Here’s a photo of the new VIP lounge at the new Horseshoe Casino in Cleveland. Bullz-Eye.com has a review of the new Cleveland casino that is located in the heart of downtown. There are plenty of perks for high rollers, so if you’re in Cleveland make sure to check it out!

Game developers like San Francisco Zynga have introduced a new era of social gaming. Social games can be played on PC’s, laptops and mobile devices. People can play online with their Facebook friends and Zynga’s games offer several features not found in more traditional online casino games. The advent of social gaming has forced many gaming companies to join the fray or risk being left behind in a rapidly changing industry. Earlier in the year, an article in the Wall Street Journal said that Zynga is making plans to enter the online gaming industry.

Some gaming companies are planning a foray into Zynga’s turf. The gaming companies have been emboldened by December’s ruling by the Justice Department that indicated that many forms of internet gaming could become legal. Gaming companies have been cautious since last April’s ‘black Friday’ seizures of several top online poker sites. The companies had their assets frozen and several people were indicted on a variety of charges. The December ruling has made gaming companies more confident that full online gambling legalization will take place soon.

One of the companies making the move towards social gaming is Las Vegas based International Game Technology, which just shelled out $500 million to purchase Double Down, a company that developed casino style games for Facebook. Although Double Down’s Facebook games don’t involve any actual gambling they are extremely popular with millions of regular players. The games involve the purchase of ‘virtual currency’ that players can spend playing games or for entertainment purposes.

Patti Hart, the CEO of International Game Technology, says that social gaming for real money is “going to come eventually.” Hart added “Think about how big Zynga Poker would be if it were about money, if you could win a jackpot and win a check.” If states allow social and real money gaming to mix the result could be $30 billion global business next year. Estimates say that social gaming revenues in the United States could reach $4.5 billion.

Even without real money bingo and other gambling games, social gaming is already a big business. It has been estimated that people will spend $2.9 billion on virtual goods in 2012. In 2011 people spent about $2.2 billion on virtual goods. The figures so not include revenues from advertising. IGT is planning to bring the company’s extensive collection of real world games to the Double Down casino. Players can access the games using PC’s, iPhones, iPads or through Facebook.

People are starting to get excited in Cleveland as the new Horseshoe Casino operated by Rock Ohio Caesars will be opening its doors soon in May. Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, who spearheaded the effort to bring casino gambling to Ohio, went down to Columbus to make one of the necessary presentations to get final approvals for the Cleveland casino. He had to answer some tough questions about his finances but everything looks like it’s on track for the scheduled opening.

It will be great to play all of the great casino games in the Heartland right on the shores of Lake Erie. We now don’t have to travel to play great games like blackjack, craps or roulette. Of course we could always play online, and that can be very addicting as well. I remember one session of the best roulette I’ve ever played. There have also been epic sessions of online poker. But it’s also great to play these games in a casino that’s within driving distance where you can order free drinks and mingle with all the ladies. The atmosphere may not be quite like Las Vegas, but the new Horseshoe looks like a real winner in Downtown Cleveland.

It’s also in a perfect location. Now fans can go to an Indians game or Cavaliers game and walk next door to play some roulette or craps. It’s also not far from the Browns stadium or the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame. Don’t look now, but Cleveland is becoming a high roller destination spot!

Social issues have returned for Republicans as they start talking about how they want to run your private lives. Now they’re going after Internet gambling.

National Review’s Jim Geraghty wonders whether there might be a business-related reason behind casino magnate Sheldon Adelson’s reported opposition to Rick Santorum. Take a look at what the former Pennsylvania senator had to say about gambling during a recent interview with Jon Ralston:

I’m someone who takes the opinion that gaming is not something that is beneficial, particularly having that access on the Internet. Just as we’ve seen from a lot of other things that are vices on the Internet, they end to grow exponentially as a result of that. It’s one thing to come to Las Vegas and do gaming and participate in the shows and that kind of thing as entertainment, it’s another thing to sit in your home and have access to that it. I think it would be dangerous to our country to have that type of access to gaming on the Internet.

Freedom’s not absolute. What rights in the Constitution are absolute? There is no right to absolute freedom. There are limitations. You might want to say the same thing about a whole variety of other things that are on the Internet — “let everybody have it, let everybody do it.” No. There are certain things that actually do cost people a lot of money, cost them their lives, cost them their fortunes that we shouldn’t have and make available, to make it that easy to do.

People who like gambling need to recognize that one party wants to tell you how to live your life.

Perhaps no game best personifies the epitome of online casino games than craps, the famous and exciting dice game that is often featured in classic movies with such masculine actors as Humphrey Bogart and Frank Sinatra. It is a game that is often described as a “game within a game” and offers among the best odds for a player that they can find anywhere.

