There is one more riverboat casino license up for grabs in Louisiana, with three companies fighting for it. Officials say that the state’s gambling regulators will make a decision next week about who will get the last license.

During their February 17 meeting, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board will discuss the applicants and decide on who would be best to grant the license. Earlier today, the Board took part in a four-hour hearing where the companies pleaded their case. Officials from the state who reviewed the applications and ensured that all requirements for licensure were met also testified. With three projects vying for one casino license, things are getting tense for those involved.

Two of the projects would be in Lake Charles, Louisiana and the other would be in the Jefferson Parish. Creative Casinos LLC has proposed building a $440 million casino called Mojito Pointe in the Lakes Charles area. St. Gabriel Downs LLC wants to put a $350 million Hard Rock Casino in the same area. If Penn National Gaming Inc. is granted the license, they will build a Hollywood Casino in Harvey, a suburb of New Orleans.

Currently, the state of Louisiana has one land-based casino, Harrah’s New Orleans. It also has 13 riverboat casinos and four racetrack casinos. The winner of the last casino license would operate a riverboat casino and hotel. Though gambling is a relatively small market in Louisiana, it is doing pretty well. December saw the state earn $204 million in revenue from gambling, which is a 6.2% increase from the same period in 2009.

Last month, online gambling websites had the largest increase in web traffic on the internet. In statistics released by comScore Inc., online gambling websites were shown to have a 114% change in unique visitors from September 2010 to October 2010.

ComScore is a marketing research company that provides data and statistics for a variety of online businesses. One statistic that they study is web traffic and how it changes over time. In their report, it was shown that there were 14,957 unique visitors from the United States to online gambling sites. In October, that number ballooned to 31,967, an increase of 114%. That is the largest percentage increase of all of the industries included. The next closest was humor websites, which had a 25% increase.

One reason for the dramatic uptick in online gambling visitors is the presence of the World Series of Poker. The popular poker tournament led to a surge in gambling interest among casual fans and new poker fans.

Interestingly, despite the important midterm elections held in the U.S. on November 2, unique visitors to news and political websites only increased by 12%, from 24,370 to 27,367. That’s a respectable increase, but dwarfed by online gambling both in the percentage change and in the total number of visitors. It’s hard to believe that last month internet gambling was more popular than reading about politics online, but it was.

What I think this shows is that the more people are exposed to online gambling, the more they like it. Your average person might not think too much about playing online poker, but if they turn on the TV and see people playing in a poker tournament, they may decide they want to play for themselves. With that in mind, more marketing and exposure for the gambling industry is important. To some, gambling still has a bad name, as something people do in dark corners of underground clubs to avoid detection. The more exposure the activity gets, the more it will be seen for what it is: a fun activity that can be harmless if done responsibly.

Let’s talk about finances and money management for a moment here. Casinos can be a lot of fun and I like to spend some of my free time playing my favorite online gambling games. Before you every step foot in a casino or log into an online casino, though, you need to be sure about your bankroll. You should never bet any money that you can’t afford to lose, because you just might lose that money. In fact, you are statistically more likely to lose it than add to it. With that in mind, it should be pretty clear that embezzling money from your employer in order to feed your gambling habit is a bad idea.

That’s exactly what Richard Humphries did. A resident of Edinburgh, Scotland, Humphries embezzled money from the shop he worked at in order to pay off gambling debts and gambling more money. Humphries was assistant manager at The Avenue Stores, where he created fake cash-back transactions as a way to steal £5,500 from the cash register. In court, the man admitted to doing that from August 10, 2009 to May 12, 2010. According to Humphries, his gambling habit resulted in debts of £50,000. After losing his job at the store, Humphries has somehow earned a job elsewhere.

Humphries ended up getting off light in this case. A sympathetic jury was likely swayed by hearing about Humphries’s suicide attempt and that his parents had paid back the money he stole from the store. Humphries said that he had a “gambling addiction,” but was determined to make amends for his wrongdoing.

