Poker Stars - Frank, Paul Advise Federal Agencies Not to Implement UIGEA Regs

Frank, Paul Advise Federal Agencies Not to Implement UIGEA Regs
US Congressmen Barney Frank and Ron Paul, who made news last month by leading a Financial Services Committee hearing looking at the regulation of online gambling, have written a letter to the heads of the US Treasury and Federal...

Poker Stars - Finn gets free shot at million-dollar prize

Finn gets free shot at million-dollar prize

Soininen won his spot in the World Poker Crown through a freeroll at Pacific Poker hosted exclusively for PokerListings.com players. All he had to do was collect five player points during the seven-day qualification period before the freeroll.

The qualification was no sweat for Soininen, who is a full-time poker player specializing in cash games. He plays poker online for a few hours a day and visits Pacific Poker on a weekly basis.

"I really like the site and the software," Soininen said about Pacific Poker. "Games there are very good. The only thing that bothers me is that I can't play more than four tables at a time."

The 29-year-old only needed to be able to play one table at a time to win his ticket to the World Poker Crown. He took down the very first PokerListings.com freeroll for the event at Pacific Poker back in February.

"There were about a hundred players, and the play was rather tight," Soininen said. "I tried to start with tight, solid poker. I had some setbacks but stayed alive."

Soininen, who plays as Mahve78 on the poker site, changed up his style to play more aggressively as the blinds increased.

"During the play, I got lucky a few times, and I managed to double up," Soininen said. "Overall, I achieved my win with a combination of good cards, good timing and aggressive play."

Soininen has been playing poker for about two years and he said he would consider this freeroll win his biggest tournament win so far.

His ticket to the World Poker Crown is worth $1,050, and gives him a chance to win part of a $3 million guaranteed prize pool. Better yet, it's a shot at the $1 million guaranteed first-place prize.

"I am very excited about playing," Soininen said. "For sure, it's life-changing money. I've tried not to think about it too much."

Going deep in the World Poker Crown could also mean a trip to Barcelona, Spain. When play gets down to the final table online, the game will be stopped so that the final players can finish the game live in Spain.

Soininen and five other PokerListings.com players won seats in the World Poker Crown through exclusive freerolls at Pacific Poker. The poker site opened up a few more freerolls for seats this week for PokerListings.com players in Italy, France, Germany and Spain as well.

Now there's one more chance for PokerListings.com players to get into the WPC without having to shell out the full $1,050 buy-in themselves.

On Friday, April 25, Pacific Poker will offer a $25+$2.50 tournament open only to PokerListings players that will guarantee one seat per 10 players. The tournament will be open to all PokerListings players who have an account at Pacific Poker, and it starts at 4 p.m. Pacific Poker Time.

The World Poker Crown begins April 26 at 10 a.m. Pacific Poker Time. The final table will take place May 6-10.

Related Articles:

• 888 Offers 1¢ Qualifiers for WPC
• Pacific Poker Adds WPC Seats for PL.com Players
• Pacific Poker Gives WPC Seats to PL.com Players

Visit PokerListings.com

WSOP champs: Where are they now, Part 5

The fourth installment featured Tom McEvoy, Berry Johnston and Johnny Chan who've each put their unique stamp on the poker world. This week the reign of the Poker Brat begins, plus we look at the first European to become the world champion as well as the first million dollar champion.

Phil Hellmuth (1989)

Since winning the World Championship in 1989, Hellmuth has been a dominant force in the poker world. Not only does he continue to reign as one of the best No-Limit Hold'em tournament players, he's used his popularity to enter into all sorts of business ventures as well.

Looking just at his poker career over the years, the Poker Brat has gained a reputation for his table antics, but he also has a record-setting 11 WSOP bracelets to back up his attitude at the table. Adding to that are his 12 World Poker Tour cashes, with five of those landing him at the televised final table, and the more than $10 million he's picked up through tournament play.

His success at the poker table has led to him authoring and coauthoring several poker books as well as the creation of his own poker tutoring video series and a poker camp. Hellmuth has also promoted an energy drink aimed at poker players and is a sponsored pro for UltimateBet.

In 2007, Hellmuth was inducted into the WSOP Hall of Fame, but he has many years of playing ahead of him.

Poker fans can be sure they'll be seeing him at televised events for years to come, and soon he may be heading to the big screen as well. A screenplay about his life has been optioned to be made into a movie.

Mansour Matloubi (1990)

Matloubi might be what some would call a "forgotten" World Champion. He won the World Series of Poker Main Event in 1990, making him the first non-American player to do so. It was a sign of things to come as more and more players have made their way to Las Vegas as the game has grown in popularity.

The championship win was just the beginning of a decade of great tournament play for Matloubi. He made the money of several tournaments each year, most notably racking up 15 WSOP cashes including his win in 1990.

However, his last WSOP cash came in 2001, just a couple years before the poker boom kicked off in full force with Chris Moneymaker's Main Event win.

He has since been quiet on the U.S. tournament trail, and Iranian-Welshman is thought to be sticking to European tournaments. Even so, his only noted tournament cash since 2001 is from the Betfair Asian Poker Tour in Singapore in 2006, bringing his tournament winnings up to more than $1.9 million.

Brad Daugherty (1991)

#img: brad-daugherty_1122.jpg:left#

The WSOP Main Event first broke the million dollar mark for a first-place prize in 1991, and Daugherty was there to scoop it up and take it home.

Though he hasn't been able to duplicate that success, Daugherty continues to play on the tournament circuit. He's built his tournament winnings to more than $1.7 million now and has cashed in many prominent events over the years, including the 2007 WSOP Seniors Championship.

Perhaps his biggest influence on the poker world since becoming the first millionaire champion is co-authoring a couple poker books.

Daugherty teamed up with Tom McEvoy to write No-Limit Texas Hold'em: The New Players Guide to Winning Poker's Biggest Game as well as Championship Hold'em Satellite Strategy.

***************

Stay with us next week as we bring you three more WSOP champions and take a closer look at what they've been up to since they won the big dance.

Related Articles:

• WSOP Champions: Where are They Now, Part 4
• WSOP Champions: Where Are They Now, Part 3
• WSOP Champions: Where Are They Now, Part 2
• WSOP Champions: Where Are They Now, Part 1

Visit PokerListings.com

Shannon Elizabeth Report: Week 6

Her scores took a dip last week as the judges criticized her lack of hip movement during an awkward-looking samba. The dancing gods didn't do Shannon Elizabeth any favors this week either as she ended up with another Latin dance, the rumba.

The rumba was Priscilla Presley's downfall last week as the slower dance made it hard to hide any missteps or other mistakes. Elizabeth didn't have the same problem with it as Presley did, however.

Her footwork was good, the poses she and her partner struck were strong and the overall feel of the dance was spot-on.

However, the judges still harped on Elizabeth about her lack of hip movement during the dance. There was definite improvement from the previous week in that area, and she performed the rumba better than many of the dancers who had to perform it the week before, but the judges didn't seem to think she had fared that much better.

The best comment she got was from Len Goodman, who said, "I thought you did a very good job, and I was very pleased with your performance."

Otherwise, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba both criticized her technique, though they both also admired her tenacity in trying to improve.

Elizabeth seemed as tired of hearing about her great attitude and tenacity despite her lack of natural dance skills as Marlee Matlin probably was of hearing how good a dancer she is for a deaf woman. Elizabeth ended up in tears over the judges' comments, and wasn't all that excited about her score of 24.

The score was an improvement, if only a small, one-point increase, from the previous week, but it still left her near the back of the pack when all the dancers were done on Monday night.

The producers of the show may have taken some pity on Elizabeth on Tuesday night, however. She could have easily been in the bottom two if her voters hadn't come through for her, but instead she was the first person declared safe for the night.

Instead, it was Marlee Matlin, the lowest scorer this week, and Mario who ended up in the red lights, and it was Matlin who took her final bow.

Here's how Matlin and the others fared during performance night as well:

Marlee Matlin

Matlin was certainly not the mambo queen on Monday night. Her performance looked a bit awkward and stilted, and it's never a good sign when the judges start out talking about how good the performer looks rather than about the actual dance. Inaba pointed out that it looked like Matllin and her partner were forcing and struggling with the dance.

