Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke UB.com Departures Captivate Twitterverse

The Twitterverse has been quite active since yesterday’s announcement that the two most prominent faces of the site, Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke, would be leaving UB.com. Congratulations, speculation, and prognostication have been at the forefront of many of the Tweets.

It all began late Thursday afternoon when Duke Tweeted, “Starting a new chapter in my life. Decided to leave UB, but the future’s exciting for me and the place I’ve called home for more than a decade.” The amicable departure left some of her former Team UB.com pros thanking Duke for her assistance during their time with her on the squad.

One of the first to hit Twitter with his kudos was now former Team UB.com stable mate “Hollywood” Dave Stann, who Tweeted, “Thanks @AnnieDuke for all you’ve done for my growth as a poker player… @UB won’t be the same without you!” B.J. Nemeth continued up the adoration by Tweeting, “Not sure if congratulations is the right word or not, but good luck and best wishes for whatever you do next.” Victory Poker CEO Dan Fleyshman was one of the first to weigh in on Duke’s future when he Tweeted, “I’m sure @howardhlederer would be happy to have @annieduke join his friends at Tilt now that his sister left UB!”

A couple of hours after Duke’s announcement, it was confirmed that Hellmuth was also departing. Hellmuth’s agent, Brian Balsbaugh from Poker Royalty, Tweeted late Thursday afternoon, “My client @Phil_Hellmuth and UB part ways – exciting time for us.” Hellmuth confirmed Balsbaugh’s Tweet, chirping, “On a flight to L.A. baby! Dinner tonight w Corey and Lisa Pavin, my parents, and my kids at Boa on Sunset (yummy!)… Big news in one hour!”

After his plane landed and the family was settled in, Hellmuth came out to confirm what everyone had speculated throughout the past couple of months. “Making a big move… leaving UB,” the 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Tweeted on Thursday evening. “Truly lots of great memories, but it’s time to move on… Mutual decision… Looking forward to a bright future!”

After Hellmuth’s announcement, another wave of congratulations poured in from friends and colleagues. Scott Ian, who earned a spot on the Team UB.com roster as a result of poker coaching from Duke and Hellmuth, Tweeted, “@AnnieDuke & @phil_hellmuth: my mentors, my coaches, my friends, & are responsible for my growth/success in the poker world. Thank you both.”

Daniel Negreanu passed out his congratulations to Hellmuth, Tweeting, “Congrats to @phil_hellmuth for leaving UB. A good dude and he deserves better. He may be a bit wild at the table, but he is a stand up guy.”

Now the dean of Team UB.com, Joe Sebok sent out his congratulations on Twitter and on his blog at PokerRoad. “Wishing both @annieduke and @phil_hellmuth the best of luck with everything in the future. Pleasure working with both.”

On his blog at PokerRoad, Sebok wrote, “2010 sees us parting ways with two icons of the poker world, Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke. These two legends in our industry have, quite literally, helped to build UB into what it is today. Phil and Annie have been the face of the company for years now and we thank them for their unbelievable contributions and bid them the utmost in success moving forward.” He cryptically stated towards the end of the blog, “We’ll be announcing our newest Team UB member next week and I am crazily pumped about it.”

Speculation about the new addition to the Team UB roster seems to have been solved by poker pro Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler. Early Friday morning, Kessler Tweeted, “Apparently Prahlad Friedman is the new UB pro. He is on Annie Duke’s former page.” The link provided by Kessler with the Tweet now leads to the Team UB main page, but Friedman was speculating about a change approximately a month ago when he Tweeted, “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.”

The recent departures of Hellmuth and Duke have spiced up what is normally a dull period in the poker community. Perhaps Nemeth said it best when he Tweeted, “Let’s all take a moment to laugh at every list of ‘Top 10 Poker Stories of 2010’ written before today!”

Poker Pros Annie Duke, Joe Reitman Engaged

A prolific tweeter, the Team UB.com pro Annie Duke made the following announcement on her Twitter account on December 25th: “I said yes!”

In case her more than 25,000 followers were confused as to exactly what she was talking about, Duke posted a picture of herself showing off her new diamond engagement ring to the camera while sitting in her fiancé Joe Reitman‘s lap.

Shortly thereafter, the well wishes started streaming in from every corner of the Twitterverse.  Most were from fans, but several fellow poker pros sent their best as well.  Fellow Team UB.com member Tiffany Michelle Tweeted, “Huge congrats to @AnnieDuke and @JoeUgly on a Christmas engagement. Love it! It’s about freakin’ time!”

“Hollywood” Dave Stann, another UB.com pro, weighed in, making a statement with which most people would agree: “Best Xmas present ever!”

Other poker players Tweeting their regards included Eric Froehlich, Rafe Furst, Alex Outhred, Liv Boeree, Andy Bloch, and Prahlad Friedman, along with Team UB.com members Joe Sebok and Samantha Ryan.

One person who non-poker players might recognize was actor Kevin Pollak, who Tweeted, “Congrats to a very surprised @AnnieDuke on her engagement today to her very wise fella, @joeugly.” Pollak is in the midst of hosting FOX’s “Million Dollar Money Drop.”

For you gossip hounds, Duke has not divulged how Reitman proposed and no wedding date has been announced.

Duke and Reitman met in 2005 when a mutual friend in Los Angeles introduced them to each other.  The two started the same year as Reitman separated from his first wife, fellow actor and poker enthusiast Shannon Elizabeth.  Duke had also been previously married.  She wed long-time friend Ben Duke in 1991, a marriage that lasted 13 years and produced four children: Maud, Leo, Lucy, and Nell.

Reitman is an actor, writer, and producer who has had supporting roles in many films and television shows.  Movie buffs may recognize him from “Lady in the Water,” “Drop Dead Sexy,” “American Pie II,” “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” and “Clueless.”  His numerous guest appearances on television include “CSI,” “The Drew Carey Show,” “Monk,” and “Judging Amy.”  He has also had recurring roles on “Charmed,” “Townies,” “Blood Ties,” “Married with Children,” and “Jack and Jill.”  In addition to his acting roles, Reitman has produced and directed several episodes of “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” and wrote and directed “Survivin’ the Island” and “Leo.”

On the poker front, Reitman has had three minor World Series of Poker (WSOP) cashes, but he caught the attention of the poker world when he won UB.com’s $1 million Guarantee in early 2006.

Duke is one of the most prolific live tournament players in poker history and currently ranks second on the women’s all-time money list with over $4.2 million in career earnings.  She has 37 lifetime WSOP cashes, the most significant of which came in 2004 when she won her first and only bracelet in a $2,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Split event.  During the same WSOP, she won the inaugural Tournament of Champions, taking home a $2 million check.  Her most recent career highlight came this March, when she bested good friend Erik Seidel in the finals to win the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship and $500,000.

Time Magazine Tackles Poker in Florida

Ever since the Florida legislature adjusted the state’s poker laws earlier this year, people have been flooding the Sunshine State like never before. The influx of action has left a leading magazine to pose the question, “Is Florida the Next Las Vegas?”

A recent article in Time Magazine posed the question due to the increase in not only players in the state’s casinos, but also attention from major gaming outlets. The rise in interest in poker is due to the change in Florida’s gaming laws that allowed for higher stakes cash game play, richer tournaments, and more poker rooms. While players are flooding to cash games, poker’s biggest organizations are taking the opportunity to move into fertile ground.

In August, as a result of the change in Florida’s laws, the World Poker Tour (WPT) announced a $10,000 buy-in Season 9 tournament scheduled for April at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood. In November, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit found its opportunity to move into the state, announcing a stop at the Palm Beach Kennel Club in February.

According to the author of the Time article, Thomas Collins, the growth of poker throughout Florida isn’t limited to just the big name casinos like the Seminole Indian operation. Florida has many thoroughbred horse racing tracks, greyhound tracks, and jai alai arenas that are also taking advantage of the new laws to open or expand their poker room offerings. The new outlets for poker are expected to bring in over $1 billion to the coffers of the state.

Collins reports in his article that, although there have been overtures from Las Vegas casino operations to create a “Vegas in the Everglades,” it may be a bit early to expect such an expansion. Collins points out the many family-friendly attractions in Florida such as Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, where gaming isn’t a major part of the draw.

Collins quoted two Florida politicians whose views on the subject concur with his observations. State Representative Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican who was at the head of negotiations with the Seminoles regarding the change in gaming laws, is quoted by Collins as stating, “The state’s just so diverse, so a Vegas-style scenario is not a natural progression.” Democrat Jim Waldman from Coconut Creek agreed with his fellow Florida representative: “I don’t think you’re going to have another Vegas. What you’re going to have are more options for people who want to gamble in Florida.”

Players have been quite pleased with the state of poker in Florida. 2010 WSOP $50,000 Player’s Championship winner and Main Event final tablist Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi is quoted in Collins’ article as saying, “ (The new laws are) a dream come true. There’s nothing better than playing poker with beaches.” Mizrachi is a sponsored pro of Full Tilt Poker.

Message boards have also been buzzing with the changes in Florida’s poker scene. On the TwoPlusTwo forum, players have touted the higher stakes and new games that have been offered. Poster “DELUXER1” wrote, “Omaha continues to expand at Naples. When I left on Sat at about 4pm, they had two full tables of 2-5 PLO going. Also, the Sat 4-8 HK and the Fri 3-6 Omaha8 games continue to go strong.” “bocablkr” reported in the same thread, “On Wed nights, there is a 15-30 LHE game at the Isle Casino in Pompano. I played Thanksgiving Eve and it was a Mixed game of 15-30 LHE and 15-30 Omaha H/L. It was a lot of fun.”

With the one-year anniversary of the Florida poker law changes coming up in April, the full story has yet to be told. However, with the arrival of high-stakes card players and the WPT and the WSOPC in the coming year, Florida appears to be the new hotspot for poker in the Southeastern United States.

UB.com Returns as Sponsor of Poker Pro Canada Classic

UB.com has announced that it will once again be the title sponsor of the second annual Poker Pro Canada Classic.  The tournament, which will be held at the Four Aces Poker Club in Montreal, Quebec, is scheduled to run from January 27th to January 30th.

Co-sponsored by the leading poker magazine Poker Pro Canada, the Classic will feature a $1,500 + $150 buy-in and, like most major tournaments, will be a No Limit Hold’em event.  With more than 300 players expected to register, the prize pool could get up to $500,000 or more.

Poker Pro Canada Editor-In-Chief John “Johnny Quads” Wenzel is understandably excited about the upcoming tournament and commented in a press release, “The first Poker Pro Canada Classic back in April was a huge success, so we couldn’t wait to hold the second edition.  Four Aces was a terrific venue and I can’t wait to get back there.”

While the Poker Pro Canada Classic is a freezeout, it is not a freezeout in the traditional sense.  There will be three Day 1s and, while there are no intra-day rebuys allowed, anyone who busts out will be permitted to plunk down another buy-in and try again on a subsequent starting day.  Play will be stopped each day once the field gets down to 25 players.  Seventy-five total players across Days 1A, 1B, and 1C will return on Sunday, January 30th to compete for the championship.  Players will start with 20,000 chips and blinds will increase every hour.

As one might expect in a live tournament sponsored by an online poker room, UB.com will be running super satellites to the event during the month of January.  Here is the super satellite schedule:

· Sunday, January 2nd at 4:05pm ET: $200 + $15, Three packages guaranteed
· Wednesday, January 5th at 9:00pm ET: $200 + $15, Three packages guaranteed
· Sunday, January 9th at 4:05pm ET: $200 + $15, Three packages guaranteed
· Wednesday, January 12th at 9:00pm ET: $200 + $15, Three packages guaranteed
· Thursday, January 13th at 8:30pm ET: $300 + $20, One package guaranteed
· Sunday, January 16th at 8:30pm ET: $300 + $20, One package guaranteed

Players who find the super satellite buy-ins too rich for their blood will have the opportunity to qualify via lower buy-in satellites on UB.com.  More of these qualifiers, which will go as low as $10 + $1, will likely be added as the Poker Pro Canada Classic gets closer.

