Sir Richard Branson plays Rich Uncle Pennybags with Virgin Monopoly game
Merry Christmas from the bearded one. No, not Father Christmas but Sir Richard Branson. This year his beardedness sent out special editions of Monopoly to favoured friends – and to Dashwood.
The boards are leatherbound, the pieces are metal and all of it is bespoke to the Virgin empire. Even the Community Chest cards are particular to Virgin. "Receive £2.5m prize for beard of the year," one of them reads.
Branson, you're nicking my gags.
Each square has one of Branson's companies on it. So Virgin Money and Branson's Caribbean getaway Necker Island are where Pall Mall and Mayfair would usually be. V Festival and Virgin Wines are relegated to Old Kent Road and Whitechapel. Sorry chaps.
The maker's website advertises very similar games on sale for £675 a pop.
I'll be enjoying a game today. And reminding myself of the "object of the game" – to be the only person left in the game who is not bankrupt. (Credit: The Telegraph)
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Property News Media is the property, property news, property and financial news and investment arm of Media Man Australia. News, reviews, trends, profiles, interviews, multimedia and more.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Australian Casino Wars: Crown Casino VS Star City, by Greg Tingle - 16th December 2010
G'day punters, casino and gambling millionaires and billionaires, entertainment news junkies, journos... one and all. It's a very special edition of the Australian casino wars, as Melbourne's Crown Casino and 'Sin City' Sydney's Star City fight it out for the creme of the celebrities, big names, politicians and other entities to try to outdo each other as the war continues. Media Man and Gambling911 with Crown Limited's Crown Casino VS Tabcorp's Star City casino war. Incoming...
Many gaming and media analysts are jokingly comparing it to a real life 'Call of Duty' Black Opps' mission (with a shade of 'Casino Royale' and 'Dirty Deeds'), as the competing land based casinos continue to battle, fighting for the creme of Australian and international celebrities, high rolling whales, big fat media deals, and you get the idea. The casinos have been firing off shots at each other, and laying down bait to get who and what they want. Both competing casino bunkers are also investing towards 1 million dollars all told into their respective infrastructure, with world class restaurants being added, world class entertainment - concert auditorium works, private jet fleet expansion, and even a few management reshuffles and cullings.
Crown's Packer is opting for a more Australian full on entertainment factors, while also employing 1000's of Australians, some as part of his commitment to Indigenous Australia via GenerationOne, assisted by Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest, while Tabcorp now has roughly half of their management been Yankee's - yep, Americans, and the marketing firm that has also helped them with their strategy is also from the States.
Who And What Was On At Crown Casino And Star City?...
The one and only Oprah 'O' Winfrey and a number of her 300 guests are understood to have checked out both Crown and Star City earlier in the week. Details are sketchy, but both casinos got the thumbs up mate.
Last night its fair to say that Star City got the best of Crown, with rock gods Bon Jovi performing quite the rock and roll show revival, helping relaunch Star City as one of Australia's greatest entertainment venues. Jon got the crowd out of their seats with a "This is not TV - get up out of your seats," Bon Jovi demanded, flashing that brilliant white smile. The band performed classics such as You Give Love a Bad Name, It's my Life, Keep the Faith, Wanted Dead or Alive, Livin' on a Prayer and Bad Medicine. Souths Rabbitohs star owner Russell Crowe, pulled off a huge marketing coup, persuading the US rock legend superstar to wear a Rabbitohs jersey for the encore of the performance. Crowe's Souths chief executive Shane Richardson was able to confirm that the band's lead singer had joined the club as an ordinary member on Tuesday. "Russell you got me to wear your team's jersey," Bon Jovi bellowed out. Bon Jovi will perform 3 concerts at Sydney Football Stadium starting tonight - Thursday.
Bob Geldof Catches Oprah and Star City Mania...
Geldof, not a huge gambling fans, caught a flight into Sydney yesterday, just in time to catch the Bon Jovi's private concert for Oprah Winfrey's guests at Star. Geldof was well received, as was the Oprah special TV audience guests. 'O' and her 300 travelling guests are understood to have loved the show. Geldof will have a second outing in the Lyric Theatre tonight.
Crown Casino of course remains home to Shane Warne's 'Warnie' hit TV talk show, and will also be host to the return on Network Nine's 'This Is Your Life' airing early in the new year, hosted by Eddie 'Everywhere" McGuire. As always, Crown will be hanging on to the TV Week 'Logies', which last year was the scene of the 'Twitter Gate' scandal, which saw at least one media head roll, much to the delight of Australia's media, entertainment (and gaming) sector.
Crown's James Packer Continues To Talk Down Crown Bid For Tabcorp's Star...
Packer recently told shareholders, yep including yours truly, a move to take over the gambling arm of Tabcorp (Star City etc) "take a lot of work and a lot of money".
JP, who has previously expressed a keen interest in acquiring the Tabcorp-owned Star City casino in Sydney, told shareholders he did not want to speculate on Tabcorp's move to separate its wagering and casino operations. He basically hinted that his main priority was the ongoing $2 billion redevelopment of Crown Melbourne and Burswood, which he said was just beginning to generate revenue improvements, as well as Crown's interest in the City of Dreams gaming complex up north in Macau. He chose not to directly answer a shareholder's question on whether a Crown Limited bid for the Tabcorp assets would face a potential challenge from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, but we suspect it might, as the casino sector gets so much scrutiny. "We are watching what's happening (on Tabcorp) through the demerger process," Packer said. "At the moment, we think there is still a lot of work to be done to make our properties in Perth, Melbourne and Macau as good as they can be. And I think Tabcorp properties will take a lot of work and a lot of money."
Crown's Burswood Entertainment Complex In Perth May Cop Fine For $320,000 Error In Punter's Favor!...
Burswood now faces a large fine after having admitted in a court of law just yesterday that it accidental paid a losing card player $320,000! The odd offence was reported to authorities by the casino itself, the Perth Magistrate's Court was told. This is one of a number of strange legal situations that have arose for Crown Limited over the years including a Ferrari thief caper, a man stuck in a Crown kitchen vent, Twitter Gate at Crown's Logies, totally wasted (drunk) AFL players at Crown Casino including 'Our Fev', battle royale style fights in the casino and plenty more. Back to matters at hand, Burswood Casino, admitted a mistake in relation to gaming. The prosecuting lawyer Brendyn Nelson advised the casino made a mistake when its chief operating officer allowed the payout on a game of baccarat on April 16. It all went down at the table after a punter claimed the bet had been misplaced. The player had made 2 bets, 1 of $50,000 in the banker betting area of the game and $40,000 in the banker pairs betting area. According to the official rules of the game, the gambler should have lost the banker pairs bet. The max bet allowable to be placed on banker pairs is $20,000. The gambler should have lost $20,000 and the other $20,000 placed on the game should have been returned by the casino, Nelson told the court. The punter complained the bet was to have been made differently, as a "tie wager", which would have meant a win. The casino's chief operating officer Richard Calendar was called and rather surprisingly ruled in the punter's favour, declaring the wager which was placed in the banker pairs area would be treated as a "tie wager", thus giving the "whale" (or "dolphin plus") the significant payout from the table float. Under the Casino Control Act, any anomaly must be reported to the Department of Racing, Gaming and Liquor. The casino's independent surveillance team reported the incident to the department, which referred the matter to the Gaming and Wagering Commission. The casino's lawyer Joshua Preston said his client pleaded "guilty". Magistrate Barbara Lane said she would need time to consider the sentence for the unusual offence. She is expected to deliver the sentence on on the 7th of January, in the new year. Nelson advised similar matters had seen fines in the region of $5000.
Crown Punters Calling For Sinatra, Kerry Packer And Underbelly Themed Slot Games...
Patrons of Crown's Melbourne and Perth land based casinos keep asking for a Sinatra, Kerry Packer and Underbelly themed slot games, but so far have found no joy. Some of the switched on customers have noticed an online Sinatra games via a PartyGaming casino, but it's not exactly what they wanted for Christmas. Insiders say there's more chance Crown will get 'The Godfather', 'Marvel Heroes', 'Tomb Raider' and 'This Is Your Life' slot, before their real want list. Rumblings say its a 50-50 bet if they will get 'Underbelly', which happens to be returning to TV channel Nine early into the new year. 'Dirty Deeds' is also been talked about at the bar by some patrons, but due to the negative gambling aspects of the movie, talk is that's only a 30% chance of that game themed being adopted. Aw well, you've got to be in it to win it.
Crown Casino and Star City Aware Of Online Gaming Opportunities; Pro Active On Website Upgrades And B2b...
Crown Casino is generally seen to have the upper hand over Star City in the online space. Having said that, both firms have a few irons in the fire which are yet to be unleashed. Crown Limited has been pro actively promoting its Burswood Entertainment Complex - Burswood Poker on Facebook, and PartyGaming and a swag of other companies have been sending online pokers into the Crown Casino Aussie Millions Poker Championship. Star has its own Twitter account, but it's yet to ramp up, but in Star's defence, one of Star City's drinking holes and clubs, Sports Theatre & Bar does has its own dedicated Twitter account, and it's pro active.
Crown Limited and Tabcorp are closely watching a number of international online gaming entities, including but not limited to PartyGaming Playtech, and Virgin Games. Packer also holds a 50% stake in Betfair and he's expected to ramp up online gaming, them gambling, as part of his well publicised but into to Ten Network Holdings. Crown Limited is a big believer in responsible gambling, Tabcorp have also got more with the program, putting more safeguards in place, and Gambling911 and Media Man also continue to spread the message for punters to "bet with their head, not over it", whether they play at a land based venue or online. For the record, few in the land casino casino (or pub) industry are totally sold on the idea of punter fingerprint technology, as its widely seen as abuse of human rights and privacy, plus studies have show that the system can be beaten also, so in short, fingerprint tech just wouldn't property work. Both casinos, and casinos around the world, continue to have great success with the "eye in the sky", backed up by other CCTV and muscled up and switched on security offers. The casinos also have excellent lines of communications with both their state police department and the Australian Federal Police. Both casinos have looked at their casino chip technology, and fraud is understood to have dropped off massively in the past month, after a couple of high profile raids busting casino gang fraudsters and other undesirables who were frequenting Crown and Star.
Well done to both Star City and Crown Casino for providing an excellent array of entertainment, games, news and gossip this year.
We're certain the Australian Casino Wars will continue to escalate into the new year, as the "whale hunt", celeb lures and bait, entertainment spectaculars, fine dining, 5 star rooms, and other secret strategies continued to be unveiled. May the best casino win, and don't hold back. We're betting on World War III, soon after both giant players have enjoyed their Christmas turkey and shrimps on the barbie. Ok whales, you're throw of the dice.
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CWN: $8.150
TAH: $7.09
Wrap Up...
An exciting year full of developments for the Australian casino management, staff, customers and guests, which also contained a high political aspect. Congratulations to both casinos for their extra steps in helping ensure customers bet within their limits, boosting security, getting more great games, and generally just making their premises much more enjoyable places to visit. We'll be spending much more time at Crown and Star into the new year. Stay tuned for more of the best on gambling, media, entertainment and sports right here with Media Man and Gambling911.
If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming and offer political commentary and analysis.
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Many gaming and media analysts are jokingly comparing it to a real life 'Call of Duty' Black Opps' mission (with a shade of 'Casino Royale' and 'Dirty Deeds'), as the competing land based casinos continue to battle, fighting for the creme of Australian and international celebrities, high rolling whales, big fat media deals, and you get the idea. The casinos have been firing off shots at each other, and laying down bait to get who and what they want. Both competing casino bunkers are also investing towards 1 million dollars all told into their respective infrastructure, with world class restaurants being added, world class entertainment - concert auditorium works, private jet fleet expansion, and even a few management reshuffles and cullings.
Crown's Packer is opting for a more Australian full on entertainment factors, while also employing 1000's of Australians, some as part of his commitment to Indigenous Australia via GenerationOne, assisted by Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest, while Tabcorp now has roughly half of their management been Yankee's - yep, Americans, and the marketing firm that has also helped them with their strategy is also from the States.
Who And What Was On At Crown Casino And Star City?...
The one and only Oprah 'O' Winfrey and a number of her 300 guests are understood to have checked out both Crown and Star City earlier in the week. Details are sketchy, but both casinos got the thumbs up mate.
Last night its fair to say that Star City got the best of Crown, with rock gods Bon Jovi performing quite the rock and roll show revival, helping relaunch Star City as one of Australia's greatest entertainment venues. Jon got the crowd out of their seats with a "This is not TV - get up out of your seats," Bon Jovi demanded, flashing that brilliant white smile. The band performed classics such as You Give Love a Bad Name, It's my Life, Keep the Faith, Wanted Dead or Alive, Livin' on a Prayer and Bad Medicine. Souths Rabbitohs star owner Russell Crowe, pulled off a huge marketing coup, persuading the US rock legend superstar to wear a Rabbitohs jersey for the encore of the performance. Crowe's Souths chief executive Shane Richardson was able to confirm that the band's lead singer had joined the club as an ordinary member on Tuesday. "Russell you got me to wear your team's jersey," Bon Jovi bellowed out. Bon Jovi will perform 3 concerts at Sydney Football Stadium starting tonight - Thursday.
Bob Geldof Catches Oprah and Star City Mania...
Geldof, not a huge gambling fans, caught a flight into Sydney yesterday, just in time to catch the Bon Jovi's private concert for Oprah Winfrey's guests at Star. Geldof was well received, as was the Oprah special TV audience guests. 'O' and her 300 travelling guests are understood to have loved the show. Geldof will have a second outing in the Lyric Theatre tonight.
Crown Casino of course remains home to Shane Warne's 'Warnie' hit TV talk show, and will also be host to the return on Network Nine's 'This Is Your Life' airing early in the new year, hosted by Eddie 'Everywhere" McGuire. As always, Crown will be hanging on to the TV Week 'Logies', which last year was the scene of the 'Twitter Gate' scandal, which saw at least one media head roll, much to the delight of Australia's media, entertainment (and gaming) sector.
Crown's James Packer Continues To Talk Down Crown Bid For Tabcorp's Star...
Packer recently told shareholders, yep including yours truly, a move to take over the gambling arm of Tabcorp (Star City etc) "take a lot of work and a lot of money".
JP, who has previously expressed a keen interest in acquiring the Tabcorp-owned Star City casino in Sydney, told shareholders he did not want to speculate on Tabcorp's move to separate its wagering and casino operations. He basically hinted that his main priority was the ongoing $2 billion redevelopment of Crown Melbourne and Burswood, which he said was just beginning to generate revenue improvements, as well as Crown's interest in the City of Dreams gaming complex up north in Macau. He chose not to directly answer a shareholder's question on whether a Crown Limited bid for the Tabcorp assets would face a potential challenge from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, but we suspect it might, as the casino sector gets so much scrutiny. "We are watching what's happening (on Tabcorp) through the demerger process," Packer said. "At the moment, we think there is still a lot of work to be done to make our properties in Perth, Melbourne and Macau as good as they can be. And I think Tabcorp properties will take a lot of work and a lot of money."
Crown's Burswood Entertainment Complex In Perth May Cop Fine For $320,000 Error In Punter's Favor!...
