This is the first time that a robbery has taken place during a major poker tournament, and certainly it will change the rules of these events. The tournaments location managers will now have to take pay much more attention to security procedure which will definitely have an effect on the atmosphere of the tournaments.

At the Hyatt Hotel there were security guards, but they weren’t prepared for an attack of this kind. Although one of the guards managed to stop one of the five thieves, his friends came back and managed to free him.

The robbers allegedly managed to steal about 800 thousand Euros from the coffers of the tournament. A hoard accumulated by buy-ins paid in cash by those who signed up at the last moment.

It is sad to think that sporting events such as a prestigious poker tournament will require security measures similar to those at a bank or airport in the future, but it is probably what will be done.

The UIGEA law prohibits U.S. financial institutions to make transactions of money to and from online gambling sites on behalf of American citizens. The fraud perpetrated by Schuett worked like this: the German had opened several bank accounts in Europe where he cashed money coming from players’ winnings, and later he sent these winnings to the players themselves through bank cheque.

The fraud was discovered after suspicions arose at FedEx, where workers noticed an unusually high volume of activity related to Schuett’s firm, MCM Capital Management. After opening a number of parcels sent by Schuett, all containing checks, FedEx called the police to investigate.

Schuett’s money laundering business has been active since 2007. Over the years of activity, Schuett has transferred more than $70 million of online poker winnings, serving more than 23,000 players. The man had created a network of over 420 businesses to make all the money and checks transfers.

The Grand Hyatt Hotel in Berlin, which hosts the tournament, can accommodate 1000 players in its halls and according to the “Berliner Morgenpost” online, this is also the number of enrolled players. The buy-in is, as usual, 5,000 + 300 Euro, and the first prize should be around one million Euros. This is one of the biggest prizes on the tour due to a higher than average number of participants.

Last year, Sandra Naujoks from Berlin won EPT Dortmund. She has returned to defend her title in her home city this year. She said recently that being able to sleep in her bed will be a big advantage. In addition, former German tennis champion Boris Becker, who is considered a semi professional poker player, is competing for the million Euros as a member of Team PokerStars.

The final table of the tournament will take place on Sunday March 7. The last two days tournaments will be broadcast on EPTlive.

Gambling was made illegal in 1949, the year of the Communist Party’s ascension to power. This has not prevented the growth of an underground gambling industry which, thanks to the Internet, online casinos have joined.

The Chinese government decided to put an end to illegal gambling, and began a 6 month campaign against it last August. According to the authorities, illegal online gaming at foreign sites has led to large financial losses (about 1.5 billion dollars) for the country and disturbed social and economic order.

Many Internet gambling sites operate from abroad, and rely on local partners. These partners are being targeted in the vast campaign started in August 2009. Even operators of payment systems are being sought, along with the Internet providers that offer access to gambling sites.

China, which has a long tradition of censorship, has also declared war on porn and web sites showcasing violence. The system of censorship, called “The Great Firewall of China” has gained recognition worldwide.

To use the services offered by Moneybookers a user must register with the site. After opening an account at Moneybookers, a user must make a deposit via bank transfer. The service lets the user send money to anyone via email, even those not in possession of a Moneybookers account. If the recipient does not have an account, they will receive sign up instructions via email so they can join Moneybookers and collect the money.

Although PayPal is the most widely used payment method, this is because it is mostly used for eBay purchases. Meanwhile, Moneybookers shows an enviable annual growth rate, the highest in the industry in 2008 and the outlook is very positive for 2010.

Moneybookers has also become very popular among online gaming lovers. We emphasize that this is also because Moneybookers agrees to make payments on behalf of American players too, while Paypal rejects it. This is certainly a dominant factor in the growth of the service.

In regards to cost for transfers, Moneybookers is slightly cheaper than Paypal.

In order for online gaming to be legalized, the decree must still pass the following phases: a second reading and approval of the National Assembly on March 30; approval from the European Union; approval of the Council of State and finally an OK by the Constitutional Court.

The clock is ticking, especially for operators who are interested in launching sites for the soccer World Cup which begins June 11.

The decree requires operators interested in working with the local market to obtain a French license. License from one of the other 27 countries that are part of the EU will not be considered valid by the French authorities.

Eric Woerth, Minister of Budget, expected about 50 operators to make a request for obtaining a French license. Currently in France there are about 20,000 active operators which are considered illegal.

According to data collected by only two licensed operators, Française des Jeux and Paris Mutuel Urbain, 30 million French people have played through these two operators and they have spent 21 billion Euros.

According to data published by a local newspaper, from the beginning of February through the 21st of the month, the casinos grossed a total of around 1.13 billion dollars. A third of the sum was collected during the week of Chinese New Year, between February 13 and 19.

The results from February 2010 have exceeded those for the same period of 2009.

It is no coincidence that the gambling industry in Macau prepares for this annual event. It is also no coincidence that Malaysian development company Genting did everything possible to open its Singapore resort in time for the year of the Tiger.

The Macao government is aware of the local economy’s dependence on casinos. Officials have openly discussed their plans to diversify the economy in order to lower the nation’s reliance on casino income. The challenge seems rather difficult because of the success of the gambling industry and the difficulty in developing new economic sectors.

However, the most important factor, which we believe enhances the gaming security of a virtual casino when compared to a land-based casino, is the lack of gaming staff. A land-based casino can be honest and legal as possible, but if a dealer decides to cheat the casino or its customers, or come to an agreement with one or more customers – which is what happened at casino di Lugano in Switzerland – it is difficult to prevent them from doing so. These frauds are often discovered, but only after the damage is done.

In virtual casinos, since the casino staff and customers do not interact, there are no opportunities to commit fraud at the detriment of the casinos or customers.

Finally, at online casinos, players can’t cheat other participants in the game. For example, the roulette cheating system known as “poussette” is impossible to conduct online.

Fraud at Casino di Lugano is described as a fraud damaging the house, because it was dealers and some players that earned from it. However, it was in many ways at expense of other players, who without marked card decks would win even more. In a virtual casino, it is clearly not possible to mark card decks, since they are virtual and created by the gaming software.

Very often, we hear arguments about the possibility of hacking the gaming software in virtual casinos. Hacking the gaming software means interfering with the Random Number Generator algorithm which recreates the randomness of card distribution as in a real game. Tampering with the software would deal the house better cards and allow the casino to win more.

In tampering with the gaming software it is the virtual casino that has everything to lose. First, casino games, whether offered by real or virtual casinos, all give a positive margin to the house. The rules for these games and the payout systems create a system where the casino always makes money. Therefore, what interest would a casino have in creating a hack for their own software? Earning more? The risk is simply not worth it.

The new thriller directed by Frenchman Pierre Morel stars Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers and the always timeless John Travolta, this time showing off a decidedly new look. Luc Besson, one of the most esteemed directors in the world of cinema, and author of the unforgettable “Nikita,” cooperated in writing and co-producing the movie.

Titan Poker can be seen when one of the actors in the movie is enjoying a game of online poker.

In honor of the launch of the film on French screens, the poker room has organized a promotional tournament for French players. The final tournament will take place Monday, March 15 and access is available through four satellite tournaments, scheduled every Monday from February 15 to March 8, or by paying the entrance buy-in. The tournament prize pool is $5000.

It is unclear whether Titan Poker will launch a promotion coupled with the debut of the film in other countries.