So this weekend I took on a side bet which was Padraig Harrington to finish inside the top 5 at this years golf open tournament. It was a pretty safe bet as he won the tournament last year and as Tiger woods wasn’t turning up this year it seemed a pretty good bet, the only problem I could foresee was the fact that if I had simply put the bet on him to win I would have won over £1000.

As it turns out I won £270 because I put the bet on each way which dramticaly narrowed my odds. Now I think it would have turned out different if I have lumped the whole bet on to win and if Padraig had known my past with betting the full amount and never winning he would have paid me to not do it.

My past history of betting the full amount is non existent in relation to winning but I might have to reassess this from now on.

Anyone else win this weekend?

The build and commencement of the new Aspers casino in Northampton happened around 2 and half years ago through the company Kerzner International, no one really knows why the project hasn’t really got going. Now the fact that Aspers has a new partnership with Kerzner international has made people stand up and notice and now they have employed 200 local residents.

Aspers is renowned fro choosing investments in casinos very carefully and is involved in some massive projects making them a major player in the gambling world. They is some speculation into whether or not the partnership with Kerzner International is duplicated anywhere else throughout the UK as Kerzner normally invests in casinos in hotter areas.

Everybody understands that the financial crisis and has stopped and started over and over again but now it seems to have found its feet. This may not last though as the credit crunch is still biting many future or current gamblers and every-ones predictions are good but im not so sure.

The English football season is getting very near and the Scottish league is underway in less than 3 weeks, there have been many a bet on the future of players and the outcome of the title,the main bet has been on Manchester United but with the potential of Chelsea’s big signings there have also waged a big bet in many a sector but do you have the balls to gamble on Arsenal or Liverpool but then again you will get very good odds on teams like Everton or Spurs?

The whole theme of the premiership has been dominated by the so called top 4 and it is ever increasingly hard to predict who win the main title. The biggest side bet so far has been the speculation of Ronaldo’s future which i still believe is not settled, then you have the mass sale of players from the gunners which makes Arsene Wenger use his usual trick of youth players but it always seems to work, then again what will happen to Chelsea with the arrival of the ex Portuguese manager and how will he cope with the pressure of the league and press.

The fact that Liverpool has its main players like Torres having great success in the Euro championships should make an interesting bet, but in my eyes Benitez will sign a few lack luster players and target cups once again. Will 2008/9 prove me wrong.

My bet this year will go on Everton having a top four finish and breaking the usual rules and my second bet will go on Stoke City staying up in their first ever season with the big boys.

Which Team are you following or having a bet on this year any tips?

I have recently talked about the prestigious casino legend Warren Cloud and his untimely death and also mentioned the fact that he had more enemies than most and hence why he had more names than the yellow pages. The great thing is he had so many names he could not be traced around the world and it was even worse for any one trying to track or learn anything about him, the funny thing is even though all this happened he was loved by many. So what happened to his previous career and where is it now.

He had at one time over ten different casinos and they were recouping over 250 million dollars but the casinos and businesses he left behind have all changed vastly with time and 9 of the major money makers having now completely closed but one is still going which is the Silver Sands, which is still thriving.

There was one business which randomly shut in weird circumstances and one was the recognised Real Time Gambling web site who sent mail to people saying that they should close there accounts as its time to go. They had to do this before the 31st of July or lose out. The the whole site just shut without any reason to close at all.

Throughout Warren Clouds whole life he lived a mystery and now he has gone people are still confused, baffled and intrigued into the happenings and history of this so called legend of gambling.

Seat 1: Dennis Phillips - 26,295,000
Seat 2: Craig Marquis - 10,210,000
Seat 3: Ylon Schwartz - 12,525,000
Seat 4: Scott Montgomery - 19,690,000
Seat 5: Darus Suharto - 12,520,000
Seat 6: Chino Rheem - 10,230,000
Seat 7: Ivan Demidov - 24,400,000
Seat 8: Kelly Kim - 2,620,000
Seat 9: Peter Eastgate - 18,375,000

The final 9 have been decided as the 10th man fell today at the final hurdle, the only problem is now if one of the players was on a hot streak he will try and have to keep it for 4 months as the final table will be on the 9th of November in the Rio in Vegas.

Its well worth turning up though as the champion will take home over 9 million dollars.

I cant wait myself as there will be a heavy TV presence and thousands of side bets which will match the action, my money is on the salesman Dennis Phillips as he is playing really well and has a good chip lead, but you never know when four months pass he might loose it all.

