After financial problems from the credit crisis and economic recession, Tropicana Casino and Resort is emerging from bankruptcy. Billionaire Carl Icahn bought the fledging entertainment casino for cheap and announced its return to the industry on Monday. Tropicana is the first major company to do so since the recession decimated the casino gaming industry two years ago.

After holding out for 27 months, New Jersey gave Icahn interim casino authorization to Tropicana. Icahn bought it out of bankruptcy last year for $200 million and expanded his empire by nine more casinos. New Jersey regulators ran the Tropicana when William J. Yung III wasn’t allowed to renew the operating license in December 2007 on account of his drastic cost-cutting measures that left the casino dirty and understaffed. The Tropicana Atlantic City Corp. created a new trust headed by Harold First, who has worked for Icahn in the past.

Icahn’s affiliates own nearly half the company and were lenders in the restructuring process. Gaming licenses have been renewed in five states. Tropicana has more than 7,500 employees around the U.S. and operates casinos in Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada and New Jersey. This isn’t the only casino project Icahn has been working on in Atlantic City. He is currently butting heads with Donald Trump over the ownership of three Trump casinos in the city. From 2000-2006, Icahn owned the Sands Hotel and Casino. Atlantic City’s casinos have three straight years of declining revenue due to the recession and increasing competition with Pennsylvania and other nearby states.

We are midway through National Problem Gambling Awareness Week around the U.S. and New York is doing its part to treat problem gambling. To be the top casino gambling destination in the Northeast, New York is competing with Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey.

New York has 68 recovery programs for those with gambling addictions, most of which are located near casinos or racetracks. That may seem like enough but Jerry Criss of the Center for Problem Gambling said more facilities and revenue are needed.

“The truth of the matter is that an alcoholic has to face passing by bars, seeing beer in all the food marts and so they have to just deal with that,” said Criss. “And so do our clients because I don’t think the state is going to change their position.”

Gambling revenue brings in millions of dollars but less than 1% goes toward treatment services. Other states are increasing their efforts as well. Washington has the Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling, which recently launched a redesigned website that has information, news and other resources for dealing with problem gambling.

The expansion and accessibility of gambling opportunities hasn’t helped problem gamblers. It’s often referred to as the “hidden disease” since there are no blatant physical signs of addiction like in drugs and alcohol. Problem gamblers lead normal lives until they reach a tipping point, which is usually when thousands of dollars have been lost and help is sought. If the gambler still denies the problem, family members, friends or significant others need to step up and demand that they get help. A gambling problem is like a house of cards. When it starts to fall, it will fall fast and hard.

Secrets of Winning Roulette

“Secrets of Winning Roulette” is helpful in learning the techniques and systems used by professional gamblers who consistently overcome the casino advantage. The author breaks down the strategies and covers the basics for new players. The book covers basic betting systems and variations of them. Learn about biased wheels, numerical concepts, technical information about wheel construction and what is considered cheating.

American Roulette: How I Turned the Odds Upside Down—My Wild Twenty-Five-Year Ride Ripping Off the World’s Casinos

Richard Marcus tells his never-before-heard story of ripping off casinos in this one. The book follows Marcus and other professional casino cheaters as they travel from Las Vegas to London and Monte Carlo. They used sleight of hand magic tricks with gaming chips to take away millions. They got away with it because they used psychological setups to convince pit bosses that they’re watching legitimate high rollers getting lucky, when they were really getting ripped off. Learn about the growth of casino gambling from Indian reservation and riverboat expansion and how casino cheaters like Marcus had their way with novice casino personnel.

Beating the Wheel: The System That Has Won over Six Million Dollars from Las Vegas to Monte Carlo

Roulette is the world’s most popular casino game. If you don’t believe it, read this book. There are 170 wheels in Las Vegas, 144 in Atlantic City, thousands in Europe and hundreds in the Far East. The question is, can anything but luck beat roulette? The author, an expert in gambling strategies and a roulette winner for more than 30 years, says yes. Frank Scoblete’s “Spin Roulette Gold” is another good win in this category of betting systems but mainly concentrates on stories of biased wheels.

Roulette Secrets Revealed

This one gives away moneymaking secrets for playing roulette. It doesn’t use theories or outdated techniques, just down to earth, practical and proven roulette strategies to take your gambling experience to the next level.

1. Understand the house edge. The edge always remains with the house, but you can use certain betting strategies to swing the odds more in your favor. Steer clear of bets like the five number bet (covering 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3). It is the least profitable and has a 7.89% house advantage.

