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.

WSOPE Main Event 2011 Final Table: Lock Poker Pro Chris Moorman Makes the Cut

Lock Poker pros Chris Moorman made the WSOPE Main Event 2011 final table as did online poker phenom Patrik Antonius. 

“We are all rooting for Chris,” Lock Poker CEO Jennifer Larson told Gambling911.com late Wednesday. 

His appearance among the top 9 finalists is certainly great exposure for one of the fastest growing online poker rooms.  Another Lock pro, Michael Drummond, also enjoyed a strong finish at number 16.

Submitted by Ace King on, Oct/19/2011

William Hill Share Price in Tizzy Following Tel Aviv Uprising

William Hill’s share price was -4.1p at 224.7p Wednesday as executives from the company tried desperately to quash an uprising in its Tel Aviv Internet support centre.

The company issued a statement on Tuesday that several higher-ups at that office would receive disciplinary action for suggesting to employees they were either being relocated to the company’s Gibraltar office or that their jobs might ultimately be disposed of altogether.  More than 200 of the Tel Aviv employees abandoned their jobs as a result of this news.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Oct/19/2011

Billionaire Banker, High Stakes Poker Player Andy Beal a Ron Paul Supporter

Billionaire banker Andy Beal has contributed $2500 to the US Presidential campaign of Texas Congressman Ron Paul, Gambling911.com has learned.  Beal is also a high stakes poker player.

Paul, who is running against the likes of Mitt Romney, Michele Bachman and Rick Perry to win the GOP nomination, has long been a staunch advocate of legalized Internet gambling in the US.

Submitted by Ace King on, Oct/19/2011

William Hill Takes Action Against Tel Aviv Execs

England’s biggest bookmaker says it is taking actions against executives in charge of its Tel Aviv online gambling support center for wrongly telling employees they were being relocated to Gibraltar. 

Headlines were made this week when more than 200 employees walked out after reports surfaced that the Tel Aviv office would be shut down.  William Hill dispatched a team of senior executives to help quell concerns.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/18/2011

Hearing on Internet Poker to be Held in DC Next Week

The U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee for Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade is scheduled to hold a hearing on Internet poker next Tuesday, October 25, 2011.  Texas Republican Congressman Joe Barton’s Online Poker Act of 2011 will be discussed during this hearing and witnesses will be brought forward.

The Poker Players Alliance, which revealed the upcoming hearing, will be meeting with members of the subcommittee and various staff members.

Submitted by C Costigan on, Oct/18/2011

America’s Cardroom ACROSS Online Poker Super Series to Debut

 

Americas Cardroom commits to growing its stake in the US market with new online poker super series geared to US players.

Submitted by Guest on, Oct/18/2011

PartyPoker Working Hard to Enter US Market: Redlines PokerStars, Full Tilt

Forbes.com reported on Tuesday afternoon how PartyPoker co-chief Jim Ryan has been meeting with investors in the US to highlight how his company will benefit from the latest exits of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker from American soil.

His chart, according to Forbes, listed Stars and Tilt with red lines drawn through their names.

Submitted by C Costigan on, Oct/18/2011

WSOPE 2011 Day 2 Chip Leaders

The World Series of Poker Europe 2011 Main Event Day 2 is history.  Here are your Day 2 chip leaders:

1 Constant Rijkenberg – 462,800
2 Hoyt Corkins – 429,900
3 Rifat Palevic – 353,500
4 Jake Cody  – 323,200
5 Giuseppe Sammartino – 305,900
6 Tom Bedell – 301,900
7 Andy Moseley – 301,400
8 Hyacinthe Bonnin – 296,000
9 Erik Seidel – 291,900
10 Shawn Buchanan – 291,400

Submitted by Patrick Flanigan on, Oct/18/2011

Mass William Hill Walkout Could Have Effect on Internet Business

The resignation of Eyal Sanoff, the chief marketing officer, from William Hill has prompted a mass walkout of over 200 staff members from the company’s Tel Aviv online support centre, the Sun reports.  That office handles nearly all of William Hill’s Internet marketing. 

