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Greek translation service at Translation Agency UK:

Translation Agency UK offers a complete Greek translation service, turning a wide range of documents from English into Greek and from Greek into English. All this work is undertaken by native speakers of the target language. This ensures that the results always meet the highest linguistic standards.

Your translation matters to us and we never compromise on quality.

Our Greek translation service has been designed to satisfy all the needs of any potential client. Our experts have all been selected for their command of their original language as well as for their know-how in specialist areas.

The team provides swift and accurate translation from Greek to English and English to Greek in the following subject areas:

Biochemistry  Automotive  Information technology

Insurance  General subject matter  Law  Engineering

Advertising  Marketing  Administration

Telecommunication & Media  Environmental

Finance & Banking

Clients can be assured that our french translation service produces excellent results that are always on time and on target.

Speed and volume

Our greek translation service achieves an average turnaround of 6,000 words per day and per translator.

Accuracy

Our greek translation service is carried out by highly recommended professionals whose credentials have been thoroughly checked.

Format

Our greek translation service produces results that match your original document not only in terms of language, but also in presentation and layout.

Style and expression

Our greek translation service provides Translation Companies UK output that is always in tune with the tone of your material. Persuasive writing remains persuasive and formal remains formal.

Flexibility

Our greek translation service is available for 12 hours a day every day of the week – including Saturday and Sunday – via email correspondence. And these hours can be extended if prior arrangements are made. We always remember that you are the client and we are always willing to accommodate your needs.

Savings

We know that these days everyone is working to tight budgets. We discuss all the costs and expenses of our greek translation services up front, and inform clients immediately if any changes need to be made.

Absolute confidentiality

We respect your privacy. We guarantee that all documents entrusted to us remain strictly confidential.

Few Facts on the Greek language :

The Greek language is spoken by the 10 million inhabitants of Greece and some 82% of the population in Cyprus.

Greek is also spoken around the world in 35 other countries including Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bulgaria, Canada, Congo, , DRC, Djibouti, Egypt, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan.

About 40% of the English vocabulary is built upon Greek words — not just the any 40%, but the most content-filled words used in literary, scientific, philosophical, and theological areas of study.

Greeks online population, according to Global Reach, 2003, total 2M worldwide.

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You’ve finally done it. You finished your first diamond project—yay! Now, you’re probably wondering what to do with a finished diamond painting. Well, you spent a lot of time and effort on creating something beautiful, so you’ll definitely want to preserve it in some way. But, how? We like to add a top seal to keep all of the diamond beads secure and then put it in a chic frame to hang on the walls of our home or office.

Before you can start the framing process, however, there are a few other finishing touches you can add to your painting just to make sure it’s as perfect as can be. Learn how to frame a diamond painting and look for any minuscule mistakes that could lead to bigger issues down the line.

Get Rid of Dust or Dirt
Most of us spend quite a bit of time working on a single diamond painting project because it can take a while to get every bead in the right place. Plus, if you want to create a truly stunning piece, you need to be diligent about the placement of every diamond; otherwise, you’ll end up with a painting that looks uneven or misshapen.

Because these projects can take days or even weeks–depending on how often you work on yours–it’s easy for debris like dirt, dust or even pet hair to get caught in the design. You may not notice any of these tiny inconveniences while working on the project, but once the beads have been sealed in and hung in a frame, you may see the difference. To clean your diamond painting, you can use a soft brush or even a toothbrush to very gently sweep any remains of your creation.

Check for Missing Areas
Have you ever thought you completed a Ravensburger Puzzles only to realize you had one piece missing? It is so easy for something similar to happen with a finished diamond painting. Because every piece is so small and the grid sections are so close together, you may end up thinking that you didn’t miss any spots, but once you hold your project up to a light board or a bright light (lamp or direct sunlight), any spots that have been skipped over will be illuminated. Before you do anything else with your finished product, you should use this test to check for discrepancies.

Be Sure Diamond Beads Are Secure

The diamonds beads of your painting are attached to the grid by the pattern’s sticky surface. However, sometimes we do not push down hard enough on each and every bead causing one (or more) of them to fall off once we lift up the painting. To avoid this, take a rolling pin and gently roll over the entire piece. This will provide each bead a little extra pressure that ensures that they are stuck to the grid.

