Poker News

The iPad and its Potential With Online Poker

Although most online poker players use Windows PCs, there has been a growing swell of players using Apple Mac computers like MacBook Pros and iMacs.  The Mac-centric poker niche is growing, with four major sites having native software clients: PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, UB.com, and Absolute Poker. The popular hand history tracking utility PokerTracker 3 came out recently with a Mac OS X beta edition of its software.  With the release of Apple’s tablet computer, the iPad, there has been plenty of speculation about the machine's future with online poker.

When thinking about the iPad and its potential for being used for online poker, we need to keep the following questions in mind:

• What are the hardware specs of the iPad?
• Is the interface going to be applicable to an online poker software program?
• Will the screen quality and resolution level make online poker practical?
• Does the iPad have enough bandwidth to have a lag-free online poker experience?
• Is the iPad OS something that a poker site can work with to create an App?
• Will the legal environment allow a poker site to release an App?

The iPad is a high-resolution 9.7-inch LED-backlit computer that weighs just 1.5 pounds.  It’s touted as being perfect for web browsing, watching movies, and viewing photos.  The unit works in either portrait or landscape mode, very similarly to an iPod Touch or iPhone.  The multi-touch screen on the iPad is based on the current iPhone technology, but has been totally re-engineered for the larger surface to be more precise and responsive.  The battery life is said to last up to 10 hours by using a special lithium-polymer technology.  The iPad uses an A4 chip that was custom designed by Apple engineers to be extremely powerful, but at the same time very power efficient.  Units will have an option for 16, 32, or 64 GB of internal flash storage.

All iPad units will have built-in WiFi with 802.11n, which is currently the fastest wireless protocol available.  In addition, there will be 3G models with data speeds up to 7.2 MB per second on the AT&T network for coverage anywhere without a WiFi network, but with a 3G signal.  Units are expected to start shipping at the end of March and the base version costs just $499.

The iPad interface is the multi-touch screen that has been made more precise and responsive to help counter the potential problems it would face with a much larger screen.  The resolution of the iPad’s 9.7-inch screen is 1024x768, which is a bit inferior to what most experts predicted it would be.

With all the glitz and glamor of the iPad now out in the open, as poker players, we’re wondering about its capabilities for online poker.  The unit, on the surface, seems like a great little online poker machine.  The touch screen appears to be perfect for interfacing with a poker table.  You could use the bet slider with the flick of a finger, fold or check by tapping the appropriate button, and even muck your cards by flicking them into the middle of the table.  Interface-wise, there’s no question that the touch-screen of the unit will work splendidly.

The next question for whether or not the iPad would be feasible for an online poker player is how a table would look on the screen.  There’s plenty of screen available for a single poker table to load up in the 1024x768 space.  In fact, it’s probably feasible to have four tables load up at the same time.  The graphics capabilities of the unit were rather impressive during Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ presentation with a few video games, so we know it can handle the minimal graphics required by many of the poker rooms.

Another question we have to answer is about the iPad bringing the necessary bandwidth to play one or even four tables at the same time.  Since most poker rooms only require a dial-up connection, which is surpassed in spades by both WiFi and 3G connections, there’s absolutely no concern about the unit not having enough bandwidth to handle the rigors of playing online poker.

The iPad uses a new operating system that works very similar to the iPhone OS, with more capabilities to take advantage of the unit’s more robust power.  Because the development kit is already available to software developers, there wouldn’t be much of a stumbling block to developing a solid iPad version of the software.

With the all of the questions answered fairly positively when asking the question whether or not the iPad will work with online poker, we’re down to our final one: Will the current legal environment allow it?  Since Apple is based in California and controls the App Store, the worldwide distribution of Apps for the iPad will be based on U.S. laws.  The legal environment in the United States is murky at best with online poker, with virtually no chance of Apple approving an App created by a major poker site for real money poker play.  With that being the case, it would seem foolish to expect a poker site to invest money and resources toward a project that would only meet failure.

The potential future of the iPad and real money online poker is bright.  The unit is perfect for those who want to sit on their couch, relax, and play a few hands of poker.  Maybe you’re stuck at the airport or who knows where and you want to log on and play a few hands.  The iPad certainly has the technological power to handle the task.  The only stumbling block is left up to the legal environment.  For now, we’ll probably just enjoy whatever random Texas Hold’em video games Apple approves in the iPad App Store to satisfy our poker craving.

‘Play for Haiti’ at UB and Absolute Poker

Absolute Poker and UB, which are both owned by Tokwiro Enterprises, will host the event this Wednesday, Jan. 20, at 20:30 ET.

The tournament buy-in will be $5 with a turbo rebuy format and Tokwiro will match 100% of the cash that is raised through the tournament.

"Along with the rest of the world, we've watched the headlines and news unfold with growing horror as the magnitude of the devastation in Haiti has been revealed," said Paul Leggett, Tokwiro's CEO.

"We believe we have a duty to do what we can to help raise funds and awareness for the plight of the people of Haiti, and our 'Play for Haiti' tournament is one small way we can work with our players to contribute."

Concerned players won’t walk away empty-handed as UB and Absolute Poker have added over $10,000 in prizes including a $2,500+$100 entry into Ultimate Bet Online Championship Event 8 for first place.

All the money from the tournament will go towards the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

The event can be found under ‘Play for Haiti’ in the special tournaments lobby on both UB and Absolute Poker.

Leatherass Dumps Stox to Drag The Bar

Poker training site DragTheBar.com announced Tuesday Schmidt has joined the company as its lead instructor.

“Dusty is one of the top mid-to-high-stakes players in the world, period,” said DragTheBar.com CEO Hunter Bick. “But as good a player as he is, he’s an even better instructor. It’s unusual to find someone who can do both.”

Schmidt spent three years as lead instructor with StoxPoker, which merged with CardRunners in 2008.

He resigned the post last week citing “irreconcilable differences” with the sites.

“I couldn’t be more excited about coming to DragTheBar.com,” Schmidt said. “I was feeling as though I was getting away from my teaching roots a little bit and this allows me to do what I love and do best. The relationship just feels really, really good. They support my interests, and in turn I’m looking forward to watching this site become the finest in the world in very short order. I can’t wait to get involved with their members and watch them improve as poker players.”

Bick, who founded DragTheBar.com in June with partners Phil Nagy and Korey Gillis, said Schmidt will blog, make instructional videos and participate in member forums on the site.

“Dusty is a huge asset,” Bick said. “Just a few years ago he was playing low stakes, so he knows where those players are coming from and he can help them accelerate their learning process. Our members will benefit greatly by having such an incredible instructor at their disposal.”

Schmidt, 28, has played nearly 7 million hands online over the past five-years winning more than $3 million.

In 2007, he achieved Poker Stars’ SuperNova Elite status in just eight months playing high-stakes cash games exclusively.

Prior to his start in poker, Schmidt was a top-ranked golfer, but gave up the game and turned to poker at age 23 when he suffered a heart attack.

PartyGaming signs with Danske Spil to provide online gaming in Denmark

More positive news for online poker in Europe: Denmark's state-operated Danske Spil has signed a five-year agreement with PartyGaming, which will use its expertise and know-how to offer online gaming to the Danish market.

Denmark's relationship with gaming, particularly online gaming, has been patchy through the years. While live poker tournaments were considered perfectly legal, online poker was frowned upon by the Danish Supreme Court until very recently. The Danish gaming system, Danske Spil, enjoyed a lengthy virtual monopoly while all foreign gaming companies were forbidden to enter the Danish market for most of this decade, which sparked a number of disagreements with the European Commission regarding free trade agreements within the European Union.

In 2009, Denmark finally relented and put forth a draft legislation to partially open the Danish poker and casino market, which is expected to pass as law in 2011. Denmark further showed its commitment by allowing Danish people access to Hollywood Poker's online gaming facilities. Now in early 2010, the state's former monopoly, Danske Spil, is partnering with one of the world's largest online gaming providers to prepare for the upcoming competition.

The partnership between Danske Spil and PartyGaming has everything needed to make it successful: while the Danske Spil group is one of the largest in Europe, with over 500,000 registered customers and a reported turnover of €1.47 billion (about $2.13 billion) in 2008, PartyGaming bills itself as " the world’s leading listed online gaming company" thanks to its very successful brands that include PartyPoker, PartyCasino, and PartyBets.

Jim Ryan, Chief Executive Officer of PartyGaming, was understandably glad to announce this new partnership:

This is a landmark B2B deal for PartyGaming and validates our strategy to become a leading provider of B2B services to both corporates and governments around the world.  Danske Spil is widely recognised as one of Europe’s leading gambling businesses, one that is pre-eminent in the Danish market.  We are delighted that Danske Spil has recognised our expertise and high standards of business practice and we look forward to building a significant and profitable enterprise as soon as the newly regulated Danish online gaming market opens.

Ryan has every right to be delighted. Danske Spil researched the market for seven months to find a partner that met its exacting standards for security, ethics, and, of course, quality. Their choice of PartyGaming is an endorsement of the highest possible level of the company's expertise and capability.

H.C. Madsen, CEO of Danske Spil, said of this new partnership:

With some of the world’s leading products in online poker and casino as well as a large international customer base, PartyGaming is definitely a strong business partner for Danske Spil. Combining this with Danske Spil’s unique and strong position in the Danish market with more than 500,000 Danish online customers will guarantee that together we will deliver a highly attractive customer experience to players in Denmark.

