Posts Tagged ‘Canada’
Poker In Twitter: Winter Olympics Wrapup, WPT LAPC, and a New Hostess For Poker2Nite
With the advent of the world of Twitter, people can fill you in on their lives in quick, 140-character bursts. Poker’s royalty have taken to the medium to inform their fans of their latest activities as well as their views on different issues. Poker News Daily continually tracks these Tweets to let you know what the latest buzz is in the poker community.
Last weekend, poker players were torn between performing their jobs on the felt and following the end of the Winter Olympics. Of particular interest to many was the gold medal hockey game between the favored Canadian national team and the upstart Team USA. A week prior to the game Sunday, the Americans had surprised the Canadians by defeating them 5-3 in pool play and the gold medal match – which was also the last medal awarded at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver – was a chance at redemption for the boys from the Great White North.
As the game began on Sunday, poker players announced their allegiances across the Twitterverse. Unlike many who watched the gold medal game on television, poker player Terrence Chan was one of the fortunate who saw the game live at Canada Hockey Place in Vancouver. “Sec 120 row 4 seat 106. Ten feet from (Canadian goalie Roberto) Luongo,” Chan Tweeted prior to the start of action, drawing a reaction of, “So jealous you’re there,” from fellow pro Shaun Deeb. Lining up on the Americans’ side were poker players such as Deeb, Eric Mizrachi, and Joe Sebok, while the Canadians held a rooting section that included Chan, Brad “Yukon” Booth, and Isabelle Mercier.
As the game played out, Tweets flew nearly as fast as the pucks and Canada moved out to a 2-0 lead. Playing in the L.A. Poker Classic at the time, UB.com pro Annie Duke took the time to jokingly Tweet, “LOL! I'm a little surprised team USA can't find a goalie fat enough to block the entire net.” The Americans grinded their way back and, with less than 30 seconds to go in the game, tied the score at 2-2. Even L.A. Poker Classic tournament director Matt Savage was sidetracked by the gold medal game as he Tweeted, “Tournament room @LAPokerClassic went crazy when USA tied the game 2-2. @RealKidPoker (Daniel Negreanu) not happy!”
As the sudden death overtime period played out, many of the top names in poker were on pins and needles as the game continued. “High Stakes Poker” hostess Kara Scott alluded to this when she Tweeted, “Ugh, so tense with the Hockey. Come on CANADA.” After Canada’s Sidney Crosby slipped the game winner past Team USA’s Ryan Miller almost eight minutes into overtime, the victorious Canadian poker players/fans had much to say. “Yaaaaaaaaa!!!! What a game. Canada continues to reign supreme on the ice. Oh that was so awesome!,” Daniel Negreanu fired out over the Twitterscape after the win. “Poker2Nite” host Scott Huff was less than impressed when he Tweeted, “Oh come on. Canada celebrating winning the gold in hockey is like me celebrating paying my bills on time.”
Poker’s best also found some time to play in the L.A. Poker Classic while the Winter Olympics were wrapping up. Duke, who played deep into the WPT championship tournament, noted in her Tweet, “HowardHLederer just got drawn to my table. Luckily he's on my right lol.” Adam “Roothlus” Levy admired the chip stacking skills of Full Tilt’s Carlos Mortensen in his Tweet and accented it with a picture, saying, “Carlos Mortensen's stack. He should be an architect. Such vision.”
Negreanu lamented his table on Sunday when he Tweeted, “Brutal seat @lapokerclassic Steve Sung on my right Carlos Mortensen on my left, and to his left the guy who crushed me yesterday.” The table must have been difficult, as soon after “Kid Poker” came back and Tweeted, “Very disappointed on how I played the last hand. Going to cool off by chilling in LA for a bit. Weather is awesome. Should have shoved!” The pros didn’t do badly during the LAPC WPT Main Event, with Negreanu cashing in 66th place, Duke dropping out in 19th place, and Sung and Mortensen falling short of the WPT final table in eighth and ninth place, respectively.
On the lighter side of Twitter, players Lacey Jones and Alex Outhred bantered about Outhred potentially having to sit in for Jones on “Poker2Nite.” With Jones facing flight delays in Canada and potentially missing the taping of the popular poker show, Outhred volunteered to take her place. “@Poker2Nite get me a wig, razor, man-spanx, and make-up. I think I could double for @LaceyJones,” Alex Tweeted to the producers. Lacey was quick to fire back, “@alexpokerguy Ur a life saver. But don't forget to stuff your bra! Haha.”
Twitter continues to provide entertainment for millions around the world and the poker community just makes it better. Poker News Daily follows poker in Twitter and adds to the enjoyment itself. Be sure to follow @pokernewsdaily on your Twitter account for all the latest news and information from the world of poker.
Tags: Annie Duke, Canada, canadian, Daniel Negreanu, high stakes, kara scott, poker player, poker show, skill, tournament, usa
Poker as an Olympic Sport
The International Federation of Poker will be accepted into the International Mind Sports Association in April. This means that poker will join a list of games including Chess, Bridge, and Go as an official game of skill, according to Bluff Magazine Europe. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognizes the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA), meaning poker will be considered an official game of skill for the Olympics
This development may not mean that we’ll be seeing poker in the Olympics in the near future, but it is certainly a first step in the right direction. Acceptance into the IMSA and recognition from the IOC gives poker another strong argument in court. The nature of online gambling might be in question, but courts have been pretty lenient in allowing games of skill. Will this IOC distinction assist in the efforts to legalize online poker in the United States?
“I am encouraged that the IOC has recognized what we poker players have always known. Poker is an honorable game of skill,” commented Rich Muny, a board member for the Poker Players Alliance (PPA). “Many states have already legally codified recognition of the fact that competitions based on skill are different from wagering on dice or other events based on chance. I believe this decision will encourage more states to recognize this distinction legally.”
Anthony Holden, author of such poker books as “Big Deal” and “Bigger Deal: A Year Inside the Poker Boom,” is the current head of the International Federation of Poker. He told Bluff Europe, “Poker is not like other casino games. It’s a social game where people are playing against each other, not the house, and a game where skill plays a bigger role than luck. There are 120 to 150 million poker players in the world and we deserve this recognition.”
Poker is the only card game to be accepted by the IMSA besides Bridge. This organization is a non-profit association and has over 400 national entities and close to 100 million players within its jurisdiction. As listed on the IMSA website, current headquarters are located in Lausanne, Switzerland and Paris, France.
The IMSA held its first “IMSA Cup” competition back in 2008 in Russia. The final day of that event was dedicated to friendly matches between masters of mind games and honorary guests of the competition, mainly diplomats.
Given that mind games are recognized as games of skill by the IOC, could poker ever make it into the Olympics? While that remains to be seen, many poker sites including PokerStars have competitions like the World Cup of Poker, which matches players from various countries against each other.
Team PokerStars USA includes players such as Chris Moneymaker, Vanessa Rousso, Greg Raymer, Joe Cada, Barry Greenstein, Chad Brown, Gavin Griffin, Dennis Phillips, Tom McEvoy, Hevad Khan, Victor Ramdin, and Jason Mercier. Popular online player Randy “nanonoko” Lew also hails from the United States. Full Tilt Pros hailing from the United States include Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Mike Matusow, and Allen Cunningham. Full Tilt Poker also boasts a well known online prodigy of its own in Tom “durrrr” Dwan.
While we know the United States would field a dream team of poker players, there are plenty of other countries that would challenge for the gold medal. Canada, which just hosted the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, would have Daniel Negreanu along with players like Darus Suharto and Wade Ackerman leading the charge. The United Kingdom would have players like Vicky Coren, David “Devilfish” Ulliott, Roland De Wolfe, and James Akenhead at the helm. Australia would have Joe and Tony Hachem, Grant Levy, Eric Assadourian, as well as Billy “The Croc” Argyros representing their homeland.
The IOC has outlined that a game or sport must be practiced by men in at least 75 countries and on four continents and by women in at least 40 countries and on three continents in order to be recognized. Although we can all agree that poker is not a traditional sport that requires physical skill and toughness like pole vaulting and Greco-Roman wrestling, there might be a place for games of skill at the Olympics. Is it really out of the question to think of a “total package” decathlon that would combine physical and mental sports?
Think about a physical and mental event where participants would have to do their best in running, swimming, jumping, throwing, and then competing in mental games such as chess, poker, and bridge. It’s not too far-fetched to pitch that idea to an Olympic committee or get it aired on the likes of ESPN2 with a celebrity cast.
While we dream of Raymer competing against former Navy SEAL Dan Blizerian in a swimming race before heading to a poker tournament, having poker accepted as an official game of skill by the IMSA and the IOC is already a huge step in the right direction for the industry.
Mark Newhouse Leads WPT L.A. Poker Classic After Day 3
During Season 5 of the World Poker Tour (WPT), Mark Newhouse took down the Borgata Poker Open to the tune of $1.5 million. Entering Day 4 of the L.A. Poker Classic, Newhouse is the chip leader and poised to make a run at his second WPT title.
Sunday marked a major day of television viewing for players remaining in the WPT L.A. Poker Classic, which is being held at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. The United States hit a last-second goal to send the gold medal game in the 2010 Winter Olympics into overtime, where Canada ultimately prevailed. By nightfall, Canadian Daniel Negreanu, who held the chip lead in the $10,000 buy-in tournament entering Day 3, watched himself take second to Barry Shulman in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event on ESPN2.
Despite the diversions, Newhouse came out on top of the field after Day 3 with a stack of 498,000 chips. Newhouse sent Danny Wong to the rails on Sunday with pocket jacks against A-K, building his arsenal of chips up to 250,000. Newhouse started the day with a stack of 68,000 and told WPT Live Updates Hostess Jacque, “The biggest pot of the night, I got lucky. I beat two kings with A-K.” The hand occurred against Jason Smith and an ace hit on the flop to send Newhouse’s chip stack flying high.
2010 L.A. Poker Classic Heads-Up champion Chris Moore stole a sizable pot off GoDaddy Girl Vanessa Rousso during Sunday’s action. The flop came 9-4-2 with two diamonds. Rousso bet, Moore put in a raise, and Rousso called to bring a third diamond on the turn. Rousso bet 45,000 and Moore came over the top all-in for 150,000. Rousso tanked before finally folding 5-6 of diamonds for a flush face up. Moore scooped the pot and promptly turned over pocket nines for a set. Thanks in part to Rousso’s donation, Moore owns a stack of 489,000 chips entering Day 4, the second largest tally in the room.
One of the final eliminations yesterday went to Full Tilt Poker front man Howard Lederer, who was all-in with A-K against pocket queens for a classic race situation. The flop came queen-high, giving his opponent a set, and Lederer failed to catch up. Other pros who found the exit on Day 3 included Barry Greenstein, Gavin Griffin, Jonathan “FatalError” Aguiar, Jason Mercier, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, Steve Zolotow, Todd Brunson, and Allen Cunningham.
Play ended on Sunday with the money bubble bursting at 72 players remaining. Thomas Fuller, who had been near the top of the chip counts throughout much of the event, was the unfortunate 73rd place finisher. Fuller was all-in pre-flop with A-K, but ran into pocket aces. The flop of Q-Q-10 gave Fuller an inside straight draw if a jack hit, but the board filled out Q-7 and everyone remaining had made the money. The top prize in the WPT L.A. Poker Classic is $1.8 million.
