Elpidio Bustira arrived early at the Bally’s sports book Wednesday morning, happy to be back after a online casinos forced five-month hiatus.

The book’s owner, Harrah’s Entertainment, closed the book in late March to save online gambling money, sending loyal Bally’s customers, such as Bustira, next door to Paris Las Vegas.

Although he liked Paris Las Vegas’ sports book, Bustira missed the familiar faces and surroundings at Bally’s 256-seat book. He’s glad the facility is reopening in time for internet casinos football season.

“It is more alive here during football season than any other sports book,” said Bustira, a Bally’s customer since 2003 who also bets on horse racing.

The sports book is reopening two weeks before the National Football League season kicks off on Sept. 10 so Bally’s can promote the book’s return, said Frank Kunovic III, special games manager for Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas.

Bally’s is lining up celebrity appearances by sports figures and promotions with local vendors to bring attention to the book’s return.

Three longtime customers were at the book when it reopened at 8 a.m., Kunovic said, adding that some customers may not be aware that the book was ever closed.

Bally’s hired back five of the nine workers laid off in March; the other four found work elsewhere or moved. Four new workers were hired.

Bally’s also took the time during the closing to do some minor remodeling at the bar and a total remodeling of the VIP room overlooking the sports book.

New televisions were added in some areas, updated in others.

Although the company saved money on operations, how much was lost in revenues is hard to gauge. Harrah’s Entertainment doesn’t report its sports book winnings separately from casino revenues.

Clark County sports books, however, won $116.7 million on non-horse-racing event bets last year, control board figures show; 28.9 percent came from football bets and 32.8 percent came from basketball bets.

The sports book was closed for the majority of the baseball season, which accounted for 17.9 percent of 2008 sports books’ winnings in Clark County.

The counters were also closed during the bulk of the horse-racing season, which generated $70.9 million in winnings last year.

Bill Zimmer, vice president and casino manager of Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas, said the closing was a business decision that was right for the time.

“Keep in mind, it is an extremely slow period (for sports betting) coupled with a real tough economy,” Zimmer said. “The fact that we had Paris, we were able to continue to service our guests. So from their standpoint it was not a problem.”

An annual closing of the Bally’s sports book during the summer will not happen, he added.

“It is not something we are planning on closing every summer,” Zimmer said. “I want to make that clear.”

The online gambling weekend saw nine survivors from an original entry field of 429 in the 2009 PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour main casino event commence battle in Macau.

The final table comprised Dermot Blain, Mike Kim, Daoxing ‘Boa Boa’ Chen, Darkhan Botabayev, Pontus Kers, Jicheng Su, Dbinder Singh, Brandon Demes and Stefan Hjorthall, with the last-named the first to be eliminated soon after the casino games action started.

US pro Brandon Demes went out in eighth, busted by Dermor Blain who went on to send Canadian player Dbinder Singh to the rail in seventh.

Daoxing ‘Boa Boa’ Chen was responsible for the next elimination when he sent Jicheng Su home in sixth place, and Swedish pro Pontus Kers was the first to see six-figure money, taken out in fifth place for a cool $114 464 by Darkhan Botabayev. The Swede’s ROI was particularly noteworthy – he had won entry to the tourney on a $20 re-buy satellite at PokerStars!

It looked as if the touney would go to a strongly performing Chen, until he had an expensive clash with Botabayev that set him back. Chen soon after had the satisfaction of eliminating Darkhan Botabayev in fourth place for a take-home of $166 497.

Three handed, it was Chen, Kim and Blain with Kim playing aggressively. However it was Blain who decided who would play in the heads up when he knocked Chen out of the event in a very creditable third place for $239 327.

Heads up it was Mike Kim vs. Dermot Blain, with the former holding a massive 8 to 1 lead. It looked like a foregone conclusion but Irishman Blain stood his ground and played a game of such disciplined and controlled aggression that he was able to wrest the game from his opponent. Kim went to the rail in second place for $484 999, leaving Blain to take the trophy and the main prize of $541 089.