Learn How to Properly Frame Your Diamond Painting
Adding your diamond painting to a frame gives it a classy and finished appearance. Framing your painting is a fairly easy process. You can buy a standard frame from any craft store, or look for a custom size to fit your specific painting. If you’re going to buy a standard frame from the store, look for one that is slightly smaller than your painting. Diamond art paintings have extra trim around the image so you can cut some of this material down to fit the frame and focus more on the image itself.…

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Playing recently with a friend, I noticed he was getting agitated with the dealer. But instead of leaving, he challenged this rude dealer, figuring he will get his just revenge by beating him out of his money. Anyhow, you can probably figure out what happened. He ended up leaving his money behind. What advice would you give my busted friend? William B.
Sometimes the best response to stormy weather is to unleash your own tempest. But against a well-financed cantankerous dealer, trust me, you will not restore equilibrium.

Your companion should have done what I would advise any player to do if uncomfortable with a surly dealer: unkeister that stool, as they say in the top European casinos, and hustle butt out of there. There is no value in playing heads-up with a non-simpatico dealer. Don’t get macho and challenge an ill-mannered dealer. His bankroll is not only the $10,000 he has laid out in front of him, but the myriad of millions in the vault.

Oh, yeah, William, another thing. Your friend’s got it wrong in believing the dealer’s money is on the table or that he has a stake or a preference – aside from his dyspeptic animus – in the outcome of your comrade’s play. Whether with a smile or a sneer, the dealer did what he’s paid to do: relieve visitors of their cash burdens.

Dear Mark,
Is it polite to ask a dealer if they are running hot or cold? June D.

No problem, June, just ask him. Most will tell you whether they are dumping the tray in the player’s favor; if not, you are staring at the dealer from hell. But a cautionary side note. In all the years that I pitched cards, I have been asked innumerable times if I were running hot or cold. I can count on one hand the players who walked and avoided the wrath of Pilarski, when I told them I was sizzling. Most players seem to have been vaccinated against common sense and think lady luck is super-glued to their left shoulders, no matter what admonition you give them.

Dear Mark,
My favorite type slot machines are the old mechanical types you find hidden in the corner in the few remaining casinos that carry them. The problem is, the jackpots are very small compared to the newer machines. Why don’t the older machines offer decent sized jackpots? Carol H.

Those patriarchal machines of the past you are describing each had three Login Sbobet reels, with 20 symbols on each reel. Mathematically that works out to 20 X 20 X 20 possible combinations, equaling a hot 8000 to 1 chance of your hitting a jackpot. Granted, the hardware may have looked something like today’s three reel/20 symbol slot machines, but the similarity stops there, and you would be dead wrong in assuming that there is an 8000 to 1 chance of hitting them.

Today’s hybrids out of yesterday’s sweet past all have a computer chip operating inside them, and those 20 symbols are now just computerized stops, with as many as 256 imaginary symbols per reel. The chance of hitting the top-line jackpot is 256 X 256 X 256, equating to 16,777,216 to one. With 4 reels and 256 stops, try four billion and change.

The main problem with an old mechanical machine is that you are confined to the physical size of the reel, which generally has 20 symbols on it. At an 8,000 to 1 chance of hitting a Godsend, you didn’t expect the casino prize to be a Lexus, nor a $250,000 jackpot. But with the computerized stops, the casino can safely offer caviar dreams.

Gambling thought of the week: “Games in which all may win, such games remain as yet in this world uninvented.” – Herman Melville, The Confidence Man (1857)…

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Social media marketing company Focused Labs is undergoing a name and focus change as it is preparing to assist companies in increasing their Facebook “likes”.

The company, now to be known as GraphEffect, has been involved with Facebook’s Advertising API program beta, in which brands can craft and post their own ads on the social network without needing to utilize the Facebook Advertising Manager tool.

GraphEffect is marketing itself as the first social media system to specifically focus on increasing Facebook “likes” and customer conversions through the network’s feeds. It is their opinion that, as digital advertising options multiply, brands need to tap into every possible avenue in order to maximize the bottom line. The social media agency feels that with its newly designed algorithms created specifically for Facebook, it can efficiently match customers with their clients’ products and services.

Before this announcement, Focused Labs had received a new $2 million dollar investment from a variety of venture capital funds including CrossCut Ventures, Rincon Venture Partners, Thrive Capital , Founder Collective, Lerer Ventures, and Baroda Ventures as well as individual angel investors Stephano Kim and Matt Coffin.

Expectations are high for GraphEffect but their investors and CEO assert that their efforts over the past year have driven millions of new fans to their clients, so if the company is able to continue this trend with their new goal then growth should continue unabated.

Facebook Playing Possible Matchmaker for Barbie and Ken

In a unique ploy, toy manufacturer Mattel is asking Facebook users to weigh in on whether or not Ken and Barbie, perhaps the toy world’s best-known couple, should get back together after a recent seven-year long breakup.

