Posts Tagged ‘absolute poker’
UB & Absolute Poker $1,500 Freerolls Return - Just a Deposit Required to Play!
Six Illinois Online Poker Players Sued for Winnings
In a lawsuit that has popped up on both PocketFives.com and TwoPlusTwo in recent days, a Florida resident seeking to recover “illegal poker gambling losses” is suing six online poker players from Illinois. The lawsuit includes nearly 190 pages of tournament results and is numbered 1:10-cv-06543.
Targeted in the case are six top players from the Land of Lincoln: Andy “BKiCe” Seth, Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, Benjamin “Chong94” LeFew, Mohsin “chicagocards1” Charania, Ravi “govshark2” Raghavan, and Tyler “puffinmypurp” Reiman. The latter was the runner-up to Harrison Gimbel in the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event in January and walked away with $1.75 million.
Scott Crespo filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois one week ago and cited why he’s able to sue under state law: “If within six months, such person [who] is entitled to initiate action to recover his losses does not in fact pursue his remedy, any person may initiate a civil action against the winner.” Crespo alleges that the six defendants used “real estate or property for the purposes of gambling” in the form of the PokerHaus, located in Champaign.
Crespo calls out Seth as the owner of the PokerHaus, where he alleges that the group has “actively recruited other individuals to participate in illegal gambling activity” and “committed acts of collusion and cheating while playing online poker.” The allegations for the latter charge were not spelled out. Crespo’s filing also reminds its readers of the “60 Minutes” piece profiling the cheating scandals on Absolute Poker and UB.com. The CBS News report, which aired in November 2008, ended with officials questioning why Russ Hamilton, the purported mastermind behind the cheating scandal, was still roaming free in Las Vegas.
After an examination of gambling addictions and other social ills, Crespo outlines nearly 700 tournament cashes by Seth, Charania, Jaka, LeFew, Raghavan, and Reiman on sites like PokerStars, Full Tilt, and UB.com. Crespo is seeking triple the amount lost to the group of six plus court costs and “any other relief that the Court deems just.” Crespo’s lawyer is Mark Lavery, who works out of Des Plaines, Illinois, while Crespo hails from Florida.
Taking an interest in the case is the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), whose Litigation Network matches online poker players seeking counsel with pre-screened local attorneys. PPA Kentucky State Director Rich Muny told Poker News Daily on Tuesday, “I have spoken with one of the defendants and we have discussed the issue at the highest levels within the PPA. It’s something we take very seriously.”
The time frame at hand is the end of 2006 to the present. The screen names of all six players at sites like PokerStars, Full Tilt, UB.com, Absolute Poker, and Bodog are given in the lawsuit, and, according to Crespo, “any conduct committed outside the State constitutes an attempt to commit an offense within the State of Illinois.” Each tournament in the money finish is over $50 and occurred more than six months ago, per the Illinois statute.
Poker software allegedly used for collusion is also presented in the lawsuit. These include programs like Poker Crusher, Poker Bot Pro, Pocket Aces, No Rules Poker, Calculatem Pro, Sit and Go Shark, and Holdem Genius. Whether any of the defendants actually used any of these pieces of software was not outlined.
In Kentucky, a similar case is unfolding in which the Commonwealth is seeking to recoup losses by state residents to online poker sites between 2005 and 2009. The legal action was originally filed against Full Tilt Poker, but has since been amended to include PartyPoker as well. In a separate lawsuit, Kentucky attorneys are trying to force the forfeiture of 141 internet gambling domain names, including those belonging to PokerStars and Full Tilt.
Read the Illinois litigation in its entirety by clicking here.
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, absolute poker, bodog, cheat, full tilt poker, legal, Online Poker, poker player, Poker Players Alliance, pokerstars, tournament, vegas
Weekly Freerolls: $6k Scramble
This week players can look forward to over $6,000 in free cash on various online poker sites.
The real highlight is the epic $5,000 monthly freeroll on UB and Absolute Poker on Sunday. PokerListings players need only 100 raked hands in the month of September to qualify.
Another great freeroll to check out is the PartyPoker monthly $2,000, also taking place on Sunday. It takes just 100 Party Points generated in the previous month to qualify.
The following freerolls are open to all PokerListings.com players. Qualify in the specified qualification period, and then take your seat to potentially win baskets of free cash.
If you're not a PL.com registered player on any of the following sites, click on the site's name in the list to sign up.
UB Poker is currently running monthly $5,000 freerolls for PokerListings players who play 100 raked hands in the previous month.
Date: Oct. 16 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 100 raked hands Qualify between: Sept. 1-30 Sign up herePokerListings players on Absolute Poker will have access to the same $5,000 freeroll that’s played on UB.
Date: Oct. 16 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 100 raked hands Qualify between: Sept. 1-30 Sign up herePokerListings players have access to exclusive monthly $2,000 freerolls on PartyPoker.
Date: Oct. 16 Value: $2,000 Qualify with: 100 Party Points Earned Qualify between: Sept. 1-30 Sign up here888poker is currently running weekly $500 freerolls for new and existing PokerListings players who have made a deposit at some point.
Date: Oct. 19 Value: $500 Qualify with: Deposit Sign up hereTitan Poker is running $1,000 weekly freerolls for PokerListings players that cost just one Titan Point to buy into.
Date: Oct. 22 Value: $1,000 Qualify with: 1 Titan Points Sign up hereWilliam Hill is running an exclusive $2.5k freeroll for PokerListings players in the first week of November.
Date: Nov. 6 Value: $2,500 Buy-in: 10 William Hill Points Sign up hereBetfair Poker is running a special $3,000 freeroll for PokerListings players in November.
Date: Nov. 14 Value: $3,000 Qualify with: 5 Betfair Points earned Qualify between: Oct. 1-30 Sign up herePokerListings players will have access to an exclusive $1,000 freeroll on PlayersOnly Poker in October.
Date: Nov. 13 Value: $1,000 Qualify with: New deposit of $50 or more Qualify between: Oct. 1-30 Sign up hereSportsBook Poker is running a $2,000 freeroll for PokerListings players in October.
Date: Oct. 14 Value: $2,000 Qualify with: New deposit of $50 or more Qualify between: Oct. 1-30 Sign up herePokerStars is running a massive $15,000 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure freeroll on Nov. 14.
Date: Nov. 14 Value: $15,000 Qualify with: 75 VPPs Qualify between: Oct. 1-30 Sign up hereVisit PokerListings.com
UB.com Sending Freeroll Winner to WPT Five Diamond Classic
Starting this week, online poker room UB.com is holding a special series of freerolls featuring a spectacular grand prize: a $12,000 World Poker Tour (WPT) Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic package.
The road to the Five Diamond Classic consists of three rounds, none of which requires a single penny to be spent. Round 1 freerolls will run six times every day from October 11th to November 27th. Starting at 12:30am ET and running every four hours through 8:30pm ET, each daily freeroll will send the top 100 finishers to Round 2.
The Round 2 freerolls are of the weekly variety and will be held each Sunday at 4:00pm ET through November 28th. Once again, the top 100 in each Round 2 freeroll will advance to the next round.
The third round is the Main Event of this freeroll series and will take place on Sunday, November 28th at 8:00pm ET. The winner of that tournament will be awarded the $12,000 Five Diamond World Poker Classic prize package, which includes the $10,000 + 300 buy-in to the tournament at the Bellagio in Las Vegas plus $1,700 for travel and accommodations.
In addition to the grand prize at the end of the entire freeroll series, players will also have the chance to compete for a special Wireless Poker Controller, a device favored by many players over the standard mouse and keyboard combination. The top 75 finishers in each of the Round 2 weekly freerolls will win a seat into one of two “Side Events,” slated for October 31st and November 21st at 8:30pm ET. The winner of each of these tournaments will receive a Wireless Poker Controller.
