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.
2007 WSOP Main Event Champion Jerry Yang Watch Selling for $787k on eBay
A watch awarded to 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Jerry Yang is apparently up for auction on eBay, according to a listing recently discovered by poker media outlets.
Yang lost his bracelet and other prized possessions as part of an IRS seizure for failing to pay taxes.
The listing appears below and the bids were currently coming in at $787k.
Disgraced Ex-Utah AG John Swallow Court Dates Set: Ties to Poker’s ‘Black Friday’
Former Attorneys General John Swallow and Mark Shurtleff are due to appear in court on on July 22 and 30, respectively, after the two men were charged last week with racketeering following a sweeping public corruption investigation.
Swallow faces 11 felonies and two misdemeanors, including a pattern of unlawful activity, receiving or soliciting a bribe, evidence tampering and making false statements.
Hallucinogenic Drugs Likely Led to Poker Pro’s Death
An autopsy has revealed that hallucinogenic drugs were found in the system of 29-year-old German professional poker player Johannes Strassmann.
Slovenian police confirmed that a body found in the Ljublijianica River last week was that of Strassmann. The poker pro had been visiting some fellow players. He went missing after a trip to the town of Ljubljana.
Poker Player Paul Phua Among Those Charged in World Cup Betting Scheme
A high-stakes poker player, Paul Phua, was among the eight men charged this week with running an elaborate World Cup betting ring out of Las Vegas.
A criminal complaint detailed the scheme to take bets over WiFi and DSL lines they had casino employees install in their suites at Caesars Palace.
According to the Department of Justice press release:
HPT Season X Debuts Nationwide
FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA - New episodes begin airing around the globe this week for Heartland Poker Tour's milestone tenth season. Now available in over 110 million homes throughout the United States and millions more overseas, HPT is showing no signs of slowing down in Season X. With more stops than ever before, the tour will produce a record number of original episodes in 2014. At least 48 one-hour shows will air over the next 52 weeks. HPT televises more poker tournaments than any other tour in the world.
Online Poker Comes to California Courtesy of Iipay Nation
Forget waiting around another 10 years for online poker to become legalized in the world’s 8th largest economy. One California Tribe is moving ahead, with or without legislation.
The Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel established Santa Ysabel Interactive and launched the I-gaming poker website Private Table at www.privatetable.com to offer Class II gaming to customers through Internet servers located on tribal lands, according to a press release issued by that Tribe.
Mark Newhouse Historic Two Consecutive November Nine Appearances
Talk about beating the odds. Mark Newhouse managed to outperform a field of 6,677 to make it into the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table. That’s no small feat. But to have done this in back-to-back years?
That’s exactly what Newhouse has done.
He was among last year’s November Nine finalists, finishing in ninth place.
Bwin to Make Additional Cuts of More Than $13.6 Million to Meet Targets
(Reuters) - Online gambling company Bwin.Party, under pressure from an activist shareholder to boost its performance, said an additional 10 million euros ($13.6 million) of cost cuts would help it to meet its targets for the year.
Bwin said last month it was looking at ways of boosting shareholder value but denied a report it was considering a break-up or sale of its business.
In a trading statement on Tuesday, bwin said sports betting had benefited from the soccer World Cup but described the performance of its poker and casino business as "soft".
November Nine for 2014 World Series of Poker Determined
The 45th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship is down to its final nine players. The so-called “November Nine” will meet November 10 to face off in the 2014 World Series of Poker Final.
Here is your November Nine (courtesy of WSOP.com):
Seat 1 - Billy Pappaconstantinou – 17,500,000
WSOP 2014 Main Event Drawing Down: Many Newbies Grace Scene
Just over a dozen players remained at this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event with the November Nine to be determined shortly.
Some of those playing are newbies who have yet to cash in a WSOP event.
Thomas Sarra, Jr., from Girard, OH is one such newbie, Nolan Dalla reports for the World Series of Poker website.