The jury decided to only impose 160 hours of community service. Sheriff Frank Crowe agreed to impose unpaid labor on Humphries rather than remand him to jail custody. The sheriff reminded Humphries that he is “a very fortunate man that despite this grave breach of trust, you have your family standing by you and they have assisted you in squaring up the money side of things.”

Even without the sheriff’s reminder, I’m sure Humphries knows how lucky he is. He says that he is glad that his family is now aware of his problem and that he has gained employment elsewhere. Most people who embezzle money for gambling are less lucky and spend years in jail.

I don’t know if Humphries has a gambling problem or not, but I do know this. If you need to steal money in order to have enough wagering money, you have no business playing casino games. Or if you insist on playing them, that’s what the free games are for.

It is an interesting time for online gambling in the United States. As many people are aware, the Supreme Court of the state of Washington recently upheld a law banning all forms of online gambling, including poker. As a result, popular online poker website PokerStars pulled out of the state’s market and no longer allows Washington residents to play there. But why would they do that?

Understanding the situation requires understanding the U.S. Constitution, federal laws versus state laws, the American legal system and more. If you’re not familiar with all of that, here is kind of a crash course in what you need to know.

In 2006, the U.S. passed the federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) as part of the SAFE Port Act. When that happened, many online gambling operators pulled out of the U.S. market and stopped accepting American customers. That includes Party Poker, who at that time was the biggest online poker site worldwide and in America. PokerStars, however, remained in the market and clearly stated that they would continue to accept American customers.

They could do that because, despite what the federal government may sometimes say, there is no federal ban on online gambling or online poker (some don’t consider poker to be gambling at all, since it’s a game of skill). UIGEA does not make anything illegal that was previously legal (that position was verified by the Supreme Court). UIGEA holds banks accountable for the transfer of funds from illegal online gambling, but does not actually make online gambling illegal. Since there was no previous federal law banning online gambling and UIGEA did not do that, the logical conclusion is that no such federal ban exists. For that reason, PokerStars felt free to continue accepting American customers.

While there is no federal law banning online gambling, there is a state law banning it in Washington. When the law was challenged in court, the state Supreme Court upheld the law, reaffirming that online gambling and online poker are not legal in the state of Washington. Under state law, the players and the online gambling companies can both be held accountable for violating the law, which can include jail time.

Since allowing Washington residents to gamble on their site would be in clear violation of state law, PokerStars placed a ban on those who live in the state. Other online casinos and poker rooms are likely to follow their lead. Currently Washington is the only state banned by PokerStars.

There’s another factor at play as well. It is likely that if the U.S. ever decides to regulate online gambling, they will not allow online casinos to obtain a license if they are guilty of illegally accepting U.S. customers. Such a provision is in the current bill in the House that would repeal UIGEA. If such a provision became law and PokerStars continued to accept players from Washington, they would be ineligible for a U.S. license. That alone is worth pulling out of the market.

I was kind of excited to find out about the new Agent Cash slot, a slot made by Vegas Technology that can be played at Millionaire Casino. This is an online slot with a spy theme and if there’s one thing I love, it’s spy themes. Whether it’s Jack Bauer on 24, Michael Westen of Burn Notice or the classic James Bond, nothing is cooler than a good spy. Even Chuck Bartowski on Chuck is cool in an extremely geeky kind of way.

The Agent Cash slot follows a spy theme like Bond, the Tom Clancy Jack Ryan characters and more. It features symbols of the super spy, Agent Cash, along with his sexy female companion (like a Bond girl). A few villains, a gun, hot car and more. Basically, it’s all kinds of spy goodness. The game follows Bond more so than the other spy shows and movies, though I guess all recent entries in the spy genre owe a debt to Ian Fleming anyway. The online slot has some cool animations, such as the spy drawing his gun.