2. Watch the croupier closely. There is a strategy in the world of roulette called the dealer’s signature. Some dealers in a casino have been spinning the roulette wheel for years and years. When you do the same thing over and over again, your body gets used to the motion. It’s called muscle memory. Some throw the roulette ball at a consistent velocity and in a consistent manner. The result is a semi-predictable final number. Watch where the ball is let go by dealer on the wheel and measure how far away from that point the ball ends up. You could see a trend. Bet on the numbers in that area. Watch where it is released and add the length around the wheel where it the ball is consistently landing. Just hurry up and get in your wager before they call no more bets.

3. If a person asks you to buy a roulette system, it likely doesn’t work. Strategies and systems get confused with each other. If it talks about bankroll management, it is most likely a strategy and is worth taking a look at.

4. Find a roulette table with favorable rules. The lowest house edges come in European Roulette (one zero) and the En Prison rule, where outside bets are not lost entirely when a zero is hit.

5. If a number repeats often within 100 spins, you may have found a biased wheel. Depending on the legitimacy of the casino, a biased wheel can still be found. It is rare but it is one of the few ways to overcome the casino’s edge these days.

Some of the best online roulette tournaments are offered by English Habour New Ventures Group. Look no further than English Harbour, Millionaire Casino and Silver Dollar for your roulette needs. They all regularly offer roulette tournaments.

English Harbour is the flagship casino of the group and started in 1997. It has won numerous awards and has 100% match bonus worth up to $250 for new players, in addition to monthly bonuses and a nice comps program. Millionaire Casino has more than 85 games with various limits for every type of player. Get a 100% match bonus worth up to $350 and monthly reload bonuses. Silver Dollar draws from gambling’s roots as a Wild West themed casino. It is powered by Vegas Technology and has a 100% match bonus worth up to $100.

Each casino offers weekly online roulette tournaments called “The Wheel Deal.” They are played on European Roulette and entry fees are $5, with a $5 rebuy. With an unlimited number of rebuys, the pots can get heavy. The prize pool is made up of the pot collected and shared by the top 10 finishing players. First place wins 30% of the pot, second wins 20% and third wins 15%. The next two players share 15% of the pot and the five after that share 20%. Online roulette tournaments don’t draw nearly as many people as online slot tournaments so it’s easier to break into the prize pool. The current roulette tournament ends on March 11, with another one beginning next week.

English Harbour New Ventures Group casinos boast a 98% payout to its customers and offers payment methods like Neteller, Eco Card, Use My Wallet, Moneybookers, eCheck, Click2Pay and Bank Wire.

If you are looking to double your excitement with roulette, check out Wagerworks’ Double Bonus Spin Roulette. The game features an additional bonus section on the wheel where you can win up to 1,200 times your bet. But, there are two zeros, which adds to the house edge. So, the odds of any single number coming up are 1 in 39 instead of 1 in 37 like in normal European Roulette.

Double Bonus Spin Roulette has an extra yellow slot on the roulette wheel that is 1.5 times as wide as a normal slot. If the ball lands in it, you have two extra chances of winning with your existing bets. If your bet was on the yellow slot, you win an instant prize depending on the casino and a shot at winning up to a big multiple of your original bet.

All the outside bets apply like straight bets, split bets, trio bets, corner bets, six number bets, even money bets and column bets. Unique bets to Double Bonus Spin Roulette include the straight yellow, split yellow and trio yellow. The straight yellow is a single bet on the yellow bonus slot. You are paid 12 to 1 for the first win, 120 to 1 if one of the free spins hits yellow and 1,200 to 1 if both free spins land on yellow. Split yellow is a bet on the yellow bonus and either the 0 or 00. Payouts are 6 to 1 for the first yellow win, 60 to 1 if one of the free spins hits yellow and 600 to 1 if both free spins hit. Trio yellow is a bet on the yellow bonus and both the 0 and 00. Payout are 4 to 1 for the first yellow win, 40 to 1 for if one free spin hits yellow and 400 to 1 if both free spins hit.

Double Bonus Spin Roulette is only offered at Wagerworks-powered casinos, which includes Virgin Casino, Blue Square and Get Minted Casino.

If you have ever wanted to play live casino games on your television, Challenge Jackpot is here for you. Challenge Jackpot is an innovative Wagerworks-powered online casino that offers live games in roulette, blackjack, poker, craps and more on your T.V. The casinos games are streamed live from a studio in London.

For roulette, you will be right there watching the croupiers. The live roulette is offered in the form of their games, Roulette Nation and Roulette Nation Express. Roulette Nation airs live every night starting at 6 p.m. Roulette Nation Express runs from 4 a.m.-6 p.m. and is a faster version of Roulette Nation but has shorter rounds and less chatting. Players can place bets online or on the phone. If you elect to play online, the game from T.V. shows up on the left and an image of a roulette table is available to place bets on. If you want to play over the phone, dial the number on your T.V. screen. Then, enter your PIN to be taken to the main menu for your betting options. A series of quick numbers can make specific bets. The T.V. show is presented by Anna Fowler, Craig Stevens, Emma Lee and Jeff Brazier. Due to licensing restrictions, only UK residents can play at Challenge Jackpot. They are offering a nice promotion this month, a £450 bonus and entrance into the Paddy’s Prize Pack giveaway.