UB.com will also be holding six special Regional Freerolls open to residents of the Quebec and Ontario provinces of Canada and the states of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.  The freerolls will take place on January 2nd, 9th, and 16th at 4:05pm ET and on January 5th, 12th, and 19th at 8:05pm ET.  Each freeroll will award a single prize package to the winner.

The 20 total prize packages are valued at $2,500 apiece and include the $1,650 buy-in for the Poker Pro Canada Classic as well $850 for travel expenses.

The inaugural Poker Pro Canada Classic saw 246 players duke it out for a share of the $370,000 prize pool.  Team UB.com members Mark “Poker H0″ Kroon and “Hollywood” Dave Stann were in attendance, but the title went to local Montreal resident Oliver Baksic, who took home $118,000.  Also of note was Canadian Heads-Up champ Benjamin Lablond, who placed third.

The Four Aces Poker Club is located in the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, just a few minutes south of Downtown Montreal across the Mercier Bridge.  In addition to tournaments, the Club spreads low-stakes cash games every day of the week.  Free food and beverage are provided to all cash game players.

Poker Community Celebrates Christmas

Much like the rest of the world, poker players have their plans for Christmas. For some, that involved traveling to celebrate with family and friends. A few of poker’s top professionals had some trouble making their destinations, however.

England, in the grips of one of the snowiest winters in some time, held up poker duo Lex Veldhuis and Evelyn Ng. “Lex & I got caught in the British Airways mess at Heathrow yesterday en route to Las Vegas,” Ng Tweeted on Tuesday about the delays at the airport. “Hopefully we’ll be sorted out for today.”

Both Veldhuis and Ng kept a good attitude about the delays, with the former Tweeting, “Heathrow might be chaotic airport but the people there are nicest anywhere. Waiting in lounge now. Hope to fly in 2 hours.” Ng countered, “Looks like we’re good to go. It’s almost serene at LHR compared to the chaos yesterday. Just chillin in the lounge until our flight.” The poker pros were able to make it back to Las Vegas safely, with Ng Tweeting late on Tuesday, “After one 10 hour flight from London, it took a total of 5 minutes to exit the plane, pick up our luggage, and go through U.S. Customs.”

Another player having some drama as he returned home for Christmas was UB.com’s Scott Ian. The poker player and guitar shredder also was involved with the Heathrow debacle, Tweeting, “Made it to Heathrow even though the Dublin airport staff did everything wrong including checking our bags onto our canceled London-L.A. flight.” Ian had a much longer trip than Veldhuis and Ng did: “23 1/2 hours since we left Belfast. At O’Hare now. Flight to L.A. delayed 2 hours. Looking for Goose Island.”

Heading north for the holidays, Full Tilt Poker’s Greg “FBT” Mueller was in the middle of another emergency: “Just landed in Vancouver, but we were told paramedics are rushing onto our plane and we must stay seated… Will soon find out what’s wrong.” It turns out that it was a medical emergency, as Mueller Tweeted, “4 meds rushed on way to the back! I was in row 2 obv so I couldn’t see anything 3 mins later we were allowed to leave, no details! Home!”

Christian “charder30” Harder sounded as if he needed a trip home to recharge his batteries. “Pretty sucky ending to a pretty average year of poker for me,” Harder Tweeted on Tuesday after busting from the Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Regional Championship. “Home for the Holidays and then PCA.” After a couple of days relaxing at home, a much more reflective Harder detailed his Christmas plans to his followers on Thursday: “Chillin’ at my Dad’s in Virginia for a few days then back to Annapolis for Christmas. No idea what I’m doing for New Years Eve. Annapolis? NYC? AC? Baltimore?”

A couple of players were traveling for the Christmas holiday, but not heading home. Recent UB.com addition Maria Ho chirped about her destination: “Docked on my favorite island today… Kauai! This is one of many reasons why,” and included a Twitpic of the island. “Hollywood” Dave Stann, for his part, was looking to work during the holidays when he Tweeted, “Atlantic City-bound… I’m thinking Stud at the Taj. Come get you some old school action, bitches!”

Two of poker’s philanthropists, Linda Johnson and Jan Fisher, kept up their charitable sides by helping those less fortunate. “Anyone have coats or warm clothes to giveaway,” Fisher Tweeted during the run-up to Christmas. “We’re going to the LV mission 6am Xmas day to hand out…. join us or donate?” Johnson also was extending her charitable hand when she Tweeted on Wednesday, “Thanks to everyone who helped make the party a success tonight. 21 happy kids and their parents. Loved seeing the smiles.”

As always, the world of poker players delivers, even around Christmastime, with thoughts of wisdom and hilarity. PokerRoad’s Court Harrington Tweeted, “Life is about memories and moments, not about gifts. I’ve been lucky enough to have a lot of great moments already.” Family surrounded Gavin Smith, as he Tweeted, “My wife, son, sister, mother and niece are here! Life is great!”

“Can’t wait for Christmas! I’m as bad as my kids,” Jennifer Harman Tweeted late Wednesday night, apparently up late preparing for the holidays. Annie Duke’s schedule was pretty packed, as she Tweeted early Thursday morning from her home, “Finished a huge portion of the Xmas wrapping just now. About two hours more tomorrow plus the cooking starts for dinner for 18 on Friday!”

Tiffany Michelle sent out early wishes when she Tweeted, “In case I go MIA over the next two days from eggnog, Christmas carols, & present coma… Merry Christmas everyone,” and included a Twitpic of her dog. Finally, DoylesRoom captain Doyle Brunson capped off the year with a news flash: “Warning: Christmas Cancelled… @MandaLeatherman told Santa she had been a good girl in 2010. He died laughing.”

December 19th – Weekly Update

Welcome back to the Poker News Daily Weekly update where we highlight the biggest stories in the world of poker. I’m your host, Sean Gibson, and let’s get to the news.

Well, It’s shaping up to be an interesting last few days of the current Congressional session for members of the online poker community. On Tuesday, Politico published an article revealing that U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was attempting to add a bill legalizing online poker to the measure extending tax cuts.

Politico confirmed Reid’s desires with Senator Orrin Hatch. Senator Jon Kyl, one of the masterminds of the original UIGEA, would not allow the plan to come to fruition. Kyl told Politico,

“[There is] zero chance – no chance whatsoever that would be part of the tax deal. I don’t think it would be the right thing to do.”

We’ll keep you posted on this constantly changing story.

Nearly leading the tournament wire-to-wire, Antonio Esfandiari took down the Five Diamond World Poker Classic, a stop on the World Poker Tour. Esfandiari, a Victory Poker pro, banked eight hundred seventy thousand dollars for his efforts. The tournament can be seen as part of Season Nine of the WPT on Fox Sports Net next year.

Esfandiari edged out fellow Victory Poker pro Andrew Robl heads-up when “The Magician’s” King Jack held against Robl’s Queen Ten on the final hand. Here’s how the final group of six cashed out in the ten thousand dollar buy-in tournament:

1. Antonio Esfandiari – $870,124
2. Andrew “good2cu” Robl – $549,003
3. Vanessa Rousso – $358,964
4. John Racener – $232,271
5. Kirk Morrison – $168,924
6. Ted Lawson – $126,693

Earlier this week, PokerStars took the unexpected step of signing Isildur1. The Swede gained fame by multi-tabling against the world’s best players including Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, and Tom Dwan. The signing is atypical for PokerStars, which usually aims to ink established pros who have had a ton of television face time. This time around, they’ve gone with a player without an identity who has yet to play on TV.

As part of his sponsorship deal, Isildur1 will be taking part in high-stakes heads-up SuperStar Showdown matches exclusively played at PokerStars. These matches are feature a format of twenty five hundred hands at stakes no lower than fifty, one hundred. The official word from PokerStars is that these SuperStar Showdown matches will be played either as No Limit Hold’em or Pot Limit Omaha.

Poker News Daily polled the online poker industry to see what reaction several pros had to Isildur1’s signing. CardRunners founder Taylor Caby had this to say:

“I’m definitely excited to see Isildur1 back in the spotlight. As a poker fan, I’ve enjoyed watching him play and I’ll be on the rail when he starts playing again.”

Jay Rosenkrantz, founder of DeucesCracked said:

“Seems like a good move for PokerStars, creating a bit of a distraction too amidst all these legislative happenings. Watching Isildur1 play nosebleeds was better entertainment than anything on television and if they can create that kind of spectacle again, I’m sure it will be a good thing for their business and for poker.”

Unleashed Poker is handing out presents to all of its players this holiday season. Players on the site will have the opportunity to earn numerous prizes as part of Unleashed Poker’s Christmas Giveaways. From now until December Twenty-First, players can pick up exclusive Unleashed Poker swag along with high-end electronics. For those partial to Apple products, iPod Shuffles, iPod Touches, and iPads will be given away.

Players on the virtual felts at Unleashed Poker will earn Frequent Player Points, which can be used for the Christmas Giveaway prizes. Unleashed Poker will give out one FPP for each dollar raked at the tables and every prize has an associated FPP level. Unleashed Poker makes its home on the USA-friendly Cake Poker Network.

Actress Cheryl Hines of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and former World Series of Poker Main Event champ Joe Cada will host the third annual All In For Cerebral Palsy celebrity charity poker tournament at the Venetian’s poker room on Saturday. Proceeds from the event will benefit the One Step Closer Foundation, a non-profit organization whose main goal is to ease the lives of those who suffer from cerebral palsy through financial freedom and social acceptance.

The No Limit Hold’em charity tournament will have a five hundred forty dollar buy-in with unlimited two hundred dollar rebuys for ninety minutes. Half of the prize pool will go for the tournament’s payouts, with the other half going to the foundation. There will also be sports and Hollywood memorabilia available through auctions and an after-party with free drinks courtesy of the One Step Closer Foundation. Players can register at the Venetian Poker Room cage until the end of the rebuy period.

Finally, Full Tilt Poker released a software update on Monday that addressed many of its customers’ requests. Among the new features to the software were an “Auto Add-On” button for rebuys and a “Quick Fold to Any Bet” option for Rush Poker players.

The “Auto Add-On” button was probably the most asked-for feature that Full Tilt’s software was missing up until this latest upgrade. After PokerStars inserted a clickable “Auto Add-On” box for its rebuy tournaments in June of last year, Full Tilt players requested the same. It took well over a year, but the site came through for its multi-tablers who were frustrated about forgetting to add on after the rebuy hour. Full Tilt happily accepts players from the United States.

Well, that does it for a very busy and exciting week in the world of poker. Be sure to stay tuned in to Poker News Daily for the absolute latest in poker news and be sure to follow us at twitter dot com slash poker news daily. I’m Sean Gibson, thanking you for watching and wishing you a sick run this weekend at the tables!

LeBron James Returns to Cleveland from Poker in Twitter

While they were camped out at the Bellagio in Las Vegas for the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic, players were also keeping their eyes on the sporting world. One of the big events that drew their attention in recent days was LeBron James’ return to Cleveland as a member of the Miami Heat.

Peter Jetten probably had the best plan for watching the Heat/Cavaliers game when he Tweeted on Thursday, “Going to have a fun relaxing day today. Massage this afternoon then going to watch the Heat/Cavs and TNF, The 10k Bellagio is tomorrow.” When he actually journeyed to the Bellagio sports book to check out the game, Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul amusingly observed, “Lol @ Bellagio sportsbook… they have audio for Eagles game over Cavs/Heat.”

Firmly on the side of James and the Heat were Floridians Robert Mizrachi and Eric Mizrachi. As the Heat were demolishing the Cavaliers, the former Tweeted, “That’s what all you LeBron haters get for all the ‘booing.’ Miami just opened a can of ‘ass whooping’ on Cleveland, lol. Go @KingJames.” Robert chirped a simple, “Let’s go LeBron.”

On the other side were Alex Outhred and 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) final tablist Doug Kim. Kim gave James some props when he chirped, “OK, LeBron is damn ridiculous.” Outhred, though, still held some animosity: “Miami crushing Cleveland doesn’t mean #LeBron is no longer an asshole.” In the end, the Heat destroyed the Cavaliers 118-90.

