Sydney Airport And The Star's Casino Nightclub To Get Paris Hilton Mania

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Australian entertainment and club fans, and all you celebrity watchers out there... It's time for yet another showbiz update.

The Star's new nightclub Marquee in "Sin City" Sydney, Australia is to hold their grand opening this Friday night and guess who is coming to the party - the ultimate party girl herself - Paris Hilton, along with boyfriend DJ Afrojack, and a bush tucker bag of friends and associates including Ashlee Simpson, Nick Lachey, Kellan Lutz, Abbie Cornish and LMFAO's Redfoo.

Then there's the Australian contingent of celebs attending including Laura Dundovic, Alex Dimitriades, Glenn and Sara McGrath, Alex Perry, Nikki Phillips, Didier Cohen, April Rose Pengilly, Tim Commandeur, Laura Cstortan and Chris Joannou.

A Media Man agency spokesperson said "It's likely the most star power and positive entertainment news The Star and any of its clubs are likely to get for a while so the powers that be at The Star are pulling out all of the stops and rabbits out of the hat to ensure that its done right. The Star and its nightclubs appear to be aiming for it to be the place to be seen, with even a street team of sorts assembled to try to encourage Sydney party types to make The Star and its Marquee the preferred nightclub venue in Sydney if not Australia".

The big party bash is set to get massive Australian and international news coverage, but will that translate into dollars for the Echo Entertainment owned premise? That's what The Star's Marquee is gambling on anyway.

Marquee is hoping to attract not only big dollars but also lots of positive press when it holds their mega part for the world's hottest celebs this Friday.

The official VIP launch party will include DJ sets from The Black Eye Peas, will.i.am and Afrojack, with boat loads of celebs.

The 20,000 square foot nightclub occupies the entire top tier of The Star’s new Pirrama Road harbour side entrance. It enjoys a 1,200 people capacity and is aiming to fill up the venue with the right sort of customers. It's understood that there's three separate spaces within the one venue, so hopefully there's something for everyone's mood and taste.

The Main Room sports a 30-foot projection stage with an LED DJ booth and two funky dance floors, while another section entitled 'Boom Box' has an outdoor patio and DJ booth. For those guests who are looking for a bit more intimacy... and we know your out there boys and girls, there's a "library-style" lounge room along with fireplace, where you might want to get all cosy with your best friends and even fast friends, if you follow.

The new funky nightclub is a joint effort between The Star and Tao Group, which operates very successful nightclubs in the United States including LAVO in New York and Las Vegas, TAO Las Vegas and Marquee Nightclub and Dayclub at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

Punter's, we think its a pretty safe bet that you and yours will have fun (and spend a few dollars) at The Star's Marquee, so why not give them a go and tell us all about your experience.

It's all just another move in the Australian casino and entertainment wars, with a good dash of tourism biz factored in, and hopefully the public and Sydney benefit. Something tells us that Crown Limited's James Packer and his other top brass will also be watching the situation pretty closely.

Sydney - brace yourself for a hell of a party, and if The Star gets their way - get used to many more parties.

Will you be on 'The List' any time soon at Marquee - don't change your dial budding socialites.

News For Early Birds; Sydney Airport Tip Off...

Speculation is rife that Paris Hilton and perhaps one or two friends will be flying into Sydney International Airport very early tomorrow (Thursday) morning. A strong press pack is expected to be out there taking the punt that's she gets off a plane. Well, we're all in the gambling mood now aren't we now?

Paris Hilton Tweeted...

Another crazy day at the airport. Goodbye LA! Hello Sydney! ☺

♡ u! RT @CamRaFace: Headed to Australia. Time to catch up on movies & sleep :) #mlm love u @ParisHilton for always letting adventure with u!