One issue that remains to be clarified is how the notoriously strict Danish taxation system will treat new gaming providers as they enter the market. Taxes on poker winnings are remarkably high on Denmark. For example, 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Peter Eastgate could only spend $2.5 million out of the $9.1 million he won with his bracelet, the rest going to the government's arks. Companies willing to offer online poker will have to jump through hoops to be on the government's exclusive no-tax list, meaning that players will not be taxed over their winnings on those sites. Hollywood Poker currently enjoys no-tax status and it is to be expected that Danske Spil's upcoming online poker venture will enjoy it too.

PartyGaming's shares (LSE: PRTY) last traded at 279.3 pence per share in London today.

David Carruthers Gets 33 Months Jail Time in BetOnSports Case

In April, former BetOnSports CEO David Carruthers pled guilty to racketeering charges stemming from his operation of the popular online sports book. He faced up to 33 months in prison and a maximum sentence was handed down on Friday.

U.S. District Court Judge Carol E. Jackson sentenced Carruthers on Friday after he was indicted by a grand jury four years ago, according to an article that appeared in Business Week authored by Bloomberg. In court late last week, Carruthers expressed remorse for his actions: “I understand now that the business was operating outside the laws of the United States. I realize I made the biggest mistake of my life. I am sorry for the actions of BetOnSports and the trouble it caused.” The company purportedly raked in over $1 billion in 2004 alone, with Bloomberg noting that a whopping 98% of wagers came from customers in the United States.

Carruthers had been under house arrest in St. Louis since 2006, but found time to get out and stretch his legs as part of the St. Louis Marathon. BetOnSports had been traded in London on the city’s stock exchange and Bloomberg added that Judge Jackson fined BetOnSports $28.2 million. However, the firm owes creditors in the United Kingdom and would likely not be able to make good on the $28.2 million penalty. Attorney Jeffrey Demerath told the financial news outlet, “We won’t be able to pay the $28 million. We have an obligation under the laws of the United Kingdom to pay the creditors first.”

A bevy of guilty pleas were entered in the BetOnSports case. In August, the company’s founder, Gary Kaplan, pled guilty to violating RICO in a Missouri courtroom. Kaplan received more than four years behind bars for his role in the company as well as a $43 million fine, according to the AFP news service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Holtshouser commented in a press release distributed by the U.S. Department of Justice, “The prosecution and conviction of Carruthers is significant to the government's efforts at enforcement of U.S. laws against offshore Internet and telephone sports wagering businesses, because Carruthers was both a foreign national and a top executive of BetOnSports.” Kaplan was arrested in 2007.

In June, Neil Scott Kaplan, Lori Kaplan-Multz, and Penelope Tucker all entered guilty pleas in front of Judge Jackson in the BetOnSports case. Each agreed to hand over money in Swiss bank accounts, but would not face any jail time. Scott Kaplan and Kaplan-Multz also received time in a halfway house. An article that appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explained why the trio received significantly lighter sentences than Kaplan and Carruthers: “Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Holtshouser said the sentences reflect the minimal roles that Neil Kaplan and Kaplan-Multz played, their lack of decision-making power there, and their willingness to surrender their BetOnSports money.”

The USA-facing online poker site Bodog, founded by Calvin Ayre, continues to accept wagers on sporting events. The site is in the midst of the National Football League (NFL) playoffs, which kicked off over the weekend. Carruthers assumed the head role at BetOnSports in 2004 after joining the company in 2000. Both the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) participated in the investigation of the former CEO. Besides Holtshouser, Steven Muchnick and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Birmingham led the case on behalf of the United States Government.

On Capitol Hill, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) is carrying the flag for explicitly legal online poker in the United States. Financial services industry compliance with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was delayed six months to June 1st. The delay came after a November decision by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) is championing the cause on the Hill with HR 2267, which establishes a full licensing and regulatory framework for internet gambling outfits to solicit U.S. customers. The measure is up to 63 co-sponsors on both sides of the aisle, but would not permit online sports betting.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the BetOnSports case.

Dusty “Leatherass” Schmidt Joins DragTheBar.com

Poker training site DragTheBar.com announced Friday that renowned online player and instructor Dusty “Leatherass9” Schmidt has joined the company as a lead instructor. Schmidt will make poker videos and actively participate in the site’s member forums, according to DragTheBar.com CEO and professional poker player Hunter Bick.

“Dusty is one of the top mid-to-high-stakes players in the world, period”, Bick said. “He’s played so many hands at such a high win rate that his depth is simply unmatched. But as good a player as he is, he’s an even better instructor. It’s unusual to find someone who can do both. We don’t want our site to just have good poker players as coaches – they must be well spoken and great teachers too. Dusty embodies those qualities better than anyone.”

Schmidt, 28, joins DragTheBar.com after spending three years as a lead instructor for StoxPoker. Schmidt joined the site as a member and gradually worked his way into a role as co-owner and instructor. He resigned from the company last week due to “irreconcilable differences.”

On the felts, Schmidt has earned more than $3 million during his five-year career, logging nearly seven million hands over 10,000 hours. In 2007, Schmidt achieved PokerStars’ SuperNova Elite status in just eight months while playing high-stakes cash games. He posted the world’s highest win rate in both $5/$10 No Limit and $10/$20 No Limit in 2007 and 2008. In a four-month period between November 2007 and February 2008, Schmidt won in excess of $600,000 playing high-stakes cash games. Today, he can be found playing as high as $25/$50 No Limit online, often as many as 20 tables at a time.

“I couldn’t be more excited about coming to DragTheBar.com”, Schmidt said. “I was feeling as though I was getting away from my teaching roots a little bit and this allows me to do what I love and do best. The relationship just feels really, really good. They support my interests, and in turn I’m looking forward to watching this site become the finest in the world in very short order. I can’t wait to get involved with their members and watch them improve as poker players.”

Schmidt becomes the 11th coach at DragTheBar.com, a roster that includes some of the world’s top online-poker players, including Jeremy “ChipSteela” Menard and Ian “IggyMcFy” Gordon. The site offers affordable memberships and its poker-training videos are compatible with iPods and other mp3 players.

On top of coaching and playing, Schmidt recently released his top-selling book, Treat Your Poker Like a Business. The book focuses on teaching players how to develop a professional approach to the game, both on and off the felts. He provides readers advice on a range of subjects from winning strategies and profitable times to play to software and record keeping.

“Poker has done a tremendous amount for me in terms of the independence and quality of life I’m able to experience now”, Schmidt says. “I like to think that I have something to offer all poker players, from those who view it as recreational to aspiring pros who want to turn the game into something more serious than a hobby.”

Poker Community Reacts to Justin Bonomo Leaving Bodog

On Saturday, the USA-facing online poker room Bodog officially parted ways with sponsored pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo by removing him from its website. Now, the poker community, Bonomo’s agent, and Bodog have had a chance to react.

Bonomo’s agent, Matt Palmer, President and CEO of 11Management, told Poker News Daily, “It is true that Justin and Bodog have parted ways. While Justin will miss playing alongside his fellow Bodog teammates and good friends Evelyn Ng and David Williams, he's ready to move on to bigger and better opportunities. We've begun conversations regarding new sponsorship opportunities and we're excited to work with a poker brand that is better able to leverage Justin's poker success and personality.” Palmer is also the agent for Joe Sebok, who recently signed on to be a member of Team UB.com.

Palmer gave us his take on Bonomo’s 2009 calendar year at the felts: ‘Justin's coming off another excellent year at the tables, including a final table appearance at the World Series of Poker's (WSOP) $40,000 buy-in 40th Anniversary event and a win at the WSOP Circuit event at Caesars. I fully expect Justin to continue his winning ways in 2010.” Bonomo’s fifth place finish in the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event commemorating the Series’ 40th running was worth $413,000. In April, he won the Caesars Palace WSOP Circuit Championship, a $5,150 buy-in contest, for $227,000.

Ed Pownall, Global Public Relations Director for BodogBrand.com, explained why the online poker room parted ways with one of its three remaining sponsored pros: “Bodog and Justin Bonomo have agreed that, with the transition of the Bodog-branded poker rooms to the Bodog Network in 2010, now was a natural time to re-evaluate the relationship and have agreed to part ways.” Jean-Robert Bellande, of “Survivor: China” fame, also left Bodog in recent months after his sponsorship agreement was not renewed at the end of October.

Posters on the popular poker forum TwoPlusTwo.com gave their take on what room might be a good fit for Bonomo. TwoPlusTwo member “molinn9” weighed in, “Time for him to move on to pokerstars. would be good pro for them.” Bonomo was traveling to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas at the time of writing and was unavailable for comment. The $10,300 buy-in Main Event kicks off on Tuesday from the Atlantis Resort and Casino on Paradise Island with the first of two starting days. The tournament will crown a champion on January 11th.

In the meantime, Bodog will center its efforts on growing the newly forged Bodog Network, which has taken a unique approach to rakeback. Pownall discussed the methodology: “The new offering has already caused much debate with its re-working of the rakeback issue and will reward operators bringing depositing players to the table rather than the traditional method of rewarding the winning players. The system unveiled at the EiG in Budapest in September has already seen other networks, including Microgaming and iPoker, publicly follow in a similar vein.” The idea, in turn, is to reward winning players indirectly by feeding them net depositing opponents.

