Poker

What are some of the hottest headlines in the world of poker? Here you will find all the latest juicy stories along with other important news and tournament results. A must read for the poker enthusiast with articles published throughout the day.

Anna Khait Becomes 4th Poker Player to Compete on ‘Survivor’

When professional poker player Anna Khait, 26, (pictured third from left) made the cast of "Survivor: Kaoh Rong" (which debuted Wed. 8 p.m on WCBS) she told producers she worked as a cocktail waitress in an Atlantic City casino, according to the New York Daily News, which went on to characterize Khait as a “master strategists”.

“I didn’t tell anyone I was a poker player,” said Khait, who cashed out 6th in the Borgata Spring Poker Open 2013.

Submitted by Ace King on,

Poker Pro Phil Galfond Calls Out Samuel Touil as a ‘Scammer’

Who is Samuel Touil?  Apparently he’s a scamming poker player.  At least that’s what pro Phil Galfond would lead us to believe, and he has a podium at PokerNews.com to shout this from the mountain.

Touil is a French player who has enjoyed nominal success on the live poker circuit, raking in just over $30,000.

Submitted by Ace King on,

‘Mob Controlled’ Dollaro Online Poker Firm Out of Italian Authority’s Control

Despite raids that commenced last month, the online poker network Dollaro continues to operate in Italy.

Italian regulator AAMS says there is little it can do to stop the site from continuing to offer its services.

Authorities there claim the company has ties to Italy’s Mafia.

“The illegal business leaders were captured, but the site is still functioning and accessible: I do not know why but it is a matter beyond our control and that can be repeated,” said head of remote gaming at AAMS Francesco Rodano.

Submitted by Ace King on,

Poker Pro Found Dead in Amsterdam Canal Had Mobile Stolen

An investigation continues into the death of a young British poker player, Richard Cole.

The 30-year-old was found drowned in an Amsterdam canal after being reported missing late last month.  Dogs picked up on his scent days later. 

This weekend it was reported that Dutch police are in search of the individual(s) who were seen in surveillance video stealing Cole’s mobile phone the night of his drowning.  Law enforcement has stopped short of ruling his death foul play, however.

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Submitted by Nagesh Rath on,

Justice Scalia Was a Poker Player and Gambler Who Bet on Length of Speeches

Justice Anonin Scalia was a revered man, no matter whether you agreed with his primarily conservative views or not.

Scalia passed away unexpectedly in his sleep Friday night at the age of 79.

What many did not know about the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court is that he had been a poker player.

Oddly enough though, as revealed in a riveting New York Magazine interview with the man, Scalia says he did not even know what a poker tell is.

Submitted by Ace King on,

UK and Ireland Poker Tour Main Event Season 5 Final Table Set

The final table is set for the last UK and Ireland Poker Tour Main Event of Season 5.

It took just under six hours today to eliminate two thirds of the returning Day 3 players at the Royal Dublin Society and set Adalsteinn Karlsson as narrow chip leader.

Day 3 of the €1,000 + €100 UKIPT5 Dublin Main Event (1,002 players representing 50 countries, with a total prizepool of €971,940) brought the narrowest of leads for Karlsson, an Icelandic computer programmer and world traveller who has been living on-and-off in Thailand for the last four years.

Submitted by Ace King on,

Sheltered by a Heavy Set Jewish Mum, Sorel Mizzi Insists ‘I’m Not The Person I Was In The Past’

Canadian poker pro Sorel Mizzi has surfaced following accusations that he may have been caught cheating (again).  While nothing has been proven, Mizzi’s past improprieties resulted in the popular TwoPlusTwo.com forum lighting up with speculation.  Moderators have since locked the thread, while allowing it to remain.  The foregone conclusion being there is no smoking gun

Submitted by Nagesh Rath on,

Liv Boeree Gets Dragged Into Alleged Sorel Mizzi Cheating Brouhaha

The allegations that Sorel Mizzi may have been caught cheating again were first posted on 2+2 by a brand new account "StillDoingIt", obviously set up in order to "out" Mizzi once again as a serial cheater. The post(s) contain circumstantial evidence which doesn't exactly offer "proof", but certainly sounds credible or at least plausible, and name-checks other pros being aware of the alleged situation. 

Submitted by Ace King on,

What is the Duel By PokerStars App?

One of the bigger headlines this week had to do with PokerStars launching a new app called Duel By PokerStars. 

And what exactly is Duel by PokerStars?