The Controller, made by Poker Controls, is about the size and shape of a hand-held video game controller. Features include bet, check/call, and fold buttons along with table switch triggers, pre-defined bet level buttons, a Raise-O-Meter dial, and even an anti-tilt button that will lockout a player from the tables for a pre-determined about of time.
Last year, the WPT saw 329 players compete in the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, creating a prize pool of $4,761,450. The star-studded televised final table featured Faraz Jaka, Shawn Buchanan, Scotty Nguyen, and Stephen O’Dwyer, with Daniel Alaei besting Josh Arieh heads-up to win the $1,428,430 first prize. It was Alaei’s first WPT final table and WPT win, helping him finish 10th on the 2009 live tournament money list.
The WPT hopes attendance will improve in 2010, as 2009′s Five Diamond Main Event was significantly smaller than 2008′s version, which had 497 participants and a $7,231,350 prize pool. The Main Event in 2007 was even larger, the largest Five Diamond Main Event in history in fact, with 667 runners vying for the $9,661,200 prize pool. The 2009 Main Event was the smallest since 2003, when Paul Phillips defeated 313 other players to win $1,100,000.
Other past winners of the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic include Daniel Negreanu, Gus Hansen, and Joe Hachem.
UB.com is a member of the CEREUS Network along with its sister site, Absolute Poker. The CEREUS Network has been battling the International Poker Network (IPN), Microgaming Network, and PokerStars‘ French offering, PokerStars.fr, for spots in the lower half of the top ten poker rooms/networks based on cash game traffic. According to PokerScout.com, Cereus is the eighth most popular network, tied with PokerStars.fr with a seven-day average of 1,780 cash game players. Just last week, CEREUS sat in the 10th spot, but has since advanced past IPN (1,580 seven-day average) and Microgaming (1,740).
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, absolute poker, bellagio, Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, freeroll, Gus Hansen, Online Poker, pokerstars, tournament, vegas
Weekly Freerolls: Cash Attack
Players will want to pay special attention to the $1,000 freeroll on PlayersOnly Poker today as well as the $2,000 freeroll on SportsBook Poker on Sunday.
Next Thursday is a real highlight for PokerListings players as Titan Poker will be running its monthly $5,000 freeroll. It takes only 25 Titan Points to play.
The following freerolls are open to all PokerListings.com players. Qualify in the specified qualification period, and then take your seat to potentially win baskets of free cash.
If you're not a PL.com registered player on any of the following sites, click on the site's name in the list to sign up.
PokerListings players will have access to an exclusive $1,000 freeroll on PlayersOnly Poker in October.
Date: Oct. 9 Value: $1,000 Qualify with: New deposit of $50 or more Qualify between: Sept. 1-30 Sign up hereSportsBook Poker is running a $2,000 freeroll for PokerListings players in October.
Date: Oct. 10 Value: $2,000 Qualify with: New deposit of $50 or more Qualify between: Sept. 1-30 Sign up here888poker is currently running weekly $500 freerolls for new and existing PokerListings players who have made a deposit at some point.
Date: Oct. 12 Value: $500 Qualify with: Deposit Sign up hereTitan Poker is running their big $5,000 monthly freeroll for PokerListings players this week.
Date: Oct. 14 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 25 Titan Points Sign up herePokerListings players have access to exclusive monthly $2,000 freerolls on PartyPoker.
Date: Oct. 16 Value: $2,000 Qualify with: 100 Party Points Qualify between: Sept. 1-30 Sign up hereUB Poker is currently running monthly $5,000 freerolls for PokerListings players who play 100 raked hands in the previous month.
Date: Oct. 16 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 100 raked hands Qualify between: Sept. 1-30 Sign up herePokerListings players on Absolute Poker will have access to the same $5,000 freeroll that’s played on UB.
Date: Oct. 16 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 100 raked hands Qualify between: Sept. 1-30 Sign up herePokerStars is running a massive $15,000 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure freeroll on Nov. 14.
Date: Nov. 14 Value: $15,000 Qualify with: 75 VPPs Qualify between: Oct. 1-30 Sign up hereVisit PokerListings.com
Tony Dunst (Bond18) Joins WPT Broadcast Team as Raw Deal Host
In breaking news from the World Poker Tour (WPT), Tony “Bond18” Dunst, who made wearing tailored suits at live poker tournaments “hip,” is joining the WPT broadcast team as its “Raw Deal” host.
The on-air segment will feature Dunst commenting on hands during WPT broadcasts in his witty style, which is sure to liven up the longstanding poker tour’s ninth season when it airs on Fox Sports Net. The WPT was searching for the “Simon Cowell of Cards” and explained what qualities its perfect candidate would have in a July press release: “If you’re opinionated, fearless, watch and play hours of poker, and find yourself offering brilliant insight from the comfort of your couch, it’s time for you to take a new seat – right next to WPT stars Mike Sexton, Vince Van Patten, and Kimberly Lansing. Plus, get your chance to share the screen with the stunning WPT Royal Flush Girls.”
“Raw Deal” tryouts were held in Los Angeles during the WPT’s Legends of Poker stop at the Bicycle Casino in August. Those who turned out to try their luck included pros like Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire, Clonie Gowen, and UB.com front man Joe Sebok. On his competition to be the first “Raw Deal” host, Dunst told Poker News Daily on Monday, “Devonshire would have been excellent for that role. He’s a guy who does a great job in poker and is fun to have around. I’ve played with Clonie before and have found her to be lovely. Even though we run in similar social circles, I have never met Joe Sebok.”
Dunst will primarily be involved with U.S.-based WPT events and will head to the Festa al Lago to conduct interviews when the tournament begins in 10 days. Given his success on the felts and a background in theater, being the “Raw Deal” host is a perfect fit for “Bond18,” who told Poker News Daily, “I have a theater background and almost got a degree in it. I always like speaking about poker, which is why I’ve been involved on TwoPlusTwo for so long. I was given an opportunity to get a foothold on the business side of poker and it combines everything I’m good at.”
Dunst’s acting career ended when he began succeeding on the virtual and live felts in poker. In fact, he used to play online during class and has become a force to be reckoned with. Dunst owns two PocketFives.com Triple Crowns and has recorded wins in the Full Tilt $65,000 Guarantee, Absolute Poker $1K, Full Tilt $40,000 Guarantee, and CEREUS Network $75,000 Guarantee.
If you’ve been watching the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on ESPN every Tuesday, then you’ve seen Dunst battle it out as the best-dressed player in the field. He ultimately bowed out in 50th place from the $10,000 buy-in tournament, adding $168,000 to his bankroll. In 2008, he won a $3,000 No Limit Hold’em preliminary event during the Bellagio Cup for $193,000, besting a final table that included former WPT champion Olivier Busquet and New York’s Will Failla.
He’s produced training videos for PokerSavvy and coached his ex-girlfriend, Celina Lin, to be one of the most popular Chinese players on the poker circuit. Dunst has also contributed a wealth of feature articles to sites like PocketFives.com, sharing his thoughts on everything from the WSOP to self-improvement.
Dunst’s addition is one of several changes for Season 9 of the WPT. Matt Savage was hired as the WPT’s Executive Tour Director, bringing a wealth of respect and experience to the table. The Royal Flush Girls will add a risque spark to WPT broadcasts, while Kimberly Lansing returned as the tour’s anchor. Season 9 will begin airing in January.
Congratulations from all of us here at Poker News Daily to Dunst on his new role. Check your local listings for WPT broadcast information.
Weekly Freerolls: October Action
This week it’s hard to ignore the huge $5,000 freeroll that PokerStars is running for PokerListings players on Sunday. Any PL.com player who earned 250 frequent player points in September would do well to check it out.
888poker’s big $1,000 monthly freeroll is also set to go off this Sunday. All that’s required to play is 100 status points earned in September.
The following freerolls are open to all PokerListings.com players. Qualify in the specified qualification period, and then take your seat to potentially win baskets of free cash.
If you're not a PL.com registered player on any of the following sites, click on the site's name in the list to sign up.
888poker is currently running monthly $1,000 freerolls for PokerListings players who earn 100 status points in the previous month.