Here are the top 10 chip counts entering Day 4 of the Commerce Casino tournament:
1. Mark Newhouse - 498,000
2. Chris Moore - 489,000
3. Masa Kagawa - 432,000
4. John Cautela - 417,000
5. Shawn Pilot - 400,500
6. Millad Jorshari - 386,000
7. Gevork Kasabyan - 378,000
8. Tim Begley - 369,500
9. Tri Huynh - 353,000
10. Dan “Wretchy” Martin - 335,000
A stacked field of 72 players remains in the hunt for the L.A. Poker Classic title. Other notable names still alive include:
15. Annie Duke - 321,000
17. Carlos Mortensen - 305,000
19. Steve Sung - 285,000
25. Eugene Katchalov - 235,000
29. Daniel Negreanu - 222,500
30. Peter “Belabacsi” Traply - 221,500
32. Johnny Chan - 218,000
35. Prahlad Friedman - 208,000
36. Hoyt Corkins - 206,500
39. Erica Schoenberg - 189,000
47. Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar - 157,500
51. Robert Mizrachi - 139,500
60. Surinder Sunar - 83,500
64. Vanessa Rousso - 46,000
69. Jon “PearlJammer” Turner - 31,500
72. David “Bakes” Baker - 17,000
Sunday also marked the beginning of the $25,000 High-Roller tournament, whose top prize is $425,000. Twenty-three players remain in the event, with Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger and Daniel Alaei out in front after one day of play.
Tags: 2009, 2010, Annie Duke, Barry Greenstein, Canada, canadian, Daniel Negreanu, full tilt poker, tournament, WSOP
WSOP Europe on ESPN Ratings Fall 25% Amid Stiff Competition
The 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe has been airing on ESPN2, with three hours of coverage shown last Sunday. The ratings for the annual tournament series have dropped 25% year over year due to stiff competition.
ESPN officials haven’t been shy about putting WSOP Europe programming up against some of the world’s most watched television shows. The first installments hit airwaves on January 31st and featured a recap of the inaugural Caesars Cup, pitting top pros from North America against counterparts from Europe. The night marked the annual Grammy Awards on CBS, while the NFL Pro Bowl appeared on ESPN. On the heels of two staunch competitors, the WSOP Europe Caesars Cup on ESPN2 kicked off at 11:00pm ET and ran for two hours.
On February 7th, the most watched NFL Super Bowl in history featured the Indianapolis Colts taking on the New Orleans Saints. More than 106 million people tuned into the extravaganza, which saw a Tracy Porter interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter seal the Saints’ first Super Bowl title. Three hours of coverage on ESPN2 began at 10:00pm ET, about the same time as the Super Bowl ended, with exhausted poker fans asked to camp out for another 180 minutes to watch the WSOP Europe Main Event kick off.
Last weekend, Sunday marked both Valentine’s Day in the United States and the 2010 NBA All Star Game in Dallas, which drew the largest crowd ever for a basketball game at over 100,000 people. The NBA All Star Game aired on TNT and featured a who’s who of the sport, including Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, and Canada’s Steve Nash. ESPN2 aired another three hours of WSOP Europe Main Event coverage beginning at 11:00pm ET that night. By the time the telecast wrapped up, the field was trimmed down to the final nine players, led by Team PokerStars Pro member Jason Mercier, who held 30% of the chips in play.
Meanwhile, Valentine’s Day typically features couples spending quality time together, taking in pricey four-course dinners at restaurants and then curling up by the fire and watching Nick Cassavetes’ classic “The Notebook.” Accordingly, ESPN2 aired the male-dominated poker in a late night timeslot.
On February 12th, the 2010 Winter Olympics kicked off from Vancouver, pitting 82 nations against each other in sports like alpine skiing, curling, figure skating, and snowboarding. NBC has virtually abandoned all other programming in favor of the Olympics, including the poker franchise “Poker After Dark.” The Winter Olympics take place just once every four years.
A representative of ESPN told Poker News Daily that, despite the rigorous competition, the network was pleased with its showing for the 2009 WSOP Europe broadcasts: “It's no surprise that the ratings are down this year when we've been up against the Olympics, the Super Bowl, and the NBA All Star Game. We’re pleased with the production.” ESPN’s WSOP Europe coverage features Norman Chad providing commentary alongside Lon McEachern, with new “High Stakes Poker” floor reporter Kara Scott filming player interviews and other vignettes.
On February 28th at 9:00pm ET, ESPN2 will bring the final table of the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event to primetime, as the telecast will run for two hours. Its competition that night will include the closing ceremonies of the Olympics and a men’s college basketball game pitting #6 Duke at ACC rival Virginia starting at 7:45pm ET.
ESPN officials stated that in 2009, WSOP Europe coverage ran head-to-head with the Super Bowl and NBA All Star Game. However, no Olympics were held last year. The network declined to release specific ratings figures until after the final two episodes aired at the end of February.
ESPN2 will also broadcast the first season of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) beginning in April.
Ville Wahlbeck, Finland Take Three PokerStars Nordic Poker Awards
With the European Poker Tour (EPT) stop in Copenhagen in play and the crème of Scandinavian poker in the house, PokerStars announced the Nordic Poker Awards prior to the start of the Championship Event on Tuesday. On Monday night, four awards for performance in the poker world in 2009 were up for grabs for players from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. By the end of the festivities in the Park Café Nightclub in Copenhagen, Finland would be the big winner.
Of the four awards – Best Live Tournament Player, Best Online Player, Rookie of the Year, and Best Performance of 2009 – three went to Finnish players. 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) $10,000 Mixed Event champion Ville Wahlbeck captured two of the awards (Best Live Tournament Player and Best Performance).
For the two awards, Wahlbeck had to face down threats from 2008 WSOP Main Event winner Peter Eastgate and Norwegian Dag Martin Mikkelsen. Despite the achievements of both players and other competitors such as Sweden’s Kristoffer “Sumpas” Thorsson and Erik Sagström, Wahlbeck’s WSOP performance – where he cashed six times, including four final tables and a bracelet win – pushed him over the top with the voters. Wahlbeck, who said during the proceedings that the grind of the WSOP had kept him out of much of the other action during the 2009 calendar year, added that he will be back in the tournament scene later in 2010.
The two awards taken by Wahlbeck weren’t the last ones that Finland would take home. Due to his outstanding online play, Full Tilt Poker’s Patrik Antonius was named the Outstanding Online Player of the Year. Antonius wasn’t present to claim his award, which was accepted by Wahlbeck in his absence. He defeated Jesper “Kipster” Hougaard of Denmark, Stephan “stephank” Kjerstad of Norway, and Thorsson to capture the prize.
Finland was looking to sweep the awards, but Thorsson put an end to the Finnish domination of the Nordic Poker Awards. “Sumpas” had achievements in 2009 that included a win in the High Roller event during the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) and a victory at the Master Classics of Poker in Amsterdam. With those accomplishments in both the live and online poker worlds, Thorsson was able to defeat Denmark’s Mickey ‘Mement_Mori’ Petersen, Finland’s Jens Kyllönen, and Norway’s Martin Gudvangen for the prestigious Rookie of the Year award.
With the completion of the Nordic Poker Awards on Monday night, the EPT Copenhagen Main Event kicked off action on Tuesday with the first of two Day One starts. Four Team PokerStars members – Arnaud Mattern, Dario Minieri, Johnny Lodden, and Ruben Visser – were part of the 191-player field that started the day. By the end of action on Tuesday night, only 113 players remained, with Canada’s Andrew Pantling leading the Day One starters with 155,800 in chips.
Day 1B of the EPT Copenhagen Main Event is currently underway with one of last year’s most outstanding players making quite a bit of noise. Team PokerStars pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier is a part of the action and currently seems to be making a move at Pantling on the leaderboard. Other PokerStars pros who are on the felt during Day 1B include Eastgate, Thorson, Luca Pagano, Noah Boeken, and Sebastian Ruthenberg. The final numbers are not in yet, but the field looks to be over 400 players, but slightly down from last year’s 462 combatants.
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, andrew pantling, Canada, european, Online Poker, pokerstars, tournament, WSOP
Poker Player J.R. Celski Medals Olympic Short Track Event
We’re just two days into the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and poker players have already made waves. Nineteen year old J.R. Celski, an avid poker fan who hails from the United States, took home a bronze medal in the Short Track speed skating event.
According to Audrey Magazine, in addition to being an avid outdoorsman and golf enthusiast, Celski is “a serious poker player.” He’ll attend college at the University of California at Berkeley and, according to the periodical, can often be found “camping, hiking, boating, surfing, and fishing.” He began training for the Short Track event in 2002 and was not old enough to qualify for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, missing the cutoff by a matter of days.
He departed Washington State for sunny California to train with Coach Wilma Boomstra. At age 14, he qualified for the Junior World Team, but the International Skating Union noted that Celski was not of age to compete. Then, he injured his back during a race in Romania, turning his skating career upside down. Text found on Celski’s official website explains, “It was shortly after his return from Italy when homesickness, back injury, balancing school workload, and ice training, combined with burnout, was taking over.”
Celski landed medals in the 2009 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, taking the gold in the 3,000-meter event ahead of South Korea’s Lee Ho-Suk and Canada’s Charles Hamelin. Celski also skated his way to another gold medal in the 5,000-meter event, as the U.S. team’s time of 6:51 edged out China and Japan to take the top of the podium. In the 1,500-meter event at the same games, Celski finished third behind two South Korean skaters; he finished second overall in the Championships to land a fourth medal.
After a highly publicized collision on the Short Track in Vancouver, Celski earned his first Olympic medal, a bronze. Lee Jung-Su finished with a time of 2:17.611 in the event, just inching out the United States’ Apolo Anton Ohno. Celski finished with a time of 2:18.053, about a half-second behind Jung-Su. By virtue of capturing a silver medal, Ohno moved into a tie with skater Bonnie Blair for most Winter Olympics medals in U.S. history at six. He also took down Season 4 of the ABC reality franchise “Dancing with the Stars.” In 2008, fellow Olympian Shawn Johnston, a gymnast, broke through on the series to claim the title.
Thanks to Ohno and our favorite poker fanatic, the United States has already four medals in Vancouver entering Sunday’s action in the Canadian city. Behind the United States is South Korea, who has a pair of medals to the nation’s credit. A total of nine countries are tied at one medal each: the Netherlands, Slovakia, Switzerland, Canada, Germany, Poland, Austria, France, and Russia. According to NBC.com, Celski was injured last September “when he sliced his left leg with his skate blade,” but made a full recovery. He’s from the same hometown as Ohno, Federal Way, Washington, a suburb of Seattle.
Some in the poker community were checking out the Olympics over the weekend, while others focused on tournaments as part of the L.A. Poker Classic. Full Tilt Poker front man Howard Lederer Tweeted on Saturday, “The reason I watch Winter Games? To see if some guy who won the last 3 world titles in a sport I don't care about will choke Olympics.” Meanwhile, World Poker Tour (WPT) reporter B.J. Nemeth was allegedly on location in British Columbia: “Rhapsody & I are gonna try to check out the venues @ Whistler now (in the mountains), & we might return to the USA tonight. Wish us luck!”
The 2010 Winter Olympics continue for two more weeks and coverage can be found on NBC in the United States. On Saturday night, the Canadian women’s hockey team defeated Slovakia by a record-breaking score of 18-0.
Online Poker Visa and MasterCard Deposit Woes Explained
In recent days, online poker players trying to use Visa and MasterCard credit cards to deposit funds into their accounts have experienced major setbacks. Due to what eGaming Review dubbed an “overnight tightening of restrictions,” deposits are now down sharply on some of the industry’s largest sites. Poker News Daily sat down with an insider in the world of payment processing to break down what happened.
Poker News Daily: Do you believe that it was ever acceptable for MasterCard to process an online poker transaction after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed in the United States in 2006?
It hasn't been legal for MasterCard or Visa for over 10 years now, so this is nothing new to U.S.-facing companies in particular. What is new is the way they have caught people who were circumventing their rules.
PND: Are all transactions related to internet gambling blocked or just credit card deposits?
They are not blocked everywhere. Some seem to be operating MasterCard with no issues.
PND: Are daily transaction counts down as a result or are online poker players finding other ways to get money online?
From what I have been told, cash in is down significantly. Obviously, if you take a credit card channel as big as MasterCard away from your portfolio, there will be a big hit.
