Poker News

Prahlad Friedman Discusses Signing with UB.com

Brand new to Team UB.com is bracelet winner Prahlad Friedman, who joined the site following the departures of Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth. Friedman sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss joining the USA-friendly CEREUS Network site.

Poker News Daily: Tell us why you signed with UB.com following your now-famous Tweet in November saying you’d be “selling out” by joining an online poker site. Did you have a change of heart?

Prahlad Friedman: I had a change of heart. It was all because of friends and family. They all convinced me that I could do greater good by signing and having more exposure and influence. We live in a society where the people who are the most well known have the greatest influence. I felt this could get me out there a little more. There’s also a charity component to my deal.

PND: What can you tell us about the charity portion of your agreement with UB.com?

Prahlad Friedman: There’s a good chunk of money that I’ll be giving to charity every year. I’ll be posting on Facebook and Twitter for any charities people think are awesome and I have a few ideas of my own. There are many options out there.

PND: What sparked your original stance against signing with an online poker site?

Prahlad Friedman: I’m just super liberal. I was raised vegetarian and I meditate. I’ve always liked underground hip-hop. I’ve always been on the outside. Now, I’m trying to mix it up and work from the inside out. I can turn a lot of heads, make people healthier, and help with charity. I don’t view it as selling out.

PND: You were affected by the cheating scandal on UB.com. What does Prahlad Friedman signing with UB.com say about the site moving forward?

Prahlad Friedman: People should know I’m not a donkey. I’m not going to sign if I thought there was anything going on. I obviously feel like the site is different and new now. Anybody who had to do with that scandal is gone.

PND: With Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth now gone from Team UB.com, can you be the main face of an online poker site?

Prahlad Friedman: I’ve always been a leader. I’ve always been outspoken. For quite a few years now, I haven’t been afraid to do interviews and be in front of cameras. I’m comfortable and have always been a point guard.

PND: What were your thoughts when you found out that Duke and Hellmuth were leaving?

Prahlad Friedman: They’re going to make the decision that’s best for them; it didn’t raise any concerns for me. They’ve been there a while and wanted a change of pace or had a change of heart just like I did. People change and the fact that they’re out is hopefully good for them and I know they’ll do well in the future. It also gives me an opportunity to be at the forefront. One of the things that most attracted me to this deal was the creative control I’ll have in commercials, clothing lines, and charitable things.

PND: What details can you share about the interactions you had with UB.com following the cheating scandal? Were you reimbursed?

Prahlad Friedman: It’s one of the greatest experiences I’ve had. I’m sure a lot of people feel differently, but I was pumped to get money back and it was a large sum. They took care of me and it reinforced to me that I was one of the best poker players in the world. Any money I had lost was because I was cheated off of it. Every site has had its problems with weird things happening and you have to improve and move on.

PND: What were your thoughts about Daniel Negreanu calling you out for signing with UB.com?

Prahlad Friedman: At first, people were recommending that I not read TwoPlusTwo and Twitter because if there’s anything negative, it can get to you, but I couldn’t help myself. I read Daniel Negreanu’s comments and I’m not hating on him. We’re friends and fellow vegans, but he feels strongly about UB. I don’t have problems with the things he said. I just feel a lot differently than he does.

PND: Were you surprised at some of Negreanu’s comments?

Prahlad Friedman: I knew from the past that people are going to bring up tough questions and criticize me. People have been criticizing me since I was on the scene. You can’t let those things affect you. People have different ideas. That’s what makes the world interesting.

PND: You broke Steve Nash’s consecutive free throw record on an episode of “Poker2Nite,” which was quite impressive. Tell us about your preparation for that attempt.

Prahlad Friedman: I’ve always been intense about things I do. Playing basketball competitively has been my main goal since I could hold a ball. All I did was shoot 500 or 1,000 shots a day for years and years. I’d sneak my way into gyms as a youth and I was obsessed with basketball.

Usually, when I go out and shoot, I’ll make 40 or 50 in a row, and my best is 118. The world record is 5,200 shots in a row, which would be awesome to break, but could be out of reach. I thought Nash’s record was within reach and broke it on the third try. I’d like to do it again, improve upon it, and make it so people will have a tough time beating it.

PND: We’d wager that many poker players know you best for your World Series of Poker Main Event run-ins with Ted Bort and Jeffrey Lisandro.

Prahlad Friedman: It seems silly that I’m known for those. I can’t blame people because ESPN is one of the biggest outlets and millions of people watch it. In the future, they can hopefully remember me for other things. I don’t like to be remembered for drama, so it is a little funny that these controversies come up. I’m looking to get past them.

PND: Are you focused on winning a second WSOP bracelet?

Prahlad Friedman: I haven’t played enough tournaments recently to have a really good chance. I’d love to win two, though, and with this signing with UB, I think I’ll play more. I’ll put myself in a good position to win another one.

Prahlad Friedman Joins Team UB

Just weeks after announcing the site had parted ways with longtime team members Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth, the signing of one of the most feared online poker cash game players in the world comes as a shock, considering Friedman had previously rejected the concept of sponsorship and was one of the largest victims of a cheating scandal on UB that saw insiders gain access to opponent's hole cards.

Friedman, who plays under the names "Spirit Rock" and "Mahatma" online, has a World Series of Poker bracelet, World Poker Tour title, and more than $2.3 million in career live tournament earnings.

He believes this is a new era for himself and the site.

"UB is headed in a new direction, and I really like the team they've put together," he said. "Everyone on the team has interests away from poker. They're young, hip, cool -- people I enjoy hanging with and whose games I respect."

Almost as widely known for the rap video he made for the ESPN The Nuts segement during a deep run in the 2006 WSOP Main Event, UB says the addition of Friedman to its roster of young, talented poker pros makes the team immediately stronger and louder.

"One word to describe Prahlad Friedman joining UB.com? Epic," said fellow Team UB pro Joe Sebok. "We've netted one of the biggest cash game players of all time, an achievement that really speaks to the strength and attractiveness of UB heading into 2011."

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Daniel Negreanu Speaks Out on Rumored Prahlad Friedman UB.com Signing

Late last week, poker pros Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth parted ways with UB.com, a USA-friendly site on the CEREUS Network. Word quickly spread that Prahlad Friedman would be signing with UB.com as a replacement in the coming days, sparked in part by his name appearing on Duke’s old biography page.

Over the weekend, PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu bantered on Twitter about Friedman’s rumored signing. Negreanu congratulated Hellmuth for leaving UB.com last week and then fired off a series of Tweets blasting Friedman’s decision. His first thoughts were, “So disappointed in @prahladfriedman signing with the devil who stole millions from him. He was so ‘anti-sellout’ and then he did the unthinkable… They must have paid him a lot to join the dark side and endorse the exact same people who ruined him. So sad and so mind-boggling… The current owners of AP/UB are spending Prahlad’s money. They must be mocking him at this point. Cheat the dude and watch him endorse us!”

Among those responding to Negreanu was bracelet winner Jon Friedberg, who inquired, “Is that official? I thought just speculation. Smart biz move for @UB if it’s true, despite any opinions about him or them… And again if true, then they obv convinced him that they’re not shady anymore. He’s a very bright guy. Anxious to see if true.” Negreanu retorted, “Sure, totally cheat and destroy a guy and then offer him a deal. That company is no less shady today and they cannot prove otherwise?” “Kid Poker” added, “It’s true and you are all being lied to if you think the infrastructure of the company has been miraculously cleaned up.”

In other responses to inbound Tweets, Negreanu replied, “I also like Prahlad a lot, just disappointed he would do something this stupid after years of saying he’d never sign with a site.” Negreanu countered other nay-sayers by continuing to rip the Blanca Games site: “Imagine a world where crooks weren’t held accountable and continue to rob people with no recourse? The world should know… I’m all about 2nd chances in the right circumstances; this isn’t one. They are no more transparent today than in the past.”

Negreanu’s series of Tweets sparked the ire of two-time bracelet winner Matt Keikoan, who fired, “I can see people like @RealKidPoker, sitting behind his $4 mil a year PokerStars contract, w/ his nose up in the air, judging other people.” Negreanu countered, “I spoke out against UB when I was broke, always will. Prahlad is the one who said he’d never sign with a site and then chose UB… I was dead broke and turned down a deal with them. I don’t hate Prahlad, I’m disappointed he made what I think is a bad move.”

Keikoan asserted on Sunday, “And what, PokerStars is some great moral company, out for the good of all mankind? Gimme a break.”

One of Negreanu’s followers asked the PokerStars front man what would happen if his home online poker site experienced a scandal similar to the one that unfolded on UB.com. Negreanu claimed he’d be exiting stage right: “If anything like that were to happen (it won’t) my morals would have me resign immediately.” PokerStars recently found itself in hot water over a scandal involving Chinese players in its Double or Nothing games.

A possible signing by Friedman would signal a changing of the guard of sorts at UB.com, whose roster of sponsored pros would become remarkably younger. It currently includes players like Maria Ho, Tiffany Michelle, and Joe Sebok.

Prahlad Friedman Joining Team UB.com?

It’s been a chaotic week for the CEREUS Network online poker room UB.com. Thursday saw the departure of its two highest profile pros, 2010 National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner Annie Duke and 11-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth. According to UB.com pro Joe Sebok, however, a new pro will be announced next week, and all signs point to Prahlad Friedman joining the team.

Sebok posted on his blog on Thursday, “While it’s true that two of our members have moved on, don’t think that we aren’t restocking the talent. We’ll be announcing our newest Team UB member next week and I am crazily pumped about it.” Possible free agents in the poker market include CardPlayer Player of the Year Tom Marchese, Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, and Friedman.

Sebok added that Team UB.com will have a brand new look in 2011: “UB has, and will continue to have, a whole new look and feel for our team and our newest signing exemplifies that, so stay tuned for that announcement next week. Going to be a bit of a doozy.” The team appears to be of a younger breed right now and includes players like Sebok, Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, and Adam “Roothlus” Levy.