As poker players dropped from the Five Diamond, NFL football took center stage. On opposite sides of the chase for the NFC North championship race were DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit “amak316” Makhija and Saul. The latter showed his true colors when he Tweeted, “And that’s another victory formation! #bears.” Makhija showed his allegiance to Green Bay: “The Packers won and I’m up to 130k the only way the first level Coulda been sweeter is with a Bears loss, still a great start!”

In another big game on Sunday featuring the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys, tournament director Matt Savage was unflinchingly honest in his assessment of the performance of Colts’ quarterback Peyton Manning: “Favre is out of the game so we need a new Interception King. Introducing Peyton Manning as the next Hall of Famer falling apart!” Jetten wryly noted across the Twitterverse, “This game would be so much more exciting if my big Cowboys must win Super Bowl bet was still live.”

Absolute Poker pro Trishelle Cannatella was in New York for the games on Sunday, but couldn’t hold back her rooting interest in the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints after the team’s come-from-behind victory against the Cincinnati Bengals: “Payton is such a badass!!!! Love it. Watching the game in NYC. Geaux @Official_Saints.”

There were some top players paying attention on the cards in the Bellagio over the weekend. As action came to a close on Sunday, Allen Kessler (“Made day 4 of #wpt #Poker 10k Bellagio event. 54 left now of 438 starters. I have 90500. Avg probably 300k.”) and Vanessa Rousso (“Done for the day. I have 694k after a late surge. 54 left. Day four at noon tomorrow.”) were ready to come back on Monday.

Players out with a min-cash for their efforts included Full Tilt pros John Juanda (“Min cash WPT Bellagio. Last hand I had AKs, ran into both QQ & KK. Turned a flush draw, but missed.”) and Jon “PearlJammer” Turner (“Out 60thish, reshoved 18bbs w T9s from c/o over h/j’s raise, btn woke up w JJ, I hit 2 pair, but he hit J”).

For the top Tweets of the weekend, we’ll start with UB.com pro “Hollywood” Dave Stann, who became a movie critic: “Oscar noms for best actress Natalie Portman, director Darren Aronofsky & film Black Swan. Twisted look into the self-torture of true artists.” Scott Ian offered his critique of the latest effort from the Black Eyed Peas, Tweeting, “The Black Eyed Peas cover of Time Of My Life = the lamest piece of music I have ever had the unfortunate experience of accidentally hearing.”

Having a problem with coyotes at her home, Erica Schoenberg found a unique cure: “I just spent 100 bucks on wolf urine to sprinkle in the backyard to repel the coyotes. Guess I need to get into the predator pee market.” On the work front, Joe Reitman explained the audition process in Hollywood: “At commercial auditions, they now ask for your barcode. If I didn’t feel like cattle, I sure as hell do now.”

Finally, Joe Sebok offered a gem from PokerRoad’s Court Harrington when he Tweeted, “Me ‘Sometimes I forget to breathe when I’m typing.’ @courtharrington ‘Don’t become a novelist.’ As usual, solid Southern logic from the hick.”

The Sunday Scoop: Stammdogg Takes A Bite

The Celina, Ohio based pro made two major final tables, just missing out on a couple of massive scores.

Full Tilt Poker's $750k Guaranteed drew 4,213 creating an $842,600 prize pool that paid 585. ravagee booked the win and $148,794.73 first place prize defeating a final table that included a sixth place finish by Stammen (25,783.56).

In the meantime, Stammen was also busy finishing fourth in the PokerStars $215 Sunday 2nd Chance for $21,555.

The PokerStars Sunday Million was still the biggest event on the day, with 8,514 entrants creating a total prize pool of $1,702,800 that paid 1,260.

After chopping heads up, ettiezzi went on to book the win and collect $229,030.02. artohme recieved $204,507.27 finishing runner-up.

The PokerStars Sunday Warm-up drew 4,718 with 26071985 grabbing $148,034.11 for the win after beating P1ngPoNgPr0 ($109,929.40) heads up.

But the real story on PokerStars may have been the play of a few of its Team pros.

Team Online's Anders "Donald" Berg won two smaller events and final tabled two others. Canadian Team Pro Greg DeBora booked a small win, teammate Pat Pezzin made a final table, Barry Greenstein made the $215 HORSE final and Nacho Barbero went deep in the $109 rebuy.

As a part of Full Tilt Poker's Rush week promotion, the Sunday Brawl was converted to a Rush Poker Tournament this week.

It drew 2,616 and DaMurdera3 outlasted them all to collect a $106,209.60 first prize.

Finally, ERIK WRIGHT won a UB $200k Guaranteed event that drew 948, forcing the site to kick in a slight overlay.

Team UB Pro "Hollywood" Dave Stann had yet another good run in this one finishing 20th.

Venetian to Host All In For CP Charity Poker Tournament

Actress Cheryl Hines of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Joe Cada will host the third annual All In For Cerebral Palsy celebrity charity poker tournament at the Venetian’s poker room on Saturday, December 11th. Proceeds from the event will benefit the One Step Closer Foundation, a non-profit organization whose main goal is to ease the lives of those who suffer from cerebral palsy through financial freedom and social acceptance.

The No Limit Hold’em charity tournament will be a $540 buy-in with unlimited $200 rebuys for 90 minutes. Half of the pool will go for the tournament’s payouts, with the other half going to the foundation. There will also be sports and Hollywood memorabilia available through auctions and an after-party with free drinks courtesy of the One Step Closer Foundation. Players can register online or at the Venetian Poker Room cage until the end of the rebuy period on December 11th.

Jacob Zalewski, who copes with cerebral palsy and serves as President and CEO of the One Step Closer Foundation, started the All In For Cerebral Palsy event in 2008. Zalewski is a huge poker fan can regularly be found at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino during the annual WSOP in Las Vegas. He has made friends with many of poker’s biggest stars throughout the years, many of which support his foundation by playing in the event.

“We hope to see a future where cerebral palsy is a thing of the past,” said Zalewski, who made a final table at the WSOP in 2005. “We know are getting one step closer to that vision every day.”

Mekhi Phifer, star of FOX’s “Lie to Me” and films such as “8 Mile” and “O,” bested 97 players last year to win the All In For Cerebral Palsy tournament. The event raised more than $80,000, as attendance doubled at the Hard Rock Casino from the previous year.

Phifer is expected to return to defend his title this year, along with fellow celebrities Jason Alexander (“Seinfeld”), Sam Simon (creator of “The Simpsons”), Montel Williams (TV talk show host), Donnie Wahlberg (“Blue Bloods”), Gina Hecht (“Hung”), and former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis. Playboy playmates Lauren Anderson, Stacy Fuson, Alison Waite, and Brande Roderick have also committed to the event.

Poker pros that have given support to the cause and will likely play again this year include Dennis Phillips, Victor Ramdin, Scotty Nguyen, Barry Greenstein, Eli Elezra, Freddy Deeb, Darvin Moon, Todd Brunson, Mike Matusow, Mike Sexton, Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari, Andy Block, David “Chino” Rheem, Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho, Robert Williamson III, and Jamie Gold.

Cerebral palsy refers to motor conditions that appear in infancy or early childhood and permanently affect body movement and muscle coordination. Effects of the disorder don’t worsen over time, but they can’t be cured. However, treatment will often improve a child’s capabilities, allowing them to enjoy near-normal adult lives if their disabilities are properly managed.

For more information about the disorder and the “All In For Cerebral Palsy” tournament, visit AllInForCP.com.

The Sunday Scoop: FTOPS Ups The Ante

Gus Hansen hosted $600+$40 $3 million guaranteed FTOPS main event drew 5,023 players creating a $3,013,800 prize pool.

JHoWn took the title, coveted FTOPS jersey and the massive $515,359.80 first-place prize.

hilyaki finished runner-up, but had to be happy with the $385,642.20 consolation prize, while sik0tic27 ($256,173), acumen53 ($199,883.20), and kasper74 ($144,511.71) all walked away from the event with six-figure bankroll boosts.

tennisassxy won the the $2,000+$100 two-day FTOPS Event 29 that also wrapped Sunday, booking a $489,600 score.

The event drew 1,088 players creating a $2,176,000 prizepool and six figure paydays for a top five that included, Yubaball ($310,080), log1c07 ($229,568), goodvibe ($179,520), gomore ($136,000).

Phil "USCphildo" Collins finished eighth for $48,960.

Two more FTOP events completed the schedule.

A four-way deal left pixie183 with $202,484.41 in prize money and the title in the Steve Brecher hosted $240 + $16 Six-Max.

MrSoprano8 ($117,298.52), LeMeWinPlz ($86,915.11), and LoLGoodCall ($86,545.52) rounded out the top four.

In the meantime, timkrank collected $184,411.20 and the win in the John Dolan hosted $150+$13 Rebuy that saw newly minted Full Tilt Pro Annette "Annette_15" Obrestad make fifth for $52,816.80 while David "Doc" Sands finished 14th.

The PokerStars Sunday Million drew another bog crowd with 8,575 players dropping the $200+ 15 buy-in to help create a $1,715,000 prize pool.

PokerListings blogger Matt "All_in_at420" Stout came close to making the final table before dropping out in 14th place.

RICOFELIZ hung around to book the win and $252,276.50 score.

In the meantime, PokerStars' Sunday Warm-Up drew 4,748 players creating a total prize pool of $949,000.

In the end it was Pinowww ($148,975.39) who beat kenz085 ($110,628.40) heads-up to take the Warm-Up crown.

But it was the $215 Sunday 2nd Chance on PokerStars that had the most star power on this Sunday as Faraz "The-Toilet 0" Jaka got past a field of 1,573 players, plus a final table that included Hafiz "hafizzle" Khan, to get the win and $56,628 first prize.

Finally, VACANTSEAT won the UB $200k Guaranteed for $45,508.54. Team UB's "Hollywood" Dave Stann finished 15th.

Poker News in Brief: Nov. 15-21

Fortunately, we've compiled them below in our weekly Poker News in Brief feature.

This week Chilipoker comes to the U.S., The Legends of Poker goes back to the Bike, the WPT starts a new series and more.

ChiliPoker goes American

ChiliPoker plans to launch a online subscription poker operation in 2011 that will allow U.S. customers.

The new operation will complement the company's existing gaming businesses. Online subscription poker is legal in a majority of U.S. States.

Chiligaming does not take, and has never taken, U.S. bets and this latest move is expected to position the company well in the event of a regulated U.S. online poker market.

GUKPT Grand Final Begins

The GUKPT Grand Final Festival kicked off inside London’s Victoria Casino this week.

Along with the World Heads Up Championship Nov. 19-22, the full festival runs until Nov. 28, including the £2,500+£125 No-Limit Hold'em main event beginning Nov. 25.

In 2009, the Grand Final was won by Tony Cascarino, beating a field of 183 for £168,800.

Live satellites are currently underway at the Vic.

WPT Signs Bike Extention

Just days inton the PokerStars NAPT event at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, the World Poker Tour announced it had extended its deal with the casino to keep the WPT Legends of Poker at the venue through 2015.

The five-year agreement ensures the Legends of Poker event will maintain its position on the WPT Tour and the WPT televised series as far out as Season XIV.

Held annually in late August, winners of the Legends of Poker tournament include Hall of Famers Dan Harrington and Doyle Brunson, Prahlad Friedman, Mel Judah and John Phan.

The 2010 Legends of Poker was won by Andy Frankenberger, the current WPT Player of the Year points leader.

UKICOOP Satellites Begin

Satellites are now running for the PokerStars UK & Ireland Championship of Online Poker.

The series is set for Dec. 5-12, with satellites now running for all of the Championship events.

$512,000 in guaranteed cash is up for grabs over the course of the 11-event series.

Winner of Player of the Series honors will recieve a UKIPT Passport to the UKIPT events in Nottingham, Manchester, Cork, Newcastle, Brighton, Edinburgh and Dublin.

New WPT Series

The World Poker Tour announced a new series of events this week.

The events will be branded WPT Regional Series Events in the United States and WPT National Series Events in Europe.

No WPT title, Player of the Year points or WPT World Championship buy-in is up for grabs, but the events are branded with the WPT name.