PND: Do players realize that their funds aren’t being deposited using credit cards?
The players are not notified. The deposits go through and they will still be billed for the transaction. The issue is that the gaming company never receives the funds, as they are "intercepted." The processor the gaming company used then has their account with MasterCard closed and they are fined; this is usually passed on to the gaming company directly.
PND: Does a player lose the intercepted funds?
If MasterCard closes the middleman down, they keep all funds frozen until they ascertain what happened. The player gets billed and knows nothing. The player gets his money in his gaming account and has his credit card billed. We basically just gave him free money. These companies do not settle instantly with the poker rooms and that is where the big risk comes. MasterCard doesn’t settle with the processor instantly either.
PND: How did MasterCard block internet gambling transactions?
Rumor has it that they audited thousands upon thousands of transactions manually. They looked at coded declines and then at subsequent approved transactions. This would tell them that they were being "bounced" to another uncoded source. They deemed that these transactions were illegal and closed down the processing account attached to them.
PND: Is the recent MasterCard blocking due to the UIGEA, charge backs, or some combination of both?
I'm not sure about their motives. MasterCard has always been more aggressive than others with this. We have been warned for many months that this was coming, but there is no way of knowing until it actually happens. As always, this industry is resilient and will bounce back. It always has and it always will.
PND: What has been the reaction of players you've talked to at your site?
Players are used to cards being declined fairly regularly. Obviously, some want to know why, so we try to direct them to other trusted methods such as e-wallets wherever possible.
PND: Can online poker players use debit cards to deposit?
MasterCard does not run debit cards. Visa or the bank runs them usually. I know that Canada shut off most debit cards to poker companies last year. TD, Scotia Bank, and RBC all stopped too.
Quebec to Enter Online Poker Market
The world of internet gaming and online poker continues to become more convoluted, as it was announced earlier this week that the Canadian province of Quebec has entered into a deal to open a State-authorized online gaming operation.
It was announced on Wednesday that Loto-Quebec, who holds the monopoly on the online lottery in the Canadian province, was authorized by the provincial government to begin operating an internet gambling and online poker portal for its citizens. The new site would compete against other online casino and poker sites and would not, officials state, monopolize the industry in the province. Despite the fact that online gaming is legal in Canada, the move by the provincial government has been painted as a way to eliminate unregulated operations that currently are in existence and increase revenue for the province.
According to reports from CTV Montreal, Loto-Quebec, along with the operators the British Columbia and Atlantic Lottery Corporations, will set up a singular site in the second half of 2010 that will cater to citizens of Quebec. CTV Montreal reports that over $600 million in revenue is pulled in by over 2000 operations, many of them outside of the government’s jurisdiction or the “black market,” as the government believes. CTV Montreal quotes the Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand as saying, “Our citizens are not protected and the money goes to illegal channels.”
Loto-Quebec states that, beyond the money side of the equation, the company and the government are looking to expand protections for consumers. According to Loto-Quebec, the new site will feature several preventative measures that will help to thwart the occurrence of difficult issues such as age verification, deposit limits, and problem gambling. “(Other) online gambling sites obviously do not offer an assistance program for vulnerable players and it is left to the (government) to pick up the costs of problem gaming,” according to Loto-Quebec Chief Executive Officer Alain Cousineau as saying.
Loto-Quebec has said it is looking to a European nation that has nationalized its gaming, Sweden, as a template. The Swedish site Svenska Spel offers internet gaming and online poker and is the only legal outlet for Swedes to pursue such activities. Svenska Spel was founded in 1997 and opened its online poker operations in 2006; it is currently the 13th largest online poker site in the online poker industry, according to PokerScout.com.
This latest move by Quebec follows other efforts in the United States, where jurisdictions are looking to take the online gaming industry out of the hands of the federal government. Three states - California, Florida, and New Jersey - may open their own state-run sites.
A thread on the online forum TwoPlusTwo is debating the issue, with opinions landing on both sides. Poster “defactocrippler” states in a post, “I assume they did some investigating and it is pretty likely that some money is going to illegal channels… Citizens are in fact not protected because there is no regulation.” Others point out that the move by Quebec could be seen as an attack on the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Indians, who operate the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and are responsible for the licensing and operation of hundreds of online casino and poker sites.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on Quebec legalizing internet gambling.
Quebec to Enter Online Poker Market
The world of internet gaming and online poker continues to become more convoluted, as it was announced earlier this week that the Canadian province of Quebec has entered into a deal to open a State-authorized online gaming operation.
It was announced on Wednesday that Loto-Quebec, who holds the monopoly on the online lottery in the Canadian province, was authorized by the provincial government to begin operating an internet gambling and online poker portal for its citizens. The new site would compete against other online casino and poker sites and would not, officials state, monopolize the industry in the province. Despite the fact that online gaming is legal in Canada, the move by the provincial government has been painted as a way to eliminate unregulated operations that currently are in existence and increase revenue for the province.
According to reports from CTV Montreal, Loto-Quebec, along with the operators the British Columbia and Atlantic Lottery Corporations, will set up a singular site in the second half of 2010 that will cater to citizens of Quebec. CTV Montreal reports that over $600 million in revenue is pulled in by over 2000 operations, many of them outside of the government’s jurisdiction or the “black market,” as the government believes. CTV Montreal quotes the Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand as saying, “Our citizens are not protected and the money goes to illegal channels.”
Loto-Quebec states that, beyond the money side of the equation, the company and the government are looking to expand protections for consumers. According to Loto-Quebec, the new site will feature several preventative measures that will help to thwart the occurrence of difficult issues such as age verification, deposit limits, and problem gambling. “(Other) online gambling sites obviously do not offer an assistance program for vulnerable players and it is left to the (government) to pick up the costs of problem gaming,” according to Loto-Quebec Chief Executive Officer Alain Cousineau as saying.
Loto-Quebec has said it is looking to a European nation that has nationalized its gaming, Sweden, as a template. The Swedish site Svenska Spel offers internet gaming and online poker and is the only legal outlet for Swedes to pursue such activities. Svenska Spel was founded in 1997 and opened its online poker operations in 2006; it is currently the 13th largest online poker site in the online poker industry, according to PokerScout.com.
This latest move by Quebec follows other efforts in the United States, where jurisdictions are looking to take the online gaming industry out of the hands of the federal government. Three states - California, Florida, and New Jersey - may open their own state-run sites.
A thread on the online forum TwoPlusTwo is debating the issue, with opinions landing on both sides. Poster “defactocrippler” states in a post, “I assume they did some investigating and it is pretty likely that some money is going to illegal channels… Citizens are in fact not protected because there is no regulation.” Others point out that the move by Quebec could be seen as an attack on the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Indians, who operate the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and are responsible for the licensing and operation of hundreds of online casino and poker sites.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on Quebec legalizing internet gambling.
Quebec to Enter Online Poker Market
The world of internet gaming and online poker continues to become more convoluted, as it was announced earlier this week that the Canadian province of Quebec has entered into a deal to open a State-authorized online gaming operation.
It was announced on Wednesday that Loto-Quebec, who holds the monopoly on the online lottery in the Canadian province, was authorized by the provincial government to begin operating an internet gambling and online poker portal for its citizens. The new site would compete against other online casino and poker sites and would not, officials state, monopolize the industry in the province. Despite the fact that online gaming is legal in Canada, the move by the provincial government has been painted as a way to eliminate unregulated operations that currently are in existence and increase revenue for the province.
According to reports from CTV Montreal, Loto-Quebec, along with the operators the British Columbia and Atlantic Lottery Corporations, will set up a singular site in the second half of 2010 that will cater to citizens of Quebec. CTV Montreal reports that over $600 million in revenue is pulled in by over 2000 operations, many of them outside of the government’s jurisdiction or the “black market,” as the government believes. CTV Montreal quotes the Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand as saying, “Our citizens are not protected and the money goes to illegal channels.”
Loto-Quebec states that, beyond the money side of the equation, the company and the government are looking to expand protections for consumers. According to Loto-Quebec, the new site will feature several preventative measures that will help to thwart the occurrence of difficult issues such as age verification, deposit limits, and problem gambling. “(Other) online gambling sites obviously do not offer an assistance program for vulnerable players and it is left to the (government) to pick up the costs of problem gaming,” according to Loto-Quebec Chief Executive Officer Alain Cousineau as saying.
Loto-Quebec has said it is looking to a European nation that has nationalized its gaming, Sweden, as a template. The Swedish site Svenska Spel offers internet gaming and online poker and is the only legal outlet for Swedes to pursue such activities. Svenska Spel was founded in 1997 and opened its online poker operations in 2006; it is currently the 13th largest online poker site in the online poker industry, according to PokerScout.com.
This latest move by Quebec follows other efforts in the United States, where jurisdictions are looking to take the online gaming industry out of the hands of the federal government. Three states - California, Florida, and New Jersey - may open their own state-run sites.
A thread on the online forum TwoPlusTwo is debating the issue, with opinions landing on both sides. Poster “defactocrippler” states in a post, “I assume they did some investigating and it is pretty likely that some money is going to illegal channels… Citizens are in fact not protected because there is no regulation.” Others point out that the move by Quebec could be seen as an attack on the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Indians, who operate the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and are responsible for the licensing and operation of hundreds of online casino and poker sites.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on Quebec legalizing internet gambling.
Kara Scott Previews High Stakes Poker Season 6
Debuting on February 14th at 8:00pm ET on GSN is Season 6 of the popular cash game show “High Stakes Poker.” This time around, hostess Kara Scott will conduct interviews in the “High Stakes Poker” suite, replacing A.J. Benza. Scott sat down with Poker News Daily to preview the upcoming cycle.
Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. Talk a little bit about your experience filming the sixth season of “High Stakes Poker,” your first with the program.
Kara Scott: I was pretty nervous heading into it because it’s such an iconic show for poker. There are so many people who love it and my best friend even said not to ruin it. It’s all very exciting and getting to be on the set and talking to the players was just so much fun for me. It’s fun to pick their brains about strategy.
PND: What was the background to you joining the show?
Kara Scott: GSN wanted to bring someone in to work on the floor. That person wouldn’t just be asking general interview questions. Instead, they would be someone who knew poker more deeply in order to get into the heads of the players. Obviously, it’s a completely different role than what A.J. Benza did. What A.J. did was great and I certainly couldn’t replace what he did. I’m glad they brought me in, though. It was surprising, flattering, and exciting.
PND: Did the signing take you by surprise?
Kara Scott: Poker is a pretty small industry, so I knew some of the people involved. I worked on filming WSOP Europe with Poker PROductions and knew the people on the crew, but it definitely caught me off-guard.
PND: Talk about what you’re looking forward to the most when the action unfolds on GSN on Sunday, February 14th.
Kara Scott: I hope I asked the right questions because it’s all such a blur. There were three days of filming and they were long days. I can’t wait to watch it and hope I was coherent.
PND: What’s it like being the love interest of ESPN poker announcer Norman Chad?
Kara Scott: He came up to me during the WSOP Main Event last year and asked me why I never returned his calls. He was pretty funny. He’s a nice guy and has always been very kind to me.
PND: Tell us about your relationship with the Canadian Poker Tour (CPT).
Kara Scott: I’m going to be playing in some of their events. I’ve never played in Canada, so that should be a lot of fun. There are some tournaments in Vancouver and some on the east side of the country as well.
PND: Has the hectic lifestyle caught up with you yet? You have been quite busy!
Kara Scott: I’ve had so much time off lately, so I’m well rested. I’ve just been enjoying the sunshine in Southern California. I’ve been in America for a few months now and moved here back in November. I’m brand new and just got myself a car.
PND: You’re a sponsored pro of PartyPoker as well. Will we be seeing you in PartyPoker gear on the tournament trail?
Kara Scott: I have a lot of tournaments coming up in the States. PartyPoker has been great to me in terms of buy-ins and is giving me a chance to go out and play. I’m not a pro player; I’m a television hostess who gets to play a lot. This year, I get to play as though I’m a pro. I’m going to be working with coaches and figuring out how to improve my game.
