On May 23, 2009, Patricia DeMauro of New Jersey picked up the dice for only the second time in her life at the craps table at the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City. She held them for four hours and eighteen-minutes. Her roll set a new world record beating that of Stanley Fujitake, who rolled for three-hour and six-minutes on May 28, 1989.

Pat will be one of the special guests at the World Casino Championships being held on August 14, 15 and 16 at the Clarion Hotel and Suites in Las Vegas. The World Casino Championships is a fun and educational event featuring tournaments in craps, slots, blackjack, Pai Gow poker and baccarat.

The admission price to the event includes an entry into all of the tournaments and gambling related seminars. It also includes lunches during the day on Saturday and Sunday and an awards banquet on Sunday evening. All entrants will receive a free dice roll for a chance to win $25,000. For more information and event pricing see the World Casino Championship website.

When casinos opened in Colorado in 1991, the only games offered were slot machines, blackjack and poker. Gamblers were limited to making a maximum bet of five dollars on the blackjack and poker games. Under State regulation, casinos had to close between 2:00am and 8:00am.

Last November, voters approved Amendment 50 which raises the maximum bet from $5 to $100 and allows the casinos to offer craps and roulette. It also extends operating hours to 24 hours a day.

The higher limits and new games will go into effect at exactly 12 a.m. on Thursday, July 2nd and the casinos are looking forward to a very busy holiday weekend to celebrate their new independence from the old regulations.

My friend Rich and I were playing craps the other day at the casino. We both bought in for the same amount but at the end of our playing session, I had won much more money than he did. We both were playing at the same table, betting on the same shooters yet our results were very different. This led to a discussion about how we were betting. I was using a positive progression on the hot shooters while Rich was flat betting the same amount and never raising his bets. He told me that he did not believe that progression systems worked in the long run so he always kept his bets the same.

Many players feel this way and it is true that no betting system can change the house edge, however a positive betting progression can take advantage of a winning streak and increase your winnings during the course of a playing session. Using a positive progression system is when you increase your bets as you are winning. Here is a look at positive progression systems.

Many years ago when online casinos started appearing on the Internet, the owners of the brick and mortar casinos spoke out vocally against them. They were in favor of legislation to ban the online casinos because they did not want anything cutting into their profits. With the casino industry suffering from declining revenues during the current economic slowdown, some of the casino corporations are eyeing online gambling as a way increase their sagging profits.

Harrah's Entertainment and MGM Mirage, the two largest gaming companies now support legalizing online gambling. Harrah's has been the most vocal supporter of Internet gambling in recent months, and they also stand to benefit the most from legalization. Last month, Harrah's launched a subsidiary in Montreal, Canada to capitalize on the spread of Internet gambling in countries where online gambling is legal.

Both Harrah's and MGM feel that more people would gamble online if it was regulated and run by companies that know and trust.