The game is based on Heads Up No Limit Texas Hold’em, the world’s most popular poker game.  It allows an individual to challenge players anytime and anywhere from either an Android or iOS compatible device.

Submitted by Ace King on,

PornHub.com Enters Online Poker Industry

Porn portal PornHub.com announced last week it had entered the online poker industry.  The site will also feature online roulette, blackjack and even strip poker.

From the Huffington Post:

Submitted by Ace King on,

$150,000 Freebuy Super Series Returns for a Third Time on Feb. 26th

San Jose, Costa Rica – The old expression says there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but those people clearly never heard of Americas Cardroom.

The US-facing online poker site today announced that the popular $150,000 Freebuy Super Series will return for a third time from Friday, February 26th through Sunday March 6th. All the tournaments in the 10-day series are free-to-enter with $0 buy-ins, while offering real money prize pools.

Submitted by Press Release on,

Amaya Chairman Offers Board Buyout - Who is David Baazov?

David Baazov, chairman and CEO of Amaya Inc., the Montreal-based parent company of PokerStars, has offered to buy out all other shareholders for $21 per share in cash.  That’s 40 per cent above this past Friday’s closing price.

The company’s board has set up a special committee, headed by lead independent director Dave Gadhia, to review any formal proposal brought forward by chairman-CEO David Baazov and any other alternatives.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on,

Americas Cardroom Gives Away Free Bets for Super Bowl Sunday

San Jose, Costa Rica – Before football players take the field in Santa Clara on February 7th, poker players are invited to take down the felt at Americas Cardroom to claim their free sportsbook bet.

Submitted by Press Release on,

Did a Russian Bot Make Out Big at PokerStars TCOOP Event?

The Turbo Championship of Online Poker (TCOOP) Event #8 has everybody in the online poker community talking as one of the players is suspected of being a Russian bot.

Ultimately a real player going by the name LuckboxStami walked off with the $48,042 but many taking part in the tournament have alleged another "player" IvanHaldi is the bot in question, failing to respond to human required commands. 

Oh, and did we mention IvanHaldi won a cool $34,802 for “his” second place finish?

(Below is the actual suspect chat screen shot)

Submitted by Ace King on,

Sam Trickett New Brand Ambassador for Indian Online Poker Room StarPoker.In

The nation of India with its more than 1.4 billion people has begun to position itself as a top online poker power house.

India-based online poker room StarPoker.In has just announced the appointment of big name poker pro Sam Trickett as its new ambassador.

Submitted by Ace King on,

Phil Ivey Launches Daily Fantasy Sports Site: PhilIveyDFS.com

One of the most successful professional poker players, Phil Ivey, was set to launch his very own Daily Fantasy Sports site, PhilIveyDFS.com

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The site will be hosted on the iTeam Network, a DFS turnkey platform, next month (February 2016).

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on,

Americas Cardroom Introduces The Playpen

By now you’ve probably heard about Americas Cardroom’s weekly cash game event called ‘The $1k Cage’. This nosebleed stakes cash game in time based tournament format has taken the online poker world by storm. Each week, players either win a $55 satellite to participate in the $1,000+$50 buy-in cash game or pony up the buy-in to play stakes as high as $25/$50.

Well, now micro stakes players can take their turn in a new miniaturized version of The Cage called The Playpen.

Submitted by on,

The Week's Best: PCA Organizers Pissed at Esfandiari for Urinating at Table

One of the biggest poker earners of all time, Antonio Esfandiari, was disqualified over the weekend from a PCA event after he was caught urinating into an empty bottle at the poker table. 

The action was tied to a side bet but deemed "inappropriate" by event organizers.  Esfandiari had about 115,000 in chips at the time of the disqualification. 

"I am embarrassed of the actions I took to win that bet", Esfandiari admitted later on.

He was interviewed by PokerNews about the incident.  Watch below

Submitted by C Costigan on,

The High Five Tournament Series starts January 20th

Here at Americas Cardroom, our motto is that you can never have too much of a good thing. That’s why we’re not letting the dust settle after the holidays and we’re jumping right into our first big event of 2016 with the High Five Tournament Series (January 20th-24th).

We know you’re going to love this event, but before we get into the details, let’s take a look back at 2015 – the biggest year in our history. Here are just some of the accomplishments:

Submitted by on,

Mike Watson Wins 2016 PCA Main Event for $728325

PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS – Mike “SirWatts” Watson has won the 2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $5,300 Main Event for $728,325.