Yesterday, the weekly Bodog $100,000 Guaranteed played out. The site’s hallmark event, which comes with a $162 price tag, drew 509 players, meaning that Bodog kicked in $23,000 after the tournament fell short of its prize pool. In the end, reigning UB.com Aruba Poker Classic Main Event winner Brandon “AreTheseUtz” Hall took down the top prize of $25,000 after defeating Brian “AKbigfish” James heads-up. James pocketed a $15,000 consolation prize and “paulyman” took third for $9,500. The top 63 players finished in the money and the top five earned more than $5,000.

The Bodog Network is expected to take on non-Bodog sites this year.

WPT Sets Sights on Romania

After revealing its plans to head back to the Paris’ famed Aviation Club de France in May 2010 after a four-year absence last week, the WPT has now set its sights on Romania.

WPT Bucharest will run Mar. 27–Apr. 2, 2010 and will include a non-televised €3,000+€300 buy-in main event.

The Regent Casino in the Novotel Hotel at the center of Bucharest will play host to the tournament.

The casino features a gaming area with 25 table games, 88 slot machines, two VIP rooms, a luxury restaurant and other facilities.

“We are happy to be in partnership with WPT and to launch this special event together for the first time in Romania,” said Regent Casino CEO Sorin Constantinescu.

“It is already known that WPT always introduce new tournaments into prestigious locations. Regent Casino Bucharest is one of those special places, and with WPT Bucharest we believe it will become an excellent meeting point for the most talented poker players from all around the world.”

In addition to online qualifiers, land-based satellites will also be offered at Regent Casino.

When the WPT was bought by PartyGaming in the fourth quarter of 2009, officials promised to expand the tour, particularly in Europe. It appears now those plans are being put into action.

EPT Headed to Berlin

Replacing the tour’s annual pilgrimage to Dortmund, Germany the EPT announced this week a €5,000+300 Berlin event will be held March 2-7, 2010.

“We are excited to be making our first stop in the beautiful city of Berlin,” said PokerStars EPT CEO John Duthie.

The Marlene-Dietrich-Platz at Potsdamer Platz, a two-story glass palace with enough space for 1,000 players being built especially for the EPT, will play host to the event.

A variety of side events will also be played at the venue starting on the third day of the tournament.

With up to 1,000 players expected, including tennis legend and Team PokerStars SportStar Boris Becker and all of Team PokerStars Germany – including Berlin native and Season 5 EPT Germany winner Sandra Naujoks, the tournament should break records as the largest ever held in Germany.

Plus, a €1 million guaranteed first-place prize should attract poker’s elite.

Next up for the EPT is the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure held in the Bahamas Jan. 4–14.

The tour has planned stops in Deauville from Jan. 20–25 and Copenhagen Feb. 16-21 before heading to Berlin.

The PokerStars European Poker Tour is headed to Berlin and guaranteeing a massive €1 million first-place prize to the winner there.

Replacing the tour’s annual pilgrimage to Dortmund, Germany the EPT announced this week a €5,000+300 Berlin event will be held March 2-7, 2010.

 

“We are excited to be making our first stop in the beautiful city of 

Berlin,” said PokerStars EPT CEO John Duthie.

The prestigious Marlene-Dietrich-Platz at Potsdamer Platz, a two-story glass palace with enough space for 1,000 players being built especially for the EPT, will play host to the event.

A variety of side events will also be played at the venue starting on the third day of the tournament. 

 

With up to 1,000 players expected, including tennis legend and Team PokerStars SportStar Boris Becker and all of Team PokerStars Germany – including Berlin native and Season 5 EPT Germany winner Sandra Naujoks, the tournament should break records as the largest ever held in Germany.

Plus, a €1 million guaranteed first-place prize should attract poker’s elite.

 

Next up for the EPT is the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure held in the Bahamas Jan. 4–14.

The tour has planned stops in Deauville from Jan. 20–25 and Copenhagen Feb. 16-21 before heading to Berlin.

Party Gaming 2009 Revenue in Line with Management Expectations

In a trading update released to the London Stock Exchange on Friday, Party Gaming, the parent company of PartyPoker, announced that its revenue was in line with Board expectations, while Clean EBITDA would likely surpass estimates.

Party Gaming is now anxiously awaiting legislative developments in three key markets: France, Italy, and the United States. On the latter country, which has been effectively shut off for the publicly traded company since 2006, the statement released by Party Gaming concludes, “Combining the strength of the PartyPoker brand with the trade and assets of the World Poker Tour that we acquired in November 2009, we believe we are well-positioned should the U.S. government elect to regulate online poker.”

As it stands now in the United States, the primary hope for legalization and regulation of the game is Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, HR 2267. The measure outlines a framework whereby licensed online gaming companies can solicit real money action from U.S. customers. A companion bill introduced by Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), HR 2268, taxes companies 2% of deposits and could raise as much as $40 billion in revenue over a ten-year period. HR 2267 boasts 63 co-sponsors, while HR 2268 has four.

Party Gaming’s attention seems to be focused squarely on poker given its recent acquisition of the World Poker Tour (WPT), a longtime industry staple. Party Gaming CEO Jim Ryan commented, "Returning poker to growth has been a key focus for us. We are pleased to see that the initiatives introduced throughout the year are now feeding through into both operational and financial performance with increased player numbers and average net daily revenues versus the previous quarter, despite continued competition from illegal U.S.-facing sites and the difficult macroeconomic climate.”

PartyPoker introduced its Monthly Million poker tournament earlier this year, a $640 buy-in event held on the first Sunday of every month. In December, PartyPoker member “ireadursoul” took down the Monthly Million to the tune of $200,000.

Also announced in Friday’s trading update was that Party Gaming had taken out a £35 million three-year loan to be applied towards mergers and acquisitions. Discussion of a possible merger between Party Gaming and bwin has dominated poker news headlines this week, although the company has not confirmed that any deal is imminent. bwin is also a publicly traded company and can be found on the Vienna Stock Exchange.

Shares of Party Gaming closed the week trading at 254 pence in London, down 4.6 pence on the day, or 1.8%. In the beginning of November, shares of Party Gaming’s stock (PRTY) had sunk as low as 214 pence before rebounding. In January, amid the worldwide economic doom and gloom, Party Gaming was fetching a lowly 157 pence a share.

Also helping to keep revenues afloat in recent months has been Party Gaming’s Bingo and Casino arms. PartyBingo’s business was boosted by the acquisition of Cashcade back in July, while a $5 million jackpot payout in the casino earlier this month drew a considerable amount of attention.

Ryan remained optimistic that a strong 2010 would be in store for the company’s investors: "Despite the challenges presented by the prevailing macroeconomic environment, we have not been distracted from the execution of our strategic plan. With the prospect of a number of new and large regulated markets in front of us, an expanding portfolio of B2B customers, and a return to growth in our core business, we remain confident about the Group's prospects."

Read the entire Party Gaming Trading Statement to the London Stock Exchange.

Poker Leads Way to PartyGaming Profits

“Returning poker to growth has been a key focus for us,” PartyGaming CEO Jim Ryan said in a statement released Friday.

“We are pleased to see that initiatives released throughout the year are now feeding through into both operation and financial performance with increased player numbers and average net daily revenues versus the previous quarter, despite continued competition from illegal US-facing sites and the difficult macroeconomic climate.”

PartyPoker made headlines earlier this year when it acquired the World Poker Tour. The site also released a major software revamp to its poker client that added a variety of new features.

Ryan went on to say changes in licensing and regulation in both Italy and France could potentially lead to a new source of long-term revenue.

Poker wasn’t the only positive development for PartyGaming, which also saw its casino, bingo and sports book put up strong numbers in the last quarter of the year.

PartyGaming, a publicly traded company, was hit hard when the U.S. passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006. The site pulled out completely from the country and its player base subsequently dropped dramatically.

Everest Poker Acquired by Mangas Gaming

While rumors are flying left and right about potential buyouts and mergers in the European online gaming market, news broke that Everest Poker and Mangas Gaming will join forces.  Mangas plans to buy out Everest in early 2010 as part of a deal worth in excess of $100 million.

The deal will be finalized in the first quarter of 2010.  Mangas Gaming will pay $100 million to Everest’s parent company, GigaMedia, in exchange for 60% of the shares of the company.  A Dow Jones article also stated that the final portion of the deal would be paid out after the company’s fair market value is reassessed in 2012.  There is also an option that allows GigaMedia to buy back Everest Gaming in 2013 should it see fit to do so.  GigaMedia is a publicly traded company on NASDAQ Stock Exchange, where it can be found under the symbol “GIGM.”

While the name Mangas may not sound familiar, the sites it owns and operates are well-known within the online gaming market: BetClic, Expekt Poker, and Bet-At-Home.  The French-based company appears to be taking more interest in poker as of late.  In addition to brokering the Everest deal, the company also signed World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Scotty Nguyen as an Expekt spokesman earlier this year and debuted former Team PokerStars Pro Isabelle Mercier as a BetClic spokeswoman at the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio.

The increased efforts of Everest Poker to heighten its profile in the French marketplace make even more sense in light of this deal.  The company, which is the official on-felt sponsor of the WSOP, signed a deal with November Nine member Antoine Saout after he made the Main Event final table and added Fabrice Soulier to its roster of pros last month.

Mangas Gamings Chief Executive Officer Isabelle Parize commented on the deal in an official press release announcing the acquisition: “We are very proud that Everest is joining our group.  It is a great company; it is a brand with an outstanding awareness in the world of poker, well-known for its know-how, its platform reliability, and its strict policies. Mangas Gaming is reinforcing its position as a major European player in both the online poker and sports betting markets.”

