Playboy plans on using its flagship brand and promotions to lure potential poker players in. With the poker boom still at it’s peak, and an industry which seems to becoming sexier and sexier each day, Playboy Poker is sure to be a hit with many internet poker players.

Christie Hefner, Playboy’s Chairman and CEO said, “In CryptoLogic, Playboy has found an innovative and proven partner who can help us capitalize on the growth and excitement of online poker. With CryptoLogic’s technical and industry strength and Playboy’s global brand reach, our goal is to deliver an exceptional Playboy-gaming destination for online players.”

These feelings seem to be mutual between Playboy and Cryptologic, with a potential BOMB coming to the poker industry and maybe, just maybe, some well needed competition for the likes of partypoker.com, pokerstars.com and pokerroom.com.

Sportsbook.com, one of the most well known internet sportsbooks around generated over 2 billion in sports wagers and over 5 billion in casino wagers last year alone. A huge chunk of sportsbook.com’s customers are use based and those same players seem to be quite nervous with recent events.

Last Sunday, David Carruthers, CEO of Betonsports.com was arrested in Texas while en route to Costa Rica to his companies head office. Carruthers was charged with rackateering and fraud along with a host of other charges. His company’s founder, two sons and media director were also arrested. On Monday, a 22-count indictment was brought forth to betonsports.com that charges Carruthers, 10 others and 4 related companies for taking bets to US residents as violation to the 1964 Wire Act which forbids these same actions.

The recent news of the arrest has sent shockwaves through the online gambling industry and their stocks, plunging to all time lows. The arrest also resulted in Betonsports being suspended on the London Stock Exchange and hasn’t come back to trading since the delisting on July 18, 2006.

Internet Gambling is a $12 billion per year industry worldwide, and growing. This business is technically illegal although not enforced in the United States. Congress has tried for years to pass a bill on banning online gambling but has failed to succeed. Last week, the US House of Representatives passed the bill to be voted upon in Congress in the fall, 317-93.

More recently, bodog.com has been forced to postpone their annual Bodog Conference in Las Vegas for fears of the authorities being on the watch. Calvin Ayre, CEO and founder of Bodog.com and also featured on Forbes.com was quoted saying; “Everybody, at least in the sports betting world, is definitely on notice that the U.S. is being extremely aggressive,” said Sue Schneider, chief executive of St. Louis-based River City Group, which publishes a daily interactive trade magazine. “It’s certainly going to keep people from coming to the U.S.”

One thing is for sure, the sportsbook world better be careful and the casino & poker industries might soon be next.

Along with BetonSports.com, there were also three Florida-based companies: Direct Mail Expertise, DME Global Marketing and Fulfillment Inc. Four of the owners and operators associated with these firms have been indicted as well.

David Carruthers is a prominent advocate of online gambling, and he fears that the escalation of the anti-lobby will trouble markets.
Once Carruthers arrest began to circulate on the Internet this morning, shares of the publicly traded BetonSports dove almost 17 percent on the London Stock Exchange.

The Sunday Times has addressed the anxiety and fears for this may be the beginning of the end for all online gambling & online casinos by U.S law enforcement. Greg Harris, an analyst at Cannacord said: ‘It’s too early to say if this is part of a broader strategy on prevention of internet gambling in the U.S, or if it is the Department of Justice simply flexing their muscles and trying to influence legislation.’

U.S Attorney Catherine Hanaway of the Eastern District of Missouri in a press release states: ‘This indictment is but one step in a series of actions designed to punish and seize the profits of individuals who disregard federal and state laws.’

The bill has the support from both the Republicans and the Democrats, but it is still controversial and will head to the Senate. The legislation supporters believe that access to gambling comes far too easy online, and this can lead to financial problems and gambling addictions. Critics believe that regulating online gambling, and collecting taxes on it would be beneficial. Bobby Scott who represents Virginia brought up the issue of credit card companies knowing when a company is a gambling site, since these sites use other names to avoid detection.

With so many issues and controversy, the impact of the bill will be unknown.

Germany, the host and favorite amongst the locals put in a valiant effort, falling just short of the final match, but beating Portugal 3-1 in the 3rd place match up this past Saturday afternoon. Germany showed they are a football force to reckon with, showcasing the talents of future Chelsea star Michael Ballack. Germany ended up making their country proud, as an underdog, finished 3rd ahead of the likes of England, Brazil and Portugal!

