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UK House of Lords Rejects Super Casino Plans- Poker Plans in DisarraySun, Apr 1st, 2007 @ 12:00am Plans for a "Las Vegas-style super casino" in the northern U.K. city of Manchester were voted down in the House of Lords this past Wednesday night, though it passed by a narrow majority in the House of Commons (elected members). The plans, which were defeated by a 123-120 vote in Parliament's upper chamber, had also called for 16 smaller casinos across Britain. Without the approval of both the House of Commons and House of Lords, the government's plans will need to be redrafted, since they cannot proceed as they now stand. Britain today has about 140 small and medium sized casinos, located principally in major towns and cities. Both houses of Parliament have already passed the 2005 Gambling Act itself into law, which included plans to add additional casinos to boost the economies in areas with high unemployment. But the votes held on Wednesday were 'secondary' legislation, meaning legislation to put the new laws into effect. Specifically it was to allow the super casino location of Manchester and the 16 other smaller-casino locations to receive their new casino licenses. Tessa Jowell, Culture Secretary for the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport in charge of the casino licensing said they would reflect on the negative vote before deciding how to proceed. An independent panel's choice of Manchester, a city of 440,000 about 315 kilometres north-west of London, was contentious when it was announced at the end of January (click here for related PokerPages article). Many expected the supercasino to go to depressed seaside town of Blackpool, which many felt could better benefit from the financial and social recovery that a supercasino would bring, or to the Dome in London. Besides the rethink of the supercasino and 16 smaller casinos, there is also the question of the future Government's willingness to go through with casino expansion plans at all. That is something that Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell is well aware of with upcoming election in May which may bring a change of government who does not support casino expansion. A harbinger of that forthcoming change came on March 21, when Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (UK's Finance Minister), proposed a hefty tax increase on small and large brick and mortar casinos during his Budget speech. He announced a top rate of 50% on profits over GBP 10,000,000, which undoubtedly was aimed at the proposed super casino and as a result could cause companies to rethink bidding on the supercasino license altogether (click here to read related PokerPages article). Brown didn't stop there. He also proposed a 15% tax rate on "Remote Gambling" which wouldn't encourage offshore online gambling companies to become licensed in the UK while remaining offshore, much less to be lured to relocate to the UK. So the race is on to see if the supercasino licensing mess can be sorted before a change of government kills it. Poker players shouldn't buy airline tickets to see the Manchester super casino just yet. Read Related Articles:
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Moon and Cada Heads-Up, Ivey 7th at WSOP Main Event Final Table After a marathon session at the most esteemed table in the poker world, a 21-year-old and a logger are set to go one-on-one for the World Series of Poker Main Event bracelet.
PokerStars Launches New UK and Ireland Poker Tour PokerStars.com has announced the start of a new poker tour with stops throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. The UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) will kick off in Galway, Ireland in mid-December, and the first event in the UK will be held in Manchester in February.
Peerless Media Agrees to Purchase World Poker Tour Enterprises According to a Monday press release, WPT Enterprises Inc., mothership of the World Poker Tour, is now the rightful property of Peerless Media, Ltd., subsidiary of online giant PartyGaming.
Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho Hit the Amazing Race Rail After surviving six legs of the Amazing Race by the skin of their teeth, poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho were finally eliminated in the CBS reality show's most recently aired episode. Michelle and Ho, the last women standing in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker Main Events, gave reality television fans another chance to watch poker personalities compete away from the felt. Annie Duke garnered quite a following earlier in the year on another reality show competition, NBC's Celebrity Apprentice.
Isaac Baron Dominates Caesars Classic Main Event Isaac "westmenloAA" Baron ran over the final table of the Caesars Palace Classic $5,000 Main Event, amassing a huge chip lead and going home with the $246,928 first prize. It took two long days to narrow the 162-person field to the final ten. A very high percentage of the entrants were recognizable tournament circuit players, and unsurprisingly, the stacked field produced a tough final table lineup.
Tonight- ESPN shows Day Before WSOP Main Event Final Nine are Set- Oct 27 Tonight (Oct. 27) at 9pm ET, ESPN will broadcast highlights of action on the day before the Final Table of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event was set. Only 27 players remain when this one-hour show begins.
Frenchman Wins PokerStars EPT Warsaw Poker Tourney At the PokerStars European Poker Tour Warsaw No Limit Texas Hold'em main event that wrapped up yesterday, French businessman Christophe Benzimra finished first taking home 358,644 Euros in prize money, while Italian poker pro Alfio Battisti finished second in the tournament.
Vedes Conquers WPT Festa al Lago Final Table Tommy Vedes is the WPT's newest champion! Vedes outlasted 274 players to win the Festa al Lago title and the $1,218,225 first prize. Freddy Deeb, who began the final table with the chip lead, hoped to win his third WPT title and tie Gus Hansen's record. Instead, Deeb was forced to settle for 4th place, leaving room for a new WPT champ. Click here for in-depth coverage of the action and photos from the final table.
Will Hungarians Get Taxed on Poker Soon? Hungarian lawmakers have plans to tax poker winnings and regulate clubs to generate much-needed revenues during the country's worst economic crisis since the end of communism, reports Germany's Deutsche Weele.
Freddy Deeb Leads World Poker Tour Final Table The WPT Festa al Lago Main Event is down to the final six after five tough days of play. Two-time WPT champion Freddy Deeb brings the chip lead along with the benefit of his under-the-lights experience into Monday's televised final table. Deeb previously won the WPT Season III Aruba Poker Classic and the Season VII Celebrity Invitational. He also owns two World Series bracelets and has amassed over $6 million in tournament winnings. A win on Monday would add $1,218,225 to that total. Click here for photos from the felt and final table chip counts. |
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