Burswood now faces a large fine after having admitted in a court of law just yesterday that it accidental paid a losing card player $320,000! The odd offence was reported to authorities by the casino itself, the Perth Magistrate's Court was told. This is one of a number of strange legal situations that have arose for Crown Limited over the years including a Ferrari thief caper, a man stuck in a Crown kitchen vent, Twitter Gate at Crown's Logies, totally wasted (drunk) AFL players at Crown Casino including 'Our Fev', battle royale style fights in the casino and plenty more. Back to matters at hand, Burswood Casino, admitted a mistake in relation to gaming. The prosecuting lawyer Brendyn Nelson advised the casino made a mistake when its chief operating officer allowed the payout on a game of baccarat on April 16. It all went down at the table after a punter claimed the bet had been misplaced. The player had made 2 bets, 1 of $50,000 in the banker betting area of the game and $40,000 in the banker pairs betting area. According to the official rules of the game, the gambler should have lost the banker pairs bet. The max bet allowable to be placed on banker pairs is $20,000. The gambler should have lost $20,000 and the other $20,000 placed on the game should have been returned by the casino, Nelson told the court. The punter complained the bet was to have been made differently, as a "tie wager", which would have meant a win. The casino's chief operating officer Richard Calendar was called and rather surprisingly ruled in the punter's favour, declaring the wager which was placed in the banker pairs area would be treated as a "tie wager", thus giving the "whale" (or "dolphin plus") the significant payout from the table float. Under the Casino Control Act, any anomaly must be reported to the Department of Racing, Gaming and Liquor. The casino's independent surveillance team reported the incident to the department, which referred the matter to the Gaming and Wagering Commission. The casino's lawyer Joshua Preston said his client pleaded "guilty". Magistrate Barbara Lane said she would need time to consider the sentence for the unusual offence. She is expected to deliver the sentence on on the 7th of January, in the new year. Nelson advised similar matters had seen fines in the region of $5000.
Crown Punters Calling For Sinatra, Kerry Packer And Underbelly Themed Slot Games...
Patrons of Crown's Melbourne and Perth land based casinos keep asking for a Sinatra, Kerry Packer and Underbelly themed slot games, but so far have found no joy. Some of the switched on customers have noticed an online Sinatra games via a PartyGaming casino, but it's not exactly what they wanted for Christmas. Insiders say there's more chance Crown will get 'The Godfather', 'Marvel Heroes', 'Tomb Raider' and 'This Is Your Life' slot, before their real want list. Rumblings say its a 50-50 bet if they will get 'Underbelly', which happens to be returning to TV channel Nine early into the new year. 'Dirty Deeds' is also been talked about at the bar by some patrons, but due to the negative gambling aspects of the movie, talk is that's only a 30% chance of that game themed being adopted. Aw well, you've got to be in it to win it.
Crown Casino and Star City Aware Of Online Gaming Opportunities; Pro Active On Website Upgrades And B2b...
Crown Casino is generally seen to have the upper hand over Star City in the online space. Having said that, both firms have a few irons in the fire which are yet to be unleashed. Crown Limited has been pro actively promoting its Burswood Entertainment Complex - Burswood Poker on Facebook, and PartyGaming and a swag of other companies have been sending online pokers into the Crown Casino Aussie Millions Poker Championship. Star has its own Twitter account, but it's yet to ramp up, but in Star's defence, one of Star City's drinking holes and clubs, Sports Theatre & Bar does has its own dedicated Twitter account, and it's pro active.
Crown Limited and Tabcorp are closely watching a number of international online gaming entities, including but not limited to PartyGaming Playtech, and Virgin Games. Packer also holds a 50% stake in Betfair and he's expected to ramp up online gaming, them gambling, as part of his well publicised but into to Ten Network Holdings. Crown Limited is a big believer in responsible gambling, Tabcorp have also got more with the program, putting more safeguards in place, and Gambling911 and Media Man also continue to spread the message for punters to "bet with their head, not over it", whether they play at a land based venue or online. For the record, few in the land casino casino (or pub) industry are totally sold on the idea of punter fingerprint technology, as its widely seen as abuse of human rights and privacy, plus studies have show that the system can be beaten also, so in short, fingerprint tech just wouldn't property work. Both casinos, and casinos around the world, continue to have great success with the "eye in the sky", backed up by other CCTV and muscled up and switched on security offers. The casinos also have excellent lines of communications with both their state police department and the Australian Federal Police. Both casinos have looked at their casino chip technology, and fraud is understood to have dropped off massively in the past month, after a couple of high profile raids busting casino gang fraudsters and other undesirables who were frequenting Crown and Star.
Well done to both Star City and Crown Casino for providing an excellent array of entertainment, games, news and gossip this year.
We're certain the Australian Casino Wars will continue to escalate into the new year, as the "whale hunt", celeb lures and bait, entertainment spectaculars, fine dining, 5 star rooms, and other secret strategies continued to be unveiled. May the best casino win, and don't hold back. We're betting on World War III, soon after both giant players have enjoyed their Christmas turkey and shrimps on the barbie. Ok whales, you're throw of the dice.
Media Man Profiles
Australia
Australian Casinos
Crown Casino
Star City
Burswood Casino
Tabcorp Holdings Limited
James Packer
Shane Warne
Joe Hachem
Aussie Millions
News
Casino News
Entertainment News
Shares...
CWN: $8.150
TAH: $7.09
Wrap Up...
An exciting year full of developments for the Australian casino management, staff, customers and guests, which also contained a high political aspect. Congratulations to both casinos for their extra steps in helping ensure customers bet within their limits, boosting security, getting more great games, and generally just making their premises much more enjoyable places to visit. We'll be spending much more time at Crown and Star into the new year. Stay tuned for more of the best on gambling, media, entertainment and sports right here with Media Man and Gambling911.
If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming and offer political commentary and analysis.
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Monday, December 13, 2010
Palazzo Versace October 2010 Awards
October is awards month for Palazzo Versace as it secures coveted awards from three prestigious awards competitions
QUEENSLAND, 29 OCTOBER 2010 –Palazzo Versace is delighted to add five prominent awards to its overflowing list of accolades. The elegant hotel has won 2010’s Best Luxury Hotel at the World Luxury Hotel Awards as well as receiving both the Outstanding Service and Outstanding Luxury awards in HotelClub.com’s 2010 reader awards. The luxury hotel has also won Australasia’s Leading Hotel and Australasia’s Leading Spa Resort at the exclusive World Travel Awards.
Recognition from such prestigious organisations is an honour for Palazzo Versace. The World Travel Awards and the World Luxury Hotel Awards celebrate the pinnacle of achievement for hoteliers, and are voted by industry colleagues. The awards truly reflect the uncompromising standards of Palazzo Versace.
The HotelClub.com awards, based on public nominations, identify the people’s choice for the highest quality hotels, the type of recognition of which there can be no better. These awards highlight the fabulous working relationship the hotel has with its online partners such as hotelclub.com, and is delighted that its consumers have chosen them for such a coveted award.
Palazzo Versace’s General Manager, Russell Durnell said the awards are testament to the hotel’s staff, “Palazzo Versace epitomizes the luxury hotel experience and we pride ourselves on the excellent service we provide all of our guests. We are honored to have been recognized in these ways.”
The awards are deserving acknowledgement for Palazzo Versace, which is celebrating its 10th year in 2010 as the world’s first only fully fashion-branded hotel.
Palazzo Versace
In 1998, Sunland Group, a publicly-listed company on the Australian Stock Exchange, together with Gianni Versace SpA had a bold vision to create the world’s first fashion-branded hotel and residence experience. In September 2000, the $300 million Palazzo Versace opened its doors on Australia’s famous Gold Coast and a new luxury address was born.
Palazzo Versace Gold Coast, the world’s first luxury designer hotel, incorporates 200 classically elegant rooms and suites, 72 neighbouring condominiums, three award-winning restaurants and a private marina, all on a historic site in Southern Queensland on the edge of the Gold Coast Broadwater.
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QUEENSLAND, 29 OCTOBER 2010 –Palazzo Versace is delighted to add five prominent awards to its overflowing list of accolades. The elegant hotel has won 2010’s Best Luxury Hotel at the World Luxury Hotel Awards as well as receiving both the Outstanding Service and Outstanding Luxury awards in HotelClub.com’s 2010 reader awards. The luxury hotel has also won Australasia’s Leading Hotel and Australasia’s Leading Spa Resort at the exclusive World Travel Awards.
Recognition from such prestigious organisations is an honour for Palazzo Versace. The World Travel Awards and the World Luxury Hotel Awards celebrate the pinnacle of achievement for hoteliers, and are voted by industry colleagues. The awards truly reflect the uncompromising standards of Palazzo Versace.
The HotelClub.com awards, based on public nominations, identify the people’s choice for the highest quality hotels, the type of recognition of which there can be no better. These awards highlight the fabulous working relationship the hotel has with its online partners such as hotelclub.com, and is delighted that its consumers have chosen them for such a coveted award.
Palazzo Versace’s General Manager, Russell Durnell said the awards are testament to the hotel’s staff, “Palazzo Versace epitomizes the luxury hotel experience and we pride ourselves on the excellent service we provide all of our guests. We are honored to have been recognized in these ways.”
The awards are deserving acknowledgement for Palazzo Versace, which is celebrating its 10th year in 2010 as the world’s first only fully fashion-branded hotel.
Palazzo Versace
In 1998, Sunland Group, a publicly-listed company on the Australian Stock Exchange, together with Gianni Versace SpA had a bold vision to create the world’s first fashion-branded hotel and residence experience. In September 2000, the $300 million Palazzo Versace opened its doors on Australia’s famous Gold Coast and a new luxury address was born.
Palazzo Versace Gold Coast, the world’s first luxury designer hotel, incorporates 200 classically elegant rooms and suites, 72 neighbouring condominiums, three award-winning restaurants and a private marina, all on a historic site in Southern Queensland on the edge of the Gold Coast Broadwater.
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Property remains top of mind choice for Australian investors
13 December 2010 - National investment property research group Blue Wealth Property are urging consumers who are considering long-term wealth creation and retirement income ambitions to conduct their own extensive research and to remain vigilant when seeking advice from independent advisory groups.
The calls come following reports last week from BT Financial Group, claiming investing in shares was the “strongest performer out of a group of best performing assets, despite the falls associated with the global financial crisis’ and ‘particularly when property maintenance costs were factored in,” a view Blue Wealth Property CEO, Dr Tony Hayek finds critically flawed and biased.
The results of an independent survey of 1000 people conducted by BT revealed seven out of ten investors surveyed believed property was the best performing asset of the past two decades while just 22 per cent chose shares.
However, BT investment specialist Michael Bailey suggested while most investors believe property outperforms shares in terms of investment returns, they should in fact, “be satisfied with more easily attained market returns”.
“This is preposterous. Year after year, those with vested interests in equity markets are playing down the returns on Australian residential property as an asset class, probably because there is no way for them to cash in on the property market. The reality is that Australian property has consistently provided investors with superior and far more stable returns than equities,” said Dr Hayek.
According to Dr Hayek, the key strategy to wealth creation through investment is to invest regularly over a long-term to reduce any short-term risks.
“With small amounts of leverage, the risk adjusted returns from property have more than doubled the returns on shares in the last decade, even after costs associated with the property have been accounted for,” said Dr Hayek.
“The Australian tax system has been built to support property investors more so than any other asset class. If due diligence is taken and investors have a good strategy in place, property will continue to be the most powerful wealth creation tool available to Australians.”
The Russell Report investigates the performance of various types of investments over the past 10 and 20 years. As part of the performance comparison, the report considers the real-life impact of tax, costs and borrowing on ultimate investment returns.
Website: www.bluewealth.com.au
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The calls come following reports last week from BT Financial Group, claiming investing in shares was the “strongest performer out of a group of best performing assets, despite the falls associated with the global financial crisis’ and ‘particularly when property maintenance costs were factored in,” a view Blue Wealth Property CEO, Dr Tony Hayek finds critically flawed and biased.
The results of an independent survey of 1000 people conducted by BT revealed seven out of ten investors surveyed believed property was the best performing asset of the past two decades while just 22 per cent chose shares.
However, BT investment specialist Michael Bailey suggested while most investors believe property outperforms shares in terms of investment returns, they should in fact, “be satisfied with more easily attained market returns”.
“This is preposterous. Year after year, those with vested interests in equity markets are playing down the returns on Australian residential property as an asset class, probably because there is no way for them to cash in on the property market. The reality is that Australian property has consistently provided investors with superior and far more stable returns than equities,” said Dr Hayek.
According to Dr Hayek, the key strategy to wealth creation through investment is to invest regularly over a long-term to reduce any short-term risks.
“With small amounts of leverage, the risk adjusted returns from property have more than doubled the returns on shares in the last decade, even after costs associated with the property have been accounted for,” said Dr Hayek.
“The Australian tax system has been built to support property investors more so than any other asset class. If due diligence is taken and investors have a good strategy in place, property will continue to be the most powerful wealth creation tool available to Australians.”
The Russell Report investigates the performance of various types of investments over the past 10 and 20 years. As part of the performance comparison, the report considers the real-life impact of tax, costs and borrowing on ultimate investment returns.
Website: www.bluewealth.com.au
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James Packer Crown Casino; Set For a Ten In 2011, by Greg Tingle - 13th December 2010
G'day punters, casino and gambling millionaires and billionaires, super whales, journalists, ... one and all. Today we have the run down on James Packer's stellar performance in 2010, with both his Crown Limited and Ten Holdings, and how 2011 looks like it will be a banner year for the Aussie casino king from the 'World Of Entertainment', as the tag line goes. Media Man and Gambling911 with this special report...
2010 was the year that 'Our James' decided he wanted to be known as a 'media king' of sorts again, after apparently being happy to fly the almost exclusive 'casino king' flag for a number of years, with a number of analysts stating he wouldn't be back to the mainstream media business - they were wrong.
Packer also got his sweet revenge against a number of "attack journalism" types, and then of course there was that book, an unofficial biography, that suggested more than once JP was finished...and could loose his shirt. Jesus, was that off the mark.
Many leading media and gambling analysts think Packer made about 5 key smart moves in 2010. Getting rid of the casino deal in Las Vegas, shaking up his board of directors, green lighting massive casino revamps to Crown Casino and Burswood, playing his politics right (both Melbourne and with the Australian Communications and Media Authority), and buying into Network Ten. Oh, the PR with mate Shane "Warnie" Warne hasn't hurt either, with news media been generally being much more fair and balanced to 'Our James' these days.
Packer looks in a fantastic position to increase his key gambling - and media - new media investments in 2011. He sure laid the groundwork this year and has enjoyed a sterling run, hitting a 6 with his buy into Ten last month, a move duplicated by Australia's riches woman, 'Our Gina', only in the last fortnight.
The multi billionaire's private investment company, Consolidated Press Holdings, posting yet another solid year of dividend and profit growth.
According to numbers circulated in the media, ConsPress's portfolio of gaming, media, retail and financial services investments generated a 9% jump in net profit for 2009-10 to $167.5 million, and overall revenue was up 7% to $432.3m.
Not on paper a super spectacular result, but when you consider that so many gambling and media companies went out of business this year, and the year before, it is a testament to the smarts of the man, and his world class team. You just have to give the devil his due.
One may argue that the best sign of JP's financial health are the dividends he receives from ConsPress, which leaped 33% to $74.4m thanks mainly to strong performances from the company's 2 main listed investments: a 43% stake holding in casino group Crown Limited and 50% of pay-television company Consolidated Media Holdings. Packer is likely think his Ten tele buy in will net him solid results next year also. We're banking on it, with our modest purchase of shares last last week.
Insiders will know that Packer does not get a salary from his positions as executive chairman of Crown and deputy chairman of Consolidated Media, dividends from the family investment vehicle...which he inherited the old fashioned way from his legendary father Kerry...represent a major source of remuneration.
Packer has been sharing the ConsPress chief executive role with long-term investment adviser Ashok Jacob. A bit of an insider joke is that Ashok hasn't given any nasty "a shocks" to the system. Jacob is one smart cookie, and perhaps in the top ten of the world's best at what he does. What does he do? Well, he helps make a lot of money for one.
ConsPress's main investments decisions last financial year involved outlaying $204.8m listing its Crown stake and $54.4m increasing its ConsMedia shareholding. Packer's brilliant $150m-plus raid on Ten Network Holdings took place after the accounts were signed off for the year. Divestments included the sale of $9.1m worth of Challenger Financial Services Group stock, which insiders say his was pretty luke warm on for a few years and is pleased to turn them into money.