The last woman to have a seat at the wsop was Tiffany Michelle and she was classed as the “glamour” on the last day, but unfortunately the people had sponsored her and the mass of male on lookers who were following her every move, Monday did not make her a happy woman as she dropped out of the 2008 wsop literally 24 hour short of a seat on the last table. Tiffany has a large mass of chips when play began but she never got into her stride when the cards didn’t show up and when she got desperate she foolishly tried to bluff her way out of trouble. Which made her fall flat on her face.

You have to ask yourself is 17th place really a bad position to lose at, as this years highest placed woman and cashing in on a cheque of over $330,000 with star reports and your name splashed all over every country in the world. I think she would have been the main spotlight if she had got to the final 9 ad there were pres reports that TV channels had placed a large interest in her progress, but alas she failed. The woman has simply a lot of glamour and skills to deceive the best poker players.

I was really disappointed to see Tiffany drop out and its a shame she didn’t make the final table as the sport needs a new injection of life, there are many female players in the male dominated sport but Tiffany has set the bar high for all future female poker playing wannabees. I really hope to see Tiffany again and i have very prospects for her future.

Catonsville fellow Andrew Brokos has lived the dream in which thousands of poker wannabee stars will definitely never realise or experience, at one point Andrew was 2nd in the main event at the wsop and there were many side bets on him reaching the final 9. Even though it went a little bit wrong and his play really lost the plot he still walked away with over $190,000 when he ended up coming 35th. What really happened no one knows except Broko.

Andrew Brokos has revealed that the lure of major money was his downfall as his mind wandered to the thought of being in the last 9 and cashing in big time, when this happened many people noticed that his strong play had lapsed and they all seem to take advantage of the dreaming man. The problem was when he got on the ice slope who couldn’t stop the slide. Slowly but surely his big chip count started to whittle down but 35th is not an embarrassment from thousands of gamblers.

This experience has taught Andrew that the dream is still a dream but it was a good one while it lasted and maybe next year he can learn from it.

The speed of the main event at the WSOP 08 has completely gone down hill and slowed to almost a stand still, with gamblers even sitting out on some hands, just to watch the play. Its finally got down to the last 188 poker wannabee stars and the stress it starting to mount, because many players are realizing that this could be there chance not only to win a lot of money but become a house hold name. As you can imagine most players are waiting for big hands and gambling accordingly.

There are the odd players that have the other idea and seem to be over eager to make a dent in every-ones else chips and sit at the top of the list. Lots of these gamblers have put all there chips on silly hands hoping to cash in then cross there arms while everyone else tries to catch up. Think of this, the players who dropped out or who were beat on Saturday will still get a cheque for $38,000 or more and Sundays gamblers are guaranteed more than that. The table that will host the final 9 is predicted to be Monday night or Tuesday morning but its difficult to guess as people need breaks.

The World series of poker is literally a test of skills, mind control, acting and living poker 24/7 when you enter this great tournament people actually eat, sleep and live poker for sometimes 7 days a week, you can imagine why as there is 9 million dollar at stake so most people will do anything for this.

There is a lot of speculation into whether or not Dwain chambers should he attend the Olympics or sit at home and watch.

Now he did win the championships the other day with a time of 10 seconds but does anyone want the previous cheat to run for the UK in the Olympics?

I want to know whether or not the drugs can still give him an advantage and is it like a driving licence do you get another chance?

The result has been put back to Thursday and im getting crap odds on him succeeding but I genuinely want him to run for us as he has learnt his lesson and is doing really well.

Will you join me in a bet?

A Machine/Computer has revealed that poker is a torment of stressful emotions, but it is a game that a machine can master, using simple number counting methods. Inventors/Scientists in Alberta University located in Canada have put together the world’s first poker playing machine which can change its strategies to any play or situation. They conducted a study against a former WSOP champion and while the machine lost the first 2 games it learnt and won the next 3, with the forth a draw.

The Machine/Computer has been named Polaris and will learn every time its plays a card or hand, it breaks down the type and play of opponents and it changes when the style needs to adapted dependent on the hand. The team at Alberta made the machine which now plays against itself so it can learn all the possible plays and it has now racked up over 9 million hands. It is simple trying to learn everything about the game.

The outcome of the study has revealed what most people know that the fact that poker is a stressful and emotional game but it is now possible to build a machine that can play like a human and learn almost human like emotions. You never know in the future whether or not there will be championships to see if humans can take on computers. Might be worth a small bet or two.