The Agent Cash 5-reel slot has a jackpot of 10,000 coins. A fancy sports car is the wild symbol. That symbol unlocks a screen where a blonde woman presents you with a choice of three prizes. Though you don’t know what each bonus is, one is free credits, another is free spins and the third is a second bonus game. If you choose that bonus game, you are taken to a screen where you play cards at a casino table, with your winning bonus determined on the outcome of the game.

If you like cool spy action – and I can’t imagine who wouldn’t, then this could be the game for you. It combines spy thrills, intrigue, drama and of course the potential for some good winnings. To play the Agent Cash slot, visit Millionaire Casino.

Go Casino is considered one of the best online casinos for slots players, in part due to their large number of slot tournaments. In all, there are 110 different tournament events offered by the casino during the month of July alone. That gives players plenty of opportunities to enjoy the fun of tournament play and take a shot at prizes.

Each weekend, the online casino offers a $30,000 Guaranteed Weekend Madness slot tournament. This weekend is no exception. From Friday, July 16 to Tuesday, July 20, Go Casino is running the Weekend Madness tournament on the California Gold slot game. The entry fee for this tournament is a little high for some – $10 – but considering that there is a guaranteed $30,000 up for grabs, the price isn’t bad at all.

For players who aren’t comfortable with an entry fee that high, there is also the $2,500 Bonus Buck Weekend Freeroll. As the name indicates, there is no buy-in for this tournament. Players can enter for free and compete for $2,500 in prize money. This weekend’s freeroll slot tournament is played on the 20,000 Leagues slot game and runs from Saturday, July 17 to Sunday, July 18.

For players willing to pay a small entry fee for a weekend slot tournament, Go Casino offers a couple choices this weekend. There is the Frugal Friday tournament, which runs today from 9:00 AM until 7:45 PM. It is played on the Reel Deal slot game and has an entry fee of $1.99. In the tournament, players compete for a $1,500 guaranteed prize pool.

Another good option is the Beat the Bank slot tournament, which runs from Sunday, July 18 to Monday, July 19. This tournament is played on the Beat the Bank slot game and has an entry fee of $2.50. Players in this slot tournament compete for a percentage of the pot.

Whatever type of tournament you’re looking for, chances are Go Casino is offering it this month. They have tournaments with big prizes and small prizes, large entry fees, small entry fees and no entry fees. They have long tournaments and short ones.

More information can be found on the promotions page. Visit Go Casino for details.

Welcome bonuses can be found at virtually every online casino. If there are any online casinos that don’t offer bonuses to new members, they probably won’t stay in business long. For example, VIP Slots Casino offers a 100% match bonus of up to $777 for new customers.

What sets casinos apart is the bonuses they offer to existing customers. Every week VIP Slots offers an array of bonuses to their customers, giving players ample opportunities to wager with the house’s money.

Weekly deposit bonuses are one of the perks offered by VIP Slots Casino. Keep in mind that all bonuses come with wagering requirements. See the promotions page for more details.

Every Tuesday, VIP Slots offers a 75% deposit bonus to players on their first deposit of the day. Though all of the match bonuses are 75%, the maximum amount varies depending on your membership status. Amber and Bronze members have a $100 limit. Members with Silver and Gold status have a $250 limit. Platinum and Diamond status members can receive up to $500 in the bonus.

Every Thursday, VIP Slots offers a 50% match bonus on the first deposit of the day. Again, the upper limit for the bonus varies depending on membership status. Amber and Bronze members have a limit of $100. Players with Silver and Gold status have a maximum bonus amount of $250. Platinum and Diamond members have a $500 limit on their bonus.

Saturday is the biggest of the weekly bonuses. Every Saturday, VIP Slots offers a 100% bonus on the first deposit of the day for each member. Again, the bonus limit differs depending on membership status. The Amber and Bronze members have a limit of $100. Silver and Gold members can get bonuses of up to $250. For Platinum and Diamond members, the maximum amount is $500.

