Scott Powrie Emerges as Chip Leader after WSOP Circuit Planet Hollywood Main Event Day 2

Casino News Daily

Scott Powrie Emerges as Chip Leader after WSOP Circuit Planet Hollywood Main Event Day 2

The final table of the WSOP Circuit Planet Hollywood Main Event was reached a few hours ago at the host venue. There are ten players left to contend for the first-place prize and a gold ring from the series. The final ten will be led by Scott Powrie into the event’s last day of action.

The player bagged 3.925 million in chips last night and was the only player to crack the three million mark on Day 2 of the $1,675 buy-in tournament. He cemented his leading position by winning a massive pot during the very last level of play.

This will be Powrie’s first cash from the WSOP Circuit series. And the player has secured an excellent position to add a gold ring to the money. Powrie’s WSOP player record shows that he has a single cash from the WSOP. It dates back to 2013, when the player finished 20th in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event.

As mentioned above, Powrie had 3.295 million in chips at the end of Day 2. The player’s stack was nearly two times larger than that of Barry Hutter who finished second in chips last night with 1.754 million. Hutter has a WSOP gold bracelet and a WSOP Circuit gold ring under his belt.

Benjamin Zamani, proud holder of two pieces of jewelry from the WSOP, bagged the third largest stack last night. The player will enter the tournament’s final day of play with 1.5 million in chips.

As it can be seen, Powrie is set to face quite some contenders for the title and the gold ring.

Tough Competition

Aside from Hutter and Zamani, the ten-handed final table of the Planet Hollywood Main Event includes other former WSOP Circuit ring winners, with those being Joe Cheong, Dylan Wilkerson, Jesse Yaginuma, Ben Palmer, and Stephen Nussrahllah, who has two gold pieces from the series.

Action is set to resume at noon local time today at the host venue. The ten players will play down to a winner. Each of the survivors is guaranteed a minimum payout $14,347. Needless to say, sights are set on the gold ring for the winner and first-place prize of $192,152 that goes with it.

The event’s champion will also earn a seat into the season-ending Global Casino Championship. The player who is crowned the Global Casino Champion will be awarded a WSOP gold bracelet. The prestigious event will take place on August 7-9 at Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina.

The Planet Hollywood Main Event attracted a large field of 870 entries, who generated a prize pool of $915,000. The money was split into 63 payouts. The money bubble burst on Sunday, with Steve Miller becoming the unfortunate bubble boy. The player departed in 64th place after failing to hold up against final tablist Hank Mlekoday in an all-in confrontation. Mlekoday eventually secured a spot among the final ten, although he will enter the Day 3 eighth in chips with 635,000.

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Posted by Editorial Team on 5:21 PM in

Florida lawmakers hope to resurrect dead gambling bill in special session

Casino – CalvinAyre.com

Florida lawmakers hope to resurrect dead gambling bill in special session

On Easter Sunday, Florida lawmakers hatched a plan to bring dead gambling legislation back to life.

The Sun Sentinel reported that Florida lawmakers are considering a call for a special session this month to talk about the future of gambling in Florida. The idea cropped up over the weekend after Florida’s current gambling deal with the Seminole tribe expired on Friday.

State Rep. Jared Moskowitz said there had been talks for lawmakers to hold a special legislative session to come up with a gambling legislation that all parties will agree on.

Moskowitz clarified that there’s no consensus yet on whether to hold a special session for a gambling bill. He likened the status for a planned special session on gambling bills to two individuals who just met on dating app Tinder.

“I can tell you that I have been contacted, and have had some preliminary conversations on what a bill might look like. It is very early,” Moskowitz said, according to the news outlet.

Gambling remains one of the most difficult issues facing Florida legislators.

Florida’s House of Representatives has traditionally shown less enthusiasm about gambling expansion. The Senate, on the other hand, wants to approve a broad gambling measure that will allow daily fantasy sports operations as well as slots at greyhound and horseracing tracks in eight counties, among other options.

State Sen. Bill Galvano, who will become Senate president in November, confirmed that there have been discussions regarding the state’s existing deal with the Seminole Tribe but “there is no agreement.”

Florida lawmakers know that much is at stake when the state’s so-called “forbearance” agreement with the Seminole tribe expired on March 30. They fear that the Seminoles will stop remitting an annual $300 million to the state as payment for the exclusive rights to house-banked table games as well as slot machines outside Miami-Dade and Broward counties after the agreement ended over the weekend.

At the same time, lawmakers are still torn on whether to renew the agreement or to expand gambling to other counties. Judging by Florida lawmakers’ track record on gambling bills, political analysts are less than optimistic that something good will come out of these discussions.

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Posted by Editorial Team on 12:03 PM in

Macau $3.2B March GGR beats analysts’ estimates

Casino – CalvinAyre.com

Macau $3.2B March GGR beats analysts’ estimates

Macau casinos roared back to life with a 22-percent increase in gross gaming revenue (GGR) for March, catching many financial analysts by surprise.

Data from the Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) showed that Macau raked in a MOP25.9 billion (US$3.2 billion) as a result of a sustained demand for gambling in the former Portuguese enclave.

The latest monthly result placed the market’s accumulated 2018 year-on-year growth at 20.5 percent, or MOP76.51 billion (US$9.46 billion). The March GGR also represents a 6.79 percent improvement from the MOP24.30 billion (US$3 billion) registered in February 2018.

The March GGR exceeded the 13-18 percent growth expectations of different brokerage firms and marked the 20th consecutive month of gains for Macau, following 26 months of year-on-year declines.

Brokerage Union Gaming noted that there was some level of concern that Macau’s casinos would experience a slowdown in March due to the National People’s Congress (NPC) meeting.