Speaking of Friedman, Bluff Magazine was among those who sourced two Tweets from Friedman in late November that questioned whether he would ever ink a deal with an online poker site. Friedman pondered, “I said I would never sign with a poker site. Should I ever reconsider? What y’all think? I would have to get over the fact that I’m ‘selling out.’ I’m the only poker player in the world that hasn’t wanted a deal that I know of.” Friedman, 32, has a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet and a World Poker Tour (WPT) title under his belt.

In a screen shot posted on TwoPlusTwo, posters who typed in the URL of Duke’s biography on UB.com were met with text for “Prahlad Friedman,” leaving many to believe that the youngster will be the newest sponsored pro. When we visited the same web page on Friday morning, our browser instead forwarded to the default Team UB.com landing page. Poker News Daily has learned that the announcement of the room’s newest pro could take place as soon as Monday.

The Russ Hamilton-led cheating scandal on Ultimate Bet affected Friedman, among others. As such, his signing, according to one TwoPlusTwo poster, could signal the end of an era: “I think, for many of us, UB is forever tainted. However, in the world of PR, signing Prahlad would be a very, very good move as a sign of different times ahead.”

Other members of the online poker community took the opposite line. One TwoPlusTwo regular questioned, “Why would Prahlad accept this offer from UB? I mean, the company that stole money from you and now you are accepting their sponsorship deal. I just can’t understand!” Whether Friedman will actually become the next sponsored pro of the CEREUS Network poker site remains to be seen.

Friedman has been involved in two incidents at the annual WSOP that have both played out on ESPN. In 2006, “Ante-gate” erupted between Friedman and Jeffrey Lisandro over a possible missed ante by the latter. Friedman asked Lisandro whether he put out his ante, which led to a war of words. In 2010, Friedman clearly said, “Call,” after tablemate Ted Bort called the clock on him. However, Rio floor staff ruled the hand dead and Bort tabled two pair. Friedman quickly mucked what he claimed to be a weaker two pair, leading to a swarm of controversy.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest.

Lee Jones Resigns from Cake Poker

In breaking news from the world of online poker, Lee Jones has stepped down as Card Room Manager of Cake Poker, effective immediately. Jones posted in a thread on TwoPlusTwo around 3:00pm ET on Tuesday, “This is a brief announcement to let you know that, as of yesterday, I have resigned my position at Cake Poker and will not be making any further posts here. Their management has made some strategic decisions with which I’m not comfortable.”

Despite departing the site, Jones, who is also a Guest Columnist here at Poker News Daily, spoke highly of his former colleagues: “Please direct any questions or concerns to the Cake support staff; they are top-notch people.” Cake Poker is the flagship site of the USA-friendly Cake Poker Network.

Also departing Cake Poker concurrently with Jones is Serge Ravitch, who is known in the online poker world as “adanthar.” Ravitch served as Cake Poker’s Tournament Director and Jones affectionately dubbed him the “Minister of Tournament Arts” in homage to the Harry Potter franchise. Ravitch was one of the figureheads in uncovering the cheating scandal at Absolute Poker.

Ravitch posted in the same TwoPlusTwo thread on Tuesday, “It sincerely pains me to say that, for the same reasons, I am also no longer affiliated with Cake in any way. I wish them the best of luck going forward.” What “strategic decisions” Jones and Ravitch alluded to were not clear at the time of writing. In addition, Cake Poker has not released any statement.

Jones could only tell Poker News Daily on Tuesday afternoon, “I’m just not comfortable with some of the decisions that the Cake management was making.” However, the veteran of the poker world hopes to remain in the industry, explaining to us, “I have a couple of irons in the fire. I certainly have every intention of staying in the poker business, so I’ll have to see what pans out.” Jones formerly brought customer service to new heights while with PokerStars and also worked with the European Poker Tour and CardRunners.

In TwoPlusTwo’s “Cake Poker Feedback Thread,” which is where Jones dropped the bombshell, posters weighed in en masse. The first responder explained, “This isn’t totally unexpected. Best wishes in your future enterprises.” Another poster predicted that Jones and Ravitch would land on their feet: “Lee and ‘adanthar’ are top-notch in my opinion and won’t need luck, but agreed nonetheless.”

According to PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on online poker room traffic, the Cake Poker Network is the 24th largest worldwide and boasts a seven-day running average of 740 real money ring game players. Its peak traffic passes 1,100 cash game players and the family of sites happily accepts action from the United States.

Besides Cake Poker, other rooms on the Network include the Doyle Brunson-fronted DoylesRoom, Only Poker, Poker4Green, Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies’ Power Poker, Red Star Poker, Phil Laak’s Unabomber Poker, and Victory Poker, the latter of which joined in August.

The holidays have not been kind to the Cake Poker Network, which has not eclipsed the 1,300-cash game player mark since December 21st. In the 30 days prior, it passed 1,300 ring game players 14 times.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for more developments on this breaking story.

Harry Reid Online Poker Legislation May Be Added to Spending Package

According to an article published by Bloomberg sourcing the Washington Post newspaper, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) may add a measure legalizing online poker to “a spending package or other must-pass legislation before Congress adjourns for the year.” Online poker was not part of a draft of the tax relief bill released last week.

Also last week, Reid released a statement that read in part, “Experienced regulators already trusted by millions of Americans will maintain oversight and reputable operators with proven track records will provide a secure gaming environment for Americans.” However, critics of the bill have called Reid out for placating to two of his largest campaign contributors, Caesars Entertainment (formerly Harrah’s Entertainment) and MGM Resorts International. The former owns the rights to the annual World Series of Poker held at the Rio.

According to the Associated Press, the American Gaming Association came out in support of Reid’s efforts on Friday. American Gaming Association head Frank Fahrenkopf asserted, “Current online gambling laws do not provide these safeguards, leaving players and the system open to fraud, cheating and other illegal acts.” The ongoing lame duck session in Congress will likely come to an end next Friday, which means that Reid’s window to turn online poker legalization into a reality is quickly closing.

On why Reid has been focusing on online poker as opposed to other forms of gambling, the Associated Press quoted the Senate Majority Leader as saying, “I still have serious concerns about legalizing the broad range of casino-type gambling through the internet. The bill I am working on would make other types of internet gambling clearly illegal, while increasing penalties and strengthening the ability of law enforcement to shut down illegal sites.” It remains unclear whether other games would be legalized in the future.

On Thursday, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the main lobbying group for poker players in the United States, sent an e-mail blast to its members updating the developments on Capitol Hill. The PPA explained, “While many have speculated that the ‘Tax Bill’ would be a likely vehicle for iPoker legislation, because of recent political developments with respect to the tax bill, it has become complicated to predict whether that bill is a viable path.”

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest developments.

Harry Reid Online Poker Bill: An Ugly Necessity

“No man can have society upon his own terms.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

This week, the most commonly used phrase in online poker discussions is not “pot odds,” “fold equity,” or “continuation bet,” but rather something not poker-related at all: “lame duck.”  If you have been reading Poker News Daily recently, then you know what the term is all about.  The period between the November Congressional elections in the United States and the inauguration of the newly elected officials next year is the “lame duck” period, during which many Congressmen are in their final days in office.

For internet poker players, special attention is being paid to this year’s lame duck session, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is trying to get a bill passed before Congress goes on recess that would legalize and regulate online poker.

There is much hand wringing about the “Reid Bill.”  Naturally, many poker players want it to pass; they want the online game to come out of the shadows, out of its gray area, and take its rightful place as a “legitimate” pastime in the eyes of the law.  Others hate the bill and prefer the current environment to the restrictions that would be in place under a regulated regime.

The bottom line is that the status quo is crumbling.  Believe it or not, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) is working.  No, it hasn’t chopped off the head of the online poker industry, but it is bleeding it to death.  The most important thing to the online poker rooms is liquidity; players need to be able to easily transfer funds to and from the sites.

As that process has gotten more and more difficult and expensive, the casual players have been giving up and moving on to other hobbies.  The decreased numbers of casual players not only makes for fewer available games, but also tougher ones, as there is a larger percentage of pros and other strong players at the tables.  The games are scarcer and more difficult for the remaining players.

The status quo is not good right now and it’s only going to get worse.  Thus, warts and all, we need Reid’s bill to pass.

Yeah, there are some pretty rotten aspects of the bill.  U.S. players will be locked out of online poker completely for 15 months once it passes.  Players from other countries won’t be allowed to play on U.S. sites for three years, if ever.  And it won’t be forced upon individual states, as there will be an opt-in or opt-out provision.  I think the first two, in particular, are asinine.  The lockout is only there to appease the bill’s opponents and I can’t see any good reason to only allow U.S. residents to play on the sites.

Like it or not, that’s what the bill looks like.  The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) might be able to help improve things a bit, but the bill still won’t look good in the end.  In the short-term, the internet poker landscape in America will be ugly.  We may still be able to play on a few sites that decide to not to follow the laws of the U.S., and those sites might actually grow a bit and provide decent player traffic, but if you think money processing is iffy now, then good luck with all of that.

But when the sites do finally open, I predict things will be better than they are now.  At first, the player bases of the poker rooms will probably pale in comparison to PokerStars and Full Tilt because of the lack of worldwide players, but things will pick up.  When casual poker players across the country realize that everything is legal and regulated, a large percentage of former online players will come back, and those who never played online will give it a try because it is now “okay” to do so.

Sites will almost certainly accept credit cards, so depositing money will be as easy as buying a book on Amazon.  Again, that means more casual players.  Plus, since sites won’t have to find all sorts of sketchy payment processors who are willing to risk prosecution, the cost of processing will go down.

This, combined with the stiff competition as the sites try to establish market presence, may very well mean lower rake and will almost certainly mean juicy promotions.  The tables will fill up, maybe not immediately, but more quickly than many people think.  In my opinion, non-USA players will eventually be allowed onboard and, at that point, online poker will truly thrive.

