Weekly Roundup November 7 2014
Pala Interactive Partners with Borgata
Pala Interactive has partnered with Borgata to offer gaming software in the regulated New Jersey poker and casino market. It is unknown what the product or brand name is that will be used, however, there are some concerns in the online gaming community about the company that is entering the market.
Pala Interactive is led by CEO Jim Ryan. Mainstream news reports state that he is former CEO of Party Gaming, which is accurate. Those reports omit a previous job performed by Ryan. He was also CEO of Ultimate Bet’s parent company. He held that position during the insider cheating scandal at the site where players lost over $20 million.
There was a subsequent cover up of the cheating as players started to discover it. Ryan’s name came up when Travis Makar leaked tapes of a meeting of executives on how to cover up the cheating. Ryan has never publicly discussed the cheating scandal at Ultimate Bet.
This is a story that Safest Poker Sites will continue to follow.
PokerStars Rake Protests Fail
High volume players protested this week at PokerStars with sit outs. They had no effect on policy and had a minimum impact on the site’s activities. PokerStars set a short term high in cash game players on the same day as the protest, according to PokerScout states. It is safe to say that the changes are here to stay at the world’s largest poker site.
PrivateTable Launches Bingo
California online poker players have been patiently waiting for PrivateTable to launch. The first step is here. The site now offers real money bingo. It launched on Monday. Real money poker is expected to go live in the coming weeks. It will be open only to players in California that are 18 years of age or older.
Second Everleaf Gaming Executive Arrested
Jean Pavili, a former Everleaf Gaming executive, was arrested and charged with misappropriation of player funds. He posted a €10,000 guarantee and the same amount for bail. There is also €900,000 frozen. Players are owed €800,000 of that, according to the Malta Lotteries and Gaming Authority. The remainder is owed to regulators.
Michael Zwi Oros, also a former executive at Everleaf Gaming, was arrested in September on the same charges and is currently out on bail.