Category: Poker General

While it is hard for many people to find the money to have fun at social events or gatherings these days, it is just as hard, if not harder for charities and good causes. With money being so tight, people really need to think about the essential items first and this means that all luxury items, all leisure gifts and a lot of charitable donations have to be cut back. It is not as if people are happy about shunning charities that they previously supported willingly but if the money is not available, there is not a lot else that can be done.

This is why charities and their supporters need to be more creative in the raising of funds. It is no longer enough to shake a bucket at people and hope that they will drop coins into it. There is a need for charities to engage people and provide them with some form of entertainment and benefit that will make it easier for people to give them money. A person faced with the prospect of being able to enjoy an evening out which helps them have fun but will also see a local charity benefit will find it much easier to get involved.

Poker players give a helping hand

This is why two local charities in Werrington are rolling out poker events to raise money for two great causes. The money for these satellite poker events, being held in The Dragon Bar on Saturday the 9th of March and then later at The Cock Inn on the 31st of March will be supporting Pancreatic Cancer and Marfans Syndrome.

The £5 buy-in is a low price and not only is there a chance to support great causes and have a great poker night, the top prize is a £100 seat at a major charity poker night that is being hosted in the Luton G Casino in July, where there will be a lot more money at stake.

Poker and casino games are big business these days and while the main focus falls on online casino sites and poker rooms, there is a lot of interest in big casino venues up and down the country. There is a growing awareness that casino rooms and poker games are not necessarily a road to ruin for people and local areas. In fact, there is an understanding that properly regulating the games and creating venues where people want to spend time can have a positive impact on the local economy.

Poker can boost the local economy

This is what council bosses in Southampton are hoping for as they look to create a casino on their waterfront which they hope will bring some that good old fashioned Las Vegas style and glamour to the area. The Royal Pier development has been at the planning stage for a considerable time but the casino building is expected to the major component of the development area and there is hope for thousands of jobs to be created in total.

Currently, councillors are agreeing the terms and conditions with which companies can bid to take ownership of the casino and the application process is hoped to begin in April. However, it is not expected that the assessment of these applications will begin until August. It is not expected that an answer as to who will run the casino will be provided quickly and it may take up to a year and a half before any decision is made.

Southampton was one of the 8 local authorities that were provided with a licence to create a super casino when the powers were granted back in 2008. The licence includes the ability to create 30 poker and blackjack tables. The casino is also licenced to host 150 slots, which will be able to provide jackpot prizes of up to £4,000.

Sometimes it can be difficult to develop skills, talent and determination to succeed in one discipline so the thought of entering a tournament where two completely separate disciplines are tested can be off-putting to some. Many poker players find that the different types of poker games represent a difficult enough challenge so you wonder how many people are going to be interested in an upcoming event that sees golf and poker skills being put to the limit? It is not going to be a tournament for everyone but for anyone that likes to think they excel at the poker table and on the golf course; this has to be a tournament that grabs their attention.

Play to the limit with golf and poker

A golf club in Surrey has pulled out all the stops for such an event and they have even managed to get a major sponsor on board. If you like golf, you will know the TaylorMade brand and this label is behind the Golf & Poker Challenge 2013 at the Kingswood Golf & Country Club.

For an entry fee of £45, players will be presented with 1,000 poker chips before they hit the golf course and nine holes. It is possible to pick up bonus chips on the course with bonuses for longest drive and nearest the pin elements. After a break for food and drinks, the action turns to the poker tables where a Texas Hold ‘Em event will take place in the club at night. Those players that excelled on the golf course will find that they have a head start on their opponents so there is a lot to be gained from having skills in both areas. The event will be taking place on Friday, the 12th of April.

There is often a lot of money to be made when playing poker at a popular casino venue and there are definitely a lot of people that come away from a casino thinking that they have been robbed. However, it is not nice when these two elements come together after robberies or attempted robberies at popular casino venues. The current economic situation may be grim for many people these days, causing them to contemplate actions they normally wouldn’t but that still doesn’t justify what some people do.

