Category: Gambling and Casinos

Donald Trump
Successful businessmen rarely limit themselves only to one type of entrepreneurship. He is the CEO of Trump Organization, an American-based real estate developer in the premium real estate market and the founder of Trump Entertainment, which operates gambling casinos. Gambling industry often serves as a good support for main business. This is how the famous American billionaire and politician Donald Trump uses the gambling industry. Trump began his career at his father’s company, the Trump Organization, and initially concentrated on his father’s preferred field of middle class rental housing.

The range of Trump’s interests is very wide, first of all, it is real estate, mass media, restaurants. It is not surprising that such a multifaceted entrepreneur became also interested in gambling industry. Understanding that practically all niches in Las Vegas are occupied, Trump paid his attention to the developing Atlantic City. It is there that he founded three casinos. Now Trump owns “Trump Taj Mahal”, “Trump Plaza” and “Trump Marina” in Atlantic City. The fortune of Donald Trump is 2.6 billion dollars, he occupies the 278th position in “Forbes” world rating.

Calvin Ayre
Swift development of IT technologies influences practically all spheres of human activities. Gambling business is not an exception. Now one can play club poker, make bets on the results of sporting events via the internet without leaving home. The pioneer of online gambling was Calvin Ayre. Calvin was born in 1961 in Canada. In student years he worked up selling fruit. Having thus earned 10 thousand dollars, he organizes a company that specializes in IT technologies.

Perhaps, now he would also be engaged in developing, for instance, software, if once upon a time he came across an article that described business that accepted bets via telephone. After reading it Calvn decides to change the profile of his enterprise. In 1994 he creates “Bodog Entertainment Group”. Believing in the potential of the computer network Internet, he starts to develop his business specifically in this area. With the help of web portal bodog.com for the first time people were able to bet online, and then play in casino and club poker. In March 2006 Calvin’s photo appears on the cover of “Forbes”, he becomes the first online casino games businessman who made his way into this prestigious magazine. According to “Forbes”, Calvin managed to earn 44 million dollars, with this sum he occupies the 746th place in “Forbes” world rating.

Steve Wynn
The third serious player on the market of gambling entertainments in Las Vegas and Macao. Steve was born in 1942 in Connecticut. Unlike Kirk and Sheldon, Steve received very good education, according to American standards – he graduated from Pennsylvania university. Steve had to engage in private business straight after graduation. His father, the owner of the network of bingo clubs in the west of the U.S., died when Steve was still a student. The son continues his business. Steve’s career in “big” business starts in 1967. Having saved some money, he buys a small share of the casino-hotel “Frontier” in Las Vegas, where he moved for permanent residence together with his wife. Having no funds to build his own casino, Steve gets acquainted with the owners of the already existing casinos and offers them his services in renewal of their business. His first project was reconstruction of the casino “Golden Nugget”. Steve transformed the absolutely ordinary casino into a luxurious institution, which immediately became a great success with the players. Having showed himself and earned a pretty penny, Steve decided to invest money into buying shares of other Vegas casinos, in order to reconstruct them as well. The following major project is renovation of the casino “The Mirage”. According to Steve’s conception, it was to become the most outstanding, rich, elite casino of Las Vegas. He intends to found there a big park and an artificial volcano, and make the best rooms and hotel service in Vegas. Steve bets on luxury. Despite apprehensions of the partners (the project was very expensive), he managed to embody his ideas. “The Mirage” became and for a long period remained the most prestigious casino of Las Vegas, bringing huge profits to its owners.

After this project Steve’s name enters the history of the world capital of gambling. However, Steve does not rest on his laurels. Conversely, he becomes thoroughly engrossed in a new reckless venture. Developing his conception of a “luxurious casino”, he totally changes the casino-hotel “Bellagio”: an artificial lake, an internal greenhouse, an art gallery with canvases of great painters, expensive boutiques and restaurants. Enormous diligence, multiplied by talent, made Steve one of the richest people in Vegas, the owner of casinos. In 2000 he sells “The Mirage” to the company “MGM Grand”, which after this purchase changes its name to “MGM Mirage”.

Wynn spends most of his money on building a new institution, which opens in April 2005 on the site of “Desert Inn”. The new brainchild of Steve is called “Wynn Las Vegas”.
Apart from interests in Vegas, Steve invests funds into conquering the Asian market. In the short-term perspective it is planned to open the casino “Wynn Macau”. Steve’s activity has brought him 2.1 billion dollars, which allowed him to occupy the 365th position in “Forbes” world rating.

Stanley Ho
The wealthiest representative of gambling industry in Asia who for more than 30 years was the single ruler of this industry in Macao. Stanley was born in 1921 in Hong Kong. His great-grandfather was a Dutch Jew who married a local woman. The Ho family was one of the most renowned and influential in Hong Kong. But Stanley was not able to make use of the wealth of this family. His father went bankrupt, when Stanley was a student. Due to financial break-down his two brothers committed a suicide, and his father renounced his family and left Stanley with two sisters and mother. Despite all hardships, he successfully graduated from Hong Kong university and mastered three languages. Stanley started his career in a trade company, located in Macao. Outstanding business skills and proficiency in several languages allow him to become a shareholder of the company at the age of 21. Ho received his first fortune as a result of a very unpleasant accident. Stanley was responsible for sea trade. During one of the voyages the ship with Stanley, who carried a great amount of money, aboard was subject to an armed attack. Stanley, practically on his own (many of his fellow employees were killed) stands against the gang and returns both the money and the ship. The company duly appreciated the courage of their employee and rewarded him a bonus of one million! In 1943 Ho invested his million into construction industry, his new company is located in Hong Kong. At this time the city undergoes a real construction boom, and Stanley receives very decent dividends from his business. But his ambitions are not limited to construction business, together with his partners he wins the tender for the monopolistic right to open gambling institutions in Macao. Stanley won the tender with the sum of only 410 thousand dollars. For many years Ho’s company becomes the monopolist of Macao gambling market. Stanley invests all his money and skills in this company. By 1972 he owns 9 casinos, including casino-hotel “Lisboa”, one of the most beautiful casinos of the world.