“Even though Chinese New Year was in mid-February this year, the traditional post-CNY slowdown felt notably longer than usual this year and seemingly extended into first two weeks of March,” Union Gaming analyst Grant Govertsen said in a note. “We therefore think GGR sharply accelerated after the meetings were concluded, leading to a very strong last week of March.”

The VIP segment led the revenue rally in the second half of March following the NPC meeting, according to Govertsen. He expects the positive momentum of Macau casinos to continue in April.

Union Gaming is expecting a robust first quarter results for Macau casino GGR, which may climb up to 20.5 percent. For the second quarter of 2018, Union Gaming said that Macau is likely to maintain a 20 percent and above GGR average.

The brokerage firm also believe that the VIP segment will continue to outpace the mass/slots growth rate. It predicts that the VIP segment will grow in the mid-20 percent range next quarter.

“The April calendar is tough with one fewer Saturday as compared to 2017, the May calendar is neutral, and the June calendar is favorable with one additional Saturday,” Govertsen said.

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Posted by Editorial Team on 5:27 AM in

Hong Kong, Macau now joined by ‘bridge of death’

Casino – CalvinAyre.com

Hong Kong, Macau now joined by ‘bridge of death’

Nine years of construction involving 420,000 tons of steel and more than $15 billion. That’s what it took to create the world’s longest sea bridge, which now connects Hong Kong and Macau over the Pearl River Delta region. If everything goes according to plan, the bridge will be paid for by increased gambling in Macau. If not, at the very least the travel time will have been reduced by a staggering 60%, from four hours to 45 minutes. But first, the bridge has to overcome its name—the bridge of death.

The six-lane, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge is 34 miles long and includes an underwater tunnel that goes for four miles. It was first conceived back in 1983 and completed in November. Its official inauguration is scheduled for some time this year, but the ribbon-cutting ceremony has yet to be established.

Although it has been touted as a wonder of the modern world, not everyone has been enamored with the project, including the principle planning manager, Gao Xingling. He was recently quoted saying, “There were many nights where I couldn’t fall asleep, because there were too many difficulties during the construction. Linking the 80,000-ton pipes under the sea with watertight technology was the most challenging.”

It’s not called the “bridge of death” for nothing. Hong Kong lawmakers have repeatedly called out the project for the number of fatalities that were seen during the bridge’s construction. In total, 10 deaths and anywhere from 234 to 600 injuries were reported. Many are saying that the price, both in life and economically, was too high for what the bridge would ultimate be able to deliver. Fernando Cheung, a member of Hong Kong’s Labour Party, said during a special meeting at the legislature last year: “The project is known as the ‘bridge of blood and tears’ and we are only talking about the Hong Kong side. We don’t even know what is happening in China. I suppose the situation could be ten times worse than that in Hong Kong.”

In October of 2014, a lifting frame collapsed due to a “deficient design.” In that accident, one worker was killed and four were others injured. A Hong Kong court found the three contractors involved, China Harbour Engineering Company, VSL Hong Kong and Dragages Hong Kong, guilty of negligence and other charges and were fined more than $20,000 each.

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Posted by Editorial Team on 11:15 PM in

Valentin Vornicu Leads 113 Players into WSOP Circuit Planet Hollywood Main Event Day 2

Casino News Daily

Valentin Vornicu Leads 113 Players into WSOP Circuit Planet Hollywood Main Event Day 2

Poker pro Valentin Vornicu is eying a record eleventh WSOP Circuit gold ring at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. The casino hosts the latest stop on the schedule of the popular poker series and the $1,675 Main Event, part of the festival, is currently under way.

The second of two starting flights was completed on Saturday at the host venue. Vornicu bagged 300,000 chips Saturday night to lead a pack of 113 hopefuls who survived the event’s two starting fights to advance into Day 2.

Vornicu is tied with Maurice Hawkins with ten gold rings from the WSOP Circuit series, and the player positioned himself very well to win a record-breaking eleventh piece. The player is set to return to Planet Hollywood today at noon local time together with the other remaining hopefuls. Ten more 60-minute levels will be played so tha the field to be reduced further.

The Planet Hollywood Main Event drew 260 entries during Day 1A and 610 more during Day 1B. An overall field of 870 entries was thus generated across the two starting flights. The tournament entries created a prize pool of $915,000, which will be distributed to the top 63 finishers. This means that the money bubble is set to burst at some point today.

Notable Survivors

One-time WSOP gold bracelet winner and three-time WSOP Circuit gold ring winner Sean Yu bagged the third largest stack across the Main Event’s two starting flights. The player will enter Day 2 of the tournament with 259,000 in chips.

Barry Hutter, Jared Jaffee, Ankush Mandavia, and Mohsin Charania are few of the former WSOP gold bracelet winners who secured a spot among the Day 2 survivors. Former WSOP Main Event Champion Ryan Riess is too still in contention.

There are also some WSOP Circuit notables who survived that initial stage of the tournament, including Dyan Wilkerson, Brett Murray, and Wendy Freedman. They are all former WSOP Circuit gold ring winners.

Former WSOP Main Event Champion Kevin MacPhee was not lucky enough to survive into Day 2. The player was joined on the rail by David Baker, Larry Wright, and Scott Clements, among others.

As mentioned above, bursting the money bubble would be on the top of the remaining survivors’ agenda for Day 2 of the Main Event. Only the top 63 performers will leave with a share of the prize pool. Minimum cashes start from $2,992. The winner will receive the total amount of $192,152, a gold ring and a seat into the Global Casino Championship. The season-ending event is set to take place in August at Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina. Its participants will contend for the Global Casino Champion title as well as for a WSOP gold bracelet.

But as the WSOP Circuit has a few more steps to complete before wrapping its 2017/2018 season, sights are now and for now set on those.

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Posted by Editorial Team on 6:03 AM in