Not many insiders, nor punters, know that ConsPress is actually owned by Bahamas-based entities and files unconsolidated accounts with the corporate regulator. It does not provide a complete picture of Packer's investment empire. Ok, you want an example? We understand that roughly 40% of the dividend income earned from the Crown and ConsMedia stakes are represented in the ConsPress results. Are you still with us. It gets easier to follow.
Packer has taken a higher public - media profile since buying into Ten in late October and the ConsPress numbers confirm he has come out of the global financial crisis in a more than solid financial position. In recent months, he addressed a tribute dinner for legendary broadcaster Alan Jones and made an in person appearance at the final shareholder meeting for Harold Mitchell's Mitchell Communication Group For those who don't know, Mitchell is every bit the media and advertising industry legend in Australia that John "Singo" Singleton is. Packer knows he can't stop media coverage about him, internet, TV, print... you name it, so he was now rather embraced it, and is telling his side of the story to media, and the news is usually great! Way to go Packer. Sock it too em, and good on him for letter match Warne interview him on the hit tele show 'Warne', broadcast on Network Nine no less. That a sport mate.
ConsMedia bean counter director Michael Johnston advised the strong result was largely a reflection of the solid performance of Crown and ConsMedia. But he also was quick to point out that privately held businesses, like as hedge fund group Ellerston Capital, Pretty Girl Fashion (owner of Rockmans and Table Eight), Skifields (NSW and Victoria) and the Jurlique cosmetics business had done well. Oh, Media Man women have enjoyed Jurlique gifts over the years. The Bondi Beach outlet, below a certain legends beach pad, is our favorite, and media and celebs will be spending a few dollars there this Christmas we understand.
Ok, back to business and less colour, but you have to think of the ladies too, don't you Gina.
"Each of our trading businesses continued to perform pretty well Ellerston, as you would expect for a fund manager, took a dip during the GFC, but it was the only operating business that really suffered. Certainly, all of them have performed since" Johnston shared.
He went on with "debt reduction has been a focus". He advised ConsPress had been able to purchase more equity in Crown and ConsMedia without affecting debt levels. That's impressive.
"We sold Challenger and that freed up capital through the year, so we didn't have to borrow money to put further equity into the investments we were focusing on. I think that we do like to be relatively conservative. We like to maintain what we consider is a very manageable level of debt. You've only got to live through one or two sharemarket corrections to realise you don't want to be overgeared."
Media Man Media Move Of The Year 2010...
Packer made an exciting and well timed return to free-to-air tele by snatching an 18% stake in Ten in a shock sharemarket raid. Packer, who concluded his family's half-century association with Channel Nine in 2008, decided that maybe tel wasn't such a bad investment idea after all. It lifted his profile, did wonders for PR, and spread his risk, with gambling being a bit of a whipping boy for two of so agenda driven MP's in the Aussie government. Smart readers know who they are, so we don't drag down this article by repeating their names here. The Ten investment triggered a series of corporate moves at the TV company including the resignation of long-term executive chairman Nick Falloon, feeling a bit pushed out, and the emergence of mining magnate Gina Rinehart, now a Media Man fav, as a 10% shareholder. On, last week Gina went on to buy about 2% in our friends at Fairfax Media. JP proceeded on to sell half his stake to mate and associate Lachlan Murdoch, while WIN TV top dog Bruce Gordon raised his holding to 14%.
Packer wins Media Man 'Australian Casino Operator Of The Year' and 'Australian Media Tycoon Of The Year' award. His mate, David Gyngell is runner up for the media tycoon award, and Tabcorp wins the Australian casino 'most improved' and 'encouragement' award. Oh, PartyGaming wins Media Man 'Online Casino Operator Of The Year' award, with b2b's with Packer's Crown Casino playing a role, and Packer's mate, Richard Branson, wins 'Media Man Gambling and Media Tycoon' of the year on a global scale. Nine Entertainment Co wins 'Australian Media Company Most Likely To Make An Impact In 2011' award, but rounding off, Packer also wins Media Man 'Best And Fairest 2010'. What a year it was. Congrats to all that played hard, and an even bigger congrats to those who placed and won. Just to be in business these days is a sign of a winner, so hats off and cheers to all of you maties.
Crown Limited shares finished off at $8.120
Ted Holdings shares finished off at $1.475
Awards...
Last month was also a big month for casino awards.
PartyGaming's PartyCasino has also come back with seconds, picking up another Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month Award' for November, and also the parent company, PartyGaming, picked up the prestigious EGR Slots Operator Of The Year Award ...Some other top picks of ours who picked up awards at the EGR night of nights were:
Virgin Games (Affiliate Programme)
Betfair (Innovation, Mobile Operator and UK Sports Betting Operator)
Bwin (European Sports Betting Operator
PKR (Poker Operator)
Australian Land Based Casino Of The Month: Crown Casino, Runner Up: Star City
Oh, we almost forgot...Media Man and Casino News Media 'Casino Babe Of The Month': Jenny Woo, 'Poker Babe': Kara Scott, 'Gambling Babe Personality': Pamela Anderson.
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News
Wrap Up...
Readers... er, punters, how did you like our report? Tell us in the forum.
If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming and offer political commentary and analysis.
*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited, Ten Network Holdings and Virgin
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2010 was the year that 'Our James' decided he wanted to be known as a 'media king' of sorts again, after apparently being happy to fly the almost exclusive 'casino king' flag for a number of years, with a number of analysts stating he wouldn't be back to the mainstream media business - they were wrong.
Packer also got his sweet revenge against a number of "attack journalism" types, and then of course there was that book, an unofficial biography, that suggested more than once JP was finished...and could loose his shirt. Jesus, was that off the mark.
Many leading media and gambling analysts think Packer made about 5 key smart moves in 2010. Getting rid of the casino deal in Las Vegas, shaking up his board of directors, green lighting massive casino revamps to Crown Casino and Burswood, playing his politics right (both Melbourne and with the Australian Communications and Media Authority), and buying into Network Ten. Oh, the PR with mate Shane "Warnie" Warne hasn't hurt either, with news media been generally being much more fair and balanced to 'Our James' these days.
Packer looks in a fantastic position to increase his key gambling - and media - new media investments in 2011. He sure laid the groundwork this year and has enjoyed a sterling run, hitting a 6 with his buy into Ten last month, a move duplicated by Australia's riches woman, 'Our Gina', only in the last fortnight.
The multi billionaire's private investment company, Consolidated Press Holdings, posting yet another solid year of dividend and profit growth.
According to numbers circulated in the media, ConsPress's portfolio of gaming, media, retail and financial services investments generated a 9% jump in net profit for 2009-10 to $167.5 million, and overall revenue was up 7% to $432.3m.
Not on paper a super spectacular result, but when you consider that so many gambling and media companies went out of business this year, and the year before, it is a testament to the smarts of the man, and his world class team. You just have to give the devil his due.
One may argue that the best sign of JP's financial health are the dividends he receives from ConsPress, which leaped 33% to $74.4m thanks mainly to strong performances from the company's 2 main listed investments: a 43% stake holding in casino group Crown Limited and 50% of pay-television company Consolidated Media Holdings. Packer is likely think his Ten tele buy in will net him solid results next year also. We're banking on it, with our modest purchase of shares last last week.
Insiders will know that Packer does not get a salary from his positions as executive chairman of Crown and deputy chairman of Consolidated Media, dividends from the family investment vehicle...which he inherited the old fashioned way from his legendary father Kerry...represent a major source of remuneration.
Packer has been sharing the ConsPress chief executive role with long-term investment adviser Ashok Jacob. A bit of an insider joke is that Ashok hasn't given any nasty "a shocks" to the system. Jacob is one smart cookie, and perhaps in the top ten of the world's best at what he does. What does he do? Well, he helps make a lot of money for one.
ConsPress's main investments decisions last financial year involved outlaying $204.8m listing its Crown stake and $54.4m increasing its ConsMedia shareholding. Packer's brilliant $150m-plus raid on Ten Network Holdings took place after the accounts were signed off for the year. Divestments included the sale of $9.1m worth of Challenger Financial Services Group stock, which insiders say his was pretty luke warm on for a few years and is pleased to turn them into money.
Not many insiders, nor punters, know that ConsPress is actually owned by Bahamas-based entities and files unconsolidated accounts with the corporate regulator. It does not provide a complete picture of Packer's investment empire. Ok, you want an example? We understand that roughly 40% of the dividend income earned from the Crown and ConsMedia stakes are represented in the ConsPress results. Are you still with us. It gets easier to follow.
Packer has taken a higher public - media profile since buying into Ten in late October and the ConsPress numbers confirm he has come out of the global financial crisis in a more than solid financial position. In recent months, he addressed a tribute dinner for legendary broadcaster Alan Jones and made an in person appearance at the final shareholder meeting for Harold Mitchell's Mitchell Communication Group For those who don't know, Mitchell is every bit the media and advertising industry legend in Australia that John "Singo" Singleton is. Packer knows he can't stop media coverage about him, internet, TV, print... you name it, so he was now rather embraced it, and is telling his side of the story to media, and the news is usually great! Way to go Packer. Sock it too em, and good on him for letter match Warne interview him on the hit tele show 'Warne', broadcast on Network Nine no less. That a sport mate.
ConsMedia bean counter director Michael Johnston advised the strong result was largely a reflection of the solid performance of Crown and ConsMedia. But he also was quick to point out that privately held businesses, like as hedge fund group Ellerston Capital, Pretty Girl Fashion (owner of Rockmans and Table Eight), Skifields (NSW and Victoria) and the Jurlique cosmetics business had done well. Oh, Media Man women have enjoyed Jurlique gifts over the years. The Bondi Beach outlet, below a certain legends beach pad, is our favorite, and media and celebs will be spending a few dollars there this Christmas we understand.
Ok, back to business and less colour, but you have to think of the ladies too, don't you Gina.
"Each of our trading businesses continued to perform pretty well Ellerston, as you would expect for a fund manager, took a dip during the GFC, but it was the only operating business that really suffered. Certainly, all of them have performed since" Johnston shared.
He went on with "debt reduction has been a focus". He advised ConsPress had been able to purchase more equity in Crown and ConsMedia without affecting debt levels. That's impressive.
"We sold Challenger and that freed up capital through the year, so we didn't have to borrow money to put further equity into the investments we were focusing on. I think that we do like to be relatively conservative. We like to maintain what we consider is a very manageable level of debt. You've only got to live through one or two sharemarket corrections to realise you don't want to be overgeared."
Media Man Media Move Of The Year 2010...
Packer made an exciting and well timed return to free-to-air tele by snatching an 18% stake in Ten in a shock sharemarket raid. Packer, who concluded his family's half-century association with Channel Nine in 2008, decided that maybe tel wasn't such a bad investment idea after all. It lifted his profile, did wonders for PR, and spread his risk, with gambling being a bit of a whipping boy for two of so agenda driven MP's in the Aussie government. Smart readers know who they are, so we don't drag down this article by repeating their names here. The Ten investment triggered a series of corporate moves at the TV company including the resignation of long-term executive chairman Nick Falloon, feeling a bit pushed out, and the emergence of mining magnate Gina Rinehart, now a Media Man fav, as a 10% shareholder. On, last week Gina went on to buy about 2% in our friends at Fairfax Media. JP proceeded on to sell half his stake to mate and associate Lachlan Murdoch, while WIN TV top dog Bruce Gordon raised his holding to 14%.
Packer wins Media Man 'Australian Casino Operator Of The Year' and 'Australian Media Tycoon Of The Year' award. His mate, David Gyngell is runner up for the media tycoon award, and Tabcorp wins the Australian casino 'most improved' and 'encouragement' award. Oh, PartyGaming wins Media Man 'Online Casino Operator Of The Year' award, with b2b's with Packer's Crown Casino playing a role, and Packer's mate, Richard Branson, wins 'Media Man Gambling and Media Tycoon' of the year on a global scale. Nine Entertainment Co wins 'Australian Media Company Most Likely To Make An Impact In 2011' award, but rounding off, Packer also wins Media Man 'Best And Fairest 2010'. What a year it was. Congrats to all that played hard, and an even bigger congrats to those who placed and won. Just to be in business these days is a sign of a winner, so hats off and cheers to all of you maties.
Crown Limited shares finished off at $8.120
Ted Holdings shares finished off at $1.475
Awards...
Last month was also a big month for casino awards.
PartyGaming's PartyCasino has also come back with seconds, picking up another Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month Award' for November, and also the parent company, PartyGaming, picked up the prestigious EGR Slots Operator Of The Year Award ...Some other top picks of ours who picked up awards at the EGR night of nights were:
Virgin Games (Affiliate Programme)
Betfair (Innovation, Mobile Operator and UK Sports Betting Operator)
Bwin (European Sports Betting Operator
PKR (Poker Operator)
Australian Land Based Casino Of The Month: Crown Casino, Runner Up: Star City
Oh, we almost forgot...Media Man and Casino News Media 'Casino Babe Of The Month': Jenny Woo, 'Poker Babe': Kara Scott, 'Gambling Babe Personality': Pamela Anderson.
Media Man Profiles
Australia
Australia Casinos
Cricket
Movies
Crown Casino
Politics
Broadcasting
Television
Media Companies
Australian Sports
News
Casino News
Entertainment News
Media News
Technology News
Sports News
News
Wrap Up...
Readers... er, punters, how did you like our report? Tell us in the forum.
If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming and offer political commentary and analysis.
*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited, Ten Network Holdings and Virgin
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Media Man Australia
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Saturday, December 11, 2010
Australian Media, New Media And Casino Wars, by Greg Tingle - 10th December 2010
G'day punters, media, casino and gambling millionaires and billionaires, warmongers, politicians, super whales, media entrepreneurs, journalists, politicians... one and all. Today we revisit the Australian media, new media and casino wars, and as you will learn, there's some action pretty close to home. Media Man and Gambling911 take bets, so to speak, on who will win the Aussie casino and media wars, as major Aussie players continue to jockey for position...
Ok readers, you've very familiar with Crown Casino (Crown Limited) VS Star City (Tabcorp Holdings), but let's get you further up to speed with Ten Network Holdings VS Network Nine...soon to be more well known in business circles at Nine Entertainment Co, as they get ready to hit the exciting Australia Securities Exchange (ASX).
Our friends at Ten Network Holdings are a tad busy talking down concerns of potential conflicts of interest arising among its expanded board, advising in no uncertain concerns that "appropriate protocols" had been put in place. A bit of an inside joke is if James Packer friend Sen. Stephen Conroy might be part of those "appropriate protocols". No, we're suggesting anything untoward, just saying.
Australia's best known Billionaires buddies Lachlan Murdoch, James Packer along with Gina Rinehart and Paul Mallam (WIN TV man) have joined the board of directors on TEN.
They make up a solid 42% Ten's share registry. In another scoop of sorts, xx Ernst & Young world chairman Brian "How" Long, who had no public board experience prior to his appointment to Ten last July, is to be chairman. Money and clout do count for something, but you likely knew that already. 'Our Gina' knows it too, but more on her later.
Outgoing exec chairman Nick Falloon advised the meeting protocols had been put in place to deal with potential conflicts of interest among the impressive 11-member board.
Some concerns have been raised over Ten's continued independence, given Murdoch's interest in News Corporation and Packer's Consolidated Media Holdings, which each owning a sweet 25% of Foxtel and 50% of Fox Sports, a competitor of Ten's free-to-air OneHD.
"We have the appropriate board protocols in place and we will continue to provide a balanced and hopefully very successful news service into the future" Falloon said.
Fallon dismissed questions about the influence of the board.
"This company has a great record on editorial independence and I expect it to continue. Having had some experience working for billionaires over my lifetime their main interest is making money and I'm sure that is the same interest of all shareholders," Falloon said.
The group revenue increased by a modest 10% to $991.5 million with EBITDA increasing 38 per cent to $208.1 million.