In the finals, it was the match of the century, with Italy vs France. What can I say, the match started out with a terrible call, which almost cost the Italian side the World Cup, resulting in France’s first goal via a penalty shot from Zidane. From there, Italy went on the attack, equalizing halfway through the second half to tie the match at 1-1. Thanks to the terrific goalkeeping by Italian net minder Buffon, the Italians staved off many attempts by the French side and ended up victorious through a 5-3 win in the shootout. I can’t say enough times how good Buffon played and how much of an impact he had on Italy winning the World Cup 2006.

For all those gamblers out there, the World Cup offered another means of online betting for the last month. With the focus taken away from the various online casino and poker rooms, with the World Cup now complete, the main focus can now be shifted to the WSOP 2006, being held in Las Vegas as we speak with the main event, Texas Holdem No Limit tournament to begin at months end.

This year boasts one of the largest fields in WSOP history, with the main event attracting upwards of 8,000 entrants and a first prize amounting to a staggering $10,000,000! We will be keeping a close eye and coverage of the WSOP and will update the blog weekly with winners, news and other information pertaining to this HUGE poker even in Las Vegas.

England looked poised to beat Portugal, a talented, yet under-maned and underpowered to that of the mighty English Football Club. WIth the likes of Lampard, Beckham, Rooney and Cole, anything but a date in the finals is an absolute failure.

Through 45 minutes, England looked good, having multiple opportunities, coming close a few times. Then disaster stroke, with Wayne Rooney recieving a red card for stamping on Carvalho. Rooney denys any intentional aim at huring Carvalho and was shocked when he recieved the red card and sent off the field.

Through another 45 minutes, England defended incredibly, not allowing a goal through regulation and Extra Time. The dreaded penalty shots once again going to be required for an English victory. In the end, Lampard, Gerrard and company could not convert their penalty shots and Portugal won 3-1.

It was tough watching England battle a man down for almost an hour. England almost completed an incredible performance. Instead, this years world cup will go down as a failure!

Everybody online who plays slots and other popular casino games is eagerly waiting for the jackpot to go off and make another instant multi-millionaire in the online casino gambling business. Considering Intercasino is by far one of the best online casinos, this jackpot is a feat in itself and is waiting to be won!

Intercasino has recently launched a host of well known, well repsected slots with their partner Marvel. These include Hulk, Silver Storm and Lightening as Intercasino continues to shock the gaming world by launching cutting edge slot games for those online gamblers.

Earlier today the Chicago Bulls beat the Indiana Pacers to tie that series up and the Pheonix Suns need to do the same tonight and tie up the series with the powerfull LA Lakers. Steve Nash, the MVP of the 2005 NBA season needs to pick him game up considerably and figure out a way to penetrate the middle against LA. If he or the Suns can’t figure out how to score inside the series will be over for them.

The Suns have also had trouble pushing the floor and opening up for the fast breaks they usually live for. The lakers have been doing an excellent jobs taking care of the ball but the Lakers are shooting free throws at a record pace this series. As long as you take it to the basket you will get the higher percentage and score more, which the Suns need to do.

Go Suns Go!

The current odds have to be with the favorite, the Detraoit Pistons & multi-world champions San Antonio Spurs. This has been a great year for the Pistons, but one must assume the powerhouse Western Conference will bring forth stiff competition from the likes of the Spurs, Suns or Mavericks.

I myself am a Toronto Raptors & Cleveland Cavaliers fan, although neither of those teams will win the championship and even make the playoffs. This is not only a great time for those basketball fans, it’s also a great time for those looking to bet on this exciting action.

For all the latest on the NBA Playoffs and betting visit Google and find the best choice for your needs.

Aparantly they are Britney nude as a teen, and the belief online is they were taken and published by Justin Timberlake. Britney’s reaction according to Richard Moriarty - she’s furious and very upset with the recent news on her nude photos.

The Enquirer is reporting that a friend of Britney says the star “is flipping out.” She’s even more furious because “the whole thing is a put up job - the photos are Britney’s head put on someone else’s body,” the friend tells the magazine. Britney’s publicist is claiming the pictures are merely her head with someone elses nude body - but they do look good to me!

The internet is reporting the pictures are in fact of britney, from when she was a teen, which make them even more risky and attractive to those looking!

The report claims the pics are from an outing in which Spears and Timberlake took in 2001, in which he took nude photos of her then. The speculation could be true as it seems Britney has admitted to sleeping with Timberlake years ago after lying to the press for years about being a virgin.

Either way, they are a dandy and will add PR to any online casino which makes for great news.