Score: 21

Jason Taylor

After a few weeks right on the heels of Kristi Yamaguchi and achieving his best scores so far last week, Taylor fell in the standings this week. The judges weren't as impressed with his cha-cha. There was plenty of content in the performance and they captured the flavor of the dance according to Goodman, but Taylor messed up the timing a little and it was obvious he was counting out the steps.

Score: 24

Marissa Jaret Winoker

Winoker continued her climb into the judges' good graces with a Viennese waltz this week. Tonioli pointed out all the technical moves she was able to perform in the dance. During the first few weeks Winoker seemed shaky and unsure of herself on the dance floor, but Goodman commented that she seems to have found her confidence now. Even her harshest critic is now on the "Winoker wave." Inaba loved Winoker's dance this week, saying it had all the right elements.

Score: 26

Cristian de la Fuente

Decked out in a charcoal suit with pink accents, de la Fuente was the picture of a gentleman on Monday night and his fox-trot suited him just as well. It was his best dance yet, with excellent footwork, and he finally found that middle ground where his arms aren't too robotic or too loose. "If you're in the bottom two tomorrow, I'll show my bum in the supermarket," Goodman told him. Tonioli called the performance an "unexpected treat," and Inaba said he passed from being rigid into refined this week.

Score: 27

Mario

Mario has been sizzling hot in pretty much every dance he's been giving, so the rumba was a perfect dance to harness that. Inaba's reaction to the performance was "that was better than good sex." However, she was going to have to dock them for a lift. Tonioli agreed that the performance was supremely hot, but Goodman thought it went a little over the top. The rumba is the story of a developing romance, "not of a strumpet and a gigolo," Goodman commented.

Score: 28

Kristi Yamaguchi

Before this dance was over, it was obvious Yamaguchi was going to get the first perfect score of the season for it. It was full of energy and precision footwork. There was a high degree of difficulty, plus it was a great performance to watch. Inaba called it her favorite dance so far this season. Not only did Yamaguchi nail it technically, she gave her best emotional performance as well. "It was absolutely great. It was a smorgasbord of dance - I loved it," Goodman said.

Score: 30

The remaining six celebrities will be back on the dance floor Monday on Dancing with the Stars and the next elimination will take place on Tuesday. Come back Wednesday, April 30, to see if Shannon Elizabeth continues in the competition or if she'll be sent back to the poker tables.

Related Articles:

• Shannon Elizabeth Report: Week 5
• Shannon Elizabeth Report: Week 4
• Shannon Elizabeth Report: Week 3
• Shannon Elizabeth Report: Week 2
• Shannon Elizabeth Report: Week 1

Visit PokerListings.com

Upsets, deals mark Caesars Palace WSOPC

Event 1: $500+$50 No-Limit Hold'em

Sometimes you can come to the final table with the chip lead and cruise to victory. Unfortunately for Anthony "Big Boy" Romanelli, Event 1 at Caesars Palace wasn't one of those occasions.

Romanelli, a pro player and retired brick mason, entering with over 20% of the total chips in play, appeared to have by far the best of it from the time the final table started, and his lead only grew as the table played out.

When play was three-handed, Romanelli dealt a crushing blow to WSOP bracelet holder Mike "Little Man" Sica on a strange hand. On a flop of J-2-4, Sica bet $40,000 and Romanelli called.

When the turn came a six, Sica bet $90,000 and Romanelli pushed in $155,000, thinking he was calling Sica's bet. The floor ruled that Romanelli had to raise the full amount, to $180,000, because he had put in more than half a raise.

Sica called the forced raise and then moved in with his last $65,000 on the river when a six came. Romanelli called with 8-2 for a pair of deuces, good enough to send Sica home in third place.

In all, Romanelli knocked out four of his eight opponents en route to heads-up play. By the time he faced off with Alaska high school teacher and basketball coach Brandon Blake, he was holding more than $1.2 million of the $1.5 million chips in play.

Of course, even the best-laid plans can be brought to a grinding halt by the right combination of aggression and cards, as Romanelli found out.

Just four hands after heads-up play began, he was standing on the sidelines as runner-up. His K-Q lost to Blake's A-2 to bring the chip counts back to even, and then he had the misfortune of running his A-9 into Blake's A-10 on the final hand.

The win over a field of 508 runners is certainly the highlight of Blake's poker career: his previous biggest finish was a 22nd-place finish in a WSOP $1,000 rebuy event. Newly flush with cash from the victory, he says he has his eyes on a return to the WSOP this summer.

Place	Name	Hometown	Prize
1st	Brandon Blake	Palmer, Alaska	$71,454
2nd	Anthony Romanelli	Valley Stream, N.Y.	$37,696
3rd	Mike Sica	N. New Brunswick, N.J.	$19,710
4th	James Cox	Cary, N.C.	$17,247
5th	Michael Best	Lone Tree, Colo.	$14,783
6th	Lorie Bodfield	Laughlin, Nev.	$12,319
7th	Tim Frederickson	Long Beach, Calif.	$9,855
8th	John Stanfield	Overland Park, Kan.	$7,391
9th	Cristian Avendano-Barrera	Las Vegas	$4,928

Event 2: $1,000+$60 No-Limit Hold'em

Ben Fineman came to the WSOP Circuit to play poker and ended up riding a roller-coaster instead.

The 24-year-old Las Vegas-based professional poker player, originally from Philadelphia, built his starting stack up to $38,000 through the first four levels of Event 2. Then he managed to distribute the majority of those chips to his opponents, leaving him short-stacked heading into the second half of the day.

Fineman persevered, though, employing a highly aggressive style to run over his opponents and claim the chip lead heading into the final table.

Once he faced down his final eight opponents, Fineman shifted gears once again and played tight-aggressive poker. His strategy served him well, as he really only had to get involved in three big pots - one of them against former WPT Foxwoods champion Raj Patel - to make it down to the final two.

Fineman entered the heads-up match with a lead of $790,000 to Mike Peters' $160,000.

Peters managed to draw the match out for 31 hands, but he never made up enough ground to mount a serious challenge to Fineman. He got in with the best of it before the flop on the last hand, holding A-9 against Fineman's suited A-4, but a flush came for Fineman to end the tournament.

The win wasn't Fineman's first big cash at Caesars Palace. He took down a $1,000 event there in the 2007 Caesars Palace Poker Classic, good for $65,485. He also won $100,431 in last year's $3,000 NLHE event at the WSOP.

Place	Name	Hometown	Prize
1st	Benjamin Fineman	Las Vegas	$73,566
2nd	Michael Peters	Toledo, Ohio	$40,461
3rd	Adam Murphy	Muskego, Wis.	$20,690
4th	Panayote Vilandos	Houston, Texas	$16,092
5th	Charles Thorneycraft	Port Harbour, Ontario	$13,793
6th	Raj Patel	Rocky Hills, Conn.	$11,495
7th	Joshua Ewing	Berkeley, Calif.	$9,196
8th	Artuyun Nalbadyan	N. Hollywood, Calif.	$6,897
9th	Yong Ho Harrison	Honolulu, Hawaii	$4,598

Event 3 - $500+$50 Limit Hold'em

Anyone who plays poker online has probably registered for a tournament at some point without realizing they'll be playing Limit Hold'em instead of No-Limit. Dan Kaesser of Las Vegas made that mistake, but he made it live at Caesars Palace - and then went on to win Event 3 of the WSOP Circuit anyway.

Only 81 players showed up for the Limit game, making Kaesser's workload a little lighter than it might have been otherwise. He came into the final table in a comfortable second place in the chip standings and never found himself in any real danger throughout the day.

Kaesser entered heads-up play with $255,000 in chips to Ronie Nesheiwat's $71,000, and held on to take down the title and top prize. The championship ring, meanwhile, went to Nesheiwat in a heads-up deal.

On a side note, Event 3 was the first WSOP Circuit event for Jimmy "Gobboboy" Fricke, the American online phenom who finished runner-up to Gus Hansen in the 2007 Aussie Millions main event.

Fricke turned 21 just three days before the final table, making him legal and ready to start taking down prize money in U.S. casinos. His $2,750 prize for a fifth-place finish at Caesars Palace is a humble beginning to what promises to be a great live poker career in America for Fricke.