GigaMedia’s CEO, Arthur Wang, expressed similar sentiments in his statement.  “We were looking for a reference partner with complementary activities to ours,” Wang explained.  “Our strategy is to participate in the growth of this innovative and dynamic industry in Europe. We are glad to do it alongside the French leading sports betting and online gaming group.”

Poker News Daily has learned that once the deal is complete, players on Mangas’ other online poker rooms will be shifted towards Everest.  Expekt is expected to disappear entirely before the end of 2010 and all of the company’s customers will be shifted over to Everest.

Since the announcement of the deal, shares of GigaMedia saw a spike in trading value.  After trading as low as $3.53 on December 11th, stock prices shot up as high as $4.24, an increase of 20%.

Mangas Gaming Acquires Everest Poker

Mangas Gaming, which also owns BetClic, Expekt and Bet-at-Home, will hold 60% of Everest Gaming stock with the remaining 40% held by current shareholder GigaMedia.

 “We are very proud that Everest is joining our group,” said Isabelle Parize, CEO of Mangas Gaming.

“It is a great company; it is a brand with an outstanding awareness in the world of poker, well known for its know how, its platform reliability and its strict policies. Mangas Gaming is reinforcing its position as a major European player in both online poker and sports betting.”

Established over 10 years ago, Everest Poker has a strong presence in Europe and Asia and is consistently one of the biggest online poker rooms in the world.

Everest Poker is also one of the few rooms that runs its own proprietary poker software and is the exclusive poker table sponsor for the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

“We were looking for a reference partner with complementary activities to ours,” said Arthur Wang, CEO of GigaMedia. “Our strategy is to participate in the growth of this innovative and dynamic industry in Europe. We are glad to do it alongside the French leading sports betting and online gaming group.”

Mangas Gaming has a presence in more than 25 countries and over four million customers. Earlier this year the Mangas-owned BetClic announced it had signed famous poker pro Isabelle Mercier as a consultant and sponsored player.

PartyGaming to merger with Bwin?

The purchase of WPT was just the beginning for PartyGaming in a quest of becoming the biggest poker site in the world, again. The next step apparently is adding sports book to their supply, as the company has started merger talks with Austrian gambling company Bwin.

PartyGaming is set to welcome Bwin.

The merger would create a huge gambling company worth of £2 billion. Talks about the merger have been held on and off since the summer. If the two sides can agree a tie-up, the deal would be a merger of equals, as the value of both companies are about the same.

PartyGaming is currently offering poker and casino games. The merger, that is expected to be clarified early this week, of PartyGaming and Bwin would be logical, because PartyGaming is looking for new revenues from sports betting, something that Bwin is good at.

PartyGaming has been looking for expanding their business recently under CEO Jim Ryan. Before the UIGEA was set PartyGaming was estimated being worth of £5 billion, nearly 90% of its revenues coming from America. Closing their American operations lost them huge share of poker markets.

Everything is pointing to a fact that PartyGaming is preparing a return to US market. Mike Sexton, the WPT announcer and PartyPoker spokesperson told cardplayer.com that people at PartyPoker are sure UIGEA will be reversed and it will start a poker boom like six years ago, When Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP main event.

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PartyGaming to merger with Bwin?

ECOGRA Certifies CEREUS Poker Network

The CEREUS Network has taken another step towards regaining the trust of its customer base.  The independent certification group eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) recently announced that CEREUS met all of the qualifications for the organization’s seal of approval.

According to an announcement on eCOGRA’s site, CEREUS passed the certification process with “flying colors.”  The eCOGRA staff traveled to CEREUS headquarters to review the software and the company that produced it.  The lengthy review process analyzed the company’s random number generator and its management team.  eCOGRA used its Total Gaming Transaction Review system to assess CEREUS’ gaming transactions in terms of fairness and efficiency.

When all was said and done, eCOGRA was more than impressed with CEREUS’ operation.  Sean Roberts, Compliance Manager for eCOGRA, commented on the group’s findings in its official statement: “The active measures taken, in light of events that impacted players, coupled with an impressive range of additional mitigating controls that have since been implemented, have contributed to the CEREUS online poker network’s software reaching the standards we require for software accreditation.”

The London-based eCOGRA has long been considered to be one of the more prestigious and reputable online gaming certification groups out there.  Sites are certified by the Board of Directors, which consists of Executive Director Andrew Beveridge and Independent Directors Bill Henbrey, Michael Hirst, Bill Galston, and Frank Catania.  The board also includes three non-executive directors.  The four executive directors include an accountant, a former board member of Ladbrokes PLC, a retired inspector from the British Gaming Board, and a founder and president of a consulting group.

Beveridge also serves as the CEO of eCOGRA and has been at his post since 2003.  He possesses more than a decade of knowledge and experience in the world of online business and gaming.  A former executive at International Gaming Networks, Beveridge expressed confidence that CEREUS would uphold the standards expected of sites with eCOGRA certification: “CEREUS management’s complete cooperation and commitment to an in-depth inspection and monitoring process involving the network’s transaction records and its software has been remarkable.  Going forward, we are confident that the network’s adherence to our standards and best business practice requirements will prevent any reoccurrence of the unfortunate incidents of the past.”

Obviously excited to hear the good news, Paul Leggett, CEO of CEREUS’ parent company Tokwiro Enterprises, conveyed his feelings about the certification in the official eCOGRA press release: “Doing everything possible to reassure the poker community that our operation and software are completely safe and secure is a priority for us. This is why we decided to work with eCOGRA and apply for the Certified Software accreditation seal,” Leggett explained.  “Their inspection team was extraordinarily thorough, looking at a wide range of elements in our software. We are proud that our product passed the tough requirements to achieve this important accreditation. We have learned a great deal from eCOGRA and we respect and support their ongoing efforts to make the online poker industry more accountable.”

This announcement is not the first time that an outside organization has commended the company for its efforts to improve the safety and fairness of its online poker rooms following the Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet cheating scandals.  Earlier this year, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) issued its findings on the scandal and stated that no one at Tokwiro was aware of the impropriety or was involved in the cheating.  Despite not finding Tokwiro liable for any of the theft, the KGC instituted a list of requirements for UB to retain its CEREUS-issued license, including KGC testing, independent testing, internal audits, and KGC approval on new employee hiring.

Party Gaming Expands in Italy, Introduces Online Poker Changes

It was recently announced that Party Gaming had entered into a three-year agreement with Fueps, one of the leading casual games operators in Italy. This agreement stated that Party Gaming would provide the online poker services for the company. The move makes Fueps, via 4A – The Poker Suite, a part of the Party Gaming conglomerate that now contains PartyPoker and INTRALOT. PartyPoker, per Italian gaming laws, provides its popular online poker outlet as well as an online casino service that block those outside of Italy from playing, while allowing those inside the European country to play legally.

With the addition of Fueps to the Party Gaming portfolio, CEO Jim Ryan seemed to be pleased with the recent acquisition: “Fueps is our fifth business-to-business deal this year. It is an excellent addition to our Italian poker network. This agreement is consistent with our aim to establish a strong presence in the Italian poker market and to be well-placed to take advantage of the further deregulation of online gaming that is already planned to take place in Italy over the next few months.”

In addition to welcoming new players from Italy to the Party Gaming fold, last week saw an update to its popular online poker platform. Probably the most thrilling change for PartyPoker players is the introduction of a table stacking console. This new feature, which is currently in Beta testing by players on the site, allows users to navigate through tables that are stacked on top of each other via a special console. PartyPoker will be garnering feedback from players as to whether to make it a permanent part of its software.

Much like the other top networks in the online poker world, PartyPoker has also introduced the synchronized break system. Tournaments will break for five minutes at 55 minutes past every hour. This will help players who play in multiple tournaments simultaneously by providing that valuable break every hour across all tournaments not only on PartyPoker, but also on other online poker networks.

PartyPoker has reworked its player statistics to make them more comprehensive and provide more information across a wider range of games. Statistics will now be offered in all game types, including High-Low variations, and will also be gathered across multiple client sessions. Finally, some tournaments now have a late registration period that can be as deep as six levels and there is a more visible “un-register time.”

PartyPoker has been keeping its product in prime shape since its departure from the American market in 2006. This departure has caused the once dominant fixture in online poker to slide down to fourth place in the industry behind PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and the iPoker Network, according to PokerScout.com.

CEREUS Receives eCOGRA Certification

The e-Commerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) organization announced that CEREUS passed the requirements for its Certified Software accreditation seal.

Absolute Poker and UB Poker were both mired in cheating scandals that came to light in 2007 and 2008 and initially cost players millions of dollars. The money was eventually returned to the players after a series of investigations.

 “Doing everything possible to reassure the poker community that our operation and software are completely safe and secure is a priority for us,” said Tokwiro CEO Paul Legget. “This is why we decided to work with eCOGRA and apply for the Certified Software accreditation seal.”

eCOGRA was established as a non-profit organization by Microgaming and 888.com and has since become one of the most respected regulatory bodies in the online gaming world, reviewing over 150 sites including industry leaders like PartyPoker and bwin.

According to eCOGRA representatives, the CEREUS Poker Network was very open in the rigorous inspection process.

“CEREUS management’s complete cooperation and commitment to an in-depth inspection and monitoring process involving the network’s transaction records and its software has been remarkable,” said eCOGRA chief executive Andrew Beveridge.

“Going forward, we are confident that the network’s adherence to our standards and best business practice requirements will prevent any reoccurrence of the unfortunate incidents of the past.”

The on-site review encompassed every aspect of CEREUS software development activities was conducted earlier this year by professional eCOGRA auditing and technical staff.

