A report by The Sun newspaper reveals the commission met with ITV bosses on Friday to complain their uptight little tits off that the success of the show encourages gambling by making it look “easy” to win on roulette. What ever happened to “you can’t control fate”?

A unknown source close to the talks told The Sun: “The Commission has concerns the show is glamorising gambling as so many people won £1million last time and did the best part of nothing to get it.”

This might be because over the seven episodes of the show’s season which aired in September last year, four people each won the top prize of £1million by picking either red or black. However, is their argument, which stems from them thinking the show makes it look “too easy”, flawed? You can in fact just bet on Red or Black on Roulette in a real casino, and most times it can be down to sheer luck.

Nevertheless, the sources said the watchdog wants assurances that contestants will have to “demonstrate some degree of skill” to win the cash for the show’s return.

Rules to block the show have not yet been affirmed by the regulator, that’s if Cowell doesn’t do what he’s told. But a source said: “Put it this way, if the Gambling Commission kicks up a big fuss about your show publicly, it is unlikely that you would go ahead with it.”

Is this regulation gone mad?

Yep, you guessed it: Andrea A is our featured Ayre Head for the short but now sweet month of February. It’s okay though, this year we talked to the calendar people and they added an extra day so we can enjoy Andrea a little longer…

And if it is winter where you are, thankfully – this perfect bodied babe with the tightest jeans eating the tightest ass you’ve ever feasted your eyes on will ensure you’re kept hot and bothered in one of the coldest months of the year.

We can’t escape the fact this month is also a time of romance. That and, erm, pancakes. Perhaps giving shit up for lent isn’t your thing, but if you do celebrate Mardi Gras we’re sure batter mix won’t be the only thing you’ll be tossing if Andrea A has anything to do with it. Maybe lay off the hot cooking oil, though.

With February bringing the romantic day of Valentine’s, we just had to ask Andrea what she thought of the day of love: “Cliché” or “let’s play”? Andrea said she thought Valentines was a little cheesy, as she hates nothing more than a corny candle lit dinner, insisting it’s all about play. “It’s not a day to take too seriously”, she tells us, “but that doesn’t go to say you can’t make it fun.” And just how much fun, we’d love to know.

When asked the standard question: drinkin’, gamblin’ or carryin’ on, Andrea opted for all three. Wow this girl is wild. Apparently, a pint of cider, a fist full of casino chips and a glint in her eye is all this girl needs to see the night through. Thank fuck its February.

For other sweet, beautiful and sexy Ayre Heads, visit our Ayre Head Gallery. Also, do you think Ayre Heads should have their own website? Let us know if these hot hot girls deserve a home of their own!

One film that has been ignored by ceremonies that have taken place so far is the adaptation of Michael Lewis’ book Moneyball. The Oscars have recognized it with Bennett Miller’s film taking six nominations including one in the category, Best Picture. Alexander Payne’s The Descendants was expected to be The Artist’s biggest challenger and could only muster five nods.

The gaming industry has been unmoved by the nominations seeming to shun the notion of The Artist being the front-runner. Bet365 still has the silent film as short as 2/7 with 188Bet giving it odds of 1/4 with both books agreeing that Scorcese’s 3D masterpiece is drifting at 12/1. Baseball’s day in the sun might come in the shape of a Best Actor award for Billy Beane aka Brad Pitt. The odds on Pitt taking home the prize have drifted to 11/1 with Bet365 but he will find it hard with the favorite George Clooney, star of The Descendants, out in front at 4/11.

In the who will cry the Best Actress aka who will cry the most category, Meryl Streep’s performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady is vanquishing allcomers. Paddy Power has her at 4/9 to take the prize and you can find her as short as 1/2 with Bet365. Just make sure you remember to pocket a load of tissues before you get into the theatre!

The full list of nominations can be found here.

It’s always been a bit of an enigma, and even so there has always been a lot of pressure put on men to visit it by their lovers, or even on a one-night stand – to put their mark on that sacred target of sublime pleasure. But a lot of times they can’t even find the damn thing.

The good news is that there may be a good reason for that. A team of researchers have concluded in a study that the G-spot doesn’t really exist, giving men a brilliant excuse for their ladies why they are so shit in bed. So in future, when your girl is moaning – but not in a good way – that you’re just not getting it right , you can tell her why: It’s fictional place – a fairy land. Perhaps more accurately, as King’s College London put it in a study in 2010, it’s “a figment of women’s imagination, encouraged by magazines and sex therapists”.

