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Record Setting High Stakes Weekend
| October 28 2008 |
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This weekend was one for the record books, with the record for the highest online no-limit hold'em pot ever being set not just once, but four times. What was even more shocking than the quantity was the time frame, with all four instances taking place in less than a day. The previous record for the highest online no-limit hold'em pot was established back in September, when "patatino" took down a $610,000 pot against Hac "trex313" Dang. That hand was legend itself, when a flop of (10-Diamonds)(6-Diamonds)(8-Clubs) saw patatino raise to $35,000 after Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond had led out for $9,200. Trex313 came over the top and made it $88,000 to go and Galfond got out of the way. Patatino quickly shoved all in for $302,080 total and trex313 called (being covered by patatino).
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Poker Royalty Opens London Office
| October 20 2008 |
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Major player-representation firm Poker Royalty announced this week that is has opened up a branch office in London to grow and manage its European client base. With its home office in Las Vegas, Poker Royalty already represents a number of the world's most famous players, including Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Patrik Antonius and Scotty Nguyen. According to company founder Brian Balsbaugh, the addition of the London office will allow the company to better service both the European and Asian markets, which have seen the largest growth in poker's visibility of late. The new London operation will be led by Jim Erwood, named as Director of European Operations for Poker Royalty. Erwood's previous experience includes a stint as a FIFA-licensed soccer agent representing ...
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Cash-game Format Returns to 'Poker After Dark'
| October 13 2008 |
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This week's edition of NBC's popular late-night series, "Poker After Dark," returns to the cash-game format tried only once before in the series' extensive run to date. While the show is traditionally televised as a week-long, six-player single-table tournament, this week's invitees will instead square off in a $200/400 no-limit hold'em cash game, with a $100,000 minimum buy-in. The lineup for this week's cash game is one of the strongest in the show's history. The six cash-game contestants are Patrik Antonius, Howard Lederer, Doyle Brunson, Gabe Kaplan, Eli Elezra, and amateur Dee Tiller. Tiller, a Texas businessman who refers to himself as the "Ten Pound Bass," is the least known of the week's contestants despite being a veteran high-stakes – if recreational – player.
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Lakes Entertainment Giving Away WPT Stock to Shareholders
| October 10 2008 |
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On October 7th, 2008, Lakes Entertainment announced it would be distributing all of the company's shares of World Poker Tour Enterprises (WPTE) stock. Lakes, a casino development and management company, is the largest shareholder of WPTE, owning approximately 61% of all the outstanding common shares in the poker tour company. Lakes will be distributing all of its 12,480,000 shares of WPTE to Lakes' shareholders as a special dividend. "The spin-off of WPTE shares to our shareholders provides an option for them to monetize the value of WPTE shares if they so choose," said Timothy Cope, President and Chief Financial Officer of Lakes." As for Lakes' motivation for the distribution, Cope said, "Lakes will benefit in that we will no longer be required to ...
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Duplicate Poker Closes its Doors
| October 06 2008 |
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In a brief update to its home page and a similar e-mailing to its customer base, US-facing site Duplicate Poker pulled the plug on its operations on Sunday, effective immediately. A check of the online Duplicate Poker client confirmed that all games on the site had ceased, with only the results of a few of the final tournaments accessible to customers. The messages sent to the Duplicate Poker customer base and that which appeared on the website today varied slightly, but both cited the credit crunch in the current global financial market as the reason for the site's demise. Duplicate Poker had recently entered a second phase in its fundraising and development efforts, as the site attempted to cement its market presence. Here's how the message appeared on the Duplicate Poker home page:
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PokerStars.net ... Max Pescatori Jumps to Front
| October 02 2008 |
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An overflow crowd of nearly 300 players descended upon the Grosvenor Victoria Casino for Day 1a of the PokerStars.net European Poker Tour London Main Event. The field was originally capped at 500, but the turnout far exceeded initial expectations, and tournament officials decided to add alternates to the field. Among the late registrants who took to the felt as alternates on Day 1a were Beth Shak and John Phan, joining top stars such as Gus Hansen, Annette Obrestad, Patrik Antonius and Kathy Liebert already in the event. After a relatively calm beginning, the bustouts really kicked off, with top players John Phan, Shane Schleger, Joe Beevers, Ross Boatman, Chris Ferguson and Shaun Deeb all falling in the early afternoon.