Place	Name	Hometown	Prize
1st	Dan Kaesser	Las Vegas	$14,143
2nd	Ronie Nesheiwat	Tinley Park, Ill.	$7,857
3rd	Corey Edelman	Las Vegas	$4,321
4th	Scott Silverman	Lone Pine, Calif.	$3,143
5th	Jimmy Fricke	Mahomet, Ill.	$2,750
6th	Chris Winchester	Las Vegas	$2,357
7th	Erhart Edquist	San Diego, Calif.	$1,964
8th	Michael Lena	Indio, Calif.	$1,571
9th	Theodore McCollom	Seabrook, Texas	$1,179

Visit PokerListings.com

Full Tilt finds PL.com winners across the globe

Abbott, who lives in Leeds, England, picked up his win April 12, while Indiana native Joel Mohr picked up a win in the freeroll April 19.

Abbott is an IT project manager and has been playing poker for about five years. He said he plays probably four or five days a week at Full Tilt Poker.

"[Full Tilt Poker is an] excellent site with good user interface and some pretty loose action," Abbott said.

His play at the poker site resulted in qualifying for the weekly $3,000 freeroll for PokerListings.com players. Any player who signed up at Full Tilt Poker through a PokerListings link is eligible for the freeroll if they earn 150 player points during the seven-day qualification period leading up to the weekly freeroll.

The April 12 and April 19 freerolls both had good turnouts with 90 qualifiers showing up to play.

"I had some pretty good cards early and mid tournament and took the lead toward the end without endangering my stack with sub-premium hands," Abbott said of his freeroll.

"I used my lead to pressure the small stacks late in the tournament and was the aggressor heads-up, eventually winning despite a couple of all-in outdraws by the second-place finisher."

The April 12 freeroll final-table results were:

Place	Name	Prize
1st	Revielation	$960
2nd	Chucker10	$585
3rd	GrandDonkey	$420
4th	laapins	$330
5th	mdk23	$240
6th	Lhirsute	$180
7th	RiverDog24	$120
8th	Masterplan 89	$90
9th	Kobbers	$75

Abbott, who is married and has a daughter and another child on the way, didn't waste any time putting his freeroll winnings to use either.

"I have already bought a new mattress for my pregnant wife!" he said.

Mohr, a 21-year-old college student, isn't sure yet what he'll be doing with his $960 win. He was really happy to have the win because his bankroll was almost gone, and he said he's sure glad to have the extra cash now.

"I've been playing poker for about five years, I would say," Mohr said. "What got me attracted to poker was watching the '03 WSOP on TV. I just thought it was the coolest game and I've watched pretty much every WSOP episode since."

His interest in the game led him to playing online at Full Tilt Poker as well, where he plays almost every day.

"Full Tilt is a great site; they have the best pro players," He said. "I love to watch them play high stakes."

Mohr, who plays as JOELPOKERGOD at Full Tilt Poker, isn't much of a high-stakes player himself. This freeroll win is his biggest win so far.

"The freeroll playing field was interesting. I pretty much got off to a nice start early in the game [when I] had like 4,500 chips and I pretty much stayed in the top 10," Mohr said. "From there, when we got down to two tables, I became the chip leader."

Mohr didn't play a lot of hands as the playing field was getting closer to the final table, and he said play ended up being 10-handed for a grueling 30 minutes.

"When I got to the final table, I had about an average stack," he said. "People seemed to just be blowing up left and right, so I just let them take each other out and really didn't play many hands while four or five people got KO'd moving up the money ladder."

Mohr got more involved when play was down to the final four.

"I just played my game and tried not to make any mistakes," he said. "There were some ups and downs, but I eventually got the win."

The April 19 freeroll final-table results were:

Place	Name	Prize
1st	JOELPOKERGOD	$960
2nd	egasMoniz	$585
3rd	reyecatcher	$420
4th	bloumi	$330
5th	Raisey_Daisy3	$240
6th	1972md	$180
7th	zejuan86	$120
8th	hiz61	$90
9th	DevilsBankroll	$75

Full Tilt Poker also hosted a World Series of Poker* freeroll exclusively for PokerListings.com players on Sunday. Out of 78 entrants, FreakshowGE1904 came out on top to pick up a $12,500 prize package for the 2008 WSOP Main Event.

The prize package includes the buy-in for the WSOP Main Event plus money for travel and accommodations.

There are seven exclusive WSOP freerolls left for PokerListings players at Full Tilt Poker. The next one is May 4 at 1 p.m. EDT, and players have from April 19 to May 3 to accumulate the 300 player points to qualify. There will also be WSOP freerolls May 18, May 25, June 1 and June 8 with a WSOP seat up for grabs.

Full Tilt Poker is upping the ante for PokerListings players in the June 15 and June 22 freerolls by offering two prize packages for each freeroll. That doubles players' chances of being able to go to the World Series of Poker on Full Tilt Poker's dime while still only having to earn 300 player points to qualify.

*World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Harrah's License Company, LLC ("Harrah's"). Harrah's does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with PokerListings.com or its products, services, promotions or tournaments.

Related Articles:

• German Man Has Full Tilt Win on His Mind
• Full Tilt Poker Reloads for FTOPS VIII
• Canuck Wins WSOP Seat at Full Tilt

Visit PokerListings.com

College Poker Life: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
The school year is almost over for University of Chicago students, bringing the end of many regular campus poker games. Student poker players enrolled in the small, private school have seen a reasonable amount of poker action...

PPA Tops Million Member Mark
The Poker Players Alliance, the self-described "grass roots" lobbying group formed to help forward the rights and interests of American poker players, has reached its long-stated goal of 1,000,000 members. The PPA announced the milestone...

'Poker After Dark' Releases Season Four Preview
Fresh off the April 18th wrap of filming for the upcoming season's episodes, the popular program "Poker After Dark" has released the highlights for the fourth season of the series, which will consist of ten new episodes...

Poker Stars - College Poker Life: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

College Poker Life: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
The school year is almost over for University of Chicago students, bringing the end of many regular campus poker games. Student poker players enrolled in the small, private school have seen a reasonable amount of poker action...

'Poker After Dark' Releases Season Four Preview
Fresh off the April 18th wrap of filming for the upcoming season's episodes, the popular program "Poker After Dark" has released the highlights for the fourth season of the series, which will consist of ten new episodes...

Poker Stars - Poker Players Alliance reaches 1 million members

Poker Players Alliance reaches 1 million members
Poker Players Alliance (PPA), a poker advocacy group in the United States, said in a press release today that it has surpassed 1 million members. The PPA also announced that it has launched a political action committee in advance of this November’s elections.

Poker Players Alliance (PPA), a poker advocacy group in the United States, said in a press release today that it has surpassed 1 million members.

The PPA also announced that it has launched a political action committee in advance of this November’s elections.

(more…)

Bodog CEO Calvin Ayre Announces Retirement
Calvin Ayre, the highly visible founder and CEO of Bodog, announced his planned retirement yesterday in a statement issued by the company. According to the statement, found at bodoglife.com, Ayre will also give up operational control...

E-mail containing virus falsely claims to be from Doyle’s Room
An e-mail circulating that claims to be from Doyle’s Room, an online poker site, actually contains a malicious virus and has no relation to the site. According to cardplayer.com: A malicious e-mail made to look like a customer service message from DoylesRoom.com warning that the player’s account ��...full article

An e-mail circulating that claims to be from Doyle’s Room, an online poker site, actually contains a malicious virus and has no relation to the site.

According to cardplayer.com:

A malicious e-mail made to look like a customer service message from DoylesRoom.com warning that the player’s account has been suspended has been hitting inboxes recently. Players should not open this message, as it contains a virus.

The message contains a DoylesRoom.com banner, the words “Your account will be blocked. Please click on the link and read the document, report its decision,” several links to download software, and several phone numbers. The subject line reads “account temporarily blocked.”

Whole thing here.

The Other Side of the Felt, Vol. 9: 2002 WSOP, Before the Boom, Part 1
Way back in 2002, before Moneymaker, the internet explosion, and the World Poker Tour, I was offered the Tournament Director's job at the World Series of Poker at a time that the world's most prestigious tournament was in trouble...

U.S. Representatives send letter to Treasury Dept. regarding UIGEA
U.S. Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and others sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Treasury regarding the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act on Monday. The letter comes soon after Frank introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would stop the UIGEA from ��...full article

U.S. Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and others sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Treasury regarding the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act on Monday.

The letter comes soon after Frank introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would stop the UIGEA from being implemented.

