The latest plan comes at the start of the new year and according to Rene Jansen, the KSA’s chairman, the Gambling Authority will not only safeguard the online gambling vertical but target physical illegal games of chance. Such games can include illegal slot machines, bingos, lotteries, poker, sports betting or other unlicensed gambling activities.
KSA’s chairman explained that in 2023, inspectors are going to travel around the country. In collaboration with local authorities and partners, the gambling watchdog will seek to strike illegal physical operators. To help with the plan, the KSA will rely on its partners that will cooperate effectively and establish a regional network. Additionally, the watchdog said it plans to recruit new inspectors, expanding its capacity.
“Together with our partners looking for physically offered illegal games of chance, ranging from operating slot machines, poker, bingos or lotteries without a license to the gambling terminals that are used for illegal sports betting,“
reads a blog entry by Rene Jansen chairman of the KSA
Illegal Gambling Operations Pose a Threat to Customers
Jansen acknowledged that illegal gambling operations are nothing alike a “romanticized old-fashioned image of a game of bingo in a dim room, behind a curtain, in a brown café with a few small prizes on the bar.” Instead, he explained that illegal gambling operations participate in money laundering and avoid any consumer protection protocols.
Jansen added that there are some illegal retail operations that are not large in scale. Still, he reiterated that illegal gambling involves money laundering and ultimately represents a threat to the customers.
The chairman of the KSA pointed out that there are “undermining” efforts and explained: “In addition to warm political interest in this theme in The Hague, many municipalities are also looking for ways to counter undermining and thus discourage and disrupt criminals.” However, according to Jansen, a strong bond between the KSA and regional inspectors can help achieve the goal to reduce illegal gambling operations.
The latest announcement comes after only recently, the KSA issued a fine of nearly $1 million against Shark77. At the time of the announcement, the watchdog said that the operator offered its online gambling services illegally which was in breach of the Gambling Act. According to an investigation by the regulator, Shark77 did not obstruct Dutch customers from depositing funds and allowed players from the country to access its website.
Every poker player has suffered a bad beat during their career. Whether is losing with pocket aces against pocket queens, or something as horrible as an opponent hitting a runner-runner straight to stack you. As infuriating as they are, bad beats are part and parcel of playing poker. So why is it that TigerGaming cash game players pray to the poker gods for a bad beat to happen to them? The site’s Bad Beat Jackpot, that’s why.
TigerGaming’s Bad Beat Jackpot cash game tables are where you need to head if you want to be financially rewarded, and handsomely so, if you endure a bad beat. The online poker site pays out thousands of dollars via its Bad Beat Jackpot, but the beat has to be seriously bad to pay out.
You must lose with four of kind deuces or better to trigger the Bad Beat Jackpot. You must use both of your hole cards when you make a qualifying hand, as does the player who puts the bad beat on you. Furthermore, the hand must go to showdown. Often, TigerGaming reduces the strength of the qualifying hand, usually if nobody has won the jackpot for a while. The qualifying hand is clearly shown in the TigerGaming lobby.
Perhaps the best thing about the TigerGaming Bad Beat Jackpot is you only have to be dealt into the hand or be playing at any Bad Beat Jackpot table to win if the jackpot triggers. This is because the jackpot pays out as follows:
20% to the player with the bad beat
15% to the winner of the hand
12.5% shared among the players at the table where the bad beat happened
12.5% shared among players at other Bad Beat Jackpot tables
35% is used to reseed the jackpot
5% administration fee
Top 5 Poker Bad Beat Jackpots You Won’t Believe
The Bad Beat Jackpot tables play like a traditional cash game, except an additional $0.10 per $4 in the pot, up to a maximum of $0.50, is removed to fund the jackpot. You may find play is slightly looser, especially when the jackpot has swelled, as players attempt to make hands to trigger the jackpot.
There have been some very big winners over the past 12 months by players that no longer bore their friends with bad beat stories. “Kalisse” received $91,616.45 on April 4, 2022, while “thisisnotchess” scooped $56,875.98 on July 2, 2022. More recently, on Christmas Day, “DonYagon” banked $24,039.40.
