According to a recent report on bbc.co.uk, the “complex love life of Jennifer Lopez has led bookmakers to give odds of 7/1 on her marrying and divorcing boyfriend Ben Affleck in 2004.”
Bokmakers Ladbrokes is also giving odds of 2/1 that Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz will wed, while Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher’s odds of marrying are 1/3.
Bets are also being taken on Rod Stewart stepping up the aisle with girlfriend Penny Lancaster at 5/4.
But there is little festive cheer for newlyweds Ulrika Johnsson and reality TV star husband Lance Gerard-Wright who have been given odds of 4/1 to divorce in 2004. The pair only got married in August.
And constant speculation about the marriage of Victoria and David Beckham has led to odds of 25/1 being given on their divorcing.
World Series of Poker to Come Back?
According to a report by Reuters, the famous World Series of Poker stands a chance of making a comeback after Harrah’s Entertainment bitcoin dice said it has reached an initial agreement to buy Binion’s Horseshoe Hotel & Casino and has plans to reopen the legendary Las Vegas casino as soon as possible.
erms of the proposed deal were not disclosed, although Harrah’s said it would assume the property’s liabilities.
Last week U.S. marshals raided the casino, closing the home of one of gambling’s great competitions, the World Series of Poker.
Marshals and agents of the Nevada Gaming Control Board entered the casino on Friday night armed with court orders to reclaim $1.9 million owed to creditors.
“The agreement in principle contemplates that Harrah’s will assume the property’s liabilities to bona fide creditors who submit verifiable evidence of claims,” Charles Atwood, Harrah’s Entertainment’s chief financial officer, said in a statement.
“We are also reviewing options with the casino’s owners for reopening the property as soon as practicable.”
The two sides need to complete a written agreement, and receive regulatory approval, before the deal can go through.
Founded in 1952 by cowboy Benny Binion, The Horseshoe quickly became one of the city’s highest-stake casinos.
It started the World Series of Poker in 1970 and takes credit for transforming the card game “from a kitchen-table pastime into an important casino game.”
Online Gambling To Lose in UK Reforms?
New gambling regulations could force interactive and online operators to move off-shore, MPs have been warned.
One industry leader told them that the draft Gambling Bill introduced “costly and onerous” regulation that would harm the industry and cost jobs.
A more positive approach might attract companies now based off-shore bringing up to 3,000 new jobs, he said.
The new bill will create a single regulator, the Gambling Commission, to cover all aspects of the industry.
But interactive operators fear rules that work for brick-and-mortar casinos may harm online, mobile and interactive-TV gambling.
Bill Haygarth, of the Association of British Bookmakers, said: “There’s nothing in the bill for the betting industry, apart from increased regulation and costs.
“Licenses would be needed for everything from large scale operators to backroom telephone betting businesses,” he told a pre-legislative committee scrutinising the bill.
“That could lead to betting companies moving off-shore … but if the government gets it right it could mean 3,000-plus jobs.”
Andrew Tottenham, chair of the Interactive Gambling, Gaming and Betting Association, said Mr Haygarth’s estimate for potential jobs might be too high.
“We’re optimistic that companies will come to the UK, but … jobs that would be brought here would be high-tech, high-skilled jobs,” he said.
Call centres and other less skilled jobs would probably remain overseas, although the benefit to consumers would still be substantial.
“At the moment, the consumer doesn’t care too much where the company is,” Mr Tottenham said. “They’ll use services based in Cuba, Panama, Curacao.
“It’s only when they don’t get paid that they start to worry about where it is.”
If the UK was a more attractive business place, more companies would be under British regulation, protecting consumers from unscrupulous operators, he said.
Mr Tottenham also said better regulation was needed to ensure “random number” software [used to power chance-based games like roulette] was not biased against the consumer.
It would be hugely beneficial to have a single regulator, but it needs to be able to apply a suitable regulatory bite.…
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