The Grosvenor Casino in Newcastle, a popular poker venue in the North East of England, was the venue for an armed raid that took place on Thursday the 21st of February. During the raid, two men threatened a security guard with a shotgun before they stole a lot of money, which is so far undisclosed, from the casino on Thursday evening.

Always money in poker venues

However, on Tuesday the 25th of February, police announced that they had arrested two men and were in the process of questioning them after the armed raid. The initial police report stated that two men, one aged 44 and the other aged 33, had been “arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit robbery”. Both men were bailed.

The police are still continuing their investigations and are appealing for any witnesses to come forward as they believe that other people may have been involved and are still at large. Thankfully these incidents do not occur too often but with the current economic climate and casinos being such a standout premises these days, there is a chance that these events may happen again.

The club have yet to issue a statement about the incident and they have not been forthcoming on how much money was stolen.

We all know that playing poker is a great way to pass the time but there is a need to follow the rules, not only of the game, but also unfortunately of the country as well. While it may seem as though the limitations placed on people or businesses being able to set up poker nights are frustrating, these rules are mainly set up for everyone’s benefit and to keep folk safe and secure.

A private club located in Reigate was recently shut-down for running a number of high-stake and popular commercial games. This came as a blow but not as much as the blow when the club was informed that it would not be entitled to reopen with a new name.

Poker fun has to be legal

The Full House Club, alternatively known as the Reigate Town Club, which has been located above a number of shops in Church Street ran into difficulties last November. The club was stripped of the private club premises licence and the gaming licence thanks to a decision made by the Reigate and Banstead Borough Council. The stripping of these licences took place after the club was investigated and raided by the Gambling Commission.

Members of the Full House Club decided to apply for a new licence to allow gaming to take place but it seemed that there was no agreement over what the licence should consist of. The members submitted plans to run as a club which stayed open until 8am every day where alcohol would be allowed to be sold until 5 in the morning at weekends.

This application was refused and although the possibilities of obtaining a limited licence were examined and considered, the application was refused. A full written judgment has not yet been issued but this is expected to follow shortly.

When it comes to British institutions, it would be fair to say that Ladbrokes is one of the biggest and best around. Even in the modern era where it seems that sports betting, online gaming and casino games are everywhere, Ladbrokes still manages to be a big name in the industry. The company may have moved away from only being a name on the High Street to being a name known all over the world online but there is still something traditional about them that marks them for the average UK gaming fan.

However, while the company has recently announced success and profits in its digital divisions, it appears that poker is not at the top of the positive elements for Ladbrokes at the moment. Even though the company has a great reputation for providing safe and reliable online gaming facilities for players, there has been a movement away from its online poker arm in the past year.

Poker is an important element for a gaming firm

Last year, the company had a poker digital revenue of £14.2m but in the year just finished this dropped by over £3m. The digital revenue for Ladbrokes for the year just finished stood at £10.9m, the biggest drop experienced by any of the digital elements offered by the site. In fact, overall, Ladbrokes still managed to post an increase in its overall revenues in their digital casino and gaming sections. The previous total was £73.5m which rose to £75.8m. There will be mutterings and suggestions within Ladbrokes that they should be receiving a better return from the poker sector.

While there are plenty of alternative poker rooms and options for players, with Ladbrokes being such an established name in the online sector, the company should be looking to continually move upwards in this field.

When you are playing online poker, you really need to have a good internet connection to make the most of it. A game of poker can change very quickly and you need to ensure that there is very little lag when it comes to making the post of your online poker time. Not only will a poor internet connection be annoying for you, it will start to annoy other players if you are unable to keep up with the pace of play. Players really need to ensure that they are able to withstand the rigours of modern online poker before they commit to playing in big online games and tournaments.

Play poker at the right speed

However, it is not just online poker players that need to think about their connections and ensuring they are up to speed. You could argue that it is even more important for the online poker providers to ensure that their service is powered by a network that allows poker players to play at the speed they want to. With so many online poker sites to choose from, if one provider is not able to meet the needs and requirements of a poker player, other poker sites will step in.