With regulation, players will be better protected than they are now.  Currently, if a player or a poker room cheats us, we have little to no recourse.  With regulation, there will be laws in place to punish the bad guys, along with the means to do so.  We won’t have to worry about whether or not our cashouts will find their way to our bank accounts.

I am as perturbed as anyone that anti-gaming lawmakers want to legislate their own morality.  It angers me that in order to get our game legalized and regulated, we have to put up with nonsensical rules such as the blackout and country restrictions.  But it is better to put up with it all than to lose everything.  The medicine may taste bad, but it will keep us healthy in the long-run.

“IHateJuice” is staked to $2K/$4K Limit Hold’Em - Lost $113K to Antonius again

Patrik Antonius and the German gambler “IHateJuice” finished up their latest heads-up match on Full Tilt Poker just a moment ago. They had a lenghty session again as they played 1719 hands and they ended the session as Antonius felt tired.

Antonius won quite nicely ($113K) and he dominated the whole session. “IHateJuice” has lost almost 900,000 dollars this month already, which makes him the biggest loser on Full Tilt Poker.

Now “IHateJuice” unveils some facts about himself on 2+2 forums. “IHateJuice”, or “hasu” on 2+2, writes that he hasn’t been playing fully on his own money at the $2K/$4K Limit HE games, as some other German Limit players has been staking him (some excerpts below):

• They only do this at the $2K/$4K tables and they have never colluded there
• After a winning or losing session they use Full Tilt player transfer to even outthe score
• They only buy action on each other on Full Tilt because otherwise they could only play $1K/$2K

Looks like “IHateJuice” wrote about this already few months ago. He wanted to make sure that there’s no cheating, nor colluding among the German players.

There’s some rumors that the other players “playing” with “IHatejuice” are “deprimiert” and “O Fortuna PLS”.

Source: Pokerista.net, 2+2, HSDB

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“IHateJuice” is staked to $2K/$4K Limit Hold’Em - Lost $113K to Antonius again

Maria Ho Signs with UB.com

Maria Ho, the last woman standing in the 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, has joined UB.com. The 27 year-old becomes the newest face of the CEREUS Network site, which recently saw the departures of Billy “Patrolman25” Kopp, Matt “mattg1983” Graham, and Michael Binger.

Ho was elated to be joining Team UB, whose roster of pros includes 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth and reigning National Heads-Up Poker Championship victor Annie Duke. She told Poker News Daily, “To be a part of Team UB, which boasts a well-respected roster of pros that have achieved so much and stood the test of time in the game such as Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke, as well as newer pros to the scene that have incredible success and talent such as Eric Baldwin and Adam Levy, is something I am proud of.”

The site has undergone a wealth of changes ever since the Russ Hamilton-led cheating scandal rocked it several years ago. Now, Ultimate Bet has been re-branded as UB.com and currently resides on a new URL. Ho explained, “I am excited about the new vision and direction of UB, especially with the guidance and input of Joe Sebok, who has his finger on the pulse of the poker community at all times.” Sebok has served as the main liaison with players in the aftermath of the scandal while the process of reimbursing patrons and combing through hand histories has occurred.

Ho also told Poker News Daily that she brings unique talents to the table: “I believe that I can bring a fresh and unique dynamic to the team by reaching out to an untapped demographic by writing strategy articles and posting videos in both English and my native language of Mandarin Chinese. I also feel as though my experiences primarily as a live high-stakes cash game player will bring a different perspective to a lesser known part of the poker world that interests people.” Ho originally hails from Taiwan and moved to Los Angeles with her family at age four. She is renown for her Limit poker skills.

Ho gained mainstream exposure through the CBS reality series “Amazing Race” during its 15th cycle. She paired with fellow UB pro and close friend Tiffany Michelle on the series and finished in sixth place. In the team’s final leg, Michelle and Ho were unable to conquer a carnival high striker in the Netherlands and comprised the last all-female team remaining. On her friendship with Michelle, Ho told Poker News Daily, “I get to be on a team with one of my closest friends in poker and life, Tiffany Michelle, which is just another reason among many why I am excited about joining Team UB.”

In addition to the Emmy Award-winning “Amazing Race,” Ho has appeared on television shows like “American Idol” and “Anderson Cooper 360.” Appropriately, she holds a degree from the University of California, San Diego in Communications.

Ho’s first live event as a sponsored pro of UB.com was at this weekend’s PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Los Angeles stop. Ho played on Day 1B on Saturday and, as of late Saturday night, was nursing one of the short stacks in the room at 9,500. Ho’s table draw certainly hasn’t helped her case, as her company on Saturday included Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron, and Nacho Barbero.

Besides her deep run in the WSOP Main Event three years ago, Ho’s poker resume includes a tenth place finish in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Bellagio Cup in July and five in the money finishes in WSOP events over the last two years.

UB.com, along with its fellow CEREUS Network site Absolute Poker, happily accept players from the United States.

PokerNews Op-Ed: Partouche Poker Tour Cheating Scandal and the Poker Media

Chad Holloway takes a look at the cheating scandal that occurred at the Partouche Poker Tour that involved Ali Tekintamgac and fake reporters/bloggers.

Vanessa Selbst wins Partouche Poker Tour

The Partouche Poker Tour in France reached its conclusion in Cannes over the weekend, with its own version of the November Nine. In this case though it was a November Eight rather than nine after Ali Tekintamgac had been disqualified from the final because of cheating. The German was booted out after officials discovered video evidence of him working with fake bloggers who were feeding him information about opponents' hole cards.

Selbst Wins Scandal-Tainted PPT Final

The WSOP November Nine-style delayed final table was set last month with nine players after the €3 Million Guaranteed €8,500 event drew 764 to the Palm Beach Casino in Southern France.

In the interim, rumors began circulating that the player fourth in chips, German Ali Tekintamgac, was involved in a cheating scandal.

Coming off a WPT Spanish Championship win and a final table appearance on the IPT, accusations were made against the red-hot Tekintamgac during a deep run at EPT Tallinn.

Allegedly a credentialed journalist was being employed to watch opponent's hole cards and send signals.

The Partouche Poker Tour distributed a press release proir to commencing play in the final simply stating Tekintamgac had been found guilty of obtaining his Partouche Poker Tour Season 3 final table seat through fraudulent actions and and he had been disqualified.

Selbst entered the now eight-person final table as the chip leader with respected French pro Fabrice Soulier breathing down her neck.

Soulier could do no better than third, however, as Selbst went on to beat Raphaël Kroll heads-up and collect the €1,300,000 first-prize.

The newly minted Team PokerStars Pro, NAPT Mohegan Sun champ and WSOP bracelet holder now has better than $3.8 million in lifetime tournament winnings with the PPT win marking her biggest cash to date.

German Tobias Reinkemeier, who cashed in four EPT main events last year and took down the €25,000 High Roller Event at the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo for $1.2 million, was the first player busted from the final.

Here's how the PPT main event finished:

1 Vanessa Selbst €1,300,000

2 Raphaël Kroll €800,000

3 Fabrice Soulier €500,000

4 Mickael Etelapera €360.000

5 Ibrahim Raouf €300,000

6 Soren Konsgaard €240,000

7 Cyril André €187,500

8 Tobias Reinkemeier €110,300

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The Weekly Turbo: Cheating Scandal at Partouche Poker Tour, Terrence Chan’s Immigration Issues, and More

The Weekly Turbo is bringing you the week's top poker news stories including the cheating scandal at the Partouche Poker Tour, Terrence Chan's immigration issues, and more.

The Nightly Turbo: PokerStars Adds Televised Bounty Shootout to NAPT LA, Partouche Poker Tour Cheating Scandal, and More

The Nightly Turbo is bringing you the day's top poker news stories including the news on the televised Bounty Shootout that has been added to the NAPT LA lineup, the disqualification of a PPT final tablist, and more.

The Nightly Turbo: Hellmuth Raises Money for the Kids, Blanca Games Responds to Cheating Allegations, and More

The Nightly Turbo is bringing you the day's top poker news stories including Phil Hellmuth raising money for the kids, Blanca Games' response to the newest UB cheating scandal, and more.

Blanca Games Responds to Liquidation Letter, Addresses New Cheating

In September, a letter from XMT Liquidations to the shareholders of what was formerly known as Excapsa Software identified a new cheating incident on the former Ultimate Bet site. Recently, Blanca Games, the current owners of UB.com and Absolute Poker, addressed the findings and the dispute between Tokwiro Enterprises and Excapsa.

The letter, dated September 10th, references an “an unfair and unlawful advantage in online poker games in 2004 and 2005.” However, the incident was not outlined. Blanca Games shed some light on the issue last week, explaining, “The Liquidator has recently advised Blanca’s employees that the security breach at issue was closed by Excapsa in early 2005. Blanca has no knowledge of whether or not this incident is, in fact, ‘newly discovered.’ It does, however, understand that two player accounts were involved in this 2004 incident, and that the damages sustained by players were less than $100,000.” The incident was then reported to the “appropriate regulatory authorities.”

Blanca Games clarified, however, that the liquidators in question were not acting on Absolute Poker or UB.com, which together make up the USA-friendly CEREUS Network. Additionally, the press release from Blanca asserted, “The operations of the AbsolutePoker.com and UB.com sites, now under the management of Blanca, are entirely unaffected by the events referred to by the Liquidator… In short, the 2004 incident has no impact whatsoever on current players and customers of AbsolutePoker.com or UB.com.  Blanca will continue to do everything in its power to protect its players and customers by providing the highest levels of security on its sites.”

The cheating scandals on Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker were profiled in a “60 Minutes” piece in November 2008. Two months ago, Blanca Games acquired the CEREUS Network from Tokwiro Enterprises. Blanca Games is based in Antigua and has headquarters in Costa Rica, where UB.com and Absolute Poker are both located, and Stuart Gordon serves as the company’s CEO.