Although craps is a fair game with a very low house edge if played correctly, many online players are intimidated by it because of the layout of the table and the fast pace. Beyond that there are many different bets you can make with craps and it can appear a lot more confusing than it actually is. With that in mind let’s take a look at the basic terminology of craps as it helps describe the game overall.

First of all, there is no way to influence the dice roll at craps, regardless of what wild stories you may have heard. And beyond that, no matter what strategies you employ, even the most sensible ones, there are no guarantees that you will ever win and beat the house edge, small as it may be.

The best bets to make at craps are pass and don’t pass, come or don’t come, as they have a 1.4% house edge. Where gamblers often blow their bankrolls are on prop bets, where the house edge is far greater. A great example is the Big 6 and Big 8 bets, which come with a ridiculous 9% house edge. And yet despite the big numbers these bets are constantly made.

And then there is the famed “7” bet with the “theory” that it is the most common number rolled, therefore it’s the best prop bet on the table. WRONG! The house has the “7” totally covered with a staggering 16.7% edge that nobody will ever be able to wear down. This is a classic example of the house taking full advantage of basic gambler’s “logic” and turning it upside down.

The famed hedge bet of playing the field is also a bonanza for the house with a 5.6% edge to the casino. And yet the masses line up thinking that they are getting a “bargain” with this bet.

The one bet that is a must to make when playing craps online casino games is the odds bet after the point is established as that reduces the house edge up to 40%.

The Obama Justice Department has upended the entire online poker debate with a recent opinion that basically limited the scope of federal laws. Now the question is whether Congress will get involved, or whether it will let the states move forward.

The gambling lobby has a message for Congress as states line up to cash in on a White House ruling that in-state online lotteries and poker won’t violate a federal Internet betting ban: Deal now or get stuck with a bad hand.

A Justice Department opinion issued before Christmas has created a now-or-never dynamic on the Hill for lawmakers and lobbyists pushing for a federal Internet poker law as state and regional officials move ahead with online gambling plans.

Come April, D.C. plans to offer online poker and blackjack. Illinois intends to be selling lottery tickets on the Web by then, too.
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“The writing is on the wall. The states are going to do this,” John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, told POLITICO. “The first three or four months of the year is going to be pretty important for Congress to act.”
All bets are on some key lawmakers — some backed by Las Vegas casinos — trying to do an end-run around the DOJ opinion by pre-empting it with a federal law. That could set up a showdown pitting states vs. the feds.

Supporters of a federal bill say states aren’t equipped to handle the complexities of Internet gambling, and Congress needs to step in.

State officials say that’s hogwash, and the Obama administration has already taken the wind out of the sails of a federal Internet poker bill by clearing the way for states to start setting up their own systems.

The DOJ opinion dealt states already pushing in the direction of legalization — like California and New Jersey — a couple of aces by saying a ban on intrastate Internet gambling only applies to sports betting.

That frees up those states and several others — including Iowa and Connecticut — to follow Illinois and D.C. in the coming months by passing online gambling laws during state legislative sessions. Passage in each Legislature will be complex, but state lawmakers are extra motivated in tight budget times to find new revenue streams.

Regardless of what happens, it looks like momentum is heading in the right direction. Poker is clearly a game of skill, so policy makers need to concede that point and come up with a logical system.

One of the great dynamics regarding online blackjack is that many of the newer players to the game get caught up in its speed and begin to make bets with strategies that simply defy the laws of mathematics. Many new players get cleaned out fast with blackjack and it is important to remember that blackjack, whether it be online or in person at a Las Vegas Strip casino, has the same odds and mathematical physics that will never change. The fact that playing blackjack online is a much faster pace makes respecting the odds and math even more critical in importance.

For the smart player, blackjack is an open invitation to the best and fairest odds that can be found in a casino. In fact many players admit that if the casino businesses were starting from scratch today, blackjack would not be offered because sharp players can whittle the odds down to near virtually even with the house, taking away almost all of the edge.

Where casinos make money on blackjack is with the ignorant, the sloppy, and the players that play with wild intuition rather than with respect for the odds and math. To make matters even better for the casinos and worse for such players, these action addicts that seem to be ramped up on an overdose of caffeine, go wild and binge on blackjack by playing multiple hands at the same time. So not only do you have a virtually insane group of action addicts that are playing multiple hands and multiple tables, you have a group of wild players that are not playing smart. And the casinos know there are far more of these types of players than the smart ones, thus their willingness to offer up blackjack despite the fair odds.

For the smart player, online blackjack remains a game of “three yards and a cloud of dust.” It is a basic game that should be played with a basic strategy rather than with grand designs that do not overcome the math of the game. Superstitions, feelings, and intuition have no place at the blackjack table. Solid math, great money management skills, and respect for the game and odds are what will make for the most successful blackjack players.

