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.
Mississippi House Bill 1373 Looks to Legalize Internet Gambling, Poker
Mississippi has become the latest state to introduce a measure that would legalize online gambling including poker within its borders.
Mississippi House Bill 1373, also called the Mississippi Lawful Internet Gaming Act of 2012, was filed by Rep. Bobby Moak.
Any company looking to obtain a license must apply with the Mississippi Gaming Commission. Application fees are a minimum of $200,000.
The measure is packed full of provisions that include allowing of deposits by either cash, check, money order or credit cards.
Internet Poker Measure Sails Through Iowa Senate Committee
A measure to bring real money Internet poker to the state of Iowa has sailed through the state’s Senate Committee with a vote of 11-4 approval.
The state Racing and Gaming Commission would be able to establish a structure whereby competing hub operators would partner with state-licensed casinos to provide access to online sites for registered players ages 21 and older who were located within Iowa’s borders at the time they engaged in the Internet-based activity, according to KCRG9, the ABC affiliate in Cedar Rapids.
Massachusetts Mulls Online Poker: Forms Task Force (Video)
Massachusetts is the latest state to consider legalizing online poker for real money.
“I think we’ve got an obligation to the people of the commonwealth to study the whole basket of (Internet gaming options) — including online poker,” state Treasurer Steven Grossman, who oversees the Lottery, said yesterday in a meeting with Herald reporters and editors.
Who’s Number One Among Poker Pros On Twitter? It’s Not Who You Think
Professional poker players have embraced Twitter as much as anyone else--hundreds of poker pros Tweet daily about the highs and lows of their professional and personal lives.
Many love to boast about the big hands they've won at the poker table, while other lament their bad beats.
Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson likes to Tweet jokes, such as ones about Joan Rivers' face.
Phil "Poker Brat" Hellmuth Jr. uses Twitter to drop the names of famous people he knows (a Tweet today informs us he'll be golfing with Wayne Gretzky tomorrow).
Tribal Gaming Network Begins Offering Legalized Real Money Internet Poker in US
Nevada-based Atlantis Internet Group Corp. announced Wednesday it has launched the first form of legal Intranet gaming within the United States. Intranet means “local or restricted communications network”.
MGM CEO: “Very Confident” Online Gambling Laws Would Pass on the Federal Level
Appearing on CNBC Wednesday evening, MGM CEO Jim Murren said he was “very confident” online gambling laws would pass on the federal level soon.
Murren added that, if such legislation fails to pass on the federal level, we will likely see the industry develop on a state-by-state basis.
MGM has teamed up with the largest real money online gambling company, bwin.party. Murren admitted that bwin.party might have to enter the US market at the state level first.
Online Poker Room Adds $162 to Bounties and Wants to Make Player Famous
This Sunday’s $100,000 guaranteed freezout tournament at Americas Cardroom won’t just make its winner rich, it’ll make them famous. Americas Cardroom today announced enhancements to this Sunday’s $100k guaranteed tournament that includes a Public Relations profile on the winner of the tournament plus bounties on the heads of five players.
Wall Street Hedge Fund Manager Bets Against Online Poker Legislation in 2012
Managing member at KIF Capital Management, Ken Frankel, laughed off the idea that so many in the Internet poker community believed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would come through as a white knight last week.
From Business Insider:
EPT Copenhagen 2012 End of Day 1B Update
The EPT Copenhagen 2012 leaderboard after Day 1B had Mads Wissing on top with 127,575 chips.
To date the Dane has $599,082 in live tournament winnings, including his 9th place finish at the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event – No Limit Hold’em that yielded $143,541.
Steve O’Dwyer and Lauri Varonen lead the way when combining both starting days of the European Poker Tour Copenhagen event.
Peter Eastgate Signs on With Betfair Poker
2008 World Series of Poker Main Event winner Peter Eastgate has signed on to represent Team Betfair Poker.
The popular Danish player, who was last seen jumping off a bridge into a frigid canal after losing a $6000 prop bet, hasn’t exactly had the greatest impact on the live poker circuit of late. He only won $14,345 in 2011. In late 2010, Eastgate retired from poker, only to return a few months later (February to be exact).
