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.
MGM Head: “Positive Momentum in Congress Toward Passing Online Poker Bill”
In an interview with the Las Vegas Review Journal, MGM Resorts Chairman, Jim Murren, expressed his strong belief that the US Congress will get a bill passed to legalize online poker in the very near future.
"We think there is positive momentum in Congress toward passing a bill," MGM Resorts Chairman Jim Murren said. "It's time for the federal government to address this issue."
Punta Cana Poker Classic, WSOP Final Table Kick Off Tuesday
The 2nd annual Punta Cana Poker Classic will officially begin on Wednesday with delegates and players arriving in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday. Gambling911.com will be covering this event from Punta Cana so visit this site often for all the latest updates.
Also on Tuesday, the Final Table of the 2011 World Series of Poker will begin with live coverage (30 minute time delay) on ESPN. The final two players will go at it following Sunday's eliminations.
US Justice Department Online Poker Case Confuses Willie Nelson With Kenny Rogers
Odds to Win the 2011 WSOP Final Table: Winning Hand Odds Offered
BBC: The New British Invasion as Poker Pros About to Topple US
The BBC featured an extensive report on Friday about the “New British Invasion” and this one involves its growing pool of successful poker pros, one of whom will be playing in next week’s World Series of Poker Final, Sam Holden.
From Mario Cacciottolo of the BBC:
The US-dominated world of poker is under threat of invasion from a wave of British players, with a 22-year-old from East Sussex about to compete for the biggest international prize at the weekend. So how did Britons barge their way in?
Time Based Online Poker Tournaments Introduced by ACR
America’s Card Room is priding itself on becoming the most innovated online poker room. They have just announced the introduction of time based online poker tournaments.
Full Tilt Poker, Groupe Bernard Tapie US Justice Dept Settlement: Not Quite
Reports surfaced this week that Groupe Bernard Tapie out of France had entered into an agreement with the US Justice Department that would result in payment of all players. But as we here at Gambling911.com have come to expect over these past several months, news coming out of the Full Tilt Poker camp is not always what it seems.
This is yet another perfect example.
An attorney for Groupe Bernard Tapie revealed on Thursday that, while talks were ongoing, a final settlement has yet to be agreed upon in writing.
New Amendments for Nevada Online Poker Released
In anticipation for legalized online poker in the state of Nevada, regulators released new draft amendments that include the ability for operators to cover funds in the event of a shutdown.
The agreement calls for a “federally-insured financial institute” to hold a reserve.
Online Poker Traffic Rises 2.2 Percent
Online poker traffic has risen 2.2 percent and there is likely to be another increase in the coming week with PokerStars 70 billionth hand promotion continuing. The world’s largest online poker room witnessed a traffic increase of 6 percent. Traffic also tends to increase leading up to the World Series of Poker Final Table, which will take place next week.
The weekly statistics tell only part of the story, PokerScout.com noted. Same-day comparisons show that the true increase in PokerStars cash game traffic is more than 30 percent.
World Series of Poker Final Table 2011 Looks to be a Bit of a Yawner
The World Series of Poker Final Table 2011 will commence this coming Tuesday, November 8. It will be broadcast with a 15-minute time delay on ESPN. Yes, Gambling911.com encourages its readers to watch. There should be plenty of excitement. But coming into this year’s Final Table, the personalities are sorely lacking in our view.
Bwin.party Shares Soar on News of MGM, Boyd Partnership But Caution Advised
While shares in Bwin.party have soared in recent days with news that the company has joined forces with powerhouse casino brands MGM and Boyd Gaming to offer online poker to US residents once legislation is passed in the States, some analysts have advised caution.
Share prices rose 11p at 120.7p following the news. The companies have entered into a long term 15-year deal.
PokerStars Cracks Down on US Players
PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room, has begun to crack down on innovative US players who have found a way to play on the site. PokerStars began blocking US players since an indictment was leveled against the company’s founder for money laundering and bank fraud on April 15.
Bwin, Boyd, MGM Online Poker Deal Terms Revealed
Bwin, PartyPoker, MGM and Boyd Gaming announced Monday their intention to offer Internet poker to US players should the industry become legalized. There is a strong push to get Web poker sites up and running for real cash play at the federal level especially since states like California and New Jersey are vying for a piece of the pie ahead of the federal government.
Under the terms of the deal, Bwin would own 65 per cent of a new company to offer poker to US players, while MGM would own 25 per cent and Boyd 10 per cent.
High Stakes Poker Player Alan Meltzer Passes Away
Music executive and high stake poker pro Alan Meltzer passed away at his home at the age of 67. The cause of death was sudden and not yet known, according to reports.
Meltzer started New York-based Wind-up Records along with his wife Diane in 1997 after purchasing indie label Grass Records. Creed and Evanescence were two of the big commercial successes signed to Meltzer’s label. He left Wind-up in 2000.
Meltzer appeared on High Stakes Poker in 2009 and was a prominent online player.
- Ace King, Gambling911.com
Full Tilt Poker Attorney Jeff Ifrah Claims US Justice Dept Approves Sale
An outspoken attorney for disgraced online poker firm Full Tilt Poker claims the US Justice Department has reached an agreement whereby they will permit a French company to acquire FTP. Unconfirmed reports suggest the US Justice Department would be responsible for facilitating payouts to players.
