Friday, June 26, 2009

Make your Money Work Harder Playing Online Casino Tournaments

Online casino tournaments are a great way to make your money work harder for you. It’s always great to gamble in the hopes of winning a big payout but with tournaments you can play for even more money and sometimes even fantastic prizes.

Online casinos offer some great buy-ins and prizes for tournaments both big and small running virtually every week! There are hundreds to choose from depending on which online casinos and games you like to play and what prizes you want to go for and buy-ins can be very cheap, sometimes even free. Tournaments are a great way to get in on some great game action, interact with other players and go for the top spot!

Online casino tournaments usually involve games like poker, slots and blackjack but you can even find ones for other great games too. And entering them is pretty easy. Usually you are simply required to have an account with the online casino (or sign-up for one) and have some money in your account. Sometimes you’ll have to pay to enter (usually a small fee) while other tournaments are completely free to enter (called freerolls).

If you’re into slots you can play tournaments to your heart’s content. There are even slot game specific tournaments where you can play to be the top winner in a set amount of time. Check out slot specific website like Slotland.com or top online casino for U.S. players Intertops Red Casino who both offer incredible tournaments for the avid slot player.

If you’d love to be sitting at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) final table you can play for a shot at a WSOP package at loads of different online casinos. Check out great poker sites like Poker Stars, Full Tilt and Bodog who accept U.S. players and offer some great tournaments for poker (and other games too!)

Tournaments are a great way to play more games and pit your skills against other gamblers. They offer an entertaining added challenge for online gamblers and lots of excitement and fun

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

GameOn Bingo is What You Need

Do you play Bingo, Roulette or Blackjack? Perhaps Poker is your game or maybe you have a weakness for slot machines. Would you like to know a place where you can play all these games and even more from the comfort of your own home? If the answer is yes, just keep on reading.

Recently I discovered www.gameonbingo.com, an online casino and bingo community, and although I have rarely played bingo online myself, I can see why such sites are so appealing to so many people, and why online gambling has become such a popular hobby.

GameOn Bingo is definitely the best choice for players who value friendly communities as well as secure and friendly environments. Bingo runs all day, every day, and with Roulette, Blackjack, Video Poker slot machines and other instant games available, there is always something to bet on.

What particularly grabbed my attention was the enticing welcome package on offer. For just filling out the registration form you are awarded with 1000 loyalty points which can be traded for extra bingo cards, cash or credits, plus when you first deposit money into the account they match it one and half times. If this wasn’t good enough, then any further deposits between £20 and £100 are matched up to 50%. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

GameOn Bingo knows how to impress any player. Just think about holidays in the sun, bingo cruises to Mexico, large LCD TV’s and your months utility bills paid, not mentioning the great cash prizes you can win including an impressive £1 Million coverall jackpot. Besides, you can even earn another 5000 loyalty points just by recommending a friend, plus extra points awarded for regular visits and buying bingo cards.

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

March Madness Over



This just about sums up my frustration right now with this years March Madness. This was a Facebook response I made to a friend 2 days before the tournament started and prior to a massive amount of research I did on most of the teams. This makes me a little sick to my stomach.

What did this year help cement in my mind for picking the final four and champ next year?:
  • Experienced Coach who has been there before - There is a reason why Roy Williams, Tom Izzo, Rick Pitino and the like are always in the mix. They have seen it all and can react accordingly. In a single elimination tournament, the best talent does not always prevail. Making adjustments, working the refs, exploiting weaknesses are what these coaches do best. It is so second nature to them. It doesn't hurt that they always have stud talent to go along with it.

  • Team must have multiple stars, and I would say at least 3 future NBA players - now there may be some players who become draft picks solely on their performance in the tournament, but for the most part every champ is a team loaded with studs.
  • Team must have stud point guard - By far the most important player in college basketball. If he had switched teams, Ty Lawson could probably have taken any of the sweet 16 teams to the final game. He was that dominant and he made it look so easy. Lawson was exceptional at running the fast break, driving the lane, drawing fouls, making free throws, shooting 3's and causing havoc. If you look back at previous champs, often you will find this type of point guard on the championship team.

  • Big man is not very important anymore - when was the last team that was led by a stud power forward/center to win the championship? The 3 pointer and shot clock have made having a dominant big man a non factor.