“Tyrant” holds the record for thelargest bad beat jackpot payment at TigerGaming. On January 7, 2018, their bad beat resulted in $273,382.82 landing in their account! Can you imagine?
Help Yourself to a $1,000 Welcome Bonus
You need a TigerGaming account to be in with a chance of winning the Bad Beat Jackpot. If you don’t already have an account, download TigerGaming via PokerNews’ links, create your free account, and make a deposit of at least $50. Email TigerGaming’s support team at [email protected] within 24 hours of making your deposit, ensuring you mention the bonus code “NEWTG” and you 100% match up to $1,000 bonus will be activated.
After integrating Greco’s gameplay risk engine to improve operational marketing efficiencies for its clients just last week, the provider of customer relationship management solutions has launched a fresh artificial intelligence (AI) language technology.
Operators to Generate Human-Like Campaigns and Content
According to PRWEB, the new autoregressive AI technology model embraced by the SaaS provider will be used by gaming operators to automatically generate human-like content and campaigns while using the interactions with their users and the instructions received from them.
Fast Track’s co-founder and chief executive officer Simon Lidzén spoke about the much-anticipated technology that will finally allow their platform to serve its original self-learning purpose.
The new AI model will enable operators to cut their expenses and simplify the delivery of 1:1 experiences to all customers. By integrating the new AI language, Fast Track has taken an important step towards the digitization of the online gaming industry while preparing the ground for boosting its productivity.
The company will present its innovative technology next month during the ICE event in London. The first version is likely to be launched shortly after the event ends.
“Unprecedented Levels of Productivity and Efficiency” for Partners
Fast Track is also optimistic regarding the enhanced levels of productivity and efficiency that their partners are expected to reach soon after they will start using the new AI language technology.
Interested operators will get to rapidly create campaigns that will reach multiple channels at the same time, in the form of subject lines, language localization, and A/B testing.
Chief technology officer Patrik Potocki described the new model as one that will allow fast Track’s partners to “work smarter, not harder” while speeding up the process of providing 1:1 gaming experiences. Potocki called this “truly a game changer for the industry” while expressing excitement to be right at the forefront of the innovation.
The disruptive technology company that is recognized as the CRM leader in the iGaming industry mixes real-time data, a central system, and the correct processes. This way, operators benefit from multi-channel and automation capacities that are beyond other engagement platforms and high accuracy for real-time data that cut their bonus costs by 5-10% and their email/SMS costs by 20%.
Fast Track’s CRM also helps operators boost their operational teams’ productivity by as much as 60%. Some of the company’s best solutions for iGaming clients are ft rtd, ft crm, and ft ml.
Ft rtd is a real-time data platform that allows iGaming operators to consolidate data between all providers and businesses in real time. Ft crm is an engagement platform that uses a single central system to manage internal and external systems. Fl ml offers advanced machine learning for designing and building prediction models.
The 2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) is up and running at the luxurious Baha Mar Resort in The Bahamas, but not everyone has jetted off to the Caribbean, and not everyone has the bankroll to play in the 2023 PCA events. That is why PokerStars is running the Mini PCA festival, complete with a Mini PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC) online from January 25 through February 3.
Every day of the Mini PCA sees three low-stakes events take place at 5:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., and 9:30 p.m. GMT, each with added EPT Monte Carlo satellite tickets to the prize pool. PokerStars is committed to giving away tens of thousands of dollars worth of EPT Monte Carlo satellite tickets, so make sure you bring your A-game to the tables because they will be dished out to the best performing players.
You want to keep January 29 free because the Mini PCA Main Event commences at 7:30 p.m. on that day. Costing $55 to enter, unless you win your way in via one of the many satellites running around the clock, the Mini PCA Main Event guarantees a whopping $100,000. In addition to bankroll-boosting cash prizes, PokerStars is adding an EPT Monte Carlo package to the prize pool, which is awarded to the eventual champion.
Full Mini PCA Schedule
Date
Time (GMT)
Event
Guarantee
Wed 25 Jan
5:30 p.m.
#1: $2.20 NLHE 8-Max Deep Stack
$6,000
7:30 p.m.