PND: How did the opportunity to sign with PartyPoker come about?
Kara Scott: I’ve known the PartyPoker guys for years, since I started playing poker. I became friends with a lot of the guys who work behind the scenes at PartyPoker and they approached me, which was pretty surprising. I didn’t see it coming. They wanted me to do TV hosting and represent the brand as part of Team Party. I was blown away and it was great to be able to do. Standing alongside guys like Mike Sexton is an honor.
PND: Do you have a poker idol?
Kara Scott: I’ve been able to meet so many different players. During “High Stakes Poker,” watching people like Phil Ivey play was an amazing experience. He has to be arguably the best poker player in the world. Watching him play and talking with him about his decisions were quite intimidating.
Tags: buy-ins, Canada, canadian, high stakes, interview, kara scott, Phil Ivey, poker player, tournament, WSOP
PlayersOnly, Sportsbook.com to Leave Cake Poker Network
Rumblings in the recent London Affiliate Conference (LAC) were that by mid-April, PlayersOnly and Sportsbook.com would be departing the Cake Poker Network. Instead, Sportsbook.com's parent company, which owns both sites, will head to the Merge Gaming Network. Poker News Daily sought comment from the Cake Poker Network.
Likely by mid-April, PlayersOnly and Sportsbook.com will join the Merge Gaming Network, whose flagship site is Carbon Poker, although a firm timeline does not appear to be in place. Both sites, according to Cake Poker Network officials, brought seasonal player bases to the table, as operating a sports book remained their central focus. Major sporting events brought a spike in traffic, which then fizzled during the low season. Sportsbook.com has been a member of the Cake Poker Network since 2006, while PlayersOnly began accepting customers from across the globe in October. Prior to that, PlayersOnly was only available to poker fans in the United States and Canada.
Cake Poker officials told Poker News Daily that the family of sites will still experience growth in 2010 despite the rumored departures: “We’re expecting good growth in 2010 as a result of some significant new partners and the expansion of existing brands on the network.” For example, Phil “The Unabomber” Laak recently launched Unabomber Poker on the Cake Poker Network, bringing his unique flair to an online site. A total of eight new Cake Poker Network rooms hopped onboard in recent days, a list that also includes 7Win Poker, Redback Poker, Amsterdams Poker, Safari Poker, Dimeline, Rags2Riches Poker, and Burro Poker.
Cake Poker Network officials labeled the potential departure of PlayersOnly and Sportsbook.com “unfortunate, since they were a great group to work with,” but touted their surge of new partners as well as a new poker client expected to debut in the near future: “We’re working on a new client that we are really excited about. It has new features, better graphics, and higher reliability. We’ve put a lot of thought and a lot of work into this and hope to have a beta into some players’ hands no later than April.” The network’s software allows users to change screen names with regularity, hindering the ability of database programs like PokerTracker and Holdem Manager to keep track of the competition.
Rumors also abounded during the recent London Affiliate Conference (LAC) that DoylesRoom, fronted by ten-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Doyle Brunson, was on its way out of the Cake Poker Network as well. However, Poker News Daily can squash those rumors. DoylesRoom, which will host this week’s Bounty Tournament at 9:30pm ET tonight, features a stable of pros that includes Chris “moorman1” Moorman, Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark, Amit “amak316” Makhija, Dani “ansky” Stern, and recent World Poker Tour (WPT) Southern Poker Championship winner Hoyt Corkins.
In addition to Carbon Poker, the Merge Gaming Network includes ACED, IronDuke, Poker Nordica, and Reefer Poker. Its cash game traffic, according to PokerScout.com, has shrunk in recent months. It saw a 24-hour peak of 632 real money ring game players on December 14th, but has jumped above 500 just once since. At the time of writing, the Merge Gaming Network boasted a seven-day running average of 245 real money ring game players, good for the 20th largest tally worldwide. The Merge Gaming family of sites welcomes players from the United States.
The Cake Poker Network, meanwhile, is the tenth largest in the business, boasting a seven-day running average of 2,100 cash game players, or nearly 10 times the traffic of the Merge Gaming Network. Besides Cake Poker and DoylesRoom, other network sites include Power Poker, Poker Host, and Bet US.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on this story.
Lacey Jones New Face of Canadian Poker Tour
The Canadian Poker Tour (CPT) continues to grow and expand and its latest addition is none other than Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones. The tour recently announced that the model, poker player and media personality is going to be the new face of the CPT. The tour will also be gaining more media exposure thanks to the launch of CandianPokerPlayer.tv, an online television network devoted entirely to the game of poker.
Jones struck up talks with the CPT during last year’s World Poker Showdown and CPT sponsored event, the Costa Rica Poker Showdown. Jones took third place and apparently made a lasting impression on CPT executives. She will now serve as the tour’s spokeswoman, with her duties beginning right away. Jones will be featured on the cover of Canadian Poker Player Magazine’s February issue, which will arrive in casinos, newsstands, and bookstores later this month.
CPT President Kelly Kellner believes Jones is a perfect hit for the tour. “Here is a girl that loves hockey, loves Canadian beer, and is an amazing poker player to top it off. I told her she has been picked up off waivers and claimed by Canada and the CPT," joked Kellner in an official press release from CPT. “We believe that by having Lacey attend many of our events and the fact that she is about to move to Vancouver, the partnership couldn’t be stronger.”
Jones attended the CPT Kickoff Poker Series at the Deerfort Inn and Casino in Alberta last month and is planning to join the tour again when it ventures to Calgary for the Winter Freezeout from February 24th to 28th. The series is set to be held at the Cash Casino and will feature a $760 buy-in Main Event.
Like Kellner, Jones is excited by the new partnership. “I truly love Canadians and am so happy to be a part of the Canadian Poker Tour,” Jones enthused to the media. Jones is no stranger to publicity. In the past, she has taken on hostessing duties for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and the British Columbia Poker Championships. She has also done a number of on-air interviews and commentary sessions in tandem with the WSOP.
Jones and the CPT will be prominently featured in a new website from the parent company of the CPT, HeadsUp Entertainment. Last year, HeadsUp announced plans to launch a poker-themed online television network and it appears those plans are finally coming to fruition. The online network will bear the name of HeadsUp’s magazine, Canadian Poker Player, and will feature footage from a number of Canadian Poker events.
The channel is set to launch on March 5th and feature content like the heads-up bout between “Yukon” Brad Booth and Huck Seed in the title match of the Canadian Poker Open, the final table of the Stampede Classic, and documentary footage of several 2007 CPT events. Kellner, who also serves as President of HeadsUp, assured skeptics there would be plenty of Canadian-related poker content to keep the channel running for the foreseeable future: “There are so many amazing players and stories that we find on tour. Both the magazine and our online network will give players from across the country a forum and showcase as we strive to build new poker superstars.”
HeadsUp Entertainment is not the only group with its eyes on the CPT and burgeoning Canadian poker scene. When PartyPoker signed player and media personality Kara Scott, it was announced that she would be making the rounds on the CPT as well, promoting the site in her home country.
Tags: absolute poker, brad booth, Canada, canadian, interview, kara scott, poker player, poker show, woman, WSOP
Brit wins European Poker Tour
PokerStars Offering Super Bowl XLIV Tickets
The world’s largest online poker site is giving away tickets to the world’s premier football game, Super Bowl XLIV. On Sunday, two pairs of tickets to the “Big Game” in Miami will be up for grabs on PokerStars.
Two Sunday Football Special tournaments will be held on PokerStars on Sunday, January 31st. One will begin at 19:00 ET, while the other will follow at 22:00 ET. Both events have buy-ins of $11 and their winners will be awarded with a pair of tickets to Super Bowl XLIV on top of the prize pool. In addition, each champion will take home $1,000 in spending money. The winners won’t have to wait long to use their prizes, as the 44th Super Bowl kicks off on Sunday, February 7th from Dolphin Stadium in Miami.
PokerStars isn’t stopping there, however. Players who opt to reload their online poker accounts using the code “FOOTBALL” before the events begin will be credited with a ticket to play in one of the $11 buy-in Sunday Football Special tournaments. For players who have not yet deposited on PokerStars, the site is offering seats into the Super Bowl XLIV giveaways as well. Just use the bonus code “SPECIAL” when you sign up and you could be jet-setting your way to sunny South Florida. Unlike the reload bonus, players who deposit for the first time will receive tickets into both Sunday Football Special events.
The tournaments can be found in the PokerStars lobby under “Tourney” and “Regional.” The promotion is only open to new and existing PokerStars members in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The 2010 Super Bowl features the NFC Champion New Orleans Saints squaring off against the AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts. Super Bowl XLIV marks the first appearance in the championship game for the Saints, a club that was founded back in 1967. The Saints last made the playoffs in 2006, but fell to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship by a final score of 39-14.
The Colts won the Super Bowl in 2006, defeating the aforementioned Chicago Bears. The club has made the NFL playoffs ever year save one since 1999 and plays its home games at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The teams feature two of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. The pair finished second and first in the NFL in touchdowns during the 2009 regular season with 33 and 34, respectively. Brees owned the second highest yards per game tally at 292 this season, while Manning had the second most completions in the NFL at 393, trailing only Houston’s Matt Schaub.
Online poker players who win their way to Super Bowl XLIV should be on-hand in Miami no later than 6:25pm ET on Sunday, February 7th, when the game will kick off. The contest will be carried by CBS and beamed into hundreds of millions of households around the world. The rock band The Who will perform at halftime in what will surely be a rowdy spectacle. As it currently stands, the online poker room and sports book Bodog has the Colts as a six point favorite to win, with an over/under of 56.5.
Visit PokerStars for more information on how to win your way to Miami.
Poker Fantasy Moves to Merge Gaming Network
The online poker room Poker Fantasy will be moving to the Merge Gaming Network on January 31st, according to an e-mail received by Poker News Daily last week. As a result, the site will likely be unavailable for two weeks while it updates its software.
An e-mail sent by Poker Fantasy read in part, “As of January 31, 2010, Poker Fantasy will be moving to a new network, the Merge Gaming LTD, officially licensed and regulated by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. There will be an expected downtime of approximately two weeks. During the downtime customer service support will be available to assist you at 24/7. You may direct all inquiries to custserv@pokerfantasy.com.” A downtime of two weeks would put Poker Fantasy’s estimated re-launch around the 15th of February.
Players who opt to withdraw funds from Poker Fantasy prior to the move to the Merge Gaming Network can do so any time prior to January 31st. After that date, customer funds will automatically migrate to Poker Fantasy’s new home on the USA-friendly family of online poker sites. According to the traffic ranking site PokerScout.com, the Merge Gaming Network is the 19th largest worldwide, sporting a seven-day running average of 255 real money ring game players. During its peak hours, around 400 cash game players can be found battling it out on the Merge Gaming Network’s virtual tables.
The new network’s flagship site is Carbon Poker. Other sites on the Merge Gaming Network include Aced, which briefly employed 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event winner Jamie Gold as a sponsored pro, and Iron Duke, which attracted online poker sensation Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh to its ranks. Other well-known sites on the Merge Gaming Network include Poker MVP, Poker Nordica, Reefer Poker, and Spin32 Poker. According to PokerScout.com, the Merge Gaming Network is headquartered down under in Australia and has game servers located on the Kahnawake Indian reservation in Canada.
Poker Fantasy’s move marks one of the first site migrations of 2010. In November, the iPoker Network site Noble Poker absorbed Fair Poker. The former site is based in Gibraltar and has been in existence since 2004. Shortly thereafter, Third Bullet Poker merged its player base with that of Cake Poker. Third Bullet representatives commented in an e-mail sent to players, “What will change is that you will have access to an increased technical and marketing support team that will make your play experience even better. We have full confidence that you will find continued play on Cake Poker to meet or exceed the level of professionalism and customer service you have come to know at Third Bullet.”