Date: Oct. 3 Value: $1,000 Qualify with: Deposit in the previous month Sign up hereIn October PokerStars will run an exclusive $5,000 freeroll for PokerListings players.
Date: Oct. 3 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 250 Frequent Player Points Qualify between: Sept. 1-30 Sign up hereWilliam Hill is running an exclusive $2.5k freeroll for PokerListings players in the first week of October.
Date: Oct. 4 Value: $2,500 Buy-in: 10 William Hill Points Sign up hereTitan Poker is running weekly $1,000 freerolls for PokerListings players that cost just one Titan Poker Point to buy into.
Date: Oct. 8 Value: $1,000 Qualify with: Use 1 Titan Poker Point. Sign up herePokerListings players will have access to an exclusive $1,000 freeroll on PlayersOnly Poker in October.
Date: Oct. 9 Value: $1,000 Qualify with: New deposit of $50 or more Qualify between: Sept. 1-30 Sign up hereSportsBook Poker is running a $2,000 freeroll for PokerListings players in October.
Date: Oct. 10 Value: $2,000 Qualify with: New deposit of $50 or more Qualify between: Sept. 1-30 Sign up herePokerListings players have access to exclusive monthly $2,000 freerolls on PartyPoker.
Date: Oct. 16 Value: $2,000 Qualify with: 100 Party Points Qualify between: Sept. 1-30 Sign up hereUB Poker is currently running monthly $5,000 freerolls for PokerListings players who play 100 raked hands in the previous month.
Date: Oct. 16 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 100 raked hands Qualify between: Sept. 1-30 Sign up herePokerListings players on Absolute Poker will have access to the same $5,000 freeroll that’s played on UB.
Date: Oct. 16 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 100 raked hands Qualify between: Sept. 1-30 Sign up hereVisit PokerListings.com
UB.com Sponsors Anthrax Tour Bus, Gives Away Tickets
On Monday, September 27th, online poker room UB.com announced that it will be sponsoring the tour bus of legendary metal band Anthrax during the rest of its United States tour in September and October. As many poker players know, this is not just a random sponsorship, as Team UB member Scott Ian is the front man for Anthrax and is actually known to play at UB.com while on the bus.
A big UB.com logo isn’t where the sponsorship ends. For each stop on the Anthrax tour, UB.com will be giving away two tickets to loyal players. To win, players need to follow UB.com on either Facebook or Twitter. At 1:00pm local time on the day of a concert, UB.com will post a specific photo request to its followers. Everyone who uploads a qualifying picture to UB.com’s Facebook wall and tags themselves in it will be entered into a random drawing for the pair of tickets.
For example, for Tuesday’s New Orleans tour stop, players were asked to take a picture of the Anthrax website and a UB.com table together and post it to the UB wall. After 90 minutes, the winner was chosen and notified and had just 10 minutes to accept the prize. Additionally, players could win UB.com and Ian swag by finding the tour bus, taking a photo of themselves with it, and posting it to the wall. The first three to do so also won prizes. This secondary prize giveaway will be available at each tour stop.
Ian himself posts reminders of when the contests start on his Twitter page, so Twitter faithful won’t be left in the lurch if they forget to check Facebook. Ian may also announce ticket giveaways of his own from time to time, such as on Tuesday when he gave two tickets to the first person to follow @UB on Twitter.
With the New Orleans stop in the books, Ian and has band mates will now head north for their next concert, performing at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee. The tour bus will then head back south, stopping Georgia and Florida before trekking through the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. After the performance at the Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Anthrax will head out west, visiting Denver, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and concluding the tour on October 21st in Hollywood. Anthrax has also added three South American stops in November, although these are not part of the UB.com promotion. Here is the entire United States tour schedule, starting with Thursday’s performance in Knoxville:
9/30/2010 – Knoxville, TN – Knoxville Civic Coliseum
10/1/2010 – Duluth, GA – The Arena at Gwinnett Center
10/2/2010 – Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live
10/3/2010 – Miami, FL – Bayfront Park Amphitheater
10/5/2010 – Hampton, VA – Hampton Coliseum
10/6/2010 – Baltimore, MD – 1st Mariner Arena
10/8/2010 – Uniondale, NY – Nassau Coliseum
10/9/2010 – Scranton, PA – Toyota Pavilion @ Montage MTN
10/10/2010 – Columbus, OH – Lifestyle Comm. Pavilion
10/12/2010 – Louisville, KY – Freedom Hall Arena
10/14/2010 – Fort Wayne, IN – War Memorial Coliseum
10/15/2010 – Grand Rapids, MI – DeltaPlex
10/16/2010 – Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom
10/18/2010 – Denver, CO – MST Summit Music Hall
10/19/2010 – Salt Lake City, UT – E Center
10/20/2010 – Las Vegas, NV – The Pearl
10/21/2010 – Hollywood, CA – Gibson Amphitheatre
UB.com is a part of the CEREUS Network along with sister site Absolute Poker. According to PokerScout.com, the CEREUS Network is the 11th most popular network/site in terms of cash game traffic with a seven day average of 1,580 players. This puts it just 80 players shy of the Microgaming Network for a spot in the top 10.
UB & Absolute Poker $1,500 Freerolls Return - Just a Deposit Required to Play!
Internet Gambling Payment Processor Daniel Tzvetkoff Released on Bail
In breaking news from New York, Intabill head Daniel Tzvetkoff has been released on bail, according to the Courier-Mail newspaper in Australia. In April, he was arrested in Las Vegas on charges money laundering, gambling conspiracy, and bank fraud as part of his role with the internet gaming payment processor.
According to the Aussie news outlet, “The young Gold Coast entrepreneur was set free after a closed hearing before a federal magistrate.” He filed a plea in the case in late August in the legal action brought on by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The news broke on the same day in which former Full Tilt Poker employee Jason “JDN” Newitt allegedly was subpoenaed to appear the Southern District of New York. The nature of his subpoena is not known, but may be related to his lawsuit against his former employer.
Much of the Southern District’s energy in the internet gambling industry has been focused on payment processors, who provide the financial link between online poker players and online poker sites. Tzvetkoff was originally denied bail in New York, according to the Courier-Mail, because a U.S. judge “feared he had hidden money to finance an escape from the U.S. once free.” The newspaper added that a trial is set for June 2011.
Last year, word broke that Kolyma Corporation AVV had filed a $52 million lawsuit against Intabill. The total purportedly consisted of $25 million owed to Full Tilt and PokerStars and $30 million owed to the CEREUS Network sites UB.com and Absolute Poker. The lawsuit was filed in Australia and, at one point, it was reported that Intabill took in as much as $1 million per day.
According to a Dow Jones Newswire report in April, rather than report what his financial transactions were for, Tzvetkoff told the bank they represented “repayments of short-term loans, transfer of funds to prepaid debit cards, and e-commerce purchases.” He was rumored to have owned a house in Sin City and was merely visiting. However, the trip and his past transgressions may cost him up to 75 years behind bars. The 27 year-old filed for bankruptcy in January following credit card charge back issues and the deteriorating global economy.
In another development on the legal front, the Courier-Mail notes that Douglas Rennick, a Canadian who ran into legal trouble for his role with the payment processor Account Services, will be sentenced this month. Account Services was linked to both Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars. The U.S. Government seized Account Services’ funds last year and, in July 2009, the company filed a motion for return of property. The Poker Players Alliance filed an amicus brief in the case, but Rennick was promptly indicted in August of last year.
On Newitt’s rumored appearance in the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, posters on TwoPlusTwo were up in arms as to what the development could mean for the industry. According to TwoPlusTwo poster “Kevmath” and This Week in Poker, Newitt’s presence was due to “miscoded transactions taking place right after the UIGEA.”
Poker Players Alliance New Hampshire State Director Patrick “Skallagrim” Fleming opined on TwoPlusTwo, “This could just be an action against a processor and FTP may not be the target at all. Or they could be trying to tie FTP into some processor’s alleged violations by any number of possible theories of accomplice or conspiracy. Or all my guesses may be wrong.”
