World Poker Tour (WPT) for Facebook is coming to mobile phones in a big way today with Hold 'Em Showdown. Available only for AT&T mobile phones including the iPhone, Hands-On Entertainment has brought the staples of World Poker Tour on Facebook to cell phones including:
High-quality graphics and enhanced avatar customization,
Offers players new casinos and tournament venues to visit while playing
Players have the option of selecting private tables or regular tournament style tables
Now play with up to eight people per table, create buddy lists and chat with other players while trying to win the pot
Considering the amount of poker games on mobile phones, that's not even the big news. Every download made between now and Jan.5 2011 will enter WPT players into a sweepstakes in which the grand prize is a trip for two to the WPT Celebrity VIP Invitational Tournament in Los Angeles on Feb. 18-19, 2011.
The first place winner will receive $1,000 and a WPT Gift Pack including an official tournament poker set. Five second place winners will each get the same WPT Gift Pack to "host their Poker Nights in style." All you need to do in order to enter is download a copy of WPT Hold 'Em Showdown on your AT&T phone by Jan. 5, so get to playing poker on the go if you want another chance to see a WPT tournament live.
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn poker. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn poker. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Thứ Hai, 30 tháng 1, 2012
Thứ Bảy, 7 tháng 1, 2012
Zynga lays down a full house at Zynga PokerCon this March 18-19
Playing Zynga Poker online is one thing, but playing poker in person is another beast entirely. Zynga will announce on Monday, Feb. 7 its first ever PokerCon in Las Vegas. Taking place in the ultimate poker town at the Palms Casino Resort on March 18 and 19, Zynga will host a live poker tournament with a grand prize of $100 thousand awaiting the winner. Professional poker players will make appearances throughout the convention, offering tips and tricks for the contestants, so don't try any funny stuff here.
The final table in the tournament will be joined by an unannounced list of celebrities, but with Zynga's impressive list of contacts you can expect to be surrounded by interesting folks. Not to mention all convention goers are invited to an exclusive party with the opportunity to meet their fellow Zynga Poker players and executives involved in the game. Tickets for the event go on sale Feb. 11 for $125, which covers all activities during the two-day convention. And considering Zynga Poker is the company's third most popular Facebook game with over 37 million monthly players, you should be safe to expect a full house.
The final table in the tournament will be joined by an unannounced list of celebrities, but with Zynga's impressive list of contacts you can expect to be surrounded by interesting folks. Not to mention all convention goers are invited to an exclusive party with the opportunity to meet their fellow Zynga Poker players and executives involved in the game. Tickets for the event go on sale Feb. 11 for $125, which covers all activities during the two-day convention. And considering Zynga Poker is the company's third most popular Facebook game with over 37 million monthly players, you should be safe to expect a full house.
Thứ Tư, 4 tháng 1, 2012
Yazino hopes to 'reinvent gambling' with in-sync social casino games
We'll be the first to admit it: Casino games have become a dime a dozen on Facebook recently. From Zynga's own Zynga Poker to Poker Rivals by Playfish and DoubleDown Casino, the sub genre is quickly becoming crowded. (Even PopCap appears keen on the genre.) That said, it's going to take a unique approach for a chance to attract a healthy chunk of that player base.
Yazino, a UK-based social gaming start-up founded in 2008, looks to bring exactly that with what CEO Hussein Chahine calls "in-sync" gaming. Chahine's vision is to have players compete and chat in real time across the web, iOS and Android devices--and Yazino is already doing just that. The seven games Yazino has today all started with a simple idea.
"The idea that we came by is, 'How do we take poker--a very engaging, a lot of emotions, there's a bit of skill when you play--and build an engine that builds completely synchronous games,'" Chahine tells us. "It's dedicated to games that are multiplayer by nature, and people want to play together. In all of the gambling industry, poker was the most powerful."
With that, Chahine and crew opted to create several classic casino games with the real-time competition that poker provides. And it's because of this direct competition that the Yazino chief believes his team works toward games that are truly social. "We have games on social networks, rather than social games," Chahine says. "If we put Solitaire on Facebook, would Solitaire be a social game?"
Blackjack by Yazino
While only two of Yazino's games--Blackjack and Slots Wheel Deal--are available on iOS, all of its games are on Facebook. Well, sort of. The company's seven games appear to be Facebook applications, but when launched redirect to Yazino's own website, which hosts the games complete with your list of Facebook friends and even random matchmaking. So, why take this route? According to Chahine, Facebook simply can't handle synchronous, multiplatform gaming at the moment.
"Synchronous play has a much deeper and more competitive advantage over asynchronous games. Because of the immersive nature of synchronous games, [the Facebook Ticker] is really a distraction, and actually quite annoying," Chahine admits. "It's like you're [watching] a horse race--you only want to know about what the horse is doing. Do I really care about 'Fred is listening to music?' The synchronous nature and intensity of these games require a different ambiance and a different environment."
Hussein ChahineYazino also looks to give players the option to create personal communities within the larger player base. Chahine (pictured right) uses the English football club Manchester United as an example: A group of friends who play in Manchester United together will soon have the option to create their own sub group, complete with its own leader boards. Because of this, along with the prospects of live chat and real-time gameplay across platforms, Chahine tells us that using Facebook directly isn't an option. (However, it's important to take note that this strategy appears to leave Yazino free from the grips of Facebook Credits too.)