At the airport about to take off to Sydney! Haven't been to Australia in a long time, so I'm very excited for this trip! Love it there! ☺♡

Can't wait for The @MarqueeSydney opening party this weekend! Going to be so much fun! Performances by @DJAfrojack @RedFoo & @IamWill! ☺♡♫

Can't wait for the grand opening of @MarqueeSydney this friday! Going to be an incredible party! I love the Aussies! ☺♫ http://tinyurl.com/cohcgeb

Feels good to be home, but not for long. Have to pack again now cause I'm flying to Australia tomorrow night. So excited! I love it there! ...


Flashback To Some Colourful Paris Hilton News From Years Ago That Attracted International News Media...

Why there's gold in them thar cells - 6th May 2007...

Paris Hilton will earn yet another fortune selling diaries and images of her life behind bars, according to leading publicists.

"She will probably make more money from it than Jeffrey Archer," said marketing guru Max Markson. "But she is very silly. She was warned. She was on a suspended sentence. She deserves to get 45 days."

Hilton's sentence for drunk driving is unlikely to adversely affect sales of Bondi Blonde, the beer she was hired to promote by its maker's part-owner, John Singleton, during a five-day visit to Sydney in January.

But she could use her marketing genius and jail sentence for a good cause, according to Greg Tingle, chief executive of Mediaman. "The opportunity certainly exists for Paris to turn this to a positive because of her strong social influence on youth globally," Tingle said.

"Paris and her close advisers should carefully consider what tactic to take with this. It's a golden opportunity to emphasise the dangers of alcohol abuse."

Since her first media appearance at the opening of a Las Vegas casino in 1999, Hilton has out ditzied Marilyn, built a business like Madonna and will soon have the ex-con marketability of Martha Stewart.

She has been so successful at turning a negative to a positive that she has created a new category of celebrity; the sleazebrity.

Who else could turn a humiliating sex video released by a toady former boyfriend into a global launch pad?

Who but Paris could profit from one million American parents signing a petition to ban a TV advertisement in which she slid across a soapy Bentley to eat a hamburger?

In his ebook Paris Hilton is a Fool, author W. Frederick Zimmerman writes that while the socialite/model/TV star is a fool, she is nobody's idiot. "The evidence seems to support the argument that, although she is no intellectual, she is a pretty shrewd businesswoman," Zimmerman writes.

"She is a risk taker who avoided the easy path of relying on a family fortune and struck out on her own to create an innovative personal career."

But life behind bars will be anything but the simple life for the multi-millionaire hotel heiress. (Credit: The Age)

Media Man 2012 Commentary On Paris...

"Paris Hilton may not be saving the world, but when she gets into Australia tomorrow she is bound to give a shot into the arm to Australia's embattled tourism and entertainment industry. 'Sin City' Sydney is to get some extra dollars in the door, and The Star will see much of it. Just how much of that love... dollars gets spread around Sydney remains to be seen, but the land down under is to also get its fair share of entertainment news headlines around the world thanks to Paris, and hopefully that's a good thing. It should be unless there's an unforeseen significant development around the corner. Paris has matured quite a bit in the past few years, plus The Star will be watching over things closely, so it should be smooth sailing. Welcome back to Sydney Paris."

That's it fans. Stay tuned to Media Man and Street Corner for more entertainment news and scoops daily.

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Fallen Aussie tycoon and FBI's net-bet supergrass to star in US trial - 21st March 2012...

Daniel Tzvetkoff, the one-time high-flying Queensland internet whiz who brought down America's multibillion-dollar online poker industry, will come out of hiding next month.

The 29-year-old faced a sentence of 75 years in a US federal prison but in 2010, while languishing in a New York jail, he struck a secret deal with prosecutors and has become a star informant for the US government in its bid to prosecute the kingpins of three of the world's largest online gambling companies: PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker.

AAP can reveal that Tzvetkoff, whose Queensland-based company Intabill allegedly processed more than $US1 billion ($957 million) worth of illegal transactions between US gamblers and internet gaming websites based offshore, has handed more than 90,000 documents over to prosecutors.

The inside information includes confidential emails.

Tzvetkoff's first public test as a prosecution witness will come on April 9 in a New York courtroom when a former Las Vegas-based business partner, Chad Elie, and a Utah banker, John Campos, go on trial.

