David Yu announced he was leaving the company on Monday after 10 years in the position, the report said.

Yu will remain with Betfair until his successor is found, and his departure is seen by analysts as an opportunity for improvement, with some reservations acknowledging the company’s problems include structural ones, The Guardian reported.

The casino has invested $10 million in a retrofit in its Seasons Buffet, the report said.

The retrofit includes an increase in the number of seats to 800, the Hartford Business noted.

The new approach includes fresh food, much of which is cooked in front of the customer, rather than the food sat under a heat lamp buffet tradition, the Hartford Business report said.

The application was filed last week by Harrah’s on behalf of Dragonfish, a division of 888 Holdings, under the state’s Foreign Gaming Act.

It is the first time Nevada gaming regulators have been asked to investigate the suitability of an online gaming company that took wagers from American gamblers before the enactment of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act in 2006.

The bill, signed into law by President George W. Bush, made it a crime for banks and other financial institutions to process transactions used in online gaming.

Before 2006, it had been technically illegal for Internet gaming Web sites, which are incorporated and located outside the borders of the United States, to accept wagers from Americans. Many, however, took the bets because the law was rarely enforced.

Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander said a company that had previously accepted online wagers from Americans has never sought licensing or suitability approval from the state.

“It’s a question the board and the (Nevada Gaming) Commission have never formally ruled on,” Neilander said. “It’s something that may need to be resolved because it’s possible we’ll see more of these type of relationships in the future.”

Companies like 888 Holdings offered legal opinions in support of accepting the wagers from American citizens until the act became law. Some online gambling sites, such as PokerStars and FullTilt, continue to accept wagers from American citizens, having found ways to get around dealing with U.S.-based financial institutions.

Neilander said it was un- clear how long it would take for Nevada to investigate 888 Holdings. The holding company has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since September 2005.

Harrah’s application with the state is under the law that covers a Nevada gaming company’s dealings with a foreign business. It was the law used in 2007 when gaming regulators found Hong Kong businesswoman Pansy Ho to be a suitable business partner for MGM Mirage in their shared ownership of the MGM Grand Macau.

A Harrah’s spokesman declined comment on the regulatory filing.

Dragonfish provides Harrah’s with the technology to manage and operate online gaming sites in the United Kingdom under the company’s World Series of Poker and Caesars brands. The Web sites can not be accessed by American gamblers.

The software package includes poker and casino management tools, a process for electronic payments, customer support and other services.

The partnership is with Harrah’s Interactive, the company’s Montreal-based division that oversees the World Series of Poker and the Internet gaming sites. In September, when the agreement was announced, Harrah’s Interactive Chief Executive Officer Mitch Garber said, “As we develop and roll out our interactive strategy, we have chosen to work with 888, primarily for their world-class technology, scalability, and a strong commitment to compliance, and responsible gaming.”

Garber, who joined Harrah’s last May, is the former CEO of PartyGaming, which is based in Gibraltar and also listed on the London Stock Exchange. He helped rebuild the PartyGaming site after it lost customers from the U.S. after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act became law.

The three Harrah’s Web sites were launched earlier this year.

Harrah’s supports legalizing Internet gaming and has backed a bill by U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., that would establish a framework to permit online gambling operators to accept wagers from U.S. residents.

The American Gaming Association estimated $5.9 billion was wagered by U.S. residents with offshore online gambling companies in 2008 while $21 billion was bet by players worldwide.

Recently, Nevada gaming regulators began looking at the contractual relationships between casino operators and the nongambling arms of Internet gaming sites that still accept wagers from U.S. residents. No decision or industry advisement ruling has been reached.

Stupak, who had largely disappeared from the public eye in recent years as his health deteriorated, will be remembered not just for owning a hotel, building a giant tower or running unsuccessfully for office, but for the flair he brought to these and other endeavors.

“There will be a big hole” without Stupak, said Sandy Blumen, his former wife and the mother of two of his three children. “Nobody’s creating mischief. Now it’s just boring.”

Stupak died at 1:15 p.m. with family at his side, a family spokeswoman said.