CNBC Closing Bell Tackles Internet Gambling

The Global Gaming Expo is currently unfolding from Las Vegas and, as part of its coverage of the event, CNBC’s “Closing Bell” aired a four-minute segment entitled, “Odds Favor Online Gambling?”

Two industry experts joined CNBC “Closing Bell” host Melissa Francis on Thursday, Andrew Parmentire of Height Analytics and David Katz, an Oppenheimer gaming analyst. The former began the discussion, which did not take in a debate form, but rather featured both parties agreeing that legalized internet gambling in the United States is inevitable. Parmentire explained, “Barney Frank has put a bill out there and the stars are lining up in a lot of ways. Harrah’s has shown that they have an online strategy, Congress and states are in desperate need for money, and $50 billion can offset a lot of social programs that Democrats are pushing these days.” The proposed health care initiative, for example, could come with a price tag approaching $1 trillion.

Katz told CNBC viewers, “Gambling in the U.S. has become a far more acceptable consumer product than it was five or ten years ago. That said, we really are much more focused on the publicly traded companies and that would be the brick-and-mortars like Harrah’s as well as the game providers and the technology companies that support those industries.” Katz added that Harrah’s has become a major proponent of licensing online gaming. The Las Vegas-based private company recently launched Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment (HIE), based on Montreal, to oversee its online brand, with former Party Gaming CEO Mitch Garber as its lead figure.

Harrah’s inked an agreement with 888, the parent company of Pacific Poker, to fill its online gaming needs. 888 is a publicly traded company in London, where it can be found under the same three-number acronym. Katz explained that with casinos slowly reaching their limits in the live space, the switch to the Web is inevitable: “If you go to the Bellagio, they have a couple of hundred seats to sit in, so there’s a physical constraint. If you look at the number of states out there that are considering legalizing gaming, they’re going down every year. There’s a finite opportunity for the brick-and-mortar guys to expand in the United States and at some point, they have to start thinking globally.”

The CNBC spot occurred about two weeks prior to December 1st, the date by which the financial services industry in the United States must fall into line with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the industry’s main lobbying voice, issued a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to postpone the date by one year while effective legislation can be crafted. However, the two government officials have not yet responded.

The UIGEA was passed during the waning moments of the 2006 Congressional session at the direction of former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (D-TN). It was approved by a 3:1 margin in the House of Representatives and by unanimous consent in the Senate after being attached to the SAFE Port Act. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that the UIGEA did not in and of itself make any sort of internet gambling activity illegal. Instead, the legality of an online activity depends on a player’s jurisdiction. Parmentire candidly explained, “There is a lot of anger as to how this happened in 2006.” The PPA has expanded its membership from 50,000 in 2006 to over 1.2 million today.

Concurrently with the Global Gaming Expo, 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Joe Cada, who represents the online poker room PokerStars, has spread goodwill by appearing on mainstream outlets like the “Late Show with David Letterman,” ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” and USA Today. Cada, an online poker pro, became the youngest winner of the $10,000 buy-in tournament ever at age 21, breaking Peter Eastgate’s record of 22 years-old set in 2008.

Online Poker May Be Coming to Quebec, British Columbia

Quebec, British Columbia, and the four Atlantic provinces of Canada may soon see legalized and regulated online poker headed their way, according to an article that appeared in the Montreal Gazette newspaper.

Loto-Québec has submitted a proposal to the province’s government “for an internet wagering initiative in partnership with British Columbia and the four Atlantic provinces, which already have limited online gaming,” according to the Canadian news outlet. Loto-Québec claims that Canadians are currently placating more than 2,000 offshore internet gambling outfits, sending nearly $700 million in wagers away from the country each year, a number that will likely top $1 billion in three years.

Quebec plays home to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC), which is located on the Indian reservation of the same name outside of the city. Although the KGC is not currently linked to Loto-Québec’s endeavors, the organization’s Chairman, Dean Montour, told the Montreal Gazette, “The fact that Quebec is now entering the online gaming business in partnership with the Atlantic provinces and British Columbia is an indication that the industry is thriving and is gaining wider acceptance. For over 10 years, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission has had a positive working relationship with online gaming regulators throughout the world and looks forward to sharing its knowledge and experience with the Régie des alcools des courses et des jeux.”

The KGC is fresh off completing the investigating surrounding Ultimate Bet, an online poker site that recently changed its name to UB.com. In a September report, the KGC continued to finger former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Russ Hamilton as the mastermind behind the scandal and noted that 31 other individuals were involved, but would not identify who they were. The KGC also issued over 100 screen names associated with the misgivings, a list that included “nvtease,” “Sleeplesss,” and the infamous “NioNio.”

Given the seemingly “Wild West” atmosphere of the internet, Canadian control of the online poker industry will likely bring a considerable amount of validity: “The integrity of the online games often is dubious, as it was for some lotteries and VLTs before Loto-Québec was mandated by the government to funnel them into controlled circuits and oversee them,” noted Loto-Québec President and CEO Alain Cousineau. Loto-Québec added $1.4 billion to the bottom line of the province during the last fiscal year.

Potentially adding to the pressure of Loto-Québec to legalize and regulate the internet version of the age-old card game is a move towards licensing in the United States, spearheaded by Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA). Back in May, the lawmaker introduced HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, which establishes a full framework for legalized internet gambling in the USA. The measure is up to 63 co-sponsors, including Anthony Weiner (D-NY), who signed on four days ago. The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) expects HR 2267 to be marked up in the House Financial Services Committee, of which Frank is the Chair, in January. Other reports signal that markup is coming in December.

On December 1st, the financial services industry in the United States must fall into full compliance with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which was passed three years ago. The PPA and other organizations have been feverishly working to delay the compliance date by one year, but so far, pleas to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and the U.S. Congress have not been heeded.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that the newly-created Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment (HIE), headed by former Party Gaming CEO Mitch Garber, would be based in Montreal. Former WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack was originally slated to be HIE’s President, but recently parted ways with the Las Vegas-based gambling giant.

UB.com Launches, Rebranding of Ultimate Bet Complete

Tuesday signified a landmark day in the online poker industry, as Ultimate Bet, a USA-facing site on the CEREUS Poker Network, rebranded itself UB.com. The two-letter acronym has been the site’s nickname since its launch 10 years ago.

“Raise, Stack, Own” becomes the new mantra of UB.com, which retains the gold color theme of the old Ultimate Bet, but adds a baby blue hue as well. “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke, 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, and PokerRoad CEO Joe Sebok become the front men of the new site, which can be accessed by visiting UB.com or UltimateBet.com. A software update went live this morning and players’ user names and passwords will remain the same as they were prior to the UB.com transition.

UB and its sister site, Absolute Poker, are both owned by Tokwiro, whose CEO, Paul Leggett, commented in a press release, “The launch of UB.com represents a turning point for our company. We have assembled a great group of professionals who are passionate about poker to build the UB brand. Our goal is to create products and services that poker players really want. We are trying to listen very carefully to both our players and the poker community to help us achieve this goal.”

New lobby filters made their debut on Tuesday as part of the software update to UB.com. Omaha tables can now be filtered, making finding a game even simpler. In addition, the new update added color-coded icons to the tournament and ring game lobbies. In the former, special designations are given for Turbo, Ultra Turbo, Rebuy, Deep Stack, Bounty, Six-Max, Four-Max, and Heads-Up formats. In cash games, color-coded icons exist for Turbo, Jackpot, 7-2, Deep Stack, 50 Minimum Big Blind, and Ante tables on the virtual felts of UB.com. At the bottom of the lobby, a horizontal legend reminds users of what the new icons signify.

The lobby takes on a sleek yellow feel and the total update when we ran Ultimate Bet’s Mac version was 8,600 KB, which took about two minutes to download. The upper left corner of the lobby features the sleek UB.com black and yellow logo with the player and table counts given right underneath it written in white block lettering. The Mac version, which was rolled out in September along with an Instant Play option, is still limited to a maximum of four open tables. The Instant Play version requires the latest version of Java to be installed on the Mac or Windows device.

The new cash game filters include the maximum number of players, stack sizes, and table type. In addition, you can specify the number of players per flop and the number of players per table to ensure that only desired tables come up in the search. A total of 30 new tournaments featuring $1 million in guaranteed prize money have been introduced as part of a gradual overhaul, quickly establishing the USA-friendly CEREUS Network as one of the top around.

Hellmuth, who has long served as the face of the popular online poker site, talked about the movement from Ultimate Bet to UB.com: “In the ten years since I have been involved with the UB brand, I have never been prouder to represent the company as much as I am right now. We have great people captaining the ship, we have a great vibe, and some serious swagger. I look forward to the day when we are the largest poker site on the planet.”

According to PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on online poker room traffic, the CEREUS Network is the sixth largest worldwide with a seven-day running average of 2,750 real money ring game players, about one-tenth of the traffic of PokerStars, the largest site in the industry. UB.com made waves in late October by changing its raise logic and launching synchronized breaks in its larger tournaments at 55 minutes past each hour, in line with the precedents set by PokerStars and Full Tilt.

Poker Pros Rally Behind Former WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack

Late last week, World Series of Poker (WSOP) Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack stepped down from his post and removed himself from Harrah’s entirely. The move caught much of the poker world off-guard and Poker News Daily solicited the reaction from a few of the game’s top names.

“Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up and marquee female pro Annie Duke told Poker News Daily that Pollack’s ascension to the role of WSOP Commissioner in 2006 marked a player-friendly movement for the tournament series. She explained, “The first thing he did was meet with top players and I was fortunate enough to be among them. He really listened to us. There was only so much he could do because in the end he didn’t own it, but he was committed to working with the players and making sure they had a strong voice.” Pollack formed the Players Advisory Council, of which Duke was a member.

On the future of the tournament series without Pollack’s involvement, Duke admitted, “I know that Jeffrey stood as a partner with the players and fought with management over some of the issues. I feel like he was the players’ protector and it does concern me that he’s gone. I hope people at the WSOP take a lesson from what he did and partner with the players because that’s how you grow the brand.” Two years prior to Pollack’s Commissioner nod, Duke won the WSOP Tournament of Champions event for $2 million.

Among those lamenting Pollack’s departure was PokerRoad’s Joe Sebok, who made a deep run in the 2009 WSOP Main Event and finished in 56th place. Sebok told Poker News Daily, “I think it’s a bummer. The biggest thing is that the players are losing out. Jeffrey did a good job and people don’t understand how much he fought for different things. He really was an advocate for us, so it’s a sad day. He was a great Commissioner and I think he did a great job of fighting for the WSOP and fighting for the players.” PokerRoad will take to the television airwaves this Wednesday with the debut of “Poker 2Nite,” a poker news show that airs on Fox Sports Net.

Two Poker News Daily Guest Columnists also weighed in on Pollack’s resignation from the WSOP and Harrah’s. Linda Johnson, co-owner of Card Player Cruises, explained, “This is not necessarily the best thing for poker players. He was a great communicator. If you sent him an e-mail, he responded immediately and he listened to us.” ESPN “Inside Deal” host and noted poker author Bernard Lee added, “I’m surprised. I think he did a great job of bringing the WSOP to another level with not only the commercial success, but also the growth in the number entrants. I thought he was doing a great job.”

Last night, the CBS reality series “Amazing Race” aired, one of the first episodes since the elimination of poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho, who were sent packing in the Netherlands. Michelle gave her take on Pollack’s exit from the WSOP: “I’m very sad to see Jeffrey Pollack resigning. He has been so instrumental in the excellent changes and adaptations we’ve seen over the last four years. Jeffrey was professional, yet personal, which is why I think he held the respect of the entire poker community.” Michelle was the last woman standing in the 2008 WSOP Main Event, while Ho held that honor one year earlier. In 2009, the designation went to Leo Margets, who finished in 27th place.

According to WSOP officials, there are no immediate plans to fill the Commissioner’s role, leading many to wonder who will become the next face of the annual festivities in Las Vegas. Pollack was slated to become the President of Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, the casino giant’s Canadian-based online arm. Former Party Gaming CEO Mitch Garber remains the head of the new outfit.

Poker Community Reacts to WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack’s Resignation

Within minutes of news breaking that Jeffrey Pollack would be stepping down as the Commissioner of the World Series of Poker (WSOP), the poker community began to sound off on the matter, be it through Twitter, online poker forums, or personal blogs.  The reactions ranged from relief to despair and people on both sides of the issue contemplated what this move said about the future of the WSOP.

Longtime tournament reporter B.J. Nemeth was one of the people saddened by Pollack’s departure.  Nemeth, who missed out on the televised WSOP Main Event final table because he was reporting on the Foxwoods World Poker Finals, posted his thoughts on the resignation on his Twitter account (@BJNemeth): “If I had known this was @JeffreyPollack’s last WSOP, I would have done whatever necessary (quit my job, hitchhike) to photograph the Nov 9.”

Nemeth elaborated about Pollack’s time as Commissioner to Poker News Daily: “I think when we look back, it will be far more important than the fact that [this year] was the 40th anniversary.  The 40th anniversary is just a milestone that’s going by, whereas Pollack’s departure is the end of an era.”

Nemeth also offered his insight on Pollack’s strong relationship with the poker media: “Jeffrey Pollack was definitely a friend to the media.  In an age of exclusive media deals, he allowed bloggers and everyone else to show up and never restricted what they wrote about.  Wicked Chops Poker, Tao of Poker, and everybody else were allowed to cover the WSOP as they see fit.”

Not only did Pollack allow these bloggers extensive freedom in how they reported on events, but he also often gave them a behind-the-scenes glimpse into his day-to-day activities as Comissioner.  Nemeth put together a photo blog documenting a day in the life of Pollack for PokerRoad and Pollack also recorded several video blogs for Wicked Chops Poker.

While Nemeth and other media members like Tao of Poker blogger Paul McGuire (@TaoPauly) and PokerNews Editor Matthew Parvis (@MatthewParvis) wished Pollack well via Twitter, not everyone was sad to see the Commissioner go.  Poker player Jon “pokertrip” Friedberg has less enthusiastic words for Pollack’s time at Harrah’s.  A regular on the tournament circuit since the mid-2000s, Friedberg won his WSOP bracelet in 2006, the same year Pollack took over as Commissioner, and has attended every WSOP during his tenure.

Friedberg told Poker News Daily he was not surprised when he heard that Pollack and the WSOP were parting ways: “I expected it to happen in 2006, I expected it to happen in 2007, and I expected it to happen in 2008,” he explained.  “I really felt like there were so many mistakes being made and so many opportunities he failed to capitalize on and each year I was just thinking that Harrah’s has to notice and let him go, but he was continuing to stay onboard each year.”

Friedberg’s opinion of Pollack’s performance is based both on his experiences as a poker player and as a businessman.  Prior to pursuing poker full-time, Friedberg worked for Petco and served as CEO of Reatrix Systems, a company that produced interactive video display technology.

“As a player, I think he made a lot of really, really foolish mistakes as to how the tournaments were run,” Friedberg argued.  He cited the use of the much-maligned Kem “Poker Peek” cards at the 2007 WSOP as well as continued frustration with tournament registrations and payouts as just a few of the mistakes during Pollack’s tenure.

“From a business perspective, I think he did a terrible job getting corporate sponsors.  Even though the numbers have been okay the past couple of years as far as the size of the fields, I think underneath his administration, the brand equity behind the WSOP has really gone to shit.  The turnouts are not as high as they could have been and the corporate sponsors he has gotten have been a total joke.”  Friedberg conceded that it is somewhat difficult to find corporate sponsors for a gambling-related event, but cited the Kentucky Derby as an example of one that has consistently drawn marquee title sponsors.

Several posters on the TwoPlusTwo forums, including poker pro Todd Terry, echoed Friedberg’s sentiments.  Terry cited the elimination of the popular rebuy events and the exclusionary nature of Pollack’s Player’s Advisory Council as some of the decisions made that he has taken issue with over the years.

Neither Nemeth nor Friedberg was able to say definitively what the future holds for the WSOP, but Friedberg offered his thoughts on Harrah’s decision not to appoint a replacement anytime soon: “It’s sad to say this, but I think that since they don’t have plans to hire a new Commissioner, it shows me that they really don’t give a shit about the WSOP because overall with Harrah’s, it’s not a big moneymaker for them.  I think they’re going to try to let it run itself rather than capitalize on what it could become.”  Nemeth also expressed concern over the future of the WSOP without Pollack.

Pollack fan or not, this latest change at Harrah’s has everyone concerned about what to expect in 2010.

Jeffrey Pollack Resigns from Harrah’s, WSOP

In breaking news from Las Vegas, World Series of Poker (WSOP) Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack has resigned from his post at the WSOP and Harrah’s, according to the Associated Press and his Twitter feed. Today, Friday, November 13th, is Pollack’s last day on the job.

Pollack told the news service on Friday, “It’s bittersweet, but I’m leaving with just great memories and a really nice sense of it being a great run. More than anything else, I’m just appreciative of the opportunity to have been part of the WSOP.” The WSOP entered its 40th year in 2009, with Michigan pro Joe Cada having been crowned its latest champion earlier this week. The youngster became the youngest WSOP Main Event winner ever at age 21 and defeated Maryland logger Darvin Moon heads-up. Cada will celebrate his 22nd birthday next week.

The Associated Press reported, “Series spokesman Seth Palansky said there were no immediate intentions to replace Pollack.” Back in May, Pollack teamed with former Party Gaming CEO Mitch Garber to lead Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, the casino giant’s newly-formed online arm. Pollack was slated to be its President and Harrah’s CEO Gary Loveman commented in a press release announcing the launch, “As the world’s largest gaming company, Harrah’s is taking a proactive approach toward international and interactive expansion. It is important we position ourselves to explore new markets as well as new technologies with our best in class brands.”

Pollack was instrumental in growing the WSOP since 2005. The annual festivities from Las Vegas picked up shop and moved from Binion’s in the Downtown area to the Harrah’s-owned Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino off the Strip. 2005 saw Australian Joe Hachem take down the $10,000 buy-in Main Event to the tune of $7.5 million. A total of 5,619 players entered, a number that would swell to 8,773 in 2006, the year that Hollywood agent Jamie Gold claimed victory.

Pollack told the Associated Press that his next career move remains up in the air: “I really wanted to see this year through, see this series through. I’m leaving on an absolute high note.” No indication was given to media on-hand at the Rio last weekend that Pollack was departing, as the Commissioner seemed in high spirits. Pollack awarded Mike Sexton his Poker Hall of Fame trophy in a ceremony held during Saturday’s play in the Main Event that saw the field trimmed from nine players to two, Cada and Moon.