Blast Off was comprised of the assets of Ultimate Bet before it was sold to Tokwiro Enterprises and the liquidation at hand saw one of its major creditors elect “to exercise its rights in respect of the collateral it held as security for Blast Off’s debt.” This “major creditor” may refer to the former owners of the Absolute Poker domain, although it was not addressed in Blanca Games’ press release.

The liquidation letter added, “Blast Off intended to [end] any and all operations related to assets over which Excapsa has been granted a security interest.” This could potentially refer to UltimateBet.com, which was not included in the transfer to Blanca Games. Instead, only UB.com and AbsolutePoker.com became part of the new company. Now, UltimateBet.com forwards to an online poker affiliate site and is not associated with UB.com.

Blanca noted that the company has “no interest in that dispute” between XMT Liquidations and Tokwiro Enterprises.

In response to the press release from Blanca Games, one poster on TwoPlusTwo noted, “Further evidence as to why this industry needs to be regulated and have oversight.” The Kahnawake Gaming Commission cited Russ Hamilton as the main person responsible for the cheating scandal that erupted on Ultimate Bet. The former World Series of Poker Main Event champion is still roaming free in Las Vegas much to the dismay of many and over $20 million was stolen from players.

In a blog posted from August, UB.com pro Joe Sebok lamented the lack of prosecution in the cheating scandal: “I wish we were a police force, but we are not. I wish we could really round up all of these people and interrogate them, but we can’t… I also wish we were a court and we could try them all and jail the convicted, but again, we cannot do this. The poker community would be a better place if we could, but as of right now this just isn’t possible.”

In February 2009, Raw Vegas caught up with Hamilton in the parking lot of a Las Vegas golf course. Poker pro Layne Flack and two other unidentified people were with Hamilton at the time. Hamilton refused comment and drove away.

Read the Blanca Games statement concerning XMT Liquidations.

Full Tilt Poker Bans Bot Users

Full Tilt Poker, the world’s second largest online poker room, sent an e-mail to an unknown number of recipients last week regarding the measures being taken to improve its security, according to PokerTableRatings and other outlets. The e-mail informed players that the site had completed an investigation that found several users in violations of Full Tilt’s Terms of Service, some of whom were discovered cheating through the use of bots.

Each cheater had their account shut down and all of their funds were confiscated. Additional details of the incidents remain minimal, as Full Tilt didn’t disclose the number of accounts that were shut down or how much was seized, but the site promised that any players affected by the cheaters would be reimbursed for their losses.

“For a number of reasons, we are unable to provide additional information regarding this case, including the players involved and the game type where it occurred,” Full Tilt Poker said in the e-mail. The online poker site’s investigation exposed a software release by Shanky Technologies, who owns and operates a website that sells bots for a variety of different games, including No Limit Hold’em, Omaha, and even blackjack. Shanky Technologies apologized to its customers and said that Full Tilt had “quite suddenly and without warning froze all the accounts… although it tolerated the presence of bots all this time.”

A poker bot, for those unaware, is a form of software that registers for games and multi-tables without the assistance of a user. They’re mostly used in cash games, but have also been found in sit and gos, where the software uses Nash Equilibrium and an ICM calculator to make optimal moves against opponents. Most of the major online poker rooms have made concentrated attempts to prevent the use of such software. In July, PokerStars cracked down on a bot ring based in China that had played at least eight million hands and earned $57,000 at Double or Nothing sit and gos.

Full Tilt has also been in the news involving bot use in the past. In October 2009, two customers who had their accounts frozen because Full Tilt believed they were using bots sued the site. Lary “pokergirl z” Kennedy and Greg Omotoy filed their complaint on October 1st and levied accusations of fraud, libel, slander, false advertising, and racketeering against the online poker room after having more than $80,000 confiscated.

The suit accused Full Tilt pros Chris Ferguson and Andy Bloch of creating bots to populate slow cash game tables on the site and increase the profits of the company. Full Tilt responded to Kennedy’s lawsuit by claiming the suit was baseless and stated that it “has never knowingly allowed ‘bots’ to play on its site.” The case went to the United States District Court for the Central District of California in April, but it was dismissed by Judge Margaret Morrow, who stated that Kennedy had failed to “detail many portions of her case regarding state violations and, in particular, there could be no claim under the RICO Act.”

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for further Full Tilt Poker headlines.

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Six Illinois Online Poker Players Sued for Winnings

In a lawsuit that has popped up on both PocketFives.com and TwoPlusTwo in recent days, a Florida resident seeking to recover “illegal poker gambling losses” is suing six online poker players from Illinois. The lawsuit includes nearly 190 pages of tournament results and is numbered 1:10-cv-06543.

Targeted in the case are six top players from the Land of Lincoln: Andy “BKiCe” Seth, Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, Benjamin “Chong94” LeFew, Mohsin “chicagocards1” Charania, Ravi “govshark2” Raghavan, and Tyler “puffinmypurp” Reiman. The latter was the runner-up to Harrison Gimbel in the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event in January and walked away with $1.75 million.

Scott Crespo filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois one week ago and cited why he’s able to sue under state law: “If within six months, such person [who] is entitled to initiate action to recover his losses does not in fact pursue his remedy, any person may initiate a civil action against the winner.” Crespo alleges that the six defendants used “real estate or property for the purposes of gambling” in the form of the PokerHaus, located in Champaign.

Crespo calls out Seth as the owner of the PokerHaus, where he alleges that the group has “actively recruited other individuals to participate in illegal gambling activity” and “committed acts of collusion and cheating while playing online poker.” The allegations for the latter charge were not spelled out. Crespo’s filing also reminds its readers of the “60 Minutes” piece profiling the cheating scandals on Absolute Poker and UB.com. The CBS News report, which aired in November 2008, ended with officials questioning why Russ Hamilton, the purported mastermind behind the cheating scandal, was still roaming free in Las Vegas.

After an examination of gambling addictions and other social ills, Crespo outlines nearly 700 tournament cashes by Seth, Charania, Jaka, LeFew, Raghavan, and Reiman on sites like PokerStars, Full Tilt, and UB.com. Crespo is seeking triple the amount lost to the group of six plus court costs and “any other relief that the Court deems just.” Crespo’s lawyer is Mark Lavery, who works out of Des Plaines, Illinois, while Crespo hails from Florida.

Taking an interest in the case is the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), whose Litigation Network matches online poker players seeking counsel with pre-screened local attorneys. PPA Kentucky State Director Rich Muny told Poker News Daily on Tuesday, “I have spoken with one of the defendants and we have discussed the issue at the highest levels within the PPA. It’s something we take very seriously.”

The time frame at hand is the end of 2006 to the present. The screen names of all six players at sites like PokerStars, Full Tilt, UB.com, Absolute Poker, and Bodog are given in the lawsuit, and, according to Crespo, “any conduct committed outside the State constitutes an attempt to commit an offense within the State of Illinois.” Each tournament in the money finish is over $50 and occurred more than six months ago, per the Illinois statute.

Poker software allegedly used for collusion is also presented in the lawsuit. These include programs like Poker Crusher, Poker Bot Pro, Pocket Aces, No Rules Poker, Calculatem Pro, Sit and Go Shark, and Holdem Genius. Whether any of the defendants actually used any of these pieces of software was not outlined.

In Kentucky, a similar case is unfolding in which the Commonwealth is seeking to recoup losses by state residents to online poker sites between 2005 and 2009. The legal action was originally filed against Full Tilt Poker, but has since been amended to include PartyPoker as well. In a separate lawsuit, Kentucky attorneys are trying to force the forfeiture of 141 internet gambling domain names, including those belonging to PokerStars and Full Tilt.

Read the Illinois litigation in its entirety by clicking here.

Executive Producers Of “Weeds” And Showtime Potentially Teaming For Poker Show

According to an article on the website Deadline.com written by Nellie Andreeva, the executive producers of the critically acclaimed Showtime series Weeds, series creator Jenji Kohan and Matthew Salsberg, are trying to put together a new comedy series regarding the world of poker. The series would be called Whales and would potentially be a part of the Showtime lineup in the near future. The show centers on a group of young twentysomethings who, having finished their studies as such schools as Harvard and MIT, live in an apartment together in Las Vegas as they try to win the World Series of Poker.

While Weeds has been a huge critical and financial success for Kohan and Salsberg, the duo hasn’t been able to parlay that into further episodic television or movies. Andreeva points out in her article that Kohan is the writer and producer on a pilot called Tough Trade, regarding the music business in Nashville, and both Kohan and Salsberg, who is said to be a driving force behind the poker show concept because of his love for the game, worked together on a show called Me & Lee, starring Lee Majors. That show is currently in the hands of the SyFy Network and Kohan and Salsberg are doing some revisions.

On the Deadline website, the news of the potential poker comedy on the Showtime lineup has been met with something less than excitement. “Aren’t they at least 5 years behind the end of the whole “Texas hold ‘em” fad?,” asked poster “Bruce F” upon reading the news. Another poster going by the name of “Writer” simply states, “This just sounds like an incredibly weak concept. I’ve read a million feature scripts with this premise, and poker almost never translates well to the screen.”

The harsh truth is that, except for a few instances, poker as dramatic or comedic relief doesn’t play well. The seminal film Rounders, which starred Matt Damon, Edward Norton, and Famke Janssen, is cited by many as their first exposure to the world of poker. With that said, it is the “cult classic” nature of the film that drove it towards viewers. When it was released in 1998, Rounders made $8.5 million in its opening weekend on its way to a $22.9 million domestic box office revenues, very poor financial numbers overall. A sequel is supposedly “in production” on the Internet Movie Database.

As the new millennium began, playing poker was still much more popular than watching dramas or comedies about the subject. The World Poker Tour came on strong in 2003 and, along with the Main Event victory by Chris Moneymaker at the World Series of Poker, poker became the rage. Television sports giant ESPN picked up broadcasting rights for the WSOP and The Travel Channel held its alliance with the WPT. For these bright spots, however, there have also been some lowlights.