#2: $11 NLHE 7-Max Unlimited Re-entry
$12,500
9:30 p.m.
$1.10 NLHE 8-Max Hyper PKO
$2,000
Thu 26 Jan
5:30 p.m.
#4: $5.50 8-Game 6-Max
$1,500
7:30 p.m.
#5: $55 NLHE 8-Max High Roller
$35,000
9:30 p.m.
#6: $1.10 NLHE 8-Max Hyper Freezeout
$2,000
Fri 27 Jan
5:30 p.m.
#7: $1.10 PLO 6-Max
$1,000
7:30 p.m.
#8: $2.20 MLHE 8-Max Deep Stack
$4,000
9:30 p.m.
#9: $25 NLHE 8-Max Unlimited Re-entry
$25,000
Sat 28 Jan
5:30 p.m.
#10: $1.10 NLHE 8-Max Deep Stack
$2,000
7:30 p.m.
#11: $11 NLHE 8-Max Mini PSPC Warm-Up
$25,000
9:30 p.m.
#12: $2.20 NLHE 8-Max Hyper Freezeout
$5,000
Sun 29 Jan
5:30 p.m.
#13: $5.50 NLHE 8-Max Deep Stack
$15,000
7:30 p.m.
#14: $55 NLHE 8-Max Mini PCA Main Event
$100,000
9:30 p.m.
#15: $11 NLHE 9-Max Turbo PKO
$15,000
Mon 30 Jan
5:30 p.m.
#16: $11 NLHE 8-Max Deep Stack
$20,000
7:30 p.m.
#17: $25 NLHE Mini PSPC
$10,000
9:30 p.m.
#18: $5.50 NLHE Heads-Up Zoom Total KO
$7,500
Tue 31 Jan
5:30 p.m.
#19: $3.30 NLHE 8-Max Deep Stack
$6,000
7:30 p.m.
#20: $25 NLHE PKO Unlimited Re-entry
$25,000
9:30 p.m.
#21: $5.50 NLHE 6-Max
$10,000
Wed 1 Feb
5:30 p.m.
#22: $11 NLHE 8-Max Deep Stack
$15,000
7:30 p.m.
#23: $1.10 HORSE 6-Max
$1,000
9:30 p.m.
#24: $1.10 NLHE 8-Max Hyper PKO
$1,500
Thu 2 Feb
5:30 p.m.
#25: $109 NLHE 8-Max Super High Roller
$50,000
7:30 p.m.
#26: $3.30 PLO 6-Max
$2,000
9:30 p.m.
#27: $55 NLHE 7-Max Unlimited Re-entry
$40,000
Fri 3 Feb
5:30 p.m.
#28: $5.50 NLHE 8-Max Unlimited Re-entry
$15,000
7:30 p.m.
#29: $2.20 NLHE 6-Max
$3,000
9:30 p.m.
#30: $$11 NLHE 8-Max Hyper PKO
$30,000
Gear Up For the $10,000 Added Mini PSPC
It may be too late to win yourself a Platinum Pass for this year’s PSPC event in The Bahamas, and you probably don’t have a spare $25,000 to buy into it directly, so the online Mini PSPC is the best thing.
Without wishing to sound biased, the Mini PSPC could be the best-structured $25 buy-in tournamentPokerNews has ever seen. The five-day event has an incredible blind structure. You sit down with 60,000 chips and play to a 20-minute clock where the blinds start at 100/200. By the time Day 1 breaks after the eighth level, the blinds are still only 500/1,000/100a!
On top of PokerStars adding $10,000 to the prize pool, anyone finishing in the top 200 places receives an EPT Monte Carlo satellite ticket worth between €5.50 and €530!
Late registration remains open until the start of Day 2 in case you cannot make it to the PokerStars virtual felt in time for Day 1.
Mini PSPC Schedule
Date
Time (GMT)
Tournament
Day Ends
Mon 30 Jan
7:30 p.m.
Mini PSPC Day 1
After Level 8
Tue 31 Jan
7:30 p.m.
Mini PSPC Day 2
After Level 16
Wed 1 Feb
7:30 p.m.
