Philippine Casinos Can Expect Moderate Boost from China

Philippine Casinos Can Expect Moderate Boost from China


The note focuses a big part of its report on Bloomberry Resorts, the company behind Solaire Resort, which is expected to soon release its full-year results for 2022 and the last quarter of the year. According to the note, Bloomberry can expect to see its gross gaming revenue increase by another 9% in 2023, and further improve by 32% in 2024.

Analysts Bullish on Long-Term Casino Recovery

This could be indicative of the good times ahead, but this growth will not be immediately driven by Chinese visitors. In fact, Chinese travel in the region, including the Philippines and neighboring countries, to wit Malaysia, Indonesia, and others, will remain fairly suppressed at levels of 36% of its 2019 numbers.

The note also argues that the “quality” of Chinese VIP visitors has also declined due to the economic background at home, with the property bubble bursting and manufacturing slowing down. In the short-term, there would be a conservative boost to the Philippines, the note further adds.

Even though there won’t be as many Chinese visitors coming in, the note remains fairly confident in the future of Bloomberry and its ability to attract an international clientele elsewhere.

The Philippines will have to weather the slow recovery, as traffic from Guangzhou and Incheon has remained slow, but the country’s long-term prospects are solid, Maybank Securities seems to believe. As to the casino sector in the country – it will continue to improve consistently, the note concludes.

Still Issues to Fix in the Industry at Home

Meanwhile, the casino industry in the Philippines is see-sawing between public and political disapproval. The Philippine Online Gaming Operators are among the most heavily criticized entities in the country – both by local and by Chinese diplomats, and are tied to what is alleged to be illegal gambling activities.

At the same time, some lawmakers have been pushing for the privatization of PAGCOR, the country’s gambling regulator and regulator, arguing that this would boost tax revenue for the state.



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Antonio Esfandiari, Bill Perkins Make High Stakes Poker Season 10 Debuts

Antonio Esfandiari, Bill Perkins Make High Stakes Poker Season 10 Debuts



Antonio Esfandiari has been a regular on High Stakes Poker over the years, and on Tuesday night the partially retired poker pro made his Season 10 debut on PokerGO, and wasted no time splashing chips around.

Bill Perkins, Roger Sippl, and Robert Sanchez also appeared on the poker show for the first time this year. They were joined by Jennifer Tilly and Bobby Baldwin, both of whom were the only returning players from previous Season 10 episodes.

Perkins, Esfandiari Tangle in Big Pots

Bill Perkins high stakes poker
Bill Perkins

Right off the bat, Esfandiari and his pal Perkins, the wealthy hedge fund manager and University of Iowa grad, went to battle. In the first hand, on an eight-high board, the “Magician” fired out a $4,000 bet with middle pair and was raised to $18,000 by Perkins and his top pair.

Esfandiari couldn’t find a fold and then both players checked when a high-card hit the turn, but then Perkins went for value on the river (a {4-}) with just a pair of eights, and was able to get paid off to scoop a sizable early pot.

Moments later, the same two competitors tangled in the pot of the day. Sippl had raised to $3,000 in early position with {9-Diamonds}{8-Diamonds} before being three-bet to $10,000 in late position by Esfandiari and his {a-Clubs}{k-Diamonds}. Perkins, in the straddle with {q-Spades}{q-Hearts}, came over the top to $40,000, forcing the original raiser to muck his cards.

With action back on Esfandiari, he decided to gamble and moved all in for $159,000 and received a quick call. Both players agreed to run it twice, and the first board came out {6-Hearts}{8-Hearts}{j-Spades}{2-Diamonds}{8-Spades}, guaranteeing that Perkins wouldn’t lose the pot, at the very least.

The second run out was completely different as Esfandiari hit quads on the turn to seal the deal, and they chopped up the $342,000 pot. Shortly after, Esfandiari pulled off a solid bluff with king-high, convincing Sippl to fold middle-pair in a $50,000 pot.

Tilly Bounces Back

jennifer tilly high stakes poker
Jennifer Tilly

On last week’s episode of High Stakes Poker, actress Jennifer Tilly couldn’t catch a break and fell victim to the card-catching table bullies. This week, however, she ran much better. Well, except for one hand where Sippl bluffed her off queen-high preflop with the old seven-deuce.