Americas Cardroom To Host $1 Million Guaranteed Tournament This December
Poker in America is officially back. Americas Cardroom today announced Winning Millions, a $1 million guaranteed poker tournament set to get underway on December 14th, 2014. The historic online poker tournament will feature the single biggest online poker prize pool US players have seen since April 2011.
Qualifiers for the $500+$40 buy-in tournament will be available soon.
Dan Smith Still Hanging In as Field Dwindles at WSOP Main Event
Two big name poker pros were sitting pretty at this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event Saturday evening: Brian Hastings and Dan Smith. By Sunday night, Hastings was ousted but Smith was still going strong with just over a dozen players remaining.
Few of the other names remaining were recognizable to those but the most hardcore of poker enthusiasts.
WSOP Main Event Notable Survivors After Day 3
When Day 3 began, there were 1,871 hopes entering the Rio. That number dwindled down to 746. Phil Ivey was the chip leader heading into the day. The ten-time bracelet winner’s tenure at the top did not last long though. It only took 30 minutes for Ivey to be knocked off his perch.
Heading into Day 4, Ivey was 72nd among chip holders.
Heading home during Day 3 were this year’s Poker Player Champion John Hennigan, Day 1 big stack Nick Divella, Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, Marvin Rettenmaier, and Matt Matros.
Ultimate Poker Leaving New Jersey Market?
It’s no secret that online poker in the state of New Jersey has underperformed.
Ultimate Poker, one of a handful of online gambling firms licensed by the New Jersey Gaming Commission, announced on Friday September 19, 2014 it would be leaving the New Jersey online gambling market after the Taj Mahal announced pending bankruptcy.
Robert Dellafav of OnlinePokerReport.com predicted the exit earlier this summer.
Phil Ivey On Top: Leads With Chip Counts at WSOP Main Event
One of poker’s greatest players of all time, Phil Ivey, continues to excel at this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event.
After Day 2, Ivey led with chip counts, 505,000.
From WSOP.com:
English Only at the Poker Tables Rule Passes
Starting now, poker players at South Dakota’s Deadwood Casino will be required to speak only English at the tables during the play of a hand.
“The reason we can is because gaming is a suspect activity,” Mike Shaw, the attorney for the state Gaming Commission, said. “It is not subject to the same protection that other activities are.”
The rule is one of a package of changes for Deadwood card games that received final clearance Tuesday from the Legislature’s rules review committee.
Pamela Anderson Divorcing 4th Place Finisher at WSOP One Drop Again
Rick Salomon, known more for his high profile relationships prior to finishing in 4th place at last week’s World Series of Poker Big One For One Drop event, is being served with divorce papers by wife Pamela Anderson for the second time.
EPT Set to Break Qualifier Records for 100th Event in Barcelona
ONCHAN, Isle of Man – Moore than 230 players have already won seats to #EPT100 in Barcelona, the debut event of EPT Season 11. The historic 100th EPT kicks off mid-August and numbers already look set to beat last year’s EPT Barcelona Poker Festival record of 378 qualifiers.
888 Holdings Forecasts Strong Earnings: Shares Rise 5 Percent
Shares in 888 Holdings rose 5 percent Wednesday on news that it was expecting a significant surge in interim earnings.
Little additional information was provided by the FTSE 250 company other that saying “continued to deliver a very strong performance and anticipates announcing ebitda for the period significantly ahead of the comparable period in the prior year”.
Big Name Players Bust Out of WSOP Main Event: Four Former Champs Remain
A number of big name poker players have failed to advance beyond the World Series of Poker Main Event 4th day (known as Day 2AB).
Among those who bid farewell: Josh Arieh, Dennis Phillips, Mike Matusow, Jason Somerville, George Danzer, Brandon Shack-Harris, Live Boree and Annette Obrestrad. Obrestrad had an especially painful exit as she lost a 100k chip pot with her opponent drawing nearly dead, the WSOP noted.
