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.
Poker News: Bianca Rojas-Latraverse Photo Dump, Rounders 2 Movie Delayed, More…
Here is a recap of today’s poker news for January 18, 2012 (late morning/early afternoon edition). Gambling911.com is your source for all the latest news related to the poker sector. We encourage you to check back frequently and follow us on Twitter for all the latest headlines and breaking developments.
What is Going on at PokerStars? Company Parts Ways with EPT CEO John Duthie
Yet another high ranking executive from the world’s largest real cash online poker firm, PokerStars, has left the company. This time it’s European Poker Tour CEO John Duthie.
His successor has already been announced as EPT President Edgar Stuchly.
PPN Poker Returns After Leaving Players in Limbo for Four Months
There appears to be some good news involving Chuck Kidd’s Poker Pros Network (PPN). After announcing more than four months ago it would be leaving the Cake Poker Network, PPN stopped accepting players and stopped paying them as well. PPN Poker claimed it was in the middle of creating its own website/network.
PokerStars Assembles Panel to Meet With Disgruntled Players: CEO Exit Still a Mystery
You can’ fault PokerStars, the world’s largest real money poker room, for at least trying. It was for Stars probably the worst two weeks they’ve had from a public relations standpoint since the company’s founder was indicted for money laundering and bank fraud back in April of last year.
News broke earlier in the month that players were organizing a mass protest of the website after Stars changed its rake structure (switched to a weighted-contributed method) and rewards program. PokerStars responded by banning the protesters from playing.
Online Poker Traffic Stagnant for Week
Following a huge increase in online poker traffic last week, there was virtually zero growth during mid-January.
PokerScout.com reported a 0.1 percent net decrease. The good news, among the top 10 sites and networks, advancers outnumbered decliners seven to three.
Merge Gaming Network gained 3 percent for the week as its bad beat jackpot rose to more than $1 million.
Microgaming.fr moved up to ninth place ahead of PokerStars.fr.
Joe Hachem, Shane Warne Among the Finalists at their Own Charity Poker Events
Here is something sort of ironic as it relates to the 2012 Aussie Millions event. Joe Hachem nearly won his own charity event, finishing third.
Not everyone is thrilled about that. From Poker Jolt:
And to really rub salt in the wounds of the hundreds of assembled players and celebrities - each of whom paid a AUD 1,000 to enter the tournament - Warne ALSO picked up a belting prize.
Iowa Multi-State Online Poker: Could Combine Players With Nevada, Washington DC
Iowa lawmakers were discussing the possibility of legalizing online poker as part of a multi-state platform that would tap into the populations of other states considering the option such as Nevada and the District of Columbia.
Senate Leader Harry Reid Back Working With Jon Kyl on Internet Poker Bill
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada on Sunday said December 23’s legal opinion by the Department of Justice will accelerate efforts in Congress to pass a bill authorizing federal regulation of Internet poker, according to subscription-based GamblingCompliance.com.
Reid said he is working with Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl and that they “are making progress”.
Another Black Friday Defendant, Ira Rubin, to Plead Guilty
Ira Rubin, a defendant in the April 15, 2011 “Black Friday” sweeping indictments of online poker operators, is set to plead guilty, according to Bloomberg News. A Manhattan federal court clerk advised the news source.
Jonathan Duhamel Beaten Up Again!
2010 World Series of Poker champ Jonathan Duhamel can’t seem to stay out of the press these days.
Just days before Christmas, Duhamel became the victim of a brazen home invasion allegedly orchestrated by his ex-girlfriend. She and three other individuals were eventually apprehended.
Duhamel left his home base of Montreal to take part in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and managed to win a few hundred thousand dollars in side events.
Federal RICO Complaint Filed Against UB.com
Eight high stakes poker players are named as plaintiffs in a federal RICO complaint against UB.com (formerly UltimateBet), claiming the company stole $20 million by exploiting security flaws. Players were allowed to see others hole cards, the complaint alleges.
Gabi Campos: The PokerStars CEO That Wasn't
PokerStars late Monday confirmed that its CEO for nearly two years, Gabi Campos, has jumped ship following the exodus of a handful of other executives and poker pros who were part of the world’s largest online poker firm.
Officials from the company issued the following statement to the news media late Monday after reports first surfaced on Pokerati.com:
Turmoil at PokerStars as CEO is Out
Gabi Campos is out as CEO of PokerStars. Campos joined the world’s largest real cash online poker company in 2010.
Lawmakers: Act Now or Never to Legalize Online Poker at Federal Level
With a handful of states already announcing their intentions to begin offering online poker to residents and the potential for multi-state pacts, Poker Players Alliance (PPA) President John Pappas has sent out an urgent plea to lawmakers in Congress.
“The writing is on the wall. The states are going to do this,” John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, told Politico this past week. “The first three or four months of the year is going to be pretty important for Congress to act.”
Gus Hansen Wins Over $278K in Macau Big Game
Denmark’s Gus Hansen became the latest big name poker pro to take part in the Macau Big Game and this past weekend managed to profit $278K after a grueling 24-hour session before heading off to the Aussie Millions 2012 in Melbourne.
StarWorld Macau’s Poker King Club is hosting a group of wealthy Asian businessmen and big name high stake poker pros like Hansen, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan and John Juanda. The HKD $10k/$20k (US$1,300/$2,600) games have been taking place over the past several weeks.