We doubt saying that would do you any favours in the sac, though. But it’s worth a try if she won’t stop asking you to “hit the damn spot, mother trucker!” You could even give her a bit of a science lesson and explain further as of why you’re not hitting it, stating that the Journal of Sexual Medicine reviewed 100 studies published since 1950 and found no “valid objective data” to support the existence of the holy Gräfenberg Spot. It’ll probably just result in a slap round the face, though.

If, for some strange reason, she is interested in your excuse – you could tell her that over the years the “G-spot” has been thought to be some kind of concentrated bundle of nerves on the front wall of the vagina. And that even those that believe in it often fail to actually find, or put a finger on it.

And if you’re extra cheeky, why not throw in a quote or two and really impress her, as the study, highlighted by The Telegraph, states: “Attempts to characterise vaginal innervation have shown some differences in nerve distribution across the vagina, although the findings have not proven to be universally reproducible.

“Furthermore, radiographic studies have been unable to demonstrate a unique entity, other than the clitoris, whose direct stimulation leads to vaginal orgasm.”

Good luck with that.

It might be just a load of science, but we’re sure science will be a good enough excuse for most men out there who still find the task of hitting that pleasure place an impossible one. If you are hitting the spot and your mating partner is more than happy with your performance then we salute you. If not, don’t worry; you’ve got science on your side now.

Arguably the best moment came when he read the list sent out by organizers the Hollywood Foreign Press Association reminding him of a number of unmentionable issues. Chief among those issues related to Mel Gibson, Gervais telling the assembled audience: “And I mustn’t mention Mel Gibson this year. Not his private life, his politics, his recent films or especially not Jodie Foster’s Beaver.

“I haven’t seen it myself.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of guys – they haven’t seen it either but that doesn’t mean it’s not good.”

Unfortunately, it didn’t extend to calling Foster “sugartits”. That might have pushed it that little bit too far.

As for the Globes, they trod a similar path to the one expected. Silent film The Artist swept up three awards and such is the dearth of English amongst the main protagonists they may want to send up the dog for the acceptance speeches at the Oscars. Best Actress in a drama went to Meryl Streep for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher and she allowed herself a slip of the tongue by dropping the second profanity of the evening.

One man that didn’t manage to grab himself an award was Shame actor Michael Fassbender. If he ends up winning an Oscar we’d like to think he’d celebrate in the only appropriate way possible – a threesome with two buxom ladies of the night. The aging by the day George Clooney took the award for Best Actor in a drama for the film Descendants with it also taking Best Picture in the same category.

Too regularly though are we made to feel guilty by various bodies and certain health watchdogs for simply getting pissed and having a good old laugh. Well, in your faces, World Health Organisation! A new study has proved for the first time that alcohol releases endorphins – the body’s way of making us feel pleasure and reward. Yes, there is a god.

The study, published in the Science Translational Medicine Journal and led by Dr Jennifer Mitchell of the University of California San Francisco, finds that the stress and pain-relieving proteins are naturally released in the brain and other tissues when alcohol is poured down our necks.

In a report by the Telegraph, Mitchell said: “This is something that we’ve speculated about for 30 years, based on animal studies, but haven’t observed in humans until now. It provides the first direct evidence of how alcohol makes people feel good.”

The study went ahead through head scans which showed the immediate effects of alcohol on the brain. These scans provided the first direct evidence to support scientists’ belief that guzzling down a cocktail or knocking back a shot of tequila triggers the release of those fun-loving chemicals; endorphins.

However, that’s not the only good news knocking around the internet concerning our much loved endorphin-inducing liquid.

You know when you’ve just had that one too many, and your night of fun and frolicks turns into a disastrous vomiting “where am I? Who am I?” nightmare? Well, another scientific study – this time by a pharmacologist named Jing Liang of the University of California, Los Angeles – has found a potentially safe way of instantly sobering a drunken person up. But get this – it might also possibly eliminate any form of hangover.

Too good to be true, right? We know – but here’s the science:

Extracts of a Chinese variety of the oriental raisin tree (Hovenia dulcis), which have been used for 500 years to treat hangovers in China, has been modified to prove its worth as an intoxication blocker in a series of experiments on rats.

