The past ten years have seen a surge of Poker popularity both online and as a beloved pastime. During that time, the early ’90s hit Rounders starring Matt Damon and Ed Norton has continued to grow its audience and expand into quite the pop culture phenom. This week, Pokerlistings dot com spoke with some of the original cast and writers and revealed that Rounders 2 is currently in the works!

Rumors of a sequel have been circulating for years, but all remained conjecture as its writers (and star Matt Damon) were busy with the Ocean’s franchise and countless other projects. But now it seems that the stars are aligning again and a sequel is…forgive me…in the cards.

“We’ve been concentrating on Rounders 2 lately,” said co-writer David Levien. “Ideas are percolating. It’s great to know that all of the original players want to come back and do another one.”

Even Matt Damon himself said, “Everybody would probably come back. The actors had a really good time working together.”

Writers David Levien and Brian Koppleman have become Holywood’s go-to guys for movies based in the world of gambling. Most recently having worked on Ocean’s 13 and are currently developing a film with Leonardo DiCaprio based in the world of offshore online casinos. “Vegas, the poker world, the casino environment, and the characters that gravitate around them are endlessly fascinating to us,” said Levien.

Don’t expect the film to open this summer, but with this many parties speaking so favorably, it sounds like this project could be in theaters before we know it.

The new French revolution is at hand. As of January 2010, the French government will be regulating and taxing online gambling. The government will see their share of 2% of each pot. An earlier version of the tax saw the French government receiving 2% of player stakes, but was changed after an outcry from the online gambling industry, stressing such a tax would make their games uncompetitive.

“We are all very glad that we were consulted by the French government and that our views were taken seriously. Although the set up is not ideal – we want to be able to offer French players the possibility to play against players from other countries, especially for tournament games – the hope is that the legislation will evolve with time,”

The French government hopes to pocket somewhere in the neighborhood of 30% of all profits from the online gaming industry in France. The new revisions will allow for more competition in the marketplace, which will hopefully generate more interest and greater profits for both parties.

If you’re like me and you enjoy Ridley Scott movies, or you just like movies with men in skirts and sandals, then you should head to Play United online casino. Gladiator, an online slot machine based on the Oscar-winning film of the same name, is a fun way to play online video slots. The officially-licensed game features symbols of Joaquin Phoenix and Djimon Hounsou, among others. Russell Crowe, who played the lead role in the film, is nowhere to be found, though, probably for contractual reasons.

Gladiator, designed by software giant Playtech, is a 5-reel, 25-payline online slot featuring two bonus games, free games, and the chance to win up to 90 times your wager. Upon signing up for Play Unlimited online casino, new users can earn up to $750 in a welcome gift. Fans of online slots will enjoy the special effects and ancient Roman scenery. Luckily, Playtech decided to make a game out of a good movie like Gladiator rather than terrible sword-and-sandals movies like Troy or Alexander. I’m still trying to repress the 3 hours I spent watching Alexander from my memory. But what I really want to know is, where is my Braveheart slot machine? Aside from Mel Gibson’s mug, the game can feature symbols of blue-painted faces and Scots mooning the English. Get on it, Playtech.

California’s legislature is hard at work devising a way to slash costs. The state is in the midst of a crisis and face a $26 billion shortage in funds. Nothing seems safe there for the moment as legislators worked to cut spending from areas like education, prisons and local government. They have made a dent it seems, with a package comprised of $16 billion in cuts, but what of the other $10 billion?

According to H2 Gambling Capital, legalized online poker in California would raise an estimated $250 million per year to start, eventually climbing to $625 million some ten years after the legislation has passed. The PVA (Poker Voters of America), a group who lobbies on behalf of online poker observes that online gaming could be one of the answers California lawmakers are looking for and many are starting to agree.

Melanie Brenner, PVA executive director, had this to say to EGRmagazine.com, “In California, you can’t pick up a newspaper and not be hit in the face with the budget issue. While in Florida, which is also considering legalising intrastate online poker, you don’t hear about it as much, but as a state, they are looking for revenue sources. That will be something we can use to our advantage.”

Brenner further believes that if California does not look to sources like online poker and other gaming, the other $10 billion in lost revenue will have to be made up by borrowing from other states and with unemployment at 12% and rising, foreclosures showing no sign of slowing online poker isn’t such a bad alternative.