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| Forfeiture Action Frozen ... KY Domain Seizure Case
| September 28 2008 |
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A hearing in Frankfort, Kentucky on Friday involving the court-ordered forfeiture of 141 domain names connected to online gambling resulted in a short-term victory for pro-poker forces when the forfeiture action was ordered suspended and the case continued until early October. The hearing, a follow-up to last Thursday's court-ordered seizure orchestrated by Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, drew multiple counsel representing the interests of poker and online gambling in its forced defense against the state. While press reports and a news release from the Kentucky governor's office stated that one online operator that controls two or more of the sites on Kentucky's list of 141 domains to be seized had capitulated to Kentucky's demands and promised to leave the state,
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| Kentucky Governor Attempts Mass Domain-Name Seizure ...
| September 23 2008 |
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In a surprise political move termed separately as a "stunt" and a "blatant protectionist move" by interested observers, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear on Thursday pushed through a court order to seize domain names connected to various online gaming sites allegedly accepting business from Kentucky residents. The order, signed by a Franklin County (KY) Circuit Court judge, names 141 different Internet domains covering several different forms of online gaming, including sports betting, bingo, casino-style games and poker. Many major US-facing sites were listed in the complaint, including but not limited to the following: PokerStars.com, FullTiltPoker.com, Doylesroom.com, Bodoglife.com, sportsbook.com, UltimateBet.com, AbsolutePoker.com, Microgaming.com ...
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| European Union/US Online Gambling Dispute Likely Headed to WTO
| September 19 2008 |
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A report from Reuters on Thursday indicates that the dispute over online gambling between European Union countries and the United States is increasingly likely to result in a formal World Trade Organization complaint, opening the way for additional claims of tens or hundreds of millions in trade damages against the United States. The most recent disappointment in the trade negotiations stems from a complaint lodged with the EU by the Remote Gambling Association, which represents the interests of several of the largest European internet-gambling concerns, including PartyGaming. The RGA's complaint had led to the beginning of trade negotiations ...
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| Declining Gaming Revenues and Air Traffic Continue to Plague Vegas
| September 16 2008 |
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Summer is considered the "off season" in Las Vegas as many tourists pass on the desert destination in the heat of July. But July 2008 was more off than usual, as challenging economic conditions continue to take their toll. Last week the Nevada Gaming Control Board issued their monthly report indicating that gaming revenues were down 12.97% in July 2008 compared to July 2007. Clark County turned in worse numbers than even the state average; Strip revenues were down 14.67%, downtown dipped 16.39% and Mesquite was off 32.42%. Air traffic into McCarran International Airport for July was down 8.6%, which marked the largest monthly decline of the year.
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| Frank Reintroduces Payment Systems Protection Act
| September 14 2008 |
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U.S. Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) has introduced his "Payment Systems Protection Act of 2008" as part of his continuing effort to overturn the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Frank, the chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, has described the UIGEA as the "stupidest law ever passed." Frank saw his previous attempt to bring anti-UIGEA legislation -- the original "Payment Systems Protection Act" -- foiled earlier this year when a committee vote on his measure ended up deadlocked. The latest edition of Frank's bill directly addresses the worst shortcomings of the UIGEA as currently enacted, which failed even to attempt to ...
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| StoxPoker and CardRunners Announce Merger
| September 11 2008 |
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On Tuesday, poker video instruction sites CardRunners and StoxPoker announced the merger of their extensive training libraries, creating what is termed as the most comprehensive poker training service on the web. With the largest library of poker training videos and a roster of world-class instructors, the two sites will continue to operate separately, with each focusing on different segments of the market, but they will be one company. "We're delighted to add breadth and depth to our poker training resources while delivering a decisive competitive advantage to more than 14,000 members," said Taylor Caby, co-founder of CardRunners. CardRunners.com will continue its focus ... |
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| Foxwoods Dealer Unionication Battle moves closer to Legal Showdown
| July 24 2008 |
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The refusal by Connecticut-based Foxwoods Casino operators the Mashantucket Pequot tribe to negotiate with elected labor union representatives for their poker and other table-games dealers has now seen the filing of a formal complaint by the National Labor Relations Board against the tribe. Following a 1,259-to-892 vote in favor of unionization in November, the casinos dealers voted to unionize, forming as a chapter of the United Auto Workers (UAW), which now representatives a far larger spectrum of union efforts. Mashantucket Pequot immediately challenged the results of the election, raising a number of appeals points while also asserting tribal sovereignty.
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| World Poker Tour moves to Fox Sports Net
| July 17 2008 |
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PokerNews has learned that World Poker Tour Enterprises and FOX Sports Net will soon announce an agreement that will bring Season VII of the long-running series to FSN on Sunday nights. According to sources close to the deal, the WPT's Season VII will consist of 26 episodes and will air each Sunday evening, somewhere in the "prime time" (6-10 pm) hours for starting time. Each episode will be one hour long. The initial starting date and the exact starting time for the series' run are among the details still be ironed out as the show is fit into the FSN broadcast schedule. The sources did report, however, that longtime hosts Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten will return to their roles behind the microphone.
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| World Series of Poker Summary for June 23
| June 24 2008 |
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A diverse schedule of poker offerings on Monday saw a relatively unknown player win a big-field bracelet, two more events work their way down to final tables with several stars in the mix, and an attendance record smashed as one of the WSOP's traditional offerings got underway. Monday's bracelet came in Event #39, $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em, the final leg of a three-day marathon that saw 2,720 runners take part. The final nine were led by Thom Werthmann, the only one of the nine players to have previously won a bracelet, but instead the title here went to David Woo. Woo's surge to victory came only after a 40-hand showdown against Matt Wood, the final two survivors of a competitive final table that saw early leader Werthmann exit in fifth.