In the study led by Liang, a component of the raisin tree extract named dihydromyricetin (DHM), was injected into lab rats which had previously been given a dose of alcohol proportionate to the amount a human would get from downing 15 to 20 beers in two hours. When the rats were hit with a DHM injection of the same amount of booze included a milligram of DHM per kilogram of rat body weight, the animals recovered their composure within just five minutes. That’s oppose to the 70 minutes it took to come round when not given the drug.

Flabbergasted? So are we. According to a report by New Scientist, the drug works by preventing alcohol from having its usual intoxicating effects on the brain, however much is in blood.

Dr Liang said: “DHM will reduce the degree of drunkenness for the amount of alcohol drunk and will definitely reduce the hangover symptoms. In time, it will reduce their desire for alcohol.”

The doctor also revealed that soon enough, a test containing DHM will be performed for the first time on humans. “I would give it to problem drinkers who can’t resist going to the pub and drinking,” she said.

But if it does work, is a “sober up pill” really a good idea? If used often, it seems like a bit of a waste. In our opinion, it should be used as a back-up only – for those times when you’ve just had one too many. Or if you want to drive yourself home and avoid drink driving. Or even perhaps it could be used as a nightcap to prevent nasty hangovers?

What do you think?

After bets that pop star Katy Perry and British comedian Russell Brand would divorce was among the top of the UK bookies’ props last year – coming true only last week –  it appears Willy Hill deemed Hollywood actress Liz Hurley’s romance with cricketer Shane Warne to be 2012’s first showbiz relationship heading for the gutter. Hurley and Warne’s odds on a celebrity split are 4/1 on William Hill’s online book. Would you put a quid on it?

Other celeb love props on WilliamHill.com include Take That star Jason Orange and his relationship with comedienne Catherine Tate, with a break up this year at 8/1, and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie – along with parents-to-be Beyonce and Jay-Z – both at 25/1.

However,  newlywed Prince William and bride Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, have a rock solid romance – with William Hill offering odds of 100/1 on them splitting, and just 2/5 on them announcing the first celebrity pregnancy of 2012.

Other non-celebrity split novelty bets on the books at the moment include Rupert Murdoch and his his very own set of “Twitter Specials” on Ladbrokes.com, with “@rupertmurdoch to be most followed account on twitter at any point in 2011” at 25/1. Other Murdoch Twitter specials include “@rupertmurdoch to permanently delete his twitter account in 2013” at 5/6 and “@rupertmurdoch to be following over 100.5 people by the end of Jan 2013” at 6/4. Which one would you throw a few bob at?

Novelty or “prop” betting is a brilliant thing; allowing anyone and everyone into its embrace. Customers can bet on anything they want – from celebrity deaths and reality television contests to lawsuits and terrorist attacks. The possibilities are endless.

It adds an extra edge to many usually mundane aspects of life, which means an increasing number of iGaming operators offer these kind of bets. And you can’t blame them. The fact that so many bets are unique means that operators are able to make their own odds that they’re comfortable with.

The Irish bookmaker, Paddy Power, is the king of this realm – with novelty bets making up a core part of its offering. Like with every year, Paddy Power’s top props of 2011 came in the form of reality TV shows such as X-Factor, Strictly Come Dancing and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.  X-Factor’s most popular odds were 9/4 that a Gary Barlow contestant would win the competition (oh how wrong they were). However, Harry Judd from tenny bopper band McFly’s 1/3 odds in the final of Strictly Come Dancing were proven correct, and so were its 4/1 odds on Dougie Poynter winning the celebrity jungle show.

Other, more outrageous outside wagers of 1000/1 offered that Will Smith, Paris Hilton or Laura Bush will be the next President of the United States.

Bodog too, have had their fair share of novelty bets this year. Popular ones, like those in the UK, were TV reality show bets, such as Dancing ith the Stars, which saw contestant Ricki Lake talk about her Bodog odds on the Jimmi Kimmel Show, gleaming with her 10/1 odds to win. She didn’t though. Her legs are far too chunky for that business. Actor J.R Martinez took the mirror ball trophy home after Bodog correctly estimate him as favourite.

“Who will buy the Tote?” was another Bodog special, and as something that we covered plenty on calvinayre.com – one of our favourites.

Our favourite props for 2012 include PaddyPower’s “the number of times Lindsay Lohan is arrested in 2012”, with current odds: Once 6/4, Twice 11/10, Thrice 4/1, Four times 7/1 or Four times or more at 8/1.