This is why the Genting group have been working hard to improve their services. The company has recently announced that they have entered into a partnership with Virgin Media Business. This will ensure that the firm has a superfast fibre optic network which will be able to provider great connectivity to everything it does. Not only will this improve the network at their headquarters, it will also see the 40 Genting casinos across the country benefit too. With Genting becoming a bigger name in the online casino and poker business too, this is likely to be good news for everyone that likes a game or two of poker.

While playing poker can be an excellent way to have fun and provide a chance to win some money, there is sometimes an opportunity to do good for the community as a whole with poker. It can be difficult to raise funds for charitable causes and worthy recipients due to the current economic recession but charity nights based around fun have a much better chance of success. This is why the number of casino or poker nights, where there is an emphasis on raising money for charitable causes is on the rise. Being able to have some fun, having the chance to win some money and knowing you are helping a good cause will appeal to a lot of people.

Poker can be a good way of raising money

This has been the case recently in Cambridge when a group of Churchill College students and conference team members decided to hold a poker night to raise funds to support a homeless charity. The event was a huge success raising more than £1,000 which was given to FLACK. FLACK is an organisation which prepares and released a magazine which is written, produced and then distributed by many of the homeless population in the city.

The night was also used to showcase much of the talent and facilities offered by the college. Guests were serenaded by the college jazz band, while guests were provided with a buffet and drinks from the college students in the cookery classes. A number of cookery demonstrations were also provided so anyone that was looking for a break from the poker action could take it easy in the kitchen.

Poker is big business these days but it can be of benefit to remember it can offer help and support to many people with this event being a great example of what poker can provide.

It is always interesting to note the ways that poker players around the world get to play their favourite games. If you have an interest in the online poker industry in other countries, you will be interested to know that Ukash is now available in Mexico. The company has signed an agreement with the Mexican firm Farmapronto which will enable it to be used by online poker players in Mexico.

Ukash has been able to develop a strong profile and presence in North America and this latest announcement should see the firm develop an even stronger hold on this part of the world. It is always good to hear of a British success story and especially when it means that more poker players will be able to play online poker games.

Poker sites and players need good payment options

Ukash was founded back in 2005 and has developed into a major player in the finance industry. The increasing numbers of online transactions taking place has ensured that people are looking for a safe way to spend money online and intermediary firms are of great benefit and support. This is exactly what this UK company has achieved and they are appreciated the world over by poker players.

One of the best things about playing online poker in the UK and Ireland is how simple it can be to make an online transaction. Compare the plight of the UK poker player to that of an American poker player and the whole process is extremely simple. There are many different reasons for this but it is apparent that while America lauds itself as being the land of the free and the home of the brave, it is far from welcoming for online poker players. The work of this US company is helping people all around the world to enjoy online poker but of course, there is always more work to be done!

If you have ever watched Sky Sports News for even the most fleeting of moments, you can’t have failed to have noticed their formula. A male and female partnership serving up sports news around the clock which manages to promote a lot of Sky’s upcoming games. The presenters are all fully trained and no doubt big sports fans but it would be fair to say that the female presenters are all rather easy on the eye.

One of the most popular girls is Charlotte Jackson who has also been making a splash (if you excuse the pub) on ITV peak-time weekend TV of late. This means that her star is definitely in the ascendency at the moment which means that Sky Poker have pulled off quite a coup.

Play against the big stars with online poker

Charlotte has been announced as the Sky Poker ambassador and if you want to take her on in a poker game, you will have the chance. Online poker players on the site should look out for CharlotteJ because the presenter will be getting hands on with the poker fun.

As well as appearing on Sky Sports News, Charlotte will be appearing on the Sky Poker TV channel as well as exclusively playing on the site. With plenty of TV adverts on the Sky channels set to feature the young presenter, there may well be a lot more people taking up an interest in poker.

She claims to have an interest in the game but isn’t the greatest so you may have the chance to play Charlotte and grab a win.

With rumours still circulating about Charlotte’s romance with Welsh football manager Chris Coleman it seems that you can’t keep Charlotte Jackson out of the news these days.