Here’s some of the letter:

Your agency and the Federal Reserve have been struggling to issue these (UIGEA) regulations, but as the hearing made clear, the underlying statute makes your job extremely difficult, if not impossible. Given the many other priorities that are pending at your agencies, including the mortgage crisis, HOEPA, and UDAP rulewriting and many other issues, we believe it would be imprudent for you to devote additional agency resources to this Sisyphean task, especially as we intend to vigorously pursue legislation to prevent the implementation of these regulations.

Whole thing here on a 2+2 thread.

More on the Frank legislation as it makes its way though Congress.

888 offers 1¢ qualifiers for WPC

Starting today, 888.com is offering 1¢ "almost freerolls" every hour on the hour at Pacific Poker, with the winner walking away with a $1,050 entry in the World Poker Crown.

Each 1¢ event opens for registration 30 minutes before it starts, and is limited to the first 500 players.

PokerListings.com players also have a shot at free seats in the WPC this week. On Monday, Pacific Poker hosted an exclusive freeroll for Italian players, with the only requirement for qualification being that they had signed up at the poker site through PokerListings.com.

Today, players from France will get that same opportunity. Players in Germany will get their shot on Wednesday and Spain on Thursday.

When the WPC kicks off on Saturday, players will be competing for a share of a guaranteed $3 million prize pool, with a $1 million top prize.

There's more at stake than just cash, however. When the online tournament gets down to the final table, play will be stopped and the finalists will be flown from wherever they are in the world to Barcelona, Spain, to finish the game live.

The final table will resume play May 6-10, and the finalists, along with their guests, will stay in a five-star hotel for the duration of the event.

There is potential for some poker pros to get in on the action as well. Dave Colclough, Julian Gardner and Michael Keiner have confirmed they'll be playing in the WPC. Shane Warne, who recently gave up cricket to represent 888.com at the poker tables, will also join in the game.

Related Articles:

• Pacific Poker Adds WPC Seats for PL.com Players
• Pacific Poker Gives WPC Seats to PL.com Players
• Here Comes the 888.com World Poker Crown

Visit PokerListings.com

Poker Stars - Bodog CEO Calvin Ayre Announces Retirement

Bodog CEO Calvin Ayre Announces Retirement
Calvin Ayre, the highly visible founder and CEO of Bodog, announced his planned retirement yesterday in a statement issued by the company. According to the statement, found at bodoglife.com, Ayre will also give up operational control...

888 offers 1¢ qualifiers for WPC

Starting today, 888.com is offering 1¢ "almost freerolls" every hour on the hour at Pacific Poker, with the winner walking away with a $1,050 entry in the World Poker Crown.

Each 1¢ event opens for registration 30 minutes before it starts, and is limited to the first 500 players.

PokerListings.com players also have a shot at free seats in the WPC this week. On Monday, Pacific Poker hosted an exclusive freeroll for Italian players, with the only requirement for qualification being that they had signed up at the poker site through PokerListings.com.

Today, players from France will get that same opportunity. Players in Germany will get their shot on Wednesday and Spain on Thursday.

When the WPC kicks off on Saturday, players will be competing for a share of a guaranteed $3 million prize pool, with a $1 million top prize.

There's more at stake than just cash, however. When the online tournament gets down to the final table, play will be stopped and the finalists will be flown from wherever they are in the world to Barcelona, Spain, to finish the game live.

The final table will resume play May 6-10, and the finalists, along with their guests, will stay in a five-star hotel for the duration of the event.

There is potential for some poker pros to get in on the action as well. Dave Colclough, Julian Gardner and Michael Keiner have confirmed they'll be playing in the WPC. Shane Warne, who recently gave up cricket to represent 888.com at the poker tables, will also join in the game.

Related Articles:

• Pacific Poker Adds WPC Seats for PL.com Players
• Pacific Poker Gives WPC Seats to PL.com Players
• Here Comes the 888.com World Poker Crown

Visit PokerListings.com

The Other Side of the Felt, Vol. 9: 2002 WSOP, Before the Boom, Part 1
Way back in 2002, before Moneymaker, the internet explosion, and the World Poker Tour, I was offered the Tournament Director's job at the World Series of Poker at a time that the world's most prestigious tournament was in trouble...

Poker Stars - Calvin Ayre to retire from Bodog

Calvin Ayre to retire from Bodog
BodogLife issued a press release today confirming the retirement of founder Calvin Ayre from the company. The move had been rumored in online gaming circles for some time, but the official announcement came only today. Ayre also posted a brief blog entry discussing ��...full article

BodogLife issued a press release today confirming the retirement of founder Calvin Ayre from the company. The move had been rumored in online gaming circles for some time, but the official announcement came only today. Ayre also posted a brief blog entry discussing the decision.

(more…)

Brunson issues golf challenge to Antonius

With the possibility of the two going heads-up for any stakes in any poker variation sometime in the near future, Doyle Brunson has added another game to the mix by challenging Patrik Antonius to a golf game as well.

Brunson issued the latest challenge through his blog after hearing what Antonius has been saying about their possible heads-up match. Brunson said he's been asked during interviews and by friends about the match but has tried to stay noncommittal about it.

But his friends are sending him links to interviews and what Antonius is saying, and he figured it was time to put his own opinions out there.

"I know I've got a lot more experience at most of the games I'll choose. If anyone under thirty years of age can let me pick any game at any time I want, I strongly believe I can beat them," Brunson wrote.

"If I don't, the Brunson Family has three hundred acres on the top of a mountain at Big Arm, Montana. I'll retire and move up on that mountain and enjoy the wildlife and the sunsets for the rest of my life."

Brunson said television networks have been calling about televising the match, but he's not sure the viewing public will understand the games he'll keep introducing during the match.

Then he said as long as Antonius is making challenges, he had one in return.

"I read where he has taken up golf. So, I challenge him to play for $100,000 a hole at Bali Hai Golf Club, any time from now until the end of August," Brunson wrote.

"Surely a 27-year-old ex-professional tennis player from Finland can beat a 74-year-old guy with an artificial shoulder and who has to use a crutch to walk. What do you say, Patrik?"

Patrik has already responded to the challenge in his blog, writing:

#img: patrik-antonius_19115.jpg: left: Antonius will rise to the golf challenge.#

"First of all, when the hell did Doyle Brunson start writing a blog, is it even legal for a man that old to blog? Pretty amazing for a guy that was around before TV's and telephones. And second, what is the gambling world coming to when a 108-year-old man can challenge a young man in the prime of his life to a $100,000 a hole golf match."

Antonius only took up golf a few months ago, and he said he's very happy if he can break 100 when he plays 18 holes. Brunson, however, is rumored to have hustled players such as Ben Hogan and Sam Snead over the years.

Despite that, Antonius is accepting Brunson's challenge, adding in his blog that he didn't have much of a choice, he'd "be the laughing stock of the poker world" if he backed down.

Antonius said he and Brunson met last week to discuss the upcoming heads-up poker match before playing on Poker After Dark.

"In the three years I have known Doyle, I have never seen him looking more alive and with so much energy and focus," Antonius writes.

"Mostly likely due to the fact that he thinks he has finally found the ultimate fish who is going to donate millions on the golf course and poker table."

Related Article: Brunson vs. Antonius Match in the Works

Visit PokerListings.com

Poker Stars - Poker Room Review: Aviation Club, Paris, France

Poker Room Review: Aviation Club, Paris, France
I found the ideal way to make a Parisian vacation seem cheap: Start out by playing pot-limit poker at the Aviation Club. The Aviation Club is a fine private club located in the most prestigious part of Paris, on the Champs Elysees...

Poker Stars - Poker Room Review: Aviation Club, Paris, France

Poker Room Review: Aviation Club, Paris, France
I found the ideal way to make a Parisian vacation seem cheap: Start out by playing pot-limit poker at the Aviation Club. The Aviation Club is a fine private club located in the most prestigious part of Paris, on the Champs Elysees...

Poker Stars - Brunson and Antonius to play golf for $100K per hole?

Brunson and Antonius to play golf for $100K per hole?
Doyle Brunson and top online pro Patrik Antonius may be playing something other than poker for high stakes this summer. Already slated to play a high-stakes heads-up poker match this summer with more than $1 million on the line, Brunson recently posted on his blog to ��...full article

Doyle Brunson and top online pro Patrik Antonius may be playing something other than poker for high stakes this summer.

Already slated to play a high-stakes heads-up poker match this summer with more than $1 million on the line, Brunson recently posted on his blog to challenge Antonius to a golf match.

