Mouritsen    

+100000

81

Isabella Mercier    

+100000

82

Victoria Coren    

+100000

83

Craig Marquis    

+125000

84

Niklas Kihl    

+125000

85

Mikael Bredenberg    

+125000

86

Janne Overa    

+125000

87

Kristian Kjondal    

+125000

88

Morten Erlandsen    

+125000

89

Doyle Brunson    

+50000

90

Todd Brunson    

+75000

91

Mike Matusow    

+35000

92

Eli Elezra    

+50000

93

Huck Seed    

+75000

94

Ted Forrest    

+75000

95

Paul Wasicka    

+50000

96

Annie Duke    

+100000

97

Chad Brown    

+100000

98

Vanessa Rousso    

+100000

99

Jennifer Tilly    

+150000

 

Another online gambler has found entertainment and wealth at Slotland subsidiary WinADay this week with the third six-figure win at the online gambling casino. Bondgirl07 was initially introduced to the free games at the online casino by a friend, moving on to play for real money as she became more comfortable in the online gambling environment.

On the night of her big win, Bondgirl started with the Jack’s Show video poker game and then moved on to Heavenly Reels, a four payline slot machine with a special accumulating bonus, but her lucky streak started when she switched to Wheeler Dealer, a 9-wheel, 8-payline slot machine.

“My first spin on Wheeler Dealer gave me three gold bars so I knew that this was the game to play tonight,” she recalls. “I stayed with Wheeler Dealer for an hour, slowly seeing a rise in my cash. After fifteen more minutes though, I wasn’t getting many hits and had almost given up. Boy was I surprised when I got three cash symbols! I couldn’t believe it — I had won $100,224!”

This is the third six-figure jackpot at WinADay so far this year and the second to be won on the Wheeler Dealer slot machine. In January, Monica68 won $148,724 while playing the same game. Then in March, “123jaki” won $159,660 on the single-payline Slot-O-Matic.