However Brenner, who spent 25 years as a political consultant in Florida warns that there is no “one-size fits all” solution for every state. The makeup of every state is different and online poker faces different hurdles and employs varied advantages in each one.

“In Florida, you are not dealing with the complexities of the tribal situation you have in California. Instead, you have a state that is divided between North Florida, which is conservative and mainly Republican, and South Florida, which is more progressive, Democrat, and already has some gaming. We are dealing with a different set of political issues when we move into that state,” said Brenner.

Two Republican senators have spoken out against attempts to legalize online sports betting in New Jersey and Delaware. Senators Orrin Hatch from Utah and Jon Kyl from Arizona sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder expressing their concerns about both states making sports betting more widespread. New Jersey and Delaware, seeking more revenue in a struggling economy, are seeking to overturn the Professional Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1991 (PASPA).

In the letter to Holder, the senators wrote that the efforts of both states “threaten to greatly expand sports gambling and undermine the integrity of our national pastimes.” The senators urged the Department of Justice to enforce the current prohibition against sports betting and protect the integrity of the sports.

Joe Brennan, chairman of the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA), which is challenging the ban on sports betting, disagrees with the senators, as you might expect. He stated that while he respected their desire to uphold the integrity of the nation’s sports, not legalizing and regulating sports betting leaves a lot of money on the table. He added that the current sports betting market is “unprotected, with no oversight, and at the mercy of criminal elements that are far more able to affect the outcome of a game than if the state stepped in and took the business away from them.”

While his argument makes sense on the surface, saying that the government getting involved with sports betting would rid it of corruption and the criminal element is laughable. Anyone who has been at odds with the government, especially the Obama administration, would probably rather deal with the mafia. In fact, some would consider the Social Security Administration, the Department of Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service and more to be nothing more than legal forms of organized crime. In other words, handing sports betting over from shady bookies to the government would only be trading low-level criminals for more powerful criminals with state and federal backing. So who would you rather deal with?

The Poker Players Alliance is excited about gains made this week towards furthering their goal of achieving the legalization and regulation of online gaming. More than 50 members of the Poker Players Alliance, 33 of them state directors, descended on Washington to seek support for online poker.

“From the more than 100 meetings with members and staff to the charity tournament that raised $35,000 for our wounded warriors, I’d say National Poker Week was a rousing success,” PPA Chairman and Former Senator Alfonse D’Amato said. “Congress is preparing for hearings this fall on the licensing and regulation of the game we love, so I urge all PPA members to continue this activism and enthusiasm so our elected officials can take their marching orders and fight to protect our game.”

Andy Bloch, one of many professional poker players to visit Washington to show his support said, “every single meeting and every method of communication counts. Even if you’re cynical about the political process, you’ll be encouraged to know that these members, whether they agree yet or not, are listening to our arguments and are truly surprised to know just how popular poker is in their hometowns. I truly feel we are winning on this issue, and the time is ripe for pro-poker legislation to pass into law.”

The PPA used this week to launch a major pro-online poker advertising campaign as well. The adds target politicians and representatives in Washington, urging them to protect poker. The adds highlight real online poker players and their stories, putting a human face to what many see as an illegal industry.

National Poker Week included lots of activity, here are some of the highlights:

• Over 100 meetings with representatives n Congress

• Charity poker event raised $35,000 to benefit the wounded warriors program

• 10 Congressmen and 30 soldiers wounded in battle participated in charity poker tournament

• The PPA’s Congressional briefing was attended by 70 Capitol Hill staffers and other interested parties

• The online petition addressed to President Obama received 375,769 (not so much a success since they were aiming for 500,000)

• Over 200,000 letters of support reached U.S. Representatives and Senators

The Tour de France is the most popular and most grueling cycling race in the world. In fact, it’s probably the only cycling race that your average person, especially Americans, know about. And if not for Lance Armstrong, we probably wouldn’t know about that race, either. Online gambling software developer Microgaming is taking advantage of that popularity and released a new online slot based on the Tour de France.

The game, called Pedal Power, is a 5-reel online slot with 15 paylines. Coin denominations are from a penny to ten cents and the maximum payout is $4,000. The online slot has many cycling-themed symbols, such as a cyclist who looks a lot like Armstrong triumphantly crossing the finish line, a trophy, bikes, water bottles, and a map of the Tour de France. The trophy is the wild symbol and a watch is the scatter symbol, which unlocks a free-spin round. The game can be found at any of Microgaming’s affiliated online casinos.

