The whole thing started on an online gambling message board, moved on to trans-continental phone calls, then daily emails and non-stop IP messaging. It all sounds pretty hi-tech and sophisticated, but in fact it was two people living thousands of miles apart with a common online gambling interest who made it a permanent arrangement this week when their marriage was announced.

They met on the message board in the Casinomeister Internet gambling information portal and forum in June last year and romance blossomed. They share common views on their gambling pastime and on life in general. He was in Sweden and she in the US.

Long distance
"Swede" and his new bride "Cynthial," who runs a construction products company in the States, finally met on neutral ground in London, spent a week together, visited shows and restaurants and generally got to know one another. "Swede" made up his mind to join "Cynthial" on a more permanent basis, and quickly closed his antiques auctioneering business and planned his move to the United States. He landed in April.

Now the happy couple has a new project - opening a restaurant on the historic Route 66 in Albuquerque, New Mexico later this year.

Casino weddings
Gambling and romance are no strangers. In most of the US the month of June marks traditional wedding season. But getting hitched is never out of season in Las Vegas, where over 100,000 marriages are performed every year. These are not elopements: the scale of the biggest Las Vegas hotels means they are prepared to handle a gathering of any size at any time, to fit any budget or desire.

Would you think of starting off married life as a gamble?