Betting Odds - Graffiti - Podcast

TMZ.com first reported late Wednesday that all charges against Dog The Bounty Hunter have been dropped stemming from the capture of a convicted American rapist some years back.

Duane “Dog” Chapman, his son and another member of his crew rejoiced following the news. All were facing prison time in Mexico.

A Mexican federal court had charged Chapman, 53, and the others with deprivation of liberty for seizing Andrew Luster, an heir to the Max Factor cosmetics fortune, in June 2003 in Puerto Vallarta.

Chapman was awaiting a possible extradition to Mexico and a criminal trial there. He faced four years in a Mexican jail if convicted.

Luster, a serial rapist, was wanted by U.S. courts when Chapman caught him. He’s now serving a 124-year prison sentence.

The cosmetics heir jumped a $1 million bond and disappeared during his trial in California’s Ventura County on charges that he drugged and raped three women.

The disappearance set off a national and international manhunt by police, FBI and bounty hunters trying to recoup some of the bond money.

Bounty hunting is a crime in Mexico. Chapman was jailed briefly with his son and associate after they were arrested there on Sept. 14, 2006, but was free on $300,000 bail.

The news marks a triumphant moment in what has otherwise not been the greatest year for Dog the Bounty Hunter. In addition to the ordeal the popular reality television star has had to deal with in Mexico, one of his daughters was killed in a car crash the same day as his wedding.

Ron Martin, President and CEO of online payment processing company, Neteller, has taken the YouTube route. Over $40 million in withdrawals were processed during the first day, according to Martin.

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He explained and apologized for his company freezing online gambling funds of US customers.

“Clearly this situation has strained the trust we have built over the years,” Martin said. He ensured it is a priority to get all funds returned.

A number of Neteller customers have acknowledged receiving wired money into their bank accounts.

In January, two co-founders of Neteller were arrested for their engagement in the online gambling industry. Last month, both plead guilty of conspiracy.

For the lucrative online gambling industry, firmly committed operators are now quietly saying to Graffiti Wall: “If iMega doesn’t come through, we might as well just pack it in”.

iMEGA is the trade organization that is currently challenging a controversial online gambling ban. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act - passed in October - requires banking institutions to monitor and prevent transactions for the purpose of online gambling activity in the United States.

While there is currently a move by several politicians to have the law repealed, that process could take months, assuming it happens at all. The UIGEA ordered banks to have in place an “across the board policy” demonstrating how such transactions would be monitored. The early July deadline has come and gone with little evidence of a policy change, though the banks insisted they needed more than the 270 days allotted to them.

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iMEGA’s goal is to get the court to declare the UIGEA unconstitutional and unenforceable. The group says the act violates the First Amendment’s rights to freedom of speech and commercial association as well as the Tenth Amendment’s protections of states’ rights to regulate online gambling.

“We think the law infringes on the First Amendment and Tenth Amendment rights of our members,” Edward Leyden, iMEGA’s president, told Red Herring last month. “And we also believe the government has exceeded its authority in its WTO dispute with Antigua and that too has harmed our clients.”

A Federal Judge in the state of New Jersey has assigned a hearing date of September 4 for its lawsuit.

“iMEGA is our (the online gambling industry) only hope right now and I get the sense that people don’t really understand the urgency here,” one operator, asking for anonymity, told Betting Odds - Graffiti Wall Tuesday morning. “We need this thing to work. Once the banks get involved it’s all over.”

Right now, while many of the top tier payment processors have stopped doing business with US-facing online gambling companies, the banking industry itself had not been required to abide by any ruling until after July 1. Sources close to Graffiti Wall have revealed that the banks are quietly supportive of iMEGA though not financially. The organization is now aggressively seeking donations in order to pay for court fees. A few of the online gambling establishments have helped out but not all.

“The big online poker players need to get on board here,” said one operator. “We realize that Alfonse D’Amato and the Poker Players Alliance are doing a commendable job but their efforts won’t stop the banks in the short term and it is questionable whether they will be able to do so in the long term either.”

