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.
December Bills Could Create Opportunity for Internet Poker Measure
Lawmakers may be planning to attach online poker legislation to upcoming bills, more specifically an omnibus appropriations bill that needs to be passed by December 16.
It’s déjà vu perhaps, harping back to last December when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid worked feverishly to get his own online poker bill passed by year’s end. That never happened. This year, there is more momentum.
The New York Post earlier in the month reported that Reid and one time industry nemesis Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl were co-authoring a bill to legalize Internet poker.
Microgaming Poker Site 24Poker Disappears Without a Trace
A skin of the Microgaming Poker Network, 24Poker.com, has been shut down, the second Microgaming poker site in the past 48 hours to do so.
24Poker.com did not accept US customers but many worldwide are likely to be affected as the brand received approximately 880 search inquiries per month. That is still a far cry from the 40,000 plus who search for Cake Poker on a monthly basis however so Gambling911.com does not anticipate a massive outcry from the online poker community.
Toby Maguire, Gabe Kaplan, Others Settle High Stakes Hollywood Poker Games Lawsuit
Actor Toby Maguire and Gabe Kaplan have reportedly reached a settlement agreement in a highly publicized lawsuit involving high stakes Hollywood poker games.
Barney Frank Won’t Run for Reelection: Online Poker Sector Must Act Fast
The online poker and gambling industry as a whole is about to lose one of its greatest allies as Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank has announced he will not be running for reelection in 2012.
With South Africa Deeming Online Poker Illegal: PiggsPeak Casino and Poker Shut Down
Long established online casino and poker room PiggsPeak has shut down following a court ruling in South Africa that makes online gambling illegal.
The judge's decision states the gambling takes place where the play is, not where the gaming site's servers are physically located.
PiggsPeak and other online casino companies attempted to appeal a ruling by the North Gauteng High Court that declared Internet gambling illegal in the country.
Play Online Poker Free: South Point Poker Site Flourishing
After just over a month of offering folks the opportunity to play online poker for free with a licensed and regulated Las Vegas casino, South Point Poker has seen its website generating plenty of momentum.
Global monthly searches for “South Point Poker” were at 390. These numbers were generated prior to South Point Poker opening its play-for-free site.
The free play model has proven extremely successful – Witness Zynga Poker with its millions of users.
Mohamed Ali Houssam Wins WPT Marrakech 2011 (Video)
Mohamed Ali Houssam has won the WPT Marrakech 2011.
Bertrand Grospellier and Jonathan Duhamel were the two most familiar names remaining of the 50 players taking part in the WPT Marrakech final nine, reduced to a 6 player final table for which neither player made the cut.
Ali Houssam takes home $267,011 with his big win.
Hear were your seats heading into Sunday’s play.
Seat 1: Bertrand Grospellier – 904,000
Seat 2: Mohamed Houssam – 1,330,000
Seat 3: Rodney Assous – 813,000
Seat 4: Maksim Martinov – 646,000
Randy Lew Wins 2011 APPT Macau Main Event
Randy 'nanonoko' Lew, 26-year-old member of PokerStars' Team Online, earned his first major live title Sunday, winning the 2011 PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event and HKD $3,772,000 in prize money (approx. $480,000 USD).
Lew entered the final table as the short stack and with a little luck, a lot of patience and a sound strategy, he was able to grind out a victory.
SurebetPoker.com Reviews Mixed Early On
One of the newest proprietary online poker rooms to come out of the post-Black Friday era, SurebetPoker.com, debuted last month promising one of the lowest rakes – 3.5 percent – among Web card rooms. They also landed former UB.com celebrity poker pro, Trishelle Cannatella.
The site has hit a few early road blocks, including some isolated payment processing issues and affiliates of SurebetPoker.com are spamming the hell out of popular poker forums like TwoPlusTwo.com.
Still, SurebetPoker.com has some great things going for it.
APPT Macau Main Event 2011 – 22 Out of 575 Remain
The APPT Macau Main Event 2011 had 22 players remaining during Day 3 as of 11 am EST. All players from the USA were eliminated, including the most famous of them all, Phil Ivey.
