SecureTrading Inc., a Las Vegas-based subsidiary of UC Group, has been licensed by Nevada gaming regulators to provide online gambling payment processing, identification verification and geo-location services, the company said Monday.

“We began developing our tailored payments, ID verification and geolocation solution for the U.S. market a few years back in anticipation if a regulated Internet gambling marketplace”, said Chris Thom, chairman of SecureTrading.

Thom said the firm was prepared to serve as a one-stop shop for licensed gambling operators.

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The Nevada Gaming Commission is seeking public comment before drafting interstate online poker regulations under the recently passed Assembly Bill 114.

Signed last month by Gov. Brian Sandoval, AB114 allows Nevada to enter into compacts with other states to offer Internet poker and other online gambling in the participating states.

The five-member commission must draft regulations to implement the law.

People interested in or affected by the law have until April 12 to file comments that will be posted online. Replies to the comments will be accepted until April 19.

The commission is interested in what issues should be considered for inclusion in regulations of the interstate agreements, such as whether revenue sharing should be based on where a wager originated or the location of the servers.

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Representatives of Gibraltar-based 888 Holdings wanted to assure the Nevada Gaming Commission that the company, which operates legal Internet gaming websites in Europe, would comply with the state’s regulatory structure.

After the company spent almost two hours earlier this month making its case to the Gaming Control Board, the commission needed less than an hour Thursday to unanimously approve 888 for an interactive gaming license.

“Much has been put on the record in regards to 888,” Nevada Gaming Commission Chairman Pete Bernhard said. “All my concerns have been addressed.”

The company, which was found suitable in 2011 as a business partner with Caesars Entertainment Corp. to operate World Series of Poker-branded websites in Europe, will partner with Caesars on interactive gaming in Nevada.

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The Gaming Control Board spent almost two hours Wednesday delving into the background of European online gaming operator 888 Holdings, which is seeking an interactive Nevada gaming license.

After recommending that Gibraltar-based 888 be approved the state’s 20th interactive license, the three control board members spent all of five minutes discussing Treasure Island’s request to hold the state’s 21st interactive license.

“I don’t have any questions, unless you want me to make some up,” Control Board Chairman A.G. Burnett told Treasure Island attorney Frank Schreck.

It took board member Shawn Reid longer to read the license conditions into the public record than it did to approve Treasure Island.

Why?

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Caesars Entertainment Corp. reportedly offered to sell the off-Strip Rio and the World Series of Poker to PokerStars, a spokesman for the owner of the online gaming business claimed in an email Tuesday.

The statement by Eric Hollreiser, head of corporate communications for The Rational Group, came a day after attorneys for the American Gaming Association wrote in a legal brief that PokerStars had been a “criminal enterprise for many years.”

The Washington, D.C.-based trade organization wants New Jersey gaming regulators to reject PokerStars’ application to operate the failing Atlantic Club Casino in Atlantic City.

Caesars representatives declined to comment on any “assertions” made by PokerStars.

Hollreiser, who is based at The Rational Group’s corporate offices in the Isle of Man, said PokerStars “declined the offer because we had no plans to acquire another casino in the near term.”

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Online gaming giant PokerStars folded its hand last summer after a 15-month legal battle with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Since that time the company has been on a heater.

It was the right call for PokerStars to accept a $731 million forfeiture to the federal government and shed a nine-count indictment. The settlement also absolved PokerStars of any wrongdoing in accepting Internet wagers from American customers.

PokerStars, through its Isle of Man-based parent The Rational Group, said in January it was buying a casino in Atlantic City. On Feb. 21, it announced plans to open a live-play poker room at the City of Dreams in Macau, while its online business grew to more than 50 million registered customers through legal Internet gaming markets.

The only place PokerStars can’t earn a seat at the table is Nevada.

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The Nevada Gaming Commission signed off Thursday on a $1 million fine against the Palms to settle compliant issued by the state’s Gaming Control Board resulting from an investigation that discovered rampant drug sales and prostitution at clubs on the property.

It’s the third-largest fine ever approved by the commission.

Under the deal, the Palms will also pay $78,000 to cover the cost of the control board’s investigation. The commission voted 4-0 to approve the fine, with Commissioner John Moran Jr. abstaining.

“We are very sorry to be appearing before you today,” George Maloof, minority owner of the Palms, told the commission. “We take these (charges) very seriously and have implemented many changes to prevent these issues from happening again.”

The violations contained in the 17-count complaint made public Jan. 11 were gathered during five undercover operations last year by board investigators and Las Vegas police.

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The parent company of the Palms has agreed to pay a $1 million fine to settle a 17-count complaint by the Nevada Gaming Control Board resulting from a failure to prevent illegal activity, including drug sales and prostitution, at clubs on the property.

FP Holdings L.P. also agreed to pay $78,000 to cover the cost of the control board’s investigation.

“We are deeply concerned and disappointed about the matters outlined in the complaint as they are not consistent with the values of our company,” the Palms said Friday in a statement. “We are resolved to address these problems comprehensively and decisively.”

The Nevada Gaming Commission must approve the settlement. The violations contained in the 21-page complaint made public Friday were gathered during a joint undercover investigation by the board and Las Vegas police.

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Marcel Luske
Photo: PokerStarsBlog.com

Today’s Boxscore

Marcel Luske $18,500 – 2013 PCA H.O.R.S.E.
John Dibella $69,780 – 2013 PCA NLHE Turbo
Vladimir Zakharau $68,200 – 2013 PCA PLO Turbo
Christopher Frank $55,720 – 2013 PCA NLHE Bounty

The 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is well underway with the Main Event down to 30-ish some players depending on when/if you read this. Owen Crowe is the big name up on top of the leaderboard with Joe (don’t you dare call me Sebok) Serock and Eddy Sabat among the names on his tail. The Main drew 987 entrants this year, down a bit from last year which drew over a thousand, and the winner will have to figure out how to get $1,859,000 out of the Bahamas.