According to pokerkingblog.com:

Anyways, in his most recent blog posting on Cardplayer.com, Doyle talked some more about the challenge. He seemed to be irritated by a) the number of people talking about the challenge b) Patrik’s comments regarding the challenge c) the number of people asking him whether or not he thinks that he can beat Antonius.

So with Brunson in an already ornery mood, he issues a further challenge to Antonius - a golf match between the two players, for $100,000 a hole at the Bali Hai Golf Club, any time from now until the end of August. Brunson then tries to goad Antonius into accepting the match-up, saying “surely a twenty-seven year old ex-professional tennis player from Finland can beat a seventy-four-year-old guy with an artificial shoulder and who has to use a crutch to walk.”

Whole thing here.

Antonius already has approximately $2 million in high-stakes challenges in poker and sports already lined up for his summer, according to the blog.

WPT settles lawsuit with several top pros
The World Poker Tour announced today that they were settling a lawsuit with five of the top poker professionals in the world. The suit — which was brought by pros Chris Ferguson, Andrew Bloch, Annie Duke, Phil Gordon and Howard Lederer — focused on the player ��...full article

The World Poker Tour announced today that they were settling a lawsuit with five of the top poker professionals in the world.

The suit — which was brought by pros Chris Ferguson, Andrew Bloch, Annie Duke, Phil Gordon and Howard Lederer — focused on the player release form the WPT requires of players participating in its tournaments. There was no money involved in the suit.

According to pokernews.com:

In their original lawsuit, the players claimed that the terms of the WPTE player release would force them to violate other endorsement agreements and rights to images that the players and their sponsors had otherwise contracted for, and as a result, the players were forced to forego participating in WPT events. The action was framed in antitrust terms, alleging that WPTE and its partner casinos unlawfully conspired to eliminate competition and violated the intellectual property rights of these players. WPTE strictly denied that its standard player release was in any way “in violation of antitrust or other laws.” The modified player release, while not detailed by WPTE, likely addresses related concerns.

Whole thing here.

The settlement will likely mean of of the players listed above will be playing in WPT events again.

Former World Series of Poker main event champions Greg Raymer and Joe Hachem were originally party to the suit, as well, but had their names withdrawn.

Poker After Dark Season 4 in the Can

In the first three seasons of PAD, each game was a six player winner-takes-all freeze out. The latest season will include all of the following:

• Double elimination heads-up battle between the 4 NBC heads up championships winner. Chris Furguson, Paul Wasicka, Ted Forrest and Phil Hellmuth will each up $50,000, winner takes all.
• Two weeks of $200/$400 cash play. Week one players: Howard Lederer, Dee Tiller, Gabe Kaplan, Patrik Antonius, Doyle Brunson and Eli Elezra. Week two players: Guy Laliberte, Phil Hellmuth, Tom Dwan, Allen Cunningham, Mike Baxter and Antonio Esfandiari.
• Online qualifier Paul Featherstone will play against five of his favorite players including: Mike Matusow, Jennifer Harman, Phil Hellmuth, Gavin Smith, and Mike Sexton.
• Mike Matusow with a PAD record of 0-8 will have two six players freeze out matches to try and break his streak. His first try will be against: David Williams, Phil Hellmuth, Gavin Smith, Clonie Gowen and Phil Laak, all former PAD winners.
• Mike's second try will be against: David Williams, Andy Black, Lee Watkinson, Dewey Tomko and Allen Cunningham, all of whom made the final table at WSOP Main Events since 2001 but did not capture the title.
• The "Brilliant Minds" match featuring Bill Chen, Chris Ferguson, Andy Bloch, Brandon Adams, Jimmy Warren, and David Sklansky. All of whom are viewed as some of the game's best mathematicians.
• "The Mayfair Club" will bring together the players, all of whom were regulars at the legendary underground New York club. The players in this event include: Dan Harrington, Mickey Appleman, Jay Heimowitz, Steve Zolotow, and Mike Shichtman, the manager of the club during its heyday.
• Finally there will be a "Nets vs. Vets". Three successful online players will team up against veteran pros and world champions. The online players include: Tom "drrrr" Dwan, Brian "sbrugby" Townsend, and Andrew "good2cu" Robl. They will compete against: Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and Huck Seed.

Along with the new events and play, the "speak your mind" will let you hear from poker authorities such as: Phil Gordon, Gabe Kaplan, Cory Zeidman, Phil Hellmuth, Todd Brunson, and David Grey.

To top it all off, PAD season four introduces Leeann Tweeden as the new host. You might recognize her from her role as the host for the 2008 National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

The order for the events to be shown on TV has not yet been determined, but the first episode will go on the air during the week of July 4th. Additional information on the upcoming season as it becomes available, as well as profiles of all players and some great photos of Leeann can all be found at www.nbcsports.msnbc.com/poker in the near future.

Visit PokerListings.com

EU discusses responsible gaming issues

The Responsible Gaming Day was set up to bring together some of the most prominent figures in the field of gaming and betting. This includes EU and national policy makers, academia, players' associations and senior representatives from private and state-owned gaming companies.

The European online gambling industry has been getting a lot of attention both from politicians and the media as the industry gains in popularity and countries try to figure out how to deal with the industry.

Concerns raised about online poker, casinos and sports betting include the security of payments, the fairness of games, the protection of vulnerable players such as minors, and the responsibility of the industry to protect consumers.

Responsible Gaming Day was created to address these issues before the EU at the European Parliament and bring together all parties involved to discuss best practices and knowledge in the field of responsible gaming.

One of the key focuses of the day was the protection of minors. During the discussions Andrew Poole, GamCare managing director, said, "There needs to be shared responsibility to minimize underage gaming. Consistent regulation across jurisdictions and proper education are key in achieving an effective industry-wide response to underage gaming."

A PartyGaming representative expressed a similar view, adding that the online gambling industry needs to be able to work with governments to achieve this.

"We want governments to help us help consumers," said Leon Thomas, PartyGaming head of regulatory compliance.

Along with protecting minors, the group talked about protecting problem gamblers as well. Academics attending the event specialize in gaming and betting behavior research and stressed the need to use scientific research rather than conjecture when talking about online problem gambling.

With online gambling, it is much easier to conduct accurate studies of problem gambling.

"The advantage of online gambling is that you can track data in real time rather than relying on self reports, which may lack reliability," said Richard LaBrie, Ed. D Harvard Medical School.

Christofer Fjellner, Sweden Member of the European Parliament, said the key for the industry to enter into national markets is consumer protection.

He added that using consumer protection "as an argument to protect monopolies is simply letting consumers down."

To achieve greater consumer protection without endangering the free flow of services set up by the EU, various arms of the industries and the government must come together.

"No matter how much we do, no matter how many rules we put into place, and no matter how good we are - no solution will be optimal if it is not inclusive and based on the full cooperation and commitment of all stakeholders," said Norbert Teufelberger, European Gaming and Betting Association chairman.

Related Articles:

• EU Investigating U.S. Online Gambling Ban
• EC Opposes France Net Gambling Decree
• EC Takes Action Against Greece, Netherlands

Visit PokerListings.com

WPT World Championship brings out stars

With a $25,000 buy-in, the World Championship attracts players from all over the world and brings the winners from the other events on the tour to compete for what is potentially a multi-million dollar first-place prize.

Despite the other major tournaments taking place elsewhere, many pros have already made their presence known in Las Vegas during the World Championship's preliminary events.

The Bellagio has been offering up lucrative tournaments since April 2 during its Five Star World Poker Classic tournament series building up to the World Championship. One player who seems to have taken full advantage is Billy Baxter who conquered Event 6 and Event 12.

#img: bill-baxter_17801.jpg:left: Billy Baxter flies high in Five Star series.#

Baxter also cashed in Event 1 of the Five Star series in ninth place. He's not the only pro warming up with some wins before the World Championship either.

Scott Clements took down Event 4 and cashed in Event 2. Michael Mizrachi picked up a win in Event 7, plus a cash in Event 1. The Grinder also won one of the Super Satellites despite already having secured a seat in the World Championship with his win in Event 7.

Toto Leonidas won Event 8 for a $189,400 cash to add to his 15th-place cash in Event 7. Darrell Dicken picked up a win and $223,330 in cash in Event 10, and Michael Binger took down Event 13 for $317,280.

Allen Kessler didn't win any of the official events, but he did pick up his seat in the World Championship by winning one of the super satellites.