Elie, 31, is charged with nine offences including conspiring to commit bank fraud and money laundering and faces a maximum jail sentence of 85 years if convicted.

Campos, a 57-year-old executive at Utah's SunFirst Bank who allegedly agreed to process gambling transactions, is charged with six offences and could be jailed for 35 years.

This week, Elie's lawyers complained to the judge handling the case that, on the eve of the trial, prosecutors dumped a "mountain of documents" on them, including Tzvetkoff's emails.

"For example, although the government had previously produced emails for Daniel Tzvetkoff, one of the government's main witnesses in this case, the material we recently received revealed that Mr Tzvetkoff had deleted his emails from the Intabill server, which had previously been made available to the defence, and that the Tzvetkoff emails that were included in prior productions were therefore ones that Mr Tzvetkoff had cherry-picked for the government," Monday's filing from Elie's lawyers, Barry Berke and Dani James, stated.

"Only after we pointed this out to the government did we receive a full set of Mr Tzvetkoff's materials, which included more than 90,000 documents and which we were able to access for the first time only yesterday."

Tzvetkoff was once a media darling in Australia, flaunting his wealth - estimated at $82 million just a few years ago - with a $27 million home on the Gold Coast, a garage filled with Lamborghinis and Ferraris, and as a sponsor of V8 Supercar racing team, Team IntaRacing.

His world came crashing down in 2009 when the internet poker companies, for which he allegedly helped launder $US1 billion, accused him of stealing about $US100 million.

Tzvetkoff was arrested at Las Vegas's upmarket Encore casino in April 2010 and charged with money laundering, bank fraud and other charges.

US federal prosecutors vigorously fought to keep Tzvetkoff in jail after his arrest, including successfully overturning a Las Vegas judge's decision to grant Tzvetkoff bail.

Tzvetkoff was transferred to a New York jail and sat there until June 2010 but, in secret dealings, sealed by judges, Tzvetkoff disappeared.

"He's turned the corner, seen the light and is co-operating," former FBI agent Harold Copus, after reviewing the details of the case, told AAP.

On April 15, 2011, Tzvetkoff's inside knowledge led to what has been dubbed in the US as "Black Friday", the day tens of thousands of US poker players logged on to their computers and discovered three top gambling sites - PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker - had been shut down in the US by authorities.

The FBI and prosecutors also announced that day internet gambling kingpins Isai Scheinberg and Paul Tate of PokerStars, Raymond Bitar and Nelson Burtnick of Full Tilt Poker, and Scott Tom and Brent Beckley of Absolute Poker, were charged with bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling offences.

Elie and Campos were also charged in the sweep.

Prosecutors alleged Elie, as Tzvetkoff's Intabill was crumbling in 2009, fleeced $US4 million from PokerStars.

"Intabill's founder, Daniel Tzvetkoff, who processed over $US1 billion for the poker companies, ended up owing tens of millions to PokerStars," prosecutor Arlo Deviln-Brown wrote in a recent court filing.

"While Tzvetkoff's lifestyle is squarely responsible for much of the missing money ($US25 million on a house, for example), the fact is that 'sub-processors' that Tzvetkoff relied on - including Elie - also failed to remit and indeed simply made off with the money PokerStars was missing." (AAP)


Auckland High Court grants Kim Dotcom $46,700 a month expenses...

A NEW Zealand court has granted Megaupload boss Kim Dotcom $46,700 a month in living expenses as he awaits a US bid to extradite him on online piracy charges.

The German national reportedly applied for $171,240 a month to cover his costs when he was freed on bail last month, including funds to pay for luxuries such as a butler and nannies.

The High Court in Auckland ruled Dotcom, who US authorities allege violated piracy laws to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, could have $46,700 a month, Fairfax Media reported.

It also gave the internet tycoon - a keen car enthusiast - access to a 2011 Mercedes Benz, The New Zealand Herald reported.

The 38-year-old's assets were frozen after New Zealand police, cooperating with a major US probe, raided his sprawling Auckland mansion on January 20, seizing artworks and luxury cars including a pink Cadillac.