Tilly began her run with two pair against Esfandiari, who showed aggression semi-bluffing with a gut-shot straight draw that didn’t come through on the river. On the next hand, with {a-Diamonds}{q-Diamonds} in the hole, the “Bride of Chucky” star made a great call with ace-high on the river when Perkins bet $15,000 into a pot of just $8,000 on a missed straight draw (king-high). One hand later, she rivered a straight against Esfandiari and Sanchez to take down a pot of $37,000.

The bluff of the day went to Perkins, who took advantage of Baldwin’s tight style of play. On a board of {10-Spades}{8-Spades}{2-Hearts}{5-Spades}, Baldwin bet out $20,000 with {j-Spades}{j-Hearts} and then folded to a raise to $60,000 despite having a spade. Perkins had top pair with {10-Clubs}{6-Clubs} but was drawing to just four outs on the river.

High Stakes Poker Season 10 returns next week on PokerGO at 5 p.m. PT with Episode 6.

Crazy High Stakes Poker Chop Pot

Past High Stakes Poker Recaps

Check out our past recaps from Season 10 of High Stakes Poker on PokerGO:

*Images courtesy of PokerGO.





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Chess Streamer and Controversial WPT Global Ambassador Nemo Zhou Makes Rookie Error Hustling Chess

People playing chess in New York


Nemo struggles to hustle in NYC

FIDE Master, Woman Grandmaster, and WPT Global ambassador Nemo Zhou tried to put together a video hustling some New York chess players, but things did not quite go as planned. Players who were hoping to see Nemo return to high stakes action after her poker controversy last year will be disappointed as she appeared unable to find an opponent for the video.

Nemo’s most recent reel, posted to her Instagram chess account on Tuesday, shows her trying to drum up some action. In one instance, she walks around a park and approaches a game asking, “Hi. Would you be down to play?… No… Oh, Okay.”

Streamer vs. hustler is a popular sub-genre of chess video, and one that Nemo dabbled in previously. Unfortunately for Nemo, this time she had already blown her cover.

Two more players turn her down for a game in the Instagram video. Eventually, Nemo realizes that the word is out on her. “I should not have played Paul first,” she says with regret.

To rob Peter, don’t play Paul first

In November 2022, Nemo released a streamer vs. hustler video on her Youtube channel in which she took on a player known as “Russian Paul.”

known in the New York chess scene as one of the “end bosses” of New York City chess hustling

Paul won the match, but it was hard fought and came down to time in the end. Unfortunately for Nemo’s future hustling prospects, Russian Paul has a reputation. He is known in the New York chess scene as one of the “end bosses” of New York City chess hustling.

Nemo’s streaming success and FIDE rating have given her fame, but among New York woodpushers, giving Russian Paul a run for his money gets you notoriety.

A poker scandal

Nemo’s notoriety isn’t limited to the world of chess gambling.

Plenty of chess players, including world champion Magnus Carlsen, have transitioned to poker. Nemo’s move to poker was derailed recently when she was subject to criticism over a giveaway competition.

Zhou awarded the prize to her poker coach, Alex “Thallo” Epstein

Zhou, a newcomer to the game, won a $12,400 WPT package prize package in an online tournament in November 2022 and decided to give it away to one of her YouTube subscribers. In the end, Zhou awarded the prize to her poker coach, Alex “Thallo” Epstein.

She was allegedly dating Epstein at the time and leaked messages from Thallo appeared to show him attempting to sell the package before the draw. These circumstances led to accusations that the the giveaway was rigged.

Zhou initially responded that she would “not feel bad about giving [the package] to the person I think deserved it most.”

She eventually deleted her initial response and apologized, writing that she had “messed up.” She added that she had just “wanted to share [her poker success] with Thallo, who has invested hours and hours helping me improve my game” and got “carried away.”

Zhou eventually re-ran the giveaway with Epstein excluded from the competition, somewhat mollifying her critics.

Since then, she has largely gone back to producing the kind of chess content on which she initially built her career. However, viewers can probably expect there to be a lot fewer streamer vs. hustler videos going forward.

The post Chess Streamer and Controversial WPT Global Ambassador Nemo Zhou Makes Rookie Error Hustling Chess appeared first on VegasSlotsOnline News.

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Where You Can Play Poker in New Jersey in 2023?

Where You Can Play Poker in New Jersey in 2023?



New Jersey is one of the top states to be if you’re a poker player, whether you play online or live.

If you don’t live in Atlantic City or have no means of travel to AC, online poker will be your best option if you’re looking for legal games within the Garden State. Or, you can cross over the border to Philadelphia where you’ll find popular card rooms such as Parx and Rivers Casino.