The consequences of iMEGA losing in its effort? The big name online poker sites still catering to US players will be forced to shut down, at least to the US market. Poker Stars, Full Tilt Poker will not be able to take money in nor will they be able to make payouts.

The writing may already be on the graffiti wall.

Antigua’s Gaming Director, Ron Maginley noted that the online gambling jurisdiction of the Isle of Man recently gave notice to gaming companies that it intends to close all gaming-related accounts.

“Already, some companies here have been given notice,” Maginley said. “Under the law here, gaming companies are required to put ‘gaming’ in their names and in relation to getting accounts, certainly the local banks here are showing reluctance to offer new accounts, even to companies registered here.

The number of people going online to place a bet in the UK is on the increase.

Graffiti Wall reports that surveys carried out in the year to June 2007 indicated that 8.6% of adults had taken part in at least one form of remote gambling during the previous month, up from the 7.4% seen in polls for the 2006 calendar year.

Experts said the increase could mean that new groups are at risk of addiction due to the broadening accessibility of different gambling forms.

The latest statistics, compiled from the Gambling Commission’s quarterly surveys, showed that taking a punt on the national lottery remains the most popular form of remote gambling, followed by online poker.

Research found that in the four quarters to June, 6.7% of adults admitted to gambling via a computer, laptop or handheld advice over the previous month.

The proportion is up from the 5.2% recorded in last year’s surveys.

Placing a bet through a mobile phone is also on the rise, with almost 3% of adults using their handset as a gambling tool at least once in the month before the surveys in the year to June.

Gambling via interactive or digital TV saw a slight increase during the period, up from 1.7% to 1.8%

The Gambling Commission said remote gamblers are more likely to be male and between the ages of 18 and 34.

Addiction experts said that the advent of internet gambling had taken away some of the stigma of walking into a bookies to place a bet, and as such could encourage different people into gambling, notably woman and younger people.

Before there was a Barney Frank immersing himself in the world of online poker and prior to Alfonse D’Amato being named Chairman of the now powerful Poker Players Alliance, there was Jim Kasper (R-Fargo, ND). Kasper was one of the first politicians to push for regulation of online poker, and was nearly successful in doing so.

His plan called for online poker websites to move to North Dakota where - aside from freezing during the harsh winters - would be able to legally operate on US soil, not to mention Chicago is only an hour away from Fargo, North Dakota by plane and Minneapolis is within a 3 hour driving distance.

Sportingbet, which at the time owned the number three online poker room, Paradise Poker (remember them?), went on record as saying they would move much of their North American facing operation to North Dakota in a heartbeat.

And while much has been made of the new Democratic government in office, it is never fair to suggest that all Republicans are against the online gambling. This is most certainly a bi-partisan issue. In fact, one of the Republican Presidential candidates, Ron Paul, has already gone on record as saying that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act passed in October is essentially a “ridiculous law”.

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Graffiti Wall reports that Representative Jim Kasper (R-Fargo, ND) had stepped out of the limelight for a period of time, after creating a whirlwind of excitement about his 2005 legislation seeking to legalize online poker rooms in his home state of North Dakota. Graffiti Wall decided to check in with Rep. Kasper to see if there had been any developments since we had last spoken to him.

To bring those not familiar with Rep. Kasper and his beliefs about the online poker industry up to speed, Rep. Kasper was the father and prime sponsor of bills HB 1509 and HCR 3035. these bills were introduced during the 2005 North Dakota legislation session and sought to license and regulat online poker companies who would agree to re-locate to North Dakota. HB 1509 set forth the rules to regulate, license and tax the online poker rooms, and HCR 3035 was the amendment to North Dakota’s constitution that would legalize online poker.

The bill was welcomed warmly at first. The House of Representatives voted unanimously to pass both bills and the legislation moved to the Senate. Unfortunately, a letter from the Department of Justice sent to North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem caused the bill to fail miserably in the Senate. The letter stated that these bills may be in violation of federal laws. The Senate was not convinced even after legal opinions had been from several renowned and respected attorneys.