Mini PSPC Day 3
When 32 players remain
Thu 2 Feb
7:30 p.m.
Mini PSPC Day 4
When 6 players remain
Fri 3 Feb
7:30 p.m.
Mini PSPC Main Event Day 5
When a champion is crowned
Follow the 2023 PCA and PSPC Action at PokerNews
The PokerNews live reporting team is in The Bahamas bringing you live and exclusive updates from the biggest PCA events. In addition, PokerStars presenters James Hartigan, comedian Joe Stapleton, and special guests are streaming the PCA Main Event from Day 2 (January 25) to completion, and the entire PSPC (January 30 to February 3). Why not tune in while you are on the Mini PCA and Mini PSPC grind?
After a successful 2022 at the end of which it gathered more than 1.2 million registered users, the rapidly-growing social casino in the US is even more determined to evolve next to the best partners by its side.
The fresh deal inked with the gaming operator that has been handling games, operations, and iGaming platforms in North America and Europe for the last seven years is just another proof of FortuneCoins.com’s determination.
“Mutually Beneficial” Partnership
Together with Mascot Gaming, Fortune Coins will provide free access to casino games to its database of over one million users brought together in less than a year, when it launched.
Mascot Gaming’s head of sales Nikolay Lobov thanked FortuneCoins.com for putting their trust in them. Loboc also expressed excitement for the new agreement and confidence in the partnership’s ability to be “mutually beneficial and create great opportunities for both parties.” The head of sales also spoke about the excellent synergy of their mixed resources and expertise expected to help them reach “results in a quick time”.
Fortune Coins’ head of marketing and partnerships, Yuliya Ivanisova, called Mascot Gaming “a great brand” to add to their platform thanks to their exciting titles. Ivanisova also spoke about Mascot Gaming’s potential to help them bolster their core offerings while additionally further strengthening their footprint in the social casino market.”
Fortune Coins explained that it was looking forward to becoming the leading social casino in North America. The social casino features sweepstakes elements and it is dedicated to offering top-quality, free casino-based forms of entertainment to US players.
The platform’s casino sweepstakes model allows registered members to enjoy the chance to win free coins they can then use to play all available games in the lobby. The list includes a variety of slot games similar to the ones found in online casinos, along with card games and fish games.
Mascot Gaming’s Focus on Service, Aligned with Fortune Coins’ Priorities
As an active promoter of one-of-a-kind graphic effects, top-tier designs, and seamless gaming algorithms that create a unique platform, Mascot Gaming perfectly aligns with the priorities expressed by Fortune Coins. Mascot Gaming is also focused on signing new and advantageous partnerships while taking its place in the market, which has helped it create a harmonious relationship with Fortune Coins.
Last May, Mascot Gaming joined Pariplay’s Fusion offering as a result of an agreement meant to help the distribution platform grow with fresh content. NeoGames’ subsidiary also recently added Mancala Gaming to its aggregation platform.
Greedy Greenskins Rockways, La Fiesta de Muertos, and The Candy Keno are some of Mascot’s non-trivial, appealing, and entertaining slots that are “exciting for players and profitable for operators.”
I’ve been extremely fortunate in my career to have known and befriended many of the great names in magic and was always drawn to those who specialized in sleight of hand with cards.
A few of these characters crossed between the world of gambling and cheating and magic.
Martin Nash was a legend in the conjuring world, and I was fortunate to spend many hours in his company.
In that time, Martin taught me a great deal and fooled me countless times with sleights and subtleties but on two occasions, I had the opportunity to the turn the tables on the old master.
It Was A Dark And Stormy Night…
It rarely rains in Los Angeles but when it does, many people choose to remain inside, especially at night.
On such a wet and windy evening at the Magic Castle in Hollywood – a private club for magicians, celebrities and wealthy supporters of the art – the showrooms were only half full and the (many) bars and corridors were mostly empty.
I found myself alone at the end of the Palace Bar, sitting at a green baize-covered table where members could perform for guests or trade secrets and ideas.
I took advantage of the quiet time to practice a move I had recently learned from a professional card cheat and was busy shuffling and dealing when Martin Nash pulled up a chair to sit down and chat.