The first WPT Regional and National events include the $4,750+$250 buy-in WPT Regional Series: Florida at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood Florida from Nov. 19–22, the $1,500+$100 buy-in WPT Regional Series: Indiana at the Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Nov. 20-21 and the €5000 buy-in WPT National Series: Paris at Aviation Club de France in Paris, France Feb. 9–15, 2011.

Harrah’s Entertainment Cancels Initial Public Offering

Harrah’s Entertainment, which owns the rights to the annual World Series of Poker (WSOP), has canceled its initial public offering, or IPO, according to a statement released by the company on Friday. The fairly short announcement read, “Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. today announced that it is not pursuing its initial public offering of common stock at this time due to market conditions.”

According to the New York Times, shares of Harrah’s Entertainment were slated to be in the $15 to $17 range, resulting in over a half-billion dollars for the casino giant. The two firms that took Harrah’s private in 2008, TPG Capital and Apollo Global Management, did not appear to be giving up any of their shares in the process. Shortly after the privatization of the company, the global economy sank into the worst recession in nearly 100 years.

The Financial Times shed more light on the reason for Harrah’s scrapping its IPO: “Senior bankers said they thought Harrah’s had asked for too high a price given its prospects and circumstances. Apollo and TPG had managed to extend the duration of the debt used in the buyout, they said, but Harrah’s remains highly leveraged and the prospect for economic recovery remains uncertain.”

On Thursday, General Motors issued an IPO that raised over $20 billion for the longstanding car manufacturer as part of a rebuilding process. CNBC detailed that the first day of trading was anything but light for GM: “By early afternoon, more than 165 million shares had traded, more than triple the amount of trading in Citigroup, the next most actively traded stock.” GM’s stock closed trading on Friday at $34.26 per share, up 0.2% on the day. The company’s IPO was set at $33 and shares jumped 4% during the opening day of trading.

An article that appeared in Business Week on Friday explained that Harrah’s burgeoning debt contributed heavily to its failed IPO: “The most successful IPOs this year are from companies that show revenue growth, higher profits (or at least shrinking losses), and manageable debt.” In February, Harrah’s acquired Planet Hollywood on the Las Vegas Strip and now owns a variety of Sin City casinos, including the Rio, Paris, Bally’s, O’Sheas, Imperial Palace, Caesars Palace, and the Flamingo.

Harrah’s acquired the rights to the WSOP in 2004. One year later, the WSOP’s preliminary events were shuttled across town to the Rio, while the Main Event’s conclusion took place in Downtown Las Vegas at Binion’s. Starting in 2006, the entire WSOP schedule emanated from the Rio’s massive convention center, which includes the Pavilion and Amazon Room. Rumors continually persist that Harrah’s, which has been attempting to sell the Rio, would take the annual WSOP to Caesars Palace or Planet Hollywood.

Harrah’s had announced plans for its IPO just two weeks ago and would have entered the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CZR” for Caesars Entertainment Corporation. A little over 31 million shares were up for grabs. Net revenues for Harrah’s in the third quarter of 2010 were flat at $2.2 billion year-over-year. The company attributed the stationary numbers to “revenues associated with our February 2010 acquisition of Planet Hollywood, which were mostly offset by the continuing impact of the recession on customers’ discretionary spending.”

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest poker stock headlines.

World Poker Tour Introduces Regional and National Tournaments

The World Poker Tour (WPT) announced yesterday that it will introduce a series of worldwide tournaments branded with the WPT name.

After hearing requests from players who wanted to participate in a WPT-style event, but didn’t quite have the bankroll for a $10,000 tournament, the Tour has responded by creating two circuits, the WPT Regional Series and the WPT National Series. The Regional Series events will take place in the United States, while the National Series will be held in Europe. Currently, there are two events scheduled in the U.S. and one in Europe, with potentially more to come.

The first WPT Regional Series Event will be the Seminole Hard Rock Fall Poker Open at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida. This tournament will run from November 19th to 22nd and have a $5,000 buy-in. The next WPT Regional Series Event will run almost simultaneously from November 20th and 21st, the Hollywood Fall Classic at the Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. This tournament will have a $1,500 buy-in, with an additional $100 in juice.

The first tournament on the National Series will be in February 2011, the EFOP Diamond Championship at Aviation Club de France in Paris, France. That event has a €5,000 buy-in.

While these tournaments are backed by the WPT, they will not give players any points towards the Tour’s Player of the Year race, a WPT bracelet, or a buy-in for the WPT Championship in April. The tournaments have been created to give players the opportunity to play in a WPT sanctioned event at a smaller cost and earn the prestige of winning a WPT title. In essence, the WPT, through these two new series of tournaments, is creating a situation much like the World Series of Poker (WSOP) has done with its Circuit events.

The WPT had an official stop in March during the Season 8 tour schedule at the Hollywood Casino, which drew 143 players and crowned Carlos Mortensen as the champion. The Aviation Club in Paris was one of the top stops in the early years of the WPT for the Rendezvous a Paris event. After the tournament was shut down for a few years due to French gaming laws, it was resurrected this May. 247 players showed up for the tournament, with noted Danish pro Theo Jorgensen capturing the championship. The addition of a National Series event continues the warm relationship between the WPT and the Aviation Club.

It is possible that the WPT is attempting to judge the temperature of poker through the Regional Series event in Florida. The WPT will be making its first ever trip to the Hard Rock in Florida come April 2011 for a full-fledged $10,000 buy-in tournament, the Seminole Hard Rock Showdown. The November tournament could be a way for the WPT to gauge what type of success it will have.

While these three events are the only ones that have been announced, officials are stating there will be many more to come in 2011. The announcement explained that the WPT is looking for “partners for Regional and National events (that will) ensure players a professional and high quality experience worthy of the WPT name.”

Simon Duffy to Be Non-Executive Chairman Following Party Gaming, bwin Merger

According to a press release distributed on Friday, Simon Duffy will become Non-Executive Chairman following the merger of Party Gaming and bwin, which is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2011. Neither company accepts players from the United States.

The merger, which was announced in late July, combines two of the largest internet gambling outfits on the planet and Duffy will assume his role once the unification is complete. Duffy told Party Gaming and bwin shareholders on Friday, “I very much look forward to becoming Chairman when Party Gaming and bwin join forces. They are unquestionably two of the online gaming industry’s pioneers and great successes in their own right. Together, they are set to create a true global champion in the field of online gaming and eCommerce, a business sector that is clearly destined to expand.”

Duffy was Executive Chairman of Tradus, an internet retailer, from 2007 to 2008. He also formerly served in an executive role with Telewest, which became part of Virgin Media Group. Moreover, his CV features stints with GWR Group, Thames Television, HMV Media Group, Gartmore, Imperial Tobacco Group, Berisford, Cantab Pharmaceuticals, iMedia Holdings, Amteus, Tiscali, and the Intellectual Property Institute.

Party Gaming and bwin CEOs Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger issued a joint statement welcoming Duffy into the fold: “We are delighted that Simon, with his wealth of business experience from a career spanning many different industries and companies, will become Chairman when our transformational merger is complete. His achievements from working with consumer-facing businesses, especially those in the entertainment and online industries, will be an invaluable resource for us as we seek to exploit the significant opportunities that we expect to flow from the continued expansion of the online gaming industry.”

Also on the management front, Party Gaming announced that Rod Perry, who currently serves as the Chairman of the company, will be the new Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Director once the merger is finalized. Party Gaming is fresh off reporting a 9% growth in overall revenue in the third quarter of 2010 compared to the third quarter of 2009. Revenue derived from online poker, however, sputtered by 5%.

Just about every facet of Party Gaming’s business reported growth except online poker. Revenue from casino operations was up slightly at 2% year-over-year, while bingo revenue ballooned 36% thanks to the company’s acquisition of Cashcade. Revenue from online sports betting experienced a substantial growth of 86% in part due to “a favorable run of football results in August across all the major football leagues.”

Party Gaming is the parent company of the World Poker Tour (WPT), whose host, Mike Sexton, is a sponsored pro of PartyPoker. The London-based company reported WPT revenues of €1.7 million, which was on par with the previous quarter. The WPT is fresh off crowning Randal Flowers the champion of its annual Festa al Lago in Las Vegas. Attendance at this year’s Festa al Lago stop was 335 players, a growth of 22% compared to 2009. However, the buy-in was lower at $10,000 compared to $15,000, resulting in a prize pool that was $800,000 smaller.

Meanwhile, bwin reported that its gross gaming revenues were up 21.9% in the third quarter of 2010 year-over-year. The company’s poker revenues mushroomed by nearly 50% due to the acquisition of Gioco Digitale and the incorporation of Betfair into the fold. bwin is the flagship site of the Ongame Network, which also includes sites like Betsafe, Hollywood Poker, and RedKings.

MMA Fighter Randy Couture to Host Charity Poker Event

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) legend Randy Couture will host the third annual “Operation All In” charity poker tournament and auction fundraiser at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas on Saturday, October 30th. The tournament and auction will benefit the Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation, which honors the veterans of America’s armed forces.

The event is open to the public and will include a celebrity charity poker tournament featuring professional players and MMA and Hollywood celebrities. There will also be live and silent auctions offering MMA memorabilia, dinner and a one-hour personal MMA lesson with Couture, autograph sessions with photo opportunities, and a Halloween after party inside Gold Diggers.

The buy-in for the tournament is $225 with $100 rebuys. Tournament participants will also receive free entry to the first annual Randy Couture Halloween Bash starting at 8:00pm inside Gold Diggers nightclub overlooking the Fremont Street Experience. For those not wishing to participate in the poker tournament, general admission tickets to the Halloween bash will be available for $25 at the door.

The winner of the tournament will take home $10,000 in cash and top finishers will win valuable prizes from a handful of sponsors. “Operation All In” is sponsored and supported by Deepstacks, the Poker Players Alliance, Full Tilt Poker, Xtreme Couture MMA, Lord Griffon, Godard Art, and the Golden Nugget.

Confirmed participants for the event include MMA fighters Couture, Tyson Griffin, Ryan Couture, Martin Kampmann, Gray Maynard, Jason Ron, Ray Sefo, Mike Pyle, and John Alessio. Professional poker players taking part include Howard Lederer, Andy Bloch, Layne Flack, Gavin Smith, Perry Friedman, Antonio Esfandiari, Todd Brunson, Nick and Michael Binger, Dutch Boyd, Lacey Jones, Matt Savage, and “Donk Down Radio” personality Bryan Micon.

Couture is an army veteran himself, having served in the 101st Airborne Division. Together with his wife, Couture started the Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation to raise money and awareness for troops wounded in action and their families. The Foundation’s goal is to help these brave men and women fulfill any of their unmet needs as they return to civilian life.

Couture has been involved in poker for years now. He first hit the tables during the inaugural “Operation All In” charity tournament, which was emceed by Jamie Gold in 2008. He began getting more involved with Full Tilt, holding charity tournaments on the site to support his foundation, and then during his fight against Brock Lesnar in November 2008, Couture switched brand of clothing from Affliction gear to Full Tilt Poker. The MMA legend has since been regularly linked to the site, even making an appearance on NBC’s “Poker After Dark” decked out in Full Tilt Poker logos during the show’s airing in August.

Poker News in Brief: Oct. 11-17, 2010

As a result, there were a few stories that didn't get the attention they deserved. Thankfully, we had a little space in our weekly Poker News in Brief feature and have thrown them in below.

This week Full Tilt signs a tennis star, an MMA legend hosts a charity tournament, poker might be Bad for Your Wealth and more.

Tilt Signs Blake

Full Tilt Poker signed US tennis star James Blake as a Friend of Full Tilt this week.

Since turning pro in 1999, Blake has consistently been ranked amongst tennis' elite and has led the US Davis Cup team since being selected in 2001.

He was also named the world's "sexiest athlete" in People Magazine's 2002 Sexiest Man Alive Issue.

Blake is an avid poker player.

London Calling

PKR's London Calling poker festival kicked off this week at the The Fox Poker Club in London's West End.

The PKR sponsored 28-day tournament series runs through Nov. 7 with 57 tournaments, the majority of which range in buy-ins from £20 to £100.

The festival will conclude with a £300 buy-in main event.

Nicolak Joins Cardrunners

John "Nicolak" Kim joined the poker training site CardRunners as a mid to high stakes cash instructor this week.