  • High scoring team - A good defense beats a good offense right? Not in college basketball, not in a single elimination tournament, and not with the 3 pointer available. How many times do we see the great defensive team dig themselves just a little hole somewhere in the tournament and lose because they can't shoot 3's or score quickly. The championship teams always can convert on the fast break, make 3's, hit free throws, drive to the lane, draw fouls, etc.
So that's it for College Basketball. Now on to the baseball.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Elite 8 March Madness Betting Villinova vs Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh and Villanova have played 3 times in a little over a year. Here is a look at their recent history, including some line history:

Date Teams Score Line
1/28/2009 PITTSBURGH 57 -3.5
VILLANOVA 67 137
1/30/2008 VILLANOVA 57 142.5
PITTSBURGH 69 -7.5
1/6/2008 PITTSBURGH 63 142.5
VILLANOVA 64 -2.5


124, 126, 127.

Those were the totals of the 3 games. The current total for the game opened at 144.5 and now is down to 142. I am jumping on this now.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Sweet 16 betting picks

Update 12AM

Well, that was rough. Win outright or lose by 25...so close Gonzaga. Safe to say Ty Lawson is back. MSU vs Kansas was a pretty damn good game. The other 3 were not very interesting at all. Tough night for me.

Tonight - 1-3, -8.9 units.

Tournament Record - 13-14, -6.5 units.

Update 9:15

Plays for tonight's late games:

Michigan State -1 WIN

Gonzaga +8 - 5 unit Bet LOSS

Gonzaga to win 2 units to win 6.5 units LOSS



Update 7:15PM Friday March 27

Syracuse +1, 2 UNIT bet

Will be back around 9PM for the late games. Liking MSU -1, Gonzaga +8.5, and Under in the Gonzaga game.



Update 6:45PM Friday March 27


I am passing on the Louisville / Arizona game. That is the early game. I am still finalizing the rest of my plays.

The only one I know for sure is Gonzaga plus points and Gonzaga straight up. The game doesn't start until 10:00PM

7:10 Arizona / Louisville PASS

7:30 Syracuse / Oklahoma - Plays coming soon

9:40 Michigan State/ Kansas - play coming later

10:00 Gonzaga / North Carolina - Gonzaga +7.5 or more and Gonzaga straight up



Update 1:00 AM Friday March 27

2-3 tonight, but up +.6 units. Lost 2 of the games by 2 points or less...Memphis was disappointing. Hit a free throw already. Most of my brackets are completely hosed now.

Updating records:

3 unit picks: 2 - 0, +6.0 units
2 unit picks: 3 - 4, -2.8 units
1 unit picks: 7 - 7, -0.7 units

Sides: 9-6
Totals: 3-5

Tournament Record 12-11, +2.5 units.

Games for the second half of the Sweet 16:

Gonzaga vs North Carolina - this was 9 on Thursday, now down to 8.5. I will be watching this one like a hawk and playing Gonzaga big tomorrow. Probably straight up too, right now at +370.

Arizona vs Louisville - meh.

Kansas vs Michigan State - Great looking match-up. Looking forward to watching the game.

Syracuse vs Oklahoma - Not very impressed with Oklahoma at all so far. Syracuse should be able to win this game.


Original Post - 1:00PM Thursday

4 sweet 16 games tonight. Here are my plays:

  • 7:07 PM - Purdue vs Connecticut
    UConn/Purdue OVER 134
    - Loss (total 132)

  • 7:27 PM - Xavier vs Pittsburgh
    Pittsburgh -6.5 - Loss (Pittsburgh won by 5)

    Xavier/Pittsburgh UNDER 138.5 - 2 Unit Bet
    - Win (easy win - Total 115)

  • 9:37 PM - Missouri vs Memphis
    Memphis -4.5 - 2 Unit Bet - Loss

  • 9:57 PM - Villanova vs Duke
    Villanova +3 - 3 UNIT BET - Win

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Sweet 16 Bracket and March Madness contests

I made a sweet 16 bracket because I didn't find one that I liked anywhere on the web. You can see the bracket and download the PDF here at CasinoDave.com.

