Poker Stars: March 2008

Monday, March 31, 2008

Poker Stars - Sexton's Corner, Vol. 38: Archie Karas, Part 8 – Mini-Streaks

Sexton's Corner, Vol. 38: Archie Karas, Part 8 – Mini-Streaks
When Archie Karas lost his $40,000,000, there were rumors he must have gone off and committed suicide. No one saw him around Las Vegas for four or five months. After all, how much strain and pressure could any one man's brain take...

Win a PokerNews Exclusive seat to 888.com's World Poker Crown $3 Million Guaranteed tournament!
888.com is giving you three exclusive opportunities to be at their $3 Million guaranteed World Poker Crown tournament - all for as little as $1.10. The first qualifier begins Friday April 11 at 20:00 GMT and as always, is exclusive to PokerNews players...

2008 Norwegian Poker Championships Relocated to United Kingdom
Differences regarding poker's legal status in various European locales have again been demonstrated with the announced relocation of the 2008 Norwegian Poker Championships, which won't be held in Norway at all, but will instead take place...

WSOP-C Caesars Palace Las Vegas, Harrah's New Orleans Schedules Announced
The World Series of Poker has released the full schedules for its Circuit series stops at Caesars Palace Las Vegas and Harrah's New Orleans. The two series are part of the WSOP's ongoing tour to Harrah's properties across...

Poker Stars - WSOP-C Caesars Palace Las Vegas, Harrah's New Orleans Schedules Announced

WSOP-C Caesars Palace Las Vegas, Harrah's New Orleans Schedules Announced
The World Series of Poker has released the full schedules for its Circuit series stops at Caesars Palace Las Vegas and Harrah's New Orleans. The two series are part of the WSOP's ongoing tour to Harrah's properties across...

Sexton's Corner, Vol. 38: Archie Karas, Part 8 – Mini-Streaks
When Archie Karas lost his $40,000,000, there were rumors he must have gone off and committed suicide. No one saw him around Las Vegas for four or five months. After all, how much strain and pressure could any one man's brain take...

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Poker Stars - Poker Room Review: Sandia Resort and Casino, Albuquerque, NM

Poker Room Review: Sandia Resort and Casino, Albuquerque, NM
There are many poker rooms in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe area. Each has its charms and special qualities. All are worth visiting if you have the time to do so. That being said, there is only one room in the area for the serious mid-stakes...

Congressional UIGEA Hearing Confirmed for April 2nd
An important and long-delayed Congressional hearing regarding implementation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act (UIGEA) has now been confirmed for April 2, 2008. The hearing will be conducted by the Subcommittee on Domestic...

Poker Stars - Poker Room Review: Sandia Resort and Casino, Albuquerque, NM

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Poker Stars - Montel Williams Joins US 2008 PartyPoker Nations Cup Roster

Montel Williams Joins US 2008 PartyPoker Nations Cup Roster
Cultures will clash on the poker felt when the cards fly at the third annual PartyPoker Nations Cup, which features teams from six countries competing for cash and their nation's pride. The tournament takes place April 7-10 in Cardiff...

Titan Poker Sending Players East

Sunny Manila, the capitol city of the Philippines, is set to host the APT event starting on the 29th of May, with the final table on June 1st. The tournament forecasts for over 400 players to compete for the winners share of a guaranteed $1 million prize pool.

As of now, you can find daily satellites running for as low as $3.30 + ¢3 to win a seat in one of the ATP Manila Super Satellites. The super satellites, running from March 31st to May 12th, cost $250 + $18 to buy in directly.

The winners of the super satellites will be rewarded a $6000 APT Package for the Manila event, including:

$2500 main event buy-in.
$3500 for flights and spending.

With $1million being the highest guaranteed prize pool ever offered in Asia, the Manila APT event promises to deliver a world class poker experience, and a chance for another online satellite winner to make their mark in the world of live poker.

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PokerTek Obtains $3 Million in Loans
PokerTek, Inc., licensor of automated poker tables, announced a needed infusion of cash this week. PokerTek's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosed taking out a $1 million loan from UBS in exchange for a lien...

Lee Markholt Earns His First "W"

Until this event, Lee Markholt has cashed 14 different times in various WPT events, with never having made a final table. Lee set a precedent by winning the first hand on the final table, and kept the pressure turned on as he worked his way to the win.

261 players entered the $7,500 buy in tourney making the prize pool a healthy $1,873,275, with the winners share just short of half a million including his $25,000 seat for the WPT championship event.

Lee held the chip lead over Devo going into the final hand. Both players flopped top pair on a #4s-#3h-#2s board, with Markholt's Jack out kicking Devo's 8. The turn brought the #Jd giving Markholt top two, leaving Devo drawing dead.

Lee couldn't have called Bryans final all-in bet any quicker before turning over the winning hand.

The tournament field was filled with pro's with names such as Phil Ivey and Michael Mizrachi both finishing just shy of the final six, making the short stacked David "The Dragon" Pham the biggest name to be seated at the final table.

The final table:

Place	Player	Amount
1st	Lee Markholt	$493,815
2nd	Bryan Devonshire	$271,625
3rd	Zachary Hyman	$149,862
4th	Jason Potter	$103,030
5th	David Pham	$93,664
6th	Jeff Dewitt	$84,297

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Friday, March 28, 2008

Poker Stars - PokerTek Obtains $3 Million in Loans

PokerTek Obtains $3 Million in Loans
PokerTek, Inc., licensor of automated poker tables, announced a needed infusion of cash this week. PokerTek's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosed taking out a $1 million loan from UBS in exchange for a lien...

Poker Stars - Unibet Appeal Denied in Netherlands Court, EU Action Looms

Unibet Appeal Denied in Netherlands Court, EU Action Looms
Ahead of a scheduled vote wherein Dutch legislators will consider UIGEA-style legislation designed to restrict access to the Dutch online gambling market for international court, a Netherlands Court has denied an appeal...

Hollywood Poker puts up WSOP packages

The premium package class package promotion kicked off this week with the first of two weekly satellites that will run through June 15. The first satellite was on Tuesday and they will run each week on Tuesdays and Sundays, awarding a $16,000 Main Event Package each time.

The Main Event Package includes:

$10,000 buy-in for the WSOP Championship
12-day, extended accommodation at the Venetian Resort, Hotel and Casino
$2,500 for travel expenses
Transportation
HollywoodPoker Clothing and Merchandise

The satellites have a $300+$20 buy-in and begin play at 8 p.m. (EDT). For that same buy-in, players at Hollywood Poker can also take a shot at winning a $13,000 Side Events Package.

Starting Saturday, March 29, and running each Saturday through May 31, the poker site will host a tournament at 8 p.m. (EDT) during which players have a shot at a $13,000 prize package that includes:

$8,000 for WSOP side tournament buy-ins
Eight-day, extended accommodation at the Venetian Resort, Hotel and Casino
$2,500 for travel expenses
Transportation
HollywoodPoker Clothing and Merchandise

There are also plenty of qualifiers for the satellites, offering Hollywood Poker players a chance to get into the satellites for as little as $1+20¢.

Players can also trade in the bounties they win in the Celebrity Bounty Series through June 1 for qualifier tickets to get into the satellites, and the winners of the weekly Hollywood Poker Celebrity Classic will also win entry into one of the WSOP premium package satellites.

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Inside the Tour, #86 — Inside 'Sit'n Go Strategy'
Continuing our review of various works that I can recommend and think are useful for the professional player brings us to 'Sit'n Go Strategy' by Colin Moshman (Two Plus Two Publishing, Las Vegas, Nevada, 2007). Of course, one does not...

Full Tilt awards more money to PL.com players

This week it was intergross who came out with the largest chunk of the prize pool after toppling a field of 94 players.

Each of them earned their way into the freeroll by accumulating 150 player points during the week prior to the freeroll. For intergross, that meant picking up $960 without having to shell out another dime of his own money.

