The World Series of Poker (WSOP) has announced the date which will mark the beginning of next year’s world-famous event – June 1st 2007.

The 38th WSOP event will start at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino on the above date, beginning 47 days of intensive poker playing action that culminate in the final Texas Hold’em table on July 17th.

The Texas Hold’em event is the pinnacle of the tournament; the no limit free-for-all attracting the biggest name players and the biggest prize money – $12 million at last year’s count.

The first ever tournament, won by Johnny Moss in 1970, had just seven entrants and minimal prize money.

With the 2006 event attracting almost 50,000 player registrations, and giving out over $171 million in prize money, the WSOP is now bigger than ever. But WSOP commissioner Jeffrey Pollack is confident that the 2007 tournament will grow still further.

“2007 will be even better”, he said. “As a first step, we’ve moved the start date up and now we’re developing an expanded and well-rounded schedule of events for 2007 that will appeal to both professionals and amateurs,” the commissioner added.

After a long year of debate, the Pennsylvania Senate has finally approved a gambling reform bill which means that Philadelphia will be able to control the proposed new casinos to be built in the city.

The ruling means that the city will be able to have its say in the construction of the project, as well as ensuring that local zoning rules and the city-wide smoking ban will both apply to the casinos.

“This new law removes any opportunity for monkey business that the previous law may have allowed,” Governor Rendell said in a statement.

The state Gaming Control Board will also have to conduct criminal background checks before it hires any new employees.

Despite the victory, local campaigners maintain that there are still many obstacles ahead, with many expected to now turn their attentions to the effect that casino construction will have upon the local environment. Property rights along the Delaware River, the location for several proposed casinos, are thought to be foremost among such concerns.

Billionaire Donald Trump has announced that he is in talks with resort developer Steve Wynn about building a gigantic new casino in Atlantic City.

The project, which would potentially cover the entire Trump Plaza site along with three surrounding blocks, is though to be worth $3 billion, but has already hit some roadblocks.

The first is an old adversary of Mr Trump’s, elderly local resident Vera Coking. Ms Coking famously beat Mr Trump in a 1998 court case over possession of her property, and the new development would again see Trump Entertainment requiring her to move.

Currently Ms Coking believes the offer, $250,000, is not enough. Similarly, the owners of nearby Boardwalk Hall insist that they would attempt to convince Mr Trump to work around the building rather than knock it down.

Mr Trump and Mr Wynn had previously engaged in a lengthy business-based rivalry for much of the past ten years, but the proposed new project appears to mark a new dawn for the pair.

Mr Wynn, the casino mogul behind Las Vegas’ Mirage and the Bellagio, earlier this month infamously put his arm through a Picasso painting that he had just agreed to sell for $139 million. The deal was promptly cancelled.

The new internet gambling ban is unlikely to stop US gamblers from doing what they love best, according to a new report.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was signed earlier this month, prompting fears that the days of online gambling in the US were over.

But the upshot is expected to be little more than the fact that those wanting to bet will simply have to search slightly harder for a site that manages to circumvent the laws.

There remain numerous questions over whether the US Treasury and Federal Reserve will actually be able to enforce the legislation effectively, according to the Associated Press.

“It has put a terrible scare into people,” said Whittier Law School’s gambling law professor Nelson Rose. “But it won’t by any means wipe out internet gambling,” he added, speaking to Associated Press

Rose suggests that the new law banning banks from providing electronic fund transfers to gaming sites is not the end of the road. Instead it will mean that money will now be transferred by payment processors known as e-wallets, before transferring money to the sites themselves.

Such opinions seem to be the consensus around the industry, with MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman saying earlier this month that “Trying to stop internet gambling is akin to trying to hold a wave on the sand and stop the ocean from sending any more”.

Leeds Council is still confident they could get one of the coveted eight casino licences that the UK government is expected to give out in January this year, 24dash.com reported.

Last week’s Casino Advisory Panel announcement which finalised their long and short shortlist of districts that casinos could be built made the Leeds City Council optimistic that they were still in the running for one of the licences.

The short shortlist consists of Blackpool, Cardiff, Glasgow, Greenwich, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield, and the long shortlist is much longer, where Leeds is in sixth place according to a standard ranking system among the bidding towns.

Leeds executive member for development for the council, Andrew Carter said: “We remain confident that a large casino can still be a big part of the city’s regeneration plans.”