The Israeli-based staff is worried over rumors that Hill’s CEO Ralph Topping is preparing to dump them and move all operations back to the United Kingdom and Gibraltar. 

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/18/2011

Patrik Antonius: “I Will be Among the Biggest Losers if Full Tilt Poker Goes Down” (Video)

In an interview with poker pro Patrik Antonius, the Finnish former Full Tilt Poker spokesperson says he will likely be among the “Biggest losers” should FTP fold for good.  He claims to have a significant amount of money tied up on the site, which was shut down June 29 and has had its license permanently revoked. 

Submitted by Ace King on, Oct/17/2011

2011 WSOPE Biggest Ever

593 entrants are taking part in the 2011 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) Main Event, making it the biggest in the tournament’s five year history.

The total prize pool is 5,692,800 euros with winner receiving close to 1.4 million (Euros).

Day 2 of the event will see 334 players moving forward.

The current leaders were as follows:

Submitted by Ace King on, Oct/17/2011

Julian Thew Wins Third GUKPT Title

Poker pro Julian Thew has won his third Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT title).  The tour is considered among the toughest on the United Kingdom poker scene. 

Grosvenor UK Poker Tour.  He beat out a field of 145 to take home £42,740

The 44 year old “YoYo” had previous title wins in September 2007 and January 2008.   

Submitted by Ace King on, Oct/17/2011

Free Online Poker Las Vegas Casino South Point Joins the G911 Family

Gambling911.com is thrilled to announce that South Point Poker, the first online poker website run by a Las Vegas casino operator, has joined our family of fine partners.  

Submitted by C Costigan on, Oct/16/2011

Feds, Greenville Sheriff Report $2 Million Seized

By SUSANNE M. SCHAFER - Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- 

The Secret Service and the Greenville County Sheriff's Office tracked down and seized more than $2 million from a money laundering scheme tied to online poker operations, officials said Thursday.

U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles said a months-long investigation uncovered two shell companies used to hide illegal gambling proceeds.

The two foreign-based companies sent more than $40 million into the U.S. and the money was tied to payouts to players in South Carolina and other states, Nettles said.

Submitted by Guest on, Oct/13/2011

Gambling911.com is Panama Bound: Visiting Legendz Sportsbook, BetOnline.com

Gambling911.com heads to Panama City, Panama this weekend to visit two stalwarts in the online sports betting world, Legendz Sportsbook and BetOnline.com.  We will also be visiting with pay per head operator PayPerHead.com, which is represented by none other than The Sopranos Johnny Sack. 

Submitted by C Costigan on, Oct/13/2011

Verisign Wants Power to Seize Domains: ACLU Says “Not So Fast”

In the wake of a number of Internet gambling websites and music downloading website having their domains seized, Verisign has signaled they would like to pursue the policy even further. 

Submitted by C Costigan on, Oct/13/2011

Politico.com: Unlikely Duo Working on Internet Poker Measure for Subcommittee

Ultra conservative Republican Joe Barton and Liberal Barney Frank are working on a bill that would legalize Internet poker.  They are in the process of presenting their measure to a subcommittee in charge of slashing the deficit.

Ironically, a member of this chosen subcommittee is none other than Jon Kyl, the Republican outgoing Senator from Arizona who authored the current online gambling prohibition.

Submitted by C Costigan on, Oct/13/2011

Vin Diesel’s Underground Gambling Series Raising Blind Comes to FX

Vin Diesel’s One Race Films production company is moving to the small screen with FX scheduled to air Raising Blind.

It is a series delving in to the world of underground gambling.  Great timing considering this past summer’s news about a Hollywood high stakes underground poker ring coming under fire for allegedly having a role in an investor ponzi scheme.  The likes of Alex Rodriguez, Matt Damon and Toby Maguire were linked to the scheme with Maguire named as a defendant in a complaint filed by said investors.

Submitted by Patrick Flanigan on, Oct/12/2011

Zynga Distances Itself From Facebook

The popular free online poker and gaming site Zynga has announced it is diversifying its business beyond Facebook with a focus on its own Web platform.