The 34-year-old is a self-described professional gambler. Usually he's a backgammon player, but he said poker is his new interest.

He's been playing the game for about six months now, and was attracted to it because of the potential for big money. In fact, even though he says he's just a beginner in the game, his biggest win so far is $10,000.

Still, he said he was "very lucky" when asked how he achieved his win in the Full Tilt Poker freeroll. intergross is getting plenty of practice, though, which could also account for his win.

He says he plays poker online every day, and every day he's playing at Full Tilt Poker, which he considers one of the best poker rooms. He also checks out PokerListings.com on a daily basis, and says he finds the best information online about poker there.

Now intergross plans to use his extra $960 to play in other tournaments and continue playing poker professionally.

The final-table results of the freeroll were:

Place	Name	Prize
1st	intergross	$960
2nd	dglizda	$585
3rd	coke1978	$420
4th	beloumi	$330
5th	Zephyr Indigo	$240
6th	tymmyk4	$180
7th	stormin618	$120
8th	sb007ck	$90
9th	SaintGabriel	$75

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Josh Arieh taken out of blogger tourney by Abby17

Josh Arieh didn't get much of a chance to make any moves in the tournament however, as Abby17 took him out fairly early to collect the $100 bounty.

Abby17 found his chance to take out Arieh when the Team Bodog pro decided to make a move with pocket sevens. Abby17 called him down with A-Q and won the race when an ace hit the river.

Arieh went out in 47th place, and Abby17 put his chips to use to earn himself a third-place finish in the tournament.

Coming out on top of it all, however, was StinkyBritches, who won $156 plus T$109 for first place.

The final-table results were:

Place	Name	Prize
1st	StinkyBritches	$156 + T$109
2nd	TripJax	$104 + T$109
3rd	Abby17	$62.40 + T$109
4th	RecessRampage2	$52 + T$109
5th	emptyman	$41.60 + T$109
6th	Newinnov	$33.80
7th	JL514	$28.60
8th	raisydaisy22	$23.40
9th	TheDutchster	$18.20

Not all the players outside the money walked away empty handed either. The five bubble players received their buy-ins to next week's blogger tournament as well.

The blogger tournament costs $11 to enter and takes place each Tuesday at 9:05 p.m. (EDT). The weekly tournaments make up the 18 qualifying tournaments of the Bodog Poker Blogger Tournament Series.

The first event took place in early February and the last one is scheduled for June 3. The top 30% of each weekly tournament will be awarded points based on their finish and ranked over the four months.

At the end of the series, the top 18 players will play in the Final Tournament June 10, in which the first-place winner will receive a $12,000 World Series of Poker prize package.

The prize package includes the $10,000

Bloch, a former member of the team, sets the record straight on his Web site: He wasn't involved with the movie in any way, shape or form. He does admit to working on a blackjack script of his own with friend Jeremy Levin, but that project came to a halt when Bloch and Levin couldn't come up with a "creative, exciting, yet believable" conclusion for the story.

The writers of 21 solved the problem with an Ocean's 11-style plot twist that, according to Bloch, "reinforced the team ethic" and "ultimately won me over."

In a recent phone conversation, I asked Bloch how important that team ethic was to his and his fellow MIT card counters' success.

"It was very important that we trust each other," Bloch said.

"In most businesses you can pretty easily check up on your employees and figure out whether they're doing their jobs right and whether they're stealing from you. With (team) blackjack, we can test people and make sure that outside the casino they're playing well, but we can't watch everything that everybody does. So we really have to trust people. Feeling like you're part of a team really helps with that."

During his time with the team, Bloch only recalls the group having to discipline or ban two people because of trust issues.

"Given that there were dozens of people involved, that's a pretty low number. That says a lot."

Lessons from the games we play

#img: andy-bloch_17744.jpg: left: Poker is now Bloch's game of choice.#

These days Bloch's team is Full Tilt Poker, not MIT, and his main game is poker instead of blackjack. I asked him if there is any crossover in the skill sets required for success at each game. Bloch says there is, but the crossover is not so much in the specific skills as it is in good habits.

"The biggest thing you learn from blackjack is bankroll management," Bloch said.

"With the MIT team, we always figured out our bets in proportion to our bankroll at the time. In poker, you should always play according to your bankroll. You don't go jump into the biggest game in town where you might not have an edge and play against the toughest players. You want to know what your edge is and structure how much you risk."

So if we can take lessons from blackjack and apply them to poker, can we apply lessons from poker to other aspects of life? Could we even use poker as a teaching tool, in a manner such as that proposed by Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson and his Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society?

"I think there's a lot of things you can learn from poker, and most of them aren't being taught in other ways," says Bloch. "Poker is a simple game, but you're constantly faced every hand with having to make decisions based on imperfect information. We teach people in math class or your other subjects by giving perfect information. What do you do in a world where you don't know everything? How do you figure out what to play and what not to play?"

And then, of course, there is the human element of the game.

"(In poker) you're playing against a specific opponent - you're not playing against nature or the computer," Bloch said. "If you want to play your best you have to figure out how they play and adapt yourself to that. So it's a game of reading people and not being readable yourself, and that's very important in the world."

"There's definitely hope"

Despite all of poker's positive aspects and potential as a learning tool, the game's opponents are hell-bent on making it illegal for the public to enjoy the game on the Internet. Poker enthusiasts prone to believing the sky is falling, especially in the wake of the UIGEA, might want to take note of Bloch's expert opinion.

"There's definitely hope," said the ever-analytical Bloch. "I think things are going to change."

First, he says that most people who enjoy online poker play for either play money or small stakes because for them poker is "like going to a movie - with the chance that you might actually make some money." Having the majority of online players playing for relatively tiny sums of money could make any further limitation of the people's rights seem absurd.

#img: andy-bloch_1515.jpg: right: Most online players are there for entertainment, playing with nickels and dimes.#

"There's 10¢ buy-in tournaments," says Bloch. "How can playing in a 10¢ tournament be a crime? That just seems to me completely ridiculous that that would be a crime. That's something the federal government or state governments shouldn't be involved in. We have better things to worry about."

Bloch's second reason for hope is that the arguments for regulations to protect American consumers are compelling.

"The major sites are very careful, and are trying to be as responsible as they can be," Bloch says. "But if they detect someone with a gambling problem, that person can go play on another site." If there were a regulation scheme in place, he says, a person who needed help with a gambling problem could exclude themselves from every licensed and regulated gambling site.

With the Poker Players Alliance now boasting a membership of nearly one million and implementing a new grassroots organizing campaign, Bloch feels good about the chances of having online poker regulated and licensed within the United States.

Bloch's final argument is more philosophical. A game of poker, he says, is essentially a contract with others over a somewhat uncertain event, and any contract that isn't harmful shouldn't be banned.

"To me it seems to be one of the most basic rights of contract or business that the government is not going to look in and say, hey, this contract you have isn't valid because we consider this too much an act of luck."

"There are no externalities involved, other than the amount of money you win or lose," Bloch said. "That's true with any contract. So if they can make gambling illegal, they can make anything illegal. And I thought we had a constitution that prevented that."

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Unibet appeal of Netherlands gaming act violation is denied
Unibet lost an appeal in a Netherlands court this week, in which the online sportsbook and gaming site was deemed to be infringing on the market of the Dutch state lottery, De Lotto. According to pokernews.com: Unibet had been judged guilty of violating the Dutch Gaming Act ��...full article

Unibet lost an appeal in a Netherlands court this week, in which the online sportsbook and gaming site was deemed to be infringing on the market of the Dutch state lottery, De Lotto.

According to pokernews.com:

Unibet had been judged guilty of violating the Dutch Gaming Act and infringing upon the market rights of the Dutch state lottery, De Lotto (The Lotto). The October, 2007 ruling called for Unibet to pay De Lotto €100,000 per day, up to a maximum of €3,000,000, plus legal costs, for continuing to serve the Dutch market in offering wagering on amateur soccer games in the Netherlands. The recent denial upheld the decision in favor of De Lotto.