The couple, together for 43 years, took a hiatus back in 2004 when Barbie left Ken for Australian surfer ‘Blaine’. Since then, the Ken character broke out on his own with an appearance in the commercially and critically-lauded Toy Story 3 as well as at New York Fashion Week.

Mattel however is interested to see if fans would like to see the iconic couple back together, especially on the eve of the company’s upcoming “Sweet Talking Ken” doll release. The company has carefully employed social media to spread the message by heavily hitting up Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and YouTube in an effort that has begun gaining online traction as well as real world billboards posted in New York and Los Angeles. More about Flic Social Media

For their Facebook campaign, Ken only needs 10,000 “likes” on his page in order to finally reunite with Barbie; fans can also vote at a special website, barbieandken.com, to make their feelings known. Ken himself is hoping to reunite with his lost love this upcoming Valentine’s Day, in a perfectly timed gesture by Mattel.…

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Investors in the United States who wish to trade Bitcoin without having to buy the cryptocurrency have been given another route to the top-ranked virtual currency via Bitcoin Exchange Traded Notes (ETN).

Details of the Bitcoin ETN

According to Bloomberg, starting Wednesday American investors will now have access to Bitcoin Tracker One, and BTC ETN and Crypto Gambling. The product which runs under the CXBTF ticker will be quoted in U.S. dollars. However, the clearing and settlement of the trade will be in Krona and Euro since the product is listed and regulated in Sweden.

The ETN is issued by XBT Provider, a subsidiary of CoinShares. The company developed the product in 2015. In July 2018, Amsterdam-based EU speed trading behemoth, Flow Traders became the first company to participate in the BTC ETN market.

For Americans, trading is this particular Bitcoin ETN is like purchasing a U.S. depository receipt in that a foreign-listed asset is denominated in U.S. dollars. Commenting on the ETN, CEO of Coinshares, Ryan Radloff said:

Everyone that’s investing in dollars can now get exposure to these products, whereas before, they were only available in euros or Swedish krona. Given the current climate on the regulatory front in the U.S., this is a big win for Bitcoin.

ETN Might Represent a Soft Opening for Bitcoin ETF

The introduction of BTC ETN trading capability in the United States could be seen as a soft opening for the much sought after Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The SEC has far remained unmoved in its reticence concerning issuing approval for any BTC ETF.

Recently, the Commission denied the Winklevoss twins’ ETF application while postponing its decision on the VanEck/SolidX, as well as the Direxion filings. According to the SEC, issues relating to liquidity, custodial tools, and price manipulation haven’t been sufficiently addressed.

ETNs and ETFs are similar in some respects as they provide an opportunity to invest in an asset without actually owning the asset. Such a trading avenue seems perfect for cryptocurrencies given their price volatility. However, a few subtle differences exist between the two. Rather than being an asset pool, ETN is more like a debt instrument that is backed by a bank or any other recognized issuing institution.

Do you think the Bitcoin ETN will gain traction in the American market? Keep the conversation going in the comment section below.

Ethereum Price Falls Below $300 as Cryptocurrency Market Tumbles – Crypto ICO Report NEWS13 Total viewsNo comments

The price of Ethereum has fallen below $300 as the cryptocurrency market enters a more intense bearish pullback. Except for Tether, all other top ten coins have experienced significant negative price movements within the last 24-hour trading period.

Ethereum Tumbles 17 Percent

Ethereum, the second-ranked cryptocurrency according to market capitalization sunk to its lowest 2018 valuation on Monday afternoon UTC. ETH has not traded below $300 since the start of November 2017. At press time, ETH has dipped more than 17 percent to take its 2018 decline to 60 percent.

The decline in the price of ETH is being attributed to the disillusionment of ICO investors. The sheer number of ICO exit scams and the amounts being siphoned by these pump and dump schemes has created negative sentiments in the ETH market.

Ethereum, the preferred platform for most ICO projects benefited from this fact reaching above $1,000 in February 2018. At the time, BTC was declining below $6,000. However, the tide seems to have turned as many of the ICO projects that generated interest in ETH, driving up its price have begun to cash out to cover expenses. Thus, the ETH is is starting to slide. Commenting on the issue, BloomWater Capital chief, Biswas Das said:

These startups are raising a lot of funds, but they don’t have treasury management or enough cash management experience, so they’re selling too early and causing a lot of pressure in the market. It was fine last year, but right now, the market is so fragile that it causes a lot of pressure.

The general bearishness perhaps exacerbates the ETH decline in the market occasioned by stricter regulations and the slow pace of institutional adoption. Experts believe that projects aren’t done cashing out and thus predict even more pain for ETH investors as prices sink even lower.

