How does one separate the lads from the Ladbrokes? With a crowbar, apparently. Having lost interest in handing Calvin Ayre the keys to the executive suite, Ladbrokes has cozied up to Irish boy band star Shayne Lynch to pimp their poker offering. “We’re not like other sites that spend huge amounts on poker professionals that their players will never be able to relate to,” announced Ladbrokes Poker’s Kate McLennan, clearly convinced that the poker-playing public has far more in common with millionaire pop stars who while away the hours rehearsing their crotch-grab choreography....

Clever DickWith Chris Bell stepping down as Ladbrokes’ CEO the race is hotting up to see who steps into his shiny brogues this summer. The smart money is on an outsider with bookmaking experience coming in to get the bookmaker shipshape and now it seems Sporting Index chief Richard Glynn has elbowed Bodog founder Calvin Ayre out of the way to become frontrunner. Read more.

Party timeAfter 2009’s annus horribilis and a bad start to the new year Ladbrokes are still struggling to get up and running, with the Magic Sign’s share price falling at the end of the week. William Hill, by contrast, finished the week slightly up but it is PartyGaming who get the gold star and a sweet from teacher after their value soared past the 300 mark. Read more.

Grim results for LadbrokesWilliam Hill and Ladbrokes have been having a ding-dong battle to claim the higher price on the London Stock Exchange but it seems that Hills has started to leave the beleaguered Magic Sign trailing in its wake, covered in dust and spluttering to a halt. Read more.

Psst, Martin, how do you spell plagiarism?Scroll down on the article linked herein to find out how those shameful Paddies at Paddy Power have been caught with their pants down – copying Bodog’s ideas for the second time in a week and trying to pass them off as their own. There’s also a classic case of foot in mouth from the erstwhile owners of Ladbrokes’, who claimed in 2005 “The betting industry is recession proof.” Recession, what recession..? Oh, that recession… Read more.

Heads will rollDon’t you just love work-speak for, ‘Yer all for the high jump’? Ladbrokes’ latest line on the proposed closure of its Aintree telephone betting centre is that it has ‘commenced a consultation’. That’s right up there with, ‘I think you should sit down’ and ‘It’s not you, it’s me.’ Read more.

No smoke without fireIt’s been a busy day for Ladbrokes, which is getting more airtime than Ashley Cole at the moment – and like Cheryl’s other half, the publicity isn’t all good. So in a bid to right the ship amid bad profit reports they have released news that they are to white label WSP’s financial spread betting service as well as a deal to launch a sportsbook targetting the South African market in a joint venture with KaiRo. But they can’t pull the wool over our eyes. Profits are down, profits are down, profits are down.

Party timeThere may have been plenty of wailing and gnashing of teeth going on at Ladbrokes‘ Harrow HQ today but over the way in Gibraltar, PartyGaming had the Blue Nun out, the music on and David Brent dance routines in full swing after shares went up by a further 2.8% following recommendations by brokers to “buy”. Read more.

Not so Magic SignLast Sunday the Scotsman suggested that Ladbrokes was on course for better results. Well, let’s hope they didn’t put any money on it because The Magic Sign has just revealed less than magical results for 2009, with a 32 per cent fall in full-year pre-tax profits. Read more.

Chris Bell: Thursday announcementImproved recent trading in the gaming sector has raised hopes of a better outlook from under-pressure bookmaker Ladbrokes, which is to announce its full-year results on Thursday. Could it be a miraculous recovery form the Magic Sign? Read more.