One report notes that this is the 17th time that competitors to De Lotto’s market interests have been struck down in court rulings.

The ruling comes as the Netherlands considers legislation like the United States’ Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

Poker Stars - Montel Williams to play for Team USA in Poker Nations Cup

Montel Williams to play for Team USA in Poker Nations Cup
Talk show host Montel Williams will represent the United States on the felt. Williams was selected by team captain Robert Williamson III to join Team USA for the PartyPoker.com Poker Nations Cup, which will be held in Cardiff, Wales, from April 7-10. He joins teammates Jamie ��...full article

Talk show host Montel Williams will represent the United States on the felt.

Williams was selected by team captain Robert Williamson III to join Team USA for the PartyPoker.com Poker Nations Cup, which will be held in Cardiff, Wales, from April 7-10. He joins teammates Jamie Gold, Chris Ferguson and Chad Brown.

According to cardplayer.com:

Williams will compete in the $5,000 buy-in event against Sweden, Britain, Ireland, Netherlands, and Germany for a team prize of $100,000 while the winners of individual matches will take home $20,000. Party Poker have added $100,000 to the prize pool.

There are six heats and players score points according to their finish in the heat. The final sees the team captains make tactical substitutions and strategic time outs.

Whole thing here.

Sweden won the event last year and has been installed as this year’s favorite by oddsmakers.

Inside the Tour, #86 — Inside 'Sit'n Go Strategy'
Continuing our review of various works that I can recommend and think are useful for the professional player brings us to 'Sit'n Go Strategy' by Colin Moshman (Two Plus Two Publishing, Las Vegas, Nevada, 2007). Of course, one does not...

Unibet appeal of Netherlands gaming act violation is denied
Unibet lost an appeal in a Netherlands court this week, in which the online sportsbook and gaming site was deemed to be infringing on the market of the Dutch state lottery, De Lotto. According to pokernews.com: Unibet had been judged guilty of violating the Dutch Gaming Act ��...full article

Unibet lost an appeal in a Netherlands court this week, in which the online sportsbook and gaming site was deemed to be infringing on the market of the Dutch state lottery, De Lotto.

According to pokernews.com:

Unibet had been judged guilty of violating the Dutch Gaming Act and infringing upon the market rights of the Dutch state lottery, De Lotto (The Lotto). The October, 2007 ruling called for Unibet to pay De Lotto €100,000 per day, up to a maximum of €3,000,000, plus legal costs, for continuing to serve the Dutch market in offering wagering on amateur soccer games in the Netherlands. The recent denial upheld the decision in favor of De Lotto.

One report notes that this is the 17th time that competitors to De Lotto’s market interests have been struck down in court rulings.

The ruling comes as the Netherlands considers legislation like the United States’ Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Poker Stars - Bwin's Core Businesses Pay Off in 2007

Bwin's Core Businesses Pay Off in 2007
Although online gaming company bwin Interactive Entertainment AG won't release its final full-year results until next month, the company's preliminary fourth quarter and annual 2007 release validated the company's continued focus...

Online poker developer not worried about proposed Canada ban
GigaMedia Limited, which develops and licenses online poker and casino software, said in a statement that it was not worried about the possibility of a ban of online poker and gambling in Canada that may be on the way. Canada has been considering laws — ��...full article

GigaMedia Limited, which develops and licenses online poker and casino software, said in a statement that it was not worried about the possibility of a ban of online poker and gambling in Canada that may be on the way. Canada has been considering laws — similar to what the United States has in place regarding online gaming — to stop online gambling operations in the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake.
(more…)

Women's Poker Spotlight: Shannon Elizabeth, Dancing On
Just the mention of her name makes the young men drool. We've seen her on the silver screen and at the poker tables, and now Shannon Elizabeth has taken yet another chance in a career that's been speckled with risk...

Antigua: New US Offer Soon in WTO Online Gambling Flap
Recent news reports from the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda state that its country's officials are expecting a new offer from the United States concerning the continuing disagreement between the two nations over online gambling...

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Poker Stars - Poker-Themed '2008 World Series of Golf' Announced

Poker-Themed '2008 World Series of Golf' Announced
A poker-themed twist on a traditional gambler's game returns in May when Las Vegas's Mirage Casino co-sponsors the 2008 World Series of Golf®, to be held at the Pete Dye-designed Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort. The 2008 edition hopes to build...

U.S.-Antigua online gambling impasse near end?
The United States is planning to propose a settlement that would end a bitter trade dispute regarding online gambling between the U.S. and Antigua and Barbuda. The settlement, which should be offered by the end of the month, could end five years of acrimony and legal ��...full article

The United States is planning to propose a settlement that would end a bitter trade dispute regarding online gambling between the U.S. and Antigua and Barbuda.

The settlement, which should be offered by the end of the month, could end five years of acrimony and legal wrangling on an international scale.
(more…)

College Poker Life: Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Another school year nears its close at Iowa State University and student poker players there have seen quite an incredible year of poker. As summer break nears, campus poker action for students at ISU might end, but other poker...

Elvis to Go Upscale at FX's Planned $3.1 Billion Vegas Casino
FX Real Estate and Entertainment has detailed the redevelopment plans for 17.72 acres, known as the Park Central site, adjacent to the MGM Grand on Las Vegas Blvd. In its latest Securities and Exchange Commission filing, FX...

Massachusetts to go ahead with gambling study
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has said a $189,000 study on the possible impact of casinos in the commonwealth will still be conducted — even though the state legislature has tabled a bill that would have licensed three casinos in Massachusetts. The bill, which would have also ��...full article

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has said a $189,000 study on the possible impact of casinos in the commonwealth will still be conducted — even though the state legislature has tabled a bill that would have licensed three casinos in Massachusetts.

The bill, which would have also banned online gambling in Massachusetts, will not come to a vote again until next year.

According to pokerpages.com:

Spectrum Gaming Group of New Jersey won the state contract late February and has been working on the analysis for the past month. It was expected to complete the analysis 60 to 90 days after winning the contract.

The Patrick administration brought on the consultant to help sell the casino plan after critics questioned the validity of the governor’s estimates on revenue and jobs. Gov. Patrick had predicted his three-casino plan would raise more than $400 million annually for property tax relief and construction projects and create 20,000 permanent jobs. The administration backtracked on a claim of 30,000 construction jobs this month after the number was questioned by The Boston Globe. The governor testified last week it would create more than 10,000 construction jobs.

Whole thing here.

Spectrum Gaming was not involved in committee hearings and debate in the Massachusetts legislature last week before the bill was tabled.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Poker Stars - Poker-Themed '2008 World Series of Golf' Announced

Poker Stars - Mid South Poker Classic to hit Cherokee

Mid South Poker Classic to hit Cherokee

Now the casino has announced the creation of another tournament schedule to join its other popular tournament events.

David Stewart, the CEO of Cherokee Nations Enterprises (which operates the Cherokee Casinos in Oklahoma), recently announced the inaugural Mid South Poker Classic, which will start on May 15.

The 20-event schedule has a lot going for it: it will encompass almost every discipline in poker, and buy-ins will be quite reasonable, from $120 to $550, which also includes the entry fee. The tournament will culminate on May 25 with a $1,000+$80 championship event, with the final table of that tournament playing out on May 26.

For those who want to attempt to satellite into the tournament, Cherokee Casino will start offering single table satellites May 1. There are four levels of buy-ins for those events - $45, $85, $125 and $230 - which will help those on a tighter poker budget gain a crack in the bigger events.

"Our poker tournaments keep getting bigger and bigger," said Stewart. "We know that regional poker players are looking for better competition, more opportunities and more convenient locations to play poker. We are able to offer them that."

The Mid South Poker Classic joins three other tournaments on the Cherokee's roster. Its most recent event, the Oklahoma State Championship of Poker in February, set records for both attendance and prize pools.