Last week, the USA-friendly Everleaf Network merged with the Universal Poker Network (UPN), whose pre-merger fleet of online poker sites included Poker Druum, 5Poker5, My Name Poker, AB Digital Poker, Poker King Bet, Brasilian Poker, Full Kings Poker, Warriors Poker, Win PKR, and Poker Panther. Major rooms on the Everleaf Network included Minted Poker and Poker4Ever. In February, a rumored online poker site faced by Antonio Esfandiari, Alec “traheho” Torelli, and Andrew “good2cu” Robl, among others, may join the merged Everleaf/UPN network.
The Merge Gaming Network is one of only several sites that accept customers from the United States and is the 19th largest worldwide in terms of cash game traffic. Others include PokerStars (#1 worldwide), Full Tilt Poker (#2), the CEREUS Network (#6), the Cake Poker Network (#10), and Bodog (#15). The Merge Gaming Network recently saw its ties with PIC Club severed after alleged non-payment issues, although both sides claimed to have broken ties with the other.
Tags: 15, 2010, 5, aced, Australia, bodog, cake poker, Canada, cash game player, cent, full tilt poker, game player, Jamie Gold, king, News Daily, Online Poker, online poker room, online poker site, online poker sites, player, Poker, Poker News Daily, poker site, pokerstars, Pro, software, United States, usa, WSOP
Poker Pro Canada Magazine Announced
It is only five years old, but Poker Pro Magazine has already established itself in the poker world with a circulation in excess of 150,000 copies per month. The publication is already available in the U.S. and Canada, but the company is now offering a something special for its Canadian readership.
Poker Pro Media recently announced it will be a launching a regional version of its popular magazine entitled Poker Pro Canada. The Canadian edition will feature in-depth profiles of Canadian players, updates and news from the growing Canadian poker scene and, of course, strategy and tips from the pros.
Canadian Poker Pro Executive Editor magazine John “JohnnyQuads” Wenzel elaborated on the motivation behind launching the new magazine in an official press release: “Some say this is a time of contraction for print media, but we’re bullish on the Canadian market. The game is exploding in Canada and we intend to provide enthusiasts with a slick, upscale magazine that will be fun to read and will also improve their bottom line at the tables.” Wenzel also serves as Editor-In-Chief of Poker Pro Magazine.
Wenzel makes a valid point, as there have been a number of popular events in Canada in the past few months, including the British Columbia Poker Championship (BCPC) and, more recently, the Fallsview Poker Classic in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Several big names turned out for the respective events, including Full Tilt Poker’s Gavin Smith, UB.com pro Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho, Scott “BigRiskky” Clements, Mike “SirWatts” Watson, and Brad Booth. Smith had an exceptionally good showing at Fallsview, where he won a $2,500 buy-in event and placed fourth in a $5,000 buy-in tournament won by Simon “pokerbrat13” Charette.
“The Canadian poker scene is fascinating, but it doesn’t get a lot of publicity. We’re going to change that,” explained Wenzel. The long list of top Canadian players includes Smith, Booth, Watson, Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu, Full Tilt’s Greg “FBT” Mueller, Michael “Timex” McDonald, Nenad Medic, former European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo winner Glen Chorny, Steve Paul Ambrose, Evelyn Ng, Betfair pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi, and Shawn Buchanan. The country is also home to the popular Canadian Poker Tour (CPT) and the newly launched PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) also has plans to expand its tournament schedule into Canada.
This is not the first time that Poker Pro has branched out with a new publication. The media company also produces Poker Pro Europe and Online Poker Pro, the latter of which is a publication dedicated entirely to the internet poker scene. Poker Pro Canada will be sold at bookstores and convenience stores alike, gracing the shelves of stores 7-Eleven, Wal-Mart, Costco, Indigo/Chapters, and Shoppers Drug Mart. It will also be available in casino poker rooms across the country. The new magazine is set to launch in March and an accompanying website should debut in the coming weeks.
Poker Pro Magazine is not the only publication betting on Canada. Back in September, Canadian Poker Player Magazine announced that it was planning to expand its media operation by launching a 24-hour online television station dedicated to the Canadian poker scene. Modeled after the popular Poker Channel in the U.K., the site is supposed to feature poker-themed movies and television plus television coverage of past Canadian tournaments like the Canadian Open Poker Championships.
To date, the site has not gone fully live, but the project itself is another indication that many poker companies are setting their sights on the Canadian Poker scene. Another indication is the recent announcement by PartyPoker that Kara Scott was joining its slate of sponsored pros. Scott is supposed to promote the room in her home country of Canada by taking part in a number of CPT events.
Tags: 15, 5, aced, brad booth, Canada, canadian, cent, Daniel Negreanu, Editor, EUR, Europe, european, European Poker Tour, Evelyn Ng, full tilt poker, Gavin Smith, internet poker, kara scott, king, Maria Ho, member, model, North America, Online Poker, player, Poker, poker player, Poker Player Magazine, pokerstars, Pro, Tiffany Michelle, tournament
Calvin Ayre Aims to Raise $1 Million for Haiti
Over the past week, a number of poker pros and rooms have reached out to the victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Poker rooms like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker promised to match donations from patrons, pros pledged a percentage of their winnings to the cause, and there was an outpouring of generosity and concern towards the millions affected by the natural disaster.
Bodog founder Calvin Ayre is upping the stakes when it comes to raising money for those in Haiti by promising to match the earnings of the online gaming industry up to $1 million and donate it to the charitable group Oxfam International, a collection of 14 service and charitable organizations dedicated to fighting poverty and injustice around the world.
Ayre originally made the pledge to match donations on his personal website shortly after the quake hit. He made an initial donation of £10,000 to the U.K. branch of Oxfam, but also encouraged others in the gaming community to reach out and help. He offered to match any Oxfam donations by online gaming groups and later agreed to open up his charitable efforts to other organizations. He explained why he wanted to center his efforts on Oxfam in the comments section of his blog post: “We would consider matching confirmed funds to qualified organizations other than Oxfam. We chose Oxfam because it is a well known reputable organization and I like focusing as much money as I can through one organization as this maximizes impact on the ground.”
Ayre is making the contribution via the foundation bearing his name. The charitable organization has previously undertaken projects like giving underprivileged teens opportunities to attend college in Canada and the Philippines. The publication iGaming Business is helping to spread the word about Ayre’s pledge. Bodog Poker pros Evelyn Ng and David Williams also got the word out via their respective Twitter accounts. There is a special page on Oxfam’s website set up to track donations that will be matched by Ayre. Interested parties can also make donations in person at the upcoming London Affiliate Conference (LAC), which is sponsored by iGaming Review.
The total amount of money donated to Oxfam on behalf of the online gaming industry will be announced at the LAC awards dinner in London on January 28th. Over 500 members of the online gaming community are expected to be in attendance. In addition to announcing the total amount of money raised for Oxfam, the dinner will also serve as a chance to honor the winners in categories like Best Affiliate, Best iGaming Software, and Best Affiliate Manager. The dinner will take place at The Grange St Paul’s Hotel.
The people at Oxfam have been most impressed with Ayre’s generosity and the outpouring from the gaming community in the wake of the disaster. “We are truly impressed by the iGaming communities’ effort and drive for the survivors of the Haiti earthquake,” said Chris Ashworth, Oxfam’s Corporate Partnership Manager. “Access to safe water is one of the most immediate problems to resolve now and with this phenomenal support, we will be able to save lives immediately, by providing clean water and sanitation, as well as shelter for the people who have lost their homes and family…We cannot thank the gaming community enough for this act of generosity at a time of such enormous need.”
Those interested in making a donation to Oxfam that will be matched by Ayre’s foundation can do so by visiting the following web page: https://www.oxfam.org.uk/donate/haiti-earthquake/calvin-ayre.
Tags: 5, bodog, Canada, cent, David Williams, Evelyn Ng, founder, full tilt poker, king, London, manager, member, online gaming, player, Poker, pokerstars, Pro, software
Calvin Ayre Aims to Raise $1 Million for Haiti
Over the past week, a number of poker pros and rooms have reached out to the victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Poker rooms like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker promised to match donations from patrons, pros pledged a percentage of their winnings to the cause, and there was an outpouring of generosity and concern towards the millions affected by the natural disaster.
Bodog founder Calvin Ayre is upping the stakes when it comes to raising money for those in Haiti by promising to match the earnings of the online gaming industry up to $1 million and donate it to the charitable group Oxfam International, a collection of 14 service and charitable organizations dedicated to fighting poverty and injustice around the world.
Ayre originally made the pledge to match donations on his personal website shortly after the quake hit. He made an initial donation of £10,000 to the U.K. branch of Oxfam, but also encouraged others in the gaming community to reach out and help. He offered to match any Oxfam donations by online gaming groups and later agreed to open up his charitable efforts to other organizations. He explained why he wanted to center his efforts on Oxfam in the comments section of his blog post: “We would consider matching confirmed funds to qualified organizations other than Oxfam. We chose Oxfam because it is a well known reputable organization and I like focusing as much money as I can through one organization as this maximizes impact on the ground.”
Ayre is making the contribution via the foundation bearing his name. The charitable organization has previously undertaken projects like giving underprivileged teens opportunities to attend college in Canada and the Philippines. The publication iGaming Business is helping to spread the word about Ayre’s pledge. Bodog Poker pros Evelyn Ng and David Williams also got the word out via their respective Twitter accounts. There is a special page on Oxfam’s website set up to track donations that will be matched by Ayre. Interested parties can also make donations in person at the upcoming London Affiliate Conference (LAC), which is sponsored by iGaming Review.
The total amount of money donated to Oxfam on behalf of the online gaming industry will be announced at the LAC awards dinner in London on January 28th. Over 500 members of the online gaming community are expected to be in attendance. In addition to announcing the total amount of money raised for Oxfam, the dinner will also serve as a chance to honor the winners in categories like Best Affiliate, Best iGaming Software, and Best Affiliate Manager. The dinner will take place at The Grange St Paul’s Hotel.
The people at Oxfam have been most impressed with Ayre’s generosity and the outpouring from the gaming community in the wake of the disaster. “We are truly impressed by the iGaming communities’ effort and drive for the survivors of the Haiti earthquake,” said Chris Ashworth, Oxfam’s Corporate Partnership Manager. “Access to safe water is one of the most immediate problems to resolve now and with this phenomenal support, we will be able to save lives immediately, by providing clean water and sanitation, as well as shelter for the people who have lost their homes and family…We cannot thank the gaming community enough for this act of generosity at a time of such enormous need.”
Those interested in making a donation to Oxfam that will be matched by Ayre’s foundation can do so by visiting the following web page: https://www.oxfam.org.uk/donate/haiti-earthquake/calvin-ayre.
Poker News in Brief: Jan. 11-17, 2010
But there was plenty of poker news that didn’t make the front page of PokerListings.com, and as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature, we’ve compiled a list below.
This week we’ll take a look at Gavin Smith crushing Canadian tournaments, the HPT going to Vegas, a dominant online player quitting poker and more:
Two Final Tables for Smith at Fallsview
Canadian Gavin Smith was dominant at the 2010 Fallsview Poker Classic in Niagara Falls this week.
Fresh off a plane from the Bahamas, Smith outlasted 275 players to win $188,743 in the $2,500 event and then three days later finished fourth in the $5,000 main event.
Smith has historically done very well at tournaments in Canada. In 2008, he finished second at the Fallsview-hosted WPT North American Poker Championship for $542,129. He also made the final table of the 2008 Canadian Open Poker Championship in Calgary the same year.
Heartland Poker Tour Heads to Vegas
The Heartland Poker Tour kicked off its sixth season at Red Rock Resort and Casino in Las Vegas this week.