There was no mention of a trip to the Southern District on Newitt’s Twitter feed. Tuesday saw him take his car over 5,000 miles on the way home from Chipotle and trade away Arian Foster in fantasy football. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest legislative and legal headlines.
Blanca Games Acquisition of CEREUS Jeopardizes Ultimate Bet Payments
In a letter from XMT Liquidations to the shareholders of what was formerly known as Excapsa Software, the acquisition of the CEREUS Poker Network by Blanca Games has “violated and/or triggered the application of certain rights under the agreements between Excapsa and Blast Off and its related entities.”
The letter, which found its way to the TwoPlusTwo forums late Monday night, begins by discussing a promissory note owed by Blast Off. What is Blast Off, you ask? Tokwiro COO Paul Leggett commented in a blog one month ago, “The UltimateBet business and assets were transferred to Tokwiro through a company called Blast Off… Basically the Excapsa Group transferred all of the assets to Blast Off and then sold Blast Off to Tokwiro.” Blast Off submitted four $75,000 payments.
Four days after an agreement was reached to resume promissory note payments, Blast Off’s lawyers submitted a letter “alleging that players may have been exploited by an unfair and unlawful advantage in online poker games in 2004 and 2005.” Blast Off continued to make weekly payments despite the news contained in the letter, which was dated August 10th.
Excapsa sold its assets to Tokwiro around the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in the United States. Former World Series of Poker Main Event champ Russ Hamilton masterminded the cheating in question according to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and Tokwiro officials shelled out over $20 million to affected players.
Then, the plot thickened. Two weeks after Blast Off’s lawyers notified liquidators about the cheating, liquidators learned that Blast Off’s “other major creditor had elected to exercise its rights in respect of the collateral it held as security for Blast Off’s debt.” Blast Off’s “other major creditor” could refer to the former owners of Absolute Poker, with the collateral being the rights to the AbsolutePoker.com domain. Excapsa’s interest primarily lies with Ultimate Bet and the URL UltimateBet.com.
Potentially referring to the UltimateBet.com domain, “Blast Off intended to wind-up [end] any and all operations related to assets over which Excapsa has been granted a security interest.” The rumored dollar value of the sale back in 2006 was $100 million, although that figure is not addressed in the letter.
News of the acquisition of the CEREUS Poker Network by Blanca Games meant violations of the agreement between Excapsa and Blast Off. As part of the Blanca Games transition, only AbsolutePoker.com and UB.com were involved. The old UltimateBet.com URL, which may be the collateral held by Excapsa, was not acquired. Instead, UltimateBet.com now forwards to DepositBonus.com. The letter explains, “All of Excapsa’s rights under the promissory notes and related security, including enforcement procedures, have been reserved.”
A copy of the press release announcing the acquisition of the CEREUS Poker Network by Blanca Games on August 26th was included. A follow-up press release from Tokwiro providing further details on the ownership change never materialized.
In terms of what the letter signifies, posters on TwoPlusTwo began putting their detective skills to the test in earnest. One member wrote, “Looks like Blast Off’s (AP/UB) lawyers are going to try to get the $100 Mill note reduced or canceled due to players cheated in 2004 and 2005. If Blanca is another shell [company], then there won’t be any proceeds from the sale to offset the $100 Mill note either.”
Whether Blast Off is attempting to default on its note by transferring the UltimateBet.com domain back to its former owners, Excapsa, remains to be seen. Meanwhile, the main faces of UB.com have touted the acquisition by Blanca Games as an opportunity to separate from the site’s stormy past. Joe Sebok told Poker News Daily in a late August interview, “I couldn’t be more excited about it. It’s a further break from the past and fewer connections to the former owners of Ultimate Bet, not to mention my own excitement about bringing Blanca into the fold and beginning something new.”
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest. Read the entire letter by clicking here.
UB.com Offering World Series of Poker Europe Prize Packages
Between now and September 12th, the USA-facing online poker site UB.com is offering World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe prize packages. The 2010 cycle marks the first that UB.com and its sister CEREUS Network site Absolute Poker will be sending players to the annual extravaganza, which gets underway on September 14th from London.
UB.com is qualifying its members for the £10,350 buy-in WSOP Europe Main Event. On September 12th at 14:30 ET, a $530 buy-in Super Satellite will be held featuring three $18,000 WSOP Europe prize packages. Each consists of the £10,350 buy-in, $2,000 to use towards travel expenses, VIP concierge services while you’re camped out in Jolly Old England, a UB swag bag, and a welcome dinner.
If a $530 buy-in satellite is grossly out of your budget, don’t fret. UB.com is also holding $10 Ultra Turbo Rebuys and $55 freezeouts for you to stamp your ticket to the high-stakes tournament that will play out at the Casino at the Empire beginning on September 23rd. Alternately, you can climb the ladder through UB.com’s STEP tournaments, which start at $0.10. Players that can trump each of the 10 steps involved will head to London to compete for what was a £3.3 million prize pool last year.
A press release distributed in recent days by UB adds that 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth will be in attendance in the 2010 WSOP Europe Main Event. Last year, 334 players turned out and CardPlayer Magazine’s Barry Shulman walked away with the title and an £801,000 bankroll boost. Shulman edged out PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu heads-up. Negreanu, amazingly, final tabled the WSOP Europe Main Event in 2009 and 2008 for over £700,000 combined.
The top seven players in the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event raked in six-figure paydays and, with a small field on hand, UB.com qualifiers have the opportunity to make quite a splash for a nominal investment. November Niners Antoine Saout and James Akenhead both reached last year’s final table on their home continent. Others who cashed in the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event included DoylesRoom figurehead Doyle Brunson, 2009 World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship winner Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and David “Devilfish” Ulliott.
The WSOP Europe Main Event is actually the fifth tournament on the docket for the series. The festivities kick off on September 14th with a £2,650 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em contest that will surely attract some of the top names in the poker world in search of a bracelet. Two days later, a £5,250 Pot Limit Omaha tournament begins, followed by a £1,075 No Limit Hold’em event on September 17th. Leading up to the Main Event is the first ever WSOP Europe No Limit Hold’em Heads-Up High Roller tournament that comes with a hefty £10,350 price tag.
UB.com and Absolute Poker are also shelling out seats to the WPT Festa al Lago at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Daily Qualifiers send players to Weekly Finals, where the top 100 will get seats in the Main Event. Whoever wins the Main Event will be jet-setting to the Nevada desert to play in the Festa al Lago, which begins on October 15th. The prize package includes the Festa al Lago’s $10,300 buy-in along with $1,700 to offset expenses and the promotion runs until October 10th.
Finally, one of UB.com’s newest tournaments is Take Down a H0, a $50,000 guaranteed bounty event featuring Mark “P0ker H0” Kroon. Whoever busts Kroon from his own tournament picks up 300 Tournament Dollars. The event takes place every Saturday at 3:05pm ET.
Visit UB.com or Absolute Poker for more details on how to qualify for the 2010 WSOP Europe Main Event in London.
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, absolute poker, bellagio, Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Online Poker, Phil Hellmuth, pokerstars, tournament, usa, vegas, WSOP
Veteran Texas Poker Player Cracks UB.com Bad Beat Jackpot For Over $200K
A 60 year old Ferris, Texas woman is the latest person to capture the UB.com Bad Beat Jackpot, taking down a sizeable six-figure payday.
Early Tuesday evening, “KAPPIT” took to the felt of the $0.25/$0.50 UB.com Bad Beat Jackpot tables, not knowing that this would be a “good news, bad news” night for her. After making a seemingly unbeatable four of a kind in nines, “KAPPIT” continued on to attempt to take the hand down. It wasn’t until an opponent stuck with her to the river that the hand would take a seemingly unfortunate turn.