Which type of celeb will be the first to receive a superinjunction is another good one, which applies to the first person reported with a superinjunction by any UK red top print tabloid newspaper from 19th Dec 2011 onwards.

These are just a pinch of the novelty bets that are currently offered by Paddy Power on more than 20 random topics. What’s your most anticipated novelty bet of 2012?

The festivities get underway on Sunday February 26 and with nominations ballots already mailed out we can get justifiably hot under the collar ahead of the nominees being announced 20 days before the awards.

Which films will be right up there with a chance this year and which actress will see her lip shimmer before puddle upon puddle of tears fall?

If you believe the early rumors, The Iron Lady has as good a chance as any. The biopic delves into the life of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, aka The Iron Lady. Meryl Streep played the lead and might have to get some of those eye drops at the ready. Y’know, to accentuate the crying and so that the front row are nice and refreshed with the salty goodness of tears. The bookies have her as Evens (Bet365) to take the crown with the film itself further out in the race for Best Picture at 17/1 (Bodog).

The Artist has already been installed as favorite for the best film award at the Golden Globes and the same is true here. The silent film is being hotly tipped to take the Best Picture Oscar and is at 2/1 (Bodog). One of the films in the mix that holds true to me in particular is the dramatization of Michael Lewis’ book, Moneyball. Brad Pitt stars in yet another biopic this time looking at the Oakland A’s manager Billy Beane. The film’s best chance of a gong might be the Best Actor (Bet365) prize with Pitt at 6/1 and the bookies pricing it at 16/1 for Best Picture (Bodog) seems to rule it out for the big one.

The Oscars are known for their glitz and glam as well as the awards themselves with much of the hype surrounding who wears what. Most of it all we’d like to see a betting company come out with odds on how long the acceptance speech will wind on for or how long the Best Actress crying fit lasts for. And will the Best Actor be blubbing? We should bloody hope so. It’s about time we saw some sensitivity!

What the Globes lack in prestige alongside the Oscars they make up for in the somewhat relaxed atmosphere. The Oscars has its theatre seating and safe choice of hosts. The Globes finds guests seated at tables with nosh by the cartload and booze at the ready. In every sense, it’s like a gaming awards ceremony just maybe minus the obligatory trip to three strip joints on the way home.

The best part of the ceremony for the past two years is back again with British comedian Ricky Gervais looking to draw the ire of those that just don’t seem to get his unique brand of British humor. Or they lack just that – a sense of humor.

Controversy is what this year’s ceremony is fast becoming remembered for with the film leading the nominations memorable for its lack of sound. The Artist has six nods and what it’s loses in being a silent film is being made up for by those questioning whether a silent film should be in with a chance. I can’t confess to having seen the film but if it’s nominated and was praised at Cannes then what’s the fuss about?

Moneyball is up for the best drama film and if it’s anything like the book then the praise it’s receiving is fully deserved. Who’d have thought a film about sports up for a gong at the Golden Globe? Next the NFL will be recognizing that sport betting exists. Actually, maybe we’re being a little hasty there.

The best part of all of this is that if you fancy a punt there are plenty out there that will gladly give you the chance. The odds only extend to voting on the actual awards themselves. Personally, I’d like to see props on how many people Gervais might piss off with his first gag or when his debut jibe of the night will take place. Alas, we’ll just have to put up with the Twittersphere showing its displeasure at this crown jewel of British comedic class.

With no further ado’s, here are those all important odds from bet365.com…

Best Motion Picture (Drama)

• The Descendents 4/5
• Hugo 3/1
• War Horse 4/1
• The Help 18/1
• Moneyball 18/1
• The Ides of March 25/1

Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical)

• The Artist 1/5
• Midnight In Paris 13/2
• My Week with Marilyn 8/1
• Bridesmaids 22/1

Best Director

• Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) 8/13
• Martin Scorcese (Hugo) 4/1
• Alexander Payne (The Descendants) 11/4
• George Clooney (The Ides of March) 28/1
• Woody Allen (Midnight In Paris) 25/1

Best Actress (Drama)

• Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) 8/13
• Viola Davis (The Help) 11/5
• Tilda Swinton (We Need To Talk About Kevin) 10/1
• Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs) 10/1
• Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) 18/1

Best Actor (Drama)