Bitcoin Dips More than 20 Percent in August as Altcoins Continue to Bleed

Bitcoin briefly slipped below the $6,000 mark in the early morning on Tuesday (August 14, 2018). The top-ranked cryptocurrency is now back above $6,000 at the time of writing this article. BTC has dropped more than 20 percent in August eroding most of the gains accrued in July. Bitcoin’s year-to-date decline now stands at 57 percent.

Positive sentiments leading up to the SEC’s decision on numerous ETFs drove prices up to $8,400 in late July. However, the Commission has either rejected or delayed approving the various filings brought before it. The consensus is that an SEC-approved Bitcoin ETF in 2018 is highly unlikely.

The altcoin market, in general, appears bleak as well with prices depreciating significantly. Cardano leads the decline in the top ten, falling more almost 20 percent within the last 24 hours. Outside the top ten, Ethereum Classic has been unable to maintain its upward price trajectory after a raft of platform adoptions. The 13th-ranked cryptocurrency is currently down by more than 19 percent in the last 24 hours.

How low do you expect the price of Ethereum to reach in this current decline? Keep the conversation going in the comment section below.…

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The Australian government today voted to ban Australian-based online gambling sites from offering their services to Australians. The ban also makes it illegal for Australian casinos to provide gambling services to other countries opposed to Internet gambling.

The Senate also voted 33-28 to exclude sports betting and lotteries from the interactive gambling ban, following last minute changes to the proposed legislation. Australian sports books and turf clubs were concerned that the ban would drastically affect their businesses.

According to Communications Minister Richard Alston, the gambling ban takes the necessary action to limit what the government called the tragic economic and social consequences of gambling in Australia.

Senators who voted for the final bill were pleased that the legislation limits overseas access to Australian gambling sites. Senator Bob Brown noted, “What’s bad for Australian households is bad for households elsewhere around the world.”

Australia has been grappling with the issue of problem gambling for years, but opponents of the bill argue that poker- and pull-tab machines in pubs are the real cause of the nation’s gambling problem. They also insist that the bill will not do anything to address the issue.

Opponents to the legislation have argued that the bill would be technologically difficult, if not impossible, to enforce. Many have suggested that the best solution to the problem is a regulated online gaming environment, but the government refused to waver on its committed to a total ban.

Critics of the ban also noted that Australian gaming companies will likely go offshore to get around the restrictions. Senator Brian Greig argued that “Australian companies could still locate themselves in a country where there was no prohibition, such as Vanuatu, and continue their services into those countries.”

The bill does not prohibit offshore operations from providing their services to Australian citizens.

Microgaming Terminates Tropika License

Microgaming announces that the licence for the operation of the group of casinos owned by Tropika, and notably Fairplay Casino, has been terminated with immediate effect. This termination does not affect Golden Riveira casino. Microgaming is aware that for some time there have been player allegations that pay outs to players have not been made by Tropika casinos.

In the interests of fairness, arrangements have been made for players that have still not had their claims paid by Tropika, or the relevant Tropika casino, by the 5th of July 2001, to put their claims to PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. (Johannesburg) (PwC). PwC will receive Singapore Online Casino player’s complaints with a view to verifying the correctness thereof, and advising of any amounts that should be paid.

This process is entirely under the control of PwC, and Microgaming will not be involved in any way. The funds to be used for such payouts have been placed by Microgaming in a trust and are not under the control or ownership of Microgaming. PwC will advise the trustees of any amounts that should be paid.

All players who believe that they have a valid claim should approach PwC from the 6th of July 2001 at the e-mail address given below. Players should note that a time limit has been placed on the lodgement of such claims, and all claims should be lodged by the 6th of August 2001.

Claims must be addressed to: trustadmin@pwcgaming.co.za. These claims should clearly state the claimant’s full name and login-id as registered at the casinos involved.…

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A Today Playboy.com, the wholly owned subsidiary of Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: PLA), launches PlayboySportsBook.com, an international online sports wagering site, at PlayboySportsBook.com, uniting two of the world’s favorite things: sports and Playboy Bunnies. Playboy is the first major global brand to launch an online gaming site.

PlayboySportsBook.com offers non-stop betting action in a fun, reliable and easy-to-use sports wagering environment. The site also offers comprehensive sports news and video event coverage, sports commentary, scores and stats, and chat.