Eastgate issued this statement at the time of his return:
Nine of Top Ten Online Poker Rooms See Drop Off in Traffic
The second straight week of declines occurred with a 3 percent drop off in traffic for online poker rooms. Some of this could be attributed to the extended President’s Day weekend holiday in the US.
PokerScout.com also noted that Everleaf’s pullout from the US market only resulted in a 16 percent drop in overall traffic. They noted that the network’s reliance on the US market was much less than had been previously believed.
Top 20 Movers
Doyle Brunson Talks Full Tilt Poker: Confirms Jack Binion Interest in Company
Legendary poker pro Doyle Brunson is the latest to offer his opinion on the folks behind Full Tilt Poker who have made miserable the lives of many thousands of players over this past year. Daniel Negreanu did the same last week. Neither gentlemen are known to mince words.
Cake Poker Announces Major Software Upgrade
Cake Poker, one of the leading online poker networks, has announced a major new software upgrade.
The update to its 2.0 client will feature improvements in speed, stability, navigation and graphics.
Emmett Mullin Captures UKIPT Galway Title and €100,000
Emmett Mullin from Omagh in Northern Ireland has beaten a field of 698 at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Galway to take down the first UKIPT trophy of 2012 and the cool €100,000 that comes with it.
The final table took just five hours to drop from the nine who made Day 4 to the last man standing. An aggressive eight made up the official final line-up (Joris Ruijs, the Day 1a chip leader, falling in 9th) featuring the two time UKIPT champion Nick Abou Risk, who wasn’t to make it a triple but exited in 7th place, winning €14,700.
Iowa Subcommittee Approves Legalized Online Poker
An Iowa Senate subcommittee on Monday approved a bill that would legalize online poker in that state.
The vote came against opposition from family values groups like Family Leader.
“This is just the beginning," said Danny Carroll, a Family Leader official and former state lawmaker. "The people of Iowa do not want it," he said, citing Iowa and national polls indicating a plurality of opposition to legalizing online poker.
Carroll has asked the three-member Senate panel to consider the dangers legalized online poker might have on families.
$125,000 Guaranteed Freezeout Online Poker Tournament has First Winner
CarbonPoker player Lachance222 won the first ever Sunday $125,000 Guaranteed Freezeout Tournament.
Lachance222 Walks away with $26,842. Dfsdfasdfs won $17664. Two other Carbon Poker players won four figures.
Everyone who finished 144th and above cashed out with a minimum win of $206.
Daniel Negreanu Makes Final Table of LAPT Brazil 2012
Poker pro Daniel Negreanu has made the Final Table of the Latin American Poker Tour Brazil 2012.
His Vlog from a few days ago indicated he would be heading down to Brazil during Carnival.
“Made the final 8 with 702k resume tmr 12pm Brazilian time. Going to be a good boy tonight and get some much needed rest.”
The top prize will be US$187,348.
1. Daniele Nestola (Germany) 1,892,000
2. Carlos Ibarra (Chile) 1,297,000
3. Gasperino Nicolas (Venezuela) 1,190,000
4. Jonathan Markovits (Ecuador) 991,000
5. Daniel Negreanu (Canada 702,000
William Vogel Wins DeepStacks Poker Tour Western New York Poker Championship 2012
New York State’s William Vogel has won the first ever DeepStacks Poker Tour Western New York Poker Championship main event in Niagara Falls.
Over 200 players took part in the event. Vogel is a relative unknown on the poker circuit.
FINAL TABLE PAYOUTS (USD)
William Vogel 71,827
Lou Procopio 43,928
Nicholas Goetz 31,161
Michael Wachowski 22,245
Tom Krol 17,802
Steve Przybyl 13,359
- Patrick Flanagan, Gambling911.com
Iowa Online Poker Bill to be Fast Tracked Through Committee This Week
A bill to legalize Internet poker in Iowa is anticipated to be fast tracked through the legislative committee over the coming days.