Meet Mr. Nash
Image: Instagram/magichampion
For most of you, Martin’s name will be unfamiliar but for magicians and sleight of hand enthusiasts, Martin was a legend – and deservedly so.
He was a magician and entertainer who performed under the name “The Charming Cheat” and could bring an audience to its feet with astonishing demonstrations of skill and expertise.
Martin himself was something of a mystery: In the world of magic and magicians he was a legendary figure, but he often hinted towards a shadowy other life that he rarely discussed, even with friends.
It’s possible he was nothing more than a performer who had adopted the methods of cardsharps but there was a note of guilt in his voice whenever he talked about making moves for real.
The Real Deal
I used to spend a lot of time with a gaggle of crotchety curmudgeons at the Farmer’s Market on Third and Fairfax, long before the modern Disney-like “Grove” carbuncle was built next door and the market filled with wannabes, posers, and fakers.
In the good old days, it was filled with a rogues gallery from all walks of life, including old crews from the bad old days of the Gardena Card Rooms.
Those guys thought Martin was just a pretender but when I asked if they’d even seen him in action, none of those retired railbirds had even seen a show.
Except one.
“Phil H” – a well-known former cheater (and illegal bookie) – would sometimes visit the Magic Castle to see friends and quietly enjoyed Martin’s Hollywood version of the crooked gambler and Phil once told me that Martin had “one shot” that would definitely get the money!
Sadly, I never got the skinny on what the move was or how and where (or if) Martin had ever played it.
One thing was for sure: After a career performing thousands of live shows and countless television appearances, Martin Nash’s playing days – real or imagined – were long in the past but his performing life continued until his death in 2009.
Shortly after Martin passed, magician Bob Farmer learned – while researching another project – that Martin had helped the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to catch card cheats who had been working the lumber camps in British Columbia.
Doctor Theatre
In his later years, Martin suffered multiple ailments including arthritis but whenever he stepped into the spotlight, he seemed rejuvenated and transformed and could perform expert moves effortlessly for a live audience despite being in pain.
At a convention in Sacramento, I snuck into the back of a showroom where I knew Martin would be closing the show and was surprised to find the Charming Cheat at the back of the theatre, watching the other acts.
He was clearly nervous about performing as he rubbed “Golden Touch” lotion into his hands to combat chronic dry skin and as I watched him prepare, I grew concerned that he wasn’t in any shape to execute expert sleight of hand under hot theatre lights for a room full of cynical magicians.
I needn’t have feared.
When introduced, Martin transformed before my eyes as he walked from the back of the room to the stage, smiling brighter than the light that followed him, eyes glistening and mind as sharp as a switchblade.
The show was fantastic and as always, ended with a prolonged standing ovation as Martin soaked every ounce of love from his audience.
Martin’s Challenge
Image: YouTube
There’s an enormous amount we can learn from old-school card men like Martin Nash, and the smart guys know when to stop and listen.
I was lucky to be very friendly with Martin and he would often share secrets learned over a lifetime of study.
As he joined me on that rainy night at the Castle, I was delighted to have him all to myself, but our privacy was short lived when a couple of young members – wisely spotting an opportunity to spend time with Martin Nash – joined us.
As we chatted, I continued to shuffle the deck in the hope Martin would take it and show us something but instead, he asked me to shuffle and deal a hand of five card stud to every player.
Unfortunately for Martin, I knew what was coming as I had seen him pull this trick before.
It was a few years earlier at some hotel, at some convention late at night when Martin asked someone to deal a round of stud before asking them to name the unseen hole cards.
When his victim admitted he had no idea what those cards were, Martin slammed his fist on the table and shouted, “Then what are you doing in the game?” before breaking the tense moment with that famous smile of his.
I knew I was Martin’s next victim but unfortunately for him, he couldn’t have chosen a worse time.
I did as I was asked, pitching a face down card followed by a face up card to each of the people around the table.
Martin asked me to name the cards and I immediately did so, calling all five hole cards, catching the old master completely by surprise!
He looked me dead in the eye and knew I had the jump on him – and he loved it.
