Rebecca's Recommendations - June 23, 2006

23 June 2006

By Rebecca Liggero

I hope you enjoyed my wild tales from Costa Rica last week, but now it's time to get back down to business. Speaking of Costa Rica, before we get into my recommendations for the week, I'd like to touch upon a subject that has been of great interest and debate in the online gaming industry and amongst gaming enthusiasts. Will Bodog.com's Founder and CEO be arrested by the US government at the Bodog Conference in July? I mean this guy is all over the media, listed in Forbes as a billionaire who does not pay a dime in taxes, listed in People Magazine's hottest bachelor issue, he is all over the news and on the radio, and he will clearly be in Vegas in one month's time in a very known location. Will the US government act? Well, I asked Calvin myself, and this was his response:

"Everything Bodog.com does is legal under international law and all other applicable laws in all countries we operate in. Additionally, there is no legal difference between me and all the directors, shareholders and senior executives (many are American) of the US facing on-line gaming companies that are public in the UK (and have all their information filed in public documents the FBI can easily search on the Internet). Additionally I am in the US and run through their computers every week. If anyone wanted to grab me there is no reason to wait for the conference for this. If I do get arrested, you will find that the market in the UK in on-line gaming will crash and there will be a massive defection of directors and officers causing a lot of operational problems for companies already having a difficult time dealing with bodog...it would have no impact on the bodog operations since they are private and are structured to run without my active involvement. It would however have a very positive branding effect in that it would make me even more famous and would increase the profile of the bodog brand by giving me world wide media attention and a large soap box to stand on for my messaging and I would be out of jail in a day. If the US Government wants to make a real publicity statement in this area, they should grab a Director, officer or major shareholder of one of the public companies in the UK on their next US visit. The only difference between me and the UK companies is that I am a more vocal advocate of the position that adults should be able to make their own decisions on whether or not they place wagers on the Internet than anyone else in the industry and because of this would in fact be a bad person to target. Basically to answer your question directly, I can not see this happening but if it does it will benefit me and bodog at the expense of the rest of the industry so I expect everyone in the industry who has bothered to think of the implications on this is really hoping this does not happen".
Calvin Ayre

Oh SNAP! How is that for an answer? Actually, it appears that my friends over at Gambling 911 got their hands on this response as well...check out "Bodog.com's CEO Calvin Ayre Arrest Imminent?" Anyway, I happen to enjoy the fact that Calvin maintains such a high profile- he clearly stands behind his product and he is not hiding from anyone (unlike some other online gaming site founders and owners). Honestly, I can't wait for the Bodog Conference, arrest or no arrest- it is the best conference of the year as far as I'm concerned.

Ok. Enough about Bodog, even though I clearly love them...now it's time to hear about another fantastic online gaming company, The Palace Group. I love them too. The Palace Group represents a family of online gaming sites, namely Spin Palace, Ruby Fortune, Piggs Online Casino and Mummy's Gold. If you remember correctly, my Palace Group contact is a girl that I absolutely adore and spent some quality time with in London this past January. Actually, I stayed at her apartment for part of my trip and the two of us met and drank with Dennis Rodman, thanks to my friends at Golden Palace. Ah, the memories. Ok, so a bit about The Palace Group: their brands are all powered by Microgaming, a software provider known for excellent graphics, sound and usability for a very large selection of games. The brands are also accredited by eCogra, ensuring that all players withdraw and deposit in a completely secure environment. Customer service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so if you ever experience a problem you can expect immediate assistance. Also, The Palace Group brands offer four progressive jackpots, Major Millions, King Cashalot, Cash Splash, and Fruit Fiesta, all of which can be found at Spin Palace, Ruby Fortune, Piggs Online Casino and Mummy's Gold.

Now I would like to give you a bit more detail about these lovely online casinos. Lets begin with an old favorite, Spin Palace. This popular online casino offers a 300% up to $150 first deposit sign up bonus to all players that open up an account and deposit $20 or more. Additionally, Spin Palace will award a $1000 bonus to any player who wins a progressive jackpot of $10,000 or more at any of the four progressive games. Spin Palace also boasts over 170 casino games and offers regular promotions for all registered players.

Ruby Fortune, another popular Palace Group brand, offers a 400% bonus up to $200 free for all new players who open up an account and deposit $20 or more. Spin Palace, Ruby Fortune will award any player who wins a progressive jackpot of $10,000 or more with a $1,000 bonus. Ruby Fortune is also known for its vast selection of games and excellent payout ratio, two perfect reasons to open up an account and begin playing right now!

Another member of The Palace Group family, Piggs Online Casino, received a complete and total makeover earlier this year. The new and improved Piggs Online Casino now offers a 40% match bonus up to $400 free when new players open up an account and deposit at least $20. Piggs Online Casino offers over 180 Vegas style casino games and is known for a superb loyalty club. Become a member of the club and receive some of the best and most generous promos in the online gaming world.

Lastly, I would like to introduce you to Mummy's Gold, The Palace Group member with the most unique and exciting bonus, at least in my opinion. Open up an account with Mummy's Gold and receive $500 completely free, no deposit required, to use for 1 hour of play at the casino. Make as much money as you can in this one hour, and if you lose, you can still claim the standard welcome bonus of $25 free, no deposit required. Mummy's Gold also has huge selection of over 180 games which are presented with a fun Egyptian theme. To get you in the mood for Mummy's Gold, here are some interesting facts about Ancient Egypt for your review:

-Ramses the Great had 8 official wives and nearly 100 concubines.
-Beer was invented in Egypt.
-The Cat was a symbol of fertility and sexuality, which is why Ancient Egyptians painted their eye to mimic those of cats.
-In order to deter flies from landing on him, Pepi II of Egypt always kept several naked slaves nearby whose bodies were smeared with honey.

Interesting. I wonder if those naked slaves were male or female? You never know when it comes to Ancient Egyptians.