Worldwide sports enthusiasts can log on to PlayboySportsBook.com to wager on international sports such as soccer, rugby, boxing, snooker, tennis, motor racing, and golf; U.S. sports such as the ongoing NBA Playoffs, football and hockey, plus horse races and greyhound races; and special events like the upcoming British General election to the Playmate of the Year. Visitors can choose from a variety of wagering options, including fixed odds, handicaps, ante-post, match bets and specialty bets. Betting is available in 23 currencies and all bets are tax-free.

Deanna, the Playboy Betting Bunny (and Playboy magazine’s Miss May 1998), dressed in the classic Playboy Bunny Costume, serves as the site’s hostess. She is featured in video segments highlighting major betting events, as well as welcoming users to the site.

To celebrate its launch, PlayboySportsBook.com has announced two special offers:

PlayboySportsBook.com will match new Joker123 Slot members’ first bets up to 10 pounds sterling (or equivalent in the currency of the bettor’s choice).
The first person from Europe who places the largest authorized bet by May 13, 2001 will win two invitations to Playboy founder Hugh M. Hefner’s 75th birthday party in London later this month.
Establishing an account is safe and easy. PlayboySportsBook.com accepts MasterCard and Visa, as well as debit cards and cheques. Unlike some betting and gaming companies, PlayboySportsBook.com does not charge a fee for credit card transactions, allowing consumers to deposit or withdraw funds at any time, completely free of charge. Customer service is available via e-mail, telephone and fax. The site has safeguards to prevent taking bets from the United States and other places where online sports wagering is illegal.

“We’re excited to bring Playboy’s unique blend of sophistication, excitement and fun to online sports wagering,” said Christie Hefner, Chairman of Playboy.com. “Playboy is one of the world’s most recognized and respected brands. We’ve been in business for nearly 50 years and quality and reliability have been our foundation from the start.”

Playboy.com veteran Paul Kallis has been named executive vice president and managing director of Playboy.com Internet Gaming and will oversee the initiative. “PlayboySportsBook.com is not just for sports enthusiasts,” said Kallis. “It’s for anyone who wants enter the world of Playboy and have a total entertainment sports wagering experience — all without worry or concern about collecting their winnings.”

PlayboySportsBook.com launches in English and will add Chinese, Spanish and Italian.

The site is powered by Ladbrokes eGaming Limited, the world’s biggest bookmaker, and is licensed in and operated out of Gibraltar.…

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What comes to mind first during the holiday season? Many are interested in purchasing gifts for friends and family members. Yet, there certainly is a need to give to those in need. During Bitcoin Black Friday, the BitGive Foundation successfully raised $4,850 in Bitcoin for the Save The Children’s Philippines Relief Effort directing funds to the Typhoon Haiyan Children’s Relief Fund. Bitcoin is simply the easiest way to send in and process donations to organizations providing relief around the world. BitGive Foundation’s Executive Director, Connie Gallippi put out the following press release:

BITGIVE Foundation – Raises $4,850 for Save the Children

A Charitable Giving Organization of the Bitcoin Community

(Sacramento, CA – December 11, 2013) – The BitGive Foundation, the charitable giving organization of the Bitcoin community, provided its first donation yesterday to Save the Children for their Typhoon Haiyan Children’s Relief Fund. The Foundation raised $4,850, exclusively from the Bitcoin community, as part of Bitcoin Black Friday. BitGive has also worked with event organizers to develop a broader charitable drive as part of Bitcoin Black Friday and involve other charities in the event.

Founder and Executive Director of BitGive, Connie Gallippi, is very pleased with the progress of the Foundation thus far, which launched earlier this year, and thrilled to see their first donation drive a success. “‘Tis the Season of Giving, and we hope to see more donations to charity in Bitcoins, including BitGive and Save the Children.” The Foundation is running aholiday donation drive ‘Give a Bit this Holiday Season.’

Madeline Finch, Board Member and Secretary of the Foundation says, “We are excited to be entering the world of philanthropy on behalf of the Bitcoin community, and Save the Children’s relief efforts in the Philippines is exactly where we want to see our first donation drive make a big difference.” Learn more about SKYBLOCK MONEY MAKING METHOD

To share their vision and continue to educate audiences about Bitcoin and charitable giving, Ms. Gallippi recently presented on the “Positive Social Impact of Bitcoin,” alongside Elizabeth Ploshay of the Bitcoin Foundation Board, at the first annual Latin American Bitcoin Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, December 7-8, 2013.