It was just the second time the lower buy-in poker tour has made a stop in Las Vegas, as it usually sticks to venues in Midwest. In the past, the tour has hosted tournaments in Indiana, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Michigan and Iowa.
The $1,100 buy-in event drew poker pros Dennis Phillips, Layne Flack, John Vorhaus and Tiffany Michelle.
The final table of the tournament is scheduled to play out later today.
Jonas "Nebuchad" Danielsson Quits Poker
Online grinder Jonas “Nebuchad” Danielsson, perhaps most well-known for making a verbal slip at the 2008 Scandinavian Poker Awards, has apparently decided to leave poker for the time being.
Danielsson made the announcement on his blog where he wrote that his passion for poker was gone and he was looking forward to experiencing new things. He did not mention how long his self-imposed retirement would last.
The young Swedish pro started playing poker full time in 2005 and in roughly five years of playing made over $3 million in profit.
Danielsson won Online Player of the Year at the Scandinavian Poker Awards in 2008, but was better remembered for accidentally referring to King Nebuchadnezzar as the first king to “deal with the Jewish problem” when explaining the origin of his screen name to host Daniel Negreanu.
English is not Danielson’s first language and he explained afterwards he was deeply sorry about the miscommunication.
Tennis Star John Isner Plays Poker
Apparently Boris Becker isn’t the only tennis celebrity that enjoys playing a little poker.
The New Zealand Herald reported this week that American John Isner can often be found at the poker table when he’s not playing tennis.
The 6’9 giant was making headlines all week in Auckland at the Heineken Open and even pulled off an upset against top seeded Spanish player Tommy Robredo.
Isner joins the aforementioned Becker as well as former tennis world #1 Yvegeny Kafelnikov as tennis players who are also poker enthusiasts.
Borgata Announces 2010 Winter Poker Open
The Borgata in Atlantic City released a schedule for its fifth annual Borgata Winter Poker Open this week.
The tournament series will take place Jan. 20-Feb. 5 with 16 events in a wide range of poker variants including No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Seven-Card Stud and more.
The $3,500 buy-in main event is scheduled for Jan. 31-Feb. 5 and it will offer a guaranteed prize pool of $2 million.
The Borgata Winter Open used to be a part of the World Poker Tour and in the past crowned champions like Michael Mizrachi, Gavin Griffin and John Hennigan.
Visit the Borgata website for the complete schedule.
Visit PokerListings.com
Tags: 2008, 2010, 5, Canada, canadian, Colorado, Daniel Negreanu, Dennis Phillips, Gavin Smith, king, Las Vegas, member, New York, no-limit, North America, Omaha, Online Player, player, Poker, PPA, Pro, Tiffany Michelle, tournament, vegas, World Poker Tour
Poker News in Brief: Jan. 11-17, 2010
But there was plenty of poker news that didn’t make the front page of PokerListings.com, and as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature, we’ve compiled a list below.
This week we’ll take a look at Gavin Smith crushing Canadian tournaments, the HPT going to Vegas, a dominant online player quitting poker and more:
Two Final Tables for Smith at Fallsview
Canadian Gavin Smith was dominant at the 2010 Fallsview Poker Classic in Niagara Falls this week.
Fresh off a plane from the Bahamas, Smith outlasted 275 players to win $188,743 in the $2,500 event and then three days later finished fourth in the $5,000 main event.
Smith has historically done very well at tournaments in Canada. In 2008, he finished second at the Fallsview-hosted WPT North American Poker Championship for $542,129. He also made the final table of the 2008 Canadian Open Poker Championship in Calgary the same year.
Heartland Poker Tour Heads to Vegas
The Heartland Poker Tour kicked off its sixth season at Red Rock Resort and Casino in Las Vegas this week.
It was just the second time the lower buy-in poker tour has made a stop in Las Vegas, as it usually sticks to venues in Midwest. In the past, the tour has hosted tournaments in Indiana, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Michigan and Iowa.
The $1,100 buy-in event drew poker pros Dennis Phillips, Layne Flack, John Vorhaus and Tiffany Michelle.
The final table of the tournament is scheduled to play out later today.
Jonas "Nebuchad" Danielsson Quits Poker
Online grinder Jonas “Nebuchad” Danielsson, perhaps most well-known for making a verbal slip at the 2008 Scandinavian Poker Awards, has apparently decided to leave poker for the time being.
Danielsson made the announcement on his blog where he wrote that his passion for poker was gone and he was looking forward to experiencing new things. He did not mention how long his self-imposed retirement would last.
The young Swedish pro started playing poker full time in 2005 and in roughly five years of playing made over $3 million in profit.
Danielsson won Online Player of the Year at the Scandinavian Poker Awards in 2008, but was better remembered for accidentally referring to King Nebuchadnezzar as the first king to “deal with the Jewish problem” when explaining the origin of his screen name to host Daniel Negreanu.
English is not Danielson’s first language and he explained afterwards he was deeply sorry about the miscommunication.
Tennis Star John Isner Plays Poker
Apparently Boris Becker isn’t the only tennis celebrity that enjoys playing a little poker.
The New Zealand Herald reported this week that American John Isner can often be found at the poker table when he’s not playing tennis.
The 6’9 giant was making headlines all week in Auckland at the Heineken Open and even pulled off an upset against top seeded Spanish player Tommy Robredo.
Isner joins the aforementioned Becker as well as former tennis world #1 Yvegeny Kafelnikov as tennis players who are also poker enthusiasts.
Borgata Announces 2010 Winter Poker Open
The Borgata in Atlantic City released a schedule for its fifth annual Borgata Winter Poker Open this week.
The tournament series will take place Jan. 20-Feb. 5 with 16 events in a wide range of poker variants including No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Seven-Card Stud and more.
The $3,500 buy-in main event is scheduled for Jan. 31-Feb. 5 and it will offer a guaranteed prize pool of $2 million.
The Borgata Winter Open used to be a part of the World Poker Tour and in the past crowned champions like Michael Mizrachi, Gavin Griffin and John Hennigan.
Visit the Borgata website for the complete schedule.
Visit PokerListings.com
Tags: 2008, 2010, 5, Canada, canadian, Colorado, Daniel Negreanu, Dennis Phillips, Gavin Smith, king, Las Vegas, member, New York, no-limit, North America, Omaha, Online Player, player, Poker, PPA, Pro, Tiffany Michelle, tournament, vegas, World Poker Tour
Kara Scott Joins PartyPoker
The Canadian will join Mike Sexton, Remy Biechel, Ian Frazer, Felipe “Mojave” Ramos, Stewart Scott and Bodo Sbrzesny as a full-fledged member of Team Party.
“I’ve had such a positive experience in poker and have been incredibly lucky as well,” she said. “Being asked to be a part of Team Party is a real rush and I’m so honored. I just hope I can do them proud.”
Although she was born in Alberta, Canada, Scott rose to fame in England where she became one of the main hosts of the award-winning show Poker Night Live.
She went on to host the popular PokerStars European Poker Tour and most recently provided the commentary on the latest season of High Stakes Poker on GSN, which is set to air later this year.
While she will play tournaments patched by PartyPoker, Scott will continue her television work as well.
“They understand that while I absolutely love playing poker and am really stoked about playing more big live events and working on improving my game, my actual job is TV presenting,” she explained. “It was really gratifying that they feel I’ll bring value to their team as both a player and a TV presenter.”
Ironically, it was a PartyPoker event that gave Scott one of her first big breaks when it came to actually playing the game.
“When I started playing poker a few years ago I was lucky to get asked to be on a couple of Party Poker’s UK TV tournaments and had my first big cash, and win, with their Sports Stars Challenge III,” she said. “It seemed like a natural progression for me to get involved with them now, particularly as I’ll be spending a lot of time in Canada.”
After winning the Sports Star Challenge III, Scott went on to make deep runs at the WSOP Main Event in back to back years. She finished 104th for $41,816 in 2008 and 238th for $32,963 in 2009.
In 2009, she also had her biggest score ever at the Irish Open where she outlasted 798 players before eventually falling to Christer Johansson heads-up. She earned €312,600 for second place.
In her relatively short span of playing high buy-in events, Scott has won $557,902, which places her 24th on the all-time women’s tournament money list.
“Kara is a great signing and we are really looking forward to working with her,” said a PartyPoker spokesman.
“She has historic links with PartyPoker.com after taking down the Sports Stars Challenge III and we have been super impressed by her progress since then. As well as being a great presenter, Kara is also a fantastic player with great results and the potential to go even further. We are excited about this new relationship.”
As part of the deal, Scott will play tournaments around the world and act as a presenter for the Premier League when it moves to Vegas for the first time in February. She will also represent PartyPoker at a number of Canadian Poker Tour events.
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Tags: 2008, 2009, 5, Canada, canadian, cent, EUR, Europe, european, European Poker Tour, high stakes, High Stakes Poker, irish open, kara scott, king, member, Mike Sexton, PartyPoker.com, player, Poker, Poker.com, pokerstars, Pro, Stewart Scott, tournament, vegas, women, WSOP
Kara Scott Joins PartyPoker
The Canadian will join Mike Sexton, Remy Biechel, Ian Frazer, Felipe “Mojave” Ramos, Stewart Scott and Bodo Sbrzesny as a full-fledged member of Team Party.
“I’ve had such a positive experience in poker and have been incredibly lucky as well,” she said. “Being asked to be a part of Team Party is a real rush and I’m so honored. I just hope I can do them proud.”
Although she was born in Alberta, Canada, Scott rose to fame in England where she became one of the main hosts of the award-winning show Poker Night Live.
She went on to host the popular PokerStars European Poker Tour and most recently provided the commentary on the latest season of High Stakes Poker on GSN, which is set to air later this year.
While she will play tournaments patched by PartyPoker, Scott will continue her television work as well.
“They understand that while I absolutely love playing poker and am really stoked about playing more big live events and working on improving my game, my actual job is TV presenting,” she explained. “It was really gratifying that they feel I’ll bring value to their team as both a player and a TV presenter.”
Ironically, it was a PartyPoker event that gave Scott one of her first big breaks when it came to actually playing the game.
“When I started playing poker a few years ago I was lucky to get asked to be on a couple of Party Poker’s UK TV tournaments and had my first big cash, and win, with their Sports Stars Challenge III,” she said. “It seemed like a natural progression for me to get involved with them now, particularly as I’ll be spending a lot of time in Canada.”
After winning the Sports Star Challenge III, Scott went on to make deep runs at the WSOP Main Event in back to back years. She finished 104th for $41,816 in 2008 and 238th for $32,963 in 2009.
In 2009, she also had her biggest score ever at the Irish Open where she outlasted 798 players before eventually falling to Christer Johansson heads-up. She earned €312,600 for second place.
In her relatively short span of playing high buy-in events, Scott has won $557,902, which places her 24th on the all-time women’s tournament money list.
“Kara is a great signing and we are really looking forward to working with her,” said a PartyPoker spokesman.
“She has historic links with PartyPoker.com after taking down the Sports Stars Challenge III and we have been super impressed by her progress since then. As well as being a great presenter, Kara is also a fantastic player with great results and the potential to go even further. We are excited about this new relationship.”
As part of the deal, Scott will play tournaments around the world and act as a presenter for the Premier League when it moves to Vegas for the first time in February. She will also represent PartyPoker at a number of Canadian Poker Tour events.
Visit PokerListings.com
Tags: 2008, 2009, 5, Canada, canadian, cent, EUR, Europe, european, European Poker Tour, high stakes, High Stakes Poker, irish open, kara scott, king, member, Mike Sexton, PartyPoker.com, player, Poker, Poker.com, pokerstars, Pro, Stewart Scott, tournament, vegas, women, WSOP
The Nightly Turbo: Vanessa Rousso Wins Ladies Event, UBOC Early Registration and More
Tags: 2009, Canada, ladies, Online Poker, online poker player, player, Poker, poker player, UBOC, Vanessa Rousso
WSOP Champ Joe Cada Not Dating Playboy Playmate Jayde Nicole
Extra! Extra! In a thread posted on TwoPlusTwo, an image of 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event winner Joe Cada allegedly with his arm around former Playboy Playmate of the Year Jayde Nicole sparked rumors that the two were dating.
