This Week in Gambling – Robert Smith, Treasurer of the CTBA Board and Chairman of the Pala Band of Luiseno Indians, will testify at the Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization, during their informational hearing on Internet poker. The iPoker hearing is set for Wednesday, April 23 at 1:30 pm, in State Capitol, Room 4202. The hearing, was called by AGO Chair Isadore Hall, III, to promote a better understanding of the iPoker issue.  Two bills, AB 2291 (Jones-Sawyer) and SB 1366 (Correa), have been introduced this year that would legalize Internet poker in California.  CTBA member tribes are part of…

NJ.com – For those looking to play a hand of poker, pull down on a slot machine or roll the dice from the confines of their own homes, it seems Hudson County might just be the place to do it. During the first 100 days of legal online gambling in New Jersey, three Hudson County cities ranked among the top 20 municipalities in the state in terms of usage on websites operated by Caesars Interactive, according to a study done by the company. Jersey City ranked No. 2 on the list, while Hoboken (No. 4) and Bayonne (No. 14) were…

Poker News – Right after the visit the European commissioner for competition and European Commission vice president Joakin Almunia paid to Athens, the Greek government decided to introduce significant amendments to its gaming law. This should finally put Greece’s legislation in line with European directives and calm fears of an upcoming monopoly. Greece’s reliance on the so-called “European trojka” — the unofficial group composed by the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund — pushed the country to change direction and remove from its gambling law some criticized bits that could have led to the creation of a…

Washington Examiner – Lindsey Graham is a Southern Baptist. Last month, the senator from South Carolina proposed gambling legislation that was written by a lobbyist for casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who was raising money for Graham’s reelection in South Carolina — where two-thirds of Republican primary voters identify as evangelical or born-again Christians. The Southern Baptist Convention, through its resolutions, has condemned gambling as “immoral,” “harmful,” and “devastating.” In the words of a 1996 resolution, the SBC has “frequently stated its opposition to the gambling industry.” So, naturally, a reporter asked Graham about this Adelson-crafted bill. “I would say that…

North Jersey – On any given Sunday, Mike Azzaro — or mikeycasino, as he’s known online — will travel from his home in Yonkers, N.Y., to a Ramsey hotel room for the night. The reason is not glamorous, but it is profitable: Azzaro, 27, is a professional poker player. Of the online players who have signed up to play in New Jersey at PartyPoker.com, 15 percent don’t live in the state. You must be within New Jersey’s borders to play, but residency isn’t required. That so many out-of-state players are traveling to New Jersey — call it “poker tourism” —…

An explosion and fire have disrupted a number of Gibraltar online gambling operations on Sunday. Most residents of the British territory were also left without power. Local media reported a generator at Waterport Power Station caught fire and exploded due to a mechanical failure. No-one was injured, but the outage shut down the online betting operations of several firms, including William Hill, Betfred and Ladbrokes, which are based in Gibraltar. Online gambling is an important part of Gibraltar’s economy with international companies choosing to base themselves there because of the territory’s low taxes. The outage meant many people were unable…