• George Clooney (The Descendants) 8/13
• Brad Pitt (Moneyball) 4/1
• Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar) 9/2
• Michael Fassbender (Shame) 9/1
• Ryan Gosling (The Ides of March) 16/1

Best Actress (Comedy or Musical)

• Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn) 2/7
• Charlize Theron (Young Adult) 6/1
• Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids) 7/1
• Jodie Foster (Carnage) 11/1
• Kate Winslet (Carnage) 16/1

Best Actor (Comedy or Musical)

• Jean Dujardin (The Artist) 1/5
• Ryan Gosling (Crazy, Stupid, Love) 13/2
• Brendan Gleeson (The Guard) 12/1
• Joseph Gordon Levitt (50/50) 16/1
• Owen Wilson (Midnight In Paris) 16/1

So who was crowned the most admired dream girl out of our run of Ayre Heads in 2011? That was no other than booby brunette babe Tia P.

Perched pleasingly on a bed made for two, it doesn’t take much to imagine you right on there with her.

As top of the hots, we think our readers favour Tia because she’s as the darkest of brunettes with the bluest of eyes – capable of igniting your most unruly desires.

When asked to choose between Gamblin’, Drinkin’ or Carryin’ on, tantalising Tia chose Gamblin’ – loving nothing better than a pile of chips held firmly against her chest.

Staci T might be our second most popular Ayre Head of the year, but she’s by no means anyone’s second best as a supreme blonde beauty. As one of our Ayre Heads from the ICE 2011 event, Staci is an Angry Bird – telling us that she once played the smartphone game for 14 hours straight, hitting up a score of 160450. With finger skills like that, who wouldn’t want to get to know her a little better?

When we asked Staci the ultimate question, does she prefer Gamblin’, Drinkin’ or Carryin’ on, she chose Drinkin’. Stunning Staci can’t quite get over the feeling of a nice stiff drink sliding slowly down her throat. The holiday season must be her favourite time of year…

Our featured Ayre Head for June, Ashley D, wins bronze medal for CalvinAyre.com’s 2011 ultimate sex on legs award. As if the summer wasn’t hot enough then came along Ashley in this sweltering Steampunk photo shoot. But Ashley D is a girl who heats it up wherever she goes: a perfect winter holiday gift.

Ashley has also done shoots for both Maxim and Playboy magazines. But to find out just how she rolls in her leisure time, we asked her straight up: Drinkin, Gamblin, or Carrying On? As you might expect from the outfit, Carrying On is her specialty. Just how, we’ll leave to your imagination.

So there you have it – the year most drooled over Ayre Heads. Were they your top three favourite? Or are you outraged that your favourite beauty missed the top spot?
 

In a special winter holiday shoot by The Sun newspaper today, Jodie dresses up as an Ice Queen and shows us her in her most recent form, revealing her sculpted abs and toned body. But is her bodybuilding physique covered with tatooes a little too much? Dare we say masculine? Those enormous babylons suggest not, but we’ll let you decide for yourself; take a gander at the photoshoot images here.

The question is, would you or wouldn’t you? She’d probably give you a run for your money at the gym, that’s for sure. In the article where she gets her guns out for all to see, Jodie said: “This is my favourite shoot ever. I love dressing up and I feel like a superhero with my silver hair and make-up. I think my superhero power would be crushing men’s heads with my thighs — that and flying to beat the traffic!”

Jeez!

When asked about her sex life she added: “I’m basically celibate and like a virgin again. “God knows what it would take to sleep with me now!”

Would you like to change all that? Or would you be scared of getting your head kicked in? It could well possibly be the latter, but maybe that’d be the fun of it?

Calvin has long been a fan of Lindsay’s work, and remains convinced that she’s but one juicy film role away from a comeback (assuming she manages to, um, keep her nose clean, stop violating her probation and stay out of the big house long enough to make it to a film set every morning). Hopefully this extra exposure (no pun intended) will help keep her name in the minds of producers and casting agents, because the girl really is talented.

The Playboy cover was (purposely?) leaked onto the web earlier this week, but some enterprising Eastern Europeans managed to get hold of the inner images, and now the cork is officially out of the bottle. Playboy has since decided to push up the issue’s release date to capitalize on the ensuing media brouhaha. In the meantime, enjoy this sample…

That’s right – whether you’re breathing a sigh of relief, or weeping a silent tear – this weekend’s show will be the last chance this year to witness desperate wannabe popstars singing their hearts out in an attempt to crawl their way into the perpetual mediocre-act churning machine we call the popular music industry.

