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.
PokerStars Granted Belgium License
The world’s largest online poker room, PokerStars, will now be able to operate from Belgium.
Sex Offender Michael DeVita Ordered to be Compensated by Palms Casino Resort
The Nevada Gambling Control Board has order the Palms Casino Resort to compensate poker player Michael DeVita $18,500 after he was prevented from playing in the Epic Poker tournament main event.
Organizers learned that DeVita was a registered sex offender. DeVita denied claims made by organizers that he had voluntarily elected to drop out of the main event.
Quadjacks.com, which first broke the story regarding the NGCB ruling, offered DeVita’s side of the story this past September.
Iowa Online Poker Bill to be Introduced Later This Month
The state of Iowa plans to introduce legislation later this month that looks to make online poker legal within its borders.
State Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls, chairman of the Iowa Senate's State Government Committee, said he plans to introduce the bill this month. Iowans, he claims, were spending close to $100 million outside the state on online poker.
"We essentially right now have a do-nothing policy by default," he said.
Video Poker Kingpin Gets Three Years Behind Bars
Video poker magnate Casey Szaflarski was sentenced on Tuesday to more than three years behind bars for running an illegal gambling operation.
Berndsen12 Battles Isildur1: Wins $299k
Online poker player Sander “Berndsen12” Berndsen has been in a heated battle with Swedish sensation Isildur1, whose real name is Viktor Blom.
The Dutch pro Berndsen claimed $299k Monday night.
Here is how it all went down, courtesy of HighStakesDB.com:
PartyPoker has Biggest Cushion Between It and iPoker Network Since Summer
PartyPoker has pulled far ahead of the iPoker Network to take firm control of the number two spot for most trafficked online poker rooms in the world. Since the shut down of Full Tilt Poker last June, Party and iPoker have alternated between the number two and three spot. Until recently, the highest peak difference between the two rooms was around 250 average real cash players.
Federal Judge Won’t Dismiss 'Black Friday' Online Poker Charges
Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan on Tuesday refused requests to dismiss all the government’s counts against John Campos, a former vice-chairman of a St. George, Utah bank that allegedly accepted cash infusions on behalf of three major online poker companies: PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and UB.com/Absolute Poker. Another payment processor, Chad Elie, is also charged and set to go on trial with Campos next month.
Zynga Rigging Poker Games?
The world’s largest online poker room, Zynga Poker, is being accused of rigging poker games.
The free-to-play poker application came under fire on social news website Reddit.com by a former contractor.
From PokerUpdate.com:
Record Breaking Run Continues at 888
LONDON (SHARECAST) - Online gaming solutions provider 888 said trading in 2012 has continued at record levels, building on the strong performance in the final quarter of 2011.
Fourth quarter revenue was up 28% to $91m from $71m in the corresponding quarter of 2010.
As at 31 December 2011, 888 had 10.6m casino, poker and sport registered customer accounts, excluding those running virtual "try before you buy" accounts, representing an increase of 22% from 31 December 2010.
Carbon Poker Offering Limited Time Only 50 Percent Reload Deposit Bonus
For a limited time only, Carbon Poker is offering a 50 perfect reload deposit bonus for all online poker players.
FEB50 awards 50% up to $250.00. Enter the code "FEB50" in the cashier with any reload deposit.
Unlucky at Poker? Man Gets Piece of Bad Beat Jackpot for Third Time in 3 Months
Americas Cardroom player Word Son has gotten a piece of that online poker room’s Bad Beat Jackpot for a third time in as little as 3 months.
It happened again on Monday (February 6, 2012) when he walked away with $14605.59, finishing with the 5th best cashout.
Lucky Player Hits Americas Cardroom Bad Beat Jackpot for $175,232
One lucky player won the Bad Beat Jackpot at Americas Cardroom for $175232 just one week after opening his online poker account.
The hand was like this:
Vadzim Kursevich Wins the 2012 EPT Deauville Main Event (Video)
Belarus-born Vadzim Kursevich has won the 2012 EPT Deauville Main Event and the €875,000 reward that comes with it.
Prior to this win, Kursevich’s biggest showing was at the PokerStars EPT Berlin Season 7 EPT No Limit Hold’em Championship this past year. He has enjoyed success since that time, coming in 3rd at the Grand Prix de Paris/WPT Event – Season 10 Pot Limit Omaha – Omaha Cup.
Kursevich beat out little known player Paul Guichard, who enjoyed his first serious cashout on the live circuit, €557,000.
Former Singer, Drug Addict Robbie Williams Helps Launch Online Poker Site
Famed pop singer and former drug addict Robbie Williams is lending his face and name to a newly launched online poker site, drawing criticism from Liberal Democrat MP Tessa Munt and others.
Ms. Munt told The Daily Mail: 'I’m outraged by this. It directly targets his fans, including children. The money he makes should go to addiction charities.'
Subject Poker Shut Down
The popular, and sometimes controversial, poker news website SubjectPoker.com has shut down. Reason:
Editor Noah Stephens-Davidowitz and Subject: Poker co-founder, Thomas Bakker are starting their own online poker security firm, it was revealed on Monday.
While not a prolific website, the detailed reports on such things as the status of Full Tilt Poker proved interesting.
