By Jerry Whittaker

The popularity of playing online casino poker has seen unprecedented growth and this in effect has encouraged the growth of this game worldwide. It is an exciting game and it no longer has the reputation for being a seedy saloon game that only the bad barroom brawling boys play. There are some real gentlemen playing this game and because of the advent of online casino poker, plenty of youngsters have made it from online play to winning the biggest poker tournament of them all. The World Series of Poker, first introduced by the one and only Benny Binion, and the first player to do this was Chris Moneymaker in 2003.

He won the final table event at the WSOP much to the shock and horror of casino poker traditionalists. Until that time it had been believed that the online poker player was of an inferior breed. But the best thing about this young man was he did it with a bankroll of $39, and it is in this where the secret gift of playing online casino poker lies – building a bankroll for bigger and better events.
If you want to know how Chris Moneymaker built his bankroll and got into this game, it is no big secret. It is all over the internet and anyone with half the mind to use this process can. The following year in 2004 Greg Rainer took the floor, also from playing online poker and he too won the WSOP championship table event. Both of these poker pros were and are still members of the biggest casino poker site ever – Poker Stars.

One young man who is currently only 24 years old and has retired from playing professional poker, is Peter Eastgate. He took the WSOP title in 2008 to win $9 million. He has since made an additional $1 million playing and as it was his goal to play poker to become financially independent, he has achieved what he set out to accomplish.

Also a Poker Stars online poker star; Eastgate is one of casino pokers’ “gentlemen”, he says he now needs to decide what he wants to do with the rest of his life, but it is commendable to see that he has not allowed poker to gobble him up and spit him out.
Many young potential poker players could learn some very big lessons from him. He believes that playing online poker offers the player the freedom and opportunity to lead a fulfilling and varied life. He calls poker “this enchanting game” and at 24 years old, he can hardly be called a man of the world. But his wisdom is timeless and it is the youngsters like Peter Eastgate, Greg Raymer, Chris Moneymaker and more who are the “gentlemen” role models of for the young poker players of the future. They couldn’t have better!

By: Jerry Whittaker

Online casinos are perfectly positioned to respond aggressively to market changes and demands. In a nutshell this means that they are able to react quickly and get new games up at a site while popular cultural trends are happening. One of the simplest and fastest ways to do this is with slot machines. These games arrive live online on a monthly or even weekly basis and they are often themed in keeping with something happening in another entertainment genre, for example television or movies.

We see this in many slots games and as the demand for Marvel Comics themed movies increases, so does the demand for these games. There is Spiderman, The Hulk, The Fantastic Four and many more of these themed slot machines to play. We also find popular game show themed slot machines, to name a few Deal or No Deal, Price is Right, SlotBlox, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Hole in the and Wall, Beat the Banker. Then we get the slot machines themed on popular shows such as Family Favorites, X Factor, Steps to Stardom and Celebrity Big Brother. Of course we can’t leave out the Adams Family, Monopoly, Cluedo and so many more I forget. The gist of it is that playing slot machines is great fun and if the game is related to something we enjoy, they we enjoy playing more.

Slot machines have the most significant evolution of all online games because of ever changing popular themes. This allows designers to get innovative with the games and incorporate newly evolving technology. The games are then added-on to the site with the least of fuss and the occasional software upgrade to support new and more exciting features.

For the slot machine purist who wants to play an old fashioned one armed bandit, this is fine. You are still able to indulge in your favorite slot. But for the video slot fanatic who wants exploding icons, bonus features, animated scatters and wilds, as well as complex interactive sounds and100 pay lines; the sky is the limit.

The new slot machines are coming out with arcade type game bonus features. Where if you hit the bonus round, you can play three or four levels of bonus games and increase winnings. Animated bonus rounds such as those found in Pachinko machines are big news too. Not only that but each new parcel of slots that comes online has something new and more exciting to offer.

If the evolution of slot machines continues on the level it has in recent time, I hazard to guess what they will come out with next. But whatever it is, it is bound to be a thrill a minute, just as these machines have been almost from the moment of their invention and inception. God bless Charles Fey!!