The Cherokee's other two tournaments, the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge (named after resident "house" professional Scotty Nguyen) and the Cherokee Poker Classic, have enjoyed great success during their runs and only promise to get bigger.

With the World Series of Poker on the horizon, the new Mid South Poker Classic at the Cherokee could be a way for players to build a bankroll to take to Las Vegas this summer.

For more details on the Cherokee Casino or the Mid South Poker Classic, visit CherokeeCasino.com, where you can also register for events on the upcoming Mid South Poker Classic schedule.

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Josh Arieh to play in Bodog blogger event today

Josh Arieh will play the part of a bounty in the tournament, meaning that the player who takes him out will be awarded $100. However, Arieh is a tough tournament pro who could also go on to win the event himself and get an extra $100 to keep for himself on top of the first-place prize.

Arieh has more than $4 million in tournament winnings. He is well known for his aggressive, unpredictable style of play, and it will be on display for bloggers to see in today's blogger tournament starting at 9:05 p.m. (EDT).

The tournament costs $10+$1 to participate. Bodog Poker will also be beefing up the prize pool by awarding T$109 to the top five players in the tournament that can be used to buy in to Bodog's $100,000 Guaranteed Tournament, which takes place every Sunday at 4 p.m. (EDT).

The Bodog Poker Blogger Tournament Series began in early February and is composed of 18 qualifying tournaments that run every Tuesday. The series ends June 3.

The top 30% of finishers in each qualifying tournament will earn points based on their finish. Those points are used to rank players over the four months of qualifying, and when all is said and done, the top 18 players on the tournament leader board will play in a final tournament for a $12,000 World Series of poker prize package.

The final tournament will take place June 10.

For poker players who don't have a blog but would still like a shot at being a part of the Bodog Poker team for the 2008 WSOP Main Event, the poker site is hosting a number of online qualifiers for the WSOP.

Bodog Poker guarantees four WSOP seats will be awarded each week in March and April, and five each week in May and June.

The 2008 WSOP Main Event prize packages include the $10,000 buy-in for the Main Event plus $2,000 for travel expenses, Team Bodog gear for the trip, meeting the Bodog Girls and much more.

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Student tackles luck versus skill debate

Michael DeDonno, a doctoral student in psychology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, conducted two studies at the university that have caught the attention of the Gaming Law Review. It published an article by DeDonno, coauthored with Case Western psychologist Dr. Douglas Detterman, in which he details the results of the two studies.

His conclusion is likely unsurprising to most poker players, but may come as news to government regulators.

"This article provides empirical evidence that [poker is a game of] skill and not luck," DeDonno indicated.

In the first study, DeDonno took 40 students with little to no poker background and had them play roughly 200 hands among them on the Wilson Turbo Texas Hold'em software.

Half of them were briefed on basic poker strategy, including starting hand charts and the logic of professional players to play only about 15% of their hands. The other half were only told about the history of the game and were not given any of the statistical or analytical information.

At the end of this experiment, the two found that those players who had the strategic lessons performed better at the felt than their uninformed compatriots.

To confirm these findings, DeDonno and Detterman ran the same experiment again, upping the number of hands played to over 700. While all the players steadily improved with the extra practice, noted DeDonno, those who had the strategy background still did better than the players making their decisions in the dark.

"If it had been pure luck in winning, then the strategies would not have made a difference for the two groups," said DeDonno.

DeDonno is convinced the results of his study have applications beyond the felt. He believes his theory can be applied to help people facing real-life situations in which only partial information is available, such as investments and home-buying. He also contends that the poker simulation has applications in psychological testing for decision making and risk taking.

The results of DeDonno and Detterman's study could have an effect on the way the legal system looks at the game of poker. If it could be firmly established that poker is a game of skill, it would remove it from the "games of chance" laws that many areas of the United States have on the books.

For a full look at the PDF file where DeDonno and Detterman report their findings in Gaming Law Review, go to LiebertOnline.com.

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Study: Massachusetts loses gambling revenue to neighbors
Just last week, the Massachusetts House of Representatives shot down a bill that would have licensed casinos in the state. A timely study may have some rethinking that decision. The study by researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth found Massachusetts residents spent $1.1 billion at gambling ��...full article

Just last week, the Massachusetts House of Representatives shot down a bill that would have licensed casinos in the state. A timely study may have some rethinking that decision.

The study by researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth found Massachusetts residents spent $1.1 billion at gambling establishments in Connecticut and Rhode Island last year. The two New England states generated more than $230 million in tax revenues from gambling conducted by Massachusetts residents.

According to a Boston Herald story:

[The study] found that Bay State citizens spent $846 million at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, and $195 million at Twin River and Newport Grand in Rhode Island in 2007.

The fifth annual study by professor Clyde Barrow says Massachusetts residents made more than eight million visits to gambling facilities in other New England states in 2007.

Whole thing here.

Poker Stars - The Other Side of the Felt, Vol. 6: Dewey Tomko -- Sometimes Nice Guys Finish Second

The Other Side of the Felt, Vol. 6: Dewey Tomko -- Sometimes Nice Guys Finish Second
Coincidences in life are sometime hard to understand and many times they are blessings in disguise. When I called Dewey Tomko out of the blue about a restaurant recommendation in Kingman, Arizona, the conversation changed to our upcoming...

Study: Massachusetts loses gambling revenue to neighbors
Just last week, the Massachusetts House of Representatives shot down a bill that would have licensed casinos in the state. A timely study may have some rethinking that decision. The study by researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth found Massachusetts residents spent $1.1 billion at gambling ��...full article

Just last week, the Massachusetts House of Representatives shot down a bill that would have licensed casinos in the state. A timely study may have some rethinking that decision.

According to a Boston Herald story:

[The study] found that Bay State citizens spent $846 million at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, and $195 million at Twin River and Newport Grand in Rhode Island in 2007.

The fifth annual study by professor Clyde Barrow says Massachusetts residents made more than eight million visits to gambling facilities in other New England states in 2007.

Whole thing here.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Poker Stars - 2007 WSOP champ makes another big donation

2007 WSOP champ makes another big donation
2007 World Series of Poker main event champion Jerry Yang is donating 10% of his winnings to the charity Feed the Children. The donation is one of many Yang has made since his victory in the biggest tournament in poker. According to pokerpages.com: Yang will help the international ��...full article

2007 World Series of Poker main event champion Jerry Yang is donating 10% of his winnings to the charity Feed the Children.

The donation is one of many Yang has made since his victory in the biggest tournament in poker.

According to pokerpages.com:

Yang will help the international hunger relief organization distribute three semi tractor-trailers full of boxes of food and personal care items.

Before the items are distributed, Yang, a psychologist and social worker from southern California, and Feed The Children Founder and President Larry Jones will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 29th.

Whole thing here.

Poker After Dark, WPT make season debuts
Two television poker shows are set to make their return to the small screen. NBC’s Poker After Dark starts up again at 2:05 a.m. Eastern with a new episode featuring six pros competing in a tournament for $140,000, all of which goes to the winner.

Two television poker shows are set to make their return to the small screen.

NBC’s Poker After Dark starts up again at 2:05 a.m. Eastern with a new episode featuring six pros competing in a tournament for $140,000, all of which goes to the winner.

(more…)

UltimateBet.com signs Anthrax guitarist

The Anthrax guitarist is UltimateBet's newest online pro and will represent the online poker room in both internet and live games.

"We're thrilled to add Scott Ian to our roster of online poker professionals," stated UltimateBet.com spokesperson George MacLean. "Scott represents a new breed of poker player that both Texas Hold'em and music fans can relate to."

Ian's rose to fame in the poker world by winning VH1's Rock Stars of Poker Tournament and receiving a seat into the 2007 Aruba Poker Classic. Ian has since discounted his victory at the VH1 tournament as beginner's luck.

"I had no idea what I was doing," he said. "My first tournament win was most because I had amazing cards. My instinct was all I had."