Iowa could potentially become a Midwest hub for online poker should a system be put in place similar to that of the multi-state Powerball lottery.
Jonathan Duhamel’s 2010 World Series of Poker Bracelet Recovered
The bracelet won by Jonathan Duhamel at the 2010 World Series of Poker and later stolen during a brazen home invasion this past December has now been recovered.
The website PrincePoker first broke the story over the weekend:
Daniel Negreanu Talks Coming Out and Blasts Individuals Behind Full Tilt Poker
Poker pro Daniel Negreanu is now producing his own video blogs and providing terrific content for sites like Gambling911.com.
Negreanu’s latest Vlog talks fellow poker pro Jason Somerville’s decision to come out of the closet and he’s also come out himself swinging against the folks behind Full Tilt Poker including the likes of Raymond Bitar and Howard Lederer.
Jamie Gold Poker Room Opens at the Tropicana
2006 World Series of Poker Main Event winner Jamie Gold kicked off the opening of the Tropicana poker room, which is named after him, Friday February 17, 2012.
Wall Street Analysts do Not See Federal Online Poker in U.S. Until 2013
Macquarie Securities analyst Chad Beynon has issued a statement that it does not believe federal legalization of Internet poker will happen until next year. Instead, states like Nevada, which are about to begin licensing intrastate Web card rooms, will begin to reap the rewards.
Daniel Negreanu Claims $61k Rip-Off: Says PokerStars Account Hacked
Poker pro Daniel "Kid Poker" Negreanu claims in his latest blog post that his Poker Stars online betting account was hacked and he was robbed of $61,000!
Writing in his blog at www.cardplayer.com, high school dropout Negreanu, who's won more than $10 million playing live tournament poker, reveals that a "hacker did get into my account" and he stole "$61,000 of my money."
Patrik Antonius Coming to PartyPoker….Sort of
Finnish poker pro Patrik Antonius may be on his way to finding a new home…if only for a brief moment.
Following the shutdown of Full Tilt Poker late last year, Antonius and over a dozen other poker pros have been left without promotional deals.
Harry Reid: ‘No Internet Poker in Payroll Tax Extension Bill’
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday put an end to rumors that a measure to legalize Internet poker might be attached to a Payroll Tax Extensions bill.
He declared Thursday that the bill does not contain any such Internet poker attachment.
From the Las Vegas Review Journal:
As details of the payroll tax bill were being unfurled, Reid, the Senate majority leader from Nevada, said online poker was not in there.
He did not elaborate on a quick comment made to a reporter as he entered a Senate elevator.
Poker Pro Jason Somerville: ‘I’m Gay!’
Jason Somerville has become the first high-profile professional male poker player to admit he is gay.
Writing this week in his blog at http://jcarver.badbeatscrew.com, Somerville, 24, of Stony Brook, New York, USA, states: "I always knew I wasn't straight, but I never spoke a word of it...And here we are now, writing this post...Open in my personal life, in an amazing relationship that means a great deal to me, and bottom line, I’m honestly happier now than I’ve ever been."
Belgium Brutal Clampdown on Internet Gambling: Players to Face Fines of €25,000
Belgium is the latest country to clamp down on unlicensed Internet gambling operations, some of which are now appearing on a blacklist.
Operators stand to pay fines from €100 to €100,000 while players could be fined as much as €25,000. Players must check to determine if a website is licensed or else face a visit from local police, who will have access to the nation’s blacklist.
Jason Mercier Overtakes Erik Seidel on 2012 Global Poker Index
Who’s the best poker player thus far in 2012? The honor now goes to Jason Mercier, who managed to overtake Erik Seidel on the 2012 Global Poker Index.
From PokerNewsDaily.com:
New Harry Reid Cyber-Security Bill a Likely Vehicle for Internet Poker
After two controversial Internet piracy bills were shelved last month, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is back with a revised bill that could potentially include an amendment to strengthen the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) while legalizing Internet poker. Gambling911.com should stress that there is no confirmation of such plans to tie the two bills at this early stage. That may all change shortly.