After tabling her four nines, “KAPPIT” was looked up by “CIBV,” who trumped her holding by tabling quad queens. On the UB.com tables at that level, the payout per hand averages between $4 and $11, but it was about to get much richer for all players involved.
At the time, the UB.com Bad Beat Jackpot was at $670,575.38, with several hundred people eligible to share in the bounty. For being defeated with her quad nines, “KAPPIT” was awarded a payday of $218,115.71 and – in addition to what was won for holding the quad queens – “CIBV” took down a healthy $109,057.85 for his winning hand. Seven players at the table were gifted with $1,000 for just being there and an additional 610 players received $89.36 for playing at the same stakes as “KAPPIT” and “CIBV.”
“I’ve been playing poker for 45 years now, mostly live poker, and I hit a jackpot once in a land-based casino,” “KAPPIT” said to UB.com after being awarded the Bad Beat Jackpot. “This is the biggest prize I’ve ever gotten, though. Hats off to UB Poker. It was ‘SO’ my lucky day to capture the Bad Beat Jackpot. It looks like our dream of trading off our 1995 truck will finally happen. Keep those jackpots coming UB… dreams do come true.”
UB.com, a part of the CEREUS Poker Network with sister site Absolute Poker, is one of the stalwarts in the online poker industry when it comes to offering such Bad Beat Jackpots. Since the program was launched on the network, thousands of players have shared in a total of $58,114,636.59 in jackpot money. The Bad Beat Jackpot can only be won by players on the specially designated tables, of which there are hundreds that stretch from the $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold’em level up to $5/$10.
This year alone, 63 players have won a Bad Beat Jackpot, with “KAPPIT’s” win shooting the grand total of this year’s Bad Beat Jackpot prize money to a massive total of $9,328,292.80. Along with the players who have won the main Jackpot, the CEREUS Poker Network has passed out other smaller Bad Beat Jackpot prizes to another 11,082 players.
Even though “KAPPIT’s” big payday occurred on Tuesday, the CEREUS Network Bad Beat Jackpot is on the move once again. Of the $670,575.38 that was hit on Tuesday, 25% was rolled over to start the next jackpot, meaning that $167,643.85 was in the pot. The CEREUS Bad Beat Jackpot currently is sitting at $237,355.84 as of early Thursday afternoon.
Poker News Daily would like to congratulate “KAPPIT,” “CIBV,” and the hundreds of players who were fortunate to take down their piece of the CEREUS Network Bad Beat Jackpot.
Annie Duke Breaks Down Bellagio Poker Tournament Structures, UBOC 5
Poker News Daily: What have you been up to poker-wise since the conclusion of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP)?
Annie Duke: Trying to slack off. My goal has to been to shirk all responsibility and I’ve been doing a pretty good job of that. The WSOP is a lot. It’s six weeks of playing every day and I am burned out from it. I still have been doing my part and went to Washington DC to testify in front of the House Financial Services Committee. I’ve been spending time with my kids before school starts. I was going to hit The Bike, but it conflicted with UBOC, which I wanted to play a lot of.
PND: You told us earlier that you’re not a big fan of the Bellagio’s tournament structures. Can you explain your point of view?
Annie Duke: When you can sign up on Day 2 and it’s not a bad choice, that’s not a good structure. If I show up on time, I’m playing in a structure where the average stack at the end of Day 1 is 10% higher than the starting stack. Overall, it seems like a waste of a day. If you show up on Day 2, you’re going to lose out on people who are willing to explode, so I also feel like you miss out on opportunities if you start late.
You shouldn’t have a good choice to sign up on Day 2. In the WSOP, signing up two hours late is reasonable to me. The third level in should be good relative to the starting stack. At the Bellagio, you’re signing up eight or 10 levels in. You shouldn’t be able to do that and still have a decent starting stack.
You want to have a lot of play, but at some point, you have to think about people’s play and their health. You should be getting into the money early on Day 2. The pendulum has swung so far partly because of events like the Venetian Deep Stack tournaments. Those go fast because they start you with a lot of chips, but the rest of the structure is pretty fast.
PND: The fifth Ultimate Bet Online Championship, or UBOC, recently played out on UB.com and Absolute Poker. Heading into the series, what were you looking forward to the most?
Annie Duke: I just like the variety. I feel like online it’s always No Limit Hold’em unless it’s one of these big tournament series. To figure out our UBOC schedule, we look at what’s done well in the past. We also want to preserve the integrity of the series itself. It might look like a good strategy to have all No Limit Hold’em events because they’re the most popular, but that hurts your series overall. When the Bellagio went all No Limit Hold’em, their attendance started dropping. People came in for a few tournaments here and there and then left. If you offer a big variety of games, people come in and camp out for a month to play.
It’s all about balancing what does well with what people will sign up for. The pros on UB.com definitely get asked about what they like. They have a good beat on what’s becoming popular. A year or so ago, people started pushing for Pot Limit Omaha Eight or Better and that’s a great game.
PND: Tell us about testifying in front of the House Financial Services Committee on July 20th in Washington, DC.
Annie Duke: Since the trip, HR 2267 got out of committee, which is amazing. We’re now in a situation that during the lame duck session when the spending bills are being passed, you’ll have people that know they won’t be retuning to Congress in 2011 and may not have a problem backing an online gaming bill. There’s a decent chance of the bill passing this year. I wouldn’t make it a favorite, but we have the best chance we’ve had in the last five years.
The big thing for me is overwhelming disappointment in the Commerce Casino’s position. They’ve taken an anti-competitive stance in regard to online gaming. Unless the Commerce is the only operator, they don’t want to share. That’s ridiculous for poker players. They want the version where they’re the only hub that offers online gaming in California.
If there’s a bill that allows gaming in California, it doesn’t help someone in Iowa or Delaware. Those states would have to pass their own bills, but look at the population difference. At the Commerce, I can gamble with people from all over the world. I feel like the Commerce Casino’s position is anti-competitive and their customer base consists of poker players. In the end, the poker players fund their commercial interests.
Also, I’m concerned by the comparison of the operators of online sites to the drug cartels. We know that’s not true. These sites may not be licensed in the U.S., but foreign governments that are friends of our government license them. France isn’t in the business of licensing drug dealers and terrorists.
PND: Tell us about Liv Boeree and UB.com parting ways.
Annie Duke: The issue was that she had a really good result that increased her value and wanted something we couldn’t come to terms with. It was very amicable.
PND: What are your Labor Day plans?
Annie Duke: I don’t have any plans, but I’ll probably cook out with my kids. We don’t do big Labor Days or Memorial Days. I feel like every day is a party at the Duke household.
Tags: 2010, 2011, absolute poker, Annie Duke, bellagio, gamble, poker player, tournament, UBOC, WSOP
Matt “Plattsburgh” Vengrin Interview
Matt Vengrin, known as “Plattsburgh” on PokerStars, is one of the hottest young online tournament professionals going today. He is known as “ENGMONEY” on UB.com, “mattyv” on Full Tilt Poker and “MATT_VENGRIN” on Absolute Poker. Vengrin has been playing professionally for a number of years and is a big supporter of PocketFives.com. A big win on his poker resume came in Event #7 of the 2007 FTOPS Series for $210,000 in addition to his second place finish at the PokerStars Sunday Million. He also finished in second place at a Full Tilt Poker $750k Guaranteed. Other impressive finishes include second place in the PokerStars Sunday Record Second Chance ($28,000) and third in the $1,000 Limit Event at the 2007 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) at PokerStars.
Vengrin’s largest live tournament score was at the 2008 World Series of Poker, where he finished in third place in the $3,000 No Limit Hold’em Event for a $168,000 payday. His most recent large score online came in March of 2010 as he finished in fourth place in a $100+$9 $40,000 Guaranteed for $12,870. According to various online databases, he has won over one million dollars in his poker career. He originally hails from Red Hook, New York but currently lives in the greater Los Angeles area.