The return to work from the summer recess of the Malta Parliament will see a renewed drive to complete debates on a new set of casino gambling regulations aimed at regulating video lottery terminals and other internet gambling arcades that have mushroomed around the island, reports the Malta Independent newspaper.

Police have recently conducted a number of illegal gambling raids on the Mediterranean island and the official opposition party says it is time for the government to quickly implement new regulations controlling the establishment of online gambling outlets, in the process clarifying the situation and raising tax revenues.

Shadow Finance Minister Charles Mangion told the the Malta Independent: “There must be no further delays in the implementation of regulations for the gambling and Video Lottery Terminals sector.

“We have been calling for the government to regulate the sector for a long time since a level playing field must be established for the operators while the authorities watch over the social interest of gamblers,” he said.

Mangion said that he believes that gamblers, even in the case of Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs), must be over the age of 25, as is the norm with local casinos.

Noting the police action and subsequent court applications for the return of gambling equipment, Mangion said that the police actions were the result of the government’s mismanagement and bad administration. No such action would have been necessary had the market been regularised before gambling arcades sprang up, he remarked.

Owners of the gambing operations concerned were critical of the Malta licensing agency – the LGA – which they felt had misled them in presenting a VLT Regulations Roll-Out Plan in October 2007. Besides proposing regulations following a two-year-long consultation process with stakeholders, the plan said that by the end of 2008, all machines had to be in line with regulations and compatible with the central monitoring system that LGA was supposed to create.

One operator invested some Euro 5.5 million in new machinery and the sector had 400 employees up to the first week of August. However, LGA did not have the necessary framework set up and the government had not presented the proposals to Parliament by the end of 2008. It appeared as if everyone had forgotten the deadlines involved, now brought into sharp focus by official action.

Operators further claim that the now departed former LGA CEO, Mario Galea had told them that a general exemption applied because of the delay in legislature, however the law did not allow Galea to give such an exemption, which was only given by word of mouth.

Gambling arcade operators now await the regulations, which Finance Minister Tonio Fenech promised to present to Parliament following the summer recess.

The respected poker information website Pokerlistings.com reports that Andreas Oscarsson, its founder, has suffered a violent death in Sweden whilst visiting his childhood home in Trollhättan, western Sweden.

Details are still sketchy, but it appears that he was found dead in his bed with a gunshot wound on August 3rd.

“For all of us who began building PokerListings with Andreas several years ago, he was a close friend and we will miss him dearly,” said a statement from Pokerlistings.

“Andreas left the operational side of PokerListings just over two years ago, shortly after the birth of his son, and had moved into an advisory role, drawing on his vast experience to lead the current team when needed.

“He was a great source of inspiration and energy to anyone he encountered – at least if you were on the same side of the fence (for those on the other side of the fence, he was a tough negotiator and a worthy, highly respected opponent).

“Andreas was a very generous person to those close to him, a brilliant internet marketing guru and a savvy business entrepreneur – always looking to break new ground, and break new records.

“He was a true pioneer within the industry; his vision with PokerListings.com was to build a world-leading online gambling company. We shall not let him down, and will bring his vision all the way to the finish line in honor of his memory – you can take that to the bank.

“Those of us who knew him well would say that most of all he was a warm and loving father.

“Our thoughts and condolences go out to Andreas’ son, family & friends.

“Andreas, we will forever miss you.

“Sincerely, The PokerListings.com Team”

Reports from Sweden indicate that Oscarsson (36) was visiting Sweden with his two year old son, when it appears that a person or persons unknown broke into the family home and shot the Internet entrepreneur.

Local police are reportedly uncertain of the motive for the attack, but media reports quoting friends and colleagues in Stockholm and Gothenburg suggest that ‘concrete threats’ had been aimed at Oscarsson.

Oscarsson’s wife flew from New York to Sweden on hearing the tragic news of her husband’s untimely death.