Other notables who've been making waves in the poker ranks at the Bellagio during the series are Shannon Shorr, who has three final tables in the series, and Scotty Nguyen with his two cashes.

Other pros who've picked up some money in the Five Star World Poker Classic are David Levi, Alan Smurfit, Jean-Robert Bellande, Men "The Master" Nguyen, Mark Seif, Justin Bonomo, Todd Brunson, Robert Mizrachi, David Pham, Jonathan Little, Erica Schoenberg, Tom McEvoy, Hevad Kahn, Erick Lindgren and more.

More than likely these will be some of the names popping up during the World Championship as well when it kicks off with today at noon PDT. With eight days of poker action on tap, poker fans can head to the Live Tournament section as our reporting team provides the best live updates, reports, interviews, photos and more from the WPT World Championship.

Visit PokerListings.com

Surprise Pro to Play the Next Bodog Blogger

This time last year Josh Arieh sat into the tournament, only to lose a race in the early rounds to be eliminated by abby17. Abby17 went on to finish the tournament in third place.

On Tuesday, April 22, at 9:05 pm ET, players will have a chance to take home the bounty on this year's surprise pro in the $10+1 tourney.

The BODOGLIFE.COM blogger series has seven events remaining, giving poker bloggers plenty of chances to secure their spot in the blogger top 18. The top 18 bloggers with the best results across the series will square off in a final tourney, with the winner being awarded a $12,000 WSOP Main Event package.

The surprise pro could be the two-time WSOP bracelet winner Josh Arieh again, but it is more likely to be David Williams, Evelyn Ng or Jean-Robert Bellande. No matter who gets seated, it will be a tough battle to take their bounty worth almost ten times the tournament buy-in fee.

Spots on the final 18 are anything but secured. Any blogger has a chance to claim their seat for the June 10th showdown, and play on Team Bodog in this year's Main Event. Don't have a blog? No problem, Bodog is running a number of different qualifiers and giving away a minimum of 4 WSOP seats every week for the next few months.

The $12,000 package includes the $10,000 Main Event seat, $2000 for your expenses, a head of Bodog gear, and the chance to meet the illustrious Bodog girls.

Visit PokerListings.com

PokerStars launches PokerStars.tv
PokerStars has announced that it is launching a new Web site, pokerstars.tv, that will host poker-themed videos and webcasts. Right now the site is still in the beta stage and has a lot of PokerStars material on it. But it is likely poised to go beyond ��...full article

PokerStars has announced that it is launching a new Web site, pokerstars.tv, that will host poker-themed videos and webcasts.

Right now the site is still in the beta stage and has a lot of PokerStars material on it. But it is likely poised to go beyond the realm of its own events.

According to pokernews.com:

The site includes a video tutorial narrated by Daniel Negreanu, which gives an overview of what the site contains and how site members can use and access the material. For instance, under the “Channels” tab at the top of the site, users will find sub-groups for major events such as the European Poker Tour, channels dedicated to each Team PokerStars pro, under which are found live-play videos, instructional comment, interviews, and behind-the-scenes peeks at each player.

Whole thing here.

The site only has videos in English, although the site intends to include videos in other languages.

Poker Stars - Poland moves toward regulation of online gambling

Poland moves toward regulation of online gambling
Published reports have noted that Poland will be attempting to regulate online gambling and poker as soon as this year. The effort to regulate goes back to last year for the European country, which apparently is getting closer to totally legalizing online wagering. According to pokerpages.com: Marek Kapica, ��...full article

Published reports have noted that Poland will be attempting to regulate online gambling and poker as soon as this year.

The effort to regulate goes back to last year for the European country, which apparently is getting closer to totally legalizing online wagering.

According to pokerpages.com:

Marek Kapica, Deputy Minister of Finance, stated publicly this week that Poland will have to legalize online gambling, saying, “We cannot control this process anyway and it is better that the budget at least derives some revenues from it.”

Whole thing here.

Online poker bill in California clears hurdle
A California bill designed to fund a study on online poker within the state got through a key committee on its way to a potential vote by the legislature. California Bill AB 2026 received unanimous approval by the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee (AGOC), according to a ��...full article

A California bill designed to fund a study on online poker within the state got through a key committee on its way to a potential vote by the legislature.

California Bill AB 2026 received unanimous approval by the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee (AGOC), according to a story at pokerpages.com:

The Bill, titled “The Gambling Control / California Intrastate Online Poker Act”, was introduced Feb 15, 2008 by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys), Chairman of the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee.

According to Capitol Weekly, the newspaper of California government and politics, Bill AB 2026 directs the California State Gambling Control Commission, in conjunction with the state Department of Justice, to perform a study regarding authorization of Internet poker for California residents, in accordance with the federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA), which stipulates that individual states have the right to legalize and regulate intrastate online gambling.

Whole thing here.

The study, if approved, could pave the way for a future bill that would legalize online poker in the state as soon as next year.

Canadian wins EPT Grand Final
Twenty-two-year-old Glen Chorny of Ontario, Canada, won the PokerStars European Poker Tour Grand Final on Thursday, outlasting a field of 842 other players to take the season-ending event. Chorny pocketed just over 2 million Euros ($3.2 million) for the first-place finish, which is believed to be ��...full article

Twenty-two-year-old Glen Chorny of Ontario, Canada, won the PokerStars European Poker Tour Grand Final on Thursday, outlasting a field of 842 other players to take the season-ending event.

Chorny pocketed just over 2 million Euros ($3.2 million) for the first-place finish, which is believed to be he most money ever awarded at a poker tournament held in Europe.
(more…)

Exclusive Pacific Poker Tournament
PTP and RNB were approached by Pacific Poker with the opportunity to run a private tournament this Sunday at 2pm eastern with an absolutely insane value. Pacific does not accept US players. Here are the details:

PTP and RNB were approached by Pacific Poker with the opportunity to run a private tournament this Sunday at 2pm eastern with an absolutely insane value. Pacific does not accept US players. Here are the details:

(more…)

Brandi Hawbaker dead at 26
In news that spread quickly over the internet poker forums, Brandi Hawbaker, famous mostly for her role in the drama on those same internet poker forums and in the live poker world, committed suicide on Sunday, according to varying reports. According to bluffmagazine.com: Word of the 26-year ��...full article

In news that spread quickly over the internet poker forums, Brandi Hawbaker, famous mostly for her role in the drama on those same internet poker forums and in the live poker world, committed suicide on Sunday, according to varying reports.

According to bluffmagazine.com:

Word of the 26-year old’s death first surfaced on WickedChopsPoker.com after a poster using the nom de plume “Bob. B. Bobson” posted the following comment on a post that was 16 months old:

“You may want to know that Brandi Hawbaker (of semi-recent poker drama) died earlier this week. She was 26 years old. I do not know any more than that, including how she died or any circumstances of her death, or even if there is a funeral planned. Even if I did know, it’s nobody’s business but her family and friends.”

Whole thing here.

The news was confirmed at neverwinpoker.com by Bryan Micon, who knew Hawbaker personally.

Calif. online gambling study bill moves forward

On Wednesday, the Committee on Governmental Organization moved to approve the bill with a vote of 11-0 and passed it on to the Committee on Appropriations.

That takes the bill, AB 2026 The Gambling Control/California Intrastate Online Poker Act, one step closer to being put up for vote in the legislature.

The bill was introduced in the legislature by Assemblyman Lloyd Levin in February, and if passed, would direct the California Gambling Control Commission to work with the state Department of Justice in order to study whether online gambling for California residents would be illegal under federal laws.

What Levine seeks to have answered is whether online gambling run in California just for California residents would be legal according to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. According to the UIGEA, the states have a right to legalize and regulate intrastate online gambling.

When Levine introduced the bill, he told media that the federal law appears to leave room for states to legalize online gambling as long as the player and the server hosting the online game are both located in the state. His bill is an effort to determine if that is true.

Levine's bill will need to get approval from the Committee on Appropriations as its next step to a vote. However, if it is approved, and the study shows that intrastate regulation is legal and feasible, California could eventually look into setting up intrastate online poker and gambling for its residents.

"It would be regulated," Levine said in Capitol Weekly. "We don't know what the state's piece will be, but it will be a regulated entity."

Levine has also stated that he believes regulated online gambling in the state will ensure consumer protection for online gamblers. For instance, players will have recourse if a site refuses to pay them if they're on a legal site, playing legally.