Poker News Daily can independently confirm that the rumblings are completely false. Cada’s agent, Dan Frank, told Poker News Daily that the youngest WSOP Main Event winner ever played a few hands of blackjack with Nicole, but that was as heated as it got between the two during the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA). Cada entered Tuesday’s action in the tournament series’ $25,000 buy-in High Roller event fourth in chips.
In the fuzzy photo, Cada appears dressed in a Hawaiian shirt with a PokerStars hat on flipped backwards. The woman purported to be Nicole, whose back faces the camera, is wearing a black and white striped skirt and a white top. She is noticeably taller than Cada, although high heels may be to blame. The two are intently watching a table game adjacent to a roulette wheel at the Atlantis Resort and Casino on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, the site of the 2010 PCA. The first response to the photo came in from “robreardon6,” who scientifically evaluated, “1000-1 against this kid getting any action from jayde.”
Cada purportedly told PokerRoad that he was “just friends” with Nicole. Nevertheless, Poker players speculated on the impact that Cada dating Nicole would have on the industry: “wsop champ dating playmate of the year would be awesome for poker,” wrote TwoPlusTwo member “Krax.” Nicole, who is a regular on the MTV reality series “The Hills,” recently separated from Brody Jenner, son of Olympic decathlon star Bruce Jenner. The elder, of course, is married to Kris Jenner, matriarch of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”
Nicole was the Playboy Playmate of the Month for January 2007 and the Playboy Playmate of the Year in 2008. She hails from the poker-friendly nation of Canada and appeared as a celebrity challenger on the first season of the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge” game show on Fox. Nicole was the adversary of Sergeant Denny Luna on the series’ second episode, ultimately falling to the PokerStars qualifier. Liquor salesman Brian Barboza also made mince meat of the Playboy personality. Both Barboza and Luna reached the final table of the show, which saw 9/11 first responder Mike Kosowski emerge victorious; he went on to defeat Daniel Negreanu heads-up to win $1 million.
Martin Kendell, a “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge” qualifier who faced off against new North American Poker Tour (NAPT) hostess Joanna Krupa, told Poker News Daily that he wanted to match up with Nicole due to her lackluster poker skills: “I was hoping to get Jayde Nicole. She’s a Canadian girl and we would have had something to talk about since I am Canadian. I also didn’t think that she was a good player.” Although Nicole could greatly improve her skills on the felt by dating Cada, it does not appear to be in the cards in the foreseeable future.
Cada has been linked in recent weeks to a variety of women, including WKQI Detroit’s Mojo in the Morning. His girlfriend in November was instrumental in helping Cada survive the rigors of the WSOP Main Event final table and fielded phone calls for the poker pro during Sunday’s off-day while Cada rested. Several players at the 2010 PCA, meanwhile, reported that Nicole was seen leaving the PokerStars party in the Bahamas arm in arm with “Entourage” star Adrian Grenier, who plays Vincent Chase on the HBO franchise.
In November, Cada became the youngest winner ever of the WSOP Main Event at age 21; he has since turned 22 years-old. Nicole will celebrate her 24th birthday in February.
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, 5, aced, Canada, canadian, Caribbean, cent, Daniel Negreanu, HB, member, MTV, News Daily, North America, player, Poker, Poker News Daily, poker player, pokerstars, Pro, qualifier, skill, tournament, woman, women, WSOP
Poker News in Brief: Jan. 4-10, 2010
The 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure drew a record 1,529 players to generate a $14.8 million prize pool – the seventh biggest in poker history.
Plus, there was some poker news that happened outside of the Bahamas and we’re breaking it down for you below in our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature.
This week we’ll look at a new poker film coming to DVD, Pennsylvania legalizing live poker and table games, Belgium moving to nationalize online poker and Bodog making a big brag.
Legal Poker for Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania legalized poker, blackjack and other table games at Casinos this week in an attempt to generate extra revenue for the State.
Previously, casinos in Pennsylvania had been restricted to slot machines only.
It will be six months before games start being dealt in Pennsylvania, but the State stands to make millions in licensing fees.
Several neighboring states are taking notice and Indiana is considering allowing riverboat gambling in Lake Michigan and the Ohio River. Back in November, Ohio voters passed a law that will see four casinos constructed in four cities.
The Pennsylvania law change could have a potentially negative effect on neighboring Atlantic City if Pennsylvania residents opt to gamble closer to home.
Poker Film “Shark City” to See DVD Release
Indie poker flick Shark City is scheduled to be released on DVD on Feb. 16 though Morningstar Entertainment and Stardust Pictures.
The film stars Vivica A. Fox, Carlo Rota, Jefferson Brown and David J. Phillips and it centers around around the story of two friends who get mixed up with the daughter of a gangster. The two attempt to con a group of gangsters through a poker game and the plan goes awry.
High stakes poker, both live and online, is central to the theme of the film.
Shark City won the John Muir award at the Yosemite Film Festival.
To learn more go to the film’s website.
Belgium Attempts to “Nationalize” Online Poker
Belgium appears to be the latest country that is trying to restrict its citizens to only playing on local online poker rooms.
A recent story in Belgian newspaper Da Standaard claims the government has plans to demand Internet Service Providers block any foreign online poker sites.
This could potentially have huge ramifications for sites like PokerStars, Full Tilt or PartyPoker as they would have to set up regional offices in the country to continue operations.
The changes are scheduled to become law before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, the European Commission is reportedly not pleased with Belgium’s decision claiming it goes against the free trade agreement made by members of the European Union.
Despite the European Commission’s objections, Italy currently restricts its online poker market to rooms that have a presence in the country.
Study Shows Bodog Best Brand
Bodog may not have the most players, but according to a recent independent study it carries the strongest brand recognition.
The report was conducted by gaming consultant Josh Apiafi using Google to understand the brand strength of the top 10 online poker websites including PokerStars, William Hill, 888.com, Bet365, Betfair, bwin, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power, PartyPoker and Bodog.
“We had a hunch since I first rolled out the Bodog brand and business model that we are considered interesting,” said Bodog founder Calvin Ayre. “But that’s only part of the story – we also stand for having fun and that’s what all people want, especially ones that like to gamble."
The survey was conducted by looking at the number of Google alerts generated daily during December. Apiafi recorded every time a document was published that contained a mention of the brands listed above.
In the end, Bodog narrowly edged PokerStars by a score of 510 to 493.
Huge Growth for HeadsUp Entertainment
HeadsUp Entertainment, a poker media company out of Canada, posted its most recent quarterly statement this week and the company showed massive expansion in 2009.
The company sanctioned 362 events under its Canadian Poker Tour (CPT) brand this year, up from the 71 since it acquired the tour in 2008. HeadsUp Entertainment is aiming to host more than 560 events in 2010.
Also in 2009, HeadsUp Entertainment helped produce the CPT Finals in the Dominican Republic and Canadian Open Poker Championships in Calgary for television. The Canadian Open Poker Championship drew big-name poker players like Gavin Smith, Jennifer Tilly and Huck Seed.
HeadsUp Entertainment also currently runs www.canadianpokertour.tv and Canadian Poker Magazine.
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Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, 5, Belgium, bodog, Canada, canadian, Caribbean, cent, EUR, Europe, european, European Commission, European Union, founder, gamble, Gavin Smith, HB, high stakes, High Stakes Poker, Internet service providers, Jennifer Tilly, king, law, legal, legalizing, member, model, Online Poker, online poker room, online poker site, online poker sites, Pennsylvania, player, Poker, poker player, poker site, pokerstars, Pro
2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event Payouts, Nationalities Announced
Although attendance at the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) out-paced last year’s tally by 13.5%, this year’s champion will earn a whopping $800,000 less. In 2009, Canadian poker player Poorya Nazari earned $3 million after defeating American Anthony Gregg heads-up.
Gregg took home $1.7 million, while Benjamin Spindler boosted his bankroll by $1.1 million for third place. Nazari, Gregg, and Spindler were the only three players to cross the seven-figure threshold. This year, the top four finishers in the PCA Main Event will earn at least $1 million, with first place taking home $2.2 million, second place earning $1.75 million, third place grabbing $1.35 million, and fourth place realizing an even $1 million.
In 2010, the top 199 players out of the 1,347-player field, or 14.8%, finished in the money. This time around, 224 out of 1,529 players will take home a cash prize, or a similar 14.7%. The top four players will bank $6.3 million, or 42.6% of the total prize pool of $14.8 million this year. During the 2009 PCA Main Event, the top four earned $6.55 million, or nearly 52% of the prize pool. This year, the more even structure means that the top prize will shrink by 26.7% despite the larger turnout.
Here’s a look at what’s at stake in the 2010 PCA Main Event:
1st Place: $2,200,000
2nd Place: $1,750,000
3rd Place: $1,350,000
4th Place: $1,000,000
5th Place: $700,000
6th Place: $450,000
7th Place: $300,000
8th Place: $201,300
9th to 10th Places: $150,000
11th to 12th Places: $130,000
13th to 14th Places: $115,000
15th to 16th Places: $100,000
17th to 20th Places: $87,500
21st to 24th Places: $75,000
25th to 32nd Places: $66,000
33rd to 40th Places: $59,000
41st to 48th Places: $52,000
49th to 56th Places: $45,000
57th to 64th Places: $38,000
65th to 72nd Places: $33,000
73rd to 80th Places: $28,000
81st to 88th Places: $23,500
89th to 96th Places: $23,500
97th to 104th Places: $23,500
105th to 112th Places: $23,500
113th to 120th Places: $20,000
121st to 128th Places: $20,000
129th to 136th Places: $20,000
137th to 144th Places: $20,000
145th to 152nd Places: $17,500
153rd to 160th Places: $17,500
161st to 168th Places: $17,500
169th to 176th Places: $17,500
177th to 184th Places: $15,000
185th to 192nd Places: $15,000
193rd to 200th Places: $15,000
201st to 208th Places: $15,000
209th to 216th Places: $15,000
217th to 224th Places: $15,000
Also revealed by PokerStars officials were the nationalities of the 1,529 entrants, who hailed from 57 countries around the world. A total of 739 players hailed from the United States, or 48%, with Canada being the next most represented country at 164. Other nations that sent players to compete in the 2010 PCA Main Event included Germany (100 players), the Netherlands (60), United Kingdom (56), France (44), Brazil (37), Spain (27), Sweden (27), Argentina (21), and Italy (21).
Although six entrants were from unknown lands, curiously absent from the list of countries represented was the Bahamas, the host nation of the annual PCA, which pans out at the Atlantis Resort and Casino in Nassau. Nearby countries represented in the $10,000 buy-in poker tournament included the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos, and Bermuda.
The PCA Main Event field numbered 62 when it entered Day 4 play on Saturday, with the action continuing until 24 players remained. As of 6:45pm ET, online poker pro Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo led the way with a stack of six million chips, comfortably ahead of European Poker Tour (EPT) founder John Duthie’s 4.6 million.
Tags: 15, 2009, 2010, 5, aced, Brazil, Canada, canadian, Caribbean, EUR, Europe, european, European Poker Tour, founder, France, John Duthie, king, Online Poker, player, Poker, poker player, pokerstars, Pro, spain, Sweden, tournament, United Kingdom, United States
PokerStars Announces North American Poker Tour
Look out, North America! Long absent poker events sponsored by PokerStars, the continent will host the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) beginning on January 20th at the Venetian, with another stop planned for Mohegan Sun.
Model Joanna Krupa, who was introduced to the PokerStars family during the fourth installment of the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge,” will serve as the NAPT’s on-screen host. A television deal is in the works and PokerStars officials have employed 411, the same company that produces the World Series of Poker (WSOP) on ESPN, to create each episode. The identity of a television partner should be released in the next two weeks.