Watson, who hails from St. John's, the capital of Newfoundland in Canada, beat PCA 2009 runner-up Tony Gregg heads-up to seize the title and prestigious Main Event trophy. Gregg was thwarted yet again in his bid to become champion; it was his third appearance on the PCA final table and he is the only player in EPT history to have reached the final of the same event three times. The pair cut a deal heads-up, with Gregg taking $612,175 for second.

Submitted by Press Release on,

Poker Not a Game of Skill Claim Legislators

Legislators in the state of Nebraska have come to the conclusion that poker is not a game of skill as proponents have argued over the past decade.

Lawmakers on Thursday defeated a bill that would have classified poker as skill rather than chance. The change of status would have permitted poker and community card games to be licensed in the state.  Poker tournaments would also have been allowed in establishments where alcohol is served.

Submitted by Ace King on,

Bitcoin Betting Online – Latest News: Extortion Group Taken Down

Bitcoin betting online is readily available these days after a long cautious delay. 

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Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on,

PCA 2016 Main Event Final Table Player Profiles Unveiled

Gambling911.com has your PCA 2016 Main Event Final Table player profiles including seat numbers.

Seat 1: Mike "SirWatts" Watson, 31, St. John's, Canada, PokerStars player

Submitted by on,

Three Online Poker Players Pop $100,000 Jackpot at ACR

San Jose, Costa Rica – Who needs a Powerball ticket when you have online poker in the US? Americas Cardroom today announced that three players have shared in a $100,000 prize pool after popping the biggest jackpot possible in the online poker site’s popular Jackpot Poker offering. The $100k jackpot is the second one in a matter of eight months.

Submitted by Press Release on,

Aaron Sorkin to Adapt Memoir of Molly’s Game for Film About ‘Poker Princess’

Oscar-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin has announced plans to adapt the memoir “Molly’s Game” about a former skier who wound up hosting exclusive high stakes poker games for big name stars the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire. 

“Molly’s Game” will tell the story of Molly Bloom, also known as the “poker princess”.  She attracted the A-list celebrities and would later become the subject of an FBI investigation.

Submitted by Ace King on,

Missing Poker Pro Burt Boutin Once Exposed Ex-Wife's Defamation Plot

Missing 48-year-old Las Vegas poker pro Burt Boutin once played a critical role in debunking his ex-wife's shocking claims against her off-again-on-again boyfriend, Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak, that he had an inappropriate relationship with her then 15-year-old daughter. 

Boutin, who has not been seen for at least three weeks, would go public in 2012 to report his daughter confided in him that she had been coerced into making the false allegations. 

Submitted by Alejandro Botticelli on,

Professional Poker Player Burt Boutin Goes Missing

Las Vegas professional poker player and stockbroker Burt Boutin has gone missing, according to reports.  Boutin was last seen three weeks ago.

Fellow poker pro Mike Matusow tweeted the following on Monday:

A friend in the poker world Burt boutin has been missing for 3 weeks if anyone knows his whereabouts please have him checkin#pray4burt

The 48-year-old father of three, Boutin is well known for his drink of choice at the poker table, Red Bull, and acting a little hyper between hands.

Submitted by Ace King on,

How Long Until John L. Smith Gets The Axe From Adelson’s LVRJ

What's The Over/Under on How Long Columnist John L. Smith Gets Fired From the LVRJ by New Owner Sheldon Adelson?

You can't make this stuff up.  Casino billionaire, GOP mega donor and online poker zealot Sheldon Adelson once filed a $15 million libel suit against Las Vegas Review Journal columnist John L. Smith after the later published a 2005 book mentioning the Vegas tycoon in an apparently not-so-flattering way. 

Adelson last month bought the paper Smith works for to the tune of approximately ten times that paper's value. 

Submitted by Ace King on,

Evil Poker Players, Part 5: Shane Warne, Sham Warning

Mention the name Shane Warne and most Americans will give you a blank stare or ask, "Who's that?"

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If he walked through Times Square in New York City, he'd likely do so without being recognized.

Submitted by Thomas Somach on,

Amaya Provides Clarity Regarding Pre-Acquisition Dispute in Kentucky

Amaya Inc. (NASDAQ: AYA; TSX: AYA) today provided clarity regarding a dispute in the Commonwealth of Kentucky relating to certain activities of the PokerStars business during a period between 2006 and 2011, approximately three years prior to Amaya’s acquisition of the brand.  Amaya believes the action is frivolous and without merit.

Submitted by Press Release on,

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