In the 90-ies Ho extends beyond the borders of Macao and opens 9 casinos on the Philippines, however, as a result of a conflict with the president of this country, he had to renounce his Philippine business. Apart from the casino, Ho owns many betting operators and totalizators. In 2003 the budget of Macao by 30% consisted of revenues from the activities of the companies that belonged to Stanley. His business provides work to more than 10 thousand people. In 1998 Ho becomes one of the first living inhabitants of Macao, in whose honour the local street was named. But earlier or later everything comes to an end. Ho’s idyll ends in 2000, when Macao authorities decide to cancel monopoly for gambling industry. Since 2002 Ho has to share gambling industry with American “sharks” – Wynn and Adelson, who immediately used the chance to become familiar with Asian market. Presently Stanley Ho’s fortune is 6.5 billion dollars, he has the 84th position in the “Forbes” world rating.

Seven card stud poker is a very popular form of poker played at both the card table and in online poker rooms. Anywhere poker is being played, either online or off, you’ll always find a game of stud poker in progress. Stud poker is one of the poker games where players are dealt some of their cards facing up on the poker table, while other cards are dealt face down.

In the game of seven card stud, the dealer deals out seven cards to each player. The dealer deals two cards in the hole, then one card face up. After an opening bet is made, three cards are dealt face up, with a round of bets after each card is dealt out. The final card is dealt in the hole, and final bets are made. The players then create a hand from five of the seven they were dealt.

The following is how a typical game of Seven Card Stud should ideally play out:

Each player places up their ante.

The designated dealer then deals out three cards to each player. Two of these cards are dealt face down on the table, with the third being placed face up on the table. The cards dealt face down are referred to as ‘hole cards’, while the card placed face up is called the ‘door card’.

Players place their first bets, or they can now fold on their hand.
All remaining players are dealt one card face-up on the poker table.
More bets are placed, any players who wish may now fold.
All remaining players are dealt one card face-up on the table.
Betting round, bets are placed, any players who wish may now fold.
All remaining players are dealt one card face-up on the poker table.
4th betting round, any players who wish may now fold.
All remaining players are dealt a last card face-down on the poker table.
Final round of bets are made.

It’s time for the showdown, the players who have remained in the game will now show their hands.
Players are allowed to use any 5 of their 7 cards to make the best hand possible.

Seven card stud poker is played with a standard regulation deck of 52 playing cards. This game does not make use of the Joker card. The maximum number of players allowed in a game of Seven Card Stud Poker should never exceed eight players, to avoid running out of playing cards.

Playing poker online is fast replacing the traditional home poker games with friends. Many people find playing online poker to be fun and financially rewarding, but still find themselves missing poker night. Before online poker became so popular, many people would host a poker night at their house for their friends, and they would all sit around and play. A lot of online players miss this opportunity to play and chat with their friends.

Many online poker sites now give players the option to have private poker tables. You log on, setup the table, and only allow the players that you invite in to play. It still isn’t exactly the same as playing at home, and it does require you to get your friends into playing poker online, but many players find it just as pleasing as the old at home games. It is much easier to setup an online poker game for your friends than to host one at your home. By playing online, you have no mess to clean up afterwards, and no food to provide, and less time invested in setting up the game and more time in playing the game.

One site that offers players this option is Party Poker. Their software is very user-friendly, and on average it takes most people about 15 minutes to setup an online private game. You begin by loading the Party Poker software on your computer, enter the bonus code FREE25DEP to receive $25 free, then go to the options menu at the top of the screen. From this point, you will click on the create private tables option. The program will then prompt you to select the kind of game you want to play, and the stakes for that particular game. It also will ask you to make a password for your table, which allows you to control the people that have access to your game. You decide whether you want to play a limit game, or no limit game.

Once you have selected all the options you want, and create the table, the game will give you ten minutes to have all players seated at the table. To actually find your poker table you created, go to the menu on the far left of the screen. It is sectioned out into five different categories: real money, party poker million, sit and go, tournaments, and play money. Each one of these categories has its own drop down menu under it. Go to the real money section and click to access the drop down menu. Click on the name of the game you selected, and the stakes you entered when you set up your table. Find your table name in this list, and click join table.

Once you have completed the above and your friends have joined you, you are ready to play the game.

It is important to remember that the system only gives you a ten minute time frame to set up your table, get your friends to that table, and start playing the game. It helps if you have pre-selected a time to play the game, rather than calling everyone at the last minute and getting them online to play. Remember that you have to give your friends the table password, or they will not be able to get into your game. You will also need to send all potential players directions as to how to find the table you have setup for the game.