Things have changed considerably since then, however. Ian received personal training from both Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke while he was in Aruba to upgrade his game.

Hellmuth and Duke were just the beginning and Ian went on to learn what he says was the equivalent of 10 years of poker lessons from UtimateBet's online pros. He learned from guys like Shawn Rice, KrazyKanuck, P0ker H0 and Debo34 and now he's on that roster.

Ian has had a career in music that has spanned over three decades. As a founding member of Anthrax Ian helped create the new wave of American heavy metal and has won numerous awards for his musical talent.

As a member of UltimateBet Ian will be featured every Sunday in UltimateBet.com's $200,000 Guaranteed poker tournament with a bounty on his head. The online poker player that knocks the Anthrax guitarist out the tournament will win their $215 buy-in back.

UltimateBet.com is one of the web's premier poker sites and offers a variety of high stakes games. To learn more about the site click here.

Related Articles:

Ultimate Bet and Absolute Offering Great Deals

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Poker Players Alliance launches litigation support network
The Poker Players Alliance announced today that it would be launching its Litigation Support Network, which will provide legal advice and refer members to attorneys who have expressed interest in helping with poker-related issues, according to a press release on the PPA’s Web site. The resource ��...full article

The Poker Players Alliance announced today that it would be launching its Litigation Support Network, which will provide legal advice and refer members to attorneys who have expressed interest in helping with poker-related issues, according to a press release on the PPA’s Web site.

The resource will be free to PPA members:

According to the release:

“As both the popularity of poker and the membership of PPA continue to grow, the Litigation Support Network is an opportunity to provide even more value to our members,” said PPA Chairman Former Senator Alfonse D’Amato. “With the myriad local, state and federal laws impacting poker, the Litigation Support Network is an important service that our members can and should use, and I encourage attorneys who want to defend poker players and this great American game of skill to join this effort.”

Whole thing here.

The attorneys being linked to this service are also prepared to litigate that poker is a game of skill, not of chance. The network is being headed by Patrick Fleming, who also heads the PPA’s efforts in New Hampshire.

Visit www.pokerplayersalliance.org/legal for more information.

PokerStars’ Sunday Hundred Grand gets even bigger
PokerStars’ giant weekly tournament, the Sunday Hundred Grand, just got bigger and shows no signs of slowing down. PokerStars’ increased the field to 22,500 people for this Sunday’s edition of the tournament, an $11 buy-in. And the field was still full. When the tournament first started, ��...full article

PokerStars’ giant weekly tournament, the Sunday Hundred Grand, just got bigger and shows no signs of slowing down.

PokerStars’ increased the field to 22,500 people for this Sunday’s edition of the tournament, an $11 buy-in. And the field was still full. When the tournament first started, it had a cap of 10,000 players.

Pokerkingblog.com put together some amazing statistics about the tournament:

-Pokerstars makes $22,500 in total rake every time this tournament runs

-the total prize pool is an incredible $225k

-first place gets paid $20,250.00, making this tournament an incredibly attractive proposition for a low limit grinder

-the top 3375 players get paid

Whole thing here.

The blog also notes that some top pros are starting to play the tournament every week because of the huge prize pool.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Poker Stars - Three More Arrested in Delaware 'Trooper' Poker Robbery

Three More Arrested in Delaware 'Trooper' Poker Robbery
Three Philadelphia brothers were arrested in connection with the robbery, allegedly orchestrated by a Delaware state trooper, of a 'high stakes' poker game at an upscale Delaware golf club. The three brothers, Addae C. Powell...

Poker Stars - Poker Room Review: Isleta Casino and Resort, Albuquerque, NM

Poker Room Review: Isleta Casino and Resort, Albuquerque, NM
The Isleta poker room, located about ten minutes south of downtown Albuquerque, right off Interstate 25, is one of the oldest rooms in New Mexico. I first played there in 1998, well before the huge poker boom and the resulting expansion...

UNC 'Hold Em For Hunger' Fundraiser Canceled
Students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were disappointed recently when the school's 'Hold Em For Hunger' charity poker tournament was canceled due to legal concerns that the tournament would break state...

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Poker Stars - MansionPoker.com Giving Away WSOP 2008 Packages

MansionPoker.com Giving Away WSOP 2008 Packages

Satellites for the $16,000 Main Event package will take place on Tuesdays and Sundays at 20:00 (CET) from Tuesday March 25 2008 until Sunday June 15 2008 with satellites for the $13,000 Side Events package taking place on Saturdays at 20:00 (CET) and running from Thursday March 27 2008 to Saturday May 31 2008.

Each package includes first class accommodation with $2,500 spending money, and entry for the WSOP. Last year's WSOP Main Event prize pool was a massive $63.5 million.

Check out PokerListings.com review of MansionPoker.com to take advantage of all the exclusive PokerListings.com player bonuses and incentives.

Visit PokerListings.com

Two top pros host successful fundraisers

On March 13 in San Francisco, Todd Brunson hosted a charity poker tournament that benefited the Leo Brien Foundation. The organization's main cause is Camp Okizu, which is a retreat for children who have cancer. Both professional poker players and online sites came out in force to support the Leo Brien Foundation.

World Poker Tour champions Roy "The Oracle" Winston and Hoyt Corkins were part of the proceedings, and they were joined by Kathy Liebert, Layne Flack and Allen Kessler. Online poker rooms such as Doyle's Room, Full Tilt and Ultimate Bet provided gift bags for all the participants, who enjoyed not only the poker tournament but also a silent auction that raised a good deal of funds for the organization.

As much as to benefit an excellent organization, what attendees were eager for was the chance to play poker against some of the best in the game. The final table came down to Kathy Liebert and amateur Doug Fowler.

Liebert took the second-place prize, a WSOP Academy package and a 1,500-piece Full Tilt Poker chip set, and joked about how the Academy will help her game. Fowler, for winning the tournament, will fly to Las Vegas to spend a weekend with Todd Brunson, complete with travel and accommodation.

Overall, the tournament and the silent auction raised nearly $20,000 for the Leo Brien Foundation. For more information on the work of the Foundation or to make a contribution, visit LeoBrienFoundation.com.

Last Sunday night (March 16) saw thousands come together online to support another charitable organization and one of its strongest voices, Jennifer Harman.

#img: jennifer-harman_16104.jpg: left: Jennifer Harman#

The Jennifer Harman Animal Lovers Poker Tournament was an online event sponsored by Full Tilt for the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The $10 tournament, with half of the entry fee going to the organization, was expected to draw around 1,000 to 1,500 players for the event. By the time registration had ended on Sunday, an astounding 3,009 people showed up to support a cause that Harman holds in high regard.

Perhaps the star power of the tournament is what drew the large crowd. Professionals such as Harman, her husband Marco Traniello, Erik Seidel, Clonie Gowen, Andy Bloch and many other professionals on the Full Tilt roster were at the tables and they were joined by several stars from the extreme sports world, including two-time X Games champion Ross Powers and wakeboarder Parks Bonifay.

While online player "Jzeeee" was the eventual champion of the tournament, taking a nice payday of $2,235, the real winner was the animals at the no-kill shelter of the Nevada SPCA. The 3,009 players provided a $15,000 donation to the group and Full Tilt matched that amount, making the total haul for the Nevada SPCA over $30,000.

Harman will be hosting another poker tournament to benefit the Nevada SPCA on April 18, following the inaugural tournament she sponsored last year. Last year's live tournament raised $130,000 for the Nevada SPCA and it is expected to have many of the same players donating their time and funds for a worthy cause. Visit NevadASPCA.org to learn more about the group or to make a private donation.

These two events demonstrate that poker can be a force for the good. Top professionals in the world of poker will no doubt continue the positive trend.

Visit PokerListings.com

Playboy Mansion a hotbed for charity poker

Hugh Hefner and his Girls Next Door are set to open the Mansion grounds up for the tournament Saturday, May 18, with the event running from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m.