Not to worry though, it’ll be back in six months. But for now, what better way to either celebrate or commiserate the end by placing a bet on which contender you’ll think will win (even if we won’t ever see them again). There’s always plenty for punters to get their teeth into when it comes to X Factor odds on offer.

On Ladbrokes.com the current odds on favourite is Little Mix. That’s the group of young teen lasses who’ve been pulling on our heartstrings to win votes ever since one of them got called a fatty. After last week’s elimination, bookies immediately made them favourite. Their odds now stand at 11/8.

Second favourite is scouser Marcus Collins at 2/1. Will you be betting on him? If you want him to sink before he even started swimming, perhaps you should. Previous solo male winners have all carried an air of bad luck. Past winners Matt Cardle, Joe McElderry, Leon Jackson, Shayne Ward and Steve Brookstein — all struggled after X Factor. Where are they now? Good question.

So who’s the least fav to win. After HMV made a mistake and put only her “winner’s single” up on their website to buy, causing the press to scream “fix!”, pink haired Amelia Lily is third favourite at 9/4. Best to stay clear of this one then. Unless you’re betting on which one will lose.

If you are planning on tuning in at the weekend, a little “treat” in the form of former judge is in store for you. Music bizz entrepreneur-come-arrogant-nobhead Simon Cowell is planning on taking some time away from the US show in a dramatic return, appearing on a huge screen in Wembley Arena, where the finale will be held, to pass his judgements on the performances via live satellite link up. Cringe. According to reports online, Simon didn’t want to “upstage” the judges by appearing in person at the show. Right. So instead, he’s doing it via big screen while audience members look up and wait on his every word.

Whoever wins, it’s going to be squirmish TV at its very best.

Will you taking part in the last big novelty bet before the year is up? Who will you be  betting on?

The raunchy domain has shown sex really does sell, with 100,000 web addresses already purchased in a restricted sale, which saw 100 going live in September.

In a report by the BBC, the company which oversees the addresses, ICM Registry seems pretty happy with itself. It’s chief executive, Stuart Lawley, said: “It has been 10 years in the coming and today the floodgates are open. We would hope that the number of domains sold will more than double very quickly.”

Although it’s not all hunky dory in the .xxx world of online porn domains. ICM Registry has been taking a bashing from two of the net’s biggest pornography firms – Manwin Licensing and Digital Playground – accusing them of being “anti-competitive”.

The companies claim that the decision to create .xxx is flawed and that ICM Registry had sexually “abused its position”. They are filing a lawsuit against ICM Registry and with this, they are also suing the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann), which oversees web addresses, as they awarded ICM the right to administrate the new domains in March.

Manwin, which runs the Playboy websites, also claims that ICM Registry was charging annual fees of about $60 (£38) per address, which it claims is 10 times the fee of other comparable top-level domain names.

However, ICM Registry has said it plans to defend itself as the company’s lawsuits are “without merit”. Lawley added that the prices are “comparable with other niche providers.”

He continued: “We will contest them vigorously. There are some incumbents who would like to keep the status quo but how can a top-level domain name be anti-competitive?”

ICM Registry hope that  the new address will “act as a responsible alternative for adult content sites”. And it should – as .xxx is estimated to soon be on a par with more conventional web addresses such as .com and .org. With 250 million pages of adult content already being labelled using its system, do you think .xxx will take off? Or fail like an old man who forgot his Viagra?

Were you ever a Star Wars fan? Even if you weren’t – we’re sure this will change your mind.

A model at a New York life drawing class has re-enacted a famous scene from the ‘80s blockbuster depicting Princess Leia – who is famed for her iconic big buns – with an erotic twist.

It is reported by The Sun that the model, named Justine Joli, spiced up the art class by posing in the Star Wars princess’ legendary gold bikini, before stripping it off.

According to events founder, Molly Crabapple, the royal babe was recreating the part in the movie where Leia has been chained up by Jabba the Hutt. The original scene in George Lucas’ 1983 mega hit was famed by Carrie Fisher and took people by surprise; and that was when she kept her clothes on.

