Ambitious plans envision the construction of a giant sphere-shaped entertainment venue in London, mirroring the Sphere in Las Vegas. Proposed by Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSG) the project seeks to replicate the 90-meter music and entertainment at the British capital but Sadiq Khan, the city’s mayor, doesn’t seem to be on board with the idea.

Khan rejected the idea and cited the light pollution the property would create as the chief reason for his decision. For reference, MSG’s plan was to construct the London Sphere in Stratford, close to the Olympic Park.

The Sphere is a brightly illuminated music venue that can project images on its surface. While this design is exactly what makes it popular, it is also why Khan believes that it isn’t well-suited for the London lifestyle.

The mayor pointed out that constructing such a property would cause an “unacceptable negative impact” on residents of the area.

In addition, the property would have been too “dominant and incongruous” and potentially environmentally unstable because of the huge amounts of energy needed to power it.

MSG Will Look Elsewhere

Madison Square Garden Entertainment, which also owns the property in Las Vegas, first unveiled its London project in 2018. Back then, Khan seemed more favorable of the idea and had lauded it as an opportunity to “welcome another world-class venue to the capital” and enrich London.  

However, a year later Khan’s office became concerned with the proposal, which did not comply with the London Plan. Back then, Khan and his staff were planning to decide on a compromise.

In addition, recent estimates show that as many as 61 homes and 177 student rooms would have been affected by the strong light emitted by the property. In the end, Khan seems to have decided that the downsides of replicating the Sphere in London were not worth it.

This decision has the backing of the Green party, which feels similarly about the Sphere. Labour representatives also praised the rejection, saying that it was good news for all local residents.

MSG responded to Khan’s decision, expressing their disappointment in the mayor’s change of heart. However, they said that they would instead focus their efforts on “forward-thinking cities” that would be on board with the idea of enhancing their communities with such technology.

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ICE, Clarion Gaming’s famous B2B industry show, will no longer take place in London. After careful consideration, the company decided to relocate the event to Barcelona starting in 2025. Clarion Gaming noted that it also considered either moving the event to Madrid or Paris, or keeping it in London.

The company noted that its iGB Affiliate conference will also move to the capital of Spain’s Catalonia region. The events will be hosted there for five years, in accordance with the agreement with Fira de Barcelona, the city’s trade fair institution.

Equimore, a proven event specialist, will assist Clarion with its relocation project. The move was greenlit by ICE’s advisory board.

Meanwhile, iGB L!VE will instead relocate to London in 2025.

The Relocation Will Create New Opportunities for the Industry

Addressing the elephant in the room, Alex Pratt, Clarion Gaming’s managing director, said that the event will relocate to Barcelona because of the city’s “world-class facilities, outstanding hospitality infrastructure, logistics, ROI for customers and ability to scale.”

The move will effectively conclude a 12-year tenure at ExCeL London. Instead, the event will now be hosted at the 240,000-square-meter Fira de Barcelona property. The 2025 edition of ICE is planned to run for three days between January 20 and 22.

In addition, the move will form an alliance between the international gaming industry, Fira de Barcelona and stakeholders across Spain. Finally, Clarion Gaming noted that ICE and iGB Affiliate will be the only major events in Barcelona at the time, providing the industry with additional exposure.

Barcelona Was the Best-Equipped to Accommodate ICE

Pratt added that all four cities on Clarion’s shortlist had submitted “highly professional and impressive bids.” As a result, the decision to move the event to Barcelona didn’t come easily.

In the end, Clarion decided that Barcelona was “the best equipped” to be ICE’s strategic partner for the future. Pratt thanked ICE’s stakeholders for helping Clarion reach a decision and Equimore for its assistance.

The process [of selecting a location] enabled us to identify the city that our customers believe is best equipped to be our strategic partner for the future and is able to host two world-class events which meet the needs of businesses of all sizes and locations across every part of the gaming and ICE community.

