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: DOJ Unlikely to Change Recent Stance on Internet Poker: ACR 1-3 Day Payouts

Here is a recap of today’s poker news for January 19, 2012 (AM/Early Afternoon Edition) including I. Nelson Rose’s insistence that the Department of Justice will remain firm with its latest stance on Internet poker and how states should have little concern jumping into the fray. 

Submitted by Ace King on, Jan/19/2012

Harry Reid: ‘We Cannot Have a Series of Laws Around the Country Related to Gambling’

Following an appearance on NBC’s “Meet The Press” this past Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was confronted by Tony Batt of GamblingCompliance.com.  Reid told Batt that a recent change in stance by the US Department of Justice should help push to get federal legislation through that legalizes online poker.

“It’ll give us an incentive to get something done,” Reid told Batt as he departed the studios.

Submitted by C Costigan on, Jan/19/2012

Internet Service Providers Will Not Have to Block Online Gambling Sites in Germany

The Administrative Court of Düsseldorf on Wednesday ruled that an Internet Service Provider (ISP) was not obligated to block an online gambling site even if the website in question was an unlicensed, unregulated foreign entity.

Submitted by Ace King on, Jan/19/2012

US Attorney Still Bowing to Full Tilt Poker, Pixie Dust Fairies

We at Gambling911.com simply cannot take it any more and apparently neither can much of the rest of the online poker sector.

After months of reporting that a white knight had come to the rescue of Full Tilt Poker players who have been waiting upwards of nine months to get paid and how that white knight was supposedly going to set the US Feds straight by entering into some type of deal to ensure players get paid as two of its executives remain on the lam, the industry is finally coming to its senses and refraining from publication of such banter. 

Submitted by C Costigan on, Jan/18/2012

Poker News: Phil Galfond Wins $400K in Less Than 7 Days, Maine Looks at Internet Poker

Here is a recap of today’s poker news for January 18, 2012 evening edition including Phil Galfond’s big week and Maine becoming the latest state to explore legalizing online poker.   

Submitted by Ace King on, Jan/18/2012

Forbes: Online Poker Would be Huge for Zynga

Forbes.com published a report Wednesday afternoon suggesting that legalized online gambling, specifically online poker, would be huge for Zynga.  Its free Texas Hold’em product is the biggest in the world. 

Cake-Square-010712.jpg

Following its Initial Public Offering just a few weeks ago, Zynga’s stock performance has failed to impress. 

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Jan/18/2012

DragTheBar Free Poker Training from Carbon

Have you ever felt stagnant and stuck with your poker skills? Are you anxious to take that step up to the next level and start winning some serious money at higher stakes? Online poker is a great game because it is constantly evolving and top players must continually adapt along with it. Carbon Poker recognizes this and they are here to help with their friends from DragTheBar.

Submitted by Guest on, Jan/18/2012

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.

Submitted by C Costigan on, Jan/18/2012

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.   

Submitted by C Costigan on, Jan/18/2012

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.   

Submitted by C Costigan on, Jan/17/2012

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. 

Submitted by Ace King on, Jan/17/2012

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.

Submitted by Patrick Flanigan on, Jan/17/2012

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.

Submitted by Ace King on, Jan/17/2012

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.

Submitted by C Costigan on, Jan/17/2012

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”.

Submitted by C Costigan on, Jan/17/2012

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. 

Submitted by C Costigan on, Jan/17/2012

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.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Jan/17/2012

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. 

Submitted by Ace King on, Jan/17/2012

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:

Submitted by Ace King on, Jan/16/2012

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.

Submitted by C Costigan on, Jan/16/2012

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.”

Submitted by Ace King on, Jan/16/2012

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:

Submitted by Ace King on, Jan/16/2012

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”.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Jan/16/2012

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

Submitted by Guest on, Jan/16/2012

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.

Submitted by Guest on, Jan/15/2012

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.

Submitted by Jenny Woo on, Jan/15/2012

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.

Submitted by Guest on, Jan/15/2012

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.

Submitted by Patrick Flanigan on, Jan/14/2012

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. 

Submitted by Patrick Flanigan on, Jan/14/2012

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.

Submitted by Patrick Flanigan on, Jan/14/2012

Breaking News

Instant Cash – Getting Quick Withdrawals from Online Casinos

Ever won big at an online casino only to wait days, or even weeks, to see that money? Nothing kills the thrill of hitting a jackpot faster than watching your withdrawal request sit in pending limbo. In current conditions, players want their winnings now.