Online Gambling

Yesterday at the 2009 Oscars, Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman director to win an Oscar, for her film The Hurt Locker. The Hurt Locker also took home the Oscar for Best Picture. Avatar lost in all of the major categories in which it was nominated.

Depending on when — and if — you were able to get a wager down on these two categories, Bigelow was at -225 and the Hurt Locker was at +145. Both of these lines were before the SAG Awards, which are fairly reliable predictors of Oscar winners.

BetUS offers Oscar lines, so keep this in mind for next year!

BetSoft Gaming is a no-download casino that is offered at just a few online gambling sites, including US-friendly Sportsbook.com, Superbook.com, and Players Only. I recently added links to the BetSoft Gaming slot machines to my Slots page. You can read about the slot machines, as well as take a look at some sample screens — but trust me on this one… you’ll want to play these machines for yourself.

The slots run very smoothly in an Internet Explorer browser window (I had trouble getting them to run in Chrome), and the sounds, video transitions, and bonus rounds are some of the best that I have seen in quite some time. These BetSoft Gaming slots are setting the bar for the next generation of slot machines.

The themes are pretty neat as well. The Slotfather is a mafia-inspired; in Heist, you take on the role of a professional thief; Three Wishes has an “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” feel to it.

You can play these slots in Fun Mode at Sportsbook.com, once you sign up and register for a free account. You need not make a deposit in order to play these slots in Fun Mode.

Note: Sportsbook.com, Superbook.com, and Players Only offer both a no-download and a download casino. The no-download casino is the BetSoft Gaming casino, while the download casino is from Real Time Gaming; they are wildly different casinos, which is kind of confusing. To play these slots from BetSoft Gaming, use the no-download casino.

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! Bloggers can register for to play for free in the WBCOOP, if you don’t have a PokerStars account you can get your Poker Download here. Registration code: 575239

Rand Paul, the son of Ron Paul, has entered the 2010 Kentucky Senate Race. This is good news for Kentucky residents who feel that the state’s current leadership’s attempts to seize 141 Internet domain names is just plain silly and a waste of money. Rand Paul, like his father, is a firm proponent of preserving personal liberty; if elected, this belief will no doubt be reflected in Paul ceasing the state’s efforts to seize these domain names and other efforts to block access to online poker by Kentucky residents.

You can contribute to Rand Paul’s campaign, if you are so inclined.

If you think that you’re better than most players at skill games like checkers, chess, backgammon, gin, cribbage, dominoes, canasta, and solitaire games, I have a great site for you. GameColony hosts both free and cash skill game tournaments, and players from 35 US States are eligible to play. (Players are barred from: Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, South Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Washington and Vermont.).

Here’s how it works:

1. Sign up for an account at GameColony — it took me about a minute, since all you need to provide is your choice of a screen name and password, and your birth year.
2. Use the free-play option to check out the games that they have to offer. You’ll want to get familiar with the games and the rules before you play for cash.
3. Fund your account using PayPal or a credit card for as little as $5.95. You get $Tickets in exchange for your deposit.
   • 5 $Tickets for — $5.95
   • 10 $Tickets for — $10.95
   • 25 $Tickets for — $26.95
   • 50 $Tickets for — $51.95
   • 100 $Tickets for — $103.95
4. Play the games either head-to-head or in multi-person tourneys for $Tickets. Approximately 85% of the $Ticket entry fees are returned to the winners.
5. Any time that you have more than 2 $Tickets, you can convert them back to cash and make a withdrawal back to your PayPal or credit card. Withdrawals in excess of your original deposit are sent to you as a check.

Good luck at the games!

Start off the New Year by trying some new sites. Here are my top picks to start off 2010. All of the sites below accept players from all US States.

Bingo

• Free Bee Bingo – $50 FREE + 200% bonus on initial deposits between $25 and $9999!
• 123 Bingo Online – $25 FREE + 1000% bonus on initial deposits between $10 and $9999!
• Bingo Flash – $20 FREE + 250% bonus on initial deposits between $10 and $9999!
• BingoVille – $10 FREE + 150% bonus on initial deposits between $50 and $10000!
• BingoRoom – 150% bonus on initial deposits between $50 and $10000!

Casino

• BetUS Casino – 100% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $500!
• Intertops RED Casino – 100% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $100!
• US-Blackjack.com – 100% bonus on initial deposits between $25 and $100!
• Superbook.com Casino – 10% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $500!

Horses

• Sportsbook.com Horses – 10% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $1990!
• Superbook.com Horses – 10% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $500!
• All Horse Racing – 10% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $1000!
• Horse Betting – 10% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $1000!
• Go Horse Betting – 10% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $1000!

Poker

• Poker Stars – 100% bonus on initial deposits between $10 and $600!
• Full Tilt Poker – 100% bonus on initial deposits between $10 and $600!
• Poker4Ever – 100% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $150!
• Spin32 Poker – 100% bonus on initial deposits of between $10 and $600!
• Bizipoker3D – 30% bonus on initial deposits between $10 and $666!

Skill

• Spadester – $4 FREE + 100% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $100!
• Play65 – 40% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $500!

Sports

• Intertops Sportsbook – $20 FREE + 10% bonus on initial deposits between $50 and $250!
• Sportsbetting.com Sportsbook – 20% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $500!
• BetUS Sportsbook – 20% bonus on initial deposits between $100 and $299!
• Sportsbook.com – 10% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $1990!
• Superbook.com Sportsbook – 10% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $500!

Have a lucky 2010!

Through December 2009, new players that sign up at Slot’o'Cash Casino will get $10 FREE to try out their games. This exclusive free cash has a 17x wagering requirement, a $150 maximum cashout, and excludes progressives, card games, and video poker.

Slot’o'Cash Casino is Rival-powered, and has some of the most exciting slots in the industry. Their i-Slots are quite different from the normal slots found at other online casinos.

The updated lobby at Intertops is focused on improved navigation:

• No more cascading menus
• Easier-to-find games
• Cleaner user-interface

Intertops has also added additional features:

• Game previews and descriptions
• Player & Casino favorites
• New games

Finally, they just released new slots that you’re sure to enjoy:

• Shopping Spree
• Shopping Spree II
• Triple Twister