Issue N43, 2010
October 27, 2010
New Chairman of Merged PartyGaming – Bwin Named
PartyGaming and bwin Interactive, which plan to merge next year to become one of the biggest online gambling groups in the world, announced the name of their new non-executive chairman. Simon Duffy, who has plenty of experience under his belt serving in executive and non-executive capacities in the past, will become chairman of the merged group in 2011. Sixty year old Duffy has worked as executive chairman of Tradus Plc, as Chief Executive Officer and President of ntl (Virgin Media Group) and as Chief Financial Officer of Orange SA, to name just a few.
“We are delighted that Simon, with his wealth of business experience from a career spanning many different industries and companies, will become chairman when our transformational merger is complete,” said Jim Ryan of PartyGaming. “His achievements from working with consumer-facing businesses, especially those in the entertainment and online industries, will be an invaluable resource for us as we seek to exploit the significant opportunities that we expect to flow from the continued expansion of the online gaming industry.”
Duffy also commented on the appointment and said: “I very much look forward to becoming chairman when PartyGaming and Bwin join forces. They are unquestionably two of the online gaming industry’s pioneers and great successes in their own right. Together, they are set to create a true global champion in the field of online gaming and eCommerce, a business sector that is clearly destined to expand.”
Golden Riviera Casino Running Freeroll Slot Tournament
A new online slots tournament is running at Golden Riviera online casino this week, with the good news that this is a freeroll event. Essentially, that means that players don’t have to pay anything to enter, yet they still put themselves in line to win part of the massive €30,000 cash prize pool being put up by the Microgaming powered Golden Riviera. The featured game in the nine day freeroll, which kicked off on October 7th and will run until November 5th, is the all-popular Tomb Raider video slot.
All players will be given six minutes of time to play, as well as 6,000 credits, with the objective being to get to the top of the leaderboard and be among the top 100 players in the tournament. Players can also enjoy unlimited add-ons at the cost of €10 each, which buys them four extra minutes and 4,000 credits.
“This is the biggest tournament that we have ever held. Based on the success of previous tournaments, we know that players are going to love this glorious new tournament,” said Emily Alessi, Manager for Golden Riviera Casino. “The tournaments are fast-paced and heart-pounding races to the finish line with players walking away satisfied that they played their best from start to finish and they played to win. A total of €30,000 is waiting to be won and even if you can find your way into the top 100 positions, you can still enjoy the entertainment, rewards and glory of finishing in the finals of this fantastic tournament.”
The top player will win €5,000; second prize is €3,000, while third prize is €2,500.
Mega Fortune Slot Game Pays out Four Million Euro!
A player from Norway will definitely be enjoying his retirement more – with €4 million extra in his back pocket. The retired Norwegian carpenter played the Mega Fortune slot game at Casino Euro and was stunned to learn that he was the winner on the progressive jackpot feature of this game from a wager of only €30! “I just wanted to play some low stakes but decided to put €30 on Mega Fortune and did nothing as everything happened automatically using the auto-play feature,” said the winner. “Finally, the reels stopped and I had won four million Euros. I couldn't believe it and, when it finally sunk in that I had won, I had to shout for my wife as I was about to faint.”
The business area director for Casino Euro, Kevin Saliba said: “I was informed of the win a few minutes after the jackpot dropped. It is with great joy that I congratulate the winner and I hope that this large jackpot gives him the freedom to realize his dreams. It is unbelievable fun to pay out such large wins and even more pleasing and fun when it is a retired man who has won. So, we sincerely hope that the money helps the retired carpenter and his wife to enjoy their retirement even more.”
Ladbrokes Poker introduces Anonymous Tables
Ladbrokes.com, which offers online gambling, casino and poker offerings, has introduced a great new feature to its poker division. Players will now be able to find anonymous tables at Ladbrokes Poker which allows them to play using an anonymous alias and avatar. Opponents will not be able to recognize the player from his or her avatar and no notes or tags will be able to be viewed.
“Never before have poker players been able to play without other players knowing who they are,” said Kate McLennan, Head of Poker for Ladbrokes. “This brings an added element to the game for people who may have a playing style that may be recognizable. For those new to the game, it is an opportunity to try some different moves without getting a reputation because players will simply never know who they are playing against.”