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Win Big Playing Poker is comprised of three fully detailed learning videos, available for purchase individually, plus a fourth bonus disc for those who purchase the complete set of videos. With a total running time of more than 170 minutes, these step by step videos have been carefully crafted so that both the novice and advanced player will benefit from the contents.

December 8, 2004

Susan Wood
Tahoe Daily Tribune

RENO - With its visitor base topping 50 million this year, Nevada tourism will continue positioning itself as the state for adventure travel - and Lake Tahoe is a part of that effort.Nevada is no longer considered a state where one just bellies up to the bar or poker table.

It's one where one may belly up to a kayak on a whitewater course or a climbing rope during a rappel off a rock.This was the overriding notion of "Nevada: Leading the Way," the theme of the state Governor's Conference on Tourism, which ends on its third day at the Reno Hilton today.

Hundreds, including tourism industry regulars from Lake Tahoe, gathered at the Nevada Commission on Tourism's annual conference, which featured speakers from the aviation, gaming and tourism worlds."I end up working with the NCOT a lot, and the lake is never left out of that mix. They depend on us as a draw. Look at the Reno/Tahoe (International) Airport," said Carol Chaplin of Aramark, the national concessionaire that operates the Zephyr Cove Resort and two lake paddle-wheelers.

"I think the campaign speaks directly to our markets and does well for us."The campaign to promote the Silver State started two years ago with "Nevada: Bring It On," designed to attract hard-core adventure seekers. A year later, its horizons broadened the target audience to the recreational weekend warrior with "Nevada, Wide Open."Tuesday's session of the tourism conference began with Gov. Kenny Guinn boasting a rise in visitor numbers by 3 million in one year - a 50-million mark that far surpasses the state's 2.3 million residents.

"To put this into perspective, this is 10 million more than all of the international visitors last year to Italy," Guinn said. He shared a slew of optimistic numbers that give the economic picture of the state.Guinn wasn't alone. Krys Bart, executive director for the Reno/Tahoe International Airport, told the crowd gathered during a luncheon that she's grateful the airport has rebounded since 9/11. It has seen a 3.6 percent increase in passenger counts from last year alone.

This is despite an industry with four carriers facing bankruptcy, high taxes and exorbitant fuel costs. When the price of a barrel of crude hits $50, the airlines lose billions, she said.Bart said the wave of the future lies with the smaller carriers with less overhead and less willingness to expand beyond their means."You know Southwest has never had an unprofitable quarter," she said.Southwest Airlines constitutes 40 percent of Northern Nevada's airport business.At the same time, people will notice the larger carriers moving into international markets.

For one, United Airlines plans to offer flights in 2005 between Chicago and Buenos Aires."And I think you'll see more expansion into the Pacific-Asian lands," Bart said.Giving people access to move across the globe is one thing. Giving them the desire is another. Some tourism insiders believe a nation at war in the world may be more apt to spend money on recreation - as did the World War I and II generations."I think it goes back to the whole escape thing - that people want to recreate during these times," Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority Executive Director Patrick Kaler said. "And people are looking for the entire experience - not just gambling. I never thought gambling was the reason to come to the lake."

The basin sports 2.2 million visitors annually, according to the LTVA. That message even makes sense to gaming officials, who acknowledge the need for the industry to diversify."In spite of war, we have an economy on the rebound. And with all the bad news, it's a great way to take a break. People tend to take stock in their personal accounts," American Gaming Association Vice President Walton Chalmers told the Tahoe Daily Tribune.Despite never having been to Tahoe, he said Horizon's parent company's desire to turn Caesars Tahoe into a casino catering to the younger set could be right on the mark with today's highly competitive world of Indian gaming."This was discussed at the Global Gaming Expo.

The trend will revolve around people under 40," he said before his keynote address.Beyond appealing to young audiences and targeting markets where the small airlines thrive, part of tourism's future rides on making emotional connections to casino consumers, according to Harrah's Entertainment Vice President Marilyn Winn.

That's why Winn believes hosting events like the World Series of Poker at its properties - including Harrah's Lake Tahoe - is the key to boosting the image of a casino company that has enjoyed a 19 percent growth rate in five years."We want to own that emotional connection to the gaming experience - that when they draw an ace, they're hoping for that 10," she said in her speech.Other components to the tourism effort include organizing televised events with "real people" like the newly announced Nevada Passage, and expanding promotion into the Pacific Rim.Nevada tourism officials have even opened a Beijing office."

Global tourism is the key to our state," said Lt. Gov. Hunt, who serves as the NCOT chairwoman. "With the proliferation of Indian Gaming, we need to expand our market, and we know that. We saw that a long time ago, and that's why they're saying Nevada is leading the way."

Despite Popularity, Questions Raised About The Legality of Poker Tournaments on Campus

By Josie Swindler
Spectator Staff Writer

December 8, 2004

Texas Hold'm held 'em in their seats Friday night in Lerner for the Taiwanese American Students Association and Asian-interest sorority Kappa Phi Lambdas inaugural poker tournament.