What Are The Best New Jersey Online Poker Sites?

Where to Play Live Poker in New Jersey

harrah's atlantic city poker room
Harrah’s Atlantic City

The live poker scene in New Jersey isn’t as booming as it once was. Atlantic City has just three poker rooms, and if you’re expecting a little nostalgia hoping to fleece some tourists or bluff Johnny Chan at the Trump Taj Mahal, one of the most iconic poker rooms in the country, you’ll be disappointed. The “Taj” not only doesn’t have a poker room anymore, the casino no longer exists.

But there are still three solid places to play poker in Atlantic City, most notably the Borgata, an MGM Resorts property that has played host to numerous major tournaments over the years including World Poker Tour events.

Borgata has 52 poker tables, making it one of the biggest card rooms in the northeast. It is also the only place in Atlantic City at this time that has both cash games and daily tournaments. Additionally, Borgata is the only legal poker room in the state that is open 24/7.

The two other rooms in Atlantic City — both open 11 a.m.-6 a.m. — are the Tropicana and Harrah’s, a Caesars Entertainment hotel casino. These two casinos each have 10 poker tables and only offer cash games, mostly of the low-stakes variety.

Poker Returns to Borgata Post-COVID

Where to Play Online Poker in New Jersey

If you aren’t satisfied with the live poker options in New Jersey, or just hate playing live poker in general, the Garden State is one of just five US states with legal online poker sites in operation (Nevada, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Michigan being the others).

The sites are operated by some of the most reputable online poker companies in the world, including PokerStars, BetMGM, WSOP.com, 888poker, Partypoker, and Borgata.

You can even compete for World Series of Poker bracelets without getting on a plane and traveling to Las Vegas. Each summer, WSOP.com in New Jersey hosts an online bracelet series, giving players in the northeast an opportunity to win the most coveted piece of jewelry in poker straight from the comfort of their own homes.

Legal online poker first launched in the state back in 2013 and has been thriving ever since. Revenue across the sites has been steady and fairly consistent, with 2022 proving to be another strong year for the internet poker industry in New Jersey.

New Jersey 2022 Online Poker Revenue Breakdown





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UKGC Will Not Impose Mandatory Checks, Operators Will

UK Gambling: Affordability Checks Under Fire Again


As all gambling industry eyes are on the upcoming White Paper, operators in the UK will most likely have to implement affordability checks for their customers, despite UK Gambling Commission (UKGC)’s CEO Andrew Rhodes claiming otherwise.

Mandatory or Not, They Are Coming

Rhodes, who took the reins at the country’s gambling regulator last year, spoke in an interview with Racing TV and reiterated the Gambling Commission’s position that the watchdog would not enforce operators to impose affordability checks on their players.

And while his words confirmed what he had said about affordability checks in his keynote speech at ICE 2023, he maintained the Commission’s approach of not setting clear-cut requirements or spending thresholds, yet being vocal that operators should not allow their customers to spend beyond their means.

Instead of setting specific requirements, the Commission is focusing on the extreme cases where individuals spend way beyond their means and Rhodes affirmed that this risk is still present for certain groups of people.

“The reality is, there are risks that are present in the industry now that need to be addressed and that is what we have been focused on,” Rhode stated, referring to that “range of customers that are experiencing harm or are likely to, clarifying that “it is the source of the extreme cases that we have been drawing attention to in the last two years.”

This lack of clarity on the subject and the expectations that affordability checks in some shape or form would be part of the upcoming reform with the White Paper creates confusion among operators who want to maintain compliance with problem gambling risk but to achieve that, they will need additional information from their customers.

To avoid asking their players for additional information, operators could simply place a spending limit for all – and William Hill already did exactly that as the Racing Post reported that the bookmaker had implemented a £500 ($605) spending limit on next month’s Cheltenham Festival.

Gambling in Its ‘Totality’

Asked about specific data, Rhodes outlined that the problem gambling rate in the UK, a country where 22.5 million people gamble on a regular basis, is between 0.3% and 0.5%, or 700,000 people. He then moved to differentiate at-risk rates according to the different types of gambling, with online having the highest of all of a little under 10%.

On the question of why horse racing is not treated separately from other, more risky forms of gambling, Rhodes stated that a gambler’s activities must be considered in their “totality” as those experiencing gambling harm are likely to gamble on multiple verticals.

He added that since the majority of people are gambling safely, it would be unwise for operators to implement separate wallets for the different verticals and in practice, disaggregate themselves.



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