I am really looking forward to the sweet 16 games tomorrow. The break between games, while too long for sure, was much needed for me and greatly appreciated. Between watching games, researching, writing, line watching, handicapping, and reviewing, I had a little too much march madness oozing out of my pores.

If you are looking to get into a sweet 16 tournament bracket contest, BetUS's Round of 16 $10,000 Bracket is open for submissions until 7PM EST, Thursday March 26th. BetUS also offers a free poker tournament entry for entering this promotion. One of the better online poker rooms out there.

Here is my Sweet 16 bracket from the BetUS bracket contest:



I am seeing a lot, and I mean A LOT of value on Gonzaga, Kansas, and Memphis to win the championship. If you did not know, +3000 means for every $100 you bet, you would win $3000. Or in other words, +3000 means 30 to 1. Even though I have Louisville beating Kansas in my bracket above, I still will take the defending champs at 30-1.



Gonzaga's money line on Friday's game against North Carolina can be had at +395 over at 5dimes. I believe that this will get even higher around game time. I like Gonzaga's chances to win a lot higher then 20%, which is right around how often I have to be right by in order to break even on a +395 play. This one probably goes right down to the buzzer and will be a coin flip on who advances.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

March Madness Betting Picks Round 2

College Basketball Betting Picks - March Madness Round 2

Update Sunday 10:30PM
  • 4-0 on the day for +4 units.
  • 6-1 for Round 2 for +6.9 units.
  • 8-2 on last 10 picks (and one of the losses was by half a point).
  • Tournament Record: 9-8 for +2.15 Units



Update Sunday 5:00PM

3-0 for the early games for +3.0 units.

One pick for the late games:

Michigan State -4 Win



Update Sunday 11:00AM



3 picks on the early games, and liking MSU for later.
  • 12:10 - Syracuse / Arizona State Over 137.5 Win
  • 2:40 - Arizona -3 Win
  • 2:30 - Kansas -7.5 Win



Update 11:55PM


Won the big game today. 2-1, +2.9 units to start Round 2. In tomorrows early games, I like 3 plays:
  • 12:10 - Syracuse / Arizona State Over (right now hovering around 138.5 and 139.5)
  • 2:40 - Arizona (-2.5 right now)
  • 2:30 - Kansas (-7.5 right now)
I am going to monitor these for a couple of hours tonight. Already saw Kansas go from 8.5 to 7.5.



Update 8:08PM

1-1 on the early games.



This is my biggest play of the tournament so far.

8:25 Western Kentucky +11 3 unit bet - Win



Update 5:18PM

Picks in. Also going to Live Bet the Michigan/Oklahoma game. Will be back on after that to update and post the Western Kentucky pick.

5:40 Purdue/Washington Over 140 - Win

5:45 North Carolina/LSU Over 159 - Loss





Have had the kids all day so haven't been able to get on at all today. Wasn't thinking about playing any of the early games, but am looking at these 3 games today:

5:40 Purdue/Washington Over 140

5:45 North Carolina/LSU Over 159, was at 156.5 this morning

8:10 Western Kentucky +11 right now, seen it at 11.5 earlier, will probably get there again.

Will be back later to post plays.

If you are still looking to deposit for March Madness, check out my March Madness sports book reviews.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

CasinoDave's March Madness First Round Picks

Update March 21, 1:00AM

Round 1 in the books. Good riddance. The ending of that MSU game was just brutal. Wide open MSU scrub bricks a dunk that would have made it a 22 point game with 1:25 left...that was a 4.2 unit swing and would have made a bad first round not so bad.

Little fun fact about me, I went to MSU. Since I left, I have been punished by the Spartan ghosts because I would sell my sparty football tickets to stay in and watch Michigan. If anyone else had the game at 15.5 you can blame that one on me.
  • Round 1 - 4-7, -5.0 units
  • Friday 3-3, -1.5 units
  • Thursday 1-4, -3.5 units
Friday Results:

Update March 20, 5:35PM

Might not make it back on tonight, so just in case here are two picks for later.