A winning pro since 1998, his first video for the site features Kim four-tabling $5-$10 six-max No-Limit Hold'em. 

Kim was already co-host of the site's bi-weekly strategy podcast Cash Plays, along with Jeremiah Smith.

Bad For Your Wealth

A new book claiming to provide scientific evidence that tournament poker is a losing proposition was released this week.

Bad for Your Wealth: A Scientific, Evidence-Based Study of Why You Should Avoid Playing Poker Tournaments, written by Ramy C. Tadros, includes calculations verified by Minimax Statistical Consulting, LLC.

Publishers claim the book is a must read for struggling players trying to understand why they cannot beat the game,

MMA Star Hosts Charity Event

Mixed Martial Arts legend Randy "The Natural" Couture will host the third annual "Operation All In" charity poker tournament and auction fundraiser benefiting the Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation Oct. 30.

Held at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, the event is open to the public and will include a celebrity charity poker tournament featuring pro players, MMA and Hollywood celebrities; live and silent auctions; autograph sessions with photo opportunities; raffle prizes; and a Halloween after party inside the Nugget's Gold Diggers club.

Already confirmed are Tyson Griffin, Ryan Couture, Martin Kampmann, Gray Maynard, Jason Ron, Ray Sefo, Mike Pyle and John Alessio, David Zayas of "Dexter" and "The Expendables," and poker pros Howard Lederer, Andy Bloch, Layne Flack, Gavin Smith, Perry Friedman, Antonio Esfandiari, Todd Brunson, Nick and Michael Binger, Dutch Boyd and Lacey Jones.

The buy-in for the tournament is $225 with $100 multi re-buys. The winner will receive a $10,000 prize. Proceeds will benefit injured US soldiers.

Double Up October

Titan Poker is offering players a chance to increase their bankrolls at its popular Double Up Sit 'n' Go tournaments through its $150,000 Double Up October promotion.

$30,000 in weekly prizes will be awarded to the site's leading Double Up Sit 'n' Go players all this month.

Plus there will be an additional $30,000 in prizes awarded to players on top of the monthly leaderboard.

Carlos Mortensen to Captain Spanish World Team Poker Squad

Inside sources at World Team Poker tell Poker News Daily that Team Spain, which did not participate in the first tournament back in May, has filed its roster. The captain of the squad will be former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Carlos Mortensen, who has banded together a team that brings great skills in all aspects of poker. Joining Mortensen on the roster will be the highly underrated Raul Paez, Santiago Terrazas, Oscar Blanco, Cayetano Garcia, and Leo Margets.

Mortensen has spent the last decade at the forefront of the poker world. Since his first cash in a tournament back in 1999, Mortensen has traveled the world as a player, with results that any top pro would be proud to own. At the WSOP in 2000, Mortensen cashed in his first event and, one year later, would become (at the time) only the sixth foreign-born player to win the Main Event. He has added a second bracelet by winning a $5,000 Limit Hold’em event in 2003.

Mortensen’s success hasn’t been limited to just his 21 cashes at the WSOP. He has won three tournaments on the World Poker Tour (WPT), including the 2007 WPT Championship. This win was a significant achievement, as it made Mortensen the only man to win both the WSOP Main Event and the WPT Championship. His victory at the Hollywood Poker Open earlier this year pushed Mortensen to the top of the heap in all-time money winnings on the WPT, passing Daniel Negreanu. For his career, Mortensen has almost $10 million in earnings with his wealth of championships.

Raul Paez has battled on poker tables around the world while establishing himself as one of the most underrated players in the game. His first tournament cash was in 2003 and, since that point, he has cashed in tournaments in the United States, Spain, France, Germany, Poland, England, and the Bahamas. While he hasn’t won on the major tours, Paez has been able to garner six WSOP cashes, two cashes on the European Poker Tour (EPT), and a final table finish in 2006 on the WPT.

Santiago Tarrazas has been in the game just as long as Mortensen and Paez, with a great deal of success in his own right. Although he lacks a major title, Tarrazas has earned a cash in the WSOP Main Event in 2007 and, just last year, finished in third place at the EPT Barcelona Championship Event. Tarrazas has over $650,000 in career tournament earnings from his travels across Europe.

Oscar Blanco has been a terror on the Spanish poker circuit since coming to the felt in 2006. He was the best All-Around Player during the 2006 Campeonato de Espana and, later that year, took a title during the L.A. Poker Classic’s preliminary schedule. Most recently, Blanco was the runner-up at the Partouche Poker Tour’s stop in Madrid, earning slightly over $65,000 for that cash in July. Blanco’s career earnings pass the $400,000 mark and signify that he may be the “wild card” of the Spanish team, as opponents may not have any prior history with him.

Cayetano Garcia is the oldest player on the squad, but his years on the tables have provided him with excellent skills. Although his tournament results only date back to 2007, Garcia has made the most of his time with a championship on the Spanish Poker Tour in 2008 and a seventh place finish in 2009 at the WPT Spanish Championship. 2010 has been the best year of Cayetano’s short tournament poker career, with roughly $82,000 in cashes as a part of his $250,000-plus career earnings.

Since making her mark as the “Last Woman Standing” in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, 888 Poker’s Leo Margets has continued to impress fans and opponents with her success on the tables. She made the final table of this year’s Aussie Millions $2,000 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em tournament and earned another cash in a similar tournament at the WSOP. Margets has over $476,000 in tournament earnings and continues to be in the hunt for her first major title.

In December, the latest World Team Poker event is expected to run, although a location and date have yet to be determined. Team Spain will face an uphill battle against teams from the United States, Australia, and Canada. In the inaugural World Team Poker event, Team China, led by captains Johnny Chan and David Chiu, took down the title.

UB.com Sponsors Anthrax Tour Bus, Gives Away Tickets

On Monday, September 27th, online poker room UB.com announced that it will be sponsoring the tour bus of legendary metal band Anthrax during the rest of its United States tour in September and October. As many poker players know, this is not just a random sponsorship, as Team UB member Scott Ian is the front man for Anthrax and is actually known to play at UB.com while on the bus.

A big UB.com logo isn’t where the sponsorship ends. For each stop on the Anthrax tour, UB.com will be giving away two tickets to loyal players. To win, players need to follow UB.com on either Facebook or Twitter. At 1:00pm local time on the day of a concert, UB.com will post a specific photo request to its followers. Everyone who uploads a qualifying picture to UB.com’s Facebook wall and tags themselves in it will be entered into a random drawing for the pair of tickets.

For example, for Tuesday’s New Orleans tour stop, players were asked to take a picture of the Anthrax website and a UB.com table together and post it to the UB wall. After 90 minutes, the winner was chosen and notified and had just 10 minutes to accept the prize. Additionally, players could win UB.com and Ian swag by finding the tour bus, taking a photo of themselves with it, and posting it to the wall. The first three to do so also won prizes. This secondary prize giveaway will be available at each tour stop.

Ian himself posts reminders of when the contests start on his Twitter page, so Twitter faithful won’t be left in the lurch if they forget to check Facebook. Ian may also announce ticket giveaways of his own from time to time, such as on Tuesday when he gave two tickets to the first person to follow @UB on Twitter.

With the New Orleans stop in the books, Ian and has band mates will now head north for their next concert, performing at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee. The tour bus will then head back south, stopping Georgia and Florida before trekking through the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. After the performance at the Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Anthrax will head out west, visiting Denver, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and concluding the tour on October 21st in Hollywood. Anthrax has also added three South American stops in November, although these are not part of the UB.com promotion. Here is the entire United States tour schedule, starting with Thursday’s performance in Knoxville:

9/30/2010 – Knoxville, TN – Knoxville Civic Coliseum
10/1/2010 – Duluth, GA – The Arena at Gwinnett Center
10/2/2010 – Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live
10/3/2010 – Miami, FL – Bayfront Park Amphitheater
10/5/2010 – Hampton, VA – Hampton Coliseum
10/6/2010 – Baltimore, MD – 1st Mariner Arena
10/8/2010 – Uniondale, NY – Nassau Coliseum
10/9/2010 – Scranton, PA – Toyota Pavilion @ Montage MTN
10/10/2010 – Columbus, OH – Lifestyle Comm. Pavilion
10/12/2010 – Louisville, KY – Freedom Hall Arena
10/14/2010 – Fort Wayne, IN – War Memorial Coliseum
10/15/2010 – Grand Rapids, MI – DeltaPlex
10/16/2010 – Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom
10/18/2010 – Denver, CO – MST Summit Music Hall
10/19/2010 – Salt Lake City, UT – E Center
10/20/2010 – Las Vegas, NV – The Pearl
10/21/2010 – Hollywood, CA – Gibson Amphitheatre

UB.com is a part of the CEREUS Network along with sister site Absolute Poker. According to PokerScout.com, the CEREUS Network is the 11th most popular network/site in terms of cash game traffic with a seven day average of 1,580 players. This puts it just 80 players shy of the Microgaming Network for a spot in the top 10.

Victory Poker CEO Dan Fleyshman Makes WSOPE Final Table And EPT London Begins From Poker In Twitter

This morning marked the start of play at the final table for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe’s Main Event. Of the nine players who ran the gauntlet of some of the best poker players in the world, perhaps no one was happier about the achievement than chip leader and Victory Poker CEO Dan Fleyshman.

“For 3 days I told friends that I envisioned ending up at final table w/Ivey & Isildur,” Fleyshman Tweeted as the tournament played down to the final table last night. “Scratch that, I’m so glad they’re freaking gone!” Once he actually reached the final table, Fleyshman was looking to take the achievement one step further, Tweeting, “The only thing that sounds cooler then the WSOP Europe Main Event Final Table Chip leader is the WSOP Europe CHAMPION!”

Many in the poker world seem to be behind the Victory Poker CEO, with tournament director Matt Savage offering his congratulations by Tweeting, “Good Luck @DanFleyshman! You are a Playa now!” Victory Poker sponsored pro Antonio Esfandiari summed up the feelings of the stable by chirping, “Go @DanFleyshman wsope main event today… ONE time for the Victorypoker ceo.”

Giving some great insight into the inner workings of the tournament poker world were top poker journalists Benjo DiMeo and B.J. Nemeth. DiMeo has been in London for the WSOP Europe and observed from the sidelines over Twitter, “Full Tilt bounty hunter lurking in the shadows to stick logos on un-sponsored players. $$$ amount dependent on the stack size, obviously.”

Nemeth, fresh off his work at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Borgata Poker Open, gave his Twitter peeps a feel for the atmosphere prior to the start of final table play: “There is a surprisingly small crowd here to watch the #WSOPE final table. There isn’t a lot of room, but there is free space on the balcony. If Phil Ivey made it, I imagine the crowd would be at least twice as big. But I’m not sure Viktor Blom would have been much of a live draw.” Action will continue at the WSOP Europe Main Event today until a champion is crowned.

For those not involved with the WSOP Europe Main Event final table, the European Poker Tour (EPT) has taken center stage in London. “Playing the £5K HU EPT event at Hilton tomorrow at noon,” Tweeted Full Tilt Poker pro Annette Obrestad, although she wasn’t truly happy about it. “Gotta pack all my s**t and move hotels in the morning… yuck @ getting up early.” Scott Montgomery seemed to have a better outlook than his girlfriend, Tweeting, “First event of EPT London on Tuesday, 5k heads-up. Sweet!”

The recent record heat wave in California caught many poker pros by surprise as temperatures crept into the low 110s. “Los Angeles is on fire,” Joe Reitman observed over Twitter on Monday. “My band just had a rehearsal and my drummer burst into flames.” Former “Poker2Nite” host Scott Huff joked about the heat, Tweeting, “It is now 106 degrees in Beverly Hills. That’s 6 degrees from frying Kevin Bacon.” “Hollywood” Dave Stann enunciated his thoughts on the heat: “Thought I moved back here from Vegas to get away from this s**t. 113 degrees?” Then, “High Stakes Poker” hostess Kara Scott summed up the burst of heat with an accurate Tweet:  “It’s too hot for any decision bigger than ‘mojitos or margaritas?’”

