The new President of the USA Barack Obama has promised to listen to his compatriots. Therefore, the White House has been attentively considering the ways to let Americans speak, an endeavor carried out by a pool on a website. Regarding poker, the citizens have given a very plain response, listing the legalization of online poker as one of their main concerns.

Under the leadership of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the U.S. poker players, many of which are deprived of the game because of the UIGEA, got organised to coordinate their votes on one proposal.

Thus the proposal “to boost U.S. economy with legal online poker” found itself at the forefront of technological concerns listed in the “Citizens Briefing Book”, on a new site dedicated to the claims of American citizens.

This website, set up in the early days of Obama administration, has allowed 125,000 users to vote for 44,000 ideas suggested by the President and his team. The pool collected 1,400,000 votes, each vote matching 10 points. The proposal on legalization of online poker has collected 46,000 points, a total which is the 11th largest overall.

A surprising result after all, but not for John Pappas, the Executive Director of the PPA: “Poker players from all over the country have spoken with one voice to protect the game they love, and the White House has heard this message. We hope that the Administration will listen and act in response to this clear message sent through the Citizen’s Briefing Book: legalize online poker through a suitable regulation”.

The content of the proposal includes plain and unequivocal specifications. Most of the Americans who responded to this survey demand the right to legally play, without fear of prosecution; a reform of the law to exempt poker - a game of skill - from UIGEA. They have also spoken out for a law meant to “boost the economy by allowing American companies and American players earn money and pay taxes instead of sending the business offshore”.

A recent study by the lobbying group American Gaming Association has revealed that 2% of adults surveyed were playing online. These results are consistent with estimates of the PPA that between 10 and 15 million Americans regularly play on the internet. Still according to the PPA, the legalization of online poker could bring 3 billion dollars annually to the Administration.

Most of the online players have at least once asked the big question: against who are they really playing at online casinos? Against a machine, a human being or both of them?

It is true that some software offer unimaginable opportunities in regard to new technologies. In particular, the opportunity of interacting with live dealers when gambling online! This is the latest achievement of Playtech, a software company that has developed a revolutionary system for its casinos: live dealers, all filmed by web cams! Shortly, there are real dealers who manage some games on Casino Tropez - a casino run by Playetch. Beyond the mere technical performance, we must recognize that live dealers on Casino Tropez can reproduce almost identically the sensations that one can live in a land casino.

Casino Tropez is not the only operator having introduced this system. Using web cams and technology in “real time”, many operators employ professional dealers to run the game while playing online. Thus, depending on the game you have chosen, you can receive your cards directly from the dealer’s hand rather than seeing them on the screen. Obviously, the game is much more interactive!

In fact, it is not very difficult to develop such a system. But the difference is that the dealer is really part of the game and he is at your disposals.

Of course, games of this type are much slower than those managed entirely by the computer. But games with live dealers offer an attractive alternative for many players: they are now part of the options offered by a growing number of online casinos. As technology develops and improves constantly, we can even expect to see more, so that casinos increase the choice of games available on their sites.

After throwing a glance at Valencia and Dubai, the developers who intend to bring the Las Vegas in Europe, have finally made their choice in the desert of Los Monegros - the place selected for becoming home of Gran Scala City. Gran Scala, an extremely ambitious project, is at the moment only a glittering appearance in the northern Spain, but in the future it is announced as the greatest leisure resort in Europe, including a peerless gambling center, theme parks, a racecourse and many others leisure activities.

The Gran Scala project has made good progress today, but there are still challenges to take up. At this moment, when the boom of the gambling world is more than a story, even if affected by the global crisis, who could properly foresee the future of this Las Vegas or Macau clone in the European version? According to the initial proposal, this complex could be born in France, in Valencia or on the shores of the Persian Gulf in Dubai. Once the decision on the location had been taken, its promoters, members of the ILD consortium, in partnership with independent government of Aragon,  announced the effective implementation in 2012.

At the announcement moment, back in 2007, Sebastien Tranchant, the general manager of the ILD Consortium, also owner of the eponymous French society, advertised that this great leisure complex would consist of 32 casinos, 70 hotels, 232 restaurants, 500 shops, a racecourse, a golf course, 5 theme parks, museums and a convention center. In other words, a city in the city! Given the almost ideal weather and perfect location in the county of Aragon, “Gran Scala” hopes to attract at least 25 millions of tourists.

However, its location in the desert and its volume raises water and energy  issues. In addition, some residents of surrounding communities have expressed their concerns about the environmental and social impact of a project of this size and the Government of Aragon announced that a development plan would be map out and emphasis would be placed in the environmental field. Moreover, Gran Scala will create over 65.000 jobs in the region and this should, in essence, dispel people’s doubts.

Nevertheless, given the social responsibilities that this type of project requires, the 32 casinos in the Center will be under the rigorous rule of the Government of Aragon, having to obey a specific legal system. This will govern gambling matters and will define the type of games allowed.

In the poker world, things move fast. After the grand final of the European Poker Tour in Monte Carlo, another big marathon is expected to attract in Europe the best poker players around the world. This prestigious event is the WSOP Europe, a tournament scheduled for the end of September. The third season of the WSOP Europe will take place in England and will be hosted by the famous “Casino at the Empire”. The program and the official dates of the event has just been announced.

The much awaited tournament series run between September 17 and October 1st, the day of the Main Event finals. As for the location where the event is intended to take place, Casino at the empire was considered to be a perfect choice for gambling: “The Casino at the Empire soon became the reference point for poker in the United Kingdom. We look forward to attracting the best players in the world at the event this fall and by then we will continue to offer them the best playing conditions”, Michael Silberling, General Manager of the London Clubs International said.

There are four bracelet tournaments scheduled for the 2009 WSOPE and the contest is expected to be tight, as the race for a WSOP bracelet will draw once again some of the big names in the field. A mixed tournament, combining Pot Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha was added, which will make an even more thrilling action. This event is planned for September 21. The addition of a 4th event at the WSOP Europe was hailed by Jeffrey Pollack, the Vice president of Sports and Entertainment Marketing at Harrah’s Casino and Commissioner of the World Series of Poker, who commented: “Winning a bracelet is recognized as the supreme title and we are very excited to crown new champions at Casino Empire this year.”

Pre-registration for WSOPE is already available at the London Clubs International institutions, in London, or in Las Vegas, at the Rio casinos. It is also possible to register for this event during the WSOP, which will kick off this month, in Las Vegas.