Megaupload was founded in 2005 but shut down in January after the Auckland raid.

A US application for Dotcom's extradition is expected to be heard on August 20. US authorities have said they will seek the maximum penalty of 20 years in jail if he is brought before an American court.

Dotcom, who legally changed his name from Kim Schmitz, has denied any wrongdoing and vowed to fight extradition, labelling the case against him "misleading and malicious."


Casino rewards cards examined in hunt for cheats...

CASINO rewards cards could be the next secret weapon used by Centrelink and the Australian Taxation Office to take down frauds and welfare cheats.

The Absolute Rewards program, which is available through Queensland's three major casinos, is being considered by investigators as a way to nab dodgy individuals suspected of breaking the law.

Absolute Rewards allows members through its Absolute Assist function to set a daily gambling limit of their choice and tracks their spending to ensure machines lock users out when their limit is reached.

A Treasury Casino spokeswoman confirmed members were able to ask for summaries of their spending history.

By cross-referencing the spending with other documents, investigators could potentially determine whether fraud had taken place.

Section 264 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 allows officers to obtain documents or data they require to further their probe.

An ATO spokeswoman said the office "would not rule out" using Absolute Rewards and Absolute Assist information to investigate targets.

"From time to time, we do use our powers under S264 to obtain information on individuals from third parties (such as casinos and other businesses) which may assist us to identify undisclosed income," she said.

"We would not rule out the possibility of using such a system to access information in the future."

Centrelink may also begin using rewards cards to track down welfare cheats.

Department of Human Services general manager Hank Jongen said while information hadn't so far been obtained through the system, it was a possibility.

"Based on the available information, the department would only seek to access details through the Absolute Assist program on an individual basis during an investigation into a customer's undisclosed wealth," he said.

A Treasury Casino spokeswoman said the casino had provided government agencies with information at their request.

Queensland Council for Civil Liberties president Michael Cope said he couldn't foresee any privacy issues provided the method was used only to investigate those already under suspicion. (News Limited)


Sports betting growing gambling...

The Aussie tradition of taking a punt is reaching new heights with online gambling leading to an explosion in sports betting.

Although still dwarfed by other forms of gambling, sports betting is gaining popularity, according to industry research group IBISWorld.

Sports betting was the fastest growing market segment, with annual growth of 14.7 per cent for the last five years.

IBISWorld Australian general manager Karen Dobie said sports betters were mostly young, single professionals with disposable income. They did not view it as a serious form of gambling.

'Sports betting is most accessible online. Given this demographic is particularly comfortable in the online environment, this is another factor driving growth,' Ms Dobie said in a statement on Wednesday.

The diversity of bets on offer, including who leads at half time and shoots the first goal was also driving spending.

Despite its rising popularity, sports betting accounts for only 1.6 per cent, or $360.5 million, of gambling spend.

Casino gambling accounts for 20 per cent of total expenditure, the research found.

Pokies, lotteries and racing were in decline, but pokies still took the lion's share of the market with 60.2 per cent.

Australians are among the most prolific gamblers in the world with the research predicting gambling expenditure to reach $22.5 billion or an average of $1,256 per person in 2011/12.

'More than 70 per cent of us have a flutter at least once a year, especially in line with key cultural events such as Anzac Day and the Melbourne Cup,' Ms Dobie said.

NSW had the most gamblers, making up 38 per cent of gambling spending, followed by Victoria and Queensland.


bwin.party sells Ongame to Shuffle Master - 6th March 2012...

bwin.party digital entertainment has agreed to sell Ongame, its business-to-business online poker network, to Shuffle Master for up to €29.5m.

bwin.party says the agreement is consistent with the group's stated strategy and follows its announced intention to sell Ongame last June.

An initial consideration of €19.5m is payable in cash on completion, subject to a post-completion working capital adjustment.

A further consideration of up to €10.0m payable in cash in the event that regulated online poker starts in the United States on either a federal or intra-state basis within five years from completion.

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