The move makes sense.  Facebook currently takes a 30 percent cut of Zynga’s business.

Zynga chief executive Mark Pincus said of the company’s new direct-to-consumer strategy, called Zynga Direct, that it will allow “a direct relationship with consumers… where we can give you a whole sandbox and create socialness around the games.”

Four new games will debut as part of the new platform, including bingo.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/12/2011

Free Seat to the 2012 World Series of Poker Courtesy of South Point Poker

South Point Poker is giving away a chance to win a Free Seat to the 2012 WSOP every week for the next 26 weeks for Free.

Qualifiers will run every night at the new Online Poker Site www.Southpointpoker.com – The winner of each qualifier will fly to Las Vegas where they will stay at the South Point Hotel,Casino and Spa for free where they will play in the live final table to win the weekly Free $10,000 seat.

Submitted by Patrick Flanigan on, Oct/12/2011

America’s Card Room Online Super Series Will Look to Mimic PokerStars

Exciting news this week as America’s Card Room announced its acquisition of DoylesRoom and the newly formed Online Super Series.

“This is going to be like PokerStars World Series of Online Poker,” a representative for America’s Card Room told Gambling911.com, which was the first to break the news regarding the acquisition on Monday.

“Obviously it will be at a much smaller level,” the rep added, noting that PokerStars is a much more massive operation.

Submitted by Patrick Flanigan on, Oct/12/2011

Merge Poker to Begin Accepting New US Players Again Tonight?

PokerUpdate.com is reporting that the Merge Poker Network will once again start accepting new players from the US with the exception of certain states such as New York and Maryland as early as Midnight October 12. 

The site claims to have sources close to the company who confirmed the time while noting that “some details are still unconfirmed”.   Gambling911.com has not independently confirmed these details.

Submitted by Ace King on, Oct/12/2011

UB.com Must Pay Players: Avoid Full Tilt Poker Fate

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Oct/12/2011

Everleaf Poker Peak Traffic Rises in October

With 126 online poker skins associated with the network, the most in online poker today, Everleaf should be among the top 10 networks in terms of overall traffic.  It is not.

Everleaf just happens to be one of the only US-facing Internet poker rooms.

That said, PokerScout.com observed a fairly significant increase in peak traffic during the month of October compared to previous months.

Submitted by Patrick Flanigan on, Oct/11/2011

Poker Pro Cribs, Wheels Pre-Black Friday: Where Are They Now (Video)

Prior to Black Friday April 15 poker pros had the world at their fingertips.  Sponsored pros were able to afford lavish pads and fast cars.

Some of that has changed following the indictments related to Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and UB.com on April 15.  Executives from those three companies were charged with money laundering and bank fraud.  The three rooms were forced to exit the US market as a result.

Matt Stout, a Lock Poker pro, purchased Paul Wasicka's house in Spanish Trail in Las Vegas just a year prior to Black Friday.

Submitted by Ace King on, Oct/11/2011

Alderney Commission to Hold a Review on What Went Wrong With Full Tilt Poker

The Alderney Gambling Control Commission has egg on its face following the collapse of what was the world’s second largest online poker room, Full Tilt Poker.

The AGCC was forced to revoke FTP’s license late last month after admitting the company did not have sufficient funds in reserve.

The Alderney Gambling Control Commission says it will hold a review following the Full Tilt Poker scandal, according to a BBC report

Submitted by C Costigan on, Oct/11/2011

CalShark.com Online Poker in California Goes Live

CalShark.com, the first online poker website based out of California, has just gone live with its beta testing (see site here). 

The site is affiliated with California’s leading Tribal casinos and card rooms.  The site claims to be for instructional and entertainment purposes only, but does offer virtual prizes at the current time. 

Submitted by Ace King on, Oct/11/2011

Breaking News

Circa Rumors Escalate

Derek Stevens, owner of the famed Circa Casino and Sportsbook in Las Vegas, had many folks talking Monday morning following a recent post.