For the best Tweets of the past few days, we have to give Esfandiari props for his ruminations over Twitter. “Sitting in a park solo, people watching, thinking about life,” he opined. “Its an interesting thing this ‘life.’ Does it really end one day? Lights out?” In preparation for his trip to London for the EPT, David Williams wondered, “Downloaded the new Lil Wayne Album, I Am Not A Human Being, for the journey. How do you release new stuff when you’re in prison?” Finally, PokerStars pro Lex Veldhuis took up the job of movie critic in Tweeting, “Watched Clash of The Titans. Way to take an awesome myth and rape it into a new story that makes people want to stab their eyes out.”

Harrah’s Sued Over Casino Promotion

In a 2008 article in The Independent, the United Kingdom was dubbed the “litigation capital of the world” primarily as the result of many high profile cases finding their way to British courts. Never fear, Americans, the United States may yet wrest that title away from its kin across “The Pond.” Last week, notices of awards in a class action lawsuit against Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. were sent out to approximately 350,000 people, awards which will add up to millions.

The suit stems back to 2003, when, on August 10th, Debra Smerling patronized Harrah’s Atlantic City with a special coupon in-hand. The coupon was mailed to her as a Total Rewards (the loyalty program of Harrah’s properties) customer as part of the “Birthday Cash” promotion. The Birthday Cash coupon was redeemable on at the casino on August 10th for $15 cash. It sounds simple enough, but apparently it was a bit more complicated that Smerling had anticipated.

When she attempted to redeem the coupon at approximately 12:30am on August 10th, Ms. Smerling was rebuffed. According to Harrah’s policy, the new casino day did not start until 8:00am, so while it was already August 10th up and down the East Coast of the United States, inside Harrah’s, it was still August 9th. They would gladly accept the coupon as soon as 8:00am rolled around, but Smerling was not about to wait six and a half hours for her $15.

While that may sound like a strange policy, it is not unusual for casinos. For example, the Borgata had a “3x Slot Dollars” promotion over Labor Day weekend, September 4th through September 6th. Part of the “fine print” read, “A gaming day is between 6 a.m. and 5:59 a.m.” Thus, if someone wanted to take part in the promotion at 12:30am on September 4th, they would not be allowed to do so, as the gaming day does not start for several hours. The difference between the Borgata’s promotion and the “Birthday Cash” promotion at Harrah’s back in 2003 is that there was nothing on the $15 coupon defining a gaming day. Therefore, it was natural for Smerling and anyone else to assume that as soon as the clock struck Midnight, a new day had started.

At some point, an understandably frustrated Smerling sought out the law firm of Galex Wolf, LLC in North Brunswick, New Jersey to represent her and the thousands of other Total Rewards customers who received coupons in a class action lawsuit against Harrah’s. The New Jersey Superior Court ruled that Harrah’s had violated the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act for refusing to honor the coupons before 8:00am without disclosing its definition of a gaming day.

As a result, 80,000 Total Rewards customers who successfully redeemed their $15 coupons will be awarded $100 each as part of the penalties put in place by the New Jersey Truth in Consumer Contract Warranty and Notice Act. In addition to those 80,000 people, an additional 270,000 who did not redeem coupons will receive notices of the class action lawsuit, informing them that if they did attempt to cash in the coupons and were denied, they can file a separate lawsuit against Harrah’s.

Harrah’s Entertainment, led by CEO and President Gary Loveman, owns approximately 40 casino hotels in the United States, including Caesars Palace, Flamingo, Paris, Planet Hollywood, and Rio in Las Vegas and Showboat and Caesars in Atlantic City. Harrah’s also owns the World Series of Poker brand, acquired in 2004 when it purchased the renowned Las Vegas institution Binion’s Horseshoe. It sold the hotel and casino, but kept the World Series of Poker, which it moved from Binion’s to the Rio. The 2010 Main Event final table will resume on November 6th as the “November Nine” reunite to fight for the almost $9 million first prize.

California Online Poker Supporter Rod Wright Indicted

In breaking news from California, State Senator Rod Wright has been indicted on eight counts, including “false declaration of candidacy, voter fraud, and perjury beginning in 2007, when he changed his voter registration to run for the legislature,” according to the Los Angeles Times newspaper. Officials allege that Wright did not live in the district he represented.

Wright could spend over eight months in prison and not be allowed to hold public office in the future if he is convicted. On Thursday, he appeared in front of Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg and pled not guilty. According to the L.A. media outlet, he posted $45,000 in bail money and is due back in court on October 8th. Authorities appeared to be tipped off about Wright not living in his stated residence one year ago.

On to the future of his seat in the legislature, the Times asserts, “Even if Wright is convicted of one or more felonies, it is unclear whether he would be forced to give up his seat. With few exceptions, including a recall election, legislators cannot be expelled from office except by a two-thirds vote of their colleagues in the Assembly or Senate.” No such vote has been announced.

What is the significance for poker players, you ask? Wright has been one of the driving forces behind bringing intrastate online poker to California, which would be the first jurisdiction to do so. The West Coast state is facing a sizable budget deficit, leading to a search for new revenue. Wright introduced Senate Bill 1485 to bring online poker to life and, as recently as September 3rd, the Poker Voters of America (PVA) released amendments to further the bill’s chances of becoming law.

PVA President Melanie Brenner commented in a September 3rd press release that the organization would do everything in its power to bring intrastate online poker to fruition by the close of the calendar year: “Poker Voters of America will continue to meet and work with California’s tribes, licensed land-based gaming operators, elected officials, and appropriate state agencies to flesh out the language of these amendments to make sure we win passage of an intrastate online poker system by the end of 2010.”

According to a separate L.A. Times article, “The indictment also alleges that Wright fraudulently voted in five elections in 2008 and 2009.” The San Francisco Chronicle newspaper added, “Prosecutors said they believe Wright has claimed he lives in an Inglewood apartment, but has resided in Baldwin Hills in a neighboring district since 2000.”

In a recent interview with Poker News Daily prior to the news of Wright’s indictment, Brenner appeared optimistic that SB 1485 could be considered this year: “We have a budget deficit, the legislature has to come up with some revenue, and we’re one of the few sources out there. We’ve made big steps over the last six to eight weeks meting with big stakeholders in California to get them involved.” Among the stakeholders in question are 60 Indian tribes that operate gaming facilities, 47 other tribes, and 91 card rooms.

While gaming establishments like the Bicycle Casino, Hawaiian Gardens, Hollywood Park, and Commerce Casino have resisted HR 2267, which would legalize and regulate internet gambling on a Federal level in the United States, they have focused their efforts on intrastate internet gaming in California.

Despite the indictment, Wright’s attorney publicly stated, “We believe he fully complied with the law.” We’ll keep you posted right here on Poker News Daily.

Poker Voters of America Weighs in on California Intrastate Online Poker

One of the organizations at the forefront of the movement to bring legalized intrastate online poker to states like California is the Poker Voters of America, or PVA. Recently, Poker News Daily caught up with PVA Executive Director Melanie Brenner to assess the odds of regulated gaming coming to the massive West Coast state.

Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. Tell us where we stand with regards to bringing intrastate online poker or internet gambling to California. We understand that State Senator Rod Wright had introduced SB 1485, but the bill stalled on its way to becoming law earlier this year.

Melanie Brenner: The California legislature’s session has ended, but we don’t have a budget yet, so they will be coming back to deal with those issues. When Senator Rod Wright had his hearing, it became clear that there wasn’t the broad support in California that we hoped there would be, so the PVA got actively involved in meeting with major stakeholders, listening to their concerns, and getting feedback.

The initial legislation from the year before, the Morongo bill, called for a single hub they were going to run. We met with them and said that there’s no way that California or any state would legislate to give a contract to one provider. It’s also not good for the game.

Based on meetings with the Morongo tribe, Southern California card rooms, and smaller Indian tribes, we came up with proposed amendments to Wright’s bill in the hopes that we can all get together in a meeting and see if we can come to an agreement.

PND: What were some of the proposed amendments to Wright’s bill? We understand that organizations like the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) took issue with the bill only calling for three internet gambling hubs.

Melanie Brenner: One of the very big issues for the tribes was the scope of the games. What they don’t want to see is this passed and then it becomes full online casino gaming. The amendment calls for non-banked games, which was language they were comfortable with.

One of the other amendments was about the number of hubs. It was initially at three hubs and we expanded it to five with 20-year contracts and reassessment after five years. The biggest addition was a mitigation fund. There’s a chance for everyone in California to make something. Part of the money the state collects is set aside and all tribes get a little piece of that.

PND: The Bicycle Casino, Hawaiian Gardens, Hollywood Park, and Commerce Casino have come out against HR 2267, Congressman Barney Frank’s bill legalizing and regulating online gambling in the United States on a Federal level. Give us your take on what the Southern California casinos are looking for.

Melanie Brenner: They are looking at how they play in this new arena. The reality that they are not going to own this has become very clear. It’s not good for the system and one of the things I cautioned them is that they’re trying to create a system that will fail. When we’re looking to pass this in other states, the last thing we need is a system that doesn’t work as a model. We’d oppose any legislation that provided a sole source contract.

PND: Talk about the importance of providing player protections online and how those differ from what’s found in brick-and-mortar casinos.

Melanie Brenner: A regulated system is going to give you better player protections than what we have now online and better than what you’d find in a land-based casino. If someone in a land-based casino tells a manger they got ripped off, what’s the method for following up? Online, the data is all there. You can go back, reevaluate, and see if there’s a problem. That’s a big selling point for us when we’re explaining this to people.

PND: What will be the first state in the Union to offer intrastate online poker?

Melanie Brenner: I’m still betting on California. I’m saying that because we have a budget deficit, the legislature has to come up with some revenue, and we’re one of the few sources out there. We’ve made big steps over the last six to eight weeks meting with big stakeholders in California to get them involved.

PND: Describe the tribal influence in the decision-making process in California.

Melanie Brenner: California has 91 card rooms and over 100 Indian tribes. We know we couldn’t pass this legislation without tribal support. If you look back to the Morongo tribe’s initial legislation, I was so excited that I was going to send them a case of champagne. The tribes were actually standing up and saying that they wanted this.

We are showing them a great way to increase revenues without a big capital outlay. In all of my presentations, I say that if you are a business today without an online component in your business plan, I strongly suggest you work on your exit strategy.

PND: News hit the industry this week that the Atlantis Internet Group is teaming with Indian tribes to bring a limited form of interstate online poker to life. Even though it’s on a very small scale, it has to be a monumental development.

Melanie Brenner: I love seeing things like that because it shows me that the mindset is moving to where people are figuring out how to incorporate the internet. However, the whole idea of playing online is that you’re playing at home. Why would I want to get dressed and go to a casino to play online? It’s good from a policy standpoint, but is it something that’s going to change the business? No.

The Sunday Scoop: Flushed Down The-Toilet

A total of 5,799 players shelled out the $500+$30 buy in for WCOOP 22, a two-day tournament carrying a $3 million guaranteed prize pool.

When all was said and done Sunday, just 209 players remained with skylarsash holding the overnight chip lead.

They will get back up and running at 5 p.m. ET Monday with a $469,290 first-place prize on the line, six-figure scores for the top five finishers and a few big names still in the hunt, including Team PokerStars Pro Daniel “KidPoker” Negreanu.

Meanwhile, WCOOP 21 held a very Sunday-Million like $215 entry fee and $1.5 million guarantee.

A total of 10,492 players created a guarantee smashing $2,098,400 prize pool and Antoshka walked away with the biggest share, banking $280k after a three way deal with UndrAAge and vic_xcite.

Over on UB, WPT Player of the Year Faraz “THE-TOILET” Jaka turned the site’s biggest tournaments into his personal ATM, making fourth in both the $100k and $200k Guaranteed events.

Jaka earned almost $25k on the day while LUCKY89BLUNT went on to win the $200k title and $44,660, besting a final table that also included Matt Vengrin (6th) and “Hollywood” Dave Stann (7th).

DONNIESLASKO won the $100k for $37,375, getting past a final nine that also included Bryan Devonshire (3rd).

In the meantime, it was business as usual over on Full Tilt with 522 players jumping in the weekly $750k Guaranteed.

Crf88 took down the title, booking a $132,787.50 score.

