Australia Zoo Viva Crocodile Las Vegas Back On, by Greg Tingle - 30th January 2011

G'day punters, journos, high rollers - casino whales, gambling millionaires and billionaires, entertainment and arts news junkies, media tycoons, politicians, insiders, outsiders, legal eagles and friends at Australia Zoo... one and all. You know who you are. They say never smile at a crocodile, but today we learn that some Australia Zoo management are smiling at Las Vegas opportunities, while some zoo staff are not smiling back at the zoo's management and best laid plans. Media Man and Gambling911 probe crocodiles, management, staff and the Las Vegas Strip with their ferocious report...

Australia Zoo Management Smiling At Las Vegas Trip; Some Zoo Staff Crocodile Tears...

Zoo Director Wes Mannion and General Manager Frank Muscillo recently flew business class to Las Vegas, also taking in California, two days after more than 20 employees were relieved of their services (fired or retrenched if you will) from Terri Irwin's world famous zoo last Monday.

The main goal of the trip is to secure a large business deal for Terri and the Zoo in or around the Las Vegas Strip. Think Crocodile A Mania or crocodile - wild life entertainment complex. Wayne's World meets Oprah Winfrey Show meets PT Barnum? You be the judge, but you get the idea.

Gaming and gambling are big business and a significant part of the entertainment industry. Look no further than the recent South Sydney Rabbitoh's deal with Star City casino or the Penrith Panthers deal with Centrebet. PartyGaming also inked a few deals with U.S land based casinos last week.

Yes, these deals sent gaming haters animal, but they still happened.

An Australia Zoo spokesperson said head crocodile - humans Mannion and Muscillo were in California seeking opportunities that would cement the financial future for Australia Zoo and attract international tourists back to the Coast.

"These business class flights were booked a year in advance on a travel sale," the spokesperson said.

Last June, Terri Irwin announced Australia Zoo was pushing ahead with a $300 million plan to replicate the famed Beerwah wildlife haven in the gambling mecca of Las Vegas, a story well publicised by news powerhouses Media Man and Gambling911, and picked up many wires the world over.

Terri advised the plans would employ about 900 people – about half of them Australians.

At the zoo dozens of ex workers are struggling to come to terms with the recent job losses, with a few tears been shed.

A dismissed staff member, who does not wish to be named for fear of backlash, said news of the pair’s overseas trip was "an insult".

"In the face of something like this they have just disappeared, while everyone else is left behind trying to work out how to pay the bills. It’s un-Australian – if things are so tight that they need to lay off staff, why aren’t they flying economy? It’s not just casuals that have lost their jobs either, there are full-time staff that have been there for considerable amounts of time and are now unemployed."

Retrenched zoo staff were further aggravated, if not embarrassed, this week when a mass e-mail was circulated containing an information fact sheet to help with their search for new employment.

"The email addresses of all staff members who were presumably made redundant were there for everyone to see. There has been no respect for anyone’s privacy. It’s unprofessional.", said a leaker.

Well, its all out in the open now. Who will be the next prey? Just kidding.

Las Vegas Strip or California to catch Terri's Crocodile-A-Mania? Tell us in the forum!

Media Man and Gambling911 are smiling at the Zoo's proposal. Just if or when the smiles in Vegas turns into dollars and a deal for Terri Irwin and team remains to be seen, but our spies on the strip tell us that Team Terri will be grinning ear to ear soon enough, dispute crocodile tears from some of her detractors. As fellow Aussie media and entertainment entrepreneur Russell Crowe recently covered in regards to gambling and having a punt, "Business is business. It's a reality check." Yep, having a punt in only natural. Enter the jungle!


Online Casinos, Online Poker and Sports Betting...

Ok readers, we hear you... you also want to know some of the best places to play online (that accept Aussies) if your in or around the Asia Pacific - Australia (including Tassie) and New Zealand, so here it is...

PartyCasino.com

Captain Cooks Casino

Betfair (sports betting only)

PKR.com (poker, slots including Marvel slot games and sports betting)

PartyPoker.com (online poker at one of the world's most respected poker rooms and gaming brands)

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Media Man and Gambling911 remind our readers to keep the following in mind:

Take the time to research and learn games before placing down money

Media Man, Casino News Media and Gambling911 are website portals. Not casinos as such, however are recognised as world leading websites that cover the sector and act as central points to games, news, reviews and more.

Readers... er, punters, how did you like our report? Tell us in the forum.

If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. Gaming is just one of a dozen sectors covered

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