Of course (well, at least in the U.S.), players can't cash in on their virtual winnings, as online gambling was effectively outlawed years ago. And apparently, players are actually happy to accept this reality, according to Chahine. The Yazino head also chalks that up to the fact that players can enjoy its games for free through offers and chips provided daily. Giving players the opportunity to play for free is "a big area of focus" for Yazino, Chahine tells us. And according to him, the entire social gaming scene would be different if online gambling hadn't suffered its run-ins with the law before the turn of the decade. Zynga Poker was one of Zynga's first games, after all.
"Zynga is the only player that's not a gambling site that could throw that game. Poker Stars didn't have the opportunity," Chahine tells us. "They were banned from Facebook, so if PokerStars and the other big sites were allowed even from a virtual perspective. So, if they were allowed to enter that market, there's no way Zynga would have had that success with Zynga Poker."
Slots Wheel Deal by Yazin0
In other words, Facebook could have very well been dominated by casino and gambling games if not for Internet gambling's dashed history with the law before and during Facebook's rise. But Yazino isn't interested in real money gambling. Period. (But is it any less real when players can pay for chips, but not see a return?) Regardless, what Chahine says is that Yazino is interested in is to "reinvent gambling in a much more sophisticated way."
"When you play together, our emotions are heightened," Chahine gushes. "It's more amplified, it's more real and we become more competitive. We do believe at Yazino, what we're trying to become is the pioneer of friendly competition."
Have you tried any of Yazino's games on Facebook (sort of) or mobile yet? What are your thoughts on the rise of casino games on Facebook and elsewhere?
Yazino, a UK-based social gaming start-up founded in 2008, looks to bring exactly that with what CEO Hussein Chahine calls "in-sync" gaming. Chahine's vision is to have players compete and chat in real time across the web, iOS and Android devices--and Yazino is already doing just that. The seven games Yazino has today all started with a simple idea.
"The idea that we came by is, 'How do we take poker--a very engaging, a lot of emotions, there's a bit of skill when you play--and build an engine that builds completely synchronous games,'" Chahine tells us. "It's dedicated to games that are multiplayer by nature, and people want to play together. In all of the gambling industry, poker was the most powerful."
With that, Chahine and crew opted to create several classic casino games with the real-time competition that poker provides. And it's because of this direct competition that the Yazino chief believes his team works toward games that are truly social. "We have games on social networks, rather than social games," Chahine says. "If we put Solitaire on Facebook, would Solitaire be a social game?"
Blackjack by Yazino
While only two of Yazino's games--Blackjack and Slots Wheel Deal--are available on iOS, all of its games are on Facebook. Well, sort of. The company's seven games appear to be Facebook applications, but when launched redirect to Yazino's own website, which hosts the games complete with your list of Facebook friends and even random matchmaking. So, why take this route? According to Chahine, Facebook simply can't handle synchronous, multiplatform gaming at the moment.
"Synchronous play has a much deeper and more competitive advantage over asynchronous games. Because of the immersive nature of synchronous games, [the Facebook Ticker] is really a distraction, and actually quite annoying," Chahine admits. "It's like you're [watching] a horse race--you only want to know about what the horse is doing. Do I really care about 'Fred is listening to music?' The synchronous nature and intensity of these games require a different ambiance and a different environment."
Hussein ChahineYazino also looks to give players the option to create personal communities within the larger player base. Chahine (pictured right) uses the English football club Manchester United as an example: A group of friends who play in Manchester United together will soon have the option to create their own sub group, complete with its own leader boards. Because of this, along with the prospects of live chat and real-time gameplay across platforms, Chahine tells us that using Facebook directly isn't an option. (However, it's important to take note that this strategy appears to leave Yazino free from the grips of Facebook Credits too.)
Of course (well, at least in the U.S.), players can't cash in on their virtual winnings, as online gambling was effectively outlawed years ago. And apparently, players are actually happy to accept this reality, according to Chahine. The Yazino head also chalks that up to the fact that players can enjoy its games for free through offers and chips provided daily. Giving players the opportunity to play for free is "a big area of focus" for Yazino, Chahine tells us. And according to him, the entire social gaming scene would be different if online gambling hadn't suffered its run-ins with the law before the turn of the decade. Zynga Poker was one of Zynga's first games, after all.
"Zynga is the only player that's not a gambling site that could throw that game. Poker Stars didn't have the opportunity," Chahine tells us. "They were banned from Facebook, so if PokerStars and the other big sites were allowed even from a virtual perspective. So, if they were allowed to enter that market, there's no way Zynga would have had that success with Zynga Poker."
Slots Wheel Deal by Yazin0
In other words, Facebook could have very well been dominated by casino and gambling games if not for Internet gambling's dashed history with the law before and during Facebook's rise. But Yazino isn't interested in real money gambling. Period. (But is it any less real when players can pay for chips, but not see a return?) Regardless, what Chahine says is that Yazino is interested in is to "reinvent gambling in a much more sophisticated way."
"When you play together, our emotions are heightened," Chahine gushes. "It's more amplified, it's more real and we become more competitive. We do believe at Yazino, what we're trying to become is the pioneer of friendly competition."
Have you tried any of Yazino's games on Facebook (sort of) or mobile yet? What are your thoughts on the rise of casino games on Facebook and elsewhere?
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