Meanwhile, evenkeal777 took down The Sunday Brawl for $113,071, besting a final table that featured Scandinavian star Trond Eidsvig (8th).

Players Before Profits Petition Nears 10,000 Signatures

In late August, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the main lobbying voice for poker players in the United States, struck back at the Commerce Casino and other gambling establishments in California by launching PlayersBeforeProfits.com. The online petition was designed to encourage support of HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. Now, the vehicle is nearing 10,000 signatures.

At the time of writing, the petition at PlayersBeforeProfits.com has garnered 9,018 signatures, having passed 9,000 during the day on Friday. In addition to a wealth of “Average Joes” signing it, a plethora of pros have joined in the fray. Players like Patrik Antonius, Doyle Brunson, Tom Dwan, Barry Greenstein, John Juanda, Huck Seed, and Erik Seidel have all lent their name to the PPA’s cause.

Tom Malkasian, who introduced himself in a July House Financial Services Committee hearing as an “owner, board member, and the Director of Strategic Planning for the Commerce Casino,” came out in strong opposition to HR 2267. Malkasian called the bill, introduced by Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) “fundamentally flawed and unsound.”

Malkasian added that HR 2267 and its revenue counterpart, HR 4976, are “based on false revenue assumptions that would require the removal of the right of any state or tribe to opt out of the bill in order to achieve the advertised tax revenues of $42 billion over 10 years.” HR 4976, introduced by Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), has yet to be marked up in the House Ways and Means Committee. Contrastingly, the House Financial Services Committee approved HR 2267 six weeks ago and the bill boasts 70 co-sponsors.

PPA Executive Director John Pappas told the PocketFives.com Podcast this week that the California casinos are merely seeking a monopoly by opposing HR 2267: “When you peel back the onion, you realize that they’re not opposed to internet gaming; they just want a monopoly on it. From a consumer perspective, we all know that monopolies don’t work and they don’t provide the best player experience. What Commerce is looking for is a poker-only bill that will only serve the California marketplace.”

PlayersBeforeProfits.com also provides avenues for concerned Americans to Tweet, call, and e-mail the Commerce with one click. Its petition reminds casino officials, “It is important to note that with the rise of online poker, many individuals hone their skills online before they enter establishments such as the Commerce Casino – increasing traffic to poker rooms nationwide.” The Commerce has gone so far as to invite poker home games to play within its walls.

The Bicycle Casino, Hawaiian Gardens, and Hollywood Park have all come out in support of the Commerce Casino’s position. The coalition’s Waltona Manion told Poker News Daily in an interview on September 1st that, among other aspects of the bill, the group believes that the opt-out provision will not hold water if faced with a World Trade Organization challenge. In addition, Manion claimed that HR 2267 and HR 4976 would impose lower taxes on offshore internet casinos compared to what land-based casinos pay.

Congress has a target adjournment of October 8th, one month ahead of general elections in the United States. Then, following elections, a so-called “lame duck” session will likely occur. With the nation’s highest legislative body needing to pass critical appropriations bills, the possibility exists that HR 2267 could be attached to an unrelated piece of legislation, as was the case with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act four years ago.

Although members of the poker community have called for a formal boycott of the Commerce Casino and its partners, the PPA has not yet taken that route. The Commerce Casino bills itself as the “largest card casino on Earth” with nearly 250 tables. Across town at the Bicycle Casino, Andrew Frankenberger was crowned the champion of the recently completed World Poker Tour Legends of Poker, whose lowered $5,000 buy-in resulted in a field of 462 players.

World Series of Poker Circuit to Make Historic Stop in Oklahoma

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit made history earlier this week with the announcement of an additional stop to its 2010-2011 Circuit schedule, a visit to the great state of Oklahoma.

The WSOP Circuit will visit the Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Oklahoma from January 6th to 25th for the first ever American WSOP event not held in a Harrah’s property. The Choctaw Casino WSOP Circuit stop will feature ten ring events among a flood of 54 tournaments. The Choctaw tournament now brings to 13 the total number of stops on the WSOP Circuit schedule this year, with potentially one more to be added.

Harrah’s officials were impressed enough with the Choctaw Casino Resort to hold a WSOP Circuit event at the location. Its proximity to several large cities in the South – including Dallas, Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa – should provide for large and competitive fields. Still, it was the Choctaw Casino Resort itself that made its mark on WSOP Vice President Ty Stewart.

“After visiting the property, it was a must that we brought a WSOP Circuit stop to Choctaw Casino Resort,” Stewart stated during the announcement. “This is a huge poker market that has clamored for high-stakes tournament poker and we’re ecstatic to be hosting a WSOP Circuit in this gorgeous property in Durant come January.”

Steven Loyd, the Choctaw Casino Resort Director of Gaming and Hotel Operations, thinks that the WSOP Circuit stop at the Choctaw casino will be highly successful. “The vibrant poker markets in Texas and Oklahoma deserve a local to regional WSOP Circuit opportunity and Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant couldn’t be a better choice,” Loyd said. “Our location midway between Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and the large population base around Dallas/Fort Worth puts us within easy striking distance of thousands of serious poker enthusiasts.”

“Our beautiful new facility is poker friendly, with a best in class poker room and spacious tournament areas, great food and lodging,” Loyd concluded. “The Choctaw Nation is proud to be the newest member of the WSOP Circuit family.” The recently revamped poker room at the Choctaw Casino Resort is definitely a jewel in their crown. It features a brand new 30-table poker lounge that has its own exclusive floor in the casino.

With their new tournament in Oklahoma, Harrah’s and the WSOP Circuit are following what could become the new trend among tournament poker schedules. The World Poker Tour (WPT), after law changes in Florida that made it more poker-friendly, recently announced an agreement for a multi-year tour stop to be held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casinos in Hollywood and Tampa. The Seminole Indian tribe, which owns the Hard Rock franchises, will be bringing the first major poker tournament to Florida come 2011.

These major tours – with the WPT and the WSOP moving into Indian casinos to expand their tour’s potential – could mark an new “poker rush” among casinos and poker rooms that do not have any association with a major tournament schedule.

September 2nd – Daily Deal

On today’s Daily Deal, the coalition of California casinos clarifies its stance on internet gambling legislation, 888 reports its financial results for the first half of two-thousand ten, the World Series of Poker Main Event continues airing on ESPN and we find out who the final nominees are for this year’s Hall of Fame. It’s all ahead… faster than you can say, “I can dodge bullets, baby.”

Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily.

Recently, the Commerce Casino, Bicycle Casino, Hawaiian Gardens, Hollywood Park, and the California Gaming Association joined in opposition Congressman Barney Frank’s HR 2267, which would create a full licensing and regulatory framework for the internet gambling industry in the United States.

The four casinos have found themselves in a war of words against the Poker Players Alliance, which has launched an online petition at PlayersBeforeProfits.com to reverse their stance against the groundbreaking legislation. Poker News Daily sat down with card room coalition spokesperson Waltona Manion to explore the coalition’s resistance.

Manion argued,

“We’re looking for Federal enforcement of the same strict licensing and regulation for online poker as U.S. land-based casinos abide by. This means that they have to license all of their employees and the physical operations should be in the U.S. In addition, the hardware and software should be tested and certified.”

She added, “Frank’s bill provides fewer industry regulations and player protections. It imposes lower taxes for foreign online companies than what U.S. casinos pay. It would enable illegal offshore companies to export significant money from our economy.”

We’ll keep you posted as this story develops.

888 Holdings, the gaming operator that owns 888 Poker, announced Tuesday that it will be cutting costs in order to address a loss in profits for the first half of 2010. The company has also decided to scrap its dividend in order to pay for acquisitions after the weak economy and World Cup caused a decline in poker revenue.

888’s first half financial results showed revenues were up 10.5% to one-hundred thirty million dollars, but pre-tax profit dropped by 56% to four point three million dollars. Poker revenue dropped 25% to nineteen point six million.

The WSOP Main Event continued airing on ESPN on Tuesday night with Day Two-B. Two one-hour episodes were devoted to the second Day Two and the feature table included Dan Harrington and Jeff Shulman, who were seated next to each other. Prahlad Friedman and Allied Network Solutions CEO Ted Bort tangled in a hand in which Bort called the clock after pushing all in. Friedman waited until the count reached one and quietly said, “I call,” but floor officials ruled that the clock had expired. Bort turned over top two pair and Friedman mucked.

A maelstrom of yelling ensued. ESPN aired a replay clearly showing that Friedman had called at the one-second mark and the dealer promptly said, “He called.” Nevertheless, another floor supervisor was summoned who also said the hand was dead. Don’t forget that Friedman was also involved in “Ante-gate” with Jeffrey Lisandro.

Finally, the nominees as voted by the fans are in for the Poker Hall of Fame. This year’s class is a who’s who of the poker world, all of whom have distinguished careers warranting their nominations. This year’s class of nominees, who will be voted on by the 16 living Hall of Fame members and a 17-person media panel. Only these 33 individuals cast votes for induction. The nominees are:

1. CHRIS FERGUSON
2. BARRY GREENSTEIN
3. JENNIFER HARMAN-TRANIELLO
4. DAN HARRINGTON
5. PHIL IVEY
6. LINDA JOHNSON
7. TOM McEVOY
8. DANIEL NEGREANU
9. SCOTTY NGUYEN
10. ERIK SEIDEL

Well, that does it for today’s edition of The Daily Deal, and we’ll be back with you on Tuesday of next week. Be sure to visit Poker News Daily every day for the latest poker headlines, and be sure to check us out at twitter dot com slash poker news daily. I’m Sean Gibson, thanks for tuning in, and we’ll see you next time. Now go crush those fish at the tables!

California Horse Racing Wagering Bill Through To Senate

A bill, which is backed by one of the largest players in the online gaming industry, is up for a vote in the California General Assembly that would open up online betting on horse racing for the state’s residents.

The proposed bill, named SB 1072 in the California legislature, would up the cut for the state regarding its percentage of the take of wagers on horse racing. More importantly, perhaps, is the provision in the bill that would allow for “exchange betting,” otherwise known as internet wagering. The bill was on the fast track to being enacted before opposition to the legislation delayed its passage.

The bill has been amended by California Senator Ron Calderon, a Democrat from Montebello serving Senate District 30, to alleviate the concerns of much of the opposition, which included California horse trainers, among others. Under Calderon’s amendments and his sponsorship, implementation of the law (if passed through the Senate and signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger) would be studied by the state legislature and the California Horse Racing Board for approximately 20 months to set the rules for implementation. This means that the law would not take effect until 2012 at the earliest.

European gaming conglomerate Betfair was critical in getting Calderon’s amended bill voted through, along with Magna International Developments. Betfair, who is also the sponsor of the World Series of Poker Europe, is the owner of the United States’ largest horse racing wagering site, TVG.com. The company sponsors races at New York’s Saratoga racetrack and, through TVG, offers internet wagering to millions of customers.

Intrastate gaming is a subject that the state of California, currently facing billions of dollars in budget shortfalls, is examining as a means of alleviating the situation. Along with the current bill that would open up wagering on horse racing, there is an ongoing drive to push for intrastate online poker, although a bill introduced earlier this year by Senator Rod Wright fell short over the California General Assembly’s summer session.

Wright’s bill, SB 1485, would have opened up the California online gaming market, in particular poker, to control by the state. The now dead bill would have authorized three “hub operators” to provide legal internet gambling outlets to California residents for a period of five years. The state would have taken 20% of the revenues monthly, which would have been paid to a specially created internet gambling fund. California residents also would have faced stiff penalties for playing on unauthorized sites.

The intrastate gaming debate has come forward as of late because of furor over the Commerce Casino’s stance against federal legislation that would fully legalize internet gaming. In testimony in July in front of the House Financial Services Committee regarding Congressman Barney Frank‘s Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act (HR 2267), Commerce chairman Tom Malkasian came out against the proposed bill for several reasons.

Among the points cited by Malkasian was that the revenue generated by the new legislation would not stay in the United States, online companies would not face the same regulation that land-based casinos face, and jobs would be lost rather than created. His stance, which other top California card rooms such as Hollywood Park, the Bicycle Casino, and Hawaiian Gardens have stated they agree with, has angered many in the poker community.