Alex Pratt, MD, Clarion Gaming

In the meantime, iGB L!VE will move to London in 2025. Previously hosted in Amsterdam, the event will now be hosted at ExCeL London. Pratt noted that his team believes ExCeL London to be a “great destination” and believes that it will provide an amazing backdrop for the event.

Now that Clarion Gaming has reached a decision, it will focus on organizing next year’s editions of ICE and iGB Affiliate. For reference, the first event will run from February 6 to 8, 2024, while the latter will follow on February 7-8.

In other news, Clarion Gaming recently extended its ICE agreement with the European Casino Association.

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The world’s biggest online poker room, GGPoker, announced the launch of a series of online poker tournaments providing pathways for players to participate in live poker events in London.

Pathways to Live Poker Events

The Road to London series of satellites launched by GGPoker will offer participants a chance to win seats for two iconic live poker tournaments, the £3,300 WSOP Super Circuit Series London Main Event and the £21,200 Triton Super High Roller GGMillion$ Live, as well as the thrill of live poker action.

Commenting on the series launch, GGPoker’s head of marketing, UK & Ireland, Angela Martin, was thrilled to announce the return of live poker events to London, adamant that Road to London would be “an unrivaled opportunity to participate in world-class tournaments and compete alongside the poker elite.”

We’re confident that GGPoker players will relish the chance to win their way into these incredible live events at a fraction of the cost, making poker dreams come true.

Angela Martin, head of marketing for UK & Ireland, GGPoker

Promising an electrifying experience for poker players, as well as the thrill of competitive live poker action on an international stage, the Road to London series will reward at least 200 players with seats to the WSOP Super Circuit London Main Event.

One More Hurdle to Overcome

Players who have earned their seats through the satellites will be free to participate in either an OnLive Day 1 tournament hosted at GGPoker or in one of three live Day 1s in London. The first OnLive Day 1 tournament is set to take place on July 2 and step qualifiers are already underway.

Scheduled to start on August 8, the £3,300 WSOP Super Circuit Series London Main Event will have a huge guaranteed prize pool of £3,000,000 ($3,840,000), besides the thrill of playing competitive poker with fellow players from around the world, including recent GGPoker partner, Brian ‘True Geordie’ Davis.

Commencing on July 27, the £21,200 Triton Super High Roller GGMillion$ Live will welcome some of the most popular poker players worldwide, promising to make it a truly exhilarating affair. Qualifier satellites for the tournament will run from June 24.

Both the £3,300 WSOP Super Circuit Series London Main Event and the £21,200 Triton Super High Roller GGMillion$ Live will take place at JW Marriott Grosvenor House in the heart of the capital.

GGPoker was at the center of a controversy recently after most of the high stakes players decided to boycott the games in protest of the latest changes to the poker room’s rake system.

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The World Series of Poker (WSOP) will return to London for the first time in over a decade. As announced by GGPoker, the world’s biggest poker room, the WSOP Super Circuit Series is set to take place in London this summer.

GGPoker noted that the WSOP Super Circuit Series will take place at the JW Mariott Grosvenor House Hotel in the British capital’s Mayfair district. The event, scheduled to take place from July 27 to August 13, will welcome some of the best poker players in the world.

This will notably mark the first time a WSOP event has been held in London since 2010.

Tournaments for Everyone

Four big events have been announced for the upcoming 2023-2024 WSOPC season. This includes a £3,000 + £300 WSOP Super Circuit series main event. In addition to that, there will be a £500 + £60 Colossus, a £1,000 + £100 Mystery Million and a £10,000 + £400 High Roller events.

Each competition’s specifics will appeal to different poker-playing demographics, allowing many poker pros to enjoy themselves while competing against their peers. Buy-in prices will range from £500 to £10,000, providing options for cautious players and risk-takers alike.

The WSOP Super Circuit Series will also host a competition that will welcome fifteen holders of WSOP Gold Ring holders.

