The Singapore government has introduced a set of standards, which need to be met by the successful bidder for two casino resorts to be built on the island.

As always Singapore is looking to promote tourism in the region and the companies bidding for the casino licence will be judged on this area and the potential revenue they will create.

The contribution to the tourism of the island carries about a forty per cent influence in the decision of who will build the casino-resort.

There will be two casino resorts with the first being located at Marina Bay and the other on the popular tourist island on Sentosa.

The Singapore government have specified that the casino-resorts must be unique from other offerings in the world and also modern in its design and style.

Officials will make the final decision by March 29th and at present four companies remain in the bid to build the Marina Bay casino. They include Genting International PLC, Las Vegas Sands Corp, MGM Mirage and CapitalLand Ltd.

Requests to build on the future site of the Sentosa casino will be launched by the end of the year.

Podcasting is all the rage at the moment and it seemed only a matter of time before the poker industry cottoned on to the craze.

This week has marked the launch of OnlinePokerPodcast.com with its first ever podcast offering.

The service will be subscription based and will provide a weekly podcast containing a host of information on all areas of online poker.

Downloadable weekly, the new service will offer online poker players access to online tournament information, poker reviews, promos, and even a few tips here and there.

The service is the brainchild of Chip “Stacks” McGee who created and will host the podcast.

He said: “With over ten million digital players being sold, integrating this new technology we have the potential to reach out to more consumers than ever before.

“The Online Poker Podcast will keep online poker players up to date on everything happening in the online poker world, while allowing them to get there poker fix when they are away from the tables.”

Pokerzone, the prize winning gambling programme, will be relocating to the ‘Gaming and Dating’ section of the Sky Electronic Programming Guide.

The move means a shift from channel 843 to channel 226 for the show that recently won ‘TV Programme of the Year’ at the UK Gambling Awards fro Poker Night Live.

To mark the occasion, pokerzone is offering one of its viewers the opportunity to take part in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2006 in Las Vegas as a reporter.

For the opportunity to report on your favourite poker players at the WSOP, entrants must think up a quirky poker related ‘lonely hearts’ column advert.

You know the sort of thing – “Steely eyed double bluffer WLTM (would like to meet) cool-as-they-come card shark with GSOH (good sense of humour) for evenings in gambling, NTW (no time wasters)”.

The best entries will be short-listed with the winner being announced on a dedicated episode of ‘Poker Night Live’ at 10pm on Friday February 28th.

Jim Sibcy, pokerzone spokesman, said: “Perhaps Sky thought it was about time all those lonely poker players had a little more love in their lives.

“On a serious note, it will be a great advantage for pokerzone to be near its competitors.”

Most people choose to gamble through the lottery, poker and casino games but nowadays you really can bet on anything.

As illustrated by this year’s Westminster dog show, which bookmaker TCBets.com is already taking a flurry of bets on from dog-loving punters.

Alongside the main prize of Best in Show, gamblers can bet on almost anything including the types of props the dogs might be using.

David Banks, TCBets CEO, said: “You can bet on which group the ‘Best in Show’ winner will be from. The current favourite is the herding group at 3/1. We offer prop bets such as: Will the winning dog be from east or west of the Mississippi?

“I felt that this would be a great event to bet on. It last two days and has six hours of prime time live coverage on the USA Network.”

He added that the firm had taken over 1,000 bets on the dog show already.

If you ever needed any more motivation to pay off poker debts swiftly, then the story of Florida man Dustlin Danner might help.

Danner foolishly refused to clear his debts with a fellow poker player and ended up getting much more than he bargained for.

After refusing to pay up, he was stabbed in his behind by Jace Moore who was wielding a steak-knife at the time.

Rather worryingly, Moore was apparently attempting to stab Danner in the torso but she hit a bum note when she swung the knife and instead planted it in the poker player’s tush.

Having stabbed Danner an over-enthusiastic four times, Moore then proceeded to rob him of $276 plus an iPod.

Detectives are currently investigating the events but as yet have been unable to get to the bottom of the case.

A number of charities in the US are benefiting from the poker craze that is sweeping the country.

Large national charities such as the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation are staging big Texas hold ‘em events to raise money.

In some US states, such as Pennsylvania, playing cards for cash in illegal but it is still fairly accessible for gamblers to take place in poker games.

Even in those US states where gambling is prohibited, poker charity games are still being held despite heavy criticism from a number of organisations.

Although some charity poker galas prefer not to use any stakes, many others are holding full tournaments as they raise the charities profiles and accrue much-needed funds as well.

There is a need for greater regulation in the growing online gambling industry, according to a new survey.

Consultancy firm XTN Data found that some 80 per cent of people believe that the government needs to tighten up its control of the industry.

Also 33 per cent of respondents saud they felt that gambling sites from overseas were less turstworthy than those in the their home nation.

Half of those questioned said that there were unsure of many of the games on offer and thought that people should be given better instructions by casinos.

Greig Harper, founder of XTN Data, said: “As online gambling becomes more mainstream gaming operators need to do everything they can to attract new users including teaching them basic strategies for games.”

World Poker Tour Enterprises (WPTE) today announced the launch of its new Events Division.

The new service is designed to offer corporations, meeting planners, charitable organisations and other groups the best premiere poker events around.

Steve Lipscomb, WPTE CEO, said that the company was hoping to use the WPT brand to create programs designed to meet the marketing and business needs of its customers.

He commented that the team would be in a good position to meet its objectives with the addition of Linda Spitz, a marketing executive, and Kim Ellis, a premier event planner, to the team.

WPT Events will specialise in designing programs for corporations, meeting planners and charitable organisations for entertainment purposes rather than for actual gaming.

Mr Lipscomb added: “We believe that every time the World Poker Tour brand touches a consumer or customer, it should positively reinforce the message that the WPT is the gold standard in poker.”

Paris Hilton was the most popular search term on the internet last year, according to new research.

Poker also made an appearance in the top ten of most searched for items on the web, while Hurricane Katrina was the most popular news event.

Between January 1st 2005 and November 30th 2005, Poker was also listed as the top fad search, according to the Lycos 50.

Dean Tsouvalas, writer of the list, said: “Paris Hilton generated more searches than any other search term this year, as she consistently finds ways to stay top of mind with web users.

“People continue to search for more than just the infamous Paris Hilton sex tape. Whenever Paris makes headlines offline, search activity skyrockets for her online.”

Hooters, the restaurant chain that is well known for its busty waitresses, will open a hotel and casino in Vegas.

The restaurant chain that has been labelled as “delightfully tacky, yet unrefined” began over 20 years ago in Florida.

The complex will be a renovated hotel-casino that exists on the strip and will have almost 700 rooms and nine restaurants and bars.

Ed Droste, founder of Hooters, told CNN: “The Hooters customer is already a Vegas kind of customer.

“They’re a little punky, they’re a little high energy, they’re looking for a getaway – and all of those things just match up.”

The hotel will face stiff competition though as it is located opposite the gigantic MGM Grand.