For non-UK residents, try CasinoTV. This is essentially the same concept offering live roulette. Players have 30 seconds between spins to place the desired bet. At the end of the 30 seconds, the table is closed and no more bets are taken. Then, the ball is set in motion by the croupier. It is important to note that in the Live Roulette window, the time on the screen is the exact time from the CasinoTV studios in Lithuania. There may be a slight delay on the screen due to Internet issues.

A Nova Scotia-based gaming company focused on land-based gambling venues may have a solution to the addictive behavior associated with gambling, a major roadblock in the legalization of online gambling. The device is marketed by Techlink Entertainment and is called Gameplan. Canada is known for its safeguards against problem gambling so this could get big in a hurry.

The Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation chose Gameplan to empower players to gamble responsible on the video lottery terminals (VLTs). It is the duty of the jurisdictions to prevent compulsive gambling problems. Each VLT must install the Gameplan software and the plug and play device must be inserted into the terminal. A tracking system is used on wagers and results, keeping the player aware of their gambling pattern. It’s sort of a gambling reality check that usually doesn’t set in until you’ve lost all your money. The players can enter money-management criteria into the device that will give information on options during play. If you want to limit your losses or set a time limit, the device will lock you out of the system of VLTs once you have lost that set amount or run out of time. The lock out time can be set for anywhere from one to three days.

Two Canadian and one Las Vegas research firms have approved Gameplan. It was designed for land-based machines, but the Internet Gaming Study Committee is looking at possible effects at online casinos. The machine includes self-exclusion, gaming limits, self-limitation and an account summary. The account summary includes how long you have spent playing over the past days, weeks, months or year and how much money you have won or lost on the machine.

This story is the roulette version of the famous MIT students who broke the bank in blackjack. In the 1970’s, a group of graduate physics students known as “the Eudaemons” set out to find a way to beat roulette and use the money earned to fund a scientific community. They were headed J. Doyne Farmer and Norman Packard at the University of California Santa Cruz. The name of the group was inspired by the “eudaimonism” philosophy based on happiness.

During the summer, two students from the group bought a roulette wheel and did some research. Using instruments including a camera and an oscilloscope to keep track of the motion of the roulette wheel, they devised a formula involving trigonometric functions and four variables. Two of which was the period of rotation of the roulette wheel and the period of rotation of the ball around the roulette wheel. A computer was built to crunch the numbers and simplify the process. It was designed to be invisible to an onlooker and small enough o fit inside a shoe. The data was input by tapping the big toe on a micro-switch in the shoe. Then, an electronic signal was relayed to an output system hidden underneath the person’s shirt, strapped to the chest. Actuators would indicate which of the eight octants of the roulette wheel to place a bet on through vibration, or a ninth octant for no bet.

It was a two-man operation. An observer would tap input signals with their foot and the bettor would receiver output signals underneath their shirt. It took two years to develop the system but it worked out well in Las Vegas until one major problem. The average profit was $0.44 on every $1. Problems arose like failed insulation that forced electric shocks on the bettor, burning a hole into their skin. Other members of the group had already left at this point because they couldn’t keep up with their academic workload. The burning incident caused a total disbandment of the group but they collectively made around $10,000.

Unlike slots, online roulette tournaments are hard to come by so, if you are a true rouletter, jump on them when you see them. Even more of a rarity are tournament freerolls. The good news is VIP Casino is offering them this month for blackjack and roulette. The online roulette tournament takes place during the first half of March and the online blackjack tournament runs in the second half.

First place for each tournament gets $400. How would you like to make $800 off playing blackjack and roulette without spending a penny? Each tournament has a prize pool of $1,000. Second place gets $200 and 3^rd through 22^nd places get $20 each. These tournaments differ from the standard freeroll tournaments you find. Players start with a credit balance of $500 and only get 10 minutes of wagering time. In most freeroll tournaments, players start with a smaller balance and have more wagering time.

So, given the time constraints, a player will have to wager aggressively. Single number bets would be the way to go other than even money ones. The leaderboard on the right side of the screen stay updated while the player bets so you can see how you are fairing in the field and how aggressive your betting should be for a share of the prize pool. The tournaments are offered to players with real money accounts at VIP Casino, which can be acquired through credit card, wire transfers, checks and other electronic payment options. VIP Casino also offers different variations of roulette and blackjack. The Cryptologic-powered online casino is closed to U.S. players, but offers American Roulette, European Roulette and Mutli-player Roulette.