“Bob was an impresario, a ringmaster in the mold of the promoters who made Las Vegas the great town that it is,” said Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman. “His ingenuity got him into trouble sometimes, but that happens to folks who try to grab the brass ring.”

“I’ll miss his impishness.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Stupak a friend of 35 years.

“Few personified the town like Bob did.” Reid said. “He was a genuine Las Vegas character.”

Stupak excelled at promoting himself and his enterprises and appeared to adhere to the axiom that even bad publicity is good publicity. His exploits made headlines over and over again.

When he found out the site of his new casino was a quarter-mile north of the Strip, he held a news conference and, by his own authority, declared the Strip had been extended to include his property.

When he lost a bid for mayor in 1987, he slapped a television reporter who asked him if he was intoxicated.

He wagered $1 million on a Super Bowl game — and won.

He produced his own board game and then challenged Atlantic City casino magnate Donald Trump to a match.

He started his own newspaper and ordered his reporters to investigate his loss in the mayor’s race.

He constructed his dream project, the 1,149-foot Stratosphere tower, complete with rooftop roller coaster and rocket ride.

Through it all, Stupak remained one of the most colorful and controversial figures not quite on the Strip.

“The best way to describe him is as a 20th century version of P.T. Barnum,” said College of Southern Nevada history professor Michael Green. “He was a visionary, and what he envisioned, he achieved.”

Stupak was born April 6, 1942. He grew up in a Polish working-class neighborhood in Pittsburgh.

He made his first bet — a penny on the numbers — when he was eight. In the Army, he ran craps games in the barracks at Fort Knox, Ky., and Fort Sill, Okla. He figured out he could also make money with something as simple as a raffle.

“I realized that people were prepared to gamble a little if they had a chance to win a lot,” he said in a 1989 interview. “I understood the principles of gambling and the greed factor, which everyone basically has.”

When he got out of the Army, he got into the restaurant coupon business, producing and selling packets of two-for-one dinners. In 1965, the young Stupak took his business to Australia, where he was hugely successful.

He also met Annette Suna, to whom he was briefly married. They had a daughter, Nicole, but soon split up.

While living in Australia, Stupak also met Blumen — then Sandra Joyce Wilkinson — whom he eventually brought to Las Vegas.

“He said, ‘There’s this place called Vegas, and it’s going to be THE place one day,’” Blumen recalled. “He always had a vision of things.”

The couple had two children together: son Nevada and daughter Summer.

Stupak remained mesmerized by Las Vegas, or at least the idea of Las Vegas.

“He was a young man with a pocketful of money and he fell in love” with the city, said Ralph Denton, a longtime Southern Nevada lawyer who met Stupak in the early 1970s.

That’s when Stupak opened a restaurant on Desert Inn Road, promoting it as “The World’s Greatest Restaurant in the World’s Greatest City.”

The restaurant was popular but not profitable and he soon gave it up for another stint in the coupon business.

He later returned to Las Vegas and opened “Bob Stupak’s World Famous Historic Gambling Museum & Casino.”

The museum burned down, and speculation swirled that arson was the cause. Nevertheless, the insurance company eventually settled the claim.

Stupak would eventually realize his dream. In 1979, he opened Vegas World.

The odds were against his success: Vegas World was on the edge of a deteriorating neighborhood and wasn’t even on the Strip. He solved the latter problem by declaring the Strip a quarter-mile longer. Then he set about marketing the hotel.

The key was gimmicks: the world’s first million-dollar jackpot, double exposure 21, no-limit wagering and vacation packages peddled in national magazines and through direct mail.

Vegas World succeeded in its own way and Stupak worked toward his ultimate dream: a very tall tower. The Stratosphere Tower would dominate the Las Vegas skyline, offering gambling, restaurants and even wedding chapels hundreds of feet in the air.

His plans were met with skepticism.

“They thought I was a complete, oh, for lack of a better word, fruitcake — and maybe they were right,” Stupak said in 2006, recalling initial reaction to his tower idea.