2014 World Series of Poker Main Event Among Top Five Biggest of All Time
It’s official. The 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event is among the top five biggest of all time based on number of entrants.
Day 1C of the 2014 Main Event broke the record for the largest starting flight in Main Event history drawing 3,968 entries. The previous record was held by Day 1C of the 2013 Main Event when it drew 3,467 players.
WSOP: Jeff Madsen Arrest and Ejection From Rio a Hoax
Tweets made last week from the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas by poker pro Jeff Madsen about getting arrested for drugs and being banned from the event venue were not true, Gambling911.com can confirm.
The remarks, made on Madsen's Twitter feed last Thursday, July 3, were simply attempts at humor by the three-time WSOP bracelet-winner who is known for his wacky sense of humor and quirky personality.
Nahmad Partied Hard Before Jail Stint: Had Role in Russian Mafia Gambling Ring
The New York Post this weekend reported that art gallery owner Helly Nahmad was spotted partying with the likes of magician David Blaine and other big name celebrities the weeks leading up to his 366 day jail sentence.
Record Number for WSOP Main Event Starting Flight Expected
Day 1a of the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event drew a modest 771 players while Day 1b resulted in an impressive 2,144 entrants.
Day 1c is always the biggest draw with WSOP officials already anticipating over 3,467 players, which is likely to shatter last year's record.
From WSOP.com:
Online Gambling Operators in France Detained for Running Illegal Bitcoin Exchange
TOULOUSE, France – (Reuters) - French police have dismantled an illegal Bitcoin exchange and seized 388 virtual currency units worth some 200,000 euros ($272,800) in the first such operation in Europe, a public prosecutor said on Monday.
Pokerstars Guarantees $5 Mil: Adds ‘Micromillions Challenge’ to 8th Championship
ONCHAN, Isle of Man – PokerStars today announced the schedule for the eighth running of the world’s most popular online poker championship, MicroMillions. It will take place over 11 days from July 17-27, and feature 100 events with $5 million in guaranteed prize money.
The highlight will be the $22 No Limit Hold’em Main Event tournament on the final day of the championship, which has a $1 million guarantee. Incredibly, six of the seven previous Main Event winners have pocketed huge six-figure paydays, with a record first prize of just over $160k – all from just a $22 buy-in.
Breaking News: Amaya Considers London, New York for Secondary Listing
(Reuters) - Canada's Amaya Gaming Group Inc is working towards a secondary listing, either in London or in New York, the online gambling company's head told the Times on Saturday.
The company was weighing the benefits of a dual listing, but had not finalised which city it would be in, the daily quoted Chief Executive David Baazov as saying.
Amaya Gaming could not immediately be reached for a comment outside of regular business hours.
Jeff Madsen Not Banned From 2014 WSOP for Pot Possession After All
Poker pro Jeff Madsen appeared to have been banned from this year’s World Series of Poker after Rio Casino security officials removed him from the property for possession of marijuana.
Madsen claimed on his Twitter account that he had taken some cannabis into a WSOP PLO event to throw into the “pot”, so to speak.
On Sunday, Madsen declared he would be playing in the Main Event after all.
He had earlier tweeted:
Doyle Brunson Says World Series of Poker Main Event Hours ‘Too Damn Long’
Poker legend Doyle Brunson has tweeted that he will no longer play in the World Series of Poker Main Event.
Brunson, who turns 81 next month, tweeted:
To everybody who keeps asking...I'm not playing the Main Event. Hours are just too damn long
2014 World Series of Poker Main Event Kicks Off
The 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event was set to begin on Saturday. Over the next three days, we will grasp the number of entries and, as such, the ultimate prize money to be handed out.
Last year’s WSOP had Ryan Reiss (remember him?) walk away with the top prize of $8,361,570. We won’t know the winner until November when the final table takes place.