He spent the next two hours sharing ideas generously but when the others were gone, he had to know how I knew those cards.
As it turned out, the move I had been practicing before he sat down was a way to peek cards as they’re being dealt; Martin literally couldn’t have chosen a worse time to “get me” with his favorite challenge and I’m glad he took it well.
This wasn’t the only time I managed to fool Martin Nash but the second time I wasn’t even in the room.
All Change
While making the film Shade where I was second unit director and expert consultant, I had developed a way to change a 5 Card Poker hand visibly while the cards were face up.
You can see the effect if you watch the opening titles of the movie, which I directed.
The method I invented allowed the performer to immediately hand the cards out for examination – a new development – and I shared it with a few friends at the Magic Castle.
Word of this effect reached Martin Nash who bumped into card expert Jason England sitting at “The Vernon Table” contemplating a terrible 5 Card Poker hand.
Martin joined him and after a few pleasantries, asked Jason if he’d seen my new effect.
Jason instantly transformed the five cards in his hand to a Royal Flush before passing the cards to Martin.
I had taught Jason the sleight earlier that week and he was practicing just as Martin arrived and asked about it!
Martin Nash was more than just a great card technician, a performer, or an expert in his field. Martin was a true gentleman cut from classic cloth.
Whether or not he was ever a cheat is moot, but he was charming to the end.
The new collaborations will improve its monitoring abilities and help the PGA Tour have access to top-notch betting monitoring services until 2024.
US Integrity Will Ensure the Integrity of PGA Tour Competitions Worldwide
The PGA Tour Integrity Program, which was implemented on January 1, 2018, aims to maintain the integrity of the game and ensure fair play across all aspects of the premium golf tournaments managed by the PGA Tour.
This program encompasses a wide range of individuals and entities, including the players, their support teams and caddies, all tournament staff, volunteers, and officials, as well as all PGA Tour employees, and the PGA Tour Policy Board.
PGA Tour vice president of gaming Scott Warfield expressed his excitement about expanding this program through the new partnership with US Integrity:
We are excited to partner with US Integrity, as we look to continue ensuring the integrity of the PGA Tour. US Integrity along with Genius Sports’ commitment to protecting our sport, as well as their proactive approach, will play a pivotal role in assisting our operations with monitoring sports betting across our Tours.
Gaming Scott Warfield, VP Gaming, PGA Tour
The PGA TOUR has enlisted the help of US Integrity to ensure the fairness and integrity of its golf competitions worldwide. US Integrity will use its proprietary technology to proactively identify any irregular patterns in contests, officiating, and wagering.
The CEO of US Integrity, Matthew Holt, said that the company is excited to partner with the premier golf tour and that they are dedicated to providing the best-in-class insights and compliance solutions. He also mentioned that this partnership will aid in maintaining the integrity of sports betting and enhance the company’s anomaly detection tools.
Continued Collaboration with Genius Sports
The PGA TOUR is taking a proactive approach to maintaining the integrity of its competitions by expanding its partnership with Genius Sports to continue to provide educational programs for players, caddies, and officials.
These workshops aim to enhance the Tour’s regulations and raise awareness of the risks regarding corruption related to betting activities. Additionally, all PGA Tour players around the world will have access to custom-made e-learning modules in various languages.
The Head of Integrity Partnerships at Genius Sports, Stephen Thurley, stated that as the sports betting market develops, it is crucial for sports organizations to safeguard the integrity of their competitions. He also said that this partnership allows the PGA Tour to benefit from Genius Sports’ Bet Monitoring technology and Education services, as well as utilizing “Genius Intelligence,” their advanced fraud detection management system.
In addition to the new collaborations, The PGA Tour holds a platinum membership with the National Council on Problem Gambling and is also partnering with the American Gaming Association in their Have A Game Plan. Bet Responsibly program.
The first High Roller of the 2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure wrapped up today with $100,000 PCA Super High Roller, an event that saw three players taking home seven figures after an ICM chop between Isaac Haxton ($1,082,230), Seth Davies ($1,078,347) and Adrian Mateos ($1,095,903). The players agreed to play out the tournament turbo-style, and in the end, it was Haxton who took home the shimmering golden trophy.