The tournament is one more manifestation of the poker craze overtaking campuses nationwide. Flops and rivers and nuts are common terminologies for increasing numbers of Columbians, thanks in large part to ESPNs World Series of Poker and one of its players, Annie Duke, CC '87.

TASA President Melanie Lee, CC '05, said that based on campus-wide interest, It was surprising that there hadnt been a well run tournament at Columbia yet. Eighty students put up the $10 buy-in to play in the event, and some from the waiting list sat hopefully on the sidelines. The worst player lasted seven minutes; the best played for about four hours.

In November, University of Pennsylvania officials called off an identical 80-player, $10 buy-in charity tournament scheduled by the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity. The University cited Pennsylvania law, which it said prohibited awarding any prizes larger than the entry fee.

Fraternity president Colin McDonald told UPenns newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian, that he did not contest the law but thought this decision would set precedent and affect future Hold Em tournaments, quiz competitions, and dodgeball games, which have awarded large cash prizes in the past. UPenns Poker Club, which receives money as a recognized student activity, has not been contacted by the university.

New York Penal Law forbids the promotion of gambling, and the possession of gambling records or devices. It does not specifically prohibit gambling. Lee said other New York laws ban games of chance, and many debate whether poker is a game of skill or a game of chance.

"Its a game of skill that has chance", said tournament winner Gary Lo, SEAS '05. Lo said "poker utilizes two types of skills: reading opponents and reading the best possible hands on the table". As he plays, Lo said he is always calculating the statistics and probabilities of each hand, and thinks that people good at math and economics have the upper hand. But, he added, "Anyone that says there’s no luck involved is wrong".

Lee said TASA and Kappa Phi Lambda don't have definite plans for future tournaments, but liked Fridays response and may consider organizing charity tournaments. The high turnout, her club feels, suggests a definite campus demand for gambling.

Lee hopes that any coverage the tournament receives won't force the Columbia administration to take steps to prevent future games. The event was registered in Lerner Hall, and to prevent any concerns about cash prizes, the tournament’s five top-finishers were given gift certificates to any place of their choice. Lo opted for a VISA cash card, which he won’t receive for at least a week.

Lee added that the event was not a fund-raiser: after awarding prizes worth $225, $150, $100, $75, and $50 (totaling $600), and after buying playing cards, and the cheapest, nicest chips they could find on eBay, the tournament’s organizers actually lost about $8.

The distributed rules encouraged everyone to bring a lucky charm to place on top of cards they chose to play, so as to avoid confusion. One player brought a dreidel, another a Hello Kitty magnet, and another a miniature Zen garden complete with sand, rocks, and a rake.

Everyone had on their poker faces, and though the room was not especially bright, players at each table wore sunglasses.

Though most dealers were sisters from Kappa Phi Lambda, only four of the 80 players were female. Eunji Choi, SEAS '06, was the last girl standing; she outlasted about 40 men. She said she started playing last summer with friends after watching the World Series of Poker. She plays up to three games a week, usually with a $5 to $10 buy-in.

Choi said she expected a low female to male ratio, but expected a higher one than she found when she got there. She blamed stereotypes. "Girls dont play poker. Girls don't do a lot of things", she mocked. "There’s a tendency for guys to think that I cant play as well because I’m a girl", she said, adding that its "amusing" when she surprises them by winning.

Lo, the eventual winner, said he's been playing for two years but has been away from the game for awhile because it interfered with his school work. "To be honest I had no idea how I was going to do", the Northwestern transfer said. He prefers cash games to tournaments and though he usually plays $50 buy-ins, he thought $10 was a good number for this event. It made the pot large enough to mean something, he said, but shouldn’t disappoint the losers.

Lo said poker is a good way to make money on the side, and that a lot of his friends do well playing online. He said his career in electrical engineering is his priority right now, but that because of the World Series of Poker, there are a lot of bad players out looking for games.

"Winning always makes you feel good", Lo said. "But I got lucky."

December 8, 2004

In a recent online survey by Empirepoker.com, 42 percent said, if given a choice, they'd like to play poker with Pamela Anderson. What a surprise! ''Our players clearly think Pamela Anderson isn't too bright -- or maybe they just want to ogle her," said Empirepoker.com's Ron Burke. You think? Cambridge card shark Ben Affleck drew the smallest response -- which is either a sign that few women participated in the survey or that he's really a very good card player. ''Apparently, his poker skills precede him," Burke said. ''Our players clearly see Ben Affleck and James Woods as no-nonsense, hard-core poker players, and it's quite interesting. They'd seem to be the most likely to cheat." Ben? Cheat?

December 7, 2004

Geoff Foster

Daily Mail

ONLINE gambling group Sportingbet has been on a roll since splashing out £169m in October for Costa Rica-based Paradise Poker, one of the world's top four online poker groups. Its share price has rocketed 80%. But if industry rumours are anything to go by, lucky shareholders could be in for an even bigger jackpot.