The BitGive Foundation, launched earlier this year, is a charitable giving organization of the Bitcoin community, whose mission is to provide gifts to environmental and public health causes worldwide. BitGive has received several early donations from Bitcoin mining companies KnCMiner and Butterfly Labs, which have grown ten-fold in value, as well as in-kind donations and services from Perkins Coie, LLP and BitPay, Inc., which also processes Bitcoin donations to charities at no cost.…

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Andrew McDonald, an executive with Crown Casino has indicated that, as the Australian land-based casino operator considers possible partners for a new online casino, the final arrangements are being made to launch a site in the early part of next year. And despite recent reports that the company is looking into possibilities in the United Kingdom, McDonald said that it is still planning to take its online operations offshore in the South Pacific.

Kerry Packer’s Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL), Crown’s parent company, released a statement this week indicating that it was exploring “strategic gaming opportunities in the U.K.,” in the wake of the Budd Report, a set of recommendations for gambling policy in the England. The report, issued by Great Britain’s Gambling Review Body in July, recommended widespread deregulation of the country’s gaming industry to allow for the development of Las Vegas-style casinos.

Andrew McDonald, an executive with Crown’s gaming risk management division, said the company is still researching jurisdictions for hosting an online casino, but pointed out that the United Kingdom isn’t its first choice. He said any effort in England would be done on the land-based side and that the island nation of Vanuatu in the South Pacific remains the frontrunner.

McDonald confirmed that a recent report in London’s Even Standard speculating on Crown and PBL’s next move was somewhat accurate.

“The report is relatively correct,” he said. “It does indicate our plans for Vanuatu. We have not confirmed those plans but that is the most likely place for our operation, and it is correct that we are looking to launch in early 2002.”

McDonald said that, as the launch date approaches, the company will promote the new site and release more details on hosting and other related issues.

He also said it’s very important for Crown to get online sooner rather than later, as a recent rash of land-based companies have led the way in converting terrestrial brand strength to the Internet. He recognizes a need to keep up with MGM, Sun International and other firms already venturing online.

“We view it as both defensive and offensive,” he said. “It is defensive in the sense that there is already a significant number of sites where the brands are starting to enter the market. Therefore it is critical for us to utilize our brand strength on the Internet as well.”

In addition to keeping up with the competition, McDonald sees a valuable business model developing if the Internet is able to open the company up to an expanded player base.

“In terms of it being offensive, clearly, if the market is as big as people believe, then the returns from our strategy will be significant,” he said.

The first step, he said, is getting to know the Sg Online Casino market. “We are not convinced at this stage either way, on what the Internet has to offer us” he said. “We won’t know really until we get in the market and see what our registration is like and what the player profile is. We will need to see if players transfer their gaming activity to us.”

Since PBL bought Crown in 1998, the division has been on the rise; it was the only sector in PBL’s wide portfolio that showed growth in 2001. As Crown has expanded under Packer’s influence, McDonald said, there has been an added focus on the Asian market–a trend that will carry over to the company’s online strategy.

“There (in Asia) we are looking at people that don’t have access or proximity to regulated or appropriate facilities,” he said. “We want to see what the opportunities are to migrate players from ship-based operations, illegal operations or other Internet operations to our site.”

McDonald said a detailed plan has been in the works for the last couple of years to build Crown’s brand strength among Asian players and it has paid off.

“Our brand is strong within the Asian region,” he said. “We spent a significant amount of money sometime ago and continue to spend money on an ongoing basis to build our brand.”

McDonald sees a similar push to promote the online casino in the Asian market that was made after Crown expanded its land-based gaming facilities.

“When we opened the Crown Towers and the Crown Resort (in Melbourne) we spent between $20-30 million branding the property within Asia,” he said. “Asia is a viable market to look at to transform some of our (offline) player base into our online player base.”

Fortunately, according to McDonald, losing whatever brand recognition the company may have in its own backyard won’t hurt the bottom line too much.

“Regardless of where, we set up we will not have an Australian customer link,” he said. “We have always maintained the fact that we wouldn’t take bets from Australians. Even before the moratorium (on Internet gambling in Australia) we have always indicated that we wouldn’t take bets from Australians, given some political sensitivity in that area and given the current accessibility to gaming opportunities to Australians.”

Although it may not be able to target players located in the same country as its land-based operations, Crown is not worried about having to promote its brand among new players. Like many industry insiders, McDonald feels the strong footing Crown has in Asia will translate to a strong player base on the Internet.

“I am with others who feel that known brands will dominate online,” he said.

 …

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Casino dealers may work in warehouses, deal live to online players

It’s 5:45 a.m. — almost time to start the day’s shift as a casino dealer.

Even in a town that never sleeps, this time of day isn’t busy on the Strip. But the evening is just getting started on the Pacific Rim. And that’s the time that really matters at your casino; that’s when the daily crush begins.