Haxton has had as good of a start to the new year as anyone could hope for as on Jan. 20 he took down a PokerGO Cup $50,000 high roller in Las Vegas for $598,000. Less than a week later, the American takes home nearly double that after getting through the field of 49 runners and navigating a six-handed final table on Day 3.
“I don’t think I’ve ever won two tournaments in a row before, and these are pretty good ones to do it in,” Haxton told PokerNews in a winner’s interview. “So yeah, I’m feeling great. This is a fantastic start to the year.”
Only seven places paid in the Super High Roller that marked the return of the legendary PCA stop, and those who found a return on their $100,000 investment included Spain’s Juan Pardo (4th – $522,900) and Canada’s Mike Watson (5th – $404,100), Daniel Dvoress (6th – $320,900) and Timothy Adams (7th – $249,600), who fell on Day 2 shortly after securing the minimum cash.
$100,000 PCA Super High Roller Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1st
Isaac Haxton
United States
$1,082,230*
2nd
Seth Davies
United States
$1,078,347*
3rd
Adrian Mateos
Spain
$1,095,903*
4th
Juan Pardo
Spain
$522,900
5th
Mike Watson
Canada
$404,100
6th
Daniel Dvoress
Canada
$320,900
7th
Timothy Adams
Canada
$249,600
*Denotes three-handed ICM deal
Where It All Began
An accomplished high stakes professional who had $30.5 million in Hendon Mob-reported earnings heading into the event, the 37-year-old got his live poker start right here in The Bahamas.
Isaac Haxton
Back in 2007, a younger, longer-haired Haxton finished second in the PCA WPT Championship for $861,789, his first-ever live cash. Many poker fans will remember an epic clip of Haxton bluffing Ryan Daut as his dark brown hair waved in the wind during an outdoor heads-up battle that only could’ve taken place at the height of the Poker Boom.
The runner-up finish was a sign of PCA results to come for Haxton, who had two small first-place finishes at PCA before his latest victory.
“I’ve done quite well here in The Bahamas, and it feels fantastic to add another score to the list,” said Haxton. “I like being here, like playing these tournaments, and yeah, I feel great about it.”
From Chip Leader to Next Out, Twice
The four hours of play on Day 3 can only be described as swingy as Day 1 and Day 2 chip leader Watson went out in fifth after a colossal bluff against Pardo that left him as the short stack before he called off with king-ten to be dominated by the ace-ten of the eventual champion.
Mike Watson
The bluff-catch gave Pardo a dominant four-handed chip lead but it was short-lived as the Spanish pro doubled up Davies before losing even more to the Oregonian. Just an hour after taking the huge chip lead, Pardo was out in fourth when his ace-queen was pipped by the Big Slick of Haxton.
Haxton managed to pick up all the right hands at the right time. Earlier in the day, he was at risk of busting in sixth when he was all-in against Dvoress. Luckily for him, it was only a small risk as he had pocket aces to crush the ace-king of Dvoress, who fell shortly after in sixth.
“To be honest, I had in a lot of ways the kind of uneventful final table,” Haxton said. “I didn’t play that many interesting post-flop spots or anything like that. I just got great hands. My opponents got slightly worse ones, and I got all the chips. That’s how it goes sometimes.”
But Haxton couldn’t sun-run forever, and he doubled up Mateos twice during three-handed play to even things out. The three agreed to an ICM chop that left the Spanish crusher taking home the biggest portion of the $4,753,980 prize pool and Davies picking up his biggest career live cash by a few pips (his previous best was ($1,020,000).
Adrian Mateos
“I think Seth and Adrian are both really great players, so once we got to even stacks, I was perfectly happy to chop it up. When I had the big chip lead, I thought, you know, I have an advantage there from the chip lead that isn’t fully captured by the same calculation, and it’s hard to agree on a number,” Haxton said.
He added, “So we didn’t really even discuss it up until that point. I think basically everyone’s on the same page about that. It’s really difficult to chop three-handed when stacks are very different because it’s hard to reach an agreement about what everybody’s position is worth. But then once it got to equal, I think, yeah, we’re all just happy to lock $1,000,000 each and call it a day.”