The shares paid 11c in unfranked dividends in November and closed down .34 per cent at $1.485
Spreading Risk...
Sharing risk over a number of entities, and just having a "few irons in the fire", as the Aussie lingo goes, appears to be part of the overall strategy of Packer and Murdoch, and 'Our Gina', mining baron, not content with just having a media stake in Ten has now acquired approx a 10% stake in Fairfax Media.
In the spirit of fair play, we wish all Australian media networks and casinos well, but not too much good luck. It's all good fodder for the ongoing soap opera that is the Aussie media and casino wars".
Media Man Buys Shares In Ten...
Media Man director and founder, Greg Tingle, has today purchased a modest amount of Network Ten Holdings (TEN) shares.
Media Man director, Greg Tingle commented "We are very excited at our investment into Ten today. The company show tremendous leadership from the top down, and we have enjoyed positive dealings with them over the years. We think they represent some of Australia's, even the world's, best in the entertainment, sports and lifestyle programing, and our share purchase today is a real and tangible show of our support and confidence in the company. They are competing better than most in the Australian media landscape, especially in television and advertising, and have substantial assets and risk management across a number of verticals. We are very impressed and take a keen interest in both its television programing with hits such as Bondi Rescue, Bondi Vet, Oprah, MasterChef, News at Five, The Simpsons, Glee, NCIS, as well as their advertising arm EYE. Digital station OneHD has performed well, with it now being recognised as Australia's number one sports channel. Advertising arm EYE is also on the upswing. The addition of James Packer and Lachlan Murdoch to the board was a key catalyst for our purchase of shares, but its a decision based upon track record, compelling and quality television and value for money. We strongly believe that Ten will continue to be at the forefront of the Australia media and new media landscape, and will be driving forward areas such as gaming, lifestyle and digital convergence. The board's lines of communication with key private and government media identifies such as Senator Stephen Conroy also set Ten up for strong ongoing success. Media Man is keen to build upon our existing history with the Ten family".
Media Man business brands include Media Man International, Media Man Brand, Media Man Network, Media Man Canada, Casino News Media, Global Gaming Directory, Australian Casino News and Property News Media. Media Man covers over a dozen different business sectors and is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. The founder, Greg Tingle, enjoys a background in sales and marketing of Pay TV, journalism, and has been a leading media agent and commentator since 2001. Media Man has enjoyed some b2b dealings with Ten over the years, the details of which are commercially sensitive in nature.
Gina Rinehart Delighted To Become Major Ten Network Shareholder...
Australia's richest woman, Gina Rinehart, has followed the lead of fellow billionaire James Packer, and snatched up Ten Network shares.
The daughter of ex mining king Lang Hancock became one of the network’s major delighted shareholders last week when she bought around $165 million worth of Ten shares in the 12 days from November 10.
Ms Rinehart's $165 million buy-up gives her a very modest 10.01% stake in the company.
She purchased the lot of shares via her company Hancock Prospecting, of which she is chairman.
A Ten spokesman said the network was not aware Ms Rinehart intended to become a major shareholder and was only found out she had bought the shares when a major shareholder statement was lodged to the Australian Stock Exchange.
Ms Rinehart is the chairman of Hancock Prospecting and bought the 104,000 shares through her mining company.
Her major stakeholder notice came a month after Packer swooped line a Bondi Beach seagull on the stock in a whopping $180 million share raid to become Ten's largest shareholder, with an 18% stake in the company.
Packer is selling half of his Ten stock to mate Lachlan Murdoch, and whispers say the deal may have just happened, or is just a whisker away from going through.
Packer and Murdoch were promptly offered board positions after a blowtorch of media speculation was thrown on Packer’s share jackpot.
Ten's chairman Nick Falloon agreed to resign from the Ten board about a fortnight ago to pave the way for Packer and Murdoch to become directors.
The BRW (Business Review Weekly) Rich List 2010 estimated Ms Rhinehart's financial wealth at $4.75 billion earlier this year. Oh, we thought we would just mention that she's rich in having enjoyed a big life also, one which is about to get much bigger, via media and political clout down under.
Network Nine's Gyngell Scraps PBL Media Brand Ahead Of Potential Float...
Fellow Bondi Beach resident, David Gyngell, has scrapped the iconic PBL Media brand and replaced it with Nine Entertainment Co ahead of its potential float. The Nine top dog announced the new name at the channel's 2011 program launch in Sydney last week.
The new brand is expected to resonate better with across the board - public, advertisers and potential retail investors ahead of the expected $5 billion-plus initial public offering of the television, magazine and digital group in 2011. The Publishing & Broadcasting Limited name is synonymous with the Packer family after the company was formed in 1994 through the merger of (the late) Kerry Packer’s Nine and ACP Magazines businesses.
"From today Nine Entertainment Co is our group's new title, new brand and new future. It will embrace Nine Television, Nine Magazines (through ACP), Nine Digital (through ninemsn, Carsales, Cudo and Sky News), and Nine Events (through Ticketek and Acer Arena) and thus draw together under one new banner all the outstanding people and vast assets of this great company."
So, its a war of sorts between Ten and Nine, but Packer and Gyngell remain adamant they are still close mates, and we think that's pretty cool, and could also be a good indicator that both gents have the work - life balance in check, as well as having the priorities right, war or not.
Oh, one last thing... Media Man purchased a modest amount of shares in Ten Network Holdings today, as a sign of support and respect to both gents and their respective companies. MM also look forward to becoming a happy shareholder in Nine Entertainment Co, should they float (on the stockmarket... not off Bondi Beach)!.
Awards...
Last month was a very big month for casino awards.
PartyGaming's PartyCasino has also come back with seconds, picking up another Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month Award' for November, and also the parent company, PartyGaming, picked up the prestigious EGR Slots Operator Of The Year Award ...Some other top picks of ours who picked up awards at the EGR night of nights were:
Virgin Games (Affiliate Programme)
Betfair (Innovation, Mobile Operator and UK Sports Betting Operator)
Bwin (European Sports Betting Operator
PKR (Poker Operator)
Oh, we almost forgot...Media Man and Casino News Media 'Casino Babe Of The Month': Jenny Woo, 'Poker Babe': Kara Scott, 'Gambling Babe Personality': Pamela Anderson.
Media Man Profiles
Australia
Australia Casinos
Cricket
Star City
Crown Casino
Politics
Property
Broadcasting
Television
Media Companies
Network Ten
Channel Nine
Nine Entertainment Co
Australian Sports
News
Casino News
Entertainment News
Media News
Technology News
Sports News
News
Wrap Up...
Readers... er, punters, how did you like our report? Who will eventually win the Australian media, entertainment and casino wars? When will a true victor emerge, or will they continue to coexist? Tell us in the forum.
If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming and offer political commentary and analysis.
*The writer owns shares in Ten Network Holdings, Crown Limited and Virgin.
Website Network
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Media Man Australia
Media Man Asia
Media Man Canada
Media Man Games
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Global Gaming Directory
Ok readers, you've very familiar with Crown Casino (Crown Limited) VS Star City (Tabcorp Holdings), but let's get you further up to speed with Ten Network Holdings VS Network Nine...soon to be more well known in business circles at Nine Entertainment Co, as they get ready to hit the exciting Australia Securities Exchange (ASX).
Our friends at Ten Network Holdings are a tad busy talking down concerns of potential conflicts of interest arising among its expanded board, advising in no uncertain concerns that "appropriate protocols" had been put in place. A bit of an inside joke is if James Packer friend Sen. Stephen Conroy might be part of those "appropriate protocols". No, we're suggesting anything untoward, just saying.
Australia's best known Billionaires buddies Lachlan Murdoch, James Packer along with Gina Rinehart and Paul Mallam (WIN TV man) have joined the board of directors on TEN.
They make up a solid 42% Ten's share registry. In another scoop of sorts, xx Ernst & Young world chairman Brian "How" Long, who had no public board experience prior to his appointment to Ten last July, is to be chairman. Money and clout do count for something, but you likely knew that already. 'Our Gina' knows it too, but more on her later.
Outgoing exec chairman Nick Falloon advised the meeting protocols had been put in place to deal with potential conflicts of interest among the impressive 11-member board.
Some concerns have been raised over Ten's continued independence, given Murdoch's interest in News Corporation and Packer's Consolidated Media Holdings, which each owning a sweet 25% of Foxtel and 50% of Fox Sports, a competitor of Ten's free-to-air OneHD.
"We have the appropriate board protocols in place and we will continue to provide a balanced and hopefully very successful news service into the future" Falloon said.
Fallon dismissed questions about the influence of the board.
"This company has a great record on editorial independence and I expect it to continue. Having had some experience working for billionaires over my lifetime their main interest is making money and I'm sure that is the same interest of all shareholders," Falloon said.
The group revenue increased by a modest 10% to $991.5 million with EBITDA increasing 38 per cent to $208.1 million.
The shares paid 11c in unfranked dividends in November and closed down .34 per cent at $1.485
Spreading Risk...
Sharing risk over a number of entities, and just having a "few irons in the fire", as the Aussie lingo goes, appears to be part of the overall strategy of Packer and Murdoch, and 'Our Gina', mining baron, not content with just having a media stake in Ten has now acquired approx a 10% stake in Fairfax Media.
In the spirit of fair play, we wish all Australian media networks and casinos well, but not too much good luck. It's all good fodder for the ongoing soap opera that is the Aussie media and casino wars".
Media Man Buys Shares In Ten...
Media Man director and founder, Greg Tingle, has today purchased a modest amount of Network Ten Holdings (TEN) shares.
Media Man director, Greg Tingle commented "We are very excited at our investment into Ten today. The company show tremendous leadership from the top down, and we have enjoyed positive dealings with them over the years. We think they represent some of Australia's, even the world's, best in the entertainment, sports and lifestyle programing, and our share purchase today is a real and tangible show of our support and confidence in the company. They are competing better than most in the Australian media landscape, especially in television and advertising, and have substantial assets and risk management across a number of verticals. We are very impressed and take a keen interest in both its television programing with hits such as Bondi Rescue, Bondi Vet, Oprah, MasterChef, News at Five, The Simpsons, Glee, NCIS, as well as their advertising arm EYE. Digital station OneHD has performed well, with it now being recognised as Australia's number one sports channel. Advertising arm EYE is also on the upswing. The addition of James Packer and Lachlan Murdoch to the board was a key catalyst for our purchase of shares, but its a decision based upon track record, compelling and quality television and value for money. We strongly believe that Ten will continue to be at the forefront of the Australia media and new media landscape, and will be driving forward areas such as gaming, lifestyle and digital convergence. The board's lines of communication with key private and government media identifies such as Senator Stephen Conroy also set Ten up for strong ongoing success. Media Man is keen to build upon our existing history with the Ten family".
Media Man business brands include Media Man International, Media Man Brand, Media Man Network, Media Man Canada, Casino News Media, Global Gaming Directory, Australian Casino News and Property News Media. Media Man covers over a dozen different business sectors and is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. The founder, Greg Tingle, enjoys a background in sales and marketing of Pay TV, journalism, and has been a leading media agent and commentator since 2001. Media Man has enjoyed some b2b dealings with Ten over the years, the details of which are commercially sensitive in nature.
Gina Rinehart Delighted To Become Major Ten Network Shareholder...
Australia's richest woman, Gina Rinehart, has followed the lead of fellow billionaire James Packer, and snatched up Ten Network shares.
The daughter of ex mining king Lang Hancock became one of the network’s major delighted shareholders last week when she bought around $165 million worth of Ten shares in the 12 days from November 10.
Ms Rinehart's $165 million buy-up gives her a very modest 10.01% stake in the company.
She purchased the lot of shares via her company Hancock Prospecting, of which she is chairman.
A Ten spokesman said the network was not aware Ms Rinehart intended to become a major shareholder and was only found out she had bought the shares when a major shareholder statement was lodged to the Australian Stock Exchange.
Ms Rinehart is the chairman of Hancock Prospecting and bought the 104,000 shares through her mining company.
Her major stakeholder notice came a month after Packer swooped line a Bondi Beach seagull on the stock in a whopping $180 million share raid to become Ten's largest shareholder, with an 18% stake in the company.
Packer is selling half of his Ten stock to mate Lachlan Murdoch, and whispers say the deal may have just happened, or is just a whisker away from going through.
Packer and Murdoch were promptly offered board positions after a blowtorch of media speculation was thrown on Packer’s share jackpot.
Ten's chairman Nick Falloon agreed to resign from the Ten board about a fortnight ago to pave the way for Packer and Murdoch to become directors.
The BRW (Business Review Weekly) Rich List 2010 estimated Ms Rhinehart's financial wealth at $4.75 billion earlier this year. Oh, we thought we would just mention that she's rich in having enjoyed a big life also, one which is about to get much bigger, via media and political clout down under.
Network Nine's Gyngell Scraps PBL Media Brand Ahead Of Potential Float...
Fellow Bondi Beach resident, David Gyngell, has scrapped the iconic PBL Media brand and replaced it with Nine Entertainment Co ahead of its potential float. The Nine top dog announced the new name at the channel's 2011 program launch in Sydney last week.
The new brand is expected to resonate better with across the board - public, advertisers and potential retail investors ahead of the expected $5 billion-plus initial public offering of the television, magazine and digital group in 2011. The Publishing & Broadcasting Limited name is synonymous with the Packer family after the company was formed in 1994 through the merger of (the late) Kerry Packer’s Nine and ACP Magazines businesses.
"From today Nine Entertainment Co is our group's new title, new brand and new future. It will embrace Nine Television, Nine Magazines (through ACP), Nine Digital (through ninemsn, Carsales, Cudo and Sky News), and Nine Events (through Ticketek and Acer Arena) and thus draw together under one new banner all the outstanding people and vast assets of this great company."
So, its a war of sorts between Ten and Nine, but Packer and Gyngell remain adamant they are still close mates, and we think that's pretty cool, and could also be a good indicator that both gents have the work - life balance in check, as well as having the priorities right, war or not.
Oh, one last thing... Media Man purchased a modest amount of shares in Ten Network Holdings today, as a sign of support and respect to both gents and their respective companies. MM also look forward to becoming a happy shareholder in Nine Entertainment Co, should they float (on the stockmarket... not off Bondi Beach)!.
Awards...
Last month was a very big month for casino awards.
PartyGaming's PartyCasino has also come back with seconds, picking up another Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month Award' for November, and also the parent company, PartyGaming, picked up the prestigious EGR Slots Operator Of The Year Award ...Some other top picks of ours who picked up awards at the EGR night of nights were:
Virgin Games (Affiliate Programme)
Betfair (Innovation, Mobile Operator and UK Sports Betting Operator)
Bwin (European Sports Betting Operator
PKR (Poker Operator)
Oh, we almost forgot...Media Man and Casino News Media 'Casino Babe Of The Month': Jenny Woo, 'Poker Babe': Kara Scott, 'Gambling Babe Personality': Pamela Anderson.
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Readers... er, punters, how did you like our report? Who will eventually win the Australian media, entertainment and casino wars? When will a true victor emerge, or will they continue to coexist? Tell us in the forum.
If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming and offer political commentary and analysis.
*The writer owns shares in Ten Network Holdings, Crown Limited and Virgin.
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Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Harrah’s Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Event Breaks Attendance Record - 6th December 2010
The first of 11 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit tournaments at Harrah’s Atlantic City was a smashing success over the weekend, breaking an all-time attendance record for the resort. The record going into Saturday was 1,181 players, which was set in 2008, but 1,250 entrants came from all over the East Coast to participate, generating a prize pool of $363,750 for the $300 buy-in event.
“We’re really excited for having set this record,” said Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City Poker Director John Arthur. “We got it right this year with the structures and everything else we have put into place for the Circuit and hope to continue having great numbers through the rest of the series.”