  • Michigan State -15.5 for 2 units
    Result - Loss by the hook
  • Morehead State +21.5
    Result - Win



  • Arizona St. -5 (2 Unit Bet)
    Result - Win

  • Syracuse / SF Austin OVER 131.5
    Result - Loss
  • Tennessee -2.5 (2 unit)
    Result - Loss

  • Kansas -9
    Result - Win

Thursday March 19th March Madness Betting Picks and Results:

Record 1-4, -3.5 units




Thursday, March 12, 2009

2009 March Madness Tournament

Update - March 17, 2009 - Thursday game schedule sorted by start time

2009 March Madness - College Basketball Tournament

It is time for March Madness 2009 to begin. March Madness of course refers to the NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball Tournament that begins every year in March. Selection Sunday marks the start of the "madness" for the basketball tournament, as bubble teams are left out and brackets are printed out, and tournament pools are planned.

Round 1 is set to kick off on Thursday, March 19, 2009. They have not announced times yet for the tournament games, but traditionally the first game tips off somewhere around 12:15-12:20PM EST.

Update - times have been set now, and it looks like 12:20 is the start time.

Tournament Schedule Day 1 Round 1 - Thursday's Games - Listed by startime

#9 Butler vs #8 LSU 12:20 PM
#15 Cal State Northridge vs #2 Memphis 12:25 PM
#9 Texas A&M vs #8 BYU 12:30 PM

#12 Northern Iowa vs #5 Purdue 2:30 PM
#16 Radford vs #1 North Carolina 2:50 PM
#10 Maryland vs #7 California 2:55 PM
#16 Tennessee Chattanooga vs #1 UConn 3:00 PM

#13 Mississippi State vs #4Washington 4:55 PM

#10 Michigan vs # 7 Clemson 7:10 PM
#10 Minnesota vs #7 Texas 7:10PM
#14 American vs #3 Villanova 7:20 PM
#13 Akron vs #4 Gonzaga 7:25 PM

#15 Morgan State vs #2 Oklahoma 9:40 PM
#15 Binghamton vs #2 Duke 9:40 PM
#11 Virgina Commonwealth vs #6 UCLA 9:50 PM
#12 Western Kentucky vs #5 Illinois 9:55 PM

Below are a list of resources on the 2009 NCAA Basketball Tournament. If you can't find what your looking for or think something should be added, please comment below.

Watch the Tournament Live on your computer

Last year CBS streamed a majority of the 2008 College Basketball tournament on CBSSports.com. At times there were waiting lists, and all games that were on local TV were blocked out from watching online. This year CBSSports is teaming up with NCAA.com, and CSTV to stream all 63 games of the March Madness Tournament without any blackouts to all internet users.
You can also download an application from iTunes to watch all 63 games from your iPhone or iPod Touch.
  • Download NCAA March Madness On Demand from iTunes

Tournament Brackets

March Madness Brackets on Facebook

March Madness Online Bracket Contests

I tried really hard to get my March Madness Bracket Contests list in a usable format on the blog, but it wasn't meant to be. I have reviewed the best tournament bracket contests over at casinodave.com, and you can access the list right here.

March Madness Lines

  • March Madness Round 1 Lines
    Update - Current March Madness Game Lines March 15 9:15PM

  • Thursday lines on the left, Friday's lines on the right.

    • No line on Louisville game because they play the winner of the play in game on Tuesday.

    • No Money Line or Over/Under lines set.

    Images above taken from this page - Live point spread lines for every tournament game

2009 March Madness Tournament Schedules

Round 1 Schedule:
  • Thursday Games - Times not yet announced

    West
    #15 Cal State Northridge vs #2 Memphis
    #9 Texas A&M vs #8 BYU
    #12 Northern Iowa vs #5 Purdue
    #13 Mississippi State vs #4Washington
    #16 Tennessee Chattanooga vs #1 UConn
    #10 Maryland vs #7 California

    East

    #15 Binghamton vs #2 Duke
    #14 American vs #3 Villanova
    #11 Virgina Commonwealth vs #6 UCLA
    #10 Minnesota vs #7 Texas

    South

    #16 Radford vs #1 North Carolina
    #9 Butler vs #8 LSU
    #12 Western Kentucky vs #5 Illinois
    #13 Akron vs #4 Gonzaga
    #15 Morgan State vs #2 Oklahoma
    #10 Michigan vs # 7 Clemson
  • Friday Games - Times not yet announced