The winner of this event will receive $3.7 million and some change.
1. $3,772,000
2. $2,367,000
3. $1,306,000
4. $1,019,000
5. $809,000
Doyle Brunson Makes Out Big With Toledo-Ball State Game Total
The Toledo-Ball State game looked like an easy UNDER and poker legend Doyle Brunson looked like a big time loser coming into the 4th quarter.
But this is Doyle Brunson we are talking about, the man, the myth, the legend. Who cares if your game has a combined score of 35 coming into the 4th and you just happen to have the OVER 71.5.
Brunson won his bet and you won’t believe how unless you just happened to be tuned into this amazing game.
Doyle Brunson tweeted late Friday:
A Very Merry Matusow Thanksgiving: Brothers Battle Goes Cold Turkey
Thanksgiving 2011 turned out to be a time for mending ties in bitter family feuds. Such was the case at the Matusow family gathering as poker bros Mike and Scott put their differences aside…at lest for the time being.
If you have been following Gambling911.com closely in recent weeks, you would have learned of the bitter feud between Scott and Mike Matusow.
Scott lodged this attack against his brother on his blog a few weeks back:
8 Year Old Poker Prodigy Alex Fisher: “I Can Play Poker With Best Players in the World”
A magazine has dubbed her the “child poker prodigy”. 8-year-old Alex Fisher may very well be just that.
‘I know how to shuffle and deal the cards, raise, check, fold, and bluff. I also know how to play deuce-to-seven Lowball, H.O.R.S.E., and Badugi.
‘I can now play any poker game with the best poker players in the world.
‘With me being a girl, when I am a professional poker player I hope I can inspire other girls and women to play poker too.’
Spain Regulates Online Poker: A Breakdown
PokerStrategy.com as always has provided its readers with a fantastic analysis of what Spanish regulation of online poker means to players.
Phil Ivey Out at APPT Macau Main Event 2011
It was down to 304 players at the APPT Macau. One of those who got sent packing was none other than professional poker phenom Phil Ivey, who made his first public appearance in months. Ivey was one of over a dozen individuals who represented the now defunct online poker room, Full Tilt Poker. That company is yet to pay back US players since April 15 and those worldwide since the end of June.
Phil Ivey 71st Biggest Chip Leader at APPT Macau 2011 After Day 1a Conclusion (Video)
All eyes were on Phil Ivey playing at the APPT Macau 2011 after a long absence from the live poker scene. After Day 1a, Ivey was sitting in 71st place among chip leaders.
Ivey was caught up in the Full Tilt Poker debacle that has gripped the online poker community since April 15 when that company was forced to exit the US market, has not paid customers and was ultimately shut down in late June. Two executives of Full Tilt Poker were charged with money laundering while three others are alleged to have engaged in a ponzi scheme.
Belgium Online Gambling Blacklist Likely to Feature Bwin
Belgium has announced plans to incorporate a so-called “blacklist of online gambling websites”, a move that is seen as shocking in most industry circles.
Belgium’s biggest city of Brussels is considered the de facto capital of the European Union. The EU has worked hard to abolish individual nation prohibition of Internet gambling within its membership organization, even going as far as to condemn the United States for its position against Web gambling.
Anthony Ruberto Wins WPT Jacksonville 2011
Anthony Ruberto has won the World Poker Tour Jacksonville 2011 and the $325,928 that comes with that honor.
Mr. Ruberto lives just a few miles up the street from Gambling911.com Miami Beach headquarters in Hallandale Beach, Florida.
He also won a seat at the $25,500 WPT World Championship event at Bellagio in the spring of 2012. He lived most of his life in Massachusetts.
"But for now, I'm going to go away to an island somewhere," Ruberto, 30, told the Sun Sentinel.
America’s Card Room Offering Thanksgiving Day $25K Guaranteed Warm-Up Tournament
Don't get too stuffed this Thanksgiving because you'll want to stay wide-awake for this one.
On November 24th at 9:00pm ET, Americas’ Card Room is hosting a $25,000 Guaranteed ACROSS warm-up tourney. It costs just $50+5 to get into the Thanksgiving Warm-Up and satellites are now live from as little as $2.