Related Article: Online Poker Bill Introduced in California

Visit PokerListings.com

Forum chatter reports Hawbaker death

The first news of her death was posted at NeverWinPoker, where Bryan Micon wrote on Thursday:

"It is with great sadness that I write this story. Brandi Hawbaker to some, Naami Dea to others, took her own life on Sunday. This news has been confirmed through Brandon and Brandi's family.

"Brandon, Brandi's family, and friends have asked the poker world to respect their privacy while they grieve. When the time is right we will have Brandon's statement on NWP. This truly is a tragedy, as the whole poker world loved to watch this eccentric young lady on and off the felt. Brandi will be missed and I hope she has found some peace."

Since that posting, poker forums across the Web have been talking about the news and speculating on whether it is just a hoax.

The 26-year-old Hawbaker rose to attention in the poker world not so much for her poker skills but instead because of her eccentricities at the poker felt, as well as due to the scandals she's been a part of in the poker community.

All a person has to do is troll the 2+2 forums to see the impact she's had on the poker community - good or bad - and the many ways she's found to keep herself in the spotlight.

The person who broke the news, Micon, was one of Hawbaker's biggest nemeses, often raking her through the coals with his stories on NWP and YouTube videos.

"She did some bad stuff, we all watched. She did some crazy stuff, we all watched. She died, we all watch... She is our Marylin Monroe," Micon wrote.

Her flamboyant reputation may have been what kept her in the public eye, but Hawbaker did have moderate success in the game as well. In October 2006, the poker community first took notice of her when she cashed in a Festa al Lago V event at the Bellagio and went on to also cash in 35th place in the World Poker Tour Festa al Lago V main event.

Her most recent success was at the 2007 World Series of Poker where she cashed in the $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em event.

Visit PokerListings.com

Winds of change blow on WSOP

Purists decried the supposed move and fans of change raised their voices in support, only to be let down when the official word came down from WSOP headquarters that no such policy would be enacted this year.

Even though Harrah's says the rumored change won't take place, it's worth noting that change is nothing new at the WSOP.

In fact, other than cards and chips, change has been one of the constants at the series since its inception. Here's a look back at a few of the more important changes that have taken place at the WSOP since it first began.

Champion determined by freezeout (1971)

#img: bionion_2390.jpg:left: Home of the World Series of Poker.#

The first iteration of the WSOP was held at Benny Binion's Horseshoe on Fremont Street in May 1970 as a "gambler's convention." At that time there was no tournament poker to speak of in the world; the convention was simply a continuous series of cash poker, with the title of "World Champion" going to the man voted top player by his peers. That title, of course, went to the legendary Johnny Moss.

When the world's greatest gamblers returned to the Horseshoe in 1971, Binion decided to change the format in order to generate more interest in the event. Rather than having a vote at the end of the convention, he decided to use the now-familiar freezeout format, in which the last man standing is declared the winner. Johnny Moss backed up his title from the previous year by defeating five other entrants in the $5,000.

The introduction of the freezeout at the WSOP gave birth to modern tournament poker, and was the first major change of many that would follow at the Horseshoe.

New event added (1972)

As mentioned above, the 1971 WSOP was the first to feature a freezeout. In 1972, a second event was added to the schedule: a $10,000 Five-Card Stud tournament. That it drew only two competitors is insignificant from a historical standpoint; what matters is that it set the precedent for the practice of adding new events that has persisted throughout the WSOP's history.

The WSOP's schedule has become so crowded with events in recent years that it now takes nearly two full months to play them all. Some who would style themselves poker purists have decried the dilution of a bracelet's value because of the additional events, but they miss the essential point that the WSOP's structure and schedule has been in flux almost since its inception. Change is the rule at the WSOP, not the exception.

Satellites (1981)

It is hard to imagine today, with all the readily available WSOP satellites both live and online, that there was a time when you couldn't win your way into the world's biggest tournament on the cheap. But for the first decade of the WSOP, that's exactly how things worked. The situation changed for good in 1981 on the eve of the big event.

As poker historian Gary Wise relates the story, Eric Drache, who had become the first tournament director of the WSOP back in 1973, was desperately trying to get signups for the Main Event the day before it began.

He began asking players on the floor at the Horseshoe to sign up, and eventually came to a table of 10 men who had $10,000 between them. Drache suggested to the men that they should play freezeout-style for all the money on the table, with the winner entering the Main Event. The men agreed, and Drache realized he had a winning idea on his hands.

#img: tom-mcevoy_15884.jpg: right: The first satellite winner to win the Main Event.#

The name of the original satellite winner is now lost to history. Just two years later, however, a different name would enter poker history when Tom McEvoy became the first satellite winner to claim the Main Event crown.

Outdoor final table (1997)

The first WSOP was designed to draw traffic to the Horseshoe by giving the people passing by on Fremont Street something to watch. The only problem was that they actually had to come inside to see the tournament being played. In 1997, Jack Binion and his staff tackled that problem by moving the Main Event's final table outside onto the street.

The idea proved to be ill-conceived. By the time May rolls around, Las Vegas positively swelters; holding the final table outdoors meant subjecting its participants to intense heat. To make matters even worse, the notorious gusty Las Vegas winds meant that the dealers had to slide hole cards to the players and deal the flop under a sheet of plexiglass in the middle of the table.

In addition to the problems the environment presented for players and staff, the fans in attendance found the game hard to follow. Tom Sims, reporting on the event for ConJelCo, the gambling book and software publisher, described the scene:

"From a spectator's point of view, it was very difficult to follow the action. The overhead television monitors were almost useless because of the glare and outdoor brightness, and the television crews and photographers completely obstructed my view about 75 % of the time. They did have much larger bleachers outdoors than they have had indoors, but if you can't see, more seats aren't a plus factor."

The outdoor experiment was never officially declared a failure, but the fact that it never returned was proof enough that it simply didn't work.

Hole cams (2002)

No single innovation in poker has made the game more accessible to a wide audience than the hole cam. Early television broadcasts of the WSOP, aired without any indication of the players' hole cards until they were turned up, were curiosities at best compared to today's numerous poker programs.

Often they featured a poker-playing actor such as Gabe Kaplan or Dick Van Patten, assisted by the tournament director and sometimes a professional player in the commentary booth attempting to read the action as if he were at the table; Phil Hellmuth, ever the self-promoter, often helped with this aspect of the production.

In 2002, ESPN produced the first WSOP coverage that featured hole cards. While the graphic presentation was somewhat primitive in comparison with today's TV coverage, the new information changed televised poker immediately. Rather than feeling like a documentary film about a poker tournament, the new breed of coverage had the feel of a sporting event. That sporting allure would prove instrumental in drawing hundreds of thousands of new players to the game in the next few years.

Move to the Rio (2005)

#img: rio-casino_8698.jpg: left: The new home of the WSOP.#

Since its beginning, the WSOP had always been played at the Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas, a natural fit for the Binion family's annual poker extravaganza. When the Horseshoe was forced to close in January 2003, it looked for a time as if the WSOP might cease to exist. Luckily for poker players, Harrah's Entertainment stepped in to purchase the casino and the now-storied WSOP.

With the event's burgeoning popularity fueled by the so-called "Moneymaker effect," and its new owners also the holders of several large casino properties in Vegas, it was only a matter of time before the event moved away from the only home it had ever known. That time came in 2005, when the event moved to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino on Flamingo Road.

The new venue was cavernous compared to the tiny Horseshoe, easily able to hold the entire 2,576-strong starting field of the 2004 WSOP Main Event. That the move was a smart one for Harrah's was underscored when the 2005 Main Event smashed the previous year's record by drawing a field of 5,619 runners and created the largest prize in tournament poker's history. In a nod to WSOP history, the Main Event final table was played out at Binion's one last time, but every hand dealt at the WSOP since then has been dealt at the Rio.

So, when purists decry real or rumored alterations to the WSOP format and schedule, it's worth remembering that the tournament series has been in flux more or less since its birth. But come what may, it's a pretty safe bet nothing will alter poker players' burning desire to snag one of its coveted bracelets.

Visit PokerListings.com

Canadian wins EPT Grand Final

Glen Chorny is a Timmins, Ontario, native who qualified for the EPT Grand Final at PokerStars, and turned his seat from the poker site into a €2,020,000 win.