As you drive up, your casino doesn’t look anything like the palaces lining the Strip. Your workplace is a nondescript building in the suburbs — a warehouse, to the untrained eye.

Walk in, take your place behind a blackjack table. Behind you is a blue screen. In front of you, where you once remembered players sitting, are several cameras.

Below each are signal lights, telling you whether a player  Pengeluaran HK connected to your table via the Internet wants to hit, stand, split or double down. Another camera hovers above you. This warehouse is filled with dozens of dealers, all in similar sound-stage-type setups designed for this latest evolution of Internet gambling.

You know this isn’t a casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Yet thousands of miles away in Tokyo, Hong Kong or Seoul, South Korea, your customers don’t know that. To those players, the blue screen is transformed into what appears to be the interior of a Strip casino. And you’re apparently right in the middle of it.

A computer screen in front of the table begins scrolling text, and you begin friendly chatter with your players. It took some time to get used to having a conversation with a computer monitor, but you got used to it. Eventually.

It can get lonely at times. But then again, you don’t have players blowing smoke in your face, you don’t have to pause to clean a spilled drink off the table. There’s no way a player 10,000 miles away can get in your face after a string of bad luck. And on busy nights — when there are 500 players stacked around each baccarat and roulette table — the tokes can be substantial. Very substantial.

And as you shuffle and deal, a thought flits through your mind that’s been there dozens of times before. Who, in their right mind, could ever have imagined this 10 years ago?

A new reality

There were two key reasons casino-style gambling spread from its nest in Nevada across the country in the 1990s: taxes and jobs.

Casinos are job-creation machines, and nowhere is the evidence of this clearer than in Nevada. One out of every four workers relies directly on the gaming industry for a paycheck. Eleven of the state’s 15 largest employers are Strip casinos.

If legal Internet gambling becomes a reality in this country, what will happen to these Las Vegas jobs?

Nothing, the experts say. The simple reason is that the experience of the Las Vegas Strip cannot be replicated on the Internet.

“These (Strip casinos) are entertainment centers with gambling at the core,” said Bill Eadington, director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at UNR. “There has always been a great fear that new technologies are going to wipe out existing industries. I seriously doubt that’s going to happen to the casino industry … Las Vegas in particular.”

What is disputed is whether Internet casinos will create the kinds of jobs traditional casinos have. A lack of new jobs could make the pill of Internet gaming harder to swallow across the United States, American Gaming Association Chief Executive Frank Fahrenkopf said.

“I don’t see it as an engine of job creation,” Fahrenkopf said. “I don’t see that many jobs resulting from Internet gambling. And in (gambling) jurisdictions, particularly new jurisdictions, the job creation and economic development … has been critical for the acceptance of it (legalized gambling).”

But suppose you could take part of the Las Vegas experience — the interaction with a real dealer at a real table game — and bring it to the Internet? That would offer the player a more realistic casino experience, and it gives gaming regulators a physical game to watch and regulate.

“The idea fascinates me, and I’d say I’d be very likely to play under those conditions,” said Richard Munchkin, a writer from Santa Clarita, Calif., and frequent Internet gambler. “I play (on the Internet) quite a bit, anything from blackjack to roulette to slot machines. Supposedly everything is honest. But if you’re watching a game that’s taking place in a casino live in Las Vegas, I’d feel much more comfortable that the game is 100 percent honest.

“It’s not the same as playing in Las Vegas, but if you can’t be there, it sounds like the next best thing.”

It isn’t science fiction. The idea of bringing a live game to a remote player is 20 years old. And a Caribbean Internet casino, owned by Macau gambling tycoon Stanley Ho, is now offering games with live dealers to gamblers through the Internet. DrHo.com claims it had 23 million “hits” in its first six months of operation.

Companies are ready

If Nevada decides to legalize Internet gaming, a number of companies are ready to move in that direction as well.

One is a name all of Las Vegas is familiar with: Station Casinos Inc. Tony Fontaine, Station’s vice president of complex business solutions, envisions a day when the company could operate warehouse-style filming complexes, broadcasting live dealers to the world.

“Everyone’s spending a lot of money trying to recreate a virtual rendition of their casino,” Fontaine said. “What I’m doing is saying, ‘Here’s the real casino.’ The only difference is you don’t have to have it in a nice place. You can put it in a warehouse, dress it up inside, but it can be located off the Strip.”

If Nevada takes that step, proponents of live Internet gambling say more jobs than ever before will be created by this new technology. And those jobs could be far different than anything a Las Vegas dealer knows today. Consider, for example, Playboy Enterprises’ for-fun casino, which combines video poker with strip poker.