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| Daniel Negreanu wins 4th Bracelet in Event #20
| June 16 2008 |
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Daniel Negreanu added his 4th piece of WSOP hardware to his collection yesterday, winning Event #20 of the 2008 World Series of Poker. He would best a final table that would include a mix of both online and live pros, mainly Fu Wong, who had finished in 2nd place days earlier in the $10k Stud championship. D.N. had no problem mowing down his competition and further solidifying his WSOP stature, picking his spots perfectly and having a lot of his hands hold at showdown. The rail following him was huge, and the crowd only got louder and louder as he inched closer and closer to the title. On the final hand, Negreanu hit a set of 5’s against his opponent Ugur Marangoz...
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| EGM Green Eco-Friendly Poker Table addresses environmental concerns
| May 30 2008 |
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Poker players aren't necessarily thinking about the environment when they hear the word "green", but a new eco-friendly poker table scheduled to make its first appearance at the 2008 World Series of Poker hopes to change that in a good way. New Jersey-based EGM Green will showcase its new Earth-conscious poker table at this year's WSOP, as part of the firm's larger push to bring its line of eco-friendly gaming products into the casino and luxury industries. The new EGM Green poker table will be made from 98% sustainable materials, and will be featured in the WSOP's exhibit area through the series. Among the new table's environment-conscious features...
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| Poker at the Movies - Why Does Hollywood Fail?
| May 19 2008 |
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Do you know how hard it is to release a major studio movie in 50 theaters and have it only make $35,281 for its first weekend? Deal, the recent poker-themed stinker starring Burt Reynolds, did just that in its opening weekend a few weeks ago. To put that in perspective, of the 150 box office openings this year ranked by boxofficemojo.com, Deal ranked # 147. Deal opened on 50 screens ? the three movies actually ranked below Deal all opened on only one screen each. For more perspective, consider that any random theatre screening Iron Man on its opening weekend came darn close (per screen) to making more money than Deal did in its entire national release.
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| Women's Poker Spotlight: What women want from Poker
| May 09 2008 |
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Last week Caesars Palace hosted the latest WSOP Circuit series of events. I attended and played the ladies event for a buy-in of $330. 169 players, including name pros such as J.J. Liu and Barbara Enright, participated. Barbara made an astounding comeback and won the event in the wee hours. Congrats, Barbara! While at this event, as I often do, I take the opportunity to speak to many of the lady players to find out what is going on with their games and poker in general. Some are happy with their games, some are disenchanted with the changes poker is undergoing, and some were flat-out bursting at the seams to speak up on current poker issues.
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| A comprehensive look at the WSOP Final Table delay
| May 06 2008 |
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By now, everyone in poker has heard about the new format for this year's WSOP Main Event. The final table will be delayed several months to be shown "nearly live" on ESPN. It's a bold and controversial proposal, surrounded by rumors and wild theories. This article aims to separate the facts from the fiction. The primary reason for the new change? In a word, ratings. The demographics for televised poker have been dropping in recent years, and that affects everyone in the poker world, from Harrah's and ESPN to PokerStars and Full Tilt to the grinders in the cash games who have fewer fresh fish to feed on.
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| Women's Poker Spotlight: Women shine at Bellagio Five Star
| May 01 2008 |
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Tyner, a very flamboyant player, took out the first two players at the six-handed final table, including WPT ladies champion Van Nguyen. Nancy defeated Vanessa Selbst in the Five Star final, taking just over two hours to come back to the win after Selbst went into the final table with an overwhelming chip lead. Nancy Todd Tyner lives in Las Vegas and has been playing poker for about three years. Her patience and confidence was her base of strategy, which she attributes to her profession, politics. Congratulations, Nancy! At the final table of the WPT Ladies Event, Jack McClelland, tournament director, took the opportunity to inform the audience that...
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| PPA tops million member mark
| April 24 2008 |
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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 as it announced several other initiatives. In reaching the 1,000,000-member mark, the PPA's Chairman, former Senator Alfonse D'Amato said, "Reaching one million members puts the PPA on par with such political powerhouses as AARP and the National Association of Realtors, and will allow us to advocate even more effectively on behalf of our members." The PPA also began a comprehensive voter registration drive this week...
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| World Poker Tour settles player release lawsuit
| April 19 2008 |
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WPT Enterprises, Inc., operators of the World Poker Tour, announced today the settlement of a lawsuit brought against it by several big-name poker players. The action, which focused on the player release form used by the World Poker Tour, was originally filed by seven players who announced the suit at a press conference at the Rio in Las Vegas during the 2006 WSOP. The resolution of the suit involves a modificiation of the WPT's player release, with no money damages involved. Five of the seven players - Chris Ferguson, Andrew Bloch, Annie Duke, Phil Gordon, and Howard Lederer - were listed as being party to the final settlement of the suit...
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