Commerce Casino Clarifies Stance on Online Poker Legislation

Recently, the Commerce Casino, Bicycle Casino, Hawaiian Gardens, and Hollywood Park joined in opposition Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) HR 2267, which would create a full licensing and regulatory framework for the internet gambling industry in the United States. The four casinos have found themselves in a war of words of sorts against the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), which has launched an online petition at PlayersBeforeProfits.com to reverse their stance against the groundbreaking legislation. Poker News Daily sat down with card room coalition spokesperson Waltona Manion to explore the coalition’s resistance.

Many in the industry have asked what brand of internet gambling legislation the Commerce Casino and its allies in California would support, if any. Federal licensing? State licensing? Poker only? Manion explained that the coalition is not against internet gambling: “We’re looking for Federal enforcement of the same strict licensing and regulation for online poker as U.S. land-based casinos abide by. This means that they have to license all of their employees and the physical operations should be in the U.S. In addition, the hardware and software should be tested and certified.” The California Gaming Association also opposes HR 2267.

The coalition also supports not granting Federal licenses to any entity that has violated U.S. law. Manion added, “Another criteria would be poker only. The Frank bill as it’s currently written authorizes all types of gaming. That violates Federal law and breaks agreements of states and tribal nations. It would violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.” One amendment to Frank’s HR 2267 prohibited online wagering on sports, leading to the NFL dropping its opposition to the bill. Manion also stated that states should have the right to continue to regulate gaming in their own jurisdiction.

Manion also expressed concern over the level of protections included in Frank’s measure: “Frank’s bill provides fewer industry regulations and player protections. It imposes lower taxes for foreign online companies than what U.S. casinos pay. It would enable illegal offshore companies to export significant money from our economy.” The tax companion bill to HR 2267 is Congressman Jim McDermott’s (D-WA) HR 4976, which has not yet been marked up in the House Ways and Means Committee.

Despite the spat playing out in the public arena, Manion told PND that the poker lobbying organization and the California casinos have not yet sat down and discussed their differences on HR 2267: “The PPA’s leadership were present during the Financial Services Committee hearing and said nothing to us. They did not contact anyone from the Commerce Casino or any of the card rooms. Had the PPA contacted the Commerce or the major card rooms in California and said they had major concerns or if they had read the testimony more closely, they would agree that most of what we’re talking about is valid.”

According to a 2009 survey by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, and Associates, 55% to 57% of Californians support the state collecting revenues from online poker. Among the most important factors to respondents were ensuring that minors don’t play, full transparency, independent audits, and cracking down on unauthorized sites. The West Coast state could be among the first to green light intrastate internet gambling given a sizable budget shortfall. California State Senator Rod Wright had introduced SB 1485 this year, but the bill ultimately stalled on its way to becoming law in July.

HR 2267 offers an opt-out provision for states and tribes that don’t want to take part in a Federal internet gambling scheme. However, Manion believes that the provision won’t stand up if reviewed by the World Trade Organization (WTO): “We don’t believe that the opt-out provision as currently written will hold up to WTO scrutiny. If they were to challenge HR 2267, that’d be the component that would be challenged. We should preempt that now so we don’t get a challenge from the WTO. It would leave state-regulated gaming vulnerable.”

Nevertheless, if HR 2267 were to become law before the end of the current legislative session, California could opt out of the legislation and go it alone in the online poker world. However, its lack of liquidity compared to the Federal model could result in its demise. Manion remarked, “Our immediate focus is amending the Federal legislation and also working with the state legislature on legislation they believe would ensure that California revenues stay in California. If the Frank bill passed, the opt-out provision would be in play and California could opt out. The California state legislature could also act in advance of Frank’s bill becoming law.”

HR 2267 was marked up and passed out of the Financial Services Committee on July 28th. Congress is currently in recess.

The PPA’s petition has lapped 7,200 players and talk of a boycott of the Commerce has arisen among poker pros. UB.com pro Annie Duke, for example, commented via Twitter, “I and some other pros are boycotting them as well. I will give my business to a place that supports the players.” What the next chapter will be in this ongoing saga is anyone’s guess.

The Emmys And Tournaments Around The World From Poker In Twitter

For those in the world of poker that weren’t involved in tournaments, the Emmy Awards on Sunday night provided a bit of a respite over Twitter. “Oh Crap! The Emmys,” Joe Reitman Tweeted as the show began. “I totally forgot 2 star on a show, hire a publicist & wear a tux so I could go 2 the awards & b judged on my looks 2nite.” Poker scribe Jess Welman was less than impressed when she chirped after the show’s start, “Not a good sign when we’re ten minutes into the Emmys and I’m already counting the minutes that could easily be shaved off the broadcast.”

The duo were able to find something to agree about during the Emmys, with both congratulating particular shows on the cable channel AMC that they enjoyed. “Big congrats to fellow USC Cinema School Class of ’05 alum Erin Levy for winning a frikkin Emmy for Mad Men,” Welman Tweeted in kudos to a friend. Reitman was proud for a former employee: “I am so happy my boy Aaron Paul of @breakingbad just won. I cast him in my short ‘LEO’ 5 years ago. He is the best actor of his generation.” UB.com’s Scott Ian also piped up about the run of the actors from “Breaking Bad,” Tweeting, “Bryan Cranston & Aaron Paul both won Emmy’s for Breaking Bad. You need to watch this show.”

Someone who had a memorable night for the Emmy Awards was online superstar Justin “Boosted J” Smith. “At Courtney Cox + David Arquette’s house in Malibu watching the Emmys on TV,” Smith Tweeted on Sunday evening. “Actors and producers here these guys are wild watching it! LOL.” Smith went on to describe the reactions of those in attendance: “It’s like watching European football and when an Emmy is awarded its like a GOALLLLLL!”

As the night wore on, Smith continued to channel his inner Phil Hellmuth with his Tweets. “Gave Jennifer Aniston a 4 hour poker lesson last night,” Smith recounted after the party on Monday. “If she learned a little bit more about who acts first and stuff, she’d be real good!”

There was plenty of action for those who were away from the television and on the felt over the weekend. The World Series of Poker Circuit event in Council Bluffs saw two prolific Tweeters, Bernard Lee and Blair Hinkle, making deep runs. “Money bubble broke – 27 players all in the $ – I have 450k,” reported Lee from the tables yesterday.

Both players continued their assault on the top of the leaderboard as the afternoon moved into the evening. “Unbelievable! After getting down to 275k, I sucked out again,” Lee Tweeted to his followers. “My 10-10 vs AA – 10 on flop – back up to 470k (aver 386k) – 13 players left. Play would be stopped soon after that with Lee reporting his stack as “339k.”

Hinkle had a slightly different adventure than Lee at the Iowa tables. “Ugh super crazy guy squeezes with 88 I shove with AT he calls I flop ace but he flopped 8 turn 8. 70k still,” he Tweeted during play on Monday. Although he didn’t detail how he did it, Hinkle was able to turn things around by the end of the night, Tweeting at the end of play, “Down to 13 players done for the night… 243k blinds starting at 2000ante 5-10000.”

Across the Atlantic, many top players were in the running at the European Poker Tour event in Vilamoura, Portugal, with Brandon Cantu – at first – having the time of his life. “I got 44 and shoved ak calls fours hold to break the bubble. 965k 56 left,” Cantu reported to his followers early Tuesday morning before the game took a fateful turn. “Unbelievable,” he Tweeted soon after the bubble burst. “331k aq with the ace of hearts vs 99 flop q32 all hearts turn 9… That’s the worst beat I have ever taken.” A couple of hours later, Cantu sounded the death knell by Tweeting, “Ak vs 99 ace in the door 9 to follow – out – most frustrating day I have ever had an indescribable feeling actually.”

To soothe his defeat, Cantu may want to head to Cannes for the Partouche Poker Tour’s event starting Thursday. Tweets were flying as many top poker pros announced their plans to head to the Mediterranean coast to play in the event. Eric Mizrachi (“Today is my last day in Israel, have a flight to catch in 8 hours to Romania then off to Cannes, France for main event!”), Mike Matusow (“Cannes is gonna be effing insane. Vitamins to. Lots and lots of vitamins”), Lacey Jones (“Vegas for less than 24hrs. Had the best time celebrating @DanFleyshman’s bday in 3 cities. Next stop… Cannes!”) and Liz Lieu (“Back in London for a couple days before heading to Cannes”) are just a few of the top pros who will be in France for the tournament.

For the best Tweets of the weekend, we have to start with “Hollywood” Dave Stann’s reports from his efforts in the Ultimate Bet Online Championship, or UBOC. “I like a challenge,” Stann Tweeted on Sunday. “Immediately out of 200k running my QQ into AA, then in UBOC main ran my QQ into KK for half my stack. Thanks for the memories, #UBOC. Should stand for Ur Bigpair Obv Cracked.”

Two players offered up their thoughts regarding Paris Hilton’s arrest in Las Vegas over the weekend for cocaine possession. “Really?,” Absolute Poker’s Trishelle Cannatella Tweeted. “The only thing that happened while I was away is Paris H is arrested for cocaine? SHOCKER! Drugs are gross. Especially if you’re 30.” Joe Sebok found the potential reason for his youthful indiscretions: “Paris thought the blow was gum. Now I know why I was so damn hyperactive in high school. Teachers, I TRIED to stop talking! I’m sorry!”

Finally, Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh decided to step away from the tables, Tweeting, “Laying out for a bit… Cyprus got me addicted to sun! Definitely not going to miss my monitor tan!”

WPT, FSN Enter Into Multi-Season Deal

The World Poker Tour (WPT) and Fox Sports Net (FSN) announced Monday that they will continue their broadcast and promotional relationship, settling on an agreement that will stretch until 2013. Seasons 9, 10, and 11 of the highly popular WPT broadcasts will feature prime time national premiere airtimes of 8:00 PM and 11:00 PM on Sunday nights, as well as multiple repeat airings throughout the week on FSN.

WPT’s Season 9 will begin airing in January 2011 and kick off with Bellagio Cup IX. Several changes and enhancements will be made to the broadcast, including new anchor Kimberly Lansing; a new tour stop at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida; and the introduction of the beautiful Royal Flush Girls, who will serve as on-air fixtures during every show. Season 9 will also debut a brash, yet-to-be-named new analyst who will host a recurring segment called “The Raw Deal.” The WPT held auditions for the new position during the WPT Legends of Poker tournament on August 19 at the Bicycle Casino.

“This season promises to be unlike any previous incarnations of the WPT,” said Steve Heller, CEO of WPT. “The shows will be faster-paced and edgier, featuring the biggest names in poker mixing it up with more up-and-coming stars, pre-final table action, and, as always, poker’s greatest and most recognizable play-by-play commentary team of Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten.”

Sexton and Van Patten return for their ninth season in the WPT broadcast booth and are excited about adding “The Raw Deal” host to the team. “We’re looking for sort of a Simon Cowell kind of character that’s not afraid to bring down even a Phil Ivey, a Phil Hellmuth, a Daniel Negreanu, if he feels like they made a bonehead play,” Sexton said to Poker News Daily’s Sean Gibson. “They need to have poker experience and knowledge to be capable of critiquing an excellent, superb poker player.”

FSN is composed of 16 regional television stations that reach over 80 million homes throughout the United States. The network acquired the rights to Season 7 of the WPT after GSN declined to pick up its option following Season 6. The first five WPT seasons aired on The Travel Channel.

“As a leader in sports programming, FSN has been a great champion of the WPT and we are thrilled to make this long-term commitment as we celebrate a new day for the WPT,” said WPT President Adam Pliska. “The better airtimes, improved promotion, and the increased number of repeat episodes promise to be a boon for fans and the perfect showcase for the exciting changes coming to the WPT starting in Season 9.”

Season 9 saw the first-ever WPT stop in London get underway Monday with a surprisingly low turnout as only 72 players entered Day 1a of the £5,300 buy-in event. Thirty-six players made it through the day, including Full Tilt Pros Phil Ivey, Praz Bansi, Huck Seed, and chip leader Erik Seidel. The tournament wraps up with the final table on Saturday.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest news on the World Poker Tour.