In this interview with Dan Cypra, which was conducted just prior to the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event at the Rio Hotel and Casino, Vengrin talks about his new look and new mental attitude which is helping him at the tables. He discusses his weight loss plan and how he continues a steady balance of eating right and working out when he’s not playing poker. In addition he talks about how this past WSOP circuit has gone for him and what his plans are in the future with poker.
Vengrin lists his favorite poker hand as 9T of spades in Hold’em.
Tags: 2008, 2010, absolute poker, full tilt poker, interview, Online Poker, pokerstars, tournament, WSOP
The Emmys And Tournaments Around The World From Poker In Twitter
For those in the world of poker that weren’t involved in tournaments, the Emmy Awards on Sunday night provided a bit of a respite over Twitter. “Oh Crap! The Emmys,” Joe Reitman Tweeted as the show began. “I totally forgot 2 star on a show, hire a publicist & wear a tux so I could go 2 the awards & b judged on my looks 2nite.” Poker scribe Jess Welman was less than impressed when she chirped after the show’s start, “Not a good sign when we’re ten minutes into the Emmys and I’m already counting the minutes that could easily be shaved off the broadcast.”
The duo were able to find something to agree about during the Emmys, with both congratulating particular shows on the cable channel AMC that they enjoyed. “Big congrats to fellow USC Cinema School Class of ’05 alum Erin Levy for winning a frikkin Emmy for Mad Men,” Welman Tweeted in kudos to a friend. Reitman was proud for a former employee: “I am so happy my boy Aaron Paul of @breakingbad just won. I cast him in my short ‘LEO’ 5 years ago. He is the best actor of his generation.” UB.com’s Scott Ian also piped up about the run of the actors from “Breaking Bad,” Tweeting, “Bryan Cranston & Aaron Paul both won Emmy’s for Breaking Bad. You need to watch this show.”
Someone who had a memorable night for the Emmy Awards was online superstar Justin “Boosted J” Smith. “At Courtney Cox + David Arquette’s house in Malibu watching the Emmys on TV,” Smith Tweeted on Sunday evening. “Actors and producers here these guys are wild watching it! LOL.” Smith went on to describe the reactions of those in attendance: “It’s like watching European football and when an Emmy is awarded its like a GOALLLLLL!”
As the night wore on, Smith continued to channel his inner Phil Hellmuth with his Tweets. “Gave Jennifer Aniston a 4 hour poker lesson last night,” Smith recounted after the party on Monday. “If she learned a little bit more about who acts first and stuff, she’d be real good!”
There was plenty of action for those who were away from the television and on the felt over the weekend. The World Series of Poker Circuit event in Council Bluffs saw two prolific Tweeters, Bernard Lee and Blair Hinkle, making deep runs. “Money bubble broke – 27 players all in the $ – I have 450k,” reported Lee from the tables yesterday.
Both players continued their assault on the top of the leaderboard as the afternoon moved into the evening. “Unbelievable! After getting down to 275k, I sucked out again,” Lee Tweeted to his followers. “My 10-10 vs AA – 10 on flop – back up to 470k (aver 386k) – 13 players left. Play would be stopped soon after that with Lee reporting his stack as “339k.”
Hinkle had a slightly different adventure than Lee at the Iowa tables. “Ugh super crazy guy squeezes with 88 I shove with AT he calls I flop ace but he flopped 8 turn 8. 70k still,” he Tweeted during play on Monday. Although he didn’t detail how he did it, Hinkle was able to turn things around by the end of the night, Tweeting at the end of play, “Down to 13 players done for the night… 243k blinds starting at 2000ante 5-10000.”
Across the Atlantic, many top players were in the running at the European Poker Tour event in Vilamoura, Portugal, with Brandon Cantu – at first – having the time of his life. “I got 44 and shoved ak calls fours hold to break the bubble. 965k 56 left,” Cantu reported to his followers early Tuesday morning before the game took a fateful turn. “Unbelievable,” he Tweeted soon after the bubble burst. “331k aq with the ace of hearts vs 99 flop q32 all hearts turn 9… That’s the worst beat I have ever taken.” A couple of hours later, Cantu sounded the death knell by Tweeting, “Ak vs 99 ace in the door 9 to follow – out – most frustrating day I have ever had an indescribable feeling actually.”
To soothe his defeat, Cantu may want to head to Cannes for the Partouche Poker Tour’s event starting Thursday. Tweets were flying as many top poker pros announced their plans to head to the Mediterranean coast to play in the event. Eric Mizrachi (“Today is my last day in Israel, have a flight to catch in 8 hours to Romania then off to Cannes, France for main event!”), Mike Matusow (“Cannes is gonna be effing insane. Vitamins to. Lots and lots of vitamins”), Lacey Jones (“Vegas for less than 24hrs. Had the best time celebrating @DanFleyshman’s bday in 3 cities. Next stop… Cannes!”) and Liz Lieu (“Back in London for a couple days before heading to Cannes”) are just a few of the top pros who will be in France for the tournament.
For the best Tweets of the weekend, we have to start with “Hollywood” Dave Stann’s reports from his efforts in the Ultimate Bet Online Championship, or UBOC. “I like a challenge,” Stann Tweeted on Sunday. “Immediately out of 200k running my QQ into AA, then in UBOC main ran my QQ into KK for half my stack. Thanks for the memories, #UBOC. Should stand for Ur Bigpair Obv Cracked.”
Two players offered up their thoughts regarding Paris Hilton’s arrest in Las Vegas over the weekend for cocaine possession. “Really?,” Absolute Poker’s Trishelle Cannatella Tweeted. “The only thing that happened while I was away is Paris H is arrested for cocaine? SHOCKER! Drugs are gross. Especially if you’re 30.” Joe Sebok found the potential reason for his youthful indiscretions: “Paris thought the blow was gum. Now I know why I was so damn hyperactive in high school. Teachers, I TRIED to stop talking! I’m sorry!”
Finally, Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh decided to step away from the tables, Tweeting, “Laying out for a bit… Cyprus got me addicted to sun! Definitely not going to miss my monitor tan!”
Tags: absolute poker, european, Hollywood, israel, Phil Hellmuth, poker player, tournament, UBOC, vegas, WSOP
CHAZ_MAN_C Wins UBOC 5 Championship Event
In the grand finale of the fifth Ultimate Bet Online Championship (UBOC) on Sunday, Charlie “CHAZ_MAN_C” Combes came out on top of the pack following a four-way chop and banked $136,000. A total of 1,032 players coughed up the UBOC 5 Championship Event’s $1,050 buy-in or won a satellite to get in and the top 99 finished in the money.
Combes hails from the United Kingdom and, on the final hand of the tournament, shoved all-in with Q-2. UB.com member “TOOCURIOUSSO” made the call for his tournament life with K-9 and was in prime position to double up. The flop of 3-J-6 didn’t change matters, but a queen on the turn paired Combes and sealed his UBOC 5 title. Combes claimed a championship watch to boot. In March, he won both the Full Tilt Poker $1K Monday for $93,000 and the Titan Poker $250,000 Guaranteed for $59,000.
TOOCURIOUSSO finished with the smallest payout of the four dealmakers at $95,000. Pamela “VENUSIGNA” Quesada, who calls the Latin American nation of Costa Rica home, landed in third place and walked away with $152,000, the largest payday of the UBOC 5 Championship. In her final hand, Quesada was all-in before the flop with pocket sixes and up against Combes’ A-K of hearts. The board blanked out until an ace hit on the river, sending Quesada home in devastating fashion.
“WALLABAER” dropped a sizable pot with A-K against Quesada’s pocket nines to cripple his stack. On the next hand, WALLABAER’s 4-3 could not draw out on Combes’ 7-6 and he was relegated to the rails. Here’s a look at how the final table cashed out in the UBOC 5 Championship Event:
1. CHAZ_MAN_C – $136,178
2. TOOCURIOUSSO – $95,000
3. VENUSIGNA – $152,000
4. WALLABAER – $145,000
5. APATHY123 – $56,244
6. WAMMERMOUTH – $45,924
7. MST_MORPHEUS – $35,604
8. 1GENERAL_TAO – $25,284
9. DONRIKY – $17,544
Like you’d expect in a tournament with a $1,050 buy-in, a variety of brand name pros made deep runs. Joshua “PBDRUNKS” Van Duyn, who won the very first tournament of UBOC 5, took 50th in the Championship Event. Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, who had been in the running as part of a leaderboard competition to be a sponsored pro of DoylesRoom, hit the rail in 22nd place.