The Stratosphere opened in 1996. It went bankrupt and was sold soon after.

“He had a really big idea with the Stratosphere, but it was a little before its time,” former Las Vegas mayor Jan Jones said. “Love him or not, he wasn’t afraid of anyone or anything.”

Jones met and befriended Stupak when she asked for his support in her first mayoral run in the early 1990s, she said. But Stupak had already pledged his support to someone else.

“He said, ‘Don’t take it personally, girlie,’” Jones recalled. “Bob was just Bob. He was his own personality.”

Stupak nearly died in 1995 after crashing his Harley-Davidson motorcycle while going more than 60 mph. His son, Nevada, who was a passenger, also was injured. The elder Stupak broke every bone in his face. Doctors didn’t expect him to live. But Stupak was a fighter and recovered.

Still, he was never quite the same and continued to struggle with his health over the years, Blumen said.

In 1999, Stupak proposed building a 15-story Titanic-themed hotel on Las Vegas Boulevard just south of Charleston Boulevard. The project, which was budgeted at $300 million to $400 million, was rejected by the Las Vegas City Council.

Stupak always aspired to political office. He also supported the unsuccessful campaigns of daughter Nicole, who ran for Las Vegas City Council, and son Nevada, who ran for several local offices.

According to grand jury testimony, Stupak secretly bankrolled part of Janet Moncrief’s successful 2003 Las Vegas City Council campaign. Moncrief, a nurse, was ousted in a recall the following year. She admitted to falsifying campaign reports and paid a fine.

Stupak also was romantically linked to Moncrief. The relationship became part of his colorful romantic history that included a long-term relationship with singer Phyllis McGuire.

“He always liked the girls,” Denton said. “He also smoked more than any guy I ever saw. He was pretty good on the whiskey, too.”

Stupak was also a regular on the poker circuit and won a World Series of Poker bracelet in 1989. Fellow gaming executive and poker player Bobby Baldwin called Stupak someone who “forged the image and personality of Las Vegas” and was “committed to bettering the Las Vegas community which he deeply loved.”

Stupak indeed had a charitable side. He once offered $100,000 to anyone who could help solve the murder of a North Las Vegas second-grader gunned down on Halloween in the mid 1990s. The case went unsolved. He contributed money to homeless programs and fed thousands of meals to the homeless. He made substantial contributions to the city of Las Vegas Chester Stupak Family Park, named for his father, and the Stupak Community Center, his family said.

And, for a $100,000 donation to the United Negro College Fund, he got to play in a Harlem Globetrotters game. He was fouled on a successful jump shot and made one of his two free-throws, according to Review-Journal columnist John L. Smith’s biography of Stupak, “No Limit: The Rise and Fall of Bob Stupak and Las Vegas’ Stratosphere Tower.” Apart from the contribution, Smith wrote, Stupak had as much as $250,000 riding on the venture, having made large bets with poker associates on whether he could make free throws should he get to the line.

In 2006, Stupak reappeared after several years of obscurity to run unsuccessfully for Nevada lieutenant governor against Moncrief, among others.

Explaining his decision to run at the time, Stupak, who appeared frail, said, “I’ve been out of the public eye for a few years. I figured I had nothing else to do.”

“The last thing I’ve ever been all my life is normal,” he said. “I’ve accomplished what I have by being nothing close to normal.”

After the loss, Stupak kept a low profile.

Blumen said he had been struggling with health problems for some time.

“He kept it to himself, and didn’t want people to know he was sick.

“He had an interesting run,” Blumen said. “He was never boring.”

At Stupak’s request, his body will be cremated. No funeral will be held.

“Sen. Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, has introduced a measure to amend the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. If passed, the bill would affirm the Interior Secretary’s authority to take land into trust for all tribes, regardless of when they were recognized.

“‘We’re very encouraged by the amendment introduced today by Senator Dorgan, and we are hopeful that Congress will take this opportunity to resolve the inequitable situation caused by Carcieri v. Salaza,’ said Cedric Cromwell, chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, referring to the Supreme Court decision that limited the federal government’s authority to hold land in trust for Indian tribes.