The first WSOP Circuit gold ring of the series was awarded to Christopher Rivers, a network engineer from Atlanta, Georgia. The 24-year-old won Event #1 for $64,565 after navigating through the record field, the biggest score ever for the amateur.
Rivers entered the final table as the second shortest stack, but was able to chip up and find himself heads-up against Maryland’s Matthew Diggs, who began the final table as the shortest stack. The heads-up match got underway shortly after 3:00am Monday with the players holding nearly identical stacks.
The decisive hand of the match came when the two got all of their chips in on a flop of 6c-5s-4c. Diggs, who had moved all-in, showed 2s-4h, while Rivers turned over pocket jacks after calling the bet. A queen on the turn and 10 on the river changed nothing, leaving Diggs with seven big blinds.
“The last couple of times I limped, he raised,” Rivers said of the hand that crippled Diggs. “So, I decided to limp with jacks and though I hoped he would play me aggressive after the flop, was worried about him drawing out on me, but I eventually called.”
The final hand of the tournament happened just minutes later, with Diggs all-in with K-10 against Rivers’ K-Q. Diggs was unable to improve, sending the title and the ring to the Atlanta native. “Oh man, this is great, I’m very excited,” Rivers added after the win.
Here’s a look at the results from the final table:
1. Christopher Rivers – $64,565
2. Matthew Diggs – $23,654
3. Greg Joslyn – $17,256
4. Ryan Moylan – $22,188
5. Jason “Bear” Alexander – $16,932
6. Don Huang – $13,033
7. Gregory Spurdis – $10,148
8. Geoff Desobry – $7,995
9. Chao Lin – $6,372
The $10,000 buy-in Regional Championship kicks off on December 19th from Harrah’s Atlantic City. The four-day flagship event will be nationally televised and is expected to draw several of the game’s top players.
All of the 11 events at Harrah’s Atlantic City count for the National Championship point system, which was implemented this year. One-hundred players will qualify for the season-ending televised WSOP Circuit National Championship at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, giving them a shot at a WSOP bracelet and a prize pool of $1,000,000. The full list of WSOP Circuit stops and qualifications for the 2010-11 WSOP Circuit National Championship can be found at WSOP.com. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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“We’re really excited for having set this record,” said Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City Poker Director John Arthur. “We got it right this year with the structures and everything else we have put into place for the Circuit and hope to continue having great numbers through the rest of the series.”
The first WSOP Circuit gold ring of the series was awarded to Christopher Rivers, a network engineer from Atlanta, Georgia. The 24-year-old won Event #1 for $64,565 after navigating through the record field, the biggest score ever for the amateur.
Rivers entered the final table as the second shortest stack, but was able to chip up and find himself heads-up against Maryland’s Matthew Diggs, who began the final table as the shortest stack. The heads-up match got underway shortly after 3:00am Monday with the players holding nearly identical stacks.
The decisive hand of the match came when the two got all of their chips in on a flop of 6c-5s-4c. Diggs, who had moved all-in, showed 2s-4h, while Rivers turned over pocket jacks after calling the bet. A queen on the turn and 10 on the river changed nothing, leaving Diggs with seven big blinds.
“The last couple of times I limped, he raised,” Rivers said of the hand that crippled Diggs. “So, I decided to limp with jacks and though I hoped he would play me aggressive after the flop, was worried about him drawing out on me, but I eventually called.”
The final hand of the tournament happened just minutes later, with Diggs all-in with K-10 against Rivers’ K-Q. Diggs was unable to improve, sending the title and the ring to the Atlanta native. “Oh man, this is great, I’m very excited,” Rivers added after the win.
Here’s a look at the results from the final table:
1. Christopher Rivers – $64,565
2. Matthew Diggs – $23,654
3. Greg Joslyn – $17,256
4. Ryan Moylan – $22,188
5. Jason “Bear” Alexander – $16,932
6. Don Huang – $13,033
7. Gregory Spurdis – $10,148
8. Geoff Desobry – $7,995
9. Chao Lin – $6,372
The $10,000 buy-in Regional Championship kicks off on December 19th from Harrah’s Atlantic City. The four-day flagship event will be nationally televised and is expected to draw several of the game’s top players.
All of the 11 events at Harrah’s Atlantic City count for the National Championship point system, which was implemented this year. One-hundred players will qualify for the season-ending televised WSOP Circuit National Championship at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, giving them a shot at a WSOP bracelet and a prize pool of $1,000,000. The full list of WSOP Circuit stops and qualifications for the 2010-11 WSOP Circuit National Championship can be found at WSOP.com. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Oprah Winfrey Australia Visit More Security Than Presidents Et Al, by Greg Tingle - 8th December 2010
G'day everyone. You would have heard... media, entertainment and TV talk show queen, billionaire - Oprah Winfrey is about to land in Australia, and will conduct at least two television tapings, with the iconic Sydney Opera House being a key part of the excitement. What you may not of known is that her visit to Australia has more secrecy and security than that any other political - diplomatic, or any other visit to Australia in history (or so our spies tell us). Her only public appearance is tipped to be in Melbourne's Federation Square, and security will be at an all time high, and Oprah, her guests (inc 300 approx Americans) and minders (150 of) do not wish to gamble with security. We have learned that Oprah will be staying at James Packer owned Crown Towers, right next door to Crown Casino, but don't expect to see her gambling at the tables. Media Man and Gambling911 take on 'The Oprah Effect' with this special report, just as 'O's touched down in Cairns. Lights, camera, action...
She's just touched down in Cairns by way of 100m dollar private jet.
When the Oprah Winfrey show gets into Melbourne, Aussies have essentially been told details of the taxpayer-financed tour is none of their business.
Roughly 110 of Oprah's guests, who landed at Sydney International Airport yesterday and were welcomed at the Intercontinental Hotel by Aboriginal performers and song, will commence 3 days of shopping, penguin spotting, grabbing a sip of win, and some guests have already biked around the Sydney Oprah House and visited Taronga Park Zoo.
Later today Oprah is join many of her guests on the Whitsunday Islands. Hope she doesn't mind that there's aren't any waves to surf.
The Victorian part of the tour will culminate at Federation Square this Friday with a meeting between 'O' and Prime Minister Julia Gillard in front of up to 80,000 fans. Good thing Rudd isn't PM anymore... that would have been scary, especially given the Wikipedia leaks about Rudd being "mistake prone" and "arrogant".
All of the government agencies and tourism operators involved have been forced to sign a confidentiality agreement that binds them to secrecy about the tour until Oprah's two Aussie shows are broadcast this January.
As Oprah's 300 guests begin spreading out over Australia, secrecy still surrounded her touchdown.
Sources at production company Harpo confirmed she would make her only official public appearance in Melbourne at federation Square on Friday.
The 110 or so audience members heading to Melbourne will stay at the InterContinental Hotel in Collins St, but Oprah herself will spend Friday night in the room of James Packer's Crown Towers, adjacent to Crown Casino.
Her 5 star plus penthouse villa will be similar to the one where her mate Tom Cruise from 'Mission: Impossible' fame stayed with wife Katie Holmes ('Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark') when they were doing Melbourne last year.
Security is about as tight as you can get as the main reason for the secrecy surrounding the trip. Victorian Police confirmed there was "no credible security threat to Ms Winfrey" while she is in Australia, but Media Man has heard of at least one "threat", but we don't think the communication was especially credible.
Numerous sources and insiders said Harpo Productions, 'O's company, was controlling every aspect.
"It's a secret because Oprah loves surprises. It's the premise of the show," a source said.
We've also learned its about not having the the TV shows content leaked.
Australian taxpayers are understood to have contributed $4 million big ones to the trip, including at least $500,000 from the Victorian Government. Sydney's been pulling its weight also, but the details are not known. They must be secret!
A spokesman for the Federal Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson advised the Government had not signed a confidentiality agreement, but it was not at liberty to provide details about the tour because "they are here to make a show for Oprah, not for Australia".
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Wrap Up...
Readers... er, punters, how did you like our special report on Oprah in Australia? Tell us in the forum.
If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming and offer media, entertainment industry and political commentary and analysis. They also publish Australian Sports Entertainment http://www.australiansportsentertainment.com and Hollywood Slot Games
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She's just touched down in Cairns by way of 100m dollar private jet.
When the Oprah Winfrey show gets into Melbourne, Aussies have essentially been told details of the taxpayer-financed tour is none of their business.
Roughly 110 of Oprah's guests, who landed at Sydney International Airport yesterday and were welcomed at the Intercontinental Hotel by Aboriginal performers and song, will commence 3 days of shopping, penguin spotting, grabbing a sip of win, and some guests have already biked around the Sydney Oprah House and visited Taronga Park Zoo.
Later today Oprah is join many of her guests on the Whitsunday Islands. Hope she doesn't mind that there's aren't any waves to surf.
The Victorian part of the tour will culminate at Federation Square this Friday with a meeting between 'O' and Prime Minister Julia Gillard in front of up to 80,000 fans. Good thing Rudd isn't PM anymore... that would have been scary, especially given the Wikipedia leaks about Rudd being "mistake prone" and "arrogant".
All of the government agencies and tourism operators involved have been forced to sign a confidentiality agreement that binds them to secrecy about the tour until Oprah's two Aussie shows are broadcast this January.
As Oprah's 300 guests begin spreading out over Australia, secrecy still surrounded her touchdown.
Sources at production company Harpo confirmed she would make her only official public appearance in Melbourne at federation Square on Friday.
The 110 or so audience members heading to Melbourne will stay at the InterContinental Hotel in Collins St, but Oprah herself will spend Friday night in the room of James Packer's Crown Towers, adjacent to Crown Casino.
Her 5 star plus penthouse villa will be similar to the one where her mate Tom Cruise from 'Mission: Impossible' fame stayed with wife Katie Holmes ('Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark') when they were doing Melbourne last year.
Security is about as tight as you can get as the main reason for the secrecy surrounding the trip. Victorian Police confirmed there was "no credible security threat to Ms Winfrey" while she is in Australia, but Media Man has heard of at least one "threat", but we don't think the communication was especially credible.
Numerous sources and insiders said Harpo Productions, 'O's company, was controlling every aspect.
"It's a secret because Oprah loves surprises. It's the premise of the show," a source said.
We've also learned its about not having the the TV shows content leaked.
Australian taxpayers are understood to have contributed $4 million big ones to the trip, including at least $500,000 from the Victorian Government. Sydney's been pulling its weight also, but the details are not known. They must be secret!
A spokesman for the Federal Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson advised the Government had not signed a confidentiality agreement, but it was not at liberty to provide details about the tour because "they are here to make a show for Oprah, not for Australia".
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Wrap Up...
Readers... er, punters, how did you like our special report on Oprah in Australia? Tell us in the forum.
If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming and offer media, entertainment industry and political commentary and analysis. They also publish Australian Sports Entertainment http://www.australiansportsentertainment.com and Hollywood Slot Games
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Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Casino And Pokie Palace Attacks Continue Down Under, by Greg Tingle - 7th December 2010
Season's Beatings punters, journalists, crime fighters... one and all. The Australian gambling crime crime wave continues. Traditionally it was casinos and bookies getting "knocked over", but now many a crime happens in the form on an attack outside a casino, pub or club, and violent hotel robberies are also on the rise. "White collar" type casino and gambling crime is also on the raise with fraud, working the books and so on, and fake casino chips are also starting to show up on the scene again. Media Man and Gambling911 with the hard hitting news from the land down under...
Brisbane, QLD - Treasury Casino Pest Attacks 72 Year Old Woman Gambler...
A nice old lady has been knocked to the ground in a violent bag snatching outside the Treasury Casino in Brisbane. Police said the 72-year-old had been approached several times inside the casino by a man who asked how much money she had won from the poker machines! When she walked out about 2.45am, he followed and knocked her to the ground before taking off with her handbag. She was taken to the well equipped Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital just as a precaution but is not believed to be seriously hurt. Detectives from the City Criminal Investigation Branch will examine CCTV footage from the casino in the hope of identifying the offender. It is unknown how much money the woman lost in the attack, but its believed to be more than just a couple of dollars.
Brisbane, QLD: Treasury Casino Pest Returns To Scene Of Crime; Gambles, Loses; Nabbed By Police And Charged By Strong Arm Of The Law...
A mongrel bag snatcher who targeted a friendly 72-year-old woman outside the Treasury Casino Wednesday morning has been nabbed and arrested after he returned to the venue Wednesday night. Police said security guards at the casino recognised the man from CCTV footage when he turned up to gamble at about 10.30pm. He was taken into custody by Brisbane City detectives and charged with robbery offences. He is alleged to have followed the elderly woman out of the casino just after 2.30am Wednesday after repeatedly asking her how much she had won on the poker machines. Once outside, the woman was knocked to the ground and her bag stolen. She was taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital as a precaution but was not seriously hurt, thank God. We wish her well, and can't help wondering if you've heard about having a punt online.
South Australia: Hotels Encouraged To Man Up Security...
SA Police are urging hotels to beef up security to combat a spike in armed robberies, including an attack on a Darlington hotel. A 23-year-old mongrel, of no fixed address, allegedly robbed the Flagstaff Hotel at Darlington armed with a knife on Sunday, 14th November, at 4am. Hotelier Peter Hurley, who owns the Marion and Tonsley hotels, was very concerned about the rise of armed robberies in the past 5 months. "It’s the trauma it causes for the staff. It can be a very traumatic event when threatened in that way, and it’s got the potential for staff to become spooked. We haven’t had an armed holdup for quite some time but we’re always fearful of it." He said security at his venues had been beefed up. Closed circuit TV had been set up in bars and pokies rooms, and managers had reduced the amount of cash held on site. Detective Superintendent Tony Rankine said armed bandits had hit 25 licensed premises across Adelaide in the past five months, compared with 26 robberies for the previous financial year! He said hotels were increasingly being hit as they were seen to be "softer targets" than banks. "We’re working with (the) industry to have them take measures that harden their premises and make them less vulnerable," he said. He said hotels should examine their cash handling procedures, install time delay locks and widen CCTV coverage. "Everyone has a responsibility ... and should take appropriate and suitable measures to make themselves less attractive or vulnerable to these sorts of crimes." Sturt Superintendent Tom Rieniets said about 40 local hotels last month attended safety sessions run by Sturt Police. He said future safety sessions had not been planned but police crime prevention and victim support services were always available to hotel owners, staff and patrons.
Melbourne: Armed Robbery At Hotel - Taylors Lakes...
Police are investigating an armed robbery at the Taylors Lakes Hotel on Melton Highway, Taylors Lakes. Three men entered the hotel about 1.30am this morning, one armed with a knife the other two with firearms and ordered around 20 patrons to the ground in the gaming room. The bandits gained access to the cash office, fleeing with a quantity of cash. There were no shots fired and no injuries during the robbery. The three male offenders are described as being between the ages of 20 to 30-years-old, wearing dark clothing and balaclavas. Police are continuing to speak to witnesses at the Hotel. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or the website at www.crimestoppers.com.au Public thank you to Belinda Batty,
Police Media Officer: VP7487 /2010
Tabcorp Casino Chips Seized In Drug Investigation...
Counterfeit casino chips are still extremely popular with crims down under, and northern Australia cities appear to have developed networks thick into the action. Roughly 60 thousand dollars worth of cash and casino chips have been seized by law enforcement in a large Sunshine Coast drug trafficking investigation. Coppers have arrested at least 10 people on as many as 30 charges in the joint Criminal Investigation Branch and Tactical Crime Squad operation. There has been $26,000 in cash and $36,000 in casino chips seized from a Warana premises. The casino chips range in value from $100 to $1000 and belong to Tabcorp's Conrad Jupiters and Star City casinos. Yesterday police and the "dog squad" raided a Kunda Park wheel and tyre business this morning over allegations of drug trafficking. A man in his 30s was assisting police with their search at the business. Detectives and the dog squad were at the scene which is the centre of a lengthy drug trafficking and supply investigation. A residence in Buderim was also searched. Neighbouring businesses shared differing opinions about the Kunda Park raid, but all described the man at the centre of the raid as a "very likable person."