Hansen wrote on his blog:
Victor Chandler Re-brands Itself to Bet Victor
The “Gentleman’s Bookmaker” is trying to get a strong foothold in the exploding online poker market through a re-branding of the Victor Chandler name to “Bet Victor”.
Merge Bad Beat Jackpot Hits at Over $1 Million
Gambling911.com has been paying very close attention to the Merge Bad Beat Jackpot as we have a few sponsor online poker rooms that utilize the network. It finally it on Sunday.
The Merge Bad Beat Jackpot has once again gone off. It had been building for a while and we had finally cracked the $1 million mark again before it was hit. Here is the hand ID for reference - #47082389-318
Lock Poker Signs Melanie ‘Callisto’ Weisner as LockPRO Army Continues to Grow
Lock Poker is thrilled to announce the new addition to their LockPRO ELITE team, Melanie "Callisto" Weisner.
Doyle Brunson Porn: Demand is High in Central, South America
Who wants to see Doyle Brunson naked? Me, Me, Me!
Apparently a lot of others do too if Gambling911.com’s search traffic is any indication.
In recent days, G911 has received a significant amount of search traffic for “Doyle Porn”, and since we rank number one in Google for “Doyle Porn” and “Doyle Brunson Porn”, guess where everyone is landing.
Leonid Bilokur Wins $1,134,930 at the 2012 PCA $25K High Roller Event
Ukrainian-born Leonid "Alexey" Bilokur has won the 2012 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $25k High Roller event for $1,143,930.
Bilokur, 37, beat Team PokerStars Pro Jonathan Duhamel heads-up to take down the 2012 PCA High Roller title, coveted trophy and stunning €10,000 bracelet from Official High Roller Bracelet Sponsor Shamballa Jewels. A total of 141 players entered the event – with seven re-entries - creating a total prize pool of $3,626,000.
Aussie Millions 2012 Event 1: 81 Players Going Home With Cash
The Aussie Millions 2012 Event 1 continues Sunday with 132 players remaining. 81 of those will be cashing out with the winner taking home $200,000.
Event 1 is the No-Limit Hold’em and continues through January 16. Event 2 – Pot-Limit Omaha kicks off on that day. Both events are a $1,000 + $100 buy-in.
Merge Poker Moves to the Number 8 Position in Terms of Worldwide Traffic
Merge Poker had been sitting at number 10 in terms of overall worldwide traffic pretty shortly after re-entering the North American market this past fall. Since that time, Merge has been creeping up towards the top 5, landing in the number 8 spot this week.
New York Stock Trader John Dibella Wins 2012 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event
John Dibella, a New York stock trader, has won the 2012 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event and the $2 million grand prize that came with it.
Ron Paul Gambles on Nevada: Will Skip Florida
GOP candidate Texas Congressman Ron Paul will bypass Florida and focus in on the next state to hold a caucus, Nevada. Last time Paul ran for President of the US in 2008, he finished a distant second in the state of Nevada. It was one of his best showings during the 2008 campaign. The Congressman has so far come in a very close third in Iowa and second in New Hampshire.
From Time.com:
Van der Sloot Sentenced in Peru
Dutchman Joran van der Sloot pleaded guilty this week in the murder of Peruvian college student Stephany Flores. On Friday he was sentenced to 28 years behind bars.
Former Tribal Casino Lobbyist Jack Abramoff Doubts Federal Legislation Will Pass (Video)
Infamous and once imprisoned Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff has his doubts as to whether a bill to legalize online poker at the federal level will pass.
If anybody should know a thing or two about casino lobbying, it would be Abramoff. He was once considered among the most powerful of the Washington lobbyists, assisting the Tribal casinos.
He served more than three years behind bars for mail fraud and conspiracy and even worked briefly at a Washington DC area kosher pizza shop while on parole.
Double Down Interactive (DDI) Acquired by Video Poker Giant International Game Technology for $500M
An acquisition of Seattle-based Double Down Interactive (DDI) by video poker giant International Game Technology was announced after the markets closed on Thursday. The deal was for $500 million.
From All Things D:
The deal includes $250 million in cash, $85 million in retention payments over the next two years and up to $165 million in cash payable over the next three years subject to Double Down meeting certain targets.
The SOPA Blackout: Ron Paul, Nancy Pelosi, Michele Bachmann on Board
The uber popular web news and aggregation site Reddit.com is planning to blackout their site next Wednesday January 18 in opposition of Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act (better known as SOPA). And you won’t believe whose supporting the efforts to block this controversial bill: The likes of Ron Paul, Nancy Pelosi and Michele Bachmann just to name a few. Talk about a bipartisan issue!
Wikipedia founder James Wales has proposed a similar blackout while Google, Yahoo, AOL and other major Web companies continue to condemn SOPA.
Annie Duke: Poker Pros in Their 20’s Lack ‘Star Power’
The Las Vegas Sun recently had an opportunity to speak with acclaimed poker pro Annie Duke. She’s the Commissioner of the fledgling Epic Poker League, which is rumored to be in acquisition talks with Pinnacle Entertainment.
Yatahay Becomes the Winning Poker Network
It’s about time! To this day we at Gambling911.com have trouble remembering the Yatahay Poker Network, but we can certainly remember the Winning Poker Network.
And that’s the name change folks.
