According to a survey carried out by the region’s official statistics bureau, the number of employees in Macau’s gaming industry has increased about 30% over the past year.

Pagcor (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.) recently signed an agreement with Clark Development Corp. to build a high-level international casino and other tourist projects in the commercial district of Clark Freeport. Both companies are expected to invest about 197.1 million dollars in the project.

CDC President, Levy P. Laus and Efraim C. Genuino, CEO of Pagcor, said the joint venture includes a high-quality casino, a five-star hotel, restaurants and resorts in a 13.5 ha land. “We expect to hire more than 2,000 workers, once the project is operative,” Laus added. “We hope the project helps to develop a casino strip in the Clark district.”

Jamaican’s opinions regarding casino gambling are beginning to change. More and more Jamaicans are in favor of legalizing gambling casino games such as roulette and blackjack and want the Government to lift the existing bans.

The increased income for the island and also the addition of jobs are two reasons as to why they are changing their minds towards a more permissive law.

UK Culture Minister Gerry Sutcliffe has informed that gaming operators submitted proposals to build 125 smaller casinos and 16 regional centers in the country, which added to the existing 144 gambling venues reach a total of 285. However, the number of sites established by the Government in the new gambling legislation of January 2005 was only 150.

In order to avoid the restriction set by authorities, operators applied before the regulations came into force in September 2007. Nevertheless, Minister Gordon Brown has requested the evaluation of the 16 proposed regional casinos in an attempt to stop the gambling surge generated during his predecessor’s term.

The Center for Advanced Software Technologies (CAST) of the Bangor University was authorized this week by the Gambling Commission to test gaming machines for regulations. The CAST is the first organization in the United Kingdom to be granted a license of this kind.

From now on, CAST’s Compliance Testing Laboratory will be able to test and certificate gambling devices such as slot machines, for casinos, betting shops, pubs, hotels and other gaming venues in the UK. Testers will certify randomness, social responsibility and fairness, among other features.

British top model Naomi Campbell recently traveled to Kenya, a place that fascinated the model and for that reason she has decided to open a luxurious casino on the country’s coast. Her plans have not been well received by Kenyans and animal protection organizations, since the construction of such a building would be risky for the turtles that live there.

Campbell and her ex-boyfriend Flavio Briatore have already submitted a request to start the construction of the “Millionaire’s Hotel”. The casino and its six-star hotel, to be situated in the Maldini resort, would only accommodate rich guests and the nobility.

A spokesperson for Publish and Broadcasting Limited announced that the company’s division into two new companies would take place in spite of the new tax regime that came into effect in Australia. The company will summon its shareholders again soon to discuss the demerger proposal. The first shareholders’ meeting was adjourned due to the announcement made by the Minister for Revenue.

Minister Peter Dutton clarified the new regulations and explained that all corporate actions announced before October 13 would not be affected by the modification in the tax regime. “As PBL first announced its proposed demerger by schemes of arrangement in May 2007, the PBL board is satisfied the demerger proposal is not affected by the minister's announcement,” the company said in a statement.

Midland’s first casino school is expected to open next month at North Warwickshire and Hinckley College’s Bermuda Park Innovation Center in Nuneaton. According to organizers, the gaming academy will represent important job opportunities for community members who wish to be part of the gambling world.

On October 3, the academy will hold an open day in order to present its courses and provide more information about its syllabus to potential students. Graham Hollowell, deputy executive director for Connexions Coventry, has been invited to the event. Staff from Jobcenter Plus, New Deal and several casinos will be visiting the site too.

Daniel Craig is the latest James Bond, he played the main character in the movie Casino Royale. And he is going to be in town during the current month in order to shoot his new filming project.

‘Defiance’, is the name of the movie, which will be directed by the director of Blood Diamond, and it will tell the story of Jewish partisans who fought the Nazis from the forests of Belarus. This film is based on true events, something that cannot be said about Casino Royale, concerning a community of escaped Jews who established a remarkably sophisticated society hidden among the trees while avoiding the German forces.

The marriages started at dawn on Saturday and continued until midnight in Las Vegas, the capital of gambling and express weddings, which on the 7th day of the 7th month of 2007 experienced a historic journey with over 3,000 promises of eternal love.

“It’s a historic day for Las Vegas”, David Foote, owner of a chapel in Las Vegas, said. “If you are one of those who waited in line on Friday to get the authorization to get married, then congratulations, because that meant four and a half hours of waiting”, he told the future husband and wife.