Northern Queensland Pokie Bandit Fights By Police Dog, Dog - 1; Bandit - Nil...
An alleged bandit was tasered and two others fled from police after they were caught trying to crack open poker machines at a tavern in Queensland's southeast. The three men, armed with heavy tools, broke into the Highfields Tavern, in Toowoomba's north, just after midnight on Monday, police said. They gained entry to the tavern's gaming room and began to hack into poker machines, Sergeant Jamie Deacon told the press. "They damaged six poker machines with a sledge hammer and/or crowbar," he said. "They removed cash boxes from each machine." The gang set off the alarm during the raid and police, including the dog squad, arrived a short time later. Two of the men fled. The third, armed with a screwdriver, approached a police dog and his handler in a threatening manner. When the man failed to follow police instructions the dog was released, police said in a statement. The man suffered minor injuries to his right thigh. Police will allege the man continued to struggle with the dog and in fear of the dog's safety his handler fired a taser at the man. The man dropped the weapon and grabbed at the snout of the dog before being taken into custody. The 33-year-old, from the nearby town of Drayton, was arrested and charged with possession of implements, assaulting police, and break-and-enter. He is due to appear in the Toowoomba Magistrate's Court on Monday. Police investigations are continuing and officers are examining possible links to other offences in the area. "He's a well-known Toowoomba person," Sgt Deacon said. The other two men remain on the run. Crime does not pay.
How did you find the crime themed report today? Maybe you're looking forward to Network Nine's return of 'Underbelly' early into the new year? Season's Beatings - just kidding. Offer your opinion in the Gambling911 forum.
If you have a bet, bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a Special Contributor to the Gambling911.com website and proprietor of Media Man International
*Media Man is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company.
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Brisbane, QLD - Treasury Casino Pest Attacks 72 Year Old Woman Gambler...
A nice old lady has been knocked to the ground in a violent bag snatching outside the Treasury Casino in Brisbane. Police said the 72-year-old had been approached several times inside the casino by a man who asked how much money she had won from the poker machines! When she walked out about 2.45am, he followed and knocked her to the ground before taking off with her handbag. She was taken to the well equipped Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital just as a precaution but is not believed to be seriously hurt. Detectives from the City Criminal Investigation Branch will examine CCTV footage from the casino in the hope of identifying the offender. It is unknown how much money the woman lost in the attack, but its believed to be more than just a couple of dollars.
Brisbane, QLD: Treasury Casino Pest Returns To Scene Of Crime; Gambles, Loses; Nabbed By Police And Charged By Strong Arm Of The Law...
A mongrel bag snatcher who targeted a friendly 72-year-old woman outside the Treasury Casino Wednesday morning has been nabbed and arrested after he returned to the venue Wednesday night. Police said security guards at the casino recognised the man from CCTV footage when he turned up to gamble at about 10.30pm. He was taken into custody by Brisbane City detectives and charged with robbery offences. He is alleged to have followed the elderly woman out of the casino just after 2.30am Wednesday after repeatedly asking her how much she had won on the poker machines. Once outside, the woman was knocked to the ground and her bag stolen. She was taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital as a precaution but was not seriously hurt, thank God. We wish her well, and can't help wondering if you've heard about having a punt online.
South Australia: Hotels Encouraged To Man Up Security...
SA Police are urging hotels to beef up security to combat a spike in armed robberies, including an attack on a Darlington hotel. A 23-year-old mongrel, of no fixed address, allegedly robbed the Flagstaff Hotel at Darlington armed with a knife on Sunday, 14th November, at 4am. Hotelier Peter Hurley, who owns the Marion and Tonsley hotels, was very concerned about the rise of armed robberies in the past 5 months. "It’s the trauma it causes for the staff. It can be a very traumatic event when threatened in that way, and it’s got the potential for staff to become spooked. We haven’t had an armed holdup for quite some time but we’re always fearful of it." He said security at his venues had been beefed up. Closed circuit TV had been set up in bars and pokies rooms, and managers had reduced the amount of cash held on site. Detective Superintendent Tony Rankine said armed bandits had hit 25 licensed premises across Adelaide in the past five months, compared with 26 robberies for the previous financial year! He said hotels were increasingly being hit as they were seen to be "softer targets" than banks. "We’re working with (the) industry to have them take measures that harden their premises and make them less vulnerable," he said. He said hotels should examine their cash handling procedures, install time delay locks and widen CCTV coverage. "Everyone has a responsibility ... and should take appropriate and suitable measures to make themselves less attractive or vulnerable to these sorts of crimes." Sturt Superintendent Tom Rieniets said about 40 local hotels last month attended safety sessions run by Sturt Police. He said future safety sessions had not been planned but police crime prevention and victim support services were always available to hotel owners, staff and patrons.
Melbourne: Armed Robbery At Hotel - Taylors Lakes...
Police are investigating an armed robbery at the Taylors Lakes Hotel on Melton Highway, Taylors Lakes. Three men entered the hotel about 1.30am this morning, one armed with a knife the other two with firearms and ordered around 20 patrons to the ground in the gaming room. The bandits gained access to the cash office, fleeing with a quantity of cash. There were no shots fired and no injuries during the robbery. The three male offenders are described as being between the ages of 20 to 30-years-old, wearing dark clothing and balaclavas. Police are continuing to speak to witnesses at the Hotel. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or the website at www.crimestoppers.com.au Public thank you to Belinda Batty,
Police Media Officer: VP7487 /2010
Tabcorp Casino Chips Seized In Drug Investigation...
Counterfeit casino chips are still extremely popular with crims down under, and northern Australia cities appear to have developed networks thick into the action. Roughly 60 thousand dollars worth of cash and casino chips have been seized by law enforcement in a large Sunshine Coast drug trafficking investigation. Coppers have arrested at least 10 people on as many as 30 charges in the joint Criminal Investigation Branch and Tactical Crime Squad operation. There has been $26,000 in cash and $36,000 in casino chips seized from a Warana premises. The casino chips range in value from $100 to $1000 and belong to Tabcorp's Conrad Jupiters and Star City casinos. Yesterday police and the "dog squad" raided a Kunda Park wheel and tyre business this morning over allegations of drug trafficking. A man in his 30s was assisting police with their search at the business. Detectives and the dog squad were at the scene which is the centre of a lengthy drug trafficking and supply investigation. A residence in Buderim was also searched. Neighbouring businesses shared differing opinions about the Kunda Park raid, but all described the man at the centre of the raid as a "very likable person."
Northern Queensland Pokie Bandit Fights By Police Dog, Dog - 1; Bandit - Nil...
An alleged bandit was tasered and two others fled from police after they were caught trying to crack open poker machines at a tavern in Queensland's southeast. The three men, armed with heavy tools, broke into the Highfields Tavern, in Toowoomba's north, just after midnight on Monday, police said. They gained entry to the tavern's gaming room and began to hack into poker machines, Sergeant Jamie Deacon told the press. "They damaged six poker machines with a sledge hammer and/or crowbar," he said. "They removed cash boxes from each machine." The gang set off the alarm during the raid and police, including the dog squad, arrived a short time later. Two of the men fled. The third, armed with a screwdriver, approached a police dog and his handler in a threatening manner. When the man failed to follow police instructions the dog was released, police said in a statement. The man suffered minor injuries to his right thigh. Police will allege the man continued to struggle with the dog and in fear of the dog's safety his handler fired a taser at the man. The man dropped the weapon and grabbed at the snout of the dog before being taken into custody. The 33-year-old, from the nearby town of Drayton, was arrested and charged with possession of implements, assaulting police, and break-and-enter. He is due to appear in the Toowoomba Magistrate's Court on Monday. Police investigations are continuing and officers are examining possible links to other offences in the area. "He's a well-known Toowoomba person," Sgt Deacon said. The other two men remain on the run. Crime does not pay.
How did you find the crime themed report today? Maybe you're looking forward to Network Nine's return of 'Underbelly' early into the new year? Season's Beatings - just kidding. Offer your opinion in the Gambling911 forum.
If you have a bet, bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a Special Contributor to the Gambling911.com website and proprietor of Media Man International
*Media Man is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company.
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Monday, December 06, 2010
Kerry Packer Aussie Legend Lives On Via Art And TV, by Greg Tingle - 5th November 2010
Property News Media
G'day punters, casino and gambling millionaires and billionaires, media magnates, journalists, historians and art lovers. Art lovers?! Yes, today we bring you a special Kerry Packer special. The legend lives on, not only here, but now at an Australian artists exhibition, and of course 'Our James' (James Packer) continues to fly the flag and do the family legacy proud with his Crown Limited empire. Not only that, we also cover the pending return of KP to Australian television in an ABC mini series tipped to hit the jackpot, and Network Nine is bringing back 'Underbelly', complete with gambling themes. Media Man and Gambling911 present The Kerry Packer Special...
Kerry Packer & Friends...
Kerry Packer & Friends - NG Art Gallery - 7th Dec - 24th Dec 2010
3 Little Queen Street
Chippendale, NSW Sydney AUSTRALIA
Tuesday - Saturday 11.00am - 5.30pm
Ok punters, here's the rundown. The artist - storyteller is Gina Sinozich. She's an 80 year old, Croat, Sydney based artist who paints in order to help recycle memory. Sinozich's latest exhibition, Kerry Packer and Friends, is her first solo commercial effort in Sydney and is tells the story of the legendary Kerry Packer. She covers the unique personality and complexities of a legend who was known for his astronomical wealth, super whale gambling exploits, running his business with an iron fist, and colourful run ins with the Australian government, amongst other things.
Sinozich migrated down under to Australia is 1956 and began to paint at the age of 75, now having work in Australian and New Zealand corporate and public collections. Her show showcases Packer as 'one of us' rather than the untouchable media tycoon. Sinozich was inspired to tell the story on the premise that we often hear bad before good. This tribute to KP is generous and reveals alot of the most powerful men in the world, who in 2004, was estimated to have a net worth of AUD 6.5 billion. The work of Sinozich will be showcased at NG Art Gallery from the 7th-24th of December and is certain to excite audiences, punters, art lovers or both. A fews Aussie commentator think this blows away much of the art that American gambling tycoon Steve Wynn shows off. Maybe Wynn might like to make a purchase of some classic Packer creations.
Sinozich says Packer gave back to society in a meaningful way and the series was intended to stand as a testament for this man's intrinsic goodwill after his death in December 2005. She recites a story that fuelled her initial interest in Packer, "...one lady said that she was on George Street with two little kids behind her and she was running...running to go on the train, and he (Packer) stopped her and said, 'don't you have a car?' and he wrote a cheque for her and said here, 'buy yourself a car'." Sinozich also fondly recalls, "...when he was playing in casino in Perth he won so much money and the girl who was serving wine...he asked her, 'do you have a mortgage on the house?' she said 'yes', then he wrote a cheque for AUD 600,000."
The talented, even cunning, artist worked like a Trojan horse for a fortnight and managed to produce 26 paintings that deeply explore her subject's nature, removing much of the mystic of Packer as an uncompromising media mogul. All the characters in Sinozich's work have a yarn to tell, and most aspects of his life are covered... birth, death, and much of the in between. Make no mistake, the works are smart, and unique, and are tipped to become collectors items.
The work is relatively simple, but full of life, and has been described as "traditional representational painting", which one may argue is a dying art. We think KP would have liked the tribute, and we await word to see what living members of the Packer clan think of the works.
Kerry Packer Legend To Return To Australian TV In Cleo Mini Series...
Packer is to return to life on Aussie TV via new ABC drama Paper Giants: The Birth Of Cleo (not to be confused with the Cleopatra slot game).
Australian readers may recall the public backlash to the introduction of the super sexy womens’ title in 1972. There were Cleo lovers and haters, but we're still talking about it today, so it made an impact, which is better than many of today's rags.
Rob Carlton will play a young Packer opposite Asher Keddie as publishing pioneer, the sexy and smart Ita Buttrose.
Rumours of a sexual relationship between Packer and Ita around the time of Cleo magazine's start off, but this won't be a focus on the mini-series, due to air next year.
Buttrose, who first made her mark as the magazine's editor, was a consultant on the production.
"If there was a supposed affair it didn't happen in this timeframe. I have no idea if there was, we didn't raise it with her," Edwards said.
There ABC publicity brief has whet our appetite for lots of Packer classic stuff and enough scandal to keep us coming back for more.
"It's 1972. Skirts are up, pants are down. Girls can have anything: Fabulous careers, fashionable clothes and oral sex," spruiks the promo.
The drama cleverly follows the death of Sir Frank Packer and the rise of his second son, who defies even family expectation to succeed, in a way no one could have expected.
"It was a real turning point in Kerry's career. It was a period when he made his first big move and it was an astonishing success and one against the odds in some respects," Edwards said.
Cleo magazine itself was a fine, yet controversial work, and introduced the nude male centrefold and sexual hits, tips, tricks and more for women. Media Man friend, actor Jack Thompson, is tipped to have his racy centrefold recreated. Something about a 6th finger, down there.
ABC TV by all accounts have taken a calculated risk on the series. Most quarters of society, both insiders and outsiders we've chatted with believe the gamble will pay off with a tidy jackpot, and whispers already circulate as to how many awards the show and actors will pick up.
Nine's David Gyngell Respects Packer History; PBL Becomes Nine Entertainment Co...
KP put Publishing & Broadcasting Media on the map and grew it to become arguably the biggest media brands in Australia.
PBL - the name, is now history, since Bondi Beach based chief executive, David Gyngell, rebranded it with Nine Entertainment Co.
Gyngell, who announced the rebranding at Nine's 2011 program launch in Sydney on Friday, advised the new name would be more recognisable to the public and large and went on to emphasise Nine's broad range of businesses, which sport Nine, ACP Magazines, Ticketek and NineMSN.
The recognition factor is important since the firm is likely to be floated on the Australian Stock Exchange by its private equity owners, CVC Asia Pacific, in the first half of next year.
It's understood that a strong level of support from a host of retail investors will be key to the $5 billion-plus float's chances of a jackpot.
Gyngell wisely acknowledged it was not an easy decision given he is the late Kerry Packer's godson and great mate of James Packer. History buffs, just in case you wondered, PBL was formed way back in 1994 when KP merged Nine with ACP (Australian Consolidated Press).
"PBL has a long association with the Packers so personally I don't take that lightly. But it's modernising a business that needs to be publicly known. We don't have the luxury of having James Packer or another mogul giving the company real gravitas."
Other media updates down under include Network Seven being backed by Kerry Stokes and Network Ten's board now has James Packer, News Corporation director Lachlan Murdoch, mining magnate Gina Rinehart and WIN TV owner Bruce Gordon.
"Nine is the biggest thing that we have and it is also the thing that supports all the other companies in the best possible way," Gyngell said. "It will be a new year. We are starting again."
Nine confirmed its crime drama Underbelly would come back with a series set in the roaring 20s in Sydney as well as 3 Underbelly movies! And, get this, a good spot of gambling will also be featured.
Media Man Profiles
Kerry Packer
James Packer
Ita Buttrose
David Gyngell
Cleo
Australia
Australia Casinos
Cricket
Movies
Crown Casino
Politics
Broadcasting
Television
Media Companies
Australian Sports
News
Casino News
Entertainment News
Media News
Technology News
Sports News
News
Wrap Up...
Readers... er, punters, how did you like The Kerry Packer Special? Tell us in the forum.
If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming and offer political commentary and analysis.
*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited
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G'day punters, casino and gambling millionaires and billionaires, media magnates, journalists, historians and art lovers. Art lovers?! Yes, today we bring you a special Kerry Packer special. The legend lives on, not only here, but now at an Australian artists exhibition, and of course 'Our James' (James Packer) continues to fly the flag and do the family legacy proud with his Crown Limited empire. Not only that, we also cover the pending return of KP to Australian television in an ABC mini series tipped to hit the jackpot, and Network Nine is bringing back 'Underbelly', complete with gambling themes. Media Man and Gambling911 present The Kerry Packer Special...