General admission for the night is $500, complete with access to hors d'oeuvres, an open bar, casino night table games and the "infamous Grotto." (The tournament Web site suggests you bring your own swimwear.) There will also be a silent auction on the grounds throughout the night.

For those who want to have a little poker with their Playboy Mansion experience, a seat in the tournament will cost $1,500. All proceeds from the tournament will benefit the Urban Health Institute, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization "founded to provide direct care, medicine and medical equipment in response to natural and man-made disasters."

Early registration is available until March 31. To register, or to get more information about the Celebrity Poker Tournament, contact Yvette McNally at yvette_mcnally@sbcglobal.net or visit the event Web site.

As has been the case in the past, first prize for the tournament is a $10,000 seat in the WSOP Main Event. Second prize this year is a Bermuda vacation for two with travel and four-star hotel accommodation, while third prize is a set of Giovanna Wheels and a Koko Kuture Bezel System.

The past two years have both seen celebrity poker players crowned champion at the charity event. Long before his involvement with Ante Up For Africa at the WSOP, actor Don Cheadle won the UHI Playboy Mansion tournament in 2006.

Last year it was actress and 2007 National Heads-Up Poker Championship semifinalist Shannon Elizabeth who took down the title while helping UHI raise money for its charity programs.

Confirmed to attend so far are Doyle Brunson, Todd Brunson, Pam Brunson, and Hoyt Corkins. If the past two years are any indication, the list of confirmations will blossom as the event grows nearer.

According to the UHI Web site,"the organization enlists pro-bono participation from local health care professionals to provide public health education and information about the availability of health-related and specialty care resources within disadvantaged communities around the globe."

Some of UHI's past activities have included administering medical relief to victims of the 2004 tsunami in Thailand, tending to New Orleans residents evacuated from their homes to the Astrodome in Houston, participating in local health fairs and sponsoring youth sports programs, and providing medical exams, medications, and supplies to communities in Nigeria and Belize.

Visit PokerListings.com

World Series of Golf 2008

For almost as long as people have been playing golf, people have been betting on it. Golf had the image of a somewhat seedy gamblers game until a few bright minds put together the PGA. After a couple seasons of the PGA, golf was no longer considered seedy, or even a means to gamble to most. It was a professional sport, a skill game.

Poker is on the same route as golf. Poker was a seedy game, for seedy people to be played in the back rooms of seedy pubs. In the last decade, the game has grown into itself, and has come a considerably long way along the road to being accepted along with professional sports.

The Word Series of Golf is an annual golf tournament held in Las Vegas Nevada. Like the World Series of Poker, the entrance fee for this event sets each player back $10,000. Each player is given a set amount of chips for their buy-in, and is paired up with a player of similar skill for their first round on their way to the $250,000 first prize.

Unlike the standard forms of golf, where winning the round is 100% dependant on your skill with a club, The WSG allows for players to use poker strategy on the course.

Each pair of players tee off on a hole as per normal. After the tee off, the players are now able to check, bet, raise, call or fold on winning the hole. Same as poker, once you fold or lose the hole the opponent wins all the chips in the pot.

Once you lose all your chips, you're out of the tourney. Unlike in real golf where you can always make up strokes on later holes, there is no way to get back your chips once you go bust. What was a simple putt on the practice green can becomes a battle with nerves once your opponent puts all their chips across the line.

A few of the poker players to enter in last year's WSG include: Phil Ivey, Phil Gordon and Rhett Butler. With the interest other poker players have shown for the event on high stakes poker tables, this year should have the largest count of professional poker players in attendance.

Visit PokerListings.com

Poker Stars - Kentucky Derby Poker Championship at Caesars Indiana Announced

Kentucky Derby Poker Championship at Caesars Indiana Announced
After watching the thoroughbreds make a run for the roses, players can make a run on the poker oval with the "Poker Brat" and "Mr. Omaha". Noted pros Phil Hellmuth Jr. and Robert "Mr. Omaha" Williamson III will host the Kent

Friday, March 21, 2008

Poker Stars - PokerStars Announces Plans to Award Over 1,000 WSOP Seats

PokerStars Announces Plans to Award Over 1,000 WSOP Seats
PokerStars has announced an impressive schedule of events and qualifiers on its site with the end goal of sending over 1,000 players to this summer's WSOP. In the promotion, running for the next several months, PokerStars qualifiers...

He Said, She Said, Vol. 9: Jamie Gold vs. Sam Farha
The hand (from an entertaining episode of "High Stakes Poker") -- Blinds: 300/600 with a 1200 straddle. Gold's stack: ~$391,000; Farha's stack: Over $391,000. Neither player's stack is actually given specifically during the hand...

Scottish man loses firm’s money playing online poker
Twenty-five-year-old Chris Proudfoot of Scorguie, Scotland, has been accused of losing more than £2million pounds of his company’s money — by playing online poker. Proudfoot worked for as a finance and credit controller for a telecommunications firm, HIGHnet. According to a story on majorwager.com: A pal said last ��...full article

Twenty-five-year-old Chris Proudfoot of Scorguie, Scotland, has been accused of losing more than £2million pounds of his company’s money — by playing online poker.

Proudfoot worked for as a finance and credit controller for a telecommunications firm, HIGHnet.

According to a story on majorwager.com:

A pal said last night: “The word is that he was playing high-stakes poker online and got himself in too deep. It’s a shock to think that Chris has been gambling away his employers’ money. We never had him down as a gambling addict. He doesn’t go to the bookies in town and we’ve never known him to bet on anything.”

He allegedly ran up the colossal debt gambling online with William Hill. HIGHnet bosses asked Proudfoot to clear his desk five weeks ago and called in the fraud squad.

The exact amount lost by the man won’t be known until detectives conclude their investigation.

Whole thing here.

William Hill made headlines earlier this month when the site was taken to court by a man who claimed he was allowed to go £2million into debt, even though he had asked the site to exclude him. That case was thrown out.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Poker Stars - PPA names state directors

PPA names state directors

The State Directors program is part of the PPA's comprehensive strategy to become a player in national and state-level policy debates to protect the rights of poker players across the nation.

"With close to one million members, the PPA is fortunate to have a dedicated and active membership base, but we need eyes and ears on the ground to help us," said PPA Chairman and former Senator Alfonse D'Amato.

"With the state directors program, we will have a leader in each state who can update us on local news stories or legislation and who can quickly mobilize their fellow local PPA members to help carry the PPA banner in their home state. We are proud of the state directors we have named today and look forward to working with them."

More an 1,000 applicants were considered for the state director positions, and according to the PPA, the people chosen were not only active PPA members, but also leaders in their communities who can advocate on behalf of the PPA.

A few positions haven't been filled yet, but the state directors are:

Alabama: Bret Atiyeh	Alaska: Wayne McGregor
Arizona: Steven J. Yeager	Arkansas: Jennifer O'Steen
California: Steven Miller	Colorado: Gary Reed
Connecticut: James Freehan	Delaware: TBA
District of Columbia: Norman Smith	Florida: Dick Campbell
Georgia: Kelli Mix	Hawaii: David Wallace
Idaho: Wendy Nutting	Illinois: Steve Brubaker
Indiana: Lynda Morgan	Iowa: Jim Hudson
Kansas: Susan Thacker	Kentucky: Rich Muny
Louisiana: Brian Brinser	Maine: Curt Fletcher
Maryland: Bruce Seidel	Massachusetts: Randall Castonguay
Michigan: Dave Crocker	Minnesota: Matt Werden
Mississippi: Bill Goff	Missouri: Nancy Krause
Montana: Mike Barger	Nebraska: Dave Willman
Nevada: Ken Illgen	New Hampshire: Patrick Fleming
New Jersey: Bill Brottman	New Mexico: TBA
New York: Vincent Papasodero	North Carolina: Paul Boome
North Dakota: Todd Anderson	Ohio: Donshey Peoples
Oklahoma: Greg Peters	Oregon: Nick Wellman
Pennsylvania: Tripp Amick	Rhode Island: Andrew Knutton
South Carolina: John Ridgeway	South Dakota: Vincent Amato
Tennessee: Dwayne Mann	Texas: TBA
Utah: Ryan Wilkinson	Vermont: C. David Sawyer
Virginia: Jeff Gregson	Washington: Lee Rousso
West Virginia: Robert Walker	Wisconsin: Steven Verrett
Wyoming: Daniel Prevedel

The directors will be responsible for monitoring poker-related issues and events in their states and alerting the national PPA office to emerging trends or issues. Part of their job will also be to recruit new members for the PPA, organize groups of local PPA members to attend poker-related events or rallies, contact their elected officials and serve as a spokesperson for local media.