PokerStars players from the United States and Canada currently have to hop on an airplane and travel to far away lands for PokerStars-sponsored tournaments. PokerStars-backed series include the European Poker Tour (EPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), Russian Poker Tour (RPT), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Italian Poker Tour (IPT) Czech-Slovak Poker Tour (CSPT), Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), and U.K. and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT).
At the Venetian in Las Vegas, the final tournament of the casino’s Deep Stack Extravaganza will be the $5,000 buy-in NAPT Main Event. The fun in Sin City will take place from February 20th to 24th and side events will also play out. From Las Vegas, PokerStars NAPT officials will travel 2,600 miles due east to Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. The tournament series in the popular East Coast casino will see its Main Event held from April 7th to 11th as the kickoff of a brand new poker festival.
Negreanu commented in a press release furnished by the world’s largest online poker site, “I'm really looking forward to the launch of the NAPT. PokerStars.net has done an excellent job sponsoring meaningful tournaments around the world with the EPT, LAPT, APPT, and various other local tours – and it’s exciting to see them coming to my home town of Las Vegas! With the addition of the NAPT, I'll have a chance to play some tournaments on home soil and I'm very excited about that.” 2009 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada and Team PokerStars Pro member Vanessa Rousso are among the bevy of site pros who are expected to turn out.
Technically, the first tournament of the NAPT was the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which is ongoing from the Atlantis Resort and Casino across the harbor from Nassau in the Bahamas. Satellites to the Venetian and Mohegan Sun tournaments will take place on PokerStars, which happily accepts players from the United States. Besides Cada, other WSOP Main Event champions to call the site home include Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), Peter Eastgate (2008), and Tom McEvoy (1983).
In North America, the NAPT will compete against several longstanding brands such as the World Poker Tour (WPT) and WSOP Circuit. The WPT is in the midst of filming its eighth season, the first with the backing of Party Gaming, which purchased the rights to the series in October. Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton and actor Vince Van Patten continue to bring the WPT to life each week on Fox Sports Net. The WSOP Circuit has been crisscrossing the United States since 2004, stopping at various Harrah’s properties along the way. Circuit staffers are now camped out in Tunica, Mississippi for the fifth stop of the 2009-2010 season. The series gets underway in the Deep South on January 20th from Harrah’s Tunica.
Krupa has graced the covers of a handful of brand-name magazines, including “FHM,” “Maxim,” “Playboy,” and “Stuff.” She appeared on Season 9 of the ABC reality series “Dancing with the Stars” and also tested her sports skills in the network’s “Superstars.” Krupa defeated 9/11 first responder Mike Kosowski on the fourth episode of the “Million Dollar Challenge;” Kosowski would later go on to defeat Negreanu and earn the $1 million grand prize.
Additional stops for Season 1 of the NAPT will also be announced.
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, 5, ABC, aced, actor, Asia, Australia, Canada, Caribbean, Connecticut, EUR, Europe, european, European Poker Tour, Greg Raymer, Ireland, Joe Hachem, king, Las Vegas, member, Mike Sexton, model, North America, oil, Online Poker, online poker site, Peter Eastgate, player, Poker, Poker Festival, Poker Hall, poker site, pokerstars, Pro, Russia, Russian Poker Tour, skill, Tom McEvoy, tournament, United States, Vanessa Rousso, vegas, World Poker Tour, WSOP
Kevin Saul, Amnon Filippi Among PCA Day 1A Leaders
Day 1A of the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) played out on Tuesday, with 668 players taking to the felts inside the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas. Wayne Bentley, a PokerStars qualifier from Britain, leads the way with 329,500 chips.
Bentley nearly amassed 11 times the starting stack of 30,000 in the $10,000 buy-in poker tournament after eight levels of play. He held pocket aces and eliminated a player with pocket kings within the first few minutes of Day 1A, doubling his stack to 60,000, and he never looked back. Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu issued the traditional “Shuffle up and deal” command moments earlier. At the end of Day 1A, 430 players remained in the hunt.
Bentley sits comfortably in front of the second place stack of Amnon Filippi, who held a pile of 220,100 chips at the end of Day 1A. The accomplished poker pro was nearly 50,000 chips ahead of online poker pro Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul, the winner of the 2007 installment of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Bellagio Cup for $1.3 million. Last year, Saul finished eighth in the PCA Main Event for $234,000, outlasting all but seven of the 1,347 players who entered.
Team PokerStars Sports Stars will be out in full force on Wednesday for Day 1B, as German tennis legend Boris Becker, Swedish NHL star Mats Sundin, Dutch hockey pro Fatima De Melo, baseball commentator Orel Hershiser, and U.K. football legend Teddy Sheringham will all take to the felts. Also entering on Day 1B is Mike Kosowski, the winner of Season 1 of the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge.” Kosowski earned $1 million after defeating Negreanu heads-up in the finale of the poker game show last month.
2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member Eric Buchman sits in sixth place after Day 1A with 159,100 chips. The PokerStars sponsored player finished fourth in the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament in Las Vegas in November, adding $2.5 million to his net worth. The event was ultimately won by Joe Cada, who will take to the felts for Day 1B today. Joining him will be pros like Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Humberto Brenes, and Victor Ramdin. Also playing is rapper Nelly, who has become somewhat of a staple on the poker circuit in recent months.
Here were the top ten chip stacks in the Bahamas after the smoke had cleared on Day 1A of the 2010 PCA Main Event:
1. Wayne Bentley - 329,500
2. Amnon Filippi - 220,100
3. Kevin Saul - 175,500
4. Eric Froehlich - 166,000
5. Dustin Dorrance-Bowman - 163,700
6. Eric Buchman - 159,100
7. Garðar Geir Hauksson - 138,900
8. Jacob Avital - 137,700
9. Christian Schwarz - 133,200
10. Rafal Michalowski - 129,300
The PCA is a stop on both the European Poker Tour (EPT) and Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) and, as such, has attracted a global field. Still remaining after Day 1A are players from the United States, United Kingdom, Iceland, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Germany, Ukraine, Brazil, Canada, Sweden, Mexico, Turks and Caicos, Russia, Finland, Argentina, France, Norway, Switzerland, Slovakia, Poland, Denmark, Hungary, Czech Republic, Ireland, Belgium, New Zealand, Romania, Australia, Slovenia, Greece, Costa Rica, Austria, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Curiously absent is a representative from the host nation, the Bahamas.
Last year’s champion, Poorya Nazari, hails from Canada and nearly tripled his stack on Day 1A. Notable players who survived the first starting day, along with their chip counts, include:
Dennis Phillips – 113,000
Dario Minieri – 109,800
Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar – 106,400
Poorya Nazari – 89,300
Barry Greenstein – 89,200
Jeff Madsen – 79,400
John Duthie – 60,100
Marcel Luske – 55,600
Gavin Smith – 54,000
Jean-Robert Bellande – 53,900
Kevin Schaffel – 53,200
Bernard Lee – 46,800
Amit “amak316” Makhija – 42,000
Steven Paul-Ambrose – 37,900
“Miami” John Cernuto – 36,500
Chris “moorman1” Moorman – 34,700
Ivan Demidov – 27,600
Tom McEvoy – 19,900
Huck Seed – 16,000
Jeff “yellowsub” Williams – 13,100
Play wrapped up in Level 8, when blinds were 400-800 with a 100-chip ante. Day 1B will encompass the same eight levels before the field merges for Day 2 on Thursday.
Tags: 000 chips, 15, 2009, 2010, 5, 500 chip, Australia, Austria, Barry Greenstein, Belgium, bellagio, Brazil, Canada, Caribbean, cent, Costa Rica, Daniel Negreanu, Dennis Phillips, EUR, Europe, european, European Poker Tour, France, Gavin Smith, Ireland, Ivan Demidov, Jean-Robert Bellande, Jeff Madsen, John Duthie, king, Las Vegas, leader, Mania, member, Norway, Online Poker, player, Poker, pokerstars, Pro, qualifier, Russia, spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tom McEvoy, tournament, United Kingdom, United States, vegas, Victor Ramdin, World Poker Tour, WSOP
PokerStars Launches North American Tour
The NAPT will kick off at the Venetian in Las Vegas Feb. 20-24 with a $5k buy-in event at the end of the casino’s popular Deep Stack Extravaganza Series.
Just one other event has been announced, at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut Apr. 7-11.
However, Head of PokerStars Live Jeffrey Haas said other dates in the U.S. and Canada would be announced in the near future.
“We’re going to be going to some beautiful places, putting on some exciting poker tournaments and hopefully having some fun non-poker events as well,” he said.
The tour will be filmed by ESPN World Series of Poker producers 441 Productions and hosted by model and spokesperson Joanna Krupa of Dancing with the Stars fame, although a TV air deal has yet to be confirmed.
While the World Poker Tour has dominated the North American poker scene for the past eight seasons, Haas believes there is room for competition.
“I think there is so much demand for poker in North America today that there’s room for a number of different operators who are all promoting wonderful poker events,” he said.
PokerStars is promising the tour will attract will the best North American players in the game, including Team PokerStars pros Joe Cada, Greg Raymer, Vanessa Rousso and Daniel Negreanu.
“One thing is for sure, PokerStars knows how to do it right,” Negreanu said. “I’m very excited to play. Being a part of PokerStars we travel all over the world, but it’s going to be nice to have some events at home in Las Vegas and at home in Canada. I think you are going to see a lot of pros there.”
The NAPT Mohegan Sun main event will also feature a $5k buy-in, which Negreanu said the poker world will embrace.
“Considering the economy right now that sounds like a good idea to me,” he said. “It’s a price point that hits a lot more people.”
PokerStars.net has already scheduled daily NAPT Venetian freerolls where players can win the $5,000 seat, plus accommodation, for absolutely nothing.
After almost two years in the rumor mill, PokerStars announced the launch of the PokerStars.net North American Poker Tour Wednesday.
The NAPT will kick off at the Venetian in Las Vegas Feb. 20-24 with a $5k buy-in event at the end of the casino’s popular Deep Stack Extravaganza Series.
Just one other event has been announced, at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut Apr. 7-11.
However, Head of PokerStars Live Jeffrey Haas said other dates in the U.S. and Canada would be announced in the near future.
“We’re going to be going to some beautiful places, putting on some exciting poker tournaments and hopefully having some fun non-poker events as well,” he said.
The tour will be filmed by ESPN World Series of Poker producers 441 Productions and hosted by model and spokesperson Joanna Krupa of Dancing with the Stars fame, although a TV air deal has yet to be confirmed.
While the World Poker Tour has dominated the North American poker scene for the past eight seasons, Haas believes there is room for competition.
“I think there is so much demand for poker in North America today that there’s room for a number of different operators who are all promoting wonderful poker events,” he said.
PokerStars is promising the tour will attract will the best North American players in the game, including Team PokerStars pros Joe Cada, Greg Raymer, Vanessa Rousso and Daniel Negreanu.
“One thing is for sure, PokerStars knows how to do it right,” Negreanu said. “I’m very excited to play. Being a part of PokerStars we travel all over the world, but it’s going to be nice to have some events at home in Las Vegas and at home in Canada. I think you are going to see a lot of pros there.”
The NAPT Mohegan Sun main event will also feature a $5k buy-in, which Negreanu said the poker world will embrace.
“Considering the economy right now that sounds like a good idea to me,” he said. “It’s a price point that hits a lot more people.”
PokerStars.net has already scheduled daily NAPT Venetian freerolls where players can win the $5,000 seat, plus accommodation, for absolutely nothing.
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Tags: 5, Canada, Connecticut, Daniel Negreanu, freeroll, Greg Raymer, Las Vegas, model, North America, player, Poker, pokerstars, Pro, producer, tournament, Vanessa Rousso, vegas, World Poker Tour