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================================================    Thursday, March 24, 2005
 
CasinoWebCam and Easter Promotion

Hello everyone,

The honesty of on-line casinos has always been a questionable issue.   I have also noticed that if one loses a substantial amount, players tend to blame the on-line casino's software, as though such cases would not occur on a land based casino. 

I'm under the conclusion that reputable on-line casinos do not cheat.  It's enough that the odds are on their side.  They have no incentive to jeopardize their very profitable business by implementing a rigged software that can be easily detected by players.

I have done my research in this area and provided a list of reputable on-line casinos, that I trust.  You can find this list at the page: http://www.letstalkwinning.com/bestonline.htm.

CasinoWebcam is an online casino featuring live dealers via web camera. CWC has created a pleasant gambling atmosphere. Using real-time video streaming, players see and hear actual games of blackjack, baccarat, roulette, and sic bo. Beautiful dealers deal cards, throw dice, and spin roulette wheels, and bet outcomes are truly games of chance, not pre-determined computer outcomes or random number generators. What's more, players can chat with the dealers and hear responses using streaming audio.

Even this setup is sometimes suspected by players.  Recently I read a thread in one of the discussion forums about CasinoWebCam.  It quoted:

"Hi all I guess we all know that casino webcam. In my opinion, it cheats.  Well, the other day I was playing there Baccarat for fun.  Player drew 2.  Banker drew 3.  The next card out of the deck as shown on the live video feed was a 6. Suddenly, the video freezes for a split second and the card magically turns into a 10, and the 6 now goes to the banker banker wins natural 9. That's how they cheat: They preorder the cards, so that all they have to do is change one of the cards around to get the alternative result.  Then determine which side from their computer has the lesser bet amount on it and that side wins.  Simple as that.  Thanks for coming."

Another post quoted: "I read the other day that casinowebcam is broadcast from a STUDIO instead of a casino."

When I saw those posts, I immediately wrote an email to the CWC manager and asked him what he thought of them.  He addressed the issue promptly and provided his response in public, which is the following:

"I apologize for the delay in responding, but we do not routinely monitor this message board. I was alerted to the presence of this thread by an affiliate from Montreal, who I thank in advance.

Having been active in the industry for many years (I was formerly with DrHo.com as the CFO), and having being a frequent poster on boards such as WinnerOnline and CasinoMeister, these types of posts - which contain baseless allegations of fraud - are frustrating to respond to, since they tend to deteriorate into a 'he said, she said' type of thread. Therefore, rather than getting into a war of words, I would rather explain the relevant webcam casino issues raised by the message thread. People can then make their own decisions.

1. Studio vs. Real Casino Floor

We operate our video feeds from a studio in San Jose, Costa Rica. We do not accept physical/land play from non-internet customers for local business permitting reasons (you need a different set of local permits and licenses to run a land casino open to the public vs. an internet studio operation).

Moreover, the physical studio is not configured in a manner which would make physical play very comfortable. To see how our studio looks, you can view http://www.cwcgaming.com/p_studio.htm, which is a link to our software licensing site.

Finally, our whole business model is predicated on the fact that for games like baccarat, unlike a land casino, we only need one table to service hundreds of players. This is obviously very different from a land casino, in which a new table needs to be opened every time a table fills up.

2. Video Issues

We are pushing through almost 250kbps per player to deliver video and audio, and the pipes we are pushing our feeds through - which are provided by one of two ISPs in Costa Rica - are not particularly wide or stable. The nature of delivering video on the internet is such that freezes, slowdowns, delays, and restarts are all very very common - and exacerbated when the feed is being delivered from a place like Costa Rica versus a place like New York.

In his post, Mr L does not refer to a specific date, time, or Deal ID. If he does have that information, I would be happy to review it. In the absence of such information, my best guess is that he either experienced a longer freeze that extended into the next game, or alternatively, the dealer mislaid a card and corrected the position during the video freeze. Remember that because the card is scanned via bar code and automatically rendered by the software client itself, even if a dealer mislays a card in the video, the card will appear correctly in the software itself, and the bet will also be paid correctly.

Finally, I would point out that the nature of internet streaming video technology is such that even if we were cheating via 'canned' video clips, it would be enormously difficult to do so. We would have to have every possible card outcome pre-stored, along with video of every possible dealer, and be in a position to deliver combinations thereof in a split second, and make it appear relatively seamless. I am not aware of any technology today that makes this possible on the web.

3. Roulette Wheel

About 3 weeks ago we implemented a roulette wheel optical scanner from TCS John Huxley. Prior to implementing this software, dealers would spin the ball and manually key in the result using a computer keyboard. This was problematic for several obvious reasons: in a best case scenario, dealers occasionally would make typing mistakes; in a worst case scenario, dealers could collude with a player and type in a pre-set result that was different than the spin result, and the player would 'win' the bet. The optical scanner now feeds results directly into our outcome servers, removing the human element.

The issue we are experiencing - and it is one found in land casinos as well - is that if the dealer spins the ball outside the parameters set by John Huxley (e.g. the ball must be spun at a certain speed, and it must rotate more than 4 times around the wheel), the scanner doesn't pick up the number. In such cases, our system aborts the hand - i.e. returns the bet to the customers - on the basis that it is a 'no spin'. This does result in upset players occasionally, who see the 'result' in the video but cannot understand why the hand was aborted.

(A side benefit of the scanner is that outcomes are now sent to the John Huxley anti-wheel bias and anti-dealer bias software server as well, allowing us to further ensure the integrity of the wheel and dealers.)

4. Other bets

For baccarat and blackjack, you can see the bets made by the other players at your table. However, these players might be a) real money players, b) real money players using a different currency as some of our licensees use currencies other than USD, or c) fun money players. Regardless of who they are, the amount they're betting on these games, and the side they're betting on is irrelevant to the outcome of the games. The bets are displayed for player interest only.

I hope that I have addressed all of the issues raised in this thread but will, of course, be willing to answer any additional questions raised.

Adam
CWC Manager"

I believe this explanation is sufficient and shows the professionalism of CWC.

So you can be comfortable placing your bets there and enjoy the pleasant atmosphere.

CWC is offering an EASTER DEPOSIT BONUS for the next 3 days.

This Easter, when you make a deposit of $50 or more on the 25th, 26th and/or the 27th Eastern Standard Time, you will receive a $50 bonus.

To be eligible for these bonuses, make a deposit on any one of these days. Choose to take one or all the bonuses, and receive $50, $100 or $150 depending on which days you deposit!

To be eligible for the deposit bonus on the 25th deposit $50 or more between 0.01 and 24.00 CST and you will receive a $50 bonus.

To be eligible for the deposit bonus on the 26th deposit $50 or more between 0.01 and 24.00 CST and you will receive a $50 bonus.

To be eligible for the deposit bonus on the 27th deposit $50 or more between 0.01 and 24.00 CST and you will receive a $50 bonus.

Bonuses will be received when the deposit has been confirmed.

Click: http://www.incomeaccess.com/processing/clickthrgh.asp?btag=a_1962b_801 to open an account there and take advantage of this great bonus and numerous future ones, while having the feeling of playing on a real casino from the comfort of your home.

Wishing you all the best,
Until next week,
Izak


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