The PPA also plans to help state directors set up state PPA committees that will help strengthen the organization's grassroots efforts in the future.

The State Directors program is one component of the PPA's aggressive campaign to boost member benefits, augment its grassroots efforts and position the organization and its members as a strong voice in national, state and local policy debates.

To further enhance its campaign for poker rights, the PPA will be launching a political action committee, a voter registration campaign, a new Web site and new membership incentives later this spring.

Currently the PPA, which is a nonprofit membership organization, has more than 900,000 online and offline poker players and enthusiasts as members who have joined together to promote the game of poker and protect poker players' rights.

Related Articles:

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Back for Moore: Wynn Classic finds winner

In the starring role was Chris Moore, who finished in third place at the 2007 Wynn Classic. The online cash game player from Illinois got his money in with two pair last year against eventual champion Zachary Hyman's pair and straight draw. The river brought an ace to send Moore home without the title.

Apparently that stuck in his craw.

Moore emerged victorious at the Wynn this year, but his path was a difficult one. He entered the final table in third place, trailing Larry Wright and chip leader Ryan Young.

The latter won one of six $1,500 NLHE bracelets up for grabs at last year's WSOP after coming in with the chip lead and employing solid, well-timed aggression to stay ahead of the pack. Moore would need to rock the same kind of game if he wanted to avenge his loss the year before.

Moore doubled up short stack Jace Markgraf just before the end of the day's first level, losing a race with A-K to Markgraf's TT. Markgraf then scored the first scalp of the day, sending professional poker player Eugene Todd out in ninth place with QQ to Todd's TT.

Young continued to build his lead by picking up orphan pots and showing down strong hands, until Moore changed the tenor of the proceedings altogether. With a pot the size of the average stack in the middle of the table and the board reading #Td-#Ts-#9d-#5s-#Jc, Young checked and Moore wasted no time moving all-in.

The bracelet winner went in the tank and eventually mucked; Moore sent a statement to both his opponent and the table when he flipped up Q-3 for the stone cold bluff and scooped his way into the position of the chip leader.

The rest of Level 17 consisted of big pots featuring Ryan Young as he scrambled to get back ahead of the pack. He doubled up Ardavan Yazdi when his jacks failed to hold up, doubled back up into contention with AA against QQ, and doubled Markgraf's stack with K-9 against Markgraf's A-J.

Despite all the action there were no knockouts until the middle of Level 18, when freeroll winner Alemu Tesema moved his three-big-blind stack in with J-9 and fell in eighth place to Blake Cahail's T-3.

Ryan Young's roller-coaster ride continued in that level with a lucky break. Ricky Chow got his money in good with JJ to Young's TT, but the ten on the flop left Chow with seventh-place money.

Young then came out on top of a pre-flop raising war against Moore, narrowing his chip lead some and setting the stage for later confrontations.

Larry Wright was next to go in Level 18. Despite coming into the day second in chips, Wright was inactive at the table and found himself short-stacked and surrounded by aggressive players. He got in on the wrong end of a coin flip with K-Q to Cahail's 8-8, finishing in sixth place when he failed to improve. Wright's elimination closed out the level.

The tournament's 19th level began with a bang. The $10,000/$20,000 blinds and $2,000 antes built an enticing pot on every hand. Markgraf lost his tournament life in an attempt to steal, open-shoving with Q-8 and being called down by Young's K-Q to finish in fifth place. Then Yazdi tried to pick up the pot pre-flop with 3-3; he ran into Cahail's QQ to wind up taking fourth place.

Down to the final three, Moore found himself in a different position than he had the previous year. He held a solid chip lead over Young and Cahail, and even more importantly he had position on the aggressive Young. His situation improved further when Cahail missed a chance to bluff and Moore took down a substantial heads-up pot from him with just jack-high.

When play became heads-up, though, it was Young who held the chip lead after doing the dirty work of eliminating Cahail in third place with JJ against Q-T. The $472,000 difference in chips wouldn't last long, though.

Just a few hands into heads-up play, Young fell victim to the designs of fate. Pokerlistings.com's veteran tournament reporter Matthew Showell described the hand:

"In one of the first hands of heads-up play Ryan Young has been crippled in a rough setup of a hand. Young opened from the button to $50,000 and Moore made the call from the big blind. The flop came down #Js-#8d-#5s and Moore checked. Young bet out $100,000 and Moore check-raised to $400k.

"Young then moved all-in and Moore snap-called, laying #Jd-#5d down on the felt. Young was behind with #Ah-#Jh for top pair, top kicker, and would need a lot of help to win the hand. The board finished out with no help whatsoever for Young and Moore is good for the double. He's now in a commanding position with $3.2 million to Young's $500,000."

Moore never let his foot off the gas after the big swing in momentum, finishing Young off with KK against A-5 for the win.

In the end the chips fell as follows:

Place	Name	Prize
1st	Chris Moore	$692,286
2nd	Ryan Young	$355,020
3rd	Black Cahail	$177,510
4th	Ardavan Yazdi	$95,855
5th	Jace markgraf	$71,004
6th	Larry Wright	$53,253
7th	Ricky Chow	$44,378
8th	Alemu Tesema	$35,502
9th	Eugene Todd	$31,952

You can relive all the magic of Chris Moore's redemption song, from Day 1 to the final table, in Matthew Showell's updates in our Live Tournaments section.

Visit PokerListings.com

Book Review: Gus Hansen's 'Every Hand Revealed'
Few players on the professional circuit invite as much scrutiny for their playing style as does Gus Hansen. The debate began with the very first episode of the World Poker Tour's Season 1 in which the 'Great Dane' was shown taking...

Massachusetts Casino Bill Receives Negative Committee Recommendation
Wednesday, the Massachusetts House Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies voted 10-8 to reject Governor Deval Patrick's proposed bill to build three casinos and criminalize online poker in the state...

A Successful Night at the Montel Williams MS Foundation Gala and Poker Tournament
When I was invited to be a part of the Montel Williams MS Foundation's Gala and Poker Tournament, I jumped at the chance. My step-daughter lives with MS every day of her life, so I saw this opportunity to give back to the community...

Poker Stars - A Successful Night at the Montel Williams MS Foundation Gala and Poker Tournament

A Successful Night at the Montel Williams MS Foundation Gala and Poker Tournament
When I was invited to be a part of the Montel Williams MS Foundation's Gala and Poker Tournament, I jumped at the chance. My step-daughter lives with MS every day of her life, so I saw this opportunity to give back to the community...

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Poker Stars - Poker News Bytes, March 18, 2008

Poker News Bytes, March 18, 2008
Austria's bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, one of Europe's leading Internet-based gambling services, was disheartened by the German Federal Court of Justice's dismissal of a motion to suspend enforcement proceedings against bwin...

College Poker Life: The California State University System
The California State University has campuses located throughout California and student poker players fortunate enough to attend classes at any of the 23 campuses won't have hard times finding ways to satisfy their poker appetites...

Poker Stars - Poker News Bytes, March 18, 2008

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Poker Stars - Poker Movie Review: 'The Grand'

Poker Movie Review: 'The Grand'
When any big movement happens in pop culture, you can expect movies that base their story on or around this movement. Producers and studios see a trend, and they often look to cash in on this trend at the box office. The 'Grunge' music...