After speaking with Rep. Kasper this week, we learned that nothing had been done with respect to the legalization of online poker during North Dakota’s 2007 legislative session. North Dakota only holds session every 2 years, so the next session will not be held until 2009. When asked, Rep. Kasper declined to divulge what plans, if any, he had for the 2009 legislative season. He prefers to keep the opposition guessing.

Rep. Kasper mentioned that the federal legislation passed earlier in the year seemingly banning online gambling really put the brakes on any of his legislative plans. While he firmly believes that legislation had more bark than bite, he realized that he would fight a nearly impossible battle by trying to push any state legislation through in 2007.

He also expressed dismay at the online poker’s industry’s lack of cohesiveness and organization. He has reached out numerous times with suggestions on what these online poker rooms can do to help legitimize themselves, and has received little, if any, response. This is shocking given the growing popularity of the online poker industry.

Because of the recent influx of political candidates supporting (either directly or indirectly) online gaming, this is good time to bring some of Rep. Kasper’s views on how to structure any future online poker legislation. He feels that this issue is strictly a states’ rights issue. This type of decision should be left up to the individual states to decide, and in no way falls under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

Rep. Kasper expressed great pleasure that there were a number of political candidates with favorable views on the legalization of online poker. He would love to get involved and assist in any way that he can. He welcomes contact from any poker organization or political candidate who would like to discuss the issues. He firmly believes that it will take a unified, cohesive effort to get any sort of legislation passed.

No matter what the federal government attempts to do, the facts remain: Poker is a $300 billion a year business in the United States alone. Federal legislation will do little to stop it. State regulation would increase the states’ coffers, allow control of underage and compulsive gambling, and create a signfiant source of employment for the U.S. economy.

Rep. Kasper called for the online poker industry to get actively involved in contacting him, and the other political candidates with favorable view on online gambling. These include presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-TX), former Senator Alphonse D’Amato, Chairman of the Poker Player’s Alliance, and Florida Congressman Robert Wexler. Poker organizations and enthusiasts need to get in touch with these individuals and show their support!

The public is overwhelmingly in favor of legalized, regulated online gaming. Do NOT let the federal government’s intimidation tactics stop you from voicing your opinions. Fight to retain the personal privacy and freedom this country was founded upon!

Rep. Kasper welcomes comments and discussion any time. He can be reached at

Phone: 701-232-6250 Fax: 701-232-0796 E-mail: jmkasper@amg-nd.com

I guess trading away QB Matt Schaub was premature and ill advised at best for Atlanta. It is going to haunt them all season. Some of the motivation was new head coach Bobby Petrino counting on the versatile Mike Vick to make big plays and flourish in a new scheme, and the other was salary cap issues. Vick’s numbers do not exceed now starter Joey Harrington in any glaring fashion other than the ability to break off and run it and make big play, but it is still Joey Harrington, always one TD or one interception away from a big win, and that may never change.

The endurance of Vick for an entire season has always been questionable at best, and trading Schuab is the biggest blunder that management may have made in the offseason. I doubt anyone knew the depth of the dog fighting issue back in April or May, but trouble has been brewing with Vick for quite some time in the Falcons camp. Didn’t anyone foresee that Vick was not the type of guy that Atlanta needed to be a leader and long term solution at QB for them? He is a talented player that makes big plays, but not a leader or role model by any stretch.

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Let’s see, fighting dogs is illegal, betting on ANYTHING is illegal when you are an NFL player, killing dogs and fighting them is inhumane, and lying about the entire situation is quite frankly something Atlanta’s top brass are ticked off about not to mention the NFL’s top brass, and the national media storm.

It pains me to be on the side of PETA on almost any issue, but I am a dog lover and domestic animal lover in general, so I am appalled at what has transpired with Mike Vick over the past few months.

Personally he should be officially suspended from the NFL pending the outcome of a trial, and I think it should be a 1 year mandatory sentence from the NFL, and it should happen right now, avoiding any speculation about a return after a watered down plea agreement.

If he is found guilty, a lifetime ban should be enforced. Holding him out of training camp and suspending him in the interim is not enough. The message needs to be loud and clear from the NFL. It also should come from NIKE that dropping Vick as a player representative is mandatory. Once again the message needs to be clear.