Microgaming’s Pedal Power should be a fun experience for anyone who has watched the Tour de France or anyone who has ever gotten an uncomfortable chafing after a long ride. For added enjoyment, you can always squeeze into some bike shorts, speak in an obnoxious French accent while you play the slots and then throw a fit when an American wins the race. That’s what I would do. Since it’s online slots, you don’t have to worry about getting kicked out of the casino for being annoying, so go for it.

Costa Rica is home to more online gambling companies than any other in the world. Is it because of their exotic locale and choice surfing? Of course not. The obvious reason is the country’s laid back regulation of online gambling. A proposed bill, set to reach the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly on August 3^rd, is aiming to add a 2 percent tax to income brought in by the online gambling industry.

Officially, Costa Rica is home to 46 online gambling sites, but there are countless more that operate off the radar. Lawmakers are hoping that the bill will bring in an estimated $85 million in revenue to the state, who like the rest of the world, is feeling the sting of the ongoing financial crisis. The bill would see further government to make sure that online gambling companies and those they are affiliated with, adhere to the new restrictions.

Regulation of the gambling industry in the past has not panned out so well for Costa Rica. A few years ago, Costa Rica began charging a licensing fee to online gambling companies. Only a few paid, many did not, and one that did (Legendz Sports) hightailed it out of there.

Regardless of success, the online gambling businesses are not doing back flips over this news. As with nearly every industry in the world, the economic crisis has taken a significant bite out of gambling worldwide. The gambling industry has seen its share of revenues fall and Costa Rican online gambling fears the tax will only contribute to further drops in revenue and lost jobs. “Activity has fallen about 35 percent, and in addition to that we have fewer work hours and have had to let go about 500 employees,” said Jorge Hidalgo, vice president of the Costa Rican Association of Casinos.

The state of Illinois likes making money and, in general, will do anything to make it, whether it’s selling a senate seat, taking bribes, embezzlement, or the state lottery. It recently occurred to lawmakers that they were losing out on money by requiring people to go to lottery locations, such as convenience stores, to purchase lottery tickets. Never willing to pass up easy money, the lawmakers are currently checking with the Department of Justice to see whether it would be legal to offer citizens the ability to play the lottery online. Now, this is a new move for Illinois, checking to see if a money-making scheme is legal before doing it. I really am proud of them. 

The problem stems from the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIEGA) in 2006, which prohibited financial institutions from transferring funds relating to illegal online gambling. The act, however, does not specify what types of gambling is illegal and what is legal. Other states have been offering online lottery to its citizens, but after the passing of UIGEA, problems have come up. The states offering online lotteries have used a subscription method, where citizens subscribe to the lottery site, chose numbers that they will use every time, and paid for the subscription. Earlier this year, some credit card companies have denied payment for these subscriptions, worried that they could be seen as breaking the law. And that is why Illinois is seeking clarification of the legal status of their proposed online lottery. It wouldn’t be profitable if the credit card companies deny payments. So it seems that even when Illinois does something good, it is for selfish reasons. 

All of this could be moot soon, though, as UIGEA is being challenged in court as being unconstitutional and Representative Barney Frank has introduced legislation that would repeal the law.

After a short-lived tenure of only 11 months as PartyGaming’s chief marketing officer, Jon Salmon has moved on to greener pastures. His replacement will be Chris Welch, former managing director of Centrebet, an Australian bookmaker.

Appointed in September of last year came to PartyGaming after acting as managing director of Ads Dot Com, a marketing agency aimed at European online gambling sites. His 25-year career saw him involved in marketing on some of the UK’s leading household brands.

Chris Welch, like Salmon, will report directly to PartyGaming’s CEO Jim Ryan. Strangely enough, this is not the first time the two have worked together. Welch was previously head of marketing for European and Asian software company Excapsa while Jim Ryan was CEO there.

Welch is a seasoned marketing executive in the world of online gambling. Prior to Centrebet, Welch was group marketing director of Pokerstars.com, managing director of LoudVision Marketing and PR Inc. (ultimatebet.com) and global marketing director of Pinnacle Sports.com among others.