This wasn't his first time going deep in an EPT event either. He also cashed out in 13th place during the EPT Caribbean Adventure in January. He said during an interview with PokerListings that he was never so depressed as he was that night, going out in 13th place.

Heading into the EPT Grand Final, the 22-year-old must have channeled that disappointment into determination to win this time around. By the end of Day 4 of the tournament he had separated himself from a pack of players that included many pros, and was the chip leader going into the final table.

He wasn't the only player flying the PokerStars flag at the table. Isaac Baron, another PokerStars qualifier, was hot on his heels second in the chip count, and Luca Pagano was there representing Team PokerStars.

The final table was seated as follows:

Seat	Name	Chip Count
1.	Denes Kalo	$1,190,000
2.	Michael Martin	$1,320,000
3.	Luca Pagano	$688,000
4.	Valeriy Ilikyan	$1,396,000
5.	Antonio Esfandiari	$501,000
6.	Maxime Villemure	$1,206,000
7.	Glen Chorny	$3,613,000
8.	Isaac Baron	$2,853,000

Antonio Esfandiari was looking to become the second player to win poker's triple crown. He has a World Series of Poker bracelet and a World Poker Tour win, but the EPT win has been out of his reach thus far.

The Grand Final wasn't his to win either as he was the first out of the final table. After more than a handful of hours of play, the final table at last came down to Chorny versus Denes Kalo in heads-up play.

By that point Chorny had amassed a stack of more than $11 million in chips, with Kalo severely short-stacked with only about $1.4 million.

It only took two hands for Chorny to add Kalo's chips to his stack as well.

On the second hand of heads-up play, Kalo open-shoved from the button and Chorny made the call. Chorny was holding #Ah-#5h against Kalo's #Kh-#Qd.

The flop was all spades with A-Q-6, giving Chorny top pair. When the #6d hit the turn, Kalo had very few outs left to him, and the 10 on the river sealed the win for Chorny.

The final-table results are as follows:

Place	Name	Prize
1st	Glen Chorny	€2,020,000
2nd	Denes Tamas Kalo	€1,179,000
3rd	Maxime Villemure	€715,000
4th	Isaac Baron	€589,000
5th	Michael Martin	€421,000
6th	Luca Pagano	€337,000
7th	Valeriy Ilikyan	€253,000
8th	Antonio Esfandiari	€168,000

For a more in-depth analysis of the final table plus reports and interviews with players from the PokerStars EPT Grand Final, check out the masterful reporting done live from the event in the Live Tournaments section.

Visit PokerListings.com

Poker Stars - Book Review: Elkan Allan and Hannah Mackay's 'The Poker Encyclopedia'

Book Review: Elkan Allan and Hannah Mackay's 'The Poker Encyclopedia'
Good poker books don't have to be about strategy, despite the fact that strategy books are by far the largest segment of poker literature. Among the newer non-strategy book examples of this is the late Elkan Allan and Hannah Mackay's...

Poker Stars - Great Britain wins Poker Nations Cup

Great Britain wins Poker Nations Cup
Great Britain won the PartyPoker.com Poker Nations Cup that ended this week. The team of professionals from the United Kingdom defeated six other teams in the tag-team poker format, where substitutions were allowed for each nation’s team in each of six “heats.” According to pokerpages.com: The winning GB ��...full article

Great Britain won the PartyPoker.com Poker Nations Cup that ended this week.

The team of professionals from the United Kingdom defeated six other teams in the tag-team poker format, where substitutions were allowed for each nation’s team in each of six “heats.”

According to pokerpages.com:

The winning GB team included team captain Roland De Wolfe, on-a-winning-streak Neil Channing, Surinder Sunar, Joe Beevers, Ian Frazer and online qualifier Charlie Durbin. Channing just came off the high of winning the Irish Open, as well as being the player that clinched the cup for their GB team.

In fact, Channing anchored team GB in a thrilling heads-up with Ireland’s Donnacha O’Dea. A turning point in the play came when Channing went all-in with 8 4 off suit, which got called by O’Dea’s 2 2. So Channing was behind on the flop and the turn only for a 4 to hit on the river which knocked O’Dea. Then O’Dea went all-in with 10c 3c, only to be called by Channing’s 10h 9h. A 10 on the turn gave Britain the cup, repeating their 2006 win.

Whole thing here.

Ireland finished second in the event, and the United States finished last out of the six teams.

Women's Poker Spotlight: History Made at WPT Bellagio
On Sunday, April 13th, the WPT Bellagio Five Star World Poker Classic made poker history by offering a ladies' tournament with a record buy-in of $1,500. In the past, the WSOP Ladies Event buy-in of $1,000 was the highest ever offered...

Poker Stars - PokerStars.com EPT Monte Carlo Day 4: Chorny Leads

PokerStars.com EPT Monte Carlo Day 4: Chorny Leads
Glen Chorny will be chip leader, when Day 5's 'almost' final table begins. Twelve hours after announcing 'shuffle up and deal,' the PokerStars.com EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo called it a night, without reaching their eight person final table

Benyamine and ICallSoWhat coin-flip for $169,000

But first, let's investigate the nature of Omaha and compare it with Texas Hold'em.

In Hold'em, two pair on the flop is usually a straightforward hand to play unless the board consists of three suited/consecutive cards. There aren't many situations where you can possibly lay it down. If your opponent has an unfortunate set, it's just bad luck.

In Omaha, on the other hand, two pair is one of the toughest hands to play. If the pot is raised, re-raised, and you push all-in on the flop, one of two following situations is likely to occur.

1. Your opponent has a draw, and depending on the strength of it, you'll be somewhere between 10% ahead and a slight underdog.
2. Your opponent has a set and you're a big underdog.

Consequently, you rarely want to push all-in on the flop with a bare two pair - at least when the stacks are deep and you know that your opponent wouldn't risk his stack with a speculative holding.

But in Omaha, you can have additional outs to your two pair, which makes the hand a lot more valuable. The closer to the nut draw your extra outs are, the better your hand becomes. And even if your opponent has a better draw, your hand might block a few of his outs, which improves the chance of the two pair holding up.

This is exactly what happened in a hand between ICallSoWhat and David Benyamine at Full Tilt yesterday.

On the flop, ICallSoWhat held top two plus a flush draw and David Benyamine had only king high, combined with a truckload of outs though. And since Benyamine had the better flush draw, he was actually ahead when the money went in.

Full Tilt Poker Game #6059198672 TABLE : Eginton (6 max) $200/$400 - Pot Limit Omaha Hi - Wed Apr 16th 2008 - 3:26pm ET

Table Setup

Seat 2: ICallSoWhat ($84,396.50)
Seat 6: David Benyamine ($129,168)
David Benyamine posts the small blind of $200
ICallSoWhat posts the big blind of $400
The button is in seat #6

Preflop

David Benyamine raises to $1,200
ICallSoWhat calls $800

Flop #Ac-#3c-#Ts

ICallSoWhat checks
David Benyamine bets $1,200
ICallSoWhat raises to $4,800
David Benyamine raises to $16,800
ICallSoWhat raises to $52,800
David Benyamine raises to $127,968, and is all in
ICallSoWhat calls $30,396.50, and is all in

David Benyamine shows #Qd-#9c-#Kc-#Jd
ICallSoWhat shows #9d-#As-#Tc-#7c
Uncalled bet of $44,771.50 returned to David Benyamine

Turn #Ac-#3c-#Ts-#5h

River #Ac-#3c-#Ts-#5h-#3h

David Benyamine shows a pair of Threes
ICallSoWhat shows two pair, Aces and Tens
ICallSoWhat wins the pot ($168,792.50) with two pair, Aces and Tens

Summary

Total pot $168,793 | Rake $0.50
Board: #Ac-#3c-#Ts-#5h-#3h
Seat 2: ICallSoWhat (big blind) showed #9d-#As-#Tc-#7c and won ($168,792.50) with two pair, Aces and Tens
Seat 6: David Benyamine (small blind) showed #Qd-#9c-#Kc-#Jd and lost with a pair of Threes

For more big hands from this session, and more of the biggest pots won over the last day, week, month and year, jump to the MarketPulse section.

Visit PokerListings.com

Women's Poker Spotlight: History Made at WPT Bellagio
On Sunday, April 13th, the WPT Bellagio Five Star World Poker Classic made poker history by offering a ladies' tournament with a record buy-in of $1,500. In the past, the WSOP Ladies Event buy-in of $1,000 was the highest ever offered...