Under Pollack’s leadership, the WSOP brand hopped “The Pond” for WSOP Europe. The festivities began in 2007, with Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad becoming the youngest bracelet winner ever by taking down the Main Event, defeating fellow Betfair pro John “Kunkuwap” Tabatabai heads-up. The inaugural Main Event drew 362 entrants. In 2008, Full Tilt Poker pro John Juanda took down the title, defeating Russian poker players Stanislav Alekhin and Ivan Demidov. In 2009, Barry Shulman, father of WSOP November Nine member Jeff Shulman, claimed victory in the WSOP Europe feature tournament. A total of 57 events in Las Vegas and four more in Europe were held this year.

Palansky told Poker News Daily, “We appreciate Jeffrey’s contributions over the past four years and wish him the best in the future. The World Series of Poker remains the market leader with this year’s tournament exceeding all expectations and we are well positioned for the future. There is no intention at this time to replace the Commissioner role.”

Pollack also held positions with the NBA and NASCAR and is the half-brother of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. On his Twitter page, Pollack boasted on Friday, “Thank you for allowing me to be part of the #WSOP these last few years. I will always be a fan and friend to the poker community.”

Joe Sebok – Poker Player Profile

Stepson of Barry Greenstein, Joe Sebok is the CEO and President of PokerRoad, a multimedia conglomerate that includes industry-leading podcasts, video blogs with some of the game’s best like 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member Phil Ivey, and a mammoth collection of Twitter feeds called PokerRoad Nation. Sebok is one of the most recognizable faces in all of poker and serves as a member of Team Ultimate Bet, joining the likes of Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth.

Having a stepfather who is one of the most decorated players in the game gives Sebok a leg up on the competition. In an interview with Poker News Daily, Sebok explained, “We’ll chat about things before events. He’s teaching me more than he was before.” Greenstein is a three-time WSOP bracelet winner and was a nominee for the Poker Hall of Fame in 2009. His charitable work away from the felts has earned him the nickname “The Robin Hood of Poker.” With Greenstein being dubbed “Bear,” Sebok has appropriately earned the moniker “Cub.”

PokerRoad launched a Wednesday night television show on Fox Sports Net in November of 2009 called “Poker 2Night,” which is sponsored by Ultimate Bet and covers the hot topics for the week in the game. Besides Sebok, other PokerRoad personalities include Joe Stapleton, Gavin Smith, and Court Harrington.

Ultimate Bet Signing

In September of 2009, Sebok signed on to become the Media and Operations Consultant for Ultimate Bet. The announcement, which followed the release of screen names associated with the cheating scandal that rocked that online poker site, seemed to add credibility back to the brand. Sebok told Poker News Daily, “I requested a business role within UB, as I wanted to make sure I could also be involved in the operations and help guide the path a little.” The deal took four months to finalize and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission continued to finger Russ Hamilton, a former WSOP Main Event winner, for masterminding the scandal.

World Poker Tour

Sebok has bubbled a pair of final tables on the World Poker Tour (WPT). He took seventh in the Bay 101 Shooting Star event in Season V for $130,000 and also grabbed seventh in the Legends of Poker the following season for another $114,000. Sebok owns nearly $600,000 in lifetime WPT earnings, as he’s had to scale back his involvement with the roving tour due to his plethora of duties with PokerRoad.

2009 WSOP Main Event

Sebok burst onto the WSOP scene in 2005, final tabling two events for a combined payday of $109,000. Four years later, Sebok made a deep run in the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament, finishing 56th for $108,000. He outlasted 99% of the 6,494 combatants and took to the stage of the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio in Las Vegas to watch the Main Event final table unfold in November.

Prop Bets

Sebok and Gavin Smith have faced off in numerous prop bets, including one during the 2006 WSOP in which Sebok turned out in a diaper. He has also dressed up as a variety of superheroes and co-hosted “Prop Bets” with Smith, an online series.

EPT 6 second-half schedule released

Saalbach-Hinterglemm is one of Austria's premier ski areas and PokerStars qualifiers will also win a six-day ski package for this event.

Traditional stops in France, Denmark, Italy and the Grand Final in Monaco remain on the schedule, but the German leg of the tour will see a city and venue change.

The EPT will not be returning to Dortmund and although the new location has yet to be finalized, it appears it will likely be held in Berlin or Hamburg.

The second half of the schedule will also see the addition of several side events.

"There has been huge enthusiasm for the new EPT schedule and also for the bigger 'Festivals of Poker' like the one we held in London, and will be holding at the PCA, San Remo and Monte Carlo events," said EPT CEO John Duthie.

"The spectacular success of the EPT London Poker Festival a few weeks ago shows that players really relish the chance to play more side events, with a variety of games and buy-ins."

Last season's EPT proved a success with 11 events generating an overall prize pool of almost €55 million - more than any other poker tour.

Almost 8,000 players from 97 countries participated and with 13 events now on the schedule for Season 6, organizers believe the EPT is certain to smash records again.

Online satellites for EPT Portugal and the Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure are running now and others are planned in the coming months for future events.

Below is a look at the remainder of the EPT schedule. For more information the EPT website can be found here.

Sally Anne Boyer Sues WSOP Academy and Harrah’s

2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Women’s Champion Sally Anne Boyer has filed a lawsuit against Harrah’s Entertainment, the WSOP Academy, and other related companies for misuse of her image for advertising purposes.

According to a report in the Las Vegas Sun newspaper, Boyer filed the lawsuit on Monday against the casino giant and the poker training school alleging that her name and likeness have been used in advertising without her permission and that the WSOP Academy states she endorses the school. Also named in the lawsuit were Post Oak Productions of Toronto, Canada (managers of the WSOP Academy) and Post Oak owners Brandon Rosen and Jeff Goldenberg.

After winning the 2007 Women’s Championship during the WSOP, earning slightly over $260,000 and her first WSOP bracelet, Boyer appeared in ads for the WSOP Academy with the byline, “The quickest way to your WSOP bracelet,” and was billed as a graduate of the school. These ads, alleges Boyer’s attorneys Bowler, Dixon, and Twitchell, LLP, appeared in poker magazines, on the WSOP’s website, and in the Academy’s newsletters. The bone of contention between the companies is whether Boyer acquiesced to allow use of her name and image for such purposes and whether she completed the Academy’s classes.

The stakes could be high if Boyer’s attorneys can prove that her likeness was misused. The lawsuit is seeking restitution from the use of her visage and unspecified damages. The WSOP Academy, which has been in existence since early 2007, charges participants anywhere from $1,899 to $2,999, depending upon the intensity of the training, what type of instruction is being conducted, and the instructors involved.

According to sources inside of Harrah’s who requested anonymity due to policies on pending litigation, Boyer’s litigation team contacted the company earlier this year regarding these issues. As Harrah’s and the WSOP do not have any ownership of the Academy, the issue was forwarded onto Post Oak Productions.

As reported also in the Sun, an e-mail dated August 30th, 2007 is a discussion between Rosen and Boyer as to the advertising that would feature Boyer. In the e-mail, which was obtained by Poker News Daily, Boyer states that the ad “looks fine” and offers to send “better” pictures in her “poker… attire” for future advertising. According to sources, Boyer’s attorneys were unaware of this e-mail when the suit was filed and, as of press time, had not returned calls to Poker News Daily.

Poker professional Mark Seif, who is one of the instructors for the Academy, stated to Poker News Daily, “With respect to the recent Sally Anne Boyer filing, I think its best to refer you to a statement Jeff Goldenberg, the CEO of Post-Oak Productions, made yesterday regarding the case.” In that statement, Goldenberg was quoted as saying, “I would like to comment in detail, but our attorneys won’t let us. Suffice it to say we were absolutely shocked that this suit was filed. The suit is entirely baseless and we look forward to being entirely vindicated when all of the facts come out in court.”

Boyer’s lawsuit is reminiscent of the lawsuit filed by seven top poker professionals against the World Poker Tour (WPT) a few years ago. In 2006, the seven players – Andy Bloch, Annie Duke, Chris Ferguson, Phil Gordon, Joe Hachem, Howard Lederer, and Greg Raymer – alleged that the WPT’s standard release forms required for participation in its tournaments were a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

The seven players argued that the forms were anti-competitive and conflicted with their contractual obligations to other companies and organizations. After a great deal of posturing, Hachem and Raymer dropped out of the lawsuit (with Hachem notably going on to win the 2006 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic) and the remaining five players eventually settled out of court in April of 2008.

Merge Gaming Network Fires Back at PIC Club

In a statement released in recent days by the Merge Gaming Network, the family of online poker sites fired back at Players Investment Company, or PIC Club, a major online poker payment processor that uses its status as a trading organization to operate legally in the United States.

A terse e-mail, authored by Merge Gaming CEO Anthony Taylor, read, “It has been brought to my attention, via comments in a public forum, that there is some confusion regarding a relationship we have with a payments provider. To be clear, it was Merge Gaming, who served notice on our agreement with Pic Club.” An e-mail sent by PIC Club members to players on October 15th noted that the two sides “mutually agreed to end their business relationship.” October 18th, three days after the e-mail was sent to players, marked the final day of transactions between the two entities.

Speculation on the motivation for either side ending its agreement with the other has run rampant throughout the major online poker forums, leading to Taylor’s statement. He attempted to shed some light on the point of contention by remarking, “The reasoning behind this is a matter of private record. Merge Gaming attempted to resolve the issue brought on by PIC Club, one of its principals, and one of its members, and without resolution, felt it was in the best interest of our customers to end this relationship immediately.”

The Merge Gaming CEO crisply ended his e-mail by claiming, “It is regrettable that I have to respond to the statements of the past week, but our hand has been forced. We’ve cancelled our agreement to protect our players, our network partners, and our reputation going forward.”

According to PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on online poker room traffic, the Merge Gaming Network is the 17th largest worldwide with a seven-day running average of 420 real money ring game players. During its peak hours, up to 700 cash game players can be found seated at its virtual felts. Its family of online poker sites includes ACED, Carbon Poker, IronDuke, Poker Nordica, Reefer Poker, and Spin32. PokerScout.com notes that the Merge Gaming Network’s headquarters is in Australia, while its servers are hosted on the Kahnawake reservation in Canada.

Chuck Kidd, the CEO of the trading company, authored the e-mail to PIC Club members ten days ago. In it, he lamented, “We regret the dissolution of this business relationship, however we believe it is in the best interest of PIC Club and our valued members.” Players who withdrew money from Merge Gaming Network sites through PIC Club would see their funds placed in a “pending status,” which meant they would only be released when funds were received from the Network. After cashouts had been processed, PIC Club officials planned to solicit relationships with individual Merge Gaming Network sites. Big Bet Poker and rooms on the IGS System were not affected by the agreement’s cessation.

Kidd recently sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss the origins and operations of PIC Club, but told us that he was unable to answer questions about the Merge Gaming Network squabble until at least Monday, October 27th. An interview will be held this week with Kidd to discuss the situation, which unfolded publicly on online forums, news sites, and other media last week.

PIC Club skirts the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and other overarching laws in the United States by “buying shares of [a] pooled commodity” and selling it to an online poker site, according to Kidd. Player’s available shares accounts received dividends of 10.5% in 2008 and 14.25% in 2007.

Gowen lawsuit tilts again

Gowen alleged that in 2004 she was offered a 1% stake in the site in exchange for her services as a celebrity endorser, but never received compensation.

She was dropped from the Team Full Tilt roster just days before the suit was filed.

Federal Judge Robert Jones granted a motion to dismiss the case back in April of this year, but the lawsuit was not thrown out in its entirety.

Gowen was given leave to amend the complaint to include just Full Tilt Poker, Tiltware, the related companies, Bitar and Howard Lederer as defendants and appeal the decision to dismiss the case.

However, in a decision released this week, Judge Jones both denied Gowen's appeal and granted Full Tilt's latest motion to dismiss the newly amended complaint.

Although, it appears the suit is not dead yet.

Judge Jones has granted Gowen leave to amend the complaint a third time to include only Tiltware.

Gowen and her lawyers have 15 days from the Oct. 14 decision date to file the amended complaint.

A former Oklahoma teen beauty queen, Gowen has over $1.6 million in career tournament earnings.

PIC Club CEO Chuck Kidd Discusses Company’s Growth, Legality

Making poker news headlines this week was word that Players Investment Company, more commonly known as PIC Club, had severed its relationship with the Merge Gaming Network. PIC Club CEO Chuck Kidd sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss the company’s formation and its compliance with U.S. law.

Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. For those unfamiliar with PIC Club, can you tell us what it is and how the company was formed?

Kidd: A group of players and I were customers of Hollywood Poker. I usually had a second screen up and running during my job and poker was entertainment for me. I wasn’t a movie watcher or a television watcher. Instead, poker was my form of entertainment. In October of 2006, when they came out with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), I took offense to that. I felt like they had stepped into my business. A week after the UIGEA passed, we got thrown out of Hollywood Poker.

My friends and I who played on a social basis had nowhere to go. I’m an old software geek and so I built a forum and a chat room. It was during that time that I contacted a Congressman and asked him to send me a copy of the UIGEA. I sat down and read through it with a couple of pretty smart business guys and realized that they hadn’t outlawed gambling, just the transfer of funds. It was also up to the banks to enforce it. On the very first page of the UIGEA, in its list of exclusions, there is a reference to trading companies. That put an interesting thought into my mind: what if we had a company that traded in poker? I found an international trading company called Ledvil for sale and we went and bought it. We’re licensed to trade everything from precious medals to durable goods.

PND: How does PIC Club avoid violating the UIGEA?

Kidd: We never violate the UIGEA. When you deposit money into a PIC Club account, you have an “available shares account,” which is money you can use to purchase shares in the pooled commodities we are currently trading in. We sell at the rate of $1/share. When you say you want to send money to DoylesRoom, for example, the player is actually buying shares of the pooled commodity that we will sell to DoylesRoom on your behalf and then DoylesRoom places money in an account for you to play in. At no point does a U.S.-based financial institution ever do business with an online poker site.

PND: Has the Federal Government ever approached you?

Kidd: They gave me the permits to operate and we just filed our taxes. We’re not doing anything against the law. To quote one of my sources, the Department of Justice is scratching their heads as to what to do with us and just ignores us for the time being. Last year, we paid out 10.5% interest to people who used PIC Club through their available shares account. The year before, we did 14.25%.

PND: Explain how the transfer of funds to an online poker site works.

Kidd: It’s all an electronic transaction. We are required by law to keep a copy of the certificates for shares. At the end of the day, we are transferring money for the poker industry, but we do it in such a way that we don’t violate UIGEA because we’re not transmitting money from a player to a site. We’re not like Neteller.

PND: How does PIC Club make money?

Kidd: We make money off poker rooms, not players. The processing costs are charged to the player, so when the money goes into PIC Club, it’s breakeven. When money goes to an online poker room, they pay me a percentage of every dollar. It’s pretty much the same fee for every site and I haven’t had to do much negotiating there.

PND: How can PIC Club help you manage your bankroll?

Kidd: You can see every dollar you have online at PIC Club rooms. You just push a button and your balance will be fed back to you. You can then choose to move money around as you see fit.

PND: What does the future hold for PIC Club?

Kidd: PIC Club will keep growing like it is. I’ve let it grow at a very nice pace. I’ve refused to compromise on my customer support. I was angered as anyone when I would call poker room support and be put on hold. I decided that would never happen at PIC Club. One of the things I’m proud of is that we’ve had online support since 2007 and our support has never been down for more than six hours. Personally, I am launching PokerProsNetwork.net. We’re putting a whole new spin on the idea of playing with pro players.

Party Gaming Revenue Down 4% in Q3 2009

In figures recently released by Party Gaming, the parent company of PartyPoker, revenues were off 4% in Q3 2009 compared to Q2. Company officials noted that the decrease was “in line with the normal seasonal pattern seen in previous years.”

The acquisition of Cashcade actually ballooned Party Gaming’s revenue to $112.7 million during the third quarter, up 11% from Q2. However, removing Cashcade’s impact meant that revenues decreased 4%. PartyPoker revenues were $45.1 million during the most recent three-month period, a slide of 8% versus Q2. Party Gaming management attributed the fall to “higher player numbers offset by lower yields.” The $45.1 million in poker revenue represented a significant dip from the $65.0 million reported in Q3 2008.

PartyCasino’s revenue clocked in at $49.2 million, up 2% from the previous quarter, and the company’s sports book revenue registered at $4.2 million, up 31%. The company reported Bingo revenues of $13.8 million, nearly seven times the total accrued by the division during the same period last year. Party Gaming CEO Jim Ryan commented in the company’s release to the London Stock Exchange, “Poker remains challenging from a competitive standpoint, but we are encouraged by the increased player traffic during September and into October on the back of our new retention initiatives such as the enhanced loyalty program, improved VIP offer, and automated reactivation campaigns.”

Party Gaming boasted a base of 7.3 million users in 2009, up 24% from the 5.9 million users it placated to in 2008. The online giant played host to 79,200 average daily players, up from 63,900 in 2008, or 24%. However, its yield per active player day was down significantly in the third quarter of 2009 to $15.40, a slide of 23% year over year and 11% quarter over quarter. The company blamed the dip on “higher bonus costs driven by the acquisition of Cashcade and the costs associated with the new retention initiatives.”

A total of 208,100 new real money sign-ups occurred during Q3 2009 company-wide, a climb of 51% from the 137,600 who registered during Q3 2008. The number of unique active players during the period was 726,300, up 35% from 2008, and the company reported average daily net revenue of $1.2 million, down 5% from 2008, but up 10% over the previous quarter.

All told, PartyPoker boasted 4.6 million active players during the third quarter of 2009, a slide of 2% year over year. The online poker site, which does not accept customers from the United States, hosted 50,400 daily average players, even with 2008 figures, and a $9.70 yield per active player day, down 31% from the $14 recorded last year. PartyPoker saw 120,100 new real money sign-ups during the third quarter, up a colossal 30% from the 92,100 who signed up during Q2 2008. PartyPoker had average daily net revenues of $489,700, a dip of 31% year over year and 9% quarter over quarter.

Company officials explained the poker business unit’s lackluster performance: “Despite the competitive challenges in poker, we continued to sign up large numbers of new players and achieved an absolute increase in player numbers versus the previous quarter despite seasonality. Player yields declined year-on-year due to foreign exchange movements as well as competitive pressures.” On Thursday, it was announced that PartyPoker Ambassador Mike Sexton is the lone member of the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner has served as the host of the World Poker Tour (WPT) since it debuted on The Travel Channel in the United States in 2003.

According to PokerScout.com, PartyPoker is the fourth largest online poker site worldwide, featuring a seven-day running average of 5,200 real money ring game players. During its peak hours, which occur in the evening throughout Europe, over 10,000 cash game players can be found on its felts. Party Gaming is traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol “PRTY.”