UB.com sponsored pro Billy “Patrolman35” Kopp bubbled the final table and finished in 12th in what likely would have been a coup of sorts for members of Team UB. Players who knocked out members of Team UB throughout UBOC 5 received 200 Tournament Dollars and a swank UBOC shirt. The tournament stretched for 12 hours, ending around 4:30am ET.
In the MiniUBOC Championship Event, “JLC123” banked $17,000 and came away with the win. The field of the $55 buy-in tournament numbered 1,684 and JLC123 bested fellow online poker player “BOOJIW” heads-up; BOOJIW grabbed a $10,000 consolation prize. The MiniUBOC 5 schedule offered the same slate of events as its high-stakes counterpart, but with more affordable buy-ins.
If you’re itching for more tournament series, don’t fear. The 2010 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker, or WCOOP, will begin on Sunday, September 5th. The schedule offers a ridiculous $50 million in guaranteed prize money, including a $10 million guaranteed Main Event on September 26th. Every 2010 WCOOP tournament is open to online poker players from the United States.
Check out UB.com or Absolute Poker for full UBOC 5 results.
Tags: 2010, absolute poker, buy-ins, Online Poker, poker player, pokerstars, titan poker, tournament, UBOC
UBOC5: Déjà Vu for Billy Kopp in UBOC5 Championship; Charlie “CHAZ_MAN_C” Combes Claims Title
UBOC5: Brock Parker and Kevin Saul Cash in Event #18, Final Table Event #19
UBOC 5 Championship Kicks off Sunday
On Sunday, the Championship Event of the fifth Ultimate Bet Online Championship, or UBOC, kicks off on the virtual felts of the CEREUS Poker Network. Players on the CEREUS Network sites UB.com and Absolute Poker will be vying for their share of a $1 million guaranteed UBOC 5 Championship prize pool. The tournament boasts a price tag of $1,050 and begins promptly at 4:00pm ET.
As if the seven-figure purse weren’t enough of a reason to sign up, the UBOC 5 Championship Event features 11-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth as its host. The tournament comes with a Monster Stack format and a six-figure first place prize, so head to UB.com or Absolute Poker today at 4:00pm ET to get in on the fun. Both sites happily take action from United States online poker players.
The UBOC 5 Championship Event is the culmination of a 20-event tournament series that began back on August 18th. Since then, CEREUS Network pros like Annie Duke, Tiffany Michelle, and Mark Seif have hosted UBOC 5 tournaments, featuring poker games like Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and HORSE. This is the second time the UBOC has run in 2010, with the first cycle occurring back in January.
The lone six-figure payday of UBOC 5 so far went to Jeremy “DUHDUHDAISY” Fitzpatrick, who came out on top of the pack in a $1,050 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max Deep Stack event, the eighth on the schedule. A total of 583 players created a $583,000 prize pool, the largest to date heading into the Championship Event. Fitzpatrick owns the eighth spot on the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings and has also recorded wins in the Full Tilt $1K Monday and Bodog $100,000 Guaranteed.
In Event #8, Fitzpatrick edged out Danny “dannyills” Illingworth, whose second place consolation prize was worth $81,000. Illingworth calls Carlsbad, California home and finished second in the Absolute Poker $200,000 Guaranteed last month for $27,000.
Others at the final table of Event #8 of UBOC 5 included “UPAY4RHINOS” (third place for $54,219), “JOAOMATHIAS” (fourth place for $37,895), “LOCKDOWNTEX” (fifth place for $32,065), “POOLI” (sixth place for $26,235), “CRACKIN_TY” (seventh place for $21,571), “N0VASKY” (eighth place for $15,741), and “GR8PKRPLAYA” (ninth place for $9,911).
The opening tournament of UBOC 5 featured a field of 903 players for a $320 No Limit Hold’em Sniper event. A total of $200,000 was guaranteed, but the 900-plus player field swelled the total prize pool to nearly $250,000. The final table was stacked with brand name pros, including eventual winner Joshua “pbdrunks” Van Duyn, who banked $54,000. Rounding out the top three were Felipe “improved” Montenegro and Darren “darrenelias” Elias, who cashed in for $32,000 and $22,000, respectively.
Also taking place today on UB.com and Absolute Poker is the Championship Event of MiniUBOC 5. The smaller version of the grand finale comes with a $55 buy-in and a $50,000 guaranteed prize pool. “GUIGUI_88” will serve as its host and the MiniUBOC 5 Championship begins at 4:00pm ET. MiniUBOC 5 has featured the same slate of events as its high-stakes counterpart, but with reduced buy-ins for those players lacking deep pockets.
Blanca Games recently acquired the CEREUS Network, although the terms of the transaction remain a mystery. Tokwiro Enterprises, the former owners of UB.com and Absolute Poker, will likely send out a press release with additional details on the acquisition this week. Stuart Gordon is the main face behind Blanca Games, whose website simply notes that its operations “are conducted by subsidiaries and associated companies.” Blanca Games is based in Antigua and has offices in Costa Rica, where UB.com and Absolute Poker are located.
Visit UB or AbsolutePoker to sign up for the UBOC 5 Championship Event.
Tags: 2010, absolute poker, Annie Duke, bodog, buy-ins, Online Poker, Phil Hellmuth, poker player, Tiffany Michelle, tournament, UBOC, WSOP
UBOC5: B AUSTIN B Wins Event #17; “Hollywood Dave” Goes Deep in Mini
Joe Sebok Reacts to UB and Absolute Poker Acquisition
On Thursday, the poker world learned that Blanca Games, which features Chief Executive Officer Stuart Gordon, had acquired the CEREUS Poker Network. UB.com and Absolute Poker both make their home on the USA-friendly network and the former features Joe Sebok as a sponsored pro. Shortly after the acquisition announcement, Poker News Daily caught up to the former “Poker2Nite” host.
One year ago, Sebok signed on with UB.com and immediately became involved in the site’s investigation into the superuser scandal orchestrated by former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Russ Hamilton. He’s remained one of the more visible UB.com pros in a roster that also includes Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Annie Duke and 11-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth.
Sebok gave us his reaction to the news that Blanca Games had taken control of CEREUS: “I couldn’t be more excited about it. It’s a further break from the past and fewer connections to the former owners of Ultimate Bet, not to mention my own excitement about bringing Blanca into the fold and beginning something new. Gordon has a proven track record and I think bringing them into the poker arena is only going to breathe some new excitement into our business.”
Who is Gordon, you ask? He’s the founder and operator of BingoMania.com and Helix Gaming International, both of which hold licenses from the nation of Antigua and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. Blanca Games has its headquarters in Antigua and offices in Costa Rica. Sebok elaborated that despite the change in ownership, players should expect continued growth: “The player experience shouldn’t change one bit, except for all of the improvements that will come from us being bought by Blanca. I think we are really going to be able to do many more exciting things now.”
Text found on Blanca Games’ website does not shed much light on its identity, instead only offering up, “The operations of the Blanca Group are conducted by subsidiaries and associated companies.” According to whois.domaintools.com, BlancaGames.com was registered on July 15th, 2010.
Sebok explained that the timing of the sale with his one-year anniversary of joining UB.com is purely coincidental. That said, he is ready to put the past behind him and continue supporting the USA-friendly site and network: “I always knew that we needed to deal with the past, which we continue to do, but the really exciting period was always going to be growing the company and turning it into what we would like it to be. Soon, UB won’t be known for the scandals of the past, but rather for helping lead online poker into the future.”