Kerry Packer & Friends...
Kerry Packer & Friends - NG Art Gallery - 7th Dec - 24th Dec 2010
3 Little Queen Street
Chippendale, NSW Sydney AUSTRALIA
Tuesday - Saturday 11.00am - 5.30pm
Ok punters, here's the rundown. The artist - storyteller is Gina Sinozich. She's an 80 year old, Croat, Sydney based artist who paints in order to help recycle memory. Sinozich's latest exhibition, Kerry Packer and Friends, is her first solo commercial effort in Sydney and is tells the story of the legendary Kerry Packer. She covers the unique personality and complexities of a legend who was known for his astronomical wealth, super whale gambling exploits, running his business with an iron fist, and colourful run ins with the Australian government, amongst other things.
Sinozich migrated down under to Australia is 1956 and began to paint at the age of 75, now having work in Australian and New Zealand corporate and public collections. Her show showcases Packer as 'one of us' rather than the untouchable media tycoon. Sinozich was inspired to tell the story on the premise that we often hear bad before good. This tribute to KP is generous and reveals alot of the most powerful men in the world, who in 2004, was estimated to have a net worth of AUD 6.5 billion. The work of Sinozich will be showcased at NG Art Gallery from the 7th-24th of December and is certain to excite audiences, punters, art lovers or both. A fews Aussie commentator think this blows away much of the art that American gambling tycoon Steve Wynn shows off. Maybe Wynn might like to make a purchase of some classic Packer creations.
Sinozich says Packer gave back to society in a meaningful way and the series was intended to stand as a testament for this man's intrinsic goodwill after his death in December 2005. She recites a story that fuelled her initial interest in Packer, "...one lady said that she was on George Street with two little kids behind her and she was running...running to go on the train, and he (Packer) stopped her and said, 'don't you have a car?' and he wrote a cheque for her and said here, 'buy yourself a car'." Sinozich also fondly recalls, "...when he was playing in casino in Perth he won so much money and the girl who was serving wine...he asked her, 'do you have a mortgage on the house?' she said 'yes', then he wrote a cheque for AUD 600,000."
The talented, even cunning, artist worked like a Trojan horse for a fortnight and managed to produce 26 paintings that deeply explore her subject's nature, removing much of the mystic of Packer as an uncompromising media mogul. All the characters in Sinozich's work have a yarn to tell, and most aspects of his life are covered... birth, death, and much of the in between. Make no mistake, the works are smart, and unique, and are tipped to become collectors items.
The work is relatively simple, but full of life, and has been described as "traditional representational painting", which one may argue is a dying art. We think KP would have liked the tribute, and we await word to see what living members of the Packer clan think of the works.
Kerry Packer Legend To Return To Australian TV In Cleo Mini Series...
Packer is to return to life on Aussie TV via new ABC drama Paper Giants: The Birth Of Cleo (not to be confused with the Cleopatra slot game).
Australian readers may recall the public backlash to the introduction of the super sexy womens’ title in 1972. There were Cleo lovers and haters, but we're still talking about it today, so it made an impact, which is better than many of today's rags.
Rob Carlton will play a young Packer opposite Asher Keddie as publishing pioneer, the sexy and smart Ita Buttrose.
Rumours of a sexual relationship between Packer and Ita around the time of Cleo magazine's start off, but this won't be a focus on the mini-series, due to air next year.
Buttrose, who first made her mark as the magazine's editor, was a consultant on the production.
"If there was a supposed affair it didn't happen in this timeframe. I have no idea if there was, we didn't raise it with her," Edwards said.
There ABC publicity brief has whet our appetite for lots of Packer classic stuff and enough scandal to keep us coming back for more.
"It's 1972. Skirts are up, pants are down. Girls can have anything: Fabulous careers, fashionable clothes and oral sex," spruiks the promo.
The drama cleverly follows the death of Sir Frank Packer and the rise of his second son, who defies even family expectation to succeed, in a way no one could have expected.
"It was a real turning point in Kerry's career. It was a period when he made his first big move and it was an astonishing success and one against the odds in some respects," Edwards said.
Cleo magazine itself was a fine, yet controversial work, and introduced the nude male centrefold and sexual hits, tips, tricks and more for women. Media Man friend, actor Jack Thompson, is tipped to have his racy centrefold recreated. Something about a 6th finger, down there.
ABC TV by all accounts have taken a calculated risk on the series. Most quarters of society, both insiders and outsiders we've chatted with believe the gamble will pay off with a tidy jackpot, and whispers already circulate as to how many awards the show and actors will pick up.
Nine's David Gyngell Respects Packer History; PBL Becomes Nine Entertainment Co...
KP put Publishing & Broadcasting Media on the map and grew it to become arguably the biggest media brands in Australia.
PBL - the name, is now history, since Bondi Beach based chief executive, David Gyngell, rebranded it with Nine Entertainment Co.
Gyngell, who announced the rebranding at Nine's 2011 program launch in Sydney on Friday, advised the new name would be more recognisable to the public and large and went on to emphasise Nine's broad range of businesses, which sport Nine, ACP Magazines, Ticketek and NineMSN.
The recognition factor is important since the firm is likely to be floated on the Australian Stock Exchange by its private equity owners, CVC Asia Pacific, in the first half of next year.
It's understood that a strong level of support from a host of retail investors will be key to the $5 billion-plus float's chances of a jackpot.
Gyngell wisely acknowledged it was not an easy decision given he is the late Kerry Packer's godson and great mate of James Packer. History buffs, just in case you wondered, PBL was formed way back in 1994 when KP merged Nine with ACP (Australian Consolidated Press).
"PBL has a long association with the Packers so personally I don't take that lightly. But it's modernising a business that needs to be publicly known. We don't have the luxury of having James Packer or another mogul giving the company real gravitas."
Other media updates down under include Network Seven being backed by Kerry Stokes and Network Ten's board now has James Packer, News Corporation director Lachlan Murdoch, mining magnate Gina Rinehart and WIN TV owner Bruce Gordon.
"Nine is the biggest thing that we have and it is also the thing that supports all the other companies in the best possible way," Gyngell said. "It will be a new year. We are starting again."
Nine confirmed its crime drama Underbelly would come back with a series set in the roaring 20s in Sydney as well as 3 Underbelly movies! And, get this, a good spot of gambling will also be featured.
Media Man Profiles
Kerry Packer
James Packer
Ita Buttrose
David Gyngell
Cleo
Australia
Australia Casinos
Cricket
Movies
Crown Casino
Politics
Broadcasting
Television
Media Companies
Australian Sports
News
Casino News
Entertainment News
Media News
Technology News
Sports News
News
Wrap Up...
Readers... er, punters, how did you like The Kerry Packer Special? Tell us in the forum.
If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming and offer political commentary and analysis.
*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited
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Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Crown Limited AGM: Rev Up 6%, Hit By Singapore, by Greg Tingle - 30th November 2010
G'day punters, casino and gambling millionaires and billionaires, poker nuts, politicians, super whales, journalists, ... one and all. Today we have the run down from Crown Limited's annual general meeting that took place in Perth, West Australia. Media Man and Gambling911 report from beautiful Perth...
What a huge 24 hours its been for our friends at Crown Casino. Earlier today the Crown Limited AGM was held, Crown Casino remaining the Aussie crown in the jewel, and tonight Crown Casino hosts the Sports Performer Awards. Drinks have been flowing all around, and the pokies have been happily singing along. Cleopatra and Queen Of The Nile never sounded so good, and Shane Warne's positive impact and buzz has been bouncing off the walls and is on the tip of everyone tongue.
Crown powers that be tell us revenue from its Australian casino and hotel operations since the commencement of the financial year are up on the same period in 2009, so that's the good news. We'll give you the bad new later.
The combined gaming revenue from Crown Casino in Melbourne and and Burswood Entertainment Complex in Perth between July 1 and November 24 was up roughly 6%, chief executive Rowen Craigie told the gathering.
Craigie was speaking at the group's annual general meeting in Perth, Western Australia, earlier.
Non-gaming revenue in the same period was up by roughly 5% on the same period last year, not including the impact of the newly opened Crown Metropol hotel, pretty much next door to Crown Casino.
Including the Metropol, non-gaming revenue was up a modest 13% on the previous corresponding period, Craigie advised.
The Singapore Effect...
Ok, so overall Crown Limited is still one of the strongest gaming and gambling companies on the planet.
Crown has spent more than $1 billion over the past 4 years, and is to spend another $800 million to update and expand its facilities over the next few years.
Competitors, Tabcorp, is in the midst of its own redevelopment of Star City which, with the cost of the extra licence payment to the New South Wales government to make way for the work, represents about $1 billion of capital expenditures. That redevelopment is understood to be a key factor in the proposed de-merger of Tabcorp’s casino and other gambling interests. Getting ready for Packer in a few years maybe?
A key factor for both firms investing so much in their casinos was a goal to protect and expand their VIP customer bases, while they face stiff competition from the new casinos in Macau and, more recently, the 2 new "complexes"...Crown refers to them as "integrated resorts"...in Singapore. Star has wrestled to attract a reasonable share of VIP revenues, but maybe the tide will soon turn.
Crown had been pretty cool, no fussed about the 2 new Singapore resorts, based on its experience of the opening of the Macau casino resorts. Despite compound annual growth of 34.7% in Macau’s gaming revenues since the last quarter of 2005, Crown and Burswood have been pretty much unaffected, but who really knows what is around the corner.
It had initially appeared that the explosion of gambling capacity in Macau...there has been more than $17 billion spent on building the Macau complexes – was actually benefiting Crown by significantly expanding the pool of VIPs in the region. Crown was optimistic the opening of the Singapore resorts earlier this year would have a similar impact, but the jury is out for the moment.
It could well be too early for that sort of effect to show up...the Singapore casinos, which opened in January and April, would still be fresh an in their honeymoon period, like a new bride.
Packer and Craigie are understood to be concerned that those complexes are hurting Crown’s VIP visits and volumes.
Packer made noise of the government support the Macau and Singapore complexes receive, both the supporting infrastructure and promotional activities, because of their perceived capacity to help stimulate tourism. Tourism growth in Singapore is up 22% this year and Singapore has set a target of increasing tourism numbers from a modest 9 million visitors to 17 million by 2015, Crown says. Some segments of the Australian news media were keen to dismiss the tourism aspect of land based casinos, but now most newsrooms have come to their senses, despite the still odd media "beat up" on casinos, gambling and all that.
Crown is calling on the federal and state governments, the tourism industry and Asian-focused tourism operators to work more closely to lift Australia’s stagnating tourist numbers.
Despite Crown’s claimed status as the largest non-airline tourism operator, it is unlikely at this stage of the game it will get any direct government assistance in the current political climate, particularly given the anti-gambling stance taken by at least two of the independents in Canberra.
The strong Aussie dollar, the depressed state of the local industry and the increased regional competition for high net worth tourists, however, means there out to be an increased focus and spending on tourism generally.
Regaining its share of the international VIP market is critical to Crown Limited. So is increasing its 16% share of VIP revenues is crucial to Tabcorp’s casino strategy and massive investment. Crown estimates more than 35% of its revenue...more than $850 million a year...comes from international visitors. Don't even get us started on "funny money"... you know, the allegations of money laundering and "cleaning" of money via Crown (and pub) pokies.
Bad News...
Ok, the bad news. He said turnover from VIP high roller punters aka "whales" at the Melbourne and Burswood casinos in the first 21 weeks of the financial year was down 10% on the same period last year, which is enough to raise some concern, especially when one joins the dots and analyses the likely cause, and its not just the global financial crisis, or crunch, if your prefer.
"We are continuing to see an impact from the opening of the two new integrated resorts in Singapore and are yet to capitalise on the opportunity to capture the new business that Singapore potentially offers," Craigie said reading off his notes.
Good News...
The Metropol Hotel, which opened last April, was achieving better than expected occupancy rates and room rates were "firming'', he disclosed.
Melco Crown Entertainment, Crown holding a 33.5% stake, has disclosed a "broad-based improvement" in the performance of its champion resort City of Dreams, Macau, the meeting was made aware.
In some much needed good news, Melco reported improved revenue and earnings in the 3 months to September 30 compared with the same period last year, Craigie said.
Crown Limited shares finished off down 3 cents at $8.21.
Awards...
It's been a big month for casino awards.
PartyGaming's PartyCasino has also come back with seconds, picking up another Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month Award' for November, and also the parent company, PartyGaming, picked up the prestigious EGR Slots Operator Of The Year Award ...Some other top picks of ours who picked up awards at the EGR night of nights were:
Virgin Games (Affiliate Programme)
Betfair (Innovation, Mobile Operator and UK Sports Betting Operator)
Bwin (European Sports Betting Operator
PKR (Poker Operator)
Australian Land Based Casino Of The Month: Crown Casino, Runner Up: Star City
Oh, we almost forgot...Media Man and Casino News Media 'Casino Babe Of The Month': Jenny Woo, 'Poker Babe': Kara Scott, 'Gambling Babe Personality': Pamela Anderson.
Media Man Profiles
Australia
Australia Casinos
Cricket
Movies
Crown Casino
Politics
Broadcasting
Television
Media Companies
Australian Sports
News
Casino News
Entertainment News
Media News
Technology News
Sports News
News
Wrap Up...
Readers... er, punters, how did you like our report? Tell us in the forum.
If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming and offer political commentary and analysis.
*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited
Website Network
Media Man International
Media Man
Media Man Australia
Media Man Asia
Media Man Canada
Media Man Games
Media Man Brand
Media Man Network
Casino News Media
Poker News Media
Global Gaming Directory
What a huge 24 hours its been for our friends at Crown Casino. Earlier today the Crown Limited AGM was held, Crown Casino remaining the Aussie crown in the jewel, and tonight Crown Casino hosts the Sports Performer Awards. Drinks have been flowing all around, and the pokies have been happily singing along. Cleopatra and Queen Of The Nile never sounded so good, and Shane Warne's positive impact and buzz has been bouncing off the walls and is on the tip of everyone tongue.
Crown powers that be tell us revenue from its Australian casino and hotel operations since the commencement of the financial year are up on the same period in 2009, so that's the good news. We'll give you the bad new later.
The combined gaming revenue from Crown Casino in Melbourne and and Burswood Entertainment Complex in Perth between July 1 and November 24 was up roughly 6%, chief executive Rowen Craigie told the gathering.
Craigie was speaking at the group's annual general meeting in Perth, Western Australia, earlier.
Non-gaming revenue in the same period was up by roughly 5% on the same period last year, not including the impact of the newly opened Crown Metropol hotel, pretty much next door to Crown Casino.
Including the Metropol, non-gaming revenue was up a modest 13% on the previous corresponding period, Craigie advised.
The Singapore Effect...
Ok, so overall Crown Limited is still one of the strongest gaming and gambling companies on the planet.
Crown has spent more than $1 billion over the past 4 years, and is to spend another $800 million to update and expand its facilities over the next few years.
Competitors, Tabcorp, is in the midst of its own redevelopment of Star City which, with the cost of the extra licence payment to the New South Wales government to make way for the work, represents about $1 billion of capital expenditures. That redevelopment is understood to be a key factor in the proposed de-merger of Tabcorp’s casino and other gambling interests. Getting ready for Packer in a few years maybe?
A key factor for both firms investing so much in their casinos was a goal to protect and expand their VIP customer bases, while they face stiff competition from the new casinos in Macau and, more recently, the 2 new "complexes"...Crown refers to them as "integrated resorts"...in Singapore. Star has wrestled to attract a reasonable share of VIP revenues, but maybe the tide will soon turn.
