Poor-reception phone carrier AT&T will purchase T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom for a cool $30 billion, it was announced over the weekend. While a regulatory review is in order, AT&T is confident that the mega-deal will be approved. According to Dan Frommer of Business Insider, their experience is practically reason enough:

It's true -- AT&T has executed more mega-mergers over the past 10 years than any company we can think of, including the original AT&T Wireless-Cingular deal, SBC-AT&T, and AT&T-BellSouth.

AT&T believes its experience with regulatory review has given it a good picture of what's realistic and what isn't from an approval standpoint, and believes it can frame the deal in a way that won't be rejected.

Obviously, it will probably have to make some concessions -- maybe even some big ones. But it doesn't think the deal will be blocked. So T-Mobile's breakup fee -- if the deal doesn't go through -- is $3 billion in cash, a chunk of wireless spectrum, and a bigger roaming deal. That's pretty significant.

But what does this mean for consumers? Better coverage, or so says AT&T who claims ity will now be able to bring a 4G connection to 95 percent of the U.S. population. However, phone plan prices could soar. ABC reports:

[A]nalysts say that though the merger would expand nationwide 3G and 4G network coverage for cellphone users in the U.S., the reduced competition would mean fewer phone options and pricing plans over all.

While the two companies will have to work out some technical differences in their telecom marriage, analysts said that the combination of the two networks would likely provide a strong nationwide network.

What does this mean for Verizon, the phone company that, for a short period of time, founds its place in the sun after finally selling iPhones? According to Technorati, Verizon could benefit from the merger is they do the following four things: Stay on message, comfort confused consumers, be the anti-corporate brand (ha!), and deliver service innovation.

In January we mentioned a global Monopoly board game where you could vote on which cities you want on Hasbro's latest version of the popular board game, Monopoly Here and Now: The World Edition. Fun, right? Well, not for some. Hasbro recently removed the country name "Israel" after "Jerusalem" when it received complaints from pro-Palestinian groups. And then, you guessed it, Hasbro received even more heat from people online who noticed the only city without a country was Jerusalem.

Hasbro has now pulled all country names from the site. According the Merc:

Hasbro issued an apology today after an employee, responding to complaints from pro-Palestinian groups, eliminated the word "Israel" after the city in an online contest to select names for a new Monopoly board game: Monopoly Here and Now: The World Edition. The company also pulled all country names from other cities on the site when even more people complained because Jerusalem was listed as the only city without a country.

As of now, it's anyone's guess what country places like Zagreb, Vilnius, or Chicago call home.

Oh, and you have eight days left to vote for your favorite city to get recognition on the Monopoly Here and Now: The World Edition. (San Francisco comes in today at #17 as far as the write-in votes go. Let's see that number climb higher, people.)

Though this may amuse a smattering of transplants who neither want this city to grow nor evolve into the world-class city it secretly is, a new global Monopoly board is coming and San Francisco is not a part of it. You see, people of the earth get to vote to see which of the 68 world cities will make the final 22 on the global board game. San Francisco, it seems, is not on the list. In fact, California gets a pithy single nomination (Los Angeles) while France receives a shocking two (Paris Lyon).

Naturally, we are sick to our stomach over this slight. With geographical locations whose existence we question, like "Buenos Aires, Argentina;" "Shanghai, China;" "Caracas, Venezuela;" and "Canada," we're both saddened and surprised not to find Baghdad by the Bay among the list. Hrumph, indeed.

Fear not, San Franciscans--or Oaklanders, Athertonians, or Orindaians, or whatever--there is a write-in wildcard category where you can vote up to 10 times per day for which city not in the nomination bunch will become one the properties on the board. The downside? You have to register. Alas. Anyway, you can vote here.

Gavin, this seems like your kind of issue, yes? Let's get on it, stallion.