The NFL has an image issue, much like the NBA right now. Players in trouble is the norm nowadays in most pro sports. Media scrutiny is at a high level regardless whether is it a pro sport, college sport, or Lindsey Lohan on a drunken rampage.

The limelight has never been brighter for the rich and famous. Players and even celebrities must hold themselves to high moral standards, and behavior in public and in private should be considered a top priority. It comes with the territory, and as always, fame has a price, and you have to deal with it. Fame also provides great wealth and it clouds the minds of young players like Mike Vick who think they are above the law.

The recent Pacman Jones debacle is a black-eye for the NFL, or the Tank Johnson issue or the Bengal’s player roster that is filled with arrests and issues. Better judgment should be enforced on the players and suspensions from the NFL management are needed to be clear cut, no exceptions. Suspensions are needed in order to send a message to players that a “no tolerance mandate” is in effect.

As for the Falcons, they opened camp with protests outside the front gate, hardly the start new coach Petrino was hoping for. The plea agreements with Vick’s cronies testifying before grand juries, and coming out saying the “Bad Newz Kennels” in Virginia on Vick’s properties and the gambling involved in them, were 100% funded by Vick personally.

Of course these guys are trying to save their skin and avoid long jail terms, but it looks bad for the future of Mike Vick, and if the allegations are true, and the smoking gun is in his hand, you may never see him play another down in the NFL. He will be in prison long before he is on the field again, and he should be in my opinion.

As if guaranteeing $425,000 worth of Aruba prize packages isn’t enough of an attraction, a major online poker site today announced that 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth will be playing in Sunday, August 5th’s 50-seat Aruba Satellite.

This $500+30 online event guarantees to pay out at least 50 Aruba prize packages worth $8,500 apiece. Each package includes a $5,000+500 buy-in to the 2007 Aruba Poker Classic and an additional $3,000 for travel and accommodations.

What’s more, the player who manages to bust Hellmuth in August 5th’s tournament will win $1,000.

With 12 satellites running daily, Texas Hold’em players can win their way to Sunday’s 50-Seat Aruba Satellite for as little as $10.

The 2007 Aruba Poker Classic is happening in Aruba from September 29th to October 6th. The weeklong tournament gives online poker players the chance to celebrate their successes at the tables with poker’s best professionals and compete for a piece of an estimated $2.5 million in prize money. In 2006, Devon Miller captured the title, taking home $774,960 in cash.

This is no hype.

There is a perfectly legitimate reason why the Black Hat Strategies work so consistently well. It’s almost like you can’t lose when you employ these underground tactics.

Even poker professionals that you see on TV, and in the World Series of Poker are scared to death to run into players who are equipped with this knowledge. They know the power that lies behind the curtain, but you will never hear them talking about this stuff at all.

Don’t you ever wonder why some players consistently hit the final table, time and time again, while others continually suffer the bad luck of weak opponents sucking out cards on the river all the time?

There is a perfect explanation for this, and if you have been getting worked over by these reckless players who call any bet, I want to let you know…

I am going to show you how to ruthlessly punish anybody who is a horrible player.

Sure, they may win a hand or two from you, but after this week you will understand how to leverage these super weak and put tons of cash into your pocket.

Phil Hellmuth Blows Up on Poker After Dark

Matt Savage, a world-renowned tournament director, is on board to oversee UltimateBet’s signature weeklong tournament. For more information on the 2007 UltimateBet Aruba Poker Classic, visit UltimateBet.com or ArubaClassic.com.

We can’t make this stuff up….The Gong Show host Chuck Barris reportedly has been threatened by an 85-year old woman and co-tenant of the uber high class Trump Plaza.

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And get this: It was the New York Law Journal that broke this story.

Barris, who claimed in his 2002 autobiography “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” to have moonlighted as a CIA assassin while emceeing the popular 1970s TV talent show, is locked into a heated — and thus far mostly losing — legal battle with his 85-year-old co-op neighbor, Dorothea Weitzner.

Although technically a non-party to the case, Barris, 78, filed the series of complaints against Weitzner that led to the co-op board’s subsequent eviction proceedings against her.