The English-language Swedish newspaper TheLocal.se reported:

“A 36-year-old Swede resident in the United States was shot dead during a visit to his family’s home in Trollhättan in western Sweden on Tuesday in a suspected murder believed to have been witnessed by the victim’s two year-old son.

“Several relatives, including the 2-year-old boy, were in the house where the man was found dead on Tuesday afternoon, Thord Haraldsson, head of the police anti-crime unit in Trollhättan, told news agency TT.

“None of the man’s family members are suspected of being involved in the murder, however.

“The man moved to the United States ten years ago but originally came from Trollhättan and had been on holiday in Sweden when he was shot dead, Aftonbladet reports. He had planned to leave Sweden on Tuesday.

“A forensics investigation has been conducted at the scene and a preliminary investigation has indicated murder or manslaughter,” said Robert Edh, commander of the police communication centre in Gothenburg.

“Police have questioned the man’s relatives and spoken with neighbours in search of witnesses. A crisis team has also worked with the man’s family.”

Casino Rewards group casinos GoldenTiger and CasinoAction report that the progressive slot Treasure Nile was the place to be this week, with players hitting two significant jackpots on the game.

Treasure Nile paid out two jackpots in the space of just 2 hours in a rewarding coincidence when Maria S from Portugal hit a $56 650 jackpot and Robert M from Norway won an even more rewarding $97 419 on the popular online progressive.

Treasure Nile is a five reel, nine payline game themed on ancient Egypt.

The advertising agency Grey London’s business relationship with online gambling group 888 has come to an end after barely five months, according to reports in the UK marketing media this week which say the falling out was over a series of disagreements over money.

Gray, which was appointed to the GBP 3 million account in February this year after a three way pitch that did not include it’s former agency CHI & Partners completed only one campaign for the gambling company before resigning the account.

It is understood that 888.com is currently assembling a selection of agencies for a re-pitch with an August target date in mind.

The recent liberalisation of gambling advertising in the UK, which allows gambling ads after 9pm, has placed growing importance on recruiting the right advertising companies.

Casino Espresso.com is a new, Italian-targeted live dealer online casino, poker and sportsbetting venue powered by Gaming Zone Limited and offering live Roulette, Blackjack, Punto y Banco and 30 et 40 which is streamed live from Malta’s Casino di Venezia.

Licensed by Malta’s LGA, the operation also offers more traditional online gambling on slots and video poker.

The normally buoyant sports betting margins at Swedish online gambling group Betsson recorded a first half 2.6 percentage point decline in the six months to June 30 2009, dropping from 10.5 percent to 7.9 percent.

Management blamed a run of sports results that favoured the player rather than the operator for the decline, which was also apparent in the quarterly numbers, where a 9.8 percent margin slipped to 4.7 percent.

Betsson chief executive Pontus Lindwall remained optimistic, however, commenting that customer action and deposits had never been higher than in the second quarter, indicating solid growth.

H1 2009 revenues were up 29 percent to SEK 600 million ($80 million), from SEK 464.7 million in H1 2008, and on a quarterly basis were up 20 percent to SEK 284.6 million (Q2 2008: SEK236.9 million).

There was a slight one percent increase in pre-tax profit to SEK 62 million over the quarter and a 22 percent rise to SEK145 million over the first half of the year.

Deposits by the punters grew by 32 percent during the second quarter and gross sportsbook turnover rose 73 percent to SEK 644.8 million (Q2 2008: SEK373.2 million).

The Malta-based scratch card games developer Neo Games has signed an agreement with Betsson which will see the integration of this style of instant win games on the Betsson platform, management revealed. Betsson will launch a white label platform in partnership with Nordic Entertainment to exploit the format.

70 percent of total gross profit for Q2 2009 came from casino operations, up 10 percent on the same period last year. Poker saw a decline, from 19 percent last year to 14.2 percent this time, and sportsbetting contributed 11.5 percent of gross profits, nicely up on the 7.5 percent recorded in the Q2 2008.