Sportingbet jumped a further 8p to an all-time high of 180 1/2p amid whispers that Hilton Group (2 3/4p off at 258 3/4p) - which owns Britain's biggest bookmaker Ladbrokes - has made a tentative bid approach. Dealers heard that it would prefer a 'friendly' deal but it is prepared to go hostile if necessary. A cash offer in the region of £807m, or 250p per share, could be on the cards.

One fund manager said: 'I know the Paradise Poker deal was a big steal at only seven times next year's earnings, but there has been something else behind recent heavy buying of Sportingbet. It comes as no surprise to hear that one of the major bookies could now be sniffing around.'

The Paradise acquisition has put Sportingbet into a different league. It almost doubled its size and gives it a huge foothold in the US market. There is an online poker frenzy in the US and Paradise has more than 700,000 gamblers on its books. Online poker is a high-margin, hugely cash-generative business that is set to expand as the US poker mania spreads overseas.

DAVIE, Fla., Dec. 6, 2004

Midas Entertainment, Inc. (Pink Sheets:MDAS) announced that it has taken over $30 million in bets, processed more than $2.47 million in transactions and generated in excess of $556,000 in revenue during its initial three full months of operations -- more than $186,000 in November alone. To date, the company has acquired over 10,000 players playing through the Company's web portal licensees. The month-over-month revenue once again trended higher from October to November and the recent introduction of new portals is expected to continue to accelerate that trend.

"The growth we have experienced is pretty incredible," remarked Midas President George Gutierrez, "and mirrors what is happening industry wide. Sportingbet.com's recent acquisition of Paradise Poker for almost $300 million is indicative of the type of activity we continue to anticipate as the industry grows and evolves. Midas plans to focus on core growth and will continue to explore all opportunities as they present themselves."

The Industry

A Bear Stearns report for the industry pegged annual revenue at $4.2 billion for 2003, while Christiansen Capital Advisors predicts a slightly rosier picture pointing to an estimated $4.5 billion in revenue for calendar year 2002, saying 2005 revenue could exceed $10 billion. Recent estimates from PokerPulse.com note that over $140 million is wagered at online poker sites during any given 24-hour period.

The Company

Midas' wholly owned subsidiary, Creative Millenium Ventures, provides gaming software to online poker sites including CityPoker.com, KingMidasPoker.com, DesertPoker.com and SharkPoker.com. Midas' operations were spun-off from AngelCiti Entertainment, Inc. (OTCBB:AGCI) and into Midas in July 2004.

December 6, 2004

MERRIMACK, N.H. and LAS VEGAS, Running the tables this Holiday season, specialty retailer Brookstone, Inc. (Nasdaq: BKST - News) has teamed up with poker legend and best-selling author Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson to launch a premiere line of poker products and promote Brunson's highly anticipated new book Super/System 2.

Beginning today, poker fans around the country can register to win a limited, autographed copy of Brunson's Super/System 2 by logging onto www.brookstone.com and typing "Doyle Brunson" in the search box.

In addition, Brunson will conduct a book signing and poker exhibition on Thursday, Dec. 9, from 2-4 p.m. at the Brookstone store at Rockefeller Center in New York. Brunson will sign advance copies of Super/System 2 while they last and will play Texas Hold'em poker using Brookstone's premiere Professional Poker Set with randomly selected people who attend the book signing.

"Brookstone is pleased to be the only retailer in the entire country to offer customers a chance to purchase or win a limited, advance copy of this highly anticipated new book by Doyle Brunson, the renowned patriarch of modern poker," Brookstone Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Anthony said. "We feel this partnership with Mr. Brunson underscores Brookstone's position in the marketplace as the retailer of choice for Holiday gifts and complements our premiere line of authentic poker products, including our Professional Poker Set."

"I've been a fan of Brookstone for many years and believe the retailer is a great venue to promote Super/System 2 to a customer base that is accustomed to innovation and quality," Doyle Brunson said. "I'm looking forward to making the insight and experience contained in Super/System 2 available to players of all levels who want to learn more about how to play and increase their chances of winning at the wonderful game of poker."

Brookstone's premiere Holiday poker lineup includes the Professional Poker Set ($125), which features 400 professional weight chips at 11.5 grams and five instructional cards in a deluxe felt-lined carrying case, as well as a variety of other poker products that range from casino sets, to card shufflers to electronic handheld games.

Super/System 2, Brunson's updated guide that includes new strategies, games and insight from Brunson and other well-known poker pros, is not available for sale in any stores. The only way to receive a copy is by accumulating Action Points at, www.DoylesRoom.com. Details are explained on the site. People who attend the book signing at the Brookstone store at Rockefeller Center in New York can buy advance copies while they last, and Brookstone will give away 100 autographed copies to randomly selected entrants who register online at www.brookstone.com.