    Midwest

    #12 Arizona vs #5 Utah
    #13 Cleveland State vs #4 Wake Forest
    #16 Unknown vs #1 Louisville
    #15 Robert Morris vs #2 Michigan State
    #9 Siena vs #8 Ohio State
    #10 USC vs #7 Boston College
    #14 North Dakota State vs #3 Kansas
    #11 Dayton vs #6 West Virginia

    South
    #14 Stephen F. Austin vs #3 Syracuse
    #11 Temple vs #6 Arizona State

    East
    #9 Tennessee vs #8 Oklahoma State
    #12 Wisconsin vs #5 Florida State
    #13 Portland State vs #4 Xavier
    #16 East Tennessee State vs #1 Pittsburgh

    West
    #14 Cornell vs #3 Missouri
    #11 Utah State vs #6 Marquette
edit log-
Update - March 15, 2009
Update - March 16, 2009
  • added Facebook March Madness Bracket contests

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

200K Freeroll Slots Tournament at Golden Casino - March 3rd - March 20th

If you saw the banner on CasinoDave.com or over on the left hand side of the screen here, you know I have been pretty excited about this online slot tournament. The $200,000 Golden Casino slots freeroll tournament started last night. I had planned on signing up to grab all the screenshots and instructions on how to sign up, and quickly losing my 100 free chips. I did get the screenshots, but I am still alive in the tournament. In 10th place!


About the 200K Golden Casino freeroll slots tournament:
  • The Slot Tournament is free to play. No credit card info or payment is necessary.

  • If you want to know how to play in this free tournament, start by downloading the Golden Casino's casino software which is available to download from this link right here. You can also click on any of the banners for the tournament and go to a landing page (here) that has the same download.

    ----->CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD GOLDEN CASINO<-------

  • The first time you run the casino software, it will ask you to sign-up and you will have to fill out a form. If given the option of "Play for Fun" or "Play for Money", you must choose "Play for Money" to get into the tournament.

  • After you have created your account, you will be asked to login to the casino. Once logged in, you will be in the casino lobby.

    The casino software downloads so fast because the games are individually downloaded when you want to play them. The slot tournament is played on "Cherry Blossoms". That game needs to be downloaded before you can play in the tournament. It is located in Slot Games -> 5 Reel Slots as you can see above.

    After you have installed the Cherry Blossoms game, click on the Tournaments tab in the lower left hand corner to enter the tournament lobby. Once in the lobby, you will see a list of tournaments on the left hand side. The default tournament selected is the March Mania $200,000 Guaranteed Freeroll. Make sure the top tournament is selected like below and click register. Once registered you can enter the tournament.
Above is the tournament lobby. If you look on the right hand side,
you can see the leaderboard, with "casinodave" in 10th place with $17,288.


I am going to have to come back and edit this last part up, but I am running out of time tonight. This can be found in the tournament lobby as well.

Screenshot of Cherry Blossoms (one of my nicer spins)

  • Everyone starts out with $100 in chips.
  • You can rebuy 300 chips for $20, but only if you have less then $30 in coins left
  • The slot machine has 25 paylines, and you can bet 1, 5, 25, and 50 cents, as well as $1, $5, and $10 per payline. You can see above on that spin I bet 25 lines and bet .50 cents per line. That turn cost $12.50. You can choose how many lines you want to bet and change bet size after every turn.

  • It says "11 Free Spins remaining" in the screen shot above. There are special characters that can earn you free spins. These spins are free being that they do not take away any from your total.

  • Thanfully, there is an AutoPlay button!
Prize payouts:

Place Prize
1 $100,000.00
2 $30,000.00
3 $16,000.00
4 $11,000.00
5 $6,000.00
6 $4,000.00
7 $2,500.00
8 $2,000.00
9 $1,500.00
10 $1,250.00
11 $1,100.00
12 $900.00
13 $800.00
14 $700.00
15 $600.00
16 $550.00
17 $500.00
18 $450.00
19 $400.00
20 $350.00
21 $300.00
22 $250.00
23 $200.00
24 $190.00
25 $185.00
26-30 $175.00
31-40 $170.00
41-50 $165.00
51-60 $160.00
61-70 $155.00
71-80 $140.00
81-90 $130.00
91-100 $120.00
101-125 $100.00
126-150 $85.00
151-175 $65.00
176-200 $30.00