Phil Hellmuth’s $21k Super Bowl Loss
Poker pro extraordinaire Phil Hellmuth is also a sports bettor and he was tweeting throughout Super Bowl Sunday about placing wagers on the big game. Sadly, Hellmuth came out a $21,000 loser.
Poker Maximus 2012: What is it and When is it?
The 2012 Poker Maximus Series will feature 70 events over a three week span with more than $1,500,000 in guaranteed prizes! Our friends at Lock Poker are one of the participating online poker rooms.
Starting on Sunday 4th of March, Poker Maximus will run at least three events daily and finish on the 25th of March with the $200,000 Guaranteed Main event.
Online Poker Tournaments With Double Guarantees – Feb 6 thru 12
For the period February 6 thru 12 (2012), one of the world’s fastest growing online poker rooms will be featuring double guarantees for its major tournaments. The deal is currently being offered by Americas Cardroom here.
Online Gambling Being Considered in Delaware, Massachusetts
Delaware and Massachusetts become the latest states said to have an interest in legalizing online gambling
Gus Hansen has Returned to Macau for the Big Games
After enjoying some success Down Under at the Aussie Millions, Danish poker superstar Gus Hansen is back in Macau for the big cash games. Oh, and did we mention he lost $1.6 million? Hansen did on his blog.
Other players involved in the Macau big cash games include the likes of Andrew Robl, Sam Trickett, and John Juanda.
Trickett stated on his blog that he has never encountered such a huge pot as the one he witnessed while playing in Macau. And apparently he’s doing well there.
Gunman Shoots Three Brothers at Houston Poker Game
A Houston poker game turned deadly after three brothers were shot, one fatally.
The gunman, who was not yet identified, asked the three brothers to leave the Houston home. The unidentified assailant was then asked to leave. He is said to have gone to his car parked in the driveway and returned with a gun.
One of the brothers pulled out a gun of his own.
Lock Poker Signs Pedro "pls3betme" Maia
Lock is excited to announce the new addition to their LockPRO ELITE team.
EPT Deauville 2012 Final Table
The EPT Deauville 2012 final table has been determined and here are the player profiles.
24 Players Remain at EPT Deauville 2012
There were 24 players remaining at the EPT Deauville 2012 with Luca Pagano leading the pack.
Pagano is a successful player who has won just over $1.5 million in career live tournament play. The Italian-born player has two first place finishes and 33 cashes.
His most recent first place win came at the PokerStars.com IPT San Remo Season 3 IPT Main Event – No Limit Hold’em where he won $301,248. His biggest win, however, was a 6th place finish at the Grand Final PokerStars EPT/Season 4 EPT No Limit Hold’em.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara Seizes 16 Live Streaming Sports Sites Days Before Super Bowl
U.S. prosecutors seized 16 websites that streamed live sports events on Friday, just two days prior to Sunday’s Super Bowl. A Michigan man was charged with running nine of those websites.
Yonjo Quiroa (AKA Ronaldo Solano), 28, faces one count of criminal infringement of a copyright and will likely not serve any prison time.
LSOP Lima Officially Announced
Gambling911.com broke the news yesterday about the Latin Series of Poker (LSOP) and here is more detailed information...
Organizers of the Latin Series of Poker (LSOP) announced today that they will guarantee half a million dollars in their first Live Poker Event in 2012. The Texas Hold'em tournament will be held from June 5th to June 10th at the Atlantic City Casino in Lima, Peru.
EPT8 Deauville – Phomveha Snatches Lead From Vinklarek at End of Day 3
French player Samphane Phomveha has snatched the lead from Ondrej Vinklarek in the very last moments of Day 3 of EPT Deauville. Vinklarek, known as "the Czech Chris Moorman", shoved king-five off-suit pre-flop into the 32-year-old Frenchman's pocket kings. Phomveha how has 1.4 million while Vinklarek is down to 224,000.
Wikileaks Exposes Sheldon Adelson: Cable Discusses ‘Missteps’ in China
Casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp. is under federal investigation into whether it has complied with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and a recently uncovered Wikileaks cable suggests Adelson may be in some hot water in China as well.
Adelson is alleged to have “bribed” foreign officials in exchange for lucrative business deals. His casino empire enjoys a massive presence in the Asian gambling Mecca of Macua.
From Salon.com:
Bwin.Party Responds to DOJ Megaupload.com Complaint
The world’s largest Internet gambling company, Bwin.Party, responded to the US Department of Justice complaint that mentions its role as part of the high profile Megaupload.com indictment. Megaupload.com, a file hosting service, was taken down two weeks ago. The DOJ has accused the website of engaging in copyright infringement and pirating.
Bwin.Party had advertised on the service and was named in the complaint as a result. The gaming firm insisted it had terminated the contract with Megaupload.com once it became aware of the file sharing company’s activities.
Online Poker Tournament Double Guarantees Return to Americas Cardroom: Back by Popular Demand
How do you top a double guarantee promo that caused 12,000 online poker players to shuffle up and deal? By doing it again for a whole week. Americas Cardroom today announced the launch of Double Guarantees Week, slated to run for an entire week starting February 6th. All major tournaments on the online poker schedule will see its guarantee doubled.