“While the Supreme Court decision stemmed from a case that pitted the Rhode Island governor against the Narragansett tribe, it chilled plans for other tribes to build casinos.

“The court’s decision was a setback for the Wampanoags, who were recognized in 2007 and stalled their application to put more than 500 acres in Middleboro into federal trust for an Indian casino.

“‘Inaction by Congress could significantly impact planned development projects on Indian trust lands, resulting in a loss of jobs in an already challenging economic environment; and create costly and unnecessary litigation,” Dorgan said in introducing the bill. “If the decision stands, it would create two classes of Indian tribes and that’s unacceptable…’”

Unfortunately (but not for you since you are reading this), most – if not all – of all these supposed strategies are pretty much bogus. They are variations of saying what Craps hucksters have always said since gambling systems were borne. It goes something like this: “The inner secrets only known to a handful of professional Craps players are finally revealed with this easily learned strategy. No matter if the tables are hot or cold, you’ll know when and how to wager without relying on luck. With this Craps strategy, you’ll win thousands in the casino!”

They usually go on to recount testimonials from several successful and rich people who’ve used the same Craps strategy to rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars. Needless to say, nobody really knows who these people are and if they are actually even real people. You probably have better odds wagering they are not real at all. In fact, you’ll fare better at the craps table if you stick to pass line bets and backing the odds at craps than you would spending your time and money learning the latest Craps system.

Speaking of which, a recent press release announcing an amazing Craps secret is finally being revealed, is doing the rounds. But rather than tell you all about the article and everything it “promises”, I decided to take this time to caution you from getting caught up in all the hoopla. I certainly don’t want to come off as a casino gambling nihilist who is skeptical of beating the casino with craps strategy, because let’s face it, you can have the advantage for at least some of the time if you know what you’re doing.

However, just know that there is no fool proof way to win at Craps. Sound mathematical strategy is available. And guess what? It’s free. Just do some research on the Web. Don’t even think twice about purchasing some hidden secret, because there is none! If you want to spend money on your Craps education, put it towards a good strategy book that uses mathematical evidence to prove it’s worth.

The Telegraph newspaper reports that Brown will gamble GBP 5 000 of a TV viewer’s savings on a roulette wheel. The viewer will not even know it is their money until Brown calls them on the night of the show.

Casinos will pay out up to GBP 175 000 if the correct digit is predicted, which would be paid to the viewer if Brown is correct.

The series Derren Brown – Evening of Wonders (Channel 4) closes its run with a program titled Derren Brown: How To Beat A Casino, which will be screened on Channel 4 on October 2 at 9pm.

Brown is also attempting to use subliminal messaging techniques in a show to be screened tomorrow in which he says viewers will be stuck to their sofa.

Derren Brown: How To Control The Nation will show viewers a film which he claims will leave audiences unable to move.

He said: “The second show is a piece of media which will be played to the viewing nation that will have the effect of rendering them immobile.”

“Not all of them, but it will basically stick a lot of people to their seats.”

“It’s safe, it won’t work on everybody, but it’s applying what I do one-on-one with people on stage and turning it into a piece of technology that can then be broadcast – and it has never been done before.”

The programme will be shown on Friday on Channel 4 at 9pm.

“The effort is led by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, which operates one of the largest tribal casinos in California, and several card clubs. They have been circulating a five-page draft bill that would create a centralized, online poker website they would offer to online customers within California’s borders. The consortium would have an exclusive right to offer online poker, but all California Indian tribes and card clubs would be eligible to be members. The draft also states a so-far unspecified percentage of fees would be paid to the state.

“…On Wednsday morning, Mark Macarro, the chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, sent out a letter to leaders of other tribes stating ‘Pechanga has had a standing oppose position to online poker since proposals first surfaced late last year out of concerns for the far-reaching legal, political and policy consequences of an expansion of this magnitude.’ Not a CTBA member, Pechanga operates a 2,000 slot machine casino in Temecula.