Crown had been pretty cool, no fussed about the 2 new Singapore resorts, based on its experience of the opening of the Macau casino resorts. Despite compound annual growth of 34.7% in Macau’s gaming revenues since the last quarter of 2005, Crown and Burswood have been pretty much unaffected, but who really knows what is around the corner.
It had initially appeared that the explosion of gambling capacity in Macau...there has been more than $17 billion spent on building the Macau complexes – was actually benefiting Crown by significantly expanding the pool of VIPs in the region. Crown was optimistic the opening of the Singapore resorts earlier this year would have a similar impact, but the jury is out for the moment.
It could well be too early for that sort of effect to show up...the Singapore casinos, which opened in January and April, would still be fresh an in their honeymoon period, like a new bride.
Packer and Craigie are understood to be concerned that those complexes are hurting Crown’s VIP visits and volumes.
Packer made noise of the government support the Macau and Singapore complexes receive, both the supporting infrastructure and promotional activities, because of their perceived capacity to help stimulate tourism. Tourism growth in Singapore is up 22% this year and Singapore has set a target of increasing tourism numbers from a modest 9 million visitors to 17 million by 2015, Crown says. Some segments of the Australian news media were keen to dismiss the tourism aspect of land based casinos, but now most newsrooms have come to their senses, despite the still odd media "beat up" on casinos, gambling and all that.
Crown is calling on the federal and state governments, the tourism industry and Asian-focused tourism operators to work more closely to lift Australia’s stagnating tourist numbers.
Despite Crown’s claimed status as the largest non-airline tourism operator, it is unlikely at this stage of the game it will get any direct government assistance in the current political climate, particularly given the anti-gambling stance taken by at least two of the independents in Canberra.
The strong Aussie dollar, the depressed state of the local industry and the increased regional competition for high net worth tourists, however, means there out to be an increased focus and spending on tourism generally.
Regaining its share of the international VIP market is critical to Crown Limited. So is increasing its 16% share of VIP revenues is crucial to Tabcorp’s casino strategy and massive investment. Crown estimates more than 35% of its revenue...more than $850 million a year...comes from international visitors. Don't even get us started on "funny money"... you know, the allegations of money laundering and "cleaning" of money via Crown (and pub) pokies.
Bad News...
Ok, the bad news. He said turnover from VIP high roller punters aka "whales" at the Melbourne and Burswood casinos in the first 21 weeks of the financial year was down 10% on the same period last year, which is enough to raise some concern, especially when one joins the dots and analyses the likely cause, and its not just the global financial crisis, or crunch, if your prefer.
"We are continuing to see an impact from the opening of the two new integrated resorts in Singapore and are yet to capitalise on the opportunity to capture the new business that Singapore potentially offers," Craigie said reading off his notes.
Good News...
The Metropol Hotel, which opened last April, was achieving better than expected occupancy rates and room rates were "firming'', he disclosed.
Melco Crown Entertainment, Crown holding a 33.5% stake, has disclosed a "broad-based improvement" in the performance of its champion resort City of Dreams, Macau, the meeting was made aware.
In some much needed good news, Melco reported improved revenue and earnings in the 3 months to September 30 compared with the same period last year, Craigie said.
Crown Limited shares finished off down 3 cents at $8.21.
Awards...
It's been a big month for casino awards.
PartyGaming's PartyCasino has also come back with seconds, picking up another Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month Award' for November, and also the parent company, PartyGaming, picked up the prestigious EGR Slots Operator Of The Year Award ...Some other top picks of ours who picked up awards at the EGR night of nights were:
Virgin Games (Affiliate Programme)
Betfair (Innovation, Mobile Operator and UK Sports Betting Operator)
Bwin (European Sports Betting Operator
PKR (Poker Operator)
Australian Land Based Casino Of The Month: Crown Casino, Runner Up: Star City
Oh, we almost forgot...Media Man and Casino News Media 'Casino Babe Of The Month': Jenny Woo, 'Poker Babe': Kara Scott, 'Gambling Babe Personality': Pamela Anderson.
Media Man Profiles
Australia
Australia Casinos
Cricket
Movies
Crown Casino
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News
Wrap Up...
Readers... er, punters, how did you like our report? Tell us in the forum.
If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming and offer political commentary and analysis.
*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited
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Crown Casino: Sports Performer Awards, by Greg Tingle - 30th November 2010
G'day punters, sports nuts, casino and gambling millionaires and billionaires, poker nuts, politicians, super whales, journalists, ... one and all. Today we dish up sporting feast as Melbourne's Crown Casino plays hosts the annual Sports Performer Awards. Media Man and Gambling911 hunt down the hottest sports stories in the world just for you...
Tonight's the night, at Crown Casino, if your into sports that is, and we don't mean poker.
Very cleverly James Packer owned Crown Casino continues to put on a bush tucker bag of activities, events et al... some gambling related, some not. It's all part of his 'World Of Entertainment' which JP has been selling for a few years now.
Regular G911 and Media Man readers will recall other events that are hosted by Crown included Warnie tapings, 'The Logies', Brownlow Medal awards, and the upcoming 'This Is Your Life'.
Well, tonight (Tuesday) Crown does elite sports.
Let's see... we've got Alicia Coutts (swimmer) and Mark 'No Bull' Webber (F1 ace) in the mix of a world class line up of elite sports men and women.
The winner of the super cool sports performer of the year will get a handy $50,000 payday and a Raymond Weil timepiece valued at $3900. The watch might end up on eBay, but that's another story punters.
The top individual award line up is: Webber, Huegill (swimming), Coutts, Mitchell, Torah Bright (snowboarding), Todd Carney (NRL), Stephanie Gilmore (surfing), Lydia Lassila (aerial skiing), Chris McCormack (ironman), Neil Robertson (snooker), Dane Swan (AFL) and Steve Hooker (athletics).
Who will be Australia's top athlete? We've got Cadel Evans, Matthew Mitcham and Craig Alexander.
F1 legend Webber is a fav of ours and finished third in this year's F1 championship. Webber's performance is amazing when you consider the Red Bull team appeared to treat him as their #2 driver for the season, and you can look up the history on this website.
Collingwood midfielder Swan was a awesome performer all year and significantly assisted the Magpies end a 20-year premiership hiatus.
Snooker ace Robertson grabbed the world championship before going on to top the rankings and win the World Open. Readers will recall some of the history when the favorite got stuck in a sports betting scandal, but enough of that for now.
Aerial skier and Vancouver Olympic gold medallist Lassila went on record that she was was "surprised" and "very grateful to be nominated". Lassila won this year's The Don Award at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame induction ceremony, so she's on a roll.
The nominees for the team performance of the year are the Matildas (soccer), Kookaburras (hockey), St George Illawarra (NRL), Collingwood (AFL), Queensland State of Origin (NRL) and Team Vodafone (V8 Supercars).
How about coach of the year? Ok, we've got Ric Charlesworth (hockey), Gai Waterhouse (horse racing) and Mick Malthouse (AFL) in the field of contenders.
Young performer of the year? Try on for size Melissa Wu (diving) and Jessica Watson (sailing), and swimmer Matthew Cowdrey for the sports performer of the year (with a disability).
Crown Casino Mate To Call And World Class Cricket (And Business) Spinner...
Shane Warne TV News...
Warnie sweetly beat Channel Ten shows The Good Wife and House. Australian TV critics expressed some optimism after viewing the first Warnie. Herald Sun's TV writer Colin Vickery went with the show "a solid first innings". "Warne doesn't have the skills of the famed British interviewer (Michael Parkinson) but the former Aussie spin king has a knockabout charm that brought out the best in his guests," Vickery said. Veteran interviewer and radio host Derryn Hinch told the newspaper he was pleasantly surprised after initially fearing the show "had bogan written all over it". "Take it for what it is, it's entertainment and I think Shane Warne has, what I've seen at this stage, done a pretty good job," Derryn 'The Human Headline' Hinch said. "It's just straight up and down, it's folksy and chatty, it's light and entertaining and it will go quite well." Professional blogger Karl Quinn, from The National Times, a Fairfax Media publication scribed the program as "neither a disaster nor a world-changing event". "It was exactly what you might expect from Shane Warne: affable, blokey, and not to be taken too seriously," Quinn said. Other celebrities to feature on the show include Sting, Pink, Chris Martin and Daniel Radcliffe. Quotes From Warnie And Guests...Warne: "Did you ever think, 'I wish I could be a plumber for a day, or drive a truck and deliver beds or deliver pizzas?'" Packer: "To be honest, not a lot. I sometimes wished I was you, but if I can't be you I'm happy being me." Sam Kekovich: "A life spent making mistakes is more honourable and more useful than a life spent doing nothing," he said. Claiming he was quoting George Bernard Shaw, but everyone knew who he was really talking about. Our rating: 9.5 out of 10. Yep, Warnie hit em for 6, with Packer chipping in being a good sport, making sure it would be a success. Not quite a Packer whacker, but not a puff piece either. Warnie could well be heading for a jackpot next week. Don't change your dial, and always remember to spin to win.
Awards...
It's been a big month for casino awards.
PartyGaming's PartyCasino has also come back with seconds, picking up another Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month Award' for November, and also the parent company, PartyGaming, picked up the prestigious EGR Slots Operator Of The Year Award ...Some other top picks of ours who picked up awards at the EGR night of nights were:
Virgin Games (Affiliate Programme)
Betfair (Innovation, Mobile Operator and UK Sports Betting Operator)
Bwin (European Sports Betting Operator
PKR (Poker Operator)
Oh, we almost forgot...Media Man and Casino News Media 'Casino Babe Of The Month': Jenny Woo, 'Poker Babe': Kara Scott, 'Gambling Babe Personality': Pamela Anderson.
Media Man Profiles
Australia
Australia Casinos
Cricket
Movies
Crown Casino
Politics
Broadcasting
Television
Media Companies
Australian Sports
News
Casino News
Entertainment News
Media News
Technology News
Sports News
News
Wrap Up...
Readers... er, punters, how did you like our report? Did you enjoy the Crown Casino sporting news? Tell us in the forum.
If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming and offer political commentary and analysis. They also publish Australian Sports Entertainment http://www.australiansportsentertainment.com
Website Network
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Media Man Canada
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Casino News Media
Poker News Media
Global Gaming Directory
Tonight's the night, at Crown Casino, if your into sports that is, and we don't mean poker.
Very cleverly James Packer owned Crown Casino continues to put on a bush tucker bag of activities, events et al... some gambling related, some not. It's all part of his 'World Of Entertainment' which JP has been selling for a few years now.
Regular G911 and Media Man readers will recall other events that are hosted by Crown included Warnie tapings, 'The Logies', Brownlow Medal awards, and the upcoming 'This Is Your Life'.
Well, tonight (Tuesday) Crown does elite sports.
Let's see... we've got Alicia Coutts (swimmer) and Mark 'No Bull' Webber (F1 ace) in the mix of a world class line up of elite sports men and women.
The winner of the super cool sports performer of the year will get a handy $50,000 payday and a Raymond Weil timepiece valued at $3900. The watch might end up on eBay, but that's another story punters.
The top individual award line up is: Webber, Huegill (swimming), Coutts, Mitchell, Torah Bright (snowboarding), Todd Carney (NRL), Stephanie Gilmore (surfing), Lydia Lassila (aerial skiing), Chris McCormack (ironman), Neil Robertson (snooker), Dane Swan (AFL) and Steve Hooker (athletics).
Who will be Australia's top athlete? We've got Cadel Evans, Matthew Mitcham and Craig Alexander.
F1 legend Webber is a fav of ours and finished third in this year's F1 championship. Webber's performance is amazing when you consider the Red Bull team appeared to treat him as their #2 driver for the season, and you can look up the history on this website.
Collingwood midfielder Swan was a awesome performer all year and significantly assisted the Magpies end a 20-year premiership hiatus.
Snooker ace Robertson grabbed the world championship before going on to top the rankings and win the World Open. Readers will recall some of the history when the favorite got stuck in a sports betting scandal, but enough of that for now.
Aerial skier and Vancouver Olympic gold medallist Lassila went on record that she was was "surprised" and "very grateful to be nominated". Lassila won this year's The Don Award at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame induction ceremony, so she's on a roll.
The nominees for the team performance of the year are the Matildas (soccer), Kookaburras (hockey), St George Illawarra (NRL), Collingwood (AFL), Queensland State of Origin (NRL) and Team Vodafone (V8 Supercars).
How about coach of the year? Ok, we've got Ric Charlesworth (hockey), Gai Waterhouse (horse racing) and Mick Malthouse (AFL) in the field of contenders.
Young performer of the year? Try on for size Melissa Wu (diving) and Jessica Watson (sailing), and swimmer Matthew Cowdrey for the sports performer of the year (with a disability).
Crown Casino Mate To Call And World Class Cricket (And Business) Spinner...
Shane Warne TV News...
Warnie sweetly beat Channel Ten shows The Good Wife and House. Australian TV critics expressed some optimism after viewing the first Warnie. Herald Sun's TV writer Colin Vickery went with the show "a solid first innings". "Warne doesn't have the skills of the famed British interviewer (Michael Parkinson) but the former Aussie spin king has a knockabout charm that brought out the best in his guests," Vickery said. Veteran interviewer and radio host Derryn Hinch told the newspaper he was pleasantly surprised after initially fearing the show "had bogan written all over it". "Take it for what it is, it's entertainment and I think Shane Warne has, what I've seen at this stage, done a pretty good job," Derryn 'The Human Headline' Hinch said. "It's just straight up and down, it's folksy and chatty, it's light and entertaining and it will go quite well." Professional blogger Karl Quinn, from The National Times, a Fairfax Media publication scribed the program as "neither a disaster nor a world-changing event". "It was exactly what you might expect from Shane Warne: affable, blokey, and not to be taken too seriously," Quinn said. Other celebrities to feature on the show include Sting, Pink, Chris Martin and Daniel Radcliffe. Quotes From Warnie And Guests...Warne: "Did you ever think, 'I wish I could be a plumber for a day, or drive a truck and deliver beds or deliver pizzas?'" Packer: "To be honest, not a lot. I sometimes wished I was you, but if I can't be you I'm happy being me." Sam Kekovich: "A life spent making mistakes is more honourable and more useful than a life spent doing nothing," he said. Claiming he was quoting George Bernard Shaw, but everyone knew who he was really talking about. Our rating: 9.5 out of 10. Yep, Warnie hit em for 6, with Packer chipping in being a good sport, making sure it would be a success. Not quite a Packer whacker, but not a puff piece either. Warnie could well be heading for a jackpot next week. Don't change your dial, and always remember to spin to win.
Awards...
It's been a big month for casino awards.
PartyGaming's PartyCasino has also come back with seconds, picking up another Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month Award' for November, and also the parent company, PartyGaming, picked up the prestigious EGR Slots Operator Of The Year Award ...Some other top picks of ours who picked up awards at the EGR night of nights were:
Virgin Games (Affiliate Programme)
Betfair (Innovation, Mobile Operator and UK Sports Betting Operator)
Bwin (European Sports Betting Operator
PKR (Poker Operator)
Oh, we almost forgot...Media Man and Casino News Media 'Casino Babe Of The Month': Jenny Woo, 'Poker Babe': Kara Scott, 'Gambling Babe Personality': Pamela Anderson.
Media Man Profiles
Australia
Australia Casinos
Cricket
Movies
Crown Casino
Politics
Broadcasting
Television
Media Companies
Australian Sports
News
Casino News
Entertainment News
Media News
Technology News
Sports News
News
Wrap Up...
Readers... er, punters, how did you like our report? Did you enjoy the Crown Casino sporting news? Tell us in the forum.
If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming and offer political commentary and analysis. They also publish Australian Sports Entertainment http://www.australiansportsentertainment.com
Website Network
Media Man International
Media Man
Media Man Australia
Media Man Asia
Media Man Canada
Media Man Games
Media Man Brand
Media Man Network
Casino News Media
Poker News Media
Global Gaming Directory
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