Poker Pro Jamie Gold is CAP Euro: Barcelona Keynote Speaker

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA – 2006 World Series of Poker Champion Jamie Gold has been named as keynote speaker in the upcoming CAP Euro: Barcelona this coming September 27.

CasinoAffiliatePrograms.com (CAP), organizers of the four-day industry conference, made the announcement recently and stated that the WSOP winner will be in the conference for three days. Gold will also be running an exclusive poker coaching session for the Affiliate Series of Poker (ASOP) as well as signing autographs.

Gold, who has won the biggest prize pot in WSOP history, commented on his being chosen as speaker for the influential conference meet:

“There’s no doubt that the explosion of poker around the world is directly connected to the emergence and phenomenal success of online poker. As well as making the game far more accessible, it has taken poker to entirely new levels, has fueled worldwide exposure through mainstream TV sponsorship, and along the way provided tutorage of game play and strategy.”

He further added that it is an honor to follow the legendary Doyle Brunson in being a keynote speaker at CAP Euro.

CAP Founder and President Lou Fabiano expressed his enthusiasm for Gold:

“We’re extremely honored and excited for to bring Jamie Gold, an absolute legend in the world of poker, to all our associates at this year’s CAP Euro Barcelona. There’s no doubt that his presence will only add to CAP Euro’s status as the premier affiliate marketing conference for the online gaming industry.”

Aside from poker, Jamie Gold is also a well-respected television producer and talent agent. He is also president of production of entertainment company Buzznation.

Photo sourced from flipchip / LasVegasVegas.com

Ivobank Extends European Coverage

LONDON – In order to service more people with their online banking and transaction needs, Ivobank has announced recently that it is opening its services to more European countries.

Initially launched in the United Kingdom, Spain, Ireland and Canada a couple of months back, the online banking service is now offering its services to France, Italy and Germany, expanding its European coverage.

Ivobank Managing Director Timothy Sawyer commented:

“More businesses and people are now choosing to bank online, make payments and transfer money on the Internet. Following our successful launch in the UK, Ireland, Spain and Canada, we are looking forward to opening up our rapid payments service to more customers across Europe and plan to introduce our service to even more European countries shortly.”

Customers availing of the Ivobank service in the new territories will also be able to access the Ivobank Virtual Card — a virtual debit card — to use for their online purposes where MasterCard is accepted.

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Timoshenko Wins Asian Poker Tour Macau

APT Macau winner Yevgeniy Timoshenko

MACAU, CHINA – While he is still too young to play in the United States of America, 20-year old Yevgeniy Timoshenko was certainly old enough for Macau where he emerged as the champion of the Asian Poker Tour second leg.

The Ukrainian-blooded Timoshenko was the last man standing at the Final Tables where he bested seven others including South Korean Joon Hee Yea who came in second in the heads-up competition. Timoshenko took home the grand prize of US$500,000 from the APT Macau which promised a US$1.5 million prize pool.

Joon Hee Yea’s gutsy moves at the table were no match for the fantastic chip hoard that Timoshenko earned from the battles of Days 1 and 2 of the APT Macau leg. Joon took home US$250,000 while the third placer, Rober Karian from Thailand pocketed US$126,000.

Here are the Final Eight and their take-home prizes:

Yevgeniy Timoshenko – US$500,000
Joon Hee Yea – US$250,000
Rober Karian – US$126,000
Casey Kastle – US$90,000
Julio Diaz - US$67,500
Quang Nguyen – US$52,500
Chong Wing Cheong – US$37,500
Michael Pedley – US$26,250

257 players from over 40 countries trekked to Macau for the APT held between August 27 to 31 at the StarWorld Hotel. While the poker event’s number of participants paled in comparison to the numbers posted by the Asia Pacific Poker Tour which had 538 entrants, the APT nevertheless drew poker luminaries led by Doyle Brunson and son Todd, Johnny Chan, Liz Lieu, JC Tran, Kenny Tran, John Juanda, Nam Le, Quinn Do, Steve Sung, Huck Seed, and David Rheems. Unfortunately, none of the big names survived the earlier rounds of competition including APT Philippines champion David Saab.

The APT has yet to announce the schedule of its next events which, according to earlier releases by the organizers, are to be held in South Korea and Singapore.

NordicBet Earns Ire of Swedish Hockey Authorities

SWEDEN – The Swedish Ice Hockey Association is currently unhappy with online gaming firm NordicBet.com.

The reason?

An advertisement for the Isle of Man-based gaming company promoting sports betting services figured prominently during a hockey festival in Umea.

In addition, NordicBet also allegedly distributed promotional items during the same festival which has caused the association to flare up and has put the blame on host team IF Bjorkloven.

According to claims by the Association, the host team broke the terms of agreement signed by the Ice Hockey Association with Svenska Spel that prevents member teams from promoting companies rivaling the operations of the state-owned gaming operator.

The Association has threatened to take action against the hockey team that plays in Sweden’s second tier hockey league, the Allsvenskan. A hefty fine is underway.

The four-year deal between the Swedish Ice Hockey Association and Svenska Spel will result in a US$21.47 million windfall for the Association to be split among member clubs. However, a big chunk of the sponsorship money will go to the member teams playing for the major league — the Swedish Elite League.

NordicBet was quick to reply to the allegations of breach raised by the national association. NordicBet Marketing Manager Kenneth Engstrom said:

“We should have the opportunity to support the general public in Sweden. These clubs have little money as it is.”

Engstrom further stressed that the hockey festival in Umea was not a domestic professional game and hence the appearance of NordicBet did not constitute a violation of the deal with Svenska Spel. The tournament involved three local Swedish hockey teams and one club from Finland. In addition, Engstrom said that NordicBet will assist IF Bjorkloven with any fines that might be imposed.

IF Bjorkloven CEO Bedros Sakayan also made a remark on the claims by the Association stating that he believe the agreement with the state-owned gaming operator only covered competitive games during the regular season and not ones like what was held in Umea. However, he said that the team will take full responsibility should they be found guilty of any violation.