“The first thing she ever said to me was this: ‘You better shut your door quietly or I’ll sue you,” Barris wrote in a 2003 letter to Trump Plaza’s board of directors. Weitzner’s alleged vitriol quickly escalated. “Her screaming has changed from just cursing and shouting to yelling vile obscenities and death threats.”

Barris and his wife, Mary, recorded the loud, persistent, furious, all-hours rants that they claim came through their wall. Barris’ letter to the board listed about a dozen examples, the font-size apparently increasing and decreasing to reflect the relative volume of specific diatribes.

In a 2005 letter to the board, Mr. Barris again detailed Weitzner’s threats, which included, “What you need is your head cracked open. I’ll get you, just you wait … I’ll get you, you cockroach. You faggot. Your wife’s mother’s a slut.”

Weitzner frequently accused the Barrises of spying on her apartment, as evidenced — according to Weitzner herself — by their shared use of the same venereal-disease specialist. In a deposition taken in the course of the ejectment proceedings, an attorney for Trump Plaza asked Weitzner if she threatened to slice Mr. Barris’ body part.

Barris repeatedly complained to the Trump Plaza’s board of directors. On two separate occasions, his phone calls to the police led to Weitzner’s involuntary confinement for psychiatric services, once over night and once for one month, according to documents filed by Weitzner’s attorney, solo-practitioner Kenneth J. Glassman.

The highly anticipated bout between British born Ricky Hatton and American Floyd Mayweather is most likely going to take place December 8, though no firm commitment has been made at press time.

Graffiti Wall reports that while Hatton has expressed high regard for Mayweather, he did offer some fighting words.

“Floyd is a great fighter but if he thinks I’m going to turn up and just lie back and take what he has got to dish out then he has got another thing coming.”

Mayweather’s camp has been insulting Hatton ever since the later fight beat Jose Luis Castillo last month, a fighter who nearly defeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. at Lightweight in 2002.

Hatton is a two-time IBF and IBO Light Welterweight Champion, having relinquished the IBF belt, only to step back down to the weight class and beat Juan Urango. He was the WBA Welterweight Champion, but relinquished this title on 31 August 2006. Hatton is also the former WBU, WBA Light Welterweight Champion and WBA, WBO Inter-Continental Light Welterweight Champion. He is undefeated with a career record of 43 wins (31 by KO), 0 losses and 0 draws. Hatton is quite active in children’s charity work.

An official announcement was expected this week with BetCRIS.com preparing to place odds on the bout shortly.

With Kevin Garnett and Allen, the Boston Celtics are now favored to win the NBA Eastern Conference

The rumors are running rampant, fueled by an ESPN report and during the late night hours of Monday they were confirmed.

Graffiti Wall reports that Kevin Garnett is leaving Minnesota after the Boston Celtics agreed to acquire the All-Star forward in a multiplayer trade with the Timberwolves, a Celtics official told The Associated Press on Monday.

Among the players who could be headed to Minnesota are forward Al Jefferson, guard Sebastian Telfair, swingman Gerald Green and center Theo Ratliff, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been completed. The official also said the Timberwolves would get at least one draft choice.

The teams still had some things to clarify with the players’ contracts, but the official said that would not keep the Celtics from acquiring Garnett, although there could be a change in the players ticketed for the Timberwolves.

One of the worst teams last year, the Boston Celtics could suddenly become beasts of the East in 2007/2008.

Garnett, 31, has spent all of his 12 NBA seasons with Minnesota. He would get an extension of his contract, which has one year plus an option year remaining, the official said.

The Celtics had tried to get Garnett late last month, but his agent said he didn’t want to go to Boston.

Since then, Boston acquired seven-time All-Star guard Ray Allen from Seattle in a draft-day deal. Already with Paul Pierce, the Celtics would become instant contenders in the mediocre Atlantic Division with Garnett, even without promising forward Jefferson.

Bet33.com Online Gambling Odds - Proposition Betting immediately slashed odds of Boston winning the NBA Eastern Conference to 7 to 2 odds, making them the favorite with the Detroit Pistons.