The next big tournament stops include the WSOP Circuit events at Choctaw, a WPT Regional event somewhere in Florida called Coconut Creek, and the return of the WPT big production to the Borgata Winter Open. Things are definitely back in full swing with the new year.

Link Dump

Tweet of the Day – The Heartland Poker Tour made the big announcement today, their structure for the upcoming season has been updated by none other than Daniel Negreanu. The new structure is a great tweak to an already fantastic tour, but no word from top shelf nit Allen Kessler.

HPT Unveils New Structure Designed by Daniel Negreanu fb.me/2yYTZewG5

— HPT-Heartland Poker(@HPTPoker) January 11, 2013

Lottomatica, Golden Gaming recommended for interactive gaming licenses – Two more companies, Lottomatica and Golden Gaming, received recommendations for online gaming licenses by the Nevada Gaming Commission. The players are starting to take the field, will be interesting to see how this all turns out.

What It’s Like to Be a Woman Who Plays Professional Poker – The Atlantic published a fairly comprehensive piece on uber-grinder Vanessa Selbst and her place in poker.

Michael Phelps is playing poker, looking interesting – God bless the USA Today for completely missing the point that a top class athlete was in the Bahamas competing the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, instead focusing on how he was dressed.

International Stadiums Poker Tour Changes Format – The ever changing ISPT is back at it again, this time announcing that “Day 1” will be played online between Feb 3rd to May 19th. Innovative or nuts? I guess we’ll find out.

PCA 2013: Michael Phelps & Jeff “PBF” Gross – Kristy Arnett from PokerNews caught up with 18-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps and Jeff Gross.

A World Series of Poker real money website based in Nevada took a step forward Wednesday.

The Gaming Control Board tentatively approved Caesars Interactive Entertainment to operate online poker in Nevada.

The company, the interactive arm of the Caesars Entertainment Corp., manages the promotion and advertising aspects of the annual World Series of Poker.

Caesars Entertainment general counsel Michael Cohen told the board during a meeting in Carson City that the Nevada website would be run as a World Series of Poker brand.

If approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission on Dec. 20, Caesars would become the 17th company granted an interactive gaming license to offer online poker to players who are physically within the state’s borders.

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Three more companies, including a subsidiary of MGM Resorts International, are a step closer to joining 13 other gaming companies participating in the Nevada’s growing online poker industry.

The state’s Gaming Control Board on Thursday recommended licensure for MGM Online LLC, as well as boutique firms Z4Poker LLC of Las Vegas and Cams LLC of Los Angeles.

The Nevada Gaming Commission will consider the applications at its Nov. 15 meeting.

MGM Resorts told regulators it plans to establish a play-for-fun website by March. The company already operates myVegas, a social media gaming site with 350,000 monthly visitors.

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Three companies were granted interactive gaming licenses by the Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday as the lineup for the state’s potential online poker market grew more crowded.

Commissioners licensed Boyd Gaming Corp. the Golden Nugget ownership and Fertitta Interactive – which includes the owners of Station Casinos and operators of Ultimate Fighting Championship – to launch online poker websites as soon as the technology is approved.

The website can be accessed only by people age 21 and older playing on computers or mobile devices within Nevada.

Boyd Gaming Executive Vice President Bob Boughner told gaming commissioners the company believes online poker in Nevada will be a $180 million a year business and would damage the state’s live poker business.

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Boyd Gaming Corp. and Station Casinos, fierce competitors in the locals casino market, could soon take their rivalry to the Internet.

Affiliates of the two companies were tentatively approved Wednesday to operate online poker websites within Nevada’s boundaries by the Gaming Control Board. The Nevada Gaming Commission will take up the matter Oct. 18.

The companies may launch their poker operations at different times. The sites can be accessed only from computers and mobile devices within Nevada’s borders.

Boyd Gaming officials said they will wait until the company’s online partner, bwin.party gaming, is licensed by state gaming regulators. Ultimate Gaming, a subsidiary of Fertitta Interactive, which is controlled by the founders of Station Casinos, plans to launch a Nevada gaming site as soon a technology achieves the various levels of approval.

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For a guy who just recently learned how to answer and send an email, Michael Gaughan is about to have one of the most technologically advanced gaming operations in the city.

The South Point recently installed Bally Technologies’ iView Display Manager on 2,480 of the casino’s 2,600 slot machines. The system will be installed on the casino’s 120 bar-top machines by the end of the month.

The iView system offers both the South Point and its slot machine customers a variety of marketing features and options. Players, using a touchscreen slot machine display, can sit at the machines and order drinks, book show tickets and make reservations at South Point restaurants. The casino can market its events and offer various promotions through the system.

“There is a lot we can do with this system that we’ll be rolling out soon,” Gaughan said.

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South Point Casino

The South Point could be ready to shuffle up and deal on the Internet sometime this fall.

State gaming regulators Wednesday granted Michael Gaughan’s Las Vegas casino tentative approval to operate an online poker website accessible only within Nevada boundaries.

South Point attorney Steve Harris told the Gaming Control Board in Carson City the technology to run the Internet poker website is in advanced stages of approval by an independent testing laboratory hired by gaming regulators.

If all conditions are met, Harris said the South Point’s website could begin accepting wagers over the Internet on a test basis by October. However, the control board placed several stipulations on the interactive gaming license to ensure all state requirements are met before the website goes live.
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