Crabapple’s Dr Sketchy’s Anti-Art School, who put on the event, says in the advert: “Do you remember that scene in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi where Leia is captured by Jabba the Hutt and he keeps her on a chain in a metal bikini?

“But then what happened? The next time we see her, she’s aboard the Millennium Falcon. So what happened on the way from Jabba’s lair to the Millennium Falcon?”

The ad concludes with: “I bet you never even asked that question! Well, luckily for you, we did and as it turns out, before she made it into space and changed out of her slave outfit, she posed for a life drawing class.”

But how much drawing would you have done in that situation? Our bet is it wouldn’t be a pencil you’d have in your hands.

It seems perhaps our hard hitting gambling news coverage is so compelling that most of our readers don’t get round to watching the top-rate videos, with the largest portion of the voters saying “I don’t watch the videos” at 45%. Are you guys so engrossed in our relentless news feed updates that you forgot all about the moving image? Either that, or you just don’t know about CalvinAyre.com’s unique videos, and that we are the only site in the industry to maximize such coverage. Well, you do now.

Nevertheless, those who do watch our videos - 31% of readers said they watched “1-2 videos a week”. 12% said “I watch all the videos”, 10% said they watch 3-4 and 4% said they watch 5 or more videos a week. So at least a good portion of you know where to find the best gambling news video coverage on the web.

For those who want to get involved (and why the hell wouldn’t you?) here are our top five videos for the month of November:

1. Interview with Poker ace Erik Sly Seidel
2. World Series of poker Europe 2011 highlights
3. Interview with Peter Bertlisson of Ongame Network
4. Lyceum End of Summer iGaming Social review
5. Interview with Simon Burridge of Virgin Games about global vs local brand marketing

Don’t forget too that all of our original videos feature either the lovely Tatjana Pasalic or the delightful Becky Liggero, who, with gambling aside, deserve a good watch. Once you’ve checked out our top notch vids, why not give us some feedback in our new poll, which asks: What type of videos would you like to see more of on CalvinAyre.com? Could that be Party Coverage, Conference Highlights, Industry Interviews, Original News Segments or Interactive Live Broadcasts? Let us know by submitting your vote on the right-hand side.

There's that poker face!

Hollywood actor Tobey Maguire has agreed a settlement to end a case over the part he played in a series of high-stakes poker games. It was agreed that Maguire will pay $80,000 to settle the lawsuit and it’s just a fraction of the $311,000 that he won in the game’s setup by disgraced hedge fund operator Brad Ruderman.

The lawsuit came to light earlier this year after US courts announced they were trying to reclaim assets lost by bankrupt fraudster Ruderman. FBI investigators discovered that the CEO of Ruderman Partners lost $25million of investors’ money. It’s believed part of this was frittered away during the high stakes games that took place at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Maguire was one of 22 targeted by the courts after bankruptcy filings set about recovering the wonga. Other celebrities include Nick Cassavetes and Gabe Kaplan as well as rumors over Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Affleck being involved. As part of the deal, which will be approved by a judge on December 21, Maguire agreed, “not to make any claim on the bankrupt estate.”

There was new news on the cases against either Cassavetes or Kaplan. The former-Spiderman star isn’t likely to have much trouble finding that sort of cash and it’s lucky that’s the case after he was usurped for the latest version of his film. So that’s no job where you can sling spider webs from your hands and you got your wrists slapped for playing a few hands of poker with a con man. To think people sometime criticize the high society for being paid too much!

The fact that so many bets are unique means that operators are able to make their own odds that they’re comfortable with. Not only this but novelty bets can serve as fantastic vehicles for PR opportunities, regardless of whether they’re won and can increase acquisitions.

When it comes to novelty bets, few do it much bigger and better than Paddy Power. The Irish bookmaker has built a reputation for being at the forefront of novelty betting. This is a reputation, Marc Warren of Paddy Power says, they worked hard to create.

He explains: “We see it as a core part of our offering. We’re very proud of the fact that we have Europe’s biggest novelty betting book and that we offer bets as diverse as what the weather is going to be like at Christmas to reality TV to anything that’s topical in the news.”

While it may be considered a core part of the Paddy Power offering, it still only makes up a small percentage of their revenue. It’s more than likely that for other iGaming operators who put less of a focus on novelty or prop betting it barely registers in their income.

Despite this, novelty bets are still well worth doing and are able to get people talking about your brand. So creating the right sort of bets must be time consuming business, especially when the Paddy Power website currently offers bets on more than 20 random topics.