2008 World Series of Poker Europe Dates Announced
Harrah's Entertainment has officially announced the dates and sites for the second annual World Series of Poker Europe Presented by Betfair. The 2008 edition of Europe's WSOP outpost will again be held at the same three London Clubs...

NETeller Posts $185.7M Loss for 2007
NETeller Plc has announced a sizeable loss for the 2007 fiscal year, with the largest share of the company's $185.7 million in red ink attributable to the online payment processor's withdrawal from the US market...

Poker Stars - NETeller Posts $185.7M Loss for 2007

NETeller Posts $185.7M Loss for 2007
NETeller Plc has announced a sizeable loss for the 2007 fiscal year, with the largest share of the company's $185.7 million in red ink attributable to the online payment processor's withdrawal from the US market...

Poker Movie Review: 'The Grand'
When any big movement happens in pop culture, you can expect movies that base their story on or around this movement. Producers and studios see a trend, and they often look to cash in on this trend at the box office. The 'Grunge' music...

Monday, March 17, 2008

Poker Stars - Poker Players Alliance Names State Directors

Poker Players Alliance Names State Directors
The Poker Players Alliance has furthered its intentions to continue growing as a "grass roots" organization with the announcement that 50 PPA members have now been selected as State Directors, one for each state. The PPA's...

Sexton's Corner, Vol. 36: Archie Karas, Part 6 -- Shooting Dice
The mystique and intrigue that will forever surround the legendary story of Archie "The Greek" Karas includes the sky-high stakes for which Karas played dice at Binion's Horseshoe. These were the highest limits in the world then...

Swedish Decision Halts Net Gambling Media Prosecutions
A decision by an agency within Sweden's Prosecution Authority has been made to halt prosecutions against Swedish media companies who accept advertising from Internet gambling services. The new court order, issued by UC Malmö...

Poker Stars - Poker Players Alliance Names State Directors

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Poker Stars - Eric 'Sheets' Haber Wins WSOP-C Atlantic City

Eric 'Sheets' Haber Wins WSOP-C Atlantic City
Almost exactly a year ago, winning the WSOP Circuit event at Caesars Atlantic City eluded Eric 'Sheets' Haber when he fell short of the final table in 16th place. This year, Haber grabbed onto the ring, the Circuit diamond ring...

N.Y. reps signs on to IGREA

Rep. Timothy Bishop (D-N.Y.) became a cosponsor of H.R. 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, Friday.

Currently serving his third term as a Congressman, Bishop is a member of the House committees on Budget, Education and Labor, and Transportation and Infrastructure.

During the 109th session of Congress, Bishop voted for Bill Frist's bill to further restrict online gambling in the United States. He voted yes to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, allowing it to pass into the Senate where it was added to the Safe Port Act and passed into law.

Now he has switched sides to support legalizing and regulating Internet gambling, which would bring the United States into compliance with World Trade Organization regulations and potentially bring in billions of dollars in tax revenue for the government.

He brings the number of IGREA cosponsors up to 47, joining the following Congressman:

George Miller (D-Calif.)

Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii)	Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.)	Robert Andrews (D-N.J.)
Joe Baca (D-Calif.)	Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.)	Howard Berman (D-Calif.)
Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.)	Michael Capuano (D-Mass.)	Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.)
Julia Carson (D-Ind.)	William Lacy Clay (D-Mo.)	Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.)
Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.)	William Delahunt (D-Mass.)	Bob Filner (D-Calif.)
Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.)	Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.)	Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.)
Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.)	Michael Honda (D-Calif.)	Steve Israel (D-N.Y.)
Peter King (R-N.Y.)	John Larson (D-Conn.)	Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.)
Jim McDermott (D-Wash.)	James McGovern (D-Mass.)	Charlie Melancon (D-La.)
George Miller (D-Calif.)	James Moran (D-Va.)	Ron Paul (R-Texas)
Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.)	Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas)	Steven Rothman (D-N.J.)
Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.)	Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)	Robert Scott (D-Va.)
Adam Smith (D-Wash.)	Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.)	Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.)
Edolphus Thompson (D-N.Y.)	Melvin Watt (D-N.C.)	Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.)
Robert Wexler (D-Fla.)	Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.)	Albert Wynn (D-Md.)
Don Young (R-Alaska)

Related Articles:

New Cosponsor for Online Gambling Bill

Three More Support IGREA

Blumenauer Makes 41 for IGREA

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Poker Room Review: Cities of Gold Casino, Sante Fe, NM
This may be the least apt name for a poker room I have ever encountered. Cities of Gold, in spite of the best efforts of its small staff, is just about the dingiest, least appealing casino and poker room that I have visited...

U.S., Costa Rica reach net gambling settlement

As compensation for not allowing online gambling companies based in Costa Rica access to U.S. customers, the United States has offered Costa Rica greater access to other service markets, including research and development, storage, technical testing and analysis.

This is similar to the settlements the United States has reached with Canada, Japan and the European Union in the matter.

Costa Rica's settlement took place after the country had filed for arbitration before the World Trade Organization, when it didn't look like the United States and Costa Rica would be able to find agreeable terms.

"The agreement has been satisfactory for the country," said Foreign Trade Minister Marco Ruiz in a written statement.

The United States has been under fire in the WTO for its online gambling laws since Antigua and Barbuda asked the organization to look into it a few years ago.

The WTO eventually ruled that the United States was in violation of trade regulations it had agreed to when it became a part of the WTO. While countries are allowed to protect their residents from products and services they consider to be a threat, they have to do so in a fair, unilateral manner.

While the United States has argued that it does not allow online gambling because of the social ills that come with gambling, it does still allow states to provide lottery services online and horse race betting online is permitted.

Because of the WTO ruling, Antigua and Barbuda was able to ask for damages in the case until the United States brings its laws in line with the WTO trade regulations.

Rather than changing its laws, the United States has chosen to alter its agreement with the WTO to exclude online gambling. By doing so, it opened itself up to compensation claims from any country where online gambling companies are headquartered.

Related Articles:

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Wynn Classic main event begins today

What draws the players is the thing that poker players are always in pursuit of: the money.

Because of the location - the Wynn in Las Vegas - and the higher buy-in events ranging from $300 to $1,000 and $2,000 that make up the schedule, the Wynn Classic usually draws a multitude of top pros as well as amateurs looking to that take their shot at the money.

Last year, 198 players came to the tables for the $10,000 Championship Event to battle it out for their piece of the nearly $2 million prize pool, and the final table had all the star power that you could want. Players such as Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi, Johnny Chan, Mike Matusow and Chau Giang were there, but fell short of the inaugural Wynn Classic championship.

In the end a previously unknown player, Zachary Hyman, outlasted these gentlemen and pro player Ted Lawson, whom he battled heads-up, to take the championship and the $729,033 first-place prize.

The schedule this year has already seen quite a few pro players as well. Josh Arieh and Allen Kessler have both won tournaments on the schedule, and top pros such as the aforementioned Lawson, Dutch Boyd, 2007 WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider, David Plastik and Max Pescatori have all earned cashes.

The online players have also been getting in on the fun and games, with Darrell "Gigabet" Dicken and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier making final tables.

Two players in particular have stood out during this year's events. Brandon Cantu has earned three cashes and one final table during the schedule at the Wynn Classic. Perhaps he'll use some of the bounty money he picked up in San Jose during the WPT Shooting Star event to try to make another deep run in at the Wynn.

The other professional who's been in the mix during the run of tournaments at the Wynn is Frank Rusnak. While some might not have heard a great deal about the Chicago poker player, he has more than $300,000 in career earnings (including a final table appearance in the 2007 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure) and has made three Wynn Classic final tables.

When the cards hit the air today, odd are the playing field will be larger than last year and filled with a plethora of some of the best professionals in the game.

PokerListings will be there to report on all the action in the Live Tournaments section, and we'll find out if a top pro or another amateur collects the trophy at the Wynn Classic.

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Monday, March 31, 2008

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