The UK government has revealed that a long-standing ban on television advertising for gambling is to be lifted as part of new regulatory measures.

Casinos, betting shops and poker rooms will now be able to promote their products on UK television channels, though it was not clarified what limits would be put on this measure.

Television watchdogs may decide to permit such adverts to be displayed only after the 21:00 watershed. Proposals are currently being considered by governmental officials, with a code of practice set to be introduced shortly.

Gambling advertising is currently controlled by the UK’s Gambling Commission in conjunction with primary legislative policies. Broadcast advertising is overseen by the Advertising Standards Authority and Committee of Advertising Practice.  

However, it will become illegal for gambling sites located outside of the European Economic Area to advertise in any form in the UK under the new laws.

Matthew Casterella has won the Borgata Winter Poker Open, taking home $375,000 for his troubles, it has been announced.

Names such as Michael Mizrachi competed alongside lesser known players in a battle for the main prize.

The final day saw 27 players left in the competition, with a final table coming around shortly afterwards. Mizrachi soon fell leaving the likes of John Myung and Bill Edler as the main names left in the tournament.

But it was Casterella who eventually triumphed and took home the prize money.

A near 600-strong field is now gathering to play the tournament’s main event, the WPT Borgata Poker Classic, with names such as Phil Ivey and Joe Sebok all ready to make a claim for the $1.6 million first prize. One satellite player began the qualifiers with just $100, but managed to secure a $10,000 seat at the main event later in the evening.

The Atlantic City Council has amended its much publicised smoking ban in casinos to allow for some smoking on gaming floors, it has been revealed.

A quarter of the gaming floor will allow smoking under the new ordinances, provided the areas are enclosed and ventilated separately, the Press of Atlantic City has reported.

Employees and anti-smoking groups had been in favour of a ban, but the new legislation will mean that any employee working in the smoking area will do so on a voluntary basis.

Officials cited financial concerns as their main reason for making the adjustment.

“There should be some understanding that this is a $5.2 billion business. We need to preserve that and protect the employees at the same time,” said councillor John Schultz, speaking to the Press of Atlantic City.

The ordinance had been put on hold while Atlantic Municipal Utilities considered a similar policy, but logistical reasons meant that the two groups were unable to co-ordinate their decisions.

Life as Head of Poker could sometime be tough. This Wednesday I had to spend 5 hours teaching 3 Playboy bunnies how to play poker. Kitten, Hannah and Emily came into the office around lunch time and all of a sudden most of my male colleagues wanted to help out with stacking chips, were gladly going to the kitchen to fetch some coffee, volunteering to wipe the table in the board room – any excuse really to find a reason to help out in the Playboy bunny training session. I can’t remember a single time before I have been so popular. Kitten, Hannah and Emily were clearly used to this kind of attention and floated through the office in a glamorous manner while the guys in the office tried to act like they were working. When it came down to my poker training the girls actually where smarter than they looked and by the end of the session they mastered the concepts of semi-bluffing, double bluffing, how to read other players and sand bagging (check-raise). If you are going to the EPT final in Monte Carlo you will be able to see them in full poker action with full bunny suits on against the best. Beware all of you poker pro’s out there.
Fire and Ice and Bunnies in Bunny Suits 
This week London has been invaded by the worlds gaming industry due Europe’s biggest gaming conference ICE. The biggest in the world takes place in Vegas (where else?). This one is pretty darn big though covering three football pitches with exhibitions. The actual conference is quite boring and you can spend hours finding out about shuffling machines, security software, how to subscribe to bingo trays online and other meaningless things. If you’re lucky you could end up collecting countless T-shirts in the process. The fun stuff goes on at night when many different people from the industry come out for a few drinks and if one is lucky we all end up in the local card room! Surprisingly this was exactly what happened! There is no greater pleasure than taken money from competitive colleagues! I was on a roll and ended the night £250 up even if I managed to loose a £300 pot at the end of the session. Read the last paragraph on this grueling bad beat. By Wednesday it was time for the yearly Fire and Ice party. 1000 gaming professionals in one massive night club in London. Free drinks in the beginning and then more free drinks in the VIP-PlayboyGaming lounge. Through my training earlier in the day I qualified to get hold of one of the sought after VIP-entries. And of course my new friends Kitten, Hannah and Emily were on site and this time in bunny outfits. I’m telling you it feels weird to discuss the concept of slow playing with a person who stands in a bunny suit in a posh nightclub. Yes, life at the moment is hard!
Bad Beat of the Week  
Ok, all of you who don’t like the bad beat whining can stop reading now. I will reveal how I managed to loose £300 in a pot that I thought was the best call of the night. I was sitting on SB in a £1-2 NL game, picked up KQ in the hole. Got 3 limpers before me and decided to raise it up and make it £10 extra. BB folded and two more players stayed in. Flop Q 3 6 rainbow. I’m first to act so I fire off a £25 bet. A loose Irish guy immediately pushed it all in and making it a £100 extra. It’s an over bet that stinks bluff or semi-bluff long way. The third player folds. I go through his actions and it just doesn’t make sense. If he had AQ before the flop he should have raised it preflop. Same thing with QQ and most other pairs. I was afraid of a hand like Q6 or Q3, but if he had that why didn’t he fold pre-flop. I was on a roll and the guy looked nervous so I called him. He turned over Q9. Yes, the best call of the night. The turn came a 9 and to rub it in an extra 9 hit on the river. Now that hurt but when I thought about it was the only pot of importance I lost during the whole night so I was happy overall. With this I would like to wish all of you a good weekend and good luck at the tables.  Henrik