“Macarro also attached the results of a survey his tribe commissioned through EMC Research. According to the poll of 802 randomly selected California voters conducted August 9-13, 61 percent opposed legalizing online poker in California. This included 44 percent who were “strongly opposed.” Only 36 percent were in favor…”

“…On Tuesday morning, Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, was holding a press availability when a reporter asked about the proposal.

“‘I don’t think it should be taken up in the last four weeks, Steinberg replied. I think it is a legitimate idea for consideration. I only have one question when I hear a proposal like that: how much money for the state General Fund? It’s all I want to know. You know, is it two, three hundred million dollars? If it is, I’d consider it. But I think it’s going to take more than four weeks to analyze that kind of proposal and the potential economic benefits…”

“Two public relations and lobbying firms started a campaign Monday to sell lawmakers and the public on the idea that casino gambling at existing tracks could be a partial cure for the budget deficit. Publicist Jason Rose said the plan could generate $500 million in its first full year of operation and more than $800 million when permanent facilities are in place.

“Rose conceded that the amount would not erase the current deficit, which for the moment exceeds $3 billion. But he said it could provide an alternative to further spending cuts.

“He argued that taking money from gamblers is preferable to a general tax increase, which is what Gov. Jan Brewer is pitching with her call for a temporary 1-cent-per-dollar increase in the state’s 5.6 percent sales tax to raise $1 billion a year.

“The track-gambling push will get a fight from the Indian tribes that now have the exclusive right to have slot machines, blackjack and poker tables, and that waged an expensive and successful fight in 2002 against the tracks to get it…”

It was a tough competition, with 164 entrants going after $1 541 600 in prizes for Event 37 – the $10 000 buy-in Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo World Championship. Illustrative of the high-powered nature of the field, it included Doyle Brunson, Abe Mossari, Mike Wattel, Barry Greenstein, Chau Giang, Annie Duke, Chris Ferguson, Erick Lindgren, Eli Elezra, Howard Lederer, Sebastian Ruthenberg, Daniel Negreanu, Carlos Mortensen, Phil Ivey, Justin Bonomo, Jason Mercier, Max Pescatori, Jennifer Harman, Mark Gregorich, Ted Forrest, and Dario Alioto. Also in the field were Lyle Berman, Dario Minieri, Tom Schneider, David Benyamine and Daniel Alaei.

In the three-and-a half-hour heads up it was Lissandro vs. Farzad Rouhani, with the former living up to his nickname of The Iceman and playing a controlled and strategic game to take the honours despite starting lower in chips in the heads up, along with the bracelet and the winner’s prize of $431 656.

It was Lissandro’s second bracelet at this 40th Anniversary World Series – last week he took down Event #16 – the $10 000 buy-in Seven Card Stud World Championship to win $124 959. He has also cashed in two other events this year.

Rouhani collected a check for $266 804 for his second placing.

Prior to playing poker full-time, Lisandro (43) was a real estate investor. He is now a top high-stakes cash game and international live tournaments player who has 45 cashes to his credit, three WSOP bracelets, 8 first place finishes in global tourneys and career winnings approaching $4 million.

Texan player Jordan Smith achieved his first WSOP bracelet in Event 36 – the $2 000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em contest, which attracted a field of 1 695 and offered a prize pool of $3 084 900. Among the starters were David Rheem, Kathy Liebert, Joe Sebok, Scott Seiver, Jonathan Little, Darus Suharto, Shaun Deeb, Jared Hamby, Lika Gerasimova, Rob Hollink, Michael Binger, Kenna James and Andy Black.

Smith, holding a small chip lead, faced Swedish player Ken Lennaard in the heads up after both survived a seven hour final table that included two female players in Almira Skripchenko and Laurence Grondin, although neither reached heads up status, finishing in seventh and third places respectively.

Smith lost and regained his lead on several occasions in the hard-fought game that followed with his Swedish rival, but in the end he managed to prevail to take the bracelet and the $586 212 main prize, leaving a worthy opponent in Ken Lennaard with respect and $360 439 as runner-up.