There has never been a better time to get involved in online blackjack as sign up and play bonuses are higher than ever and the games themselves have never had more appeal.

One of the new dynamics of online casino games is the entertainment rather than the gambling factor. Make no mistake about it, the games are still about wagering and winning big money but there is now an added factor that enhances the overall gaming experience and that is the personality of games based on themes.

Many online slot games are now based on movies, television shows, comic strips, and sports. For many gamblers it is as important to play a game based on a certain specific theme that the player will enjoy as it is to play a game solely for the purpose of wagering for money itself. A great example of this new phenomenon is the Marvel Comic Strip slots that are based on the various comic book heroes. It is now possible to win a jackpot as you watch Spiderman’s heroics.

The same holds true for movie fans as you can play slots based on “The Godfather,” “Gone With The Wind,” and “Batman.” Online casinos love to offer such games as they will attract new players and keep them playing just for the entertainment factor alone. To put it another way, there are gamers playing just for the entertainment itself rather than the shot at winning money.

The stunning graphics of this new generation of games is also remarkable. With brilliant visuals and dynamic sound, today’s online casino games are vastly superior to their traditional in person on site games and this is helping an already exploding industry grow even faster.

Along those same lines, online casinos are offering bonus incentives to players who play these new theme based games. Bonuses tied into movies or famous singers make for a more enjoyable online wagering experience. The bonus structures at online casinos are at a peak at the present time and there has never been a better time to sign up and take advantage of “free money” just to start. The additional bonuses for referrals of friends and family as well as for loyalty and playing time make everyone a winner before they make their first bet.

Many players are now also finding friends at such games as online casinos are holding slots tournaments for fans of different themes that are enjoyable and offer people with the same interests a chance to interact.

With bonuses, awesome themes, and unsurpassed quality, this is the best time to take part in online casino games.

Regardless of the idiotic arguments advanced by the US Justice Department, everyone knows that poker is a game of skill, not a game of chance. Nevertheless, the government is pursuing their ridiculous crackdown on online poker:

For years a massive Internet poker industry operated in the U.S., arguing that facilitating for-money online poker play did not violate any U.S. law. The U.S. Justice Department, however, did not agree with that position and on Friday federal prosecutors in Manhattan filed the most detailed defense of their view that Internet poker is just plain illegal, invoking country music and suggesting that La Cosa Nostra had infiltrated the online poker business.

The 51-page document was filed by the government in response to the pre-trial motions of an indicted banker and payment processor, who both became unlikely warriors in the long legal battle over online poker in America when they filed legal papers in October arguing that online poker companies like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker were not gambling businesses. John Campos, a former vice-chairman of a Utah bank, and Chad Elie, who ran a payment processing business, are the only two individuals who have directly stood up to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s April crackdown on the online poker industry in the U.S., which included the indictment of 11 individuals. It is because of Campos and Elie that the government is being forced to litigate its case against online poker for the first time.

In asking a federal judge not to grant motions to dismiss filed by Campos and Elie, federal prosecutors claim “the conduct alleged in the Indictment – a scheme through which the charged defendants abused the U.S. financial system in order to fund their illegal operations – amounts to clear violations of the statutes charged.” The federal prosecutors also claim that Campos, Elie and the rest of the U.S. online poker industry, are wrong to argue that poker is a game of skill and not chance–and thus cannot be treated as illegal gambling.

It’s going to be fascinating to see how the courts decide here. I want to see the testimony of professional poker players and their powerful argument that this is a game of skill. With that, the online poker bans might actually go away.

You might be surprised to hear this but the game of bingo has become one of the most popular online casino games. It is thriving in the UK and it is gaining popularity in other countries as well. There are a number of reasons why people have taken to playing bingo. Let’s take a look at the top five reasons.

1. Bingo is Easy – You probably already know just how easy bingo is to play and when you play it online it is even easier since you don’t have to worry about marking off numbers and missing something. Simple games are oftentimes the ones that people like to play the most.

2. Bingo is Fun – It is always fun to have a chance to win money playing a simple game. You can cheer for your numbers to come up and enjoy the excitement of bingo.

3. You Can Win Money – It is great when you have a chance to win money when playing a game and that is the case with cash bingo games. Prizes from just a few dollars to thousands of dollars are available at online bingo sites.

4. You Can Chat with Friends – You almost could put this as the top reason that online bingo has taken off in popularity. Women have really taken to playing online bingo because they can play the game and chat with their friends at the same time.

5. You Can Play Online – There is absolutely no question that playing online bingo is far easier and simpler than playing at a local bingo hall or at a local church. You don’t have to go anywhere to play online bingo and it is a lot more exciting when you have a real chance to win money at anytime of the day or night.