The Bravo Channel brought out “Celebrity Poker Showdown,” featuring celebrities playing poker (and in most cases, poorly) for their favorite charities. Phil Gordon and Phil Hellmuth took part in the program, alongside hosts Kevin Pollak and Dave Foley. It was widely recognized as a low point for poker on television until ESPN decided to try its dramatic skills out on the sport.

ESPN rolled out Tilt, starring Michael Madsen as a legendary poker player who was also a cheat and killer. Although created by the same gentlemen behind Rounders, the nine-episode series never caught on with poker players or fans and wasn’t renewed.

A similar trail of broken movies await the poker world on the silver screen. While the highly underrated The Grand only took in slightly over $110,000 in its release and an independent film called Freeze Out was highly acclaimed at independent film festivals, the highly unwatchable Lucky You was supposed to become the next great poker film.  Featuring Eric Bana and Drew Barrymore, the film stumbled out of the gate to $2.7 million in first week ticket sales on its way to a disappointing $5.7 million in revenues during its theatrical release.

As the temperature has fallen on poker in the latter part of the last decade, it will be difficult for a show on the subject to draw a huge crowd. However, if a poker drama or comedy is done well, perhaps the players and fans will show up. Both Kohan and Salsberg have the ability to write excellent programs (in particular Weeds), so it is possible that they might have something for us with Whales.

Annie Duke Comments on CEREUS Sale, Poker Hall of Fame

Poker News Daily: The CEREUS Network was recently acquired by Blanca Games, which is managed by Stuart Gordon. What were your thoughts when you heard about the transaction?

Annie Duke: It’s a very positive thing for the brand. The cheating was purportedly under the auspices of Excapsa in terms of software development and the person developing it was able to get into the group through his involvement with them. I’m happy that the brand is making a clean break from that and that’s part of being able to move on. I’ve always felt like the full brunt of what happened was really put on the current UB.com management.

PND: What personnel changes do you anticipate with the new ownership regime?

Annie Duke: I have tremendous faith in Paul Leggett. My understanding is that there won’t be any change in terms of his role. I think perhaps this will be an opportunity to do some house cleaning, but I don’t really know. Paul staying is a good thing because in every aspect of what’s happened, when you look around and see who has behaved, he’s been the most forthright and the most forthcoming. He’s had the most integrity and he’s taken a lot of blame. He’s gone above and beyond and I’ve been very impressed with how he’s handled everything that’s happened.

PND: What can you tell us about Stuart Gordon?

Annie Duke: I don’t know much about him. He owns BingoMania.com and has a lot of experience in the space. He won’t be involved in day-to-day operations as far as I know. He’s more of an investor.

PND: Are you happy that the war of words with Daniel Negreanu is behind you?

Annie Duke: I was satisfied with PokerStars’ accountability and still continue to believe that Daniel can express whatever views he wants to with whatever language he wants to use.

PND: The list of 10 nominees for the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2010 was released in recent weeks. What are your thoughts on the group?

Annie Duke: My vote is for Erik Seidel. He has eight bracelets and been under-appreciated. I Tweeted for people to go and vote for him. Doyle Brunson was also throwing his hat into the ring for Erik.

PND: Should Phil Ivey and Negreanu, both in their 30s, be seriously considered by the voting panel?

Annie Duke: No one under 40 should get in. I could see an argument for Ivey just because he’s accomplished so much at the age he is, but at the same time, it’s so easy to say that it doesn’t matter because they’ll be just as deserving when they’re over 40. This should be about career accomplishments.

Poker is interesting because in other sports, if you’re active, you’re not eligible. That’s because most sports require a physical aspect where you’d be retiring before you can be considered for a Hall of Fame.

While Ivey certainly has the credentials to get in, he’s going to be a shoo-in in five years. At the moment, Chip Reese is the youngest person inducted at 40. I would work very hard to keep it that way. Chip really represented something in poker that was so amazing and did such amazing things. Preserving that sort of honor of being the youngest member in the Hall of Fame is something we should be striving for.

PND: Convince the voting panel of living Hall of Fame members and members of the media to vote for Seidel.

Annie Duke: Erik Seidel should be in there. He has eight bracelets. He has so many titles. This is someone who has done amazing things year in and year out. The guy behaves with such grace in a sport where grace is really needed. He’s always so graceful and so sportsmanlike. He’s deeply thoughtful, deeply intelligent, and has massive integrity. This guy should be held up as the standard for what we should be doing. I feel strongly that he should be honored.

PND: Is there anyone else you’d consider?

Annie Duke: Linda Johnson would be my second choice in terms of what she’s contributed in terms of her vision, what she did with the WPT at the beginning, and what she’s done for women in poker. In terms of looking at someone as an innovator and bringing poker into the spotlight, she really deserves it.

PND: Are you bummed out that we’re not talking about the Aruba Poker Classic this year?

Annie Duke: Aruba was the thing that in a lot of ways defined UB in terms of setting it off from other brands and the thing that allowed UB to weather a very significant storm. We had a strong sense of community. The players who were really loyal to UB felt like they were a family and a large part of that was Aruba. Every year, you’d go to this event and see the same faces and new faces and all of that community building was import to the brand and the survival of the brand.

From that standpoint, it’s important for them to have it. It’s something that’s key to the identity of UB. I was very sad that it was canceled this year and I hope they’ll bring it back or bring something that will create a strong sense of community. I don’t want to see a situation where people on UB are anonymous.

PND: Talk about watching the Full Tilt Doubles Poker Championship unfold on GSN every Saturday night. What did you think about Annette Obrestad critiquing Huck Seed’s play a few weeks back?

Annie Duke: It has actually been extremely interesting to watch. When I was paired with Huck, I wanted him to think I played well. Given Huck’s record and the brilliance of his poker game, if I disagreed with something Huck did, I would assume he did something that I didn’t understand. I would actually ask Huck to explain the play.

When I first came around poker and had just started to play big limits in 1998, I was playing with Ted Forrest. We can agree that Ted has a very unconventional style, but he is obviously a successful player. When I first started playing with him, I thought he was terrible. Pretty quickly, I figured out that he was pretty successful, so maybe there was something I was missing. What I realized was that he wasn’t playing badly, but most of the time, he was doing things I truly didn’t understand.

My game drastically improved because I took a step back from what my initial reaction was. That’s a lesson that every young poker player has to learn. When you realize that what you don’t understand isn’t necessarily bad, it’s a huge step in your development as a player. Maybe Annette will take a look back and learn from that. Annette is an excellent player and extremely talented and when she becomes a more mature player, she’ll be great. This is just an issue of opening up your mind instead of immediately shutting someone off and dismissing them.

Weekly News Update

Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Poker News Daily Weekly Update. We are moving to this new weekly format for now as we have a ton of great poker lifestyle pieces heading your way and didn’t want you to miss out on those. However, I’ll still be back bringing the news every Friday.

Our first topic covers the Prince of Poker, larger than life Poker Hall of Fame nominee Scotty Nguyen, who is offering his fans the chance to play against him in small regional tournaments. According to his official blog, Nguyen will skip the World Series of Poker Europe this year to play in smaller buy-in events all over the United States. Nguyen’s first stop will be in Durant, Oklahoma at the Choctaw Casino for the T.J. Cloutier Classic. The nineteen ninety-eight WSOP Main Event champ was enthused over his decision on Twitter:

“Don’t forget baby! Gonna skip WSOPE and instead travel for my fans baby!”

In a decision filed on September fourteenth, United States District Judge James Nowlin denied a motion for a Temporary Restraining Order filed by Deliverance Poker, which is suingNovember Nine member Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi for allegedly jumping ship to be sponsored by Full Tilt Poker in the middle of the Main Event. If the motion had been successful, Mizrachi may have been forbidden from wearing Full Tilt logos until the legal process was finished. Fortunately for him – and Full Tilt – Judge Nowlin dismissed it, and went as far as to say there is no “substantial likelihood” that Deliverance would win the case.

In more online poker news, the sale of the CEREUS Network to Blanca Games has “violated and/or triggered the application of certain rights under the agreements between Excapsa and Blast Off and its related entities” according to XMT Liquidations.

Potentially referring to the UltimateBet.com domain, “Blast Off intended to wind-up [end] any and all operations related to assets over which Excapsa has been granted a security interest.”

The situation remains murky at best, but as one member of the Two Plus two Forum put it,

“Looks like Blast Off’s (AP/UB) lawyers are going to try to get the hundred Million dollar note reduced or canceled due to players cheated in two thousand and four and two thousand and five.”

On Friday, members of the Poker Hall of Fame voting committee received their ballots in an e-mail from Harrah’s officials. Noticeably different this year is a “10-point must system” that asks each member of the panel to allocate ten points among the candidates of their choosing. The 10 finalists that the panel must choose from are:

Chris Ferguson, Barry Greenstein, Jennifer Harman, “Action” Dan Harrington, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Linda Johnson, Tom McEvoy, Daniel Negreanu, and Scotty Nguyen.

After the votes are tabulated, the top two players receiving the majority of the vote will be enshrined as part of the Class of two thousand and ten. PND’s own Dan Cypra has the privilege of being on the panel for the second straight year.

The Poker Players Alliance struck back at the Commerce Casino and other gambling establishments in California by launching PlayersBeforeProfits.com, an online petition designed to encourage support of H-R Two-Two-Six-Seven, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. At the time of taping, the petition at PlayersBeforeProfits.com has well over ten thousand signatures, including the support of pros such as Tom Dwan, Howard Lederer, and Jennifer Tilly.

Twenty-four year-old Brit Sam Trickett took down the sixth PartyPoker World Open, banking two hundred thousand dollars. The tournament played out last week from the Palm Beach Casino in London.

