Tony G wins seat in Lithuanian Election claims "today we made history"

The final results of the European elections have been announced and founder of Pokernews.com and Lithuanian businessman Tony G can add another achievement to an already impressive list as he gained a seat in the next European Parliament.

When he first announce his intention to run for European Parliament back in December 2013 he said politics is "a competition, a tournament or as a sit-n-go, we are all playing," he said. "Every country is playing and whoever plays the smartest, is going to be successful."

Tony G’s pro liberal party fared much better than originally expected as they became the country’s third biggest party with 16.5% of the votes meaning they will occupy two seats in the next European Parliament.

The colourful poker player also had the honor of winning the most votes of his party and said after the results were released "Today we made history in Lithuanian politics".

His election to European Parliament has been hailed as a great thing many people within the poker industry as he may have the influence to affect poker policy in Europe going forward. Senior member of PartyPoker.Bwin Warren Lush who was on site for the home stretch of the campaign and Election Day called this a “historical result”.

There has also been an overwhelming stream of positive feedback on Tony G’s Facebook and Twitter with many players and members of the industry congratulating him.

I am sure the poker world will be watching as Tony G makes his transition from competitive trash talking poker player to European Parliament member,

Bwin.party announce departure of three directors

Bwin.party announced on Friday 16th May the departure of three of their directors from the board, with Deputy Chairman Rod Perry retiring once a successor has been selected, while Manfred Bodner and Helmut Kern will be stepping down as non-executive directors after the companies annual general meeting on the 22nd May.

The online gambling firm said in a statement that they had commenced a search for three new independent directors to replace those departures and at the same time again urged investors to vote against SpringOwl’s nominations for directors to the board.

SpringOwl the investment vehicle of Jason Ader who owns 5.27% of bwin.party wants to see boardroom changes and include their own nominations to shake up the company and bring more profit back to the company for investors.

However a spokesperson for bwin.party said that due to “the increasing complexity of the group’s business and regulatory environment, combined with the length of service of a number of the non-executive directors and the need to prevent the board from becoming too large and unwieldy,” it had decided to search for three new independent directors.

As a major shareholder SpringOwl is allowed to nominate one director to the board so long as otter shareholders agreed to the nomination, but SpringOwl are pushing for a total of four new nominations to the bwin.party board something the firm is totally against and fighting hard to oppose come the AGM.

In a move to stop SpringOwl Bwin.party said it has appointed executive search firm Spence Stuart to conduct an international search to identify suitable candidates to join the board.

“Bwin.party is operating in a challenging and rapidly changing business environment. The steps we are announcing today will ensure that succession is in place to allow the board to anticipate and address the complexities of technological change, the inevitable transition to regulated and taxed markets and also to maximise the long-term value of the business for its shareholders, customers and employees,” Chairman-Elect Philip Yea said in a statement.

It is going to be a very fiery AGM and observers are split on how shareholders will vote on SpringOwl’s nominations, the outcome could jeopardize the position of CEO Norbert Teufelberger should the vote go in favour of Jason Ader and his nominations.

Holland online gambling bill stalls

Holland’s online gambling bill which was set to legalise internet gambling in the country is in danger of missing its 2015 target because opposition parties within the coalition government are trying to stall the progress of the bill.

A planned meeting to discuss the provisions of the bill was cancelled last week in attempt to delay the passage of the bill which was hoped to reach a parliamentary vote before the summer recess that starts in mid-July.

However many observers believe it will still make the deadline and will be passed in to law for 2015, whether that is the case depends on how much more opposition there is in the coming weeks to delay the bill.

Luis Suarez Signed as Poker Ambassador by 888poker

Luis Suarez is a name familiar to every single football fan out there. Liverpool's striker, who scored 31 goals this season and was awarded the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year award, will now be testing his skills on the much smaller green felt as well. Suarez entered a sponsorship deal with one of the poker industry giants, 888poker, and he is amongst the top sporting superstars to sign this type of deal in the recent period.

Bringing Suarez aboard should give the company quite an exposure amongst those who love football but may not share the same interest for poker. The football star was presented during a press conference held today in Barcelona where he talked about this latest development as well as his future plans and the upcoming football World Cup. Senior Vice President of 888poker Itai Pazner did not try to hide the company’s excitement about their latest acquisition either:

Luis Suarez is an incredible sporting talent - passionate, competitive, technically gifted, and emotionally invested in the game. It’s those qualities that make him an exciting player to watch, in poker as well as football. It’s fantastic to have him on board.

The Uruguayan player should become an integral part of the 888poker team, playing both online and in live events. However, with the World Cup quickly approaching, it is somewhat hard to imagine Suarez will have a lot of time on his hands for poker, as he is primarily a football player.

When he does have time to play, Suarez will be joining a team already consisting of the famous cricketer Shane Warne, UFC Champion Georges St-Pierre, as well as poker stars JC Tran, Sofia Lovgren and Xuan Liu.

While Suarez’s talent and skill as a footballer are beyond any doubt, some eyebrows are being raised when considering his fairness. The football star has quite a history of suspensions and fines linked to his name throughout his career, and for some in the poker community, this may seem like a red flag.

On the other hand, there are hordes of fans who enjoy watching him perform his magic on the field and they will probably enjoy (maybe not to the same extent, but enjoy nonetheless) seeing him try his luck at the poker table and being actually able to sit across from him on the virtual felt, chat him up and even take some of his money away.

Although there is often some heat coming from the hardcore part of the poker community when it comes to signing sporting stars, the fact is that their fame and popularity simply bring new players to the game and, in the end, it is good for everyone – rooms, amateurs and professionals. Now we just have to wait and see how successful Suarez will be in a discipline that doesn’t require an actual ball to play ball.

Paddy Power boss to leave in 2015

Patrick Kennedy the CEO of Paddy Power is stepping down from his role after ten years at the helm of the Irish bookmaker.

“I have always had a personal view that after ten years at the helm, change is good, both for the business and the individual,” Kennedy said in a statement. He will leave his job as boss of Paddy Power in 2015 along with competitor William Hill boss Ralph Topping who is also leaving at the end of 2015.

Both bookmakers who have strong presence in land based retail units and online will be searching to find replacements for both men who have inspired their companies to be leading players in the industry.