“If you’re Playboy, you could have a (Playboy) Bunny as a dealer (on a live Internet casino),” Fontaine said.

But there will also be room for today’s dealers, asserts deedee Molnick, chief executive of i2 Corp. of Las Vegas.

“They would become stars,” Molnick said. “They’re not going to be peons behind a table. They’re going to be stars.”

Coming up with a concept and patenting it is one thing. Making the idea a viable business is another.

While DrHo.com is operating its own live Internet casino, the U.S. companies exploring the idea don’t plan to take that route.

i2, for example, has built its financial house on a single asset: the strength of its patent. The company, majority-owned by the Molnick family, claims patent protection over any form of remote, live wagering that uses electronic transactions to make or pay off bets. Revenues would be generated by licensing that patent to other companies in exchange for a cut of gambling profits, along with providing consulting services.

Since Internet gambling is already a thriving business, i2 could be generating revenues today, President Chris Almida said. But the company hasn’t done so because it doesn’t want to jeopardize its standing before the Nevada Gaming Control Board if Internet gaming does become legal.

So for now, most of i2’s efforts have been focused on educating gaming companies and regulators about Internet gambling — and suing those companies that bring live Internet gambling to market without paying royalties.

These legal efforts have been quite successful. In February 2000, i2 won a federal court order forcing First Live Casino, a Caribbean Internet gambling site, to stop offering live games on its website. An order against Interactive Television Services Inc. of Roswell, Ga., followed.

“I’m the only person in the world that’s been able to shut down an Internet casino,” Molnick said.

Now, i2 has the powerful Stanley Ho in its sights. In July, i2 filed suit against DrHo.com, claiming it was infringing the i2 patent. DrHo.com officials have denied their site violates the patent.

But i2’s efforts have caught the attention of other companies, including Station Casinos.

Station’s Internet efforts are being focused through GameCast Live LLC, a newly formed subsidiary. For now, GameCast is focused on a non-Internet application: offering guests in a casino hotel the ability to play a live slot machine from a remote location, such as their hotel room. That would allow Station to generate revenues from the venture before a decision is made on Internet gambling’s legality in Nevada and the United States.

Fontaine hopes to offer the service in Station’s properties one day, but Nevada gaming regulations don’t allow that at the moment. Station has proposed regulation changes to the Nevada Gaming Commission, but doesn’t expect they will to come to fruition until next year. So Station has launched its marketing efforts with Indian casinos and cruise lines.

But Fontaine is thinking ahead. He sees a day when GameCast could be used to offer live table games across the world, starting with blackjack.

And he’s well aware of the i2 patent.

“It doesn’t cover live gaming, it covers financial transactions related to live gaming,” Fontaine said. “If you’re tied into a third-party financial system, like a credit card … that’s what the patent covers. We leave that end alone, because we don’t want to infringe on the patent. If we sell to someone who wants to get into credit cards … they call (i2), and cut a deal with them. That’s the stand we’ve taken.”

Station is looking at two business models. The first is offering to install the system for a casino operator, but letting the operator provide the dealers and run the games. Station could also run the entire casino using the brands of the client.

But Fontaine said it’s unlikely Station would try to become an Internet gambling power itself.

“Station Casinos doesn’t have the media power to create that draw,” Fontaine said. “We’d prefer to license to a Park Place (Entertainment Corp.), or an MGM MIRAGE, or a Mandalay Resort Group.”

Continuing evolution

And allowing those companies to recreate the Las Vegas experience in cyberspace might actually help the continuing evolution of the Las Vegas Strip, UNLV professor and gambling expert Bill Thompson argues.

“If it’s legal, then we can participate, then we can promote our casinos through it, then we can keep the profits from the gambling, then the profits can go into the expansion of Vegas,” Thompson said. “Our best defense is to make them (Internet casinos) legal and operate them.”

But even those who patronize online casinos say there’s no comparison between Las Vegas and the Internet.

“It’s no replacement at all,” Munchkin said. “There’s so much more to Las Vegas than just the gambling. There’s the whole excitement of being in a casino in Las Vegas, the energy. I enjoy being around other people when I gamble, being around other players.

“I think it (Internet gambling) is like fast food compared to a banquet (gambling on the Strip).”

And as long as Las Vegas casino companies believe they can still make a buck on the Strip, they’ll build more megaresorts, no matter what the future may bring.

“If there’s a market to build a billion-dollar place, people will do it,” MGM MIRAGE spokesman Alan Feldman said. “No one has ever done it (built a Strip megaresort) thinking they won’t make money.”

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