Depending on its size, the Leeds Council hopes a new casino would re-generate the city economy; creating up to 500 full-time jobs within the casino and 200 outside it, and potentially bringing in outside investment of up to ₤21 million in the private sector.

The Leeds bid is also realistic about the adverse effect that gambling has on some patrons and is prepared to deal with that as well.

“As a responsible authority we will always aim to protect those who could be affected in a negative way by gambling,” Councillor Carter said.

The charity spectacle “Off the Strip Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament” in Las Vegas will soon follow on last year’s success with Motley Crue’s Vince Neil hosting.

The benefit tournament will host celebrities, pro players and sexy Las Vegas dancers in an intimate 150 player setting at the famed Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on November 5th.

“I’m very excited about the tournament,” said Neil.

“We have kicked this idea around for a while and it just makes sense, since I live in Las Vegas and The Joint is one of my favourite venues.”

Players will have a chance to win a piece of the $50,000 prize pool, and bid on unique music, sports and entertainment memorabilia throughout the afternoon and into the night.

Motley Crue will have played MGM the day before the tournament, heating up the Vegas crowds.

Proceeds will benefit the TJ Martell Foundation- the tournament raised $170,000 last year for the cause, supporting innovative cancer treatments.

“I hope my fans will come out and make this a very special night because it is a very special cause to me,” Neil said.

Casino revenues in the US state of Colorado leapt over the month of September by nearly ten per cent, new figures show.

The Colorado Division of Gaming reports that adjusted gross proceeds for casinos soared by 9.7 per cent to $69.8 million last month, compared with September 2005.

According to the Denver Business Journal, the latest casino data for Colorado shows that adjusted gross proceeds were up by 1.5 per cent between August and September 2006 and the state’s casinos have generated a whopping $212.8 million in revenue over the year to date.

Colorado has a total of 47 casinos, 21 of which are located in the town of Black Hawk, 19 in Cripple Creek, near Colorado Springs, seven in Central City and the remainder in Ignacio and Towaoc. The state’s gaming revenues reached a record high of $74.3 in July this year.

The largest contributor of adjusted gross proceeds (the amount a game brings in minus any cash prizes paid out) was penny slots in September ($25.2 million), while the Colorado casinos paid a total of $7.3 million in gaming taxes last month.

A casino mogul botched his own plans to sell a famous Picasso painting when he stuck his elbow through it while talking about it.

Steve Wynn bought Picasso’s 1932 Le Reve (The Dream) painting in 1997 for $48.4 million and entered into a contract to sell it for a world-record $139 million before he destroyed it.

Mr Wynn was gesticulating animatedly about the painting to friends and acquaintances Barbara Walters and Nora Ephron when he inadvertently stuck his elbow through the middle of the painting, leaving a hole the “size of a silver dollar.”

His first reaction to his costly poke according to Ms Ephron was to say “Oh s*, look what I’ve done.

“Thank goodness it was me.”

Ms Ephron also noted that Mr Wynn suffers from a degenerative eye disease that affects his peripheral vision.

The sale of Le Reve, a portrait of Picasso’s mistress Marie-Therese Walter, will no longer take place and Mr Wynn instead will to restore and keep the painting.

Now doubt he has had better luck with his casino empire!

Fans of video poker should head on to InterCasino and see what all the fuss is about.

The game offers some great prizes and great action, with hundreds of dollars to be won if you play your cards right.

Players are dealt a five-card hand, from which they can discard as many cards as they like in the hope of improving their hand with the replacements.

InterCasino has seven different video poker games to choose from, with some paying out on any pair you have accumulated, while others give better rewards by being tougher to beat.

For instance, some varieties require a pair to be jacks or better for the player to receive any money, while the joker poker game, while being easier to win on, does not pay out as well.

Video poker at InterCasino offers players a number of betting options, from $0.25 to $5 a round and gives customers the opportunity to enjoy poker without worrying about how their opponents are doing.

US television network NBC has announced plans to host a new late night poker show.

The Poker After Dark programme will give a detailed look at the murky waters of the professional game, with all players miked during play for the weekly $120,000 pots and detailed analysis of the good and not so good moves.

Top players such as Daniel Negreanu, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson and Jennifer Harman will be playing in the series of tournaments, which aim to give the audience the inside track on the game.

“There’s a vibrant late night audience looking for original programming,” said NBC’s west coast president Mike Graboff.

“We felt this inside look at the professional poker scene is perfect for late night television and those viewers seeking an unique and original broadcast.”

The show, which will be hosted by poker beauty Shana Hiatt, will begin broadcasting in January.