These topics range from Michael Jackson specials to bets regarding French politics and just about everything in-between. The extent of bets on offer highlights one of the key factors of novelty betting and creates major appeal to prospective bettors.

Warren reveals that when it comes to determining what they’ll offer a bet on it’s really quite simple. He adds: “If people are talking about it in the pub or talking about it in the street it is by and large something that they would be interested in betting on and thankfully they come and talk to us about that.

“It’s absolutely driven by the needs and wants of our customers. We want people to come to us and tell us what they’re interested in betting on.”

This is an interesting approach as it’s one of the few areas of betting where the wagers on offer are entirely dependent on the bettor. Instead of being offered a list of different bets, customers are able to suggest wagers. Of course, this approach brings with it a list of other factors that have to be taken into account by the operator.

Warren reveals the process Paddy Power go through when approached with a new form of novelty bet:

“We look at them in the way that we look at any other bet. We research the market, we do our work on the form and we make a judgment call accordingly and whether that’s a market that interests us. There are certain bets that we don’t take purely because we’d know that those markets were pretty closed or it was a foregone conclusion.”

So perhaps there is more work that goes into novelty bets that meets the eye. Other than novelty bets that we’ve come to expect such as whether it will snow on Christmas day, who will win reality TV shows and who will be elected into prominent positions, there are some that you wouldn’t think of quite so easily.

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding sparked a wide range of new bets this year including offering punters the opportunity to bet on the length of Kate’s train. Altaf Bharde even placed a bet nine years ago that his son, who was one at the time, would play for the England football team by the time he was 21. Bharde bet £50 back in 2001 and received odds of 10,000-1 with William Hill.

At the time Graham Sharpe, a spokesman for William Hill said: “In terms of the subject matter this is a very popular bet these days but I am little concerned that I have set up a financial time bomb.

It is the threat of the potential financial time bombs that often puts operators off from offering novelty bets. Those offering the bets fear that the punter may well be more knowledgeable on this topic than they are themselves. Paddy Power deals with this by ensuring that employees throughout the company are well prepared to offer novelty bets.

Warren explains: “Novelty is a wide word and can include reality TV or sports novelty bets so these bets are something that we work across the whole company. Of course there are specialists within these topics, people who know about some topics more than others like in any betting company.”

“As a whole, we all take an interest in pricing so we’re constantly learning as a company what represents good value to a bettor.”

But offering novelty bets, especially on sports, isn’t a decision that should be made lightly. With the recent spot fixing issues in cricket, it has become obvious that people are able to fix a variety of mundane aspects of sport and even wider life.

“We’ve always been careful about any bet that we’ve taken and we have to be proactive in spotting issues like these,” reveals Warren.

However, this precaution can easily be countered leaving operators with thousands of ways to grab the headlines.

Online gambling has many forms – casino, sports, poker, bingo and many others make for a vast array of betting options. But none of these products can generate immediate interest quite as effectively as novelty betting.

The device, made by Captive Media, is run by an embedded Windows 7 operating system, powered by one of Intel’s Atom dual core microprocessors, and comes in the form of a 12 inch LCD screen sitting above the bog-standard ceramic urinal bowl. Once the user has taken out his meat and two veg and is ready for his short-lived gaming quest, there’s three targets in the urinal he can aim for: “Start”, “Left” and “Right”.

A report by the BBC states the featured games include a skiing challenge, and a multiple choice pub quiz, which are all about accuracy. The console is able to detect where the urine is falling via an infra-red device, bringing the term “joystick” to a whole new level.

Once customers have relieved themselves, they can then use their smartphones to post their scores to Twitter and a live leader board. If the device takes off, there’s no doubt that we’ll see countless men downing pints of water to increase chances of winning through extended gaming times.

The machines are already up and running at The Exhibit bar in Balham, south London so if ever find yourself in the centre of the iGaming universe – why not pop down for a pint and a pee before playing a game that’s controlled by the most ergonomic joystick you’ve ever had your hands on.

Director of Captive Media, Gordon Macsween, said in the BBC’s report: “There are good anatomical reasons that women can’t use the original device.” However, he doesn’t plan on leaving the female population out to dry as the company is currently developing a device for the ladies’ lav – which has to be a little more difficult to master.

Will it take off, or sink like a dead sewer rat?