Haxton, who played the entire event in an N95 mask, has been relatively inactive on the live circuit in recent years, primarily out of caution of the coronavirus, but he said he plans on adding more stops to his schedule.
“I’ve been quite cautious about COVID since that started, but I expect that in 2023 I will be back at quite a lot of the major tournaments,” he said.
That wraps up the PokerNews live reporting team’s covering of the exciting $100,000 PCA Super High Roller to kick off the 2023 PCA. Be sure to check out the team’s coverage of all the other exciting events taking place here in The Bahamas.
In Touch Games is a repeat offender in the UK gambling market. The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has made the operator cough up cash two times before, and it has just announced a new financial penalty totaling £6.1m ($7.5m).
In Touch Games operates 11 gambling websites, including bonusboss.co.uk, cashmo.co.uk, and drslot.co.uk, among others. According to a UKGC release on Wednesday, the company has received a new penalty after failing a compliance assessment last March.
accepted a customer’s word that they earned £6,000 ($7,389) per month
Among its social responsibility failures, In Touch Games did not interact with a customer until seven weeks after they were flagged for erratic play patterns and extended playtime. The operator also accepted a customer’s word that they earned £6,000 ($7,389) per month without verification.
In regard to anti-money laundering, the firm did not have policies in place to address risk factors for politically exposed people, their close associates, or beneficiaries of life insurance policies.
In Touch Games paid a £2.2m ($2.7m) settlement in 2019 for regulatory failures and received a £3.4m ($4.2m) fine and warning for further failures two years later. That brings the operators total UKGC bill to £11.7m ($14.4m) as of Wednesday.
The post UKGC Hits In Touch Games With £6.1m Fine, Bringing Operator’s Bill to £11.7m Since 2019 appeared first on VegasSlotsOnline News.
The new strategic partnership was announced Wednesday and sees the provider deliver its popular games for Forbes Casino customers. The collaboration sees the popular Czech casino brand benefit from accessing 12 of the provider’s top-performing slot games. Those titles include award-winning games such as Wolf Gold and Gates Olympus, as well as popular titles such as Sugar Rush.
One of the most successful land-based casino operators in the country, Victoria Tip a.s., recently created the Forbes Casino brand. The brand is well-received by Czech players and enjoys great popularity. Overall, the collaboration brings 50 slot games from Pragmatic Play, all of which are certified for the market in the Czech Republic.
“When looking at collaborators for our online operations, we know brand reputation is of utmost importance to our users, partnering with such a well-established provider as Pragmatic Play is a victory in itself.“
Petr Žemba, project manager at Forbes Casino
Petr Žemba, Forbes Casino’s project manager, acknowledged that the brand is excited to boost its reputation by joining forces with a leading provider of gaming content such as Pragmatic Play. He acknowledged that the titles from the provider are already proven hits for customers around Europe. Žemba predicted that Pragmatic Play’s content will be well-received by players in the Czech Republic. Finally, he said: “We look forward to seeing where this deal can take us and the new heights we can reach on Forbes Casino.”
Pragmatic Play Continues Its Global Expansion
Besides boosting the company’s presence in the Czech Republic and Europe, Pragmatic Play’s collaboration with Forbes Casino complements the company’s growth on a global scale. In fact, the strategic deal for the Czech market comes after only recently, Pragmatic Play strengthened its Italian presence via a deal with Betpoint.
“Forbes Casino is built on a rich history of providing high-quality casino experiences to players in the Czech Republic, and we are honored to expand on that with the addition of Pragmatic Play titles to their online operation.“
Irina Cornides, chief operating officer at Pragmatic Play
Irina Cornides, Pragmatic Play’s chief operating officer, acknowledged that the company is delighted to expand its list of partners by adding Forbes Casino. She explained that Forbes Casino provides unique casino experiences for customers in the country and said that Pragmatic’s titles further boost the casino’s online offering. Finally, Cornides said that the company is delighted to see more players within this important market enjoying games from Pragmatic Play that are proven to be popular globally.