If the buy-in prices are still too high for some players, they could also test their mettle in the satellite tournaments hosted by GGPoker. Players can register for these events and compete against other challengers for a shot at qualifying for GGPoker’s bigger tournaments.

WSOP Published Its Summer 2023 Schedule

In February, the WSOP revealed its full schedule for summer 2023, promising a year of excitement to poker enthusiasts. Its main event will be held between May 30 and July 18 at the Horseshoe Las Vegas Casino.

The poker series is planning to host a total of 95 bracelet events prior to that, providing lucky players with chances to win exciting prizes. One lucky player will win free entry to 30 upcoming WSOP Main Events.

Back then WSOP’s SVP & executive director Ty Stewart said that his team expects record-breaking WSOP and World Championship at Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas activity in 2023.

In other news, GGPoker high rollers recently boycotted the company’s updated rake system. The players slammed the historically high rake rates, which have now been made even worse.

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Grosvenor Victoria Casino, a luxury entertainment and casino location also popular as “The Vic,” has hosted many popular poker tournaments in the past. Now, the venue is once again going to be packed with poker players as the 888poker LIVE London Festival is set to launch later this month. The event is planned to kick off on April 12, 2023. It will offer multiple events that can get the attention of some of the best poker players around the world.

The buy-ins for the 888poker LIVE London Festival range between £140 and £2,000. However, poker players can also tap into online satellites for as little as £0.01. According to 888poker, poker aficionados who start playing with one of the satellites for as little as 1 penny can work their way up to an 888poker LIVE London Festival Main Event package that is worth $2,200.

Overall, the Festival will feature more than a dozen events and tournaments. After it kicks off on April 12, 888poker LIVE London Festival is set to run through April 23, 2023.

The Festival Delivers Plenty of Action for Poker Fans

Last year marked the first edition of the 888poker LIVE London High Stakes Festival. At the time, 888poker once again teamed up with Grosvenor Victoria Casino to deliver 11 days of intensive high-stakes action for poker fans.

Now, as noted, this year’s edition of the Festival will also offer plenty of engaging and rewarding events. 888poker’s Festival starts with the Opening Mystery Bounty event on Wednesday, April 12, with an entry fee of £132+18. On the other hand, players can also tap into Qualifiers for the event can cost as little as $55.

Another event that may get the attention of poker players is the £2,000 buy-in High Roller event that is set between April 19 and April 20, 2023. The 888poker LIVE London Festival also caters to the ladies interested in poker with its £55 buy-in Ladies Event planned for April 23, 2023.

But without any doubt, the £1,100 buy-in Main Event is the highlight of the Festival. The tournament will kick off on April 20 with Day 1A, followed by Day 1B on April 21. On both days, the tournaments start at 12 PM GMT. Then, the Main Event Day 2 is planned for April 22, followed by the Final Day set for April 23.  Poker fans not participating in the Main Event can watch a live stream of the action via 888pokerTV’s Twitch channel. During the stream, the viewers can benefit from giveaways and freerolls.

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This is why Crown London Aspinalls has now decided to go after one of its high rollers, Lester Hui, who raked up almost £600,000 ($730,000) in gambling debt on the night of February 9, 2016. He has not made any efforts to honor this payment over the past years, prompting the luxury property to settle matters in court.

Hui Seeks to Have Debt from Crown London Aspinalls Dropped

In a lawsuit filed by the property, Aspinalls alleges that Hui signed the casino a check which was ultimately bounced, prompting the property to seek a way to get its money back. Hui, though, has been willing to put up a fight. He argued that Aspinalls had not honored its obligations under the license issued to the property by the UK Gambling Commission.

He alleged that Aspinalls had broken its social responsibility pledge by purposefully getting him drunk all throughout the night while he played double chance baccarat, and continued to spiral further into debt. Hui even named the drink he was served repeatedly, Moutai, which is a preferred brew among Chinese people.