To take advantage of the deposit match bonuses, visit VIP Slots Casino.

I’m pretty sure every online casino has welcome bonuses for new customers. It’s the easiest way to entire someone to join and make sure their first experience playing at the casino is a positive one. The good casinos – such as Casino Tropez – also have plenty of bonuses for existing customers. After all, if you stop caring about people once you have them as a customer, you might lose them (phone companies should take note).

Casino Tropez has match bonuses for new customers, but they also offer similar bonuses for people who are already members of the site. Every Sunday, the casino will give you a 100% match bonus of up to $100 on the first deposit of the day. If you do that every Sunday, you can get an extra $2,700 free from the online casino.

Another good promotion at Casino Tropez is the High Roller Welcome Bonus. If you have been gambling with the casino for a while and want to bet larger amounts, this promotion rewards you for becoming a high roller. On your first deposit of $1,000 or more, the casino will automatically give you a $500 bonus. You could also be automatically awarded VIP membership.

For the lower rollers, there are still plenty of options out there for extra money. Casino Tropez is giving out a 15% bonus for people who use alternative payment options for their deposit. In other words, if you use something other than credit cards, you can get some free money to bet with. There are also frequent bonuses awarded for playing certain games or participating in a certain tournament.

To take advantage of the bonus deals, visit Casino Tropez.

Recently, the Nevada Gaming Control Board told casinos within the state not to get involved in the online gambling market. The regulatory authority of the state of Nevada warned casinos – especially those in Las Vegas – to not get involved in online gambling until it is legalized and regulated by the federal government or the state of Nevada.

Harrah’s Entertainment had already signed a deal with 888.com to open an online version of their casino. The casino is based overseas and does not allow American customers. By Harrah’s understanding, that makes them exempt from control by the feds or the NGCB. The NGCB, however, promised to look into the matter.

Now Harrah’s has stepped up their game. In an effort to push online gambling legislation through, the casino has spent more than $1 million already this year on lobbying. Now they are upping the ante, adding lobby group the Capitol Counsel to their current lobbyists the Podesta Group and Brownstein Hyatt.

If online gambling becomes legal in Nevada, Harrah’s is in a unique position to take advantage and immediately become the leader in the market. Harrah’s biggest claim to fame at this point is hosting the annual World Series of Poker. A tie-in with their online casino would surely be a big money-maker.

While some Vegas casinos oppose online gambling and others only want to be a part if there is a repeal of the federal UIGEA, Harrah’s is more than happy to establish the market if it is legalized in either Nevada or the entire country. In the meantime, they are happily serving overseas customers.

Online Vegas Casino is one of those casinos that always seems to have a good promotion going on, whether it’s a good slot tournament, a good welcome bonus, or whatever. This time I’m writing about the latter (by that, I mean welcome bonus, not “whatever”).

Right now Online Vegas Casino is offering over $5,000 free to new members as a welcome bonus. Those big bucks are spread out over the new player’s first 10 deposits. Players can receive a 100% match bonus on their first deposit, with a maximum of $500 awarded. On the second deposit, players can get a 125% match bonus, with a high of $300. On the third deposit, players can get a 150% match bonus of up to $500.

After that, the percentages drop a good deal but the maximum amount is higher. On deposits four through nine, players can receive a 25% match bonus of up to $1,000. Then on the tenth deposit, Online Vegas offers a 200% match bonus of up to $1,000. Each bonus requires you to enter the appropriate claim code. See the promotions page of Online Vegas Casino for those codes.

The giveaways don’t end there, though. Online Vegas also lets new members join four slot tournaments for free, giving you a chance to win tournament prizes without having to pay the entry fee. The player can join any 4 slot tournaments of their choice and must enter the appropriate coupon codes. Again, those can be found on the promotions page.

To take advantage of the deposit bonuses and the free slot tournament entry, join Online Vegas today.