Phil Ivey at the PokerStars Macau Poker Room
As Gambling911.com reported the other day, professional poker player Phil Ivey has come out of hiding and showed up at the PokerStars Macau Poker Room at approximately 1:45 pm Wednesday afternoon.
Free-to-Play Game of Online Poker Zynga Won’t Offer Cash Games in Near Future
There has been a lot of talk about the world’s largest free-to-play game of online poker Zynga offering cash games once regulation takes place in the United States.
Zynga Poker General Manager Lo Toney has been talking down the prospect in recent days.
In fact, Mr. Toney is adamant Zynga Poker will remain free-to-play, even if legislation ultimately passes that would make cash games legal in the United States.
Switch Poker Becomes First Bitcoin Poker Room
Mobile poker operator Switch Poker became the first to offer Bitcoin as a payment solution for players. Switch Poker does not currently accept US customers. The online poker room also promotes itself as being the first room compatible on just about every browser for iPhone, iPads, iPods and more.
WPT Jacksonville 2011 Final Table Set: Lisa Hamilton Excels, Next Stop Tampa
The final table has been set for WPT Jacksonville 2011 event, which this week became the biggest poker tournament the state of Florida has ever seen. It is taking place at the Jacksonville Poker Room.
A big of irony as the individual with the least number of chips is named Darryll Fish. The term “fish” is used in poker to identify a “weaker” player.
Who is !P0krparty¡? Yet to be Unmasked
Canadian online poker player !P0krparty¡ is making waves similar to those made by Viktor Blom last year. Blom, you might recall, played high stakes online poker as Isildur1, raking in tons of cash, the whole time few knowing his true identity (though many did connect the dots). Blom was eventually signed to PokerStars and his identity was unveiled shortly thereafter.
!P0krparty remains a greater mystery. Those who think they know his true identity are merely guessing. The name being thrown around in poker circles is one Harry Kaczka.
Phil Ivey in Macau for Big Cash Games
It is being reported that professional poker player and Full Tilt Poker stakeholder, Phil Ivey, was spotted in Macau this week for their fabulous cash games. Also on hand was Tom Dwan.
Online Poker Traffic Flat Lines This Week
Online poker traffic for the week dropped a mere 0.2 percent according to PokerScout.com.
PokerStars was among three sites in the top 10 that witnessed a slight gain, increasing its traffic by 2.5 percent after a sharp decline last week. Stars up and down traffic has been attributed to big time promotions in recent weeks. This week the poker site is celebrating 10th anniversary with freerolls and a $10 deposit bonus.
Meanwhile, PokerStars French website continued surpassing its Italian version.
The California Tribal Business Alliance Demands Regarding Online Poker Regulation
The California Tribal Business Alliance believes the following principles must be adhered to for any online gaming legislation at the state or federal level. The legislation must:
• Not compromise the inherent rights of tribal governments, modify the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act or undermine existing tribal-state gaming compacts.
• Allow tribes to accept wagers from persons not on Indian lands.
WPT Jacksonville 2011 Largest Poker Tournament Ever Held in Florida
The WPT Jacksonville 2011 has become the largest poker tournament ever held in the state of Florida not hosted at a casino with a generated prize pool of 393 players, a few shorter than that seen at last week’s Punta Cana Poker Classic in the Dominican Republic.
The Phil Ivey Porn: Not Quite But Close (Video)
A member of the popular TwoPlusTwo.com posting forum recently stumbled upon a Phil Ivey look-a-like….in none other than a porn.
Yes, it’s Phil Ivey in a wig. Not quite, but it’s a dead ringer.
CNN on Full Tilt Poker Shutdown: Did Poker Ponzi Steal My Rent? (Video)
With the Super Committee deficit-reduction failure drawing added viewers to CNN’s afternoon programming, the news network’s special look at how much money was lost by US poker players on Full Tilt Poker managed to garner additional attention, not to mention scaring off more potential poker players.
“A popular online gambling website shut down by the US Feds. Just how much money was lost by players?” a teaser asks.
While the shutdown occurred back in April, CNN continued to broadcast its segment throughout the afternoon hours.