Groupe Bernard Tapiehas sought to purchase Full Tilt Poker after following a series of indictments in April 15 that forced the one time second largest Internet poker room to exit the US market. Players worldwide have not received payment in months.
Daniel Negreanu: “Ray Bitar is a Buffoon”
In an interview with PokerStrategy.com this week, outspoken poker pro Daniel Negreanu called out Full Tilt Poker boss Raymond Bitar as a “buffoon”.
Negreanu made the comment when asked how aware he thought other Team Full Tilt Poker pros might have been about what was going on with that company, which has since been charged with money laundering while some of its principals were implicated by the US Government of running a “ponzi scheme”.
888 Holdings Sees Record Quarterly Rise
Publicly traded 888 Holdings, which runs the 4th biggest online poker room in the world, has reported a record quarterly high.
888 climbed as much as 5.3 percent, the most since August 30, before trading 2.3 percent higher at 33.75 pence as of 9:10 a.m. in London, according to Bloomberg News Tuesday. This gives the Gibraltar-based company a market value of 117.1 million pounds ($187 million).
Poker Player Accused of Installing Trojan on Two Computers to See Hole Cards
A German poker player is being accused of installing a Trojan virus on at least two computers of fellow players, one Swiss and one Austrian.
From High Stakes DB:
The Swiss had lost $350,000 and the Austrian $40,000 to the German cheater who is now living in England.
MGM, Boyd Join Forces With Bwin, PartyPoker to Offer Online Poker
Yet another major casino company has announced a partnership with an already existing online poker group.
Casino operators MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming Corp. have teamed up with Bwin.party to prepare to offer Internet gambling. Bwin.party is the largest Web betting firm worldwide, comprising of PartyPoker, the 2nd biggest Internet card room, and Bwin, the largest Web sportsbook. The combined company’s net revenue last year was 814 million euros.
Billionaires Bet on Internet Gambling: Say it Will be a Marathon, Not a Sprint
Forbes.com featured a piece Monday on how billionaires are looking to back the likelihood of Internet gambling getting regulated in the United States.
The likes of Steven Roth, chairman of Vornado Realty Trust, and shopping mall magnate Herbert Simon, the owner of the Indiana Pacers, have invested in a firm that provides software and advertising services to potential online gambling licensees in the US, including the Vegas casinos.
Zynga Poker Takes Over Advertising Sports for PokerStars, Full Tilt on ESPN
The fine folks from WickedChopsPoker.com were among the first to discover that Zynga Poker, the free online poker room with over 29 million monthly users (8 million daily), has just begun advertising on ESPN.com.
What is the significance of this?
Two things.
Professional Poker Player Who Killed Parents Profiled in Dateline NBC
As first broke by Gambling911.com, Dateline NBC produced a segment on professional poker player Ernie Scherer III who was sentenced for the double homicide of his parents, Ernest Scherer Jr., 60, and Charlene Abendroth, 57, in their Castlewood Country Club, California home. The showed aired this past Friday.
The couple was found brutally beaten and stabbed to death in their Pleasanton home in March 2008. Scherer III had attempted to make the crime scene appear as if it were a home invasion.
Cereus, Absolute Poker, UB.com Plan to Liquidate Assets to Pay Back Players
Blanca Games, the company that owns the Cereus Poker Network and its brands, Absolute Poker and UB.com, have submitted a plan to the US Justice Department that would result in the repayment of players. Part of that plan would include the liquidation of assets.
Germany Liberalises Sports Betting Market: Still Banning Online Poker Games
15 Prime Ministers in Germany overwhelmingly approved a measure that will liberalise the gaming market in that nation. Most advantageous to betting shop businesses will be the concession fee reduced from 17 to 5 percent.
Still, Germany will not concede when it comes to restricting licensed operators to 20 while continuing to ban online poker and casino games.
JAXX SE, a financial holding company with holdings in international companies in the gaming industry, believes the German restrictions will not fly with the European Commission.
Halloween Horrors at America’s Card Room: Freerolls, Double Points, More
160K Bad Beat Jackpot Hit at BetDSI.com
Congratulations on one lucky player who happened to be at the right table at the right time with the right cards. See to the left the hand that won a brand new BetDSI poker player $48,000 for playing out a small straight flush only to be beaten by a guy who had the high end of it covered:
Online Poker Tournament Structures Revamped at AMC
New online poker tournament structures have been announced at America’s Card Room.
Poker Pro Al Krux Arrested for Criminal Drug Possession
68-year-old professional poker player Al Krux was arrested this week and charged with first-degree criminal possession of marijuana outside his Syracuse, New York home. His son Adam was also charged.
Krux’ lifetime earnings playing live poker are just over $1.3 million. He has made the World Series of Poker Main Event final table on three occasions. His biggest earnings came just at the start of the poker boom online when the WSOP prize pool increase resulted in a $600,000 cashout in 6th place.
Online Poker Promotions – November 2011
Cake Poker has released its latest online poker promotions for November 2011. You can take advantage of all the latest promotions, rakeback and cash bonuses here.
Merge Poker Traffic Soars 21 Percent
After opening back up to the US market, Merge Gaming has seen its traffic shoot up 21 percent over the past two weeks. Merge is home to such big name online poker brands as Lock Poker, Carbon Poker and Sportsbook.com’s Internet poker arm.
Following an eight week absence from the top 10 trafficked global online poker rooms, Merge returned and sits in the number 10 spot this week.
Overall Web poker traffic declined 1.2 percent over the past week.