Hui added that the casino went to extreme measures to get him inebriated and ensure his lapse of judgement. Hui’s attorneys, cited by Evening Standard, argue that the casino made no effort to intervene and stop the gamblers from proceeding, despite his state of mind, which they characterized as “blackout drunk.”

The casino had no legal right to these losses, the attorneys argued. The casino said that this was not true. Hui is also contending that he had warned the casino and asked explicitly for his losses to be limited to no more than £30,000 ($36,000). Aspinalls has denied this charge as well.

Aspinalls May Have Broken New Rules, But Not Old Rules

Aspinalls has been caught in litigation in the past, losing a lawsuit over racial discrimination against an employee who said that customers were repeatedly abusive to dealers of color. The present case though remains an ongoing matter. Aspinalls is unlikely to back down and repeatedly denies wrongdoing, but so does Hui who will seek to prove that the club took advantage of his physical and mental state.

Of course, legislation has come a long way since 2016, and in new guidelines issued by the UK Gambling Commission that came into effect in September 2022, the regulator clearly states that the casino should always intervene in those cases when it suspects that a gambler is acting irrationally or not capable of making clear and logical decisions or is clearly playing outside of their means. This means that even if Aspinalls was a little slow to act in 2016, it did not seem to be breaking any rules.

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The much-anticipated event that made a spectacular return on February 7-9 at ExCeL London reunited 40,000 visitors, representatives and pioneers of the gaming industry. 

The best game distributors, developers, retailers, operators, trade associations, innovators, regulators and strategic organizations all showed a massive interest in taking part in the “most comprehensive and ROI-friendly networking, business and learning experience”.

Raising the Bar for the Gaming Industry in 2023

Once again, the main goal of the event was to raise the bar for the international gaming industry in the new year. Accordingly, the three full days of intense networking and educational workshops were attended by a newly established record number of visitors when compared to the last ICE event organized prior to the start of the pandemic in 2020. Then, 36,000 unique attendees were recorded at the ICE event. In April 2022, the scaled-down version of ICE ushered in 24,000 participants who explored their favorite casino and games and sports betting areas. 

Just like last year, this year’s participants were given premier access to the industry’s latest, mesmerizing technology, and professional insights, along with the latest regulatory news. All this information helped attendees come across brand new ideas, expand their network for the benefit of their business, and reposition their brands in fresher and more seasoned markets over the course of the following months leading to December.

Clarion Gaming’s managing director Stuart Hunter explained that while the data should be checked by independent auditors, they remain confident that the event managed to break through the “40,000 high point” and set a new record in terms of visitors. 

79,000 Return Visits at the ICE London 2023

Hunter added that the number of visitor days, which is a measure of attendees’ return visits, reached 79,000. He called both numbers truly significant figures that showcase the magnitude and high value of the ICE experience as it is perceived by visitors. 

Around half of ICE 2023 attendees operated in both brick-and-mortar and online venues, while 50% were exclusively focused on online operations. Some 20,000 of this year’s attendees showed an interest in the Casino and Games booths, while Sports Betting was the main area of operation for 13,000 visitors. 

The ongoing attention given to the Payments sector was also visible through the 5,000 visitors that explained Payments represented their main point of focus and the primary reason why they attended the event in the first place. 

ICE VOX Was a Sold Out Stand-Out 

ICE VOX, which was held between February 5-8 was a stand-out program that managed to sell all its tickets for the first time in history. The signature content program of the international gaming community delivered exclusive content and an overall ICE experience that was a lot easier to understand and match with visitors’ schedules. 

It ran two different world-leading conferences: the World Regulatory Briefing and the International Casino Conference. It also ran four in-depth masterclasses: iGaming Masterclass, Safer Gambling Masterclass, Modernizing Lotteries Masterclass, and New Markets Masterclass. 

This year, ICE helped raise $63,798 for tackling gambling harm and promoting safer gambling. The money will reach four recipients interested in protecting customers from gambling harm in their countries. 

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