Poker News Daily can independently confirm that no staffing or operational changes are expected in the new Blanca Games regime. Sebok added, “Blanca wanted, and needed, the entire operation and the offices and staff to remain largely the same.” In addition, Sebok revealed that no changes to the CEREUS Network’s rakeback or promotions would occur.
Some in the online poker community have questioned whether the fleet of UB and Absolute Poker pros may be turned over. However, Sebok told us that he’s staying put: “I look to continue my role and am excited about possibly taking on more. Anyone that knows me knows I like to get involved and get my hands dirty, so whatever UB asks of me, I would love to get involved with.” Sebok finished 56th in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, catching a wealth of face time on ESPN and $108,000 in cash to boot.
Given Victory Poker’s move from the Everleaf Network to the Cake Poker Network on September 1st, one wonders whether the CEREUS family of sites will follow suit with consolidation. According to PokerScout.com, the CEREUS Network is the sixth largest worldwide, with a seven-day running average of 1,760 real money ring game players. It includes just two sites and accepts action from the United States.
On the prospects of the CEREUS Network taking on additional sites given new ownership, Sebok told Poker News Daily, “The company’s strategy is not to have network partners. But, I think that more acquisitions in the future are not out of the question.” Also merging in the first quarter of 2011 are Party Gaming and bwin.
Tokwiro Enterprises, the former owners of UB.com and Absolute Poker, will issue a press release with more information about the transaction early next week.
Tags: 2009, 2010, 2011, absolute poker, Annie Duke, cake poker, Online Poker, Phil Hellmuth, poker player, usa, WSOP
August 27th – Daily Deal
We have an ACTION PACKED Friday edition of the Daily Deal. Today, we talk about Jungleman12 starting up in the Durrrr Challenge, the CEREUS network being sold off and Victory Poker heading over to the Cake Poker Network. Get your popcorn ready!
Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily.
Our headline story comes from Full Tilt Poker as the latest edition of the Durrrr Challenge started up last night. As we reported previously that Jungleman12 was just days away from starting up, the action hit the tables late last night around one-thirty a.m. eastern time. The two played four tables of two hundred / four hundred blind no limit texas hold’em heads-up. Both participants have expressed an interest in getting the 50,000 hand challenge done quickly so we expect a ton of action in the next couple of weeks. Although stats haven’t been released at the time of the taping of the daily deal, it looked like durrrr took about two buy-ins away from Jungleman12 during the first session.
The two got back together and Jungleman12 went on an EPIC run and after all was said and done at around 9 a.m. Friday morning the two had already played ten percent of the hands possible. The tally as it stands now (unofficially) after 5,829 hands is that Jungleman12 is up a stunning $518,202.75!!!!
As more breaks at the tables, we’ll be sure to recap the action right here.
In another huge announcement, On September 1st, Victory Poker, which currently makes its home on the Everleaf Network, will jump ship to the Cake Poker Network. The site, which features pros like Antonio Esfandiari and former World Poker Tour Player of the Year Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little, has become a force in the online poker world. It also happily accepts players from the United States.
Poker News Daily sat down yesterday with Victory Poker CEO Dan Fleyshman. We asked him why the popular site decided to jump to Cake and he responded,
“I’ve always liked Cake. It’s a great network and I met with their guys back in January at the London convention, but I had made my decision prior to that. I wanted to be a premiere site on a network when we launched and felt I’d be second or third at Cake. When I signed with Everleaf, they had so much passion, knew I’d bring players, and they worked hard. I’m happy with the way it all turned out.”
For those playing on the Everleaf Network right now Fleyshman told us that he believes the family of sites is in good hands even without Victory Poker and that they’ll keep improving and moving in the right direction … just without Victory Poker.
In our final bit of huge poker news, it broke late Thursday afternoon that Blanca Games had purchased the CEREUS Poker Network, which includes UB.com and Absolute Poker. An official press release is expected out early next week and for now, the purchase price and terms were not released. Stuart Gordon is the CEO of the CEREUS Network’s new parent company and commented on Thursday evening,
“The acquisition of CEREUS is a significant opportunity for us. CEREUS is a major platform of well-managed assets. Over the past few years, it has created new brands, like UB.com, that are extremely well-positioned in the most desirable demographic in our market: players in the 20s and 30s age brackets.”
Gordon founded and manages BingoMania.com and Helix Gaming International. Both of those sites, like UB.com, are licensed by the Kahawake Gaming Commission. Poker News Daily has independently confirmed that no staffing or operational changes are expected at UB.com or Absolute Poker during the transition to Blance Gaming. Gordon also commented that he does not expect any changes to occur in the playing experience for either site. Currently, the CEREUS network ranks as the sixth largest poker network online.
Well, that does it for a jam packed Friday here on The Daily Deal! Be sure to check back with us all throughout your day to catch the latest poker headlines. I’ll be back on Monday with a brand new episode of The Daily Deal. Until then, I’m Sean Gibson hoping you crush the competition and reel in those fish at the cash game tables this weekend!
UBOC5: Corey Burbick Final Tables Event #15; Event #16 Cancelled
New owners for UB and Absolute Poker
Tags: absolute poker
Blanca Games Acquires CEREUS Poker Network
Late Thursday, it was revealed that Blanca Games had purchased the CEREUS Poker Network, which consists of UB.com and Absolute Poker. A press release is due out early next week from former owners Tokwiro Enterprises. The purchasing price and terms were not released.
Stuart Gordon is the Chief Executive Officer of the CEREUS Network’s new parent company and commented in a press release distributed on Thursday evening, “The acquisition of CEREUS is a significant opportunity for us. CEREUS is a major platform of well-managed assets. Over the past few years, it has created new brands, like UB.com, that are extremely well-positioned in the most desirable demographic in our market: players in the 20s and 30s age brackets.” UB.com and Absolute Poker both accept players from the United States.
Gordon added, “From our perspective, we have acquired a large, sophisticated online gaming operation with state-of-the art capabilities, ranging from compliance to business intelligence to online marketing to customer service. We see a tremendous growth opportunity in this deal and beyond, as Blanca seeks additional acquisitions in the market.” Gordon founded and manages BingoMania.com and Helix Gaming International. Like UB.com, both sites feature licenses from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, or KGC, and Stuart also owns licenses from the nation of Antigua.
Poker News Daily has independently confirmed that no staffing or operational changes are expected at UB.com or Absolute Poker with the transition to Blanca Gaming. In addition, Gordon commented that he doesn’t expect any changes to occur in the “playing experience” on either site. Blanca Games is based in Antigua and, according to its website, keeps offices in Costa Rica, where UB.com and Absolute Poker are based.
Gordon alluded to Blanca Games’ focus on security on the CEREUS Network going forward: “We intend to leverage the existing strengths of the CEREUS Poker Network, particularly in the areas of security and customer service. Although we are impressed with many of the new security features on the Network today, security is and will remain our top priority.” Both UB.com and Absolute Poker are fresh off high-profile superuser scandals. On the former site, over $20 million was taken from players in a heist featured on the CBS news program “60 Minutes.”
The CEREUS Network is in the midst of holding its fifth Ultimate Bet Online Championship, or UBOC. It’s actually the second time that UBOC has run in 2010 and a $1 million guaranteed Main Event will play out on Sunday. The tournament, hosted by 11-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, boasts a $1,050 buy-in and kicks off at 16:00 ET. The UBOC 5 Main Event is the culmination of a 20-event tournament series that began back on August 18th.
The CEREUS Network’s team of pros includes Hellmuth, Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Annie Duke, Tiffany Michelle, Trishelle Cannatella, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, and Brandon Cantu. No changes to rakeback, tournament schedules, and software were announced as of press time, but more details on the transaction and what it means for players may be given when Tokwiro issues its press release next week.
The CEREUS Network was officially launched in November 2008 after the player bases of Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker were combined. One year later, Ultimate Bet was re-branded as UB.com.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on this breaking story.
Tags: 2008, 2010, absolute poker, Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, poker player, Tiffany Michelle, tournament, UBOC, WSOP