Getting Started
Online gaming is a growing pastime, so there are always those who are interesting in giving it a try but have no idea where to start. Sorting through the terminology and figuring out which games are the best fit for your purposes can be a daunting task, so here are some good places to begin.

Web and Text-based Games 101
Multiplayer Online Shooters 101
Online RPGs 101
Multiplayer Strategy and Sports Games 101
Online Gaming Etiquette
Glossary of Gaming Terms

Gaming Hardware
Once solely the domain of computers, consoles have joined the online game world in recent years. This has given online gamers a greater variety of hardware options, but the PC remains the dominant platform for online gaming, so this is the platform we concentrate on here. Console hardware is covered on our gaming sites.

Before You Buy a PC Video Card
Top PC Video Cards for Gaming
PC Game Accessories
PC vs. Console
Will Consoles Kill PC Gaming?
Using Voice Chat
Tweaking Ventrilo Volumes

Critics however say that it is impossible to control the internet and that the bill would still let some gambling go through such as “lotteries” and horse racing bets. As well as little bets such as who will win on Survivor, Amazing Race or which celebrity will die next (yes theiir is actually a few websites that do that).

This could go far to help with a lot of fraud that happens to people with stolen credit cards, but as we know when people want to do something they will find a way around it. For instance what’s to stop these gambling sites from creating their own Paypal like system that would let users put money on it from their credit cards or bank accounts and then use that to fund their gambling?

This is a much simpler process than the old-school method:

In the past, changing out a slot machine was a complicated operation and entailed opening it, replacing the computer chip inside, then changing the glass display that markets the game’s theme. The alteration usually took a day and could cost thousands of dollars, from ordering parts to modifying the machine.

Treasure Island casino in Las Vegas is testing this technology, which can adjust “the denominations required to play, payback percentages, even game themes” on the spot.

If the networking is ultimately approved by the state gambling regulators, TI will use it to cater machines to different crowds — “older players and regulars during the day and younger tourists and people with bigger budgets at night.”

Nearby Barbary Coast casino is also tinkering with the concept of networked slot machines:

There, near the front door, sits an enormous circular wheel of fortune slot machine with seats around it for nine players. In front of each player is a monitor on which they play an individualized version of the game. The twist is that a monitor in the center of the game, viewable by all, indicates which players have hit the bonus round.

At various points, those players who have hit the bonus round — meaning they are eligible to increase their winnings by a certain multiple — can cause the wheel of fortune in the center to spin; whatever number lands in front of each eligible player indicates the bonus amount.

So what other types of technology can we expect to see in casinos soon?

• Hi-def displays to enhance animations
• Better speakers for crisper sound
• Chips embedded with digital tags (to track wagers and playing styles)
• Wireless devices that allow people to play games (like Keno) while sitting in public areas (like the pool)

play online slots today and see what all the fuss is about!

What accounts for the spike? “The Government has helped to make gambling one of the country’s most lucrative businesses by relaxing the rules on betting and by promising to introduce more casinos.”

In 2001 the Government announced the biggest shake-up of gambling laws for more than 30 years, paving the way for Las Vegas-style casino resorts in holiday towns. Tight regulations imposed on gaming in the 1960s, prompted by concern about gangster involvement, were scrapped or significantly relaxed.

Researchers from Nottingham Trent University said the changes would “provide the Treasury with an estimated extra £3 billion a year in betting taxes,” and “economists have predicted that the growth in the number of casinos will provide more than 100,000 jobs.”

The UK currently has over 130 small casinos (such as Palm Beach Casino, Ritz Club, and several Stanley Casinos). It also has about 8,500 betting shops, for betting on horses, dogs, virtual roulette wheels and one-armed bandits.

As of right now, 27 groups are bidding for the right to open the UK’s first super-casino.

WASHINGTON – A U.S. House committee on Wednesday approved a bill aimed at stamping out the $12 billion Internet gambling industry by stopping businesses from accepting credit cards and other forms of payment.

The bill, cleared by voice vote in the House Financial Services Committee, would prohibit a gambling business from accepting credit cards, checks, wire transfers and electronic funds transfers in illegal gambling transactions.

Unlawful gambling, under the legislation, would include placing bets on online poker sites, for example, and any other online wager made or received in a place where such a bet is illegal under federal or state law.

By making it illegal to accept payments from people who live where federal or state law prohibits wagering, the legislation would impact offshore gambling Web sites used by many Americans to place bets.

The bill, which makes exceptions for wagering on horse races and fantasy sports, will now move to the House floor for consideration…

But it closed.

And the odd part is that there was absolutely no warning. In fact, they seemed to have hired new dealers the week before they shut down. It could be temporary, but I doubt it.

The larger question is – how would a casino fail? There are a few reasons:
1) They don’t get enough gamblers. Every time I went into this place it was PACKED but the problem is, so what? They only had 8 games total going. It used to be a chinese restaurant before it was a casino so you can imagine the cramped quarters.
2) The owners simply wanted to get out. That’s possible, and there could be further extenuating circmstances as this was not a tribal casino, it was owned by a foreign company.
3) Tax problems. The IRS can be a real bastard.

Most likely 3.

Now what I want to know is – what happens to old equipment? Chips, cards….signs….the felt, obviously, is custom to the place so it can’t easily be re-used. The kitchen/restaurant/bar equipment all will go to a used restaurant equipment dealer, but the gaming equipment? (This place did not have roulette or craps)

I would definitely like to know. The home poker room could use a little spiffing up.

According to the state of Connecticut, not only does it violate State law, but it violates the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

Foxwoods says they don’t believe any problems have been caused, as the bet is placed at Foxwoods and the users are allowed to check the results online. Since all gambling is actually done at Foxwoods, the Pequot Tribe argues, it isn’ t “Internet Gambling.”

The attorney general said he understood their argument, but since all marketing materials claim otherwise – and supposedly encourage minors gambling – that they site would be taken down.

The site is currently under review by the gambling commission, who had already approved the site, and is expected to be back online on August 2nd.

The tables from MindPlay/Bally’s track everything. EVERYTHING. ALL cards played, all wagers spent, in what denominations. EVERYTHING.

According to the casinos this is supposed to be a boon for players because now it’s efficient for them to trace comps on the lower ($5-$10/hand) players. Except it’s really just another way to screw the player in favor of the casino.

Can you imagine being able to track the cards – exactly – while also tracking each player’s bet strategy – exactly? This is just another gimmick that is sadly somehow catching on, because the casino VPs are calling the shots and not paying a damn bit of attention to the marketing people who are seeing the real blackjack players run away from these tables in droves.

Trust me. If you play the Mohegan Sun, stay away from these tables like the plague. No. Even worse. Stay away from them as if they pay 6-5 on blackjack.

These mindplay tables failed in the Las Vegas Hilton, despite the claims of Bally’s marketing staff.

Once RFID is instroduced into the cards, this will be the end of counting. As soon as the casino can determine when the deck becomes heavily stacked to the player, POOF, reshuffle.

Not as bad as the tables I saw in a casino in Longview, WA, which didn’t use cards but a video screen for each seat….but in any case. Play MindPLay tables at your own financial risk.