Trickett has been on a tear in two-thousand ten. In June, he was the runner-up in a No Limit Hold’em event held during the World Series of Poker and took over half a million dollars. Then, Trickett bubbled the final table of the twenty-five thousand dollar No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event, also at the WSOP. In August, Trickett did it again, finishing fourth in the European Poker Tour Main Event in Vilamoura, Portugal. His win at the PartyPoker World Open VI gives Trickett four six-figure cashes in the last three months.

Finally, Poker News Daily congratulates Phil Laak on yet another achievement. This time, “The Unabomber” took down his first gold World Series of Poker bracelet across “The Pond” in London. Laak won a twenty-five hundred Pound Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em tournament during WSOP Europe for one-hundred seventy thousand Pounds.

Laak’s bracelet was in the kickoff event of WSOP Europe, which sold out at 244 entrants. The final table also featured bracelet winners Chris [BEE-OR-IN] Bjorin and Willie Tann.

That does it for this week’s top headlines here at Poker News Daily. Don’t miss us next Friday for another executive recap of the week in Poker. Until next time, here’s to hoping you run great at the tables – I’m Sean Gibson for Poker News Daily.

BBC Radio, Poker Player Tom Broadbent Continue Investigating PokerStars Chinese DoN Collusion Scandal

In a story that seems to have taken on a life of its own, the continuing discussion of the PokerStars Chinese collusion scandal was recently the subject of discourse on the British Broadcasting Company’s radio airwaves. In addition to the attention brought by the BBC broadcast, a U. K. poker player has taken steps to push the subject with Chinese law enforcement officials.

On Sunday, the BBC Radio program “5 Live Investigates” and its host, Adrian Goldberg, brought the story of the Chinese collusion ring to its listeners in the United Kingdom. As previously reported on Poker News Daily, there was a collusion ring of Chinese players found on the Double or Nothing (DoN) sit and gos at the number one site in the online poker industry dating back to earlier this year. These sit and gos were highly popular, with the resulting controversy and compensation by PokerStars extending to cover over 25,000 players. Goldberg attempted to detail the continuing controversy by discussing the issue with several people.

“Online poker is a phenomenon, with million of people around the world generating billions of pounds for the gambling companies,” Goldberg stated at the start of the show. In bringing up the subject of the Chinese collusion ring, Goldberg stated, “We’re going to lift the lid on the unseemly side of the game.” He then introduced BBC correspondent Mike Wendling, who pointed out how collusion can be done through either the usage of instant messaging systems (Skype, MSN Messenger, etc.), the phone, or, as Wendling states the Chinese ring colluded, through soft playing a friend at the tables.

Goldberg and Wendling went on to discuss the safeguards at all online gaming sites. “Legitimate sites have protection,” Wendling says, “but the growth of online gaming has caused problems.” Wendling interviewed a former PokerStars employee who left the company approximately a year ago who told him that the security team did have a “difficult time keeping up with complaints.”

According to Wendling’s investigation, many of the online poker sites have automatic software alerts that will tip them off if any possible cheating is occurring. The volume of the games, the unnamed PokerStars employee said to Wendling, caused problems for the security team. These problems reached such a point, according to the former employee, that the auto alerts were shut off because the staff was so overwhelmed.

Goldberg welcomed two people close to the subject, U.K. author and poker player Tom Broadbent and PokerStars Game Security Specialist Michael Josem, to talk about the issue from their own sides. Broadbent says the DoNs were “his favorite game” and he played them quite extensively before he learned about the collusion ring through the online poker forum TwoPlusTwo. After learning of the problem, Broadbent applied for some of the nearly $2.1 million given out to players and was refunded $16.90, “far below” the amount Broadbent figured he had been cheated.

Josem came on the program to defend the actions of PokerStars, contending that the compensation pool of $2.1 million was “above and beyond” the approximate net of the Chinese colluders’ $500,000 take. “We wanted to be fair and reasonable to those players who had been a victim of the collusion ring,” Josem stated. It is estimated that approximately 25,000 players have been compensated by PokerStars.

In the report, Josem disputed the former employee’s allegation that the auto alert system had been disabled at some point. He stated that PokerStars has a system that prioritizes “risk factors” and attempts to find a balance between the auto alerts and player complaints. During the segment on “5 Live Investigates,” PokerStars stated that approximately 70% of the reports investigated come from players, with the remainder caught by their auto alerts systems.

Prior to the end of the discussion, Broadbent stated that he has taken the steps to file charges against the colluders in China and was heading to Beijing to continue the investigation into the collusion ring. Poker News Daily caught up with Broadbent yesterday while he was in transit to China and, as he stated on Goldberg’s program, he is not sure what he will find once he gets there.

“When I get there, the first port of call is the police station where I registered the criminal case a couple of weeks back,” Broadbent wrote to PND. “I will see what, if anything, they have done to this point. Then I will go around (to) various government bodies asking if they are serious about some of the legislation reported on Reuters in February that China was planning on online gambling, around the same time the DoN collusion occurred. The legislation, as far as I have found out, was passed as law on August 7th, two weeks after I began e-mailing various governmental bodies on this issue.”

Broadbent continued in the e-mail, “I am doing no more than meet and greet on this trip. If I get anywhere, next time I go to China, I will head down to Wenzhou and Hangzho, hopefully to meet some of the 38 that were banned in this case… (this is) a big, long story.”

Poker News Daily will continue to monitor developments in this ongoing story.

Blanca Games Acquisition of CEREUS Jeopardizes Ultimate Bet Payments

In a letter from XMT Liquidations to the shareholders of what was formerly known as Excapsa Software, the acquisition of the CEREUS Poker Network by Blanca Games has “violated and/or triggered the application of certain rights under the agreements between Excapsa and Blast Off and its related entities.”

The letter, which found its way to the TwoPlusTwo forums late Monday night, begins by discussing a promissory note owed by Blast Off. What is Blast Off, you ask? Tokwiro COO Paul Leggett commented in a blog one month ago, “The UltimateBet business and assets were transferred to Tokwiro through a company called Blast Off… Basically the Excapsa Group transferred all of the assets to Blast Off and then sold Blast Off to Tokwiro.” Blast Off submitted four $75,000 payments.

Four days after an agreement was reached to resume promissory note payments, Blast Off’s lawyers submitted a letter “alleging that players may have been exploited by an unfair and unlawful advantage in online poker games in 2004 and 2005.” Blast Off continued to make weekly payments despite the news contained in the letter, which was dated August 10th.

Excapsa sold its assets to Tokwiro around the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in the United States. Former World Series of Poker Main Event champ Russ Hamilton masterminded the cheating in question according to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and Tokwiro officials shelled out over $20 million to affected players.

Then, the plot thickened. Two weeks after Blast Off’s lawyers notified liquidators about the cheating, liquidators learned that Blast Off’s “other major creditor had elected to exercise its rights in respect of the collateral it held as security for Blast Off’s debt.” Blast Off’s “other major creditor” could refer to the former owners of Absolute Poker, with the collateral being the rights to the AbsolutePoker.com domain. Excapsa’s interest primarily lies with Ultimate Bet and the URL UltimateBet.com.

Potentially referring to the UltimateBet.com domain, “Blast Off intended to wind-up [end] any and all operations related to assets over which Excapsa has been granted a security interest.” The rumored dollar value of the sale back in 2006 was $100 million, although that figure is not addressed in the letter.

News of the acquisition of the CEREUS Poker Network by Blanca Games meant violations of the agreement between Excapsa and Blast Off. As part of the Blanca Games transition, only AbsolutePoker.com and UB.com were involved. The old UltimateBet.com URL, which may be the collateral held by Excapsa, was not acquired. Instead, UltimateBet.com now forwards to DepositBonus.com. The letter explains, “All of Excapsa’s rights under the promissory notes and related security, including enforcement procedures, have been reserved.”

A copy of the press release announcing the acquisition of the CEREUS Poker Network by Blanca Games on August 26th was included. A follow-up press release from Tokwiro providing further details on the ownership change never materialized.

In terms of what the letter signifies, posters on TwoPlusTwo began putting their detective skills to the test in earnest. One member wrote, “Looks like Blast Off’s (AP/UB) lawyers are going to try to get the $100 Mill note reduced or canceled due to players cheated in 2004 and 2005. If Blanca is another shell [company], then there won’t be any proceeds from the sale to offset the $100 Mill note either.”

Whether Blast Off is attempting to default on its note by transferring the UltimateBet.com domain back to its former owners, Excapsa, remains to be seen. Meanwhile, the main faces of UB.com have touted the acquisition by Blanca Games as an opportunity to separate from the site’s stormy past. Joe Sebok told Poker News Daily in a late August interview, “I couldn’t be more excited about it. It’s a further break from the past and fewer connections to the former owners of Ultimate Bet, not to mention my own excitement about bringing Blanca into the fold and beginning something new.”

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest. Read the entire letter by clicking here.

The NFL Season Begins, The VMAs And Heading To London From Poker In Twitter

Across the span of the Twitterverse, poker players seemed to be taking time away from the tables to jump into several different activities. For most, that was the first weekend of the National Football League schedule.

Two players who passed up watching the NFL games on television to watch them in person were Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little and Beth Shak, albeit at two different locations. “Heading to the opening day at Giants Stadium to watch the Giants play. Should be fun,” Little Tweeted before the New York Giants crushed the Carolina Panthers 31-17. Shak, on the other hand, watched a disappointing loss from the Philadelphia Eagles against the Green Bay Packers 27-20. Still, she was excited to Tweet, “I’m @Eagles game pic w/ Vince Papale #83 from movie Invincible.”

Other poker players chose to watch the games from the comfort of their homes, with one making some wagers to make it more interesting. “Bet one early NFL game CIN +5 hoping Palmer has a big game against an inexperienced NE secondary,” Tweeted PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu. Following the game, in which the Bengals fell to the Patriots, Negreanu tried to make up his loss: “Looks like I’m dead on my Cincy bet down 21 ugh. Hoping SF -3 will get me even at Seattle.” Unfortunately for “Kid Poker,” Seattle crushed San Francisco.

For most, the Sunday night game between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins provided a good sweat. “I think I get high blood pressure watching my Skins,” “Poker After Dark” hostess Leeann Tweeden chirped to her followers. It seemed that a couple poker players were for the ‘Skins along with Tweeden, including Alex Outhred (“Dear lord, if u feel bad about putting me and my train mates in a train wreck on Amtrak 2 days ago, do NOT let Cowboys win.”) and Lee Childs (“Ah, what a weekend for the JMU Dukes & the Redskins! The ‘boys almost sucked out, but thankfully the floor caught ‘em cheating.”). Eugene Todd sounded off for Cowboys fans when he Tweeted, “Wade Phillips is the worst head coach in nfl and no wonder his fathers first name is bum.”

Other poker players had mixed emotions after their respective teams’ performance. “wow, @ChicagoBearscom were probably just gifted a win,” UB.com‘s Joe Sebok Tweeted following the Bears’ controversial victory over the Detroit Lions. “Weird call there. we are truly a horrible football team. sorry, love ‘em, but wow.” Michele Lewis was a bit happier, Tweeting, “Everyone can thank me for casting my golden dawn spell on the Texans to beat the Colts. I’m starting a new chapter if anyone’s interested.” Finally, “Poker After Dark” announcer Ali Nejad wrapped his Sunday by Tweeting, “Let’s see, A’s lost (out of it, whatever), 49ers lost (week 1, whatever), Raiders lost (what’s new?), BUT GIANTS WON!”

The MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) also attracted a great deal of attention from many in the poker community. “I think Justin Bieber is awesome,” Negreanu Tweeted while watching the show Sunday night. “I always like Usher and Michael Jackson stuff and this kid makes good music.” In agreement with Negreanu was Carbon Poker‘s Shannon Elizabeth, who Tweeted, “He was amazing! So cute!”

Christian “charder30” Harder fired off, “You catch Florence and The Machine and the VMAs? She was amazing,” to Erik Seidel following the performance of the band on the show. Annie Duke barely missed having a Bikram yoga session with multiple VMA winner Lady Gaga: “I missed Lady Gaga at 11am Bikram since I practiced at 9am. Would have liked to see her Bikram outfit. Appropriate there to wear no pants.” Outhred provided a good wrap to the VMAs in Tweeting, “What was good about the VMAs: whoever was douchey came off douchey, dope came off as dope. Problem: most guests/nominees were douchey.”

Even though it may seem that players were away from the felt, many of poker’s stars actually were on their way to London, where the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe kicks off on Tuesday. “Just got to my hotel room in London,” Tweeted Full Tilt front man Mike Matusow, but he wasn’t a happy camper. “What a long day, took 7 hrs to get from Vienna to London tonight what a joke.” Someone who was probably on the same flight as Matusow was Tom “durrrr” Dwan, who simply Tweeted, “Austria was sweet, back in London now,” following his arrival.

Another poker player who Tweeted about heading to WSOP Europe was Phil Hellmuth. “WSOPE gonna sorely miss 10 time bracelet winners @texdolly + Johnny Chan! And Chau Giang + David OP.” Others who are on the ground in London and ready for action include Antonio Esfandiari (“Buckingham palace… London here I am baby”), Shannon Shorr (“At Huntsville International Airport en route to London via Chicago O’Hare”), and Eric Mizrachi (“Finally made it to our hotel in London, crazy 2 hour wait in customs line. As we go up we bump into Freddy Deeb”).

For the best Tweets from the weekend, we have to start with PokerStars’ Vicky Coren. In her usual self-deprecating manner, Coren Tweeted, “No column from me today, I had NOTHING TO SAY. Course, that may make the Observer even better value than ever.” Adam “Roothlus” Levy took a trip to the zoo on Saturday and observed, “At the San Diego zoo today. Watching a hippo poop was not on my list of things to see. Unfortunately the hippo did not give me a choice.” Finally, Todd had an offer for anyone on the Twitterverse:  “I have extra tickets for the Jay Z and m (Eminem) concert at Yankee Stadium. I paid 750 each for them on the floor. Holla if u want them!”

The Primacy Effect in Poker by John Wray (JimmyLegs)

Let’s pretend you’re a brand new poker player.  Maybe you’re in Las Vegas for a buddy’s bachelor party, you’ve seen some poker on TV, and although you’re saving a little for the strip clubs, you’ve still got an extra $500 for “discretionary expenses” in your pocket.  So, you sit down at the smallest game spread at the Venetian, fumble a big blind onto the felt, and play your very first hand of big-kid poker.

In this scenario, what would you say might be the very worst thing that could possibly happen to you?  You get stacked?  You get cheated?  You get into a drunken brawl with a guy nicknamed “Fancy Fists”?

What if I told you the very worst thing that could possibly happen to you that night is that you win?  And win big?

It seems counterintuitive, but there’s a very good reason why it might be dangerous for a budding poker player to have a wildly successful first session: the Primacy Effect.  The Primacy Effect is a cognitive bias – a psychological tendency for us to draw incorrect conclusions based on the ways our brains are wired rather than on the objective evidence.

This particular bias is the tendency for the first items presented in a series to be remembered better or more easily, and for them to be more influential than those presented later in a series.  For instance, if someone rattles off a long distance phone number, you’re most likely to remember the first few digits.   Job applicants seen early in the hiring process are often given higher marks than those in the middle, and all applicants are best remembered by their “first impressions.”

Opening scenes are critical to the success or failure of a movie or book.  And you probably have strong memories of and a special fondness for your first girlfriend or boyfriend.  Thanks to the Primacy Effect, anything that comes first in a series serves as a powerful anchor in our memories, indelibly etched and coloring our perceptions of everything that comes after.

There’s even evidence now that the Primacy Effect has considerable power over the results on “American Idol”-style shows that rely on votes from the at-home audience.  Over and over again, the contestants who appear first (and last, thanks to a different bias, the Recency Effect) get more votes than those appearing in the middle of the program.

Fans of these shows have occasionally voiced concern over potential voter fraud or judging biases, but if research on the Primacy Effect is correct, then results could actually be rigged in an even more diabolical way.  All the producers would have to do to make sure their favorites are well-received by the voting audience is put them first or last in the evening’s lineup.

And isn’t a poker career just a long series of individual sessions?  If we have this tendency to be overly influenced by the first item in a series, isn’t it possible that our entire perception of the game of poker could be distorted by what happens in the first few sessions?

The first time you played poker, you sucked.  We all did.  But thanks to the element of chance built into the game, there’s a very real possibility that you won in spite of your suckitude.  And if you won big, the Primacy Effect will make sure that you remember that session and let it influence your perception of the game for a long time to come.

You’re likely to believe that the game is easier than it really is, and that it requires less work than it really does, and that you’re naturally more talented than you really are.  The Primacy Effect will cause you to weigh the results of that first session more heavily than subsequent sessions, so even if you go on a long losing streak, you’ll constantly be comparing your results with that first success.

“How can I lose ten sessions in a row if I destroyed the game the first time I played?  I’m a great player with natural talent.  I must just be getting unlucky!”  And you may find it more difficult to accept the brutal realities of poker: the game is hard and to master it, you must put in a lot of time and effort.  What a glorious world it would be for the professional player if everyone won big the first time they played!  The experience would likely stunt the growth of their abilities and yet get them hooked on the game itself – a recipe for long-term donations.

What about the players who lose their shirts the first time they play?  They’re probably more likely to believe the game is more difficult than it really is – perhaps even unbeatable.  For many people, a big initial losing session is enough to make them quit forever.  But ironically, these players might be better situated for long-term success since they’ll likely have a better grasp of the amount of work necessary to master the game’s strategies.

There’s another way that the Primacy Effect skews our thinking on a daily basis.  After all, isn’t each individual session a series of hands?  So, by the same token, the results of your first big pot might influence your perception of the entire evening.  Personally, I have an irrational tendency to get into a very negative and self-destructive mindset if I lose a big pot early in a session.

And how often have you heard players say, “I can tell it’s going to be a great night” after raking a massive pot soon after sitting down?  Even though each hand is an independent, random event, psychologically speaking, we’re susceptible to letting our first impressions affect us long after the first hand has hit the muck.

Whether you won or lost in your rookie season, be aware that your perception of the game has likely been distorted by your initial experiences on the felt.

John “JimmyLegs” Wray is an instructor at CardRunners, one of the world’s leading poker training sites. Receive CardRunners for free through Truly Free Poker Training. Earn 5,500 points in a month playing on Full Tilt Poker and you’ll receive a free month of CardRunners. Earn a free week for only 1,375 points. No points are deducted and there is no impact on rake. Sign up now.

The Weekly Turbo: Poker Players VS Commerce Casino, Mizzi Responds to Cheating Allegations, and More

Miss one of the Nightly Turbo's this week? Well, we're bringing you the top stories from the week so you don't have to feel left out. Poker players are banding together to get the Commerce Casino to change its stance on Internet gambling...

August 26th – Daily Deal

On today’s Daily Deal, Poker News Daily visits the Legends of Poker final table, Sorel Mizzi finds himself in hot water once again, and the World Series of Poker Main Event Day 2A airs on ESPN. It’s all coming up… RIGHT AFTER OUR COOL INTRO!

Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily. The World Poker Tour‘s Legends of Poker tournament from the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles wrapped up late last night. Part time poker player Andy Frankenberger took the event down for seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Frankenberger told me before the event that the money didn’t mean much to him as he’s already done well for himself on Wall Street and that he was gunning for the win. Well, mission accomplished as he beat out pro Kyle Wilson heads up for the victory. The next stop for the WPT is London England for the London Poker Classic.

Recent activity across several of the online poker forums is once again indicating that noted pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi may have been involved in an attempt to rig multi-table tournaments. In a conversation between Steve “thorladen” Weinstein and Mizzi that popped up over the weekend on TwoPlusTwo and PocketFives, Mizzi proposes to Weinstein the use of remote PC access programs such as GoToMyPC.com to access computers in different locations. These programs allow a person from one location to be able to use another computer – using the accessed computer’s IP address. Named in the potential scandal were Chris Dombrowski, known online as “cdbr3799” and Aditya “Intervention” Agarwal. However, both have responded on PocketFives saying that they had no part in any cheating. Mizzi attempted to shed some light on the subject by posting:

“The conversation in question contains bits and pieces of information from several conversations I’ve had with Thorladen and others over the course of about a year. It was quite a while ago, but if I had to guess I would say the conversations occurred from two-thousand eight to two-thousand nine while I was sponsored by Betfair.”

Wherever the truth is in the most recent hubbub regarding Mizzi, his track record in the poker world has been mixed. He has served multiple suspensions for various violations of the terms and conditions of PokerStars and Full Tilt. However, he’s also piled up three point two million dollars in live tournament earnings since 2006.

On Tuesday night, the World Series of Poker Main Event continued airing on ESPN. This time, Day 2A was highlighted and featured nine former Main Event champions gunning for a repeat performance. Embattled PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu was seated at the feature table, with cash game specialist Patrik Antonius at Table Two.

One of the highlights of the night was Antonius cracking pocket aces with five-three after flopping two pair. ESPN poker commentator Norman Chad added, “Patrik and I go to the same health club. He just works out a few more days a week than I do.” You can catch the two-thousand ten World Series of Poker Main Event every Tuesday at Nine P-M Eastern Time on ESPN.

Thanks for joining us as always on The Daily Deal and if you haven’t already be sure to bookmark Poker News Daily and come back every day for the latest poker news. Catch us on twitter at www.twitter.com/pokernewsdaily. I’m Sean Gibson and until tomorrow have some great runs tonight in your tournaments!

The Nightly Turbo: Sorel Mizzi Responds to Cheating Allegations, Hot Poker Players, and More

We're here to bring you the top poker news stories of the day. we search so you don't have to. What did we find today? Sorel Mizzi has responded to cheating allegations in the TwoPlusTwo forums, the BleacherReport has released the 100 hottest...

Sorel Mizzi tells that he was being blackmailed

I bet everyone knows about the whole deal with Sorel Mizzi and the accusations he has been facing lately. Mizzi has been caught before, is he cheating again?

There’s an IM chat between Mizzi and Steve “thorladen” Weinstein posted on the 2+2 ,which clearly shows how Mizzi was/is planning to do some ghosting by using Windows Remote Desktop program. Here’s an excerpt from the original post:

Sorel- Toronto says:
you can control someones PC while on your own
thor says:
yeh
Sorel- Toronto says:
and you can control multiple peoples PC’s
thor says:
didint know that
Sorel- Toronto says:
and you can watch multiple screens
thor says:
didnt kow thaqt either
Sorel- Toronto says:
it revolutionizes teaching/ghosting in poker
Sorel- Toronto says:
it can also be used for multiaccounting
thor says:
yeh i was using beam my screan for teaching
Sorel- Toronto says:
im surprised no ones ever brought this up on the forums
Sorel- Toronto says:
like someone could play 6 + accounts at once
Sorel- Toronto says:
in the same tournament
thor says:
yeh i can see th m;/a advantages
Sorel- Toronto says:
and it would be untraceable
thor says:
i wanted to set one up in canada at boykee moms house
thor says:
the vpn
Sorel- Toronto says:
man
Sorel- Toronto says:
its so quick and easy its sick
thor says:
yeh i know insane to not have it
Sorel- Toronto says:
like i could watch ur screen right now if u logged in and added your computer
thor says:
while im certainly interested in whatever u thinking
thor says:
if u want me in

Mizzi is now answering the accusation and tells that he has been blackmailed and he refused to pay the blackmailer, so the blackmailer posted the chat on 2+2. Mizzi also adds that the chat has been compiled from different chat sessions during 2008-2009.

Mizzi also criticizes the whole 2+2 community and says that Shaun Deeb is just a gossipmonger.

You can read Mizzi’s answere here.

Source: 2+2, aintluck.com and PokerNewsDaily

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Sorel Mizzi tells that he was being blackmailed

Sorel Mizzi (Imper1um) Allegedly Involved in Another Cheating Scandal

Recent activity across several of the online poker forums are once again indicating that noted online/live poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi and potential accomplices may have been involved in an attempt to rig multi-table tournaments.

Threads appeared on the TwoPlusTwo forum on two occasions over the weekend, with one being squelched by the moderators and a second taking on life and quickly zooming up to 537 posts. Another form of the thread came to life on the PocketFives forum over the weekend (and following the closing of the original thread on 2+2) and has blitzed its way to 282 posts. In both instances, the transcript of an IM chat between Mizzi and an alleged co-conspirator are the main topic of discussion.

This is one thing that the different threads have in common:  an undated AIM or MSN Messenger chat transcript allegedly between Mizzi and another top online poker player/backer, Steve “thorladen” Weinstein. In a rambling  discussion allegedly between the two, Mizzi and Weinstein discuss their issues with players who are in “makeup,” or owe money from backing arrangements. The conversation then allegedly has Mizzi making assertions to Weinstein about how to violate many of the terms and conditions of online sites using a common business tool.

Mizzi proposes to Weinstein the use of remote PC access programs, such as GoToMyPC.com, PCNow.com, or Laplink, to access computers in different locations. These programs allow a person from one location to be able to use another computer – using the accessed computer’s IP address – from a different location. Mizzi notes to Weinstein in the alleged conversation that usage of such programs “revolutionizes teaching/ghosting in poker (and) can also be used for multiaccounting.” Weinstein comments (verbatim) that “while im certainly interested in whatever u thinking, if u want me in, but obv I have to know woh knows cuz I cant get busted… I have alot of maoney online.”

As the alleged conversation continues, Mizzi goes on to name players who would be willing to take part in the suggested plot. Named by Mizzi as potential co-conspirators are such players as “cdbr” (FTOPS champion Chris Dombrowski) and “Intervention” (Aditya Agarwal). Mizzi goes on to allegedly comment to Weinstein the full context of the plan after discussing who could be involved.

“Now there’s more than 1 way we can profit from this program obv,” Mizzi allegedly says in the IM. “The most obvious is just watching and taking over for your stakes when they’re deep in a tournament. The beauty of it is ur not logging in from another IP, all you’re doing is controlling their mouse and keyboard and they can take it over again right away with the click of a mouse.” Mizzi allegedly also proposes a scheme where, “Hypothetically, imagine if 20+ PC’s were set up in various locations or in the same location but with various IP’s and different people could login to any of them at any given time?”

Although the alleged IM in question is undated, many on the forums have deduced that the time frame may have gone back as far as 18 months ago. At that time, Mizzi had been fleeced by cardsharps with a marked deck in Monte Carlo, leaving his bankroll decimated. It can be likely concluded, as many have done, that the alleged IM between Mizzi and Weinstein was to curry Weinstein’s backing for the escapade.

What has been remarkable about the discussions on the forums is the reaction from those potentially named in the discussion. Weinstein, under his “thorladen” handle on the PocketFives forum, simply states, “I have not engaged in this activity with Sorel. I would not engage in this activity ever. I am voluntarily cooperating completely with Full Tilt in an investigation of these alleged activities.”

Agarwal says in the same thread, “I wasn’t gonna post but general consensus among my frnds is tht I shud. Neither me or chris hv had any knowledge or been involved in any of the activities mentioned in the chat log, as everyone knows it was around the time period sorel was hving money issues, both me and chris hving cleared our MU voluntarily left sorel and went to vivek/yev and hv been with them since.”

Mizzi has made a statement regarding the subject on the TwoPlusTwo forums in an attempt to clear up the situation. “The conversation in question contains bits and pieces of information from several conversations I’ve had with Thorladen and others over the course of about a year,” Mizzi writes in his lengthy post. “It was quite a while ago, but if I had to guess I would say the conversations occurred from 2008 to 2009 while I was sponsored by Betfair.” Mizzi is now a Titan Poker pro.

Mizzi states that, in late 2009, he was contacted by a potential extortionist who was “threatening to release what he had fabricated if I didn’t send him money online. I chose to completely ignore the threats.” Mizzi also clears Dombrowski and Agarwal by writing, “As far as Chris and Adi go, they were my horses about 2 years ago and neither of them have ever been involved in any shady activity that I know of. They are both good guys and both very trustworthy/loyal, so much so that I allowed both of them to calculate their own makeup.”

Mizzi also stands up to the continued attacks on his character by writing, “I strongly dislike coming on internet forums to read unfair, untrue, libelous BS judgments about my character. The only people who have the right to attack my character are the ones who know me well personally and I don’t think anyone who’s posted thus far does. I don’t blame them. As soon as anyone posts anything to defend me they get verbally attacked and accused of “sticking up for a cheater.”

He finishes his post on TwoPlusTwo by saying, “There are serious things that I’d like to address in a subsequent thread that I’ve been thinking about posting for a long time. I’m not sure whether or not I’ll post it because I truly don’t owe anyone here explanations about anything I do. But I’ll give it some serious thought.” Poker News Daily attempted to contact Mizzi, who is in Cyprus for the Full Tilt Poker Merit Poker Classic. At this time, Mizzi has not returned any request for comment.

Wherever the truth is in the most recent hubbub regarding Mizzi, his track record in the online poker world has been a turbulent one. He has served multiple suspensions for various violations of the terms and conditions of the top poker rooms, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, and continuously has to defend himself from the “cheater” tag. It is also apparent that Mizzi